Thus fell Lu'cius Tarquin'ius, surnamed Pris'cus, to distinguish
him from one of his successors of the same name.
him from one of his successors of the same name.
Oliver Goldsmith
(Livy.
)
[4] A city of the Sabines, between Rome and the Anio, from whence its
name,--Ante Amnem. (Dionys. Hal. )
[5] A town of Etruria, near Veii. (Virg. )
* * * * *
CHAPTER III.
FROM THE DEATH OF ROMULUS TO THE DEATH OF NUMA POMPILIUS, THE SECOND
KING OF ROME. --U. C. 38.
When pious Numa reigned, Bellona's voice
No longer called the Roman youth to arms;
In peaceful arts he bid her sons rejoice,
And tranquil live, secure from war's alarms. --_Brooke. _
1. Upon the death of Rom'ulus, the city seemed greatly divided in the
choice of a successor. The Sab'ines were for having a king chosen from
their body; but the Romans could not endure the thoughts of advancing
a stranger to the throne. In this perplexity, the senators undertook
to supply the place of the king, by taking the government each of them
in turn, for five days, and during that time enjoying all the honours
and all the privileges of royalty. 2. This new form of government
continued for a year; but the plebeians, who saw this method of
transferring power was only multiplying their masters, insisted upon
altering that mode of government. The senate being thus driven to an
election, at length pitched upon Nu'ma Pompil'ius, a Sab'ine, and
their choice was received with universal approbation by the people. [1]
3. Nu'ma Pompil'ius, who was now about forty, had long been eminent
for his piety, his justice, his moderation, and exemplary life. He was
skilled in all the learning and philosophy of the Sab'ines, and lived
at home at Cu'res,[2] contented with a private fortune; unambitious of
higher honours. It was not, therefore, without reluctance, that he
accepted the dignity; which, when he did so, produced such joy, that
the people seemed not so much to receive a king as a kingdom.
4. No monarch could be more proper for them than Nu'ma, at a
conjuncture when the government was composed of various petty states
lately subdued, and but ill united to each other: they wanted a master
who could, by his laws and precepts, soften their fierce dispositions;
and, by his example, induce them to a love of religion, and every
milder virtue. 5. Numa's whole time, therefore, was spent in
inspiring his subjects with a love of piety, and a veneration for the
gods. He built many new temples, instituted sacred offices and feasts;
and the sanctity of his life gave strength to his assertion--that he
had a particular correspondence with the goddess _Ege'ria_. By her
advice he built the temple of _Janus_, which was to be shut in time of
peace, and open in war. He regulated the appointment of the vestal
virgins, and added considerably to the privileges which they had
previously enjoyed.
6. For the encouragement of agriculture, he divided those lands, which
Romulus had gained in war, among the poorer part of the people; he
regulated the calendar, and abolished the distinction between Romans
and Sabines, by dividing the people according to their several trades,
and compelling them to live together. Thus having arrived at the age
of fourscore years, and having reigned forty-three in profound peace,
he died, ordering his body, contrary to the custom of the times, to be
buried in a stone coffin; and his books of ceremonies, which consisted
of twelve in Latin, and as many in Greek, to be buried by his side in
another. [3]
_Questions for Examination. _
1. Upon the death of Romulus, what took place in regard to his
successor?
2. How long did this order of things continue?
3. What was the character of Numa Pompilius?
4. Was Numa a monarch suited to this peculiar conjuncture?
5. Relate the acts of Numa?
6. What were the further acts of Numa?
7. What orders did he leave at his death?
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Nu'ma Pompil'ius was the fourth son of Pompil'ius Pom'po, an
illustrious Sab'ine. He had married Ta'tia, the daughter of Ta'tius,
the colleague of Rom'ulus, and on the death of his wife, gave himself
up entirely to solitude and study. (Plutarch--Livy. )
[2] More probably at Quirium, the Sabine town which was united with
Rome. (See Introduction, Chap. II. )
[3] The age of Nu'ma is scarcely more historical than that of
Rom'ulus, but the legends respecting it are fewer and partake less of
extravagance. Indeed, he had himself discouraged the songs of the
bards, by ordering the highest honours to be paid to Tac'ita, the
Came'na or Muse of Silence. His memory was best preserved by the
religious ceremonies ascribed to him by universal tradition. The later
poets loved to dwell on his peaceful virtues, and on the pure
affection that existed between him and the nymph Egeria. They tell us
that when the king served up a moderate repast to his guests on
earthen-ware, she suddenly changed the dishes into gold, and the plain
food into the most sumptuous viands. They also add, that when he died,
Egeria melted away in tears for his loss, and was changed into a
fountain.
* * * * *
CHAPTER IV.
FROM THE DEATH OF NUMA TO THE DEATH OF TULLUS HOSTILIUS THE THIRD KING
OF ROME. --U. C. 82.
From either army shall be chose three champions,
To fight the cause alone. --_Whitehead. _
1. At the death of Nu'ma, the government once more devolved upon the
senate, and so continued, till the people elected Tullus Hostil'ius
for their king, which choice had also the concurrence of the other
part of the constitution. This monarch, the grandson of a noble
Roman,[1] who had formerly signalized himself against the Sab'ines,
was every way unlike his predecessor, being entirely devoted to war,
and more fond of enterprise than even the founder of the empire
himself had been; so that he only sought a pretext for leading his
forces to the field.
2. The _Albans_, by committing some depredations on the Roman
territory, were the first people that gave him an opportunity of
indulging his favourite inclinations. The forces of the two states met
about five miles from Rome, prepared to decide the fate of their
respective kingdoms; for, in these times, a single battle was
generally decisive. The two armies were for some time drawn out in
array, awaiting the signal to begin, both chiding the length of that
dreadful suspense, when an unexpected proposal from the Alban general
put a stop to the onset. 3. Stepping in between both armies, he
offered the Romans to decide the dispute by single combat; adding,
that the side whose champion was overcome, should submit to the
conqueror. A proposal like this, suited the impetuous temper of the
Roman king, and was embraced with joy by his subjects, each of whom
hoped that he himself should be chosen to fight the cause of his
country. 4. There were, at that time, three twin brothers in each
army; those of the Romans were called Hora'tii, and those of the
Albans Curia'tii; all six remarkable for their courage, strength, and
activity, and to these it was resolved to commit the management of the
combat. [2] At length the champions met, and each, totally
regardless of his own safety, only sought the destruction of his
opponent. The spectators, in horrid silence, trembled at every blow,
and wished to share the danger, till fortune seemed to decide the
glory of the field. 5. Victory, that had hitherto been doubtful,
appeared to declare against the Romans: they beheld two of their
champions lying dead upon the plain, and the three Curia'tii, who were
wounded, slowly endeavouring to pursue the survivor, who seemed by
flight to beg for mercy. Too soon, however, they perceived that his
flight was only pretended, in order to separate his three antagonists,
whom he was unable to oppose united; for quickly after, stopping his
course, and turning upon the first, who followed closely behind, he
laid him dead at his feet: the second brother, who was coming up to
assist him that had already fallen, shared the same fate. 6. There now
remained but the last Curia'tius to conquer, who, fatigued and
disabled by his wounds, slowly advanced to offer an easy victory. He
was killed, almost unresisting, while the conqueror, exclaiming, "Two
have I already sacrificed to the manes of my brothers, the third I
will offer up to my country," despatched him as a victim to the
superiority of the Romans, whom now the Alban army consented to
obey. [3]
7. But the virtues of that age were not without alloy; that very hand
that in the morning was exerted to save his country, was, before
night, imbrued in the blood of a sister: for, returning triumphant
from the field, it raised his indignation to behold her bathed in
tears, and lamenting the loss of her lover, one of the Curia'tii, to
whom she had been betrothed. This so provoked him beyond the powers of
sufferance, that in a rage he slew her: but the action displeased the
senate, and drew after it the condemnation of the magistrate. He was,
however, pardoned, by making his appeal to the people, but obliged to
pass under the yoke; an ignominious punishment, usually inflicted on
prisoners of war. [4]
8. Tullus having greatly increased the power and wealth of Rome by
repeated victories, now thought proper to demand satisfaction of the
Sab'ines for the insults which had been formerly offered to some Roman
citizens at the temple of the goddess Fero'nia, which was common
to both nations A war ensued, which lasted some years, and ended in
the total overthrow of the Sab'ines.
[Illustration: The victorious Horatius killing his sister. ]
Hostil'ius died after a reign of thirty-two years; some say by
lightning; others, with more probability, by treason.
_Questions for Examination_.
1. On whom devolved the government on the death of Numa, and what is
the character of his successor?
2. What opportunity first offered of indulging the new king's
inclinations?
3. What proposal was offered, and accepted for deciding the dispute?
4-6. Relate the circumstances which attended the combat, and the
result of it.
7. What act followed the victory?
8. What conquest was next achieved?
FOOTNOTES:
[1] It seems to have been part of the compact between the Romans and
Sabines, that a king of each people should reign alternately.
[2] The Hora'tii and Curia'tii were, according to Diony'sius of
Halicarnas'sus, the sons of two sisters, daughters of Sequin'ius, an
illustrious citizen of Alba. One married to Curia'tius, a citizen of
Alba, and the other to Hora'tius, a Roman: so that the champions were
near relatives.
[3] This obedience of the Albans was of short duration; they soon
rebelled and were defeated by Tullus, who razed the city of Alba to
the ground, and transplanted the inhabitants to Rome, where he
conferred on them the privileges of citizens.
[4] Livy, lib. i. cap. 26. Dion. Hal. l. 3.
* * * * *
CHAPTER V.
FROM THE DEATH OF TULLUS HOSTILIUS TO THE DEATH OF ANCUS MARTIUS THE
FOURTH KING OF ROME. --U. C. 115.
Where what remains
Of Alba, still her ancient rights retains,
Still worships Vesta, though an humbler way,
Nor lets the hallow'd Trojan fire decay. --_Juvenal_.
1. After an interregnum, as in the former case, Ancus Mar'tius, the
grandson of Numa, was elected king by the people, and their choice was
afterwards confirmed by the senate. As this monarch was a lineal
descendant from Numa, so he seemed to make him the great object
of his imitation. He instituted the sacred ceremonies, which were to
precede a declaration of war;[1] but he took every occasion to advise
his subjects to return to the arts of agriculture, and to lay aside
the less useful stratagems of war.
2. These institutions and precepts were considered by the neighbouring
powers rather as marks of cowardice than of wisdom. The Latins
therefore began to make incursions upon his territories, but their
success was equal to their justice. An'cus conquered the Latins,
destroyed their cities, removed their inhabitants to Rome, and
increased his dominions by the addition of part of theirs. He quelled
also an insurrection of the _Ve'ii_, the _Fiden'ates_, and the
_Vol'sci_; and over the Sab'ines he obtained a second triumph.
3. But his victories over the enemy were by no means comparable to his
works at home, in raising temples, fortifying the city, making a
prison for malefactors, and building a sea-port at the mouth of the
Ti'ber, called Os'tia, by which he secured to his subjects the trade
of that river, and that of the salt-pits adjacent. Thus having
enriched his subjects, and beautified the city, he died, after a reign
of twenty-four years.
_Questions for Examination_.
1. Who was elected by the people after the interregnum, and what
measures did he pursue?
2. In what light did his enemies consider his institutions? With what
success did they oppose him?
3. What were the other acts of Ancus? How many years did he reign?
FOOTNOTES:
[1] First an ambassador was sent to demand satisfaction for the
alleged injury; if this were not granted within thirty-three days,
heralds were appointed to proclaim the war in the name of the gods and
people of Rome. At the conclusion of their speech, they threw their
javelins into the enemy's confines, and departed.
* * * * *
CHAPTER VI.
FROM THE DEATH OF ANCUS MARTIUS, TO THE DEATH OF TARQUINIUS PRISCUS
THE FIFTH KING OF ROME. --U. C. 130.
The first of Tarquin's hapless race was he,
Who odium tried to cast on augury;
But Nævius Accius, with an augur's skill.
Preserved its fame, and raised it higher still. --_Robertson_.
1. Lu'cius Tarquin'ius Pris'cus was appointed guardian to the sons of
the late king, and took the surname of Tarquin'ius from the city of
_Tarquin'ia_, whence he last came. His father was a merchant of
Corinth,[1] who had acquired considerable wealth by trade, and had
settled in Italy, upon account of some troubles at home. His son, who
inherited his fortune, married a woman of family in the city of
Tarquin'ia.
2. His birth, profession, and country, being contemptible to the
nobles of the place, he, by his wife's persuasion, came to settle at
Rome, where merit also gave a title to distinction. On his way
thither, say the historians, as he approached the city gate, an eagle,
stooping from above, took off his hat, and flying round his chariot
for some time, with much noise, put it on again. This his wife
Tan'aquil, who it seems was skilled in augury, interpreted as a
presage that he should one day wear the crown. Perhaps it was this
which first fired his ambition to pursue it.
3. Ancus being dead, and the kingdom, as usual, devolving upon the
senate, Tarquin used all his power and arts to set aside the children
of the late king, and to get himself elected in their stead. For this
purpose, upon the day appointed for election, he contrived to have
them sent out of the city; and in a set speech, in which he urged his
friendship for the people, the fortune he had spent among them, and
his knowledge of their government, he offered himself for their king.
As there was nothing in this harangue that could be contested, it had
the desired effect, and the people, with one consent, elected him as
their sovereign.
4. A kingdom thus obtained by _intrigue_, was, notwithstanding,
governed with equity. In the beginning of his reign, in order to
recompense his friends, he added a hundred members more to the senate,
which made them, in all, three hundred.
5. But his peaceful endeavours were soon interrupted by the inroads of
his restless neighbours, particularly the Latins, over whom he
triumphed, and whom he forced to beg for peace. He then turned his
arms against the Sabines, who had risen once more, and had passed the
river Ti'ber; but attacking them with vigour, Tarquin routed their
army; so that many who escaped the sword, were drowned in attempting
to cross over, while their bodies and armour, floating down to Rome,
brought news of the victory, even before the messengers could arrive
that were sent with the tidings. These conquests were followed by
several advantages over the Latins, from whom he took many towns,
though without gaining any decisive victory.
6. Tarquin, having thus forced his enemies into submission, was
resolved not to let his subjects grow corrupt through indolence. He
therefore undertook and perfected several public works for the
convenience and embellishment of the city. [2]
7. In his time it was, that the augurs came into a great increase of
reputation. He found it his interest to promote the superstition of
the people; for this was, in fact, but to increase their obedience.
Tan'aquil, his wife, was a great pretender to this art; but Ac'cius
Næ'vius was the most celebrated adept of the kind ever known in Rome.
8. Upon a certain occasion, Tarquin, being resolved to try the augur's
skill, asked him, whether what he was then pondering in his mind could
be effected? Næ'vius, having consulted his auguries, boldly affirmed
that it might: "Why, then," cries the king, with an insulting smile,
"I had thoughts of cutting this whetstone with a razor. " "Cut boldly,"
replied the augur; and the king cut it through accordingly.
Thenceforward nothing was undertaken in Rome without consulting the
augurs, and obtaining their advice and approbation.
9. Tarquin was not content with a kingdom, without having also the
ensigns of royalty. In imitation of the Lyd'ian kings, he assumed a
crown of gold, an ivory throne, a sceptre with an eagle on the top,
and robes of purple. It was, perhaps, the splendour of these royalties
that first raised the envy of the late king's sons, who had now,
for above thirty-seven years, quietly submitted to his government. His
design also of adopting Ser'vius Tul'lius, his son-in-law, for his
successor, might have contributed to inflame their resentment. 10.
Whatever was the cause of their tardy vengeance, they resolved to
destroy him; and, at last, found means to effect their purpose, by
hiring two ruffians, who, demanding to speak with the king, pretending
that they came for justice, struck him dead in his palace with the
blow of an axe. The lictors, however, who waited upon the person of
the king, seized the murderers as they were attempting to escape, and
put them to death: but the sons of Ancus, who were the instigators,
found safety in flight.
11.
Thus fell Lu'cius Tarquin'ius, surnamed Pris'cus, to distinguish
him from one of his successors of the same name. He was eighty years
of age, and had reigned thirty-eight years. [3]
_Questions for Examination_.
1. Who was Lucius Tarquinius Priscus?
2. What occasioned his removal to Rome, and what circumstances
attended it?
3. Was this presage fulfilled, and by what means?
4. In what manner did he govern?
5. Was Tarquin a warlike prince?
6. How did he improve his victories?
7. By what act did he insure the obedience of his subjects?
8. What contributed to increase the reputation of the augurs?
9. What part of his conduct is supposed, to have raised the envy of
the late king's sons?
10. What was the consequence of this envy and resentment?
11. What was his age, and how long did he reign?
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Corinth (now Corito) was a celebrated city of ancient Greece,
situated on the isthmus of that name, about sixty stadia or furlongs
from the sea. Its original name was Ephy're.
[2] Preparations for building the Capitol were made in this reign. The
city was likewise fortified with stone walls, and the cloacæ, or
common sewers, constructed by the munificence of this prince. (See
Introd. )
[3] The history of the elder Tarquin presents insuperable
difficulties. We are told that his original name was Lu'cumo; but
that, as has been mentioned in the Introduction, was the Etrurian
designation of a chief magistrate. One circumstance, however, is
unquestionable, that with him began the greatness and the splendour of
the Roman city. He commenced those vaulted sewers which still attract
the admiration of posterity; he erected the first circus for the
exhibition of public spectacles; he planned the Capitol, and
commenced, if he did not complete, the first city wall. The tradition
that he was a Tuscan prince, appears to be well founded; but the
Corinthian origin of his family is very improbable.
* * * * *
CHAPTER VII.
FROM THE DEATH OF TARQUINIUS PRISCUS TO THE DEATH OF SERVIUS TULLIUS
THE SIXTH KING OF ROME. --U. C. 176.
Servius, the king, who laid the solid base
On which o'er earth the vast republic spread. --_Thomson_.
1. The report of the murder of Tarquin filled all his subjects with
complaint and indignation; while the citizens ran from every quarter
to the palace, to learn the truth of the account, or to take vengeance
on the assassins. 2. In this tumult, Tan'aquil, widow of the late
king, considering the danger she must incur, in case the conspirators
should succeed to the crown, and desirous of seeing her son-in-law his
successor, with great art dissembled her sorrow, as well as the king's
death. She assured the people, from one of the windows of the palace,
that he was not killed, but only stunned by the blow; that he would
shortly recover; and that in the meantime he had deputed his power to
Ser'vius Tul'lius, his son-in-law. Ser'vius, accordingly, as it had
been agreed upon between them, issued from the palace, adorned with
the ensigns of royalty, and, preceded by his lictors, went to despatch
some affairs that related to the public safety, still pretending that
he took all his instructions from the king. This scene of
dissimulation continued for some days, till he had made his party good
among the nobles; when, the death of Tarquin being publicly
ascertained, Ser'vius came to the crown, solely at the senate's
appointment, and without attempting to gain the suffrages of the
people.
3. Ser'vius was the son of a bondwoman, who had been taken at the
sacking of a town belonging to the Latins, and was born whilst his
mother was a slave. While yet an infant in his cradle, a lambent
flame[1] is said to have played round his head, which Tan'aquil
converted into an omen of future greatness.
4. Upon being acknowledged king, he determined to make a great change
in the Roman constitution by admitting the plebeians to a
participation in the civil government. The senate was too weak to
resist the change when it was proposed, but it submitted with great
reluctance. 5. Ser'vius divided all the Romans into classes and
centuries according to their wealth and the amount of taxes paid
to the state. The number of centuries in the first class nearly
equalled that of all the others; a great
DALZIELS' ILLUSTRATED
GOLDSMITH:
COMPRISING of
THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD
THE TRAVELLER
THE DESERTED VILLAGE
THE HAUNCH OF VENISON
THE CAPTIVITY: AN ORATORIO
RETALIATION
MISCELLANEOUS POEMS
THE GOOD-NATURED MAN
SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER
AND A SKETCH OF THE
LIFE OF OLIVER GOLDSMITH,
BY H. W. DULCKEN, PH. D.
WITH
ONE HUNDRED PICTURES
DRAWN BY
G. J. PINWELL,
ENGRAVED BY THE BROTHERS DALZIEL.
WARD, LOCK AND CO. ,
LONDON: WARWICK HOUSE, SALISBURY SQUARE, E. C.
NEW YORK: 10 BOND STREET.
[Illustration: Publisher]
CONTENTS.
PAGE
A SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF OLIVER GOLDSMITH vi
THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD 1
THE TRAVELLER 175
THE DESERTED VILLAGE 189
THE HAUNCH OF VENISON 202
THE CAPTIVITY 205
RETALIATION 212
MISCELLANEOUS POEMS 225
THE GOOD-NATURED MAN 266
SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER 361
A SKETCH
OF THE
LIFE OF OLIVER GOLDSMITH.
The middle of the last century was an evil time, in England, for
literature and for literary men. The period was eminently one of
transition; and transition periods are always times of trial to all
whose interests they affect. The old system passes away, bearing with it
those who cling to it; the new system requires time until it is in
working order, and those who depend upon its advent for their
subsistence are sorely harassed while the turmoil lasts. Thus it was
with literature at the time when Goldsmith began to write. The age in
which literary men depended upon patrons had passed away. No more snug
government berths, no more secretaryships, as in the time of Addison and
Prior and Steele—and the time when the public was to support literature
had not yet come.
Thus the author was compelled either to depend entirely on the
booksellers, or to sell his pen, in true hireling fashion, to the
government of the day, or to the opposition, and to scribble approval or
invective at his master's dictation. Happily for his own fame, happily
for English literature, the author of the "Vicar of Wakefield" chose the
former alternative.
Oliver Goldsmith was born at Pallas, or Pallasmore, county Longford,
Ireland, on the 10th of November, 1728. He was one of a numerous family,
of whom he alone attained celebrity. His father, the Rev. Charles
Goldsmith, a clergyman of the Established Church, was in very poor
circumstances at the time of the birth of his famous son; but little
Oliver was only two years old when the sunshine of prosperity descended
upon his house, with what must have appeared to the inmates quite a
blaze of noonday splendour. The small income of forty pounds a-year,
upon which the Rev. Charles Goldsmith had managed painfully and
penuriously to struggle on with his family, was suddenly increased to
two hundred, when the rectory of Kilkenny-west was obtained by that
fortunate divine; and the Goldsmiths removed to Lissoy, near Athlone.
The Rev. Charles Goldsmith seems to have possessed, in a very large
degree, certain traits of character by which all the Goldsmiths were
more or less distinguished. Almost culpably careless in worldly matters,
his easy good-nature and kindly generous disposition frequently made him
the dupe of the designing and ungrateful. Himself incapable of cunning
and deceit, he imagined that all men were frank and open. The last man
in the world to take an unfair advantage of his neighbour, he never
suspected that any man could possibly take advantage of him. Goldsmith
himself under the guise of the Man in Black, gives us an insight into
affairs at the Rectory in these early days. "My father's education," the
Man in Black tells us, "was above his fortune, and his generosity
greater than his education. " Then we hear of numerous guests entertained
at the hospitable parson's table, and paying for their dinner by
laughing at the host's oft-repeated jests and time-honoured anecdotes.
"He told the story of the ivy tree, and that was laughed at; he repeated
the jest of the two scholars and one pair of breeches, and the company
laughed at that; but the story of Taffy in the sedan chair was sure to
set the table in a roar; thus his pleasure increased in proportion to
the pleasure he gave; he loved all the world; and he fancied all the
world loved him. We were told that universal benevolence was what first
cemented society; we were taught to consider all the wants of mankind as
our own; to regard the human face divine with affection and esteem; he
wound us up to be mere machines of pity, and rendered us incapable of
withstanding the slightest impulse made either by real or fictitious
distress; in a word, we were perfectly instructed in the art of giving
away thousands before we were taught the more necessary qualifications
of getting a farthing. "
[Illustration:
_The Man in Black_—(_Citizen of the World. _)
]
In fact, this inimitable Man in Black, who appears as one of the
characters in Goldsmith's "Citizen of the World," is, in many respects,
a counterpart of Goldsmith himself. Like our author, he is overreached
by every knave, and an object of contemptuous pity to all the worldly
wise. He tries one position after another, and fails in each, chiefly
through his honesty and credulity. He cannot succeed as follower to a
great man, because he will not flatter where he disapproves; he loses
his mistress because he believes her sincere when she expresses
admiration of him, and detestation of his rival's high-heeled shoes.
Everywhere he is snubbed and elbowed away by men more versed than
himself in the ways of the world; but, like Goldsmith again, he has an
easy, good-humoured philosophy, that carries him gaily through trials
and troubles that would have swamped other men. As he cannot be rich and
happy, he resolves to be poor and contented. He does not "invoke gods
and men to see him dining upon a ha'porth of radishes;" but rather tries
to persuade himself and others that a vegetable diet suits him. And he
has his reward in the verdict universally pronounced upon him—that he
"is very good-natured, and has not the least harm in him. "
On a lad of ordinary disposition, the Rev. Charles Goldsmith's peculiar
ideas would, perhaps, have had little effect. The small world of the
school-room, and the larger world in which he would afterwards have to
play his part, could scarcely fail to teach him to distinguish between
real and fictitious distress, and to give him the prudence which makes
charity begin at home, and, indeed, too often causes it to end there.
But the Goldsmiths were not ordinary people. Warm-hearted, and of large
sympathy—anxious to relieve the distress of all who sued to them for
aid—they were the very persons whom the prudent and prosperous are ever
holding up to ridicule, as dupes and simpletons, utterly deficient in
wisdom—as though there existed no other than _worldly_ wisdom; as though
"our being's end and aim" were the attainment of wealth. And here, at
the very outset, we come upon the cause of many of the troubles and
cares that beset Oliver Goldsmith throughout his entire career. His
kindly nature led him to relieve distress wherever he found it; and, as
his disposition became known, there is no doubt that distress—real and
feigned—sought him out pertinaciously enough.
The words he wrote of his brother Henry, the benevolent
clergyman—"passing rich on forty pounds a year"—and whose "pride" was to
"relieve the wretched," might be equally applied to himself. When
applicants for succour came to him—
"Careless their merits, or their faults to scan,
His pity gave ere charity began. "
But the wish to relieve was so largely in excess of the power, that
frequently when Justice called to present a claim for payment Generosity
had been beforehand, and had carried away the money; and Justice had to
wait, or, alas, in too many cases, to go away unsatisfied. Thus the most
humiliating position in which Goldsmith was ever placed in the days of
his direst poverty, arose from his hastily obeying an impulse to relieve
the landlord of his miserable lodgings, who had been arrested for debt,
and whose wife came to Goldsmith, weeping and wringing her hands.
Thinking only how he could liberate the poor man by the only means in
his power, the poet rushed off and pledged some books, and a suit of
clothes, procured on the credit of Ralph Griffiths, a bookseller, that
Goldsmith might appear decently at an examination, which he failed to
pass, and dire was the wrath of Griffiths on the occasion.
The young days of Oliver Goldsmith offer nothing very remarkable to
record. He was considered a dull boy by his first instructors, though
there are indications at times of poetical talent. One of his sisters
married a gentleman of fortune of the name of Hodson, to whom Henry
Goldsmith, Oliver's eldest brother, was tutor. In order that his
daughter might not enter this family without a suitable marriage
portion, the Rev. Charles Goldsmith made a sacrifice, which, while it
impoverished the whole family, was peculiarly detrimental to the
fortunes of Oliver. He executed a bond, pledging himself to pay four
hundred pounds as the marriage portion of his daughter Catherine. The
immediate effect of this proceeding was that Oliver was obliged to
enter, in the humblest possible manner, upon the college career he was
about to commence. On the 11th of June, 1745, Oliver Goldsmith was
admitted as a sizar of Trinity College, Dublin.
Very wretched and very unsatisfactory was his life at that seat of
learning. The menial duties exacted in return for the reduced expense of
the sizar's education disgusted him. The brutalities of his tutor
Wilder, a man at once ferocious and pedantic, and totally unable to
appreciate the young scholar's genius, caused him the keenest
mortification; and to these ills were added the grinding poverty with
which he now first became familiar; a poverty occasionally alleviated by
gifts from his uncle, the Rev. Mr. Contarine, a truly kind-hearted and
benevolent man, to whom our poet was bound to the last by ties of
affectionate gratitude. Now also his father died, and his necessities
became greater than ever. We hear of him, writing ballads, and selling
the copyrights at five shillings each; then stealing out at night to
hear these, the earliest efforts of his muse, sung through the streets.
A small triumph, in the shape of an exhibition, worth some thirty
shillings, induced the young awkward student to give a very humble kind
of ball at his rooms. To this ball came an unexpected visitor in the
shape of Wilder the tutor, who put the guests to flight, and publicly
beat the host. Smarting under the disgrace, Goldsmith quitted the
college, and was only induced, after a time, to return by the
persuasions of his brother Henry, who brought about a reconciliation, or
rather a truce, between Oliver and his tyrant. On the 27th of February,
1749, he obtained his B. A. degree, and, returning home, remained for a
time idle and unemployed, looking out for the chance of a career. He
presented himself for ordination and was refused; was a tutor in a
private family, and left in consequence of a quarrel; was furnished with
funds by Uncle Contarine to study law, lost his money, and appeared
again at home destitute. At length, with some last assistance from the
friendly uncle's purse, he started on a tour through Europe; travelling,
not like the majority of British tourists in coach and on horseback, but
on foot and alone, making his way from place to place, and studying men
rather than science. Important, and rich in results for his whole future
life, was this remarkable journey. And, among the most memorable of its
effects was, that it suggested the poem of the "Traveller. " Marvellously
true were the views taken by the poor student of the various lands
through which he passed; and remarkable were the words in which, in one
of his early essays, he predicted the change that was coming upon
France. Clearly and distinctly he heard the first far-off mutterings of
the great revolutionary storm. He saw the growth and spread of the
spirit of freedom among the people, and while others cried "peace" when
there was no peace, he distinctly and clearly foresaw the great crash of
revolution that was coming.
Early in the year 1756 Oliver Goldsmith found himself alone in London.
He was in his twenty-eighth year—without a profession, almost utterly
friendless, and destitute of all means of subsistence. Of this part of
his life he could be scarcely ever induced to speak in his later and
happier days; but here and there we get a glimpse which shows us that it
must have been dreary in the extreme. At Sir Joshua Reynolds's he once
startled the company by commencing an anecdote with "When I lived among
the beggars in Axe Lane;" and there is something very significant in the
way in which the pangs of starvation are described in his "Natural
History. " He must have felt those pangs himself to describe them so
graphically.
By various means he made a shift to live. At one time he pounded drugs
for an apothecary near London Bridge; at another, he attempted to
practise physic amongst the poorest of the poor. Now we find him
correcting press proofs for a printer; and now he is settled for a time
as usher in Dr. Milner's boys' school at Peckham. We have a picture of
him here, drawn by Miss Milner, the principal's daughter. He is
described as exceedingly good-natured, always ready to amuse the boys
with his flute, giving away his money, or spending it in tarts and
sweetmeats for the boys as soon as he received it, and generally
recommending himself by his amiability and kindliness of heart. But
Goldsmith himself considered this servitude at the Peckham Academy as
the most dreary period of his life. The position of an usher was at that
time, if possible, worse than it is now; and the mortifications he
experienced at Peckham helped to throw a shadow over his later life.
But on a certain day in April, 1757, Ralph Griffiths, a prosperous
London bookseller, dined at Peckham, with the Milners. He was the
proprietor of a critical magazine; and, as the conversation turned on
the literature of the day, Griffiths became aware that the remarks made
by the poor usher were not those of an ordinary man. He took him aside,
and asked if he would undertake to write some literary notices and
reviews. The offer was accepted, as was also the very moderate salary
Griffiths offered in return for the daily services of the writer; and
thus at last Goldsmith was fairly started in authorship, and beginning
to serve his apprenticeship to letters.
A dreary apprenticeship it was. Griffiths, and Griffiths' wife, ruled
over their "hack" author with a rod of iron; curtailed his leisure,
carped at the amount of "work" done, and ruthlessly altered his
articles. He began with some reviews, which, for their elegance of
style, facility of expression, and gracefulness of fancy, must have
astonished the readers of the ordinarily dull and common-place "Monthly
Review. " Soon, however, the tyranny of the Griffiths pair became
intolerable; a quarrel ensued, and the connexion between master and
servant was broken off. Goldsmith established himself in a garret in a
court near Fleet Street, and began the almost hopeless attempt to
support himself independently by miscellaneous writing.
Very hard and bitter was the struggle through which he had to pass; and
now and then he made efforts to emancipate himself entirely from the
thraldom of literature. Indeed, we even find him once more at his desk
at Dr. Milner's school, at Peckham. He obtained an appointment as
medical officer in the East India Company's service on the Coromandel
coast, but lost it, probably through inability to pay his passage and
procure the necessary outfit. Then, as a last resource, he presented
himself for examination at Surgeons' Hall, intending to become a
"hospital mate;" but was rejected, as the books of the society record,
as "not qualified. " Thus, perforce driven back to literature, he girded
himself up manfully for the struggle; and gradually the dawn of a better
day began to break. The long and hard battle he had fought had at length
produced one gain for him. He was known to the bookselling fraternity;
and, as they would have phrased it, "his value in the market began to
rise. " A number of new magazines were started simultaneously, and the
proprietors were naturally anxious to secure the services of Goldsmith's
graceful pen. We find him writing for several magazines at once, and
receiving a respectable price for his work. Thus, with the year 1759,
the shadow of squalid poverty and grinding want passes away from
Goldsmith's life. Happy would it have been for him had his distresses
taught him prudence. But the prosperity came too late. His habits were
formed; the unfortunate custom of living from hand to mouth, of flying
from the thoughts of the dark future by heedless indulgence in any
pleasure that could be snatched in the present—the inveterate
disposition to alternate periods of over-work with intervals of thorough
inaction—these were the marks which the hard conflict had left upon
him—wounds which were seared over, indeed, but never thoroughly healed.
[Illustration:
_Goldsmith wandering among the streets
of the great, cold, wicked city. _
]
But these years of adversity had also taught him lessons whose memory
remained with him to the last day of his life—lessons which he was among
the first to teach to the unthinking world around him. Poverty and pain
had spoilt him to some extent for society—had brought upon him a
melancholy which he would strive vainly to banish with fits of strained
and forced hilarity—had rendered him abrupt in speech and uncouth in
gesture—but never hardened his heart. He had been poor himself—miserably
poor—and his sympathies were with the poor, and his voice was honestly
uplifted in their behalf. Long before Sir Samuel Romilly had arisen to
denounce the harshness and cruelty of our penal code—long before the
eagle glance of Howard had pierced into the gloom of the debtor's fetid
prison, Goldsmith pointed out the effects of harsh legislation, and the
evils and contamination of our gaols. He would leave his home at night to
wander among the streets of the great, cold, wicked city, taking note of
the misery and destitution he found there, and sympathising with the
distress of the wretched outcasts whom none else would succour or
befriend. And manfully was his voice raised against those who, having
caused much of that wretchedness, were suffered, by a false and
heartless system of mock morality, to escape the penalty of infamy they
had justly incurred.
In a publication called the "Bee," which he edited, there is a paper of
matchless pathos, entitled a "City Nightpiece," in which he indignantly
draws attention to poor houseless girls, who have been flattered and
cozened into sin, and then left desolate in their misery. He concludes
with the following withering denunciation of the authors of all this
misery:—
"But let me turn from a scene of such distress to the sanctified
hypocrite, who has been 'talking of virtue till the time of bed',[1] and
now steals out, to give a loose to his vices under the protection of
midnight—vices more atrocious because he attempts to conceal them. See
how he pants down the dark alley; and, with hastening steps, fears an
acquaintance in every face. He has passed the whole day in company he
hates, and now goes to prolong the night among company that as heartily
hate him. May his vices be detected! may the morning rise upon his
shame! Yet I wish to no purpose: villany, when detected, never gives up,
but boldly adds impudence to imposture. "
Goldsmith's Essays, afterwards collected by himself into a volume, were
chiefly written between 1758 and 1762. In this kind of writing he
peculiarly excelled; and his friend Dr. Johnson allowed him to be
unrivalled in it. As a specimen of his humourous style, the following
extract from the "History of a Strolling Player" may be taken as
displaying the quaint drollery and quiet fun he could infuse in this
style of composition. Goldsmith has picked up in one of the parks a
jocose, talkative, hungry man, who proposes that the two should dine at
the expense of his new acquaintance, promising that he himself will
return the favour at some future time not accurately defined. Stimulated
by a good dinner, and by a tankard which he takes care shall be
frequently replenished, the talkative man tells his history, of which
the following is a part. He has been a soldier, and finds the profession
not at all to his liking. He says:
"The life of a soldier soon, therefore, gave me the spleen.
[4] A city of the Sabines, between Rome and the Anio, from whence its
name,--Ante Amnem. (Dionys. Hal. )
[5] A town of Etruria, near Veii. (Virg. )
* * * * *
CHAPTER III.
FROM THE DEATH OF ROMULUS TO THE DEATH OF NUMA POMPILIUS, THE SECOND
KING OF ROME. --U. C. 38.
When pious Numa reigned, Bellona's voice
No longer called the Roman youth to arms;
In peaceful arts he bid her sons rejoice,
And tranquil live, secure from war's alarms. --_Brooke. _
1. Upon the death of Rom'ulus, the city seemed greatly divided in the
choice of a successor. The Sab'ines were for having a king chosen from
their body; but the Romans could not endure the thoughts of advancing
a stranger to the throne. In this perplexity, the senators undertook
to supply the place of the king, by taking the government each of them
in turn, for five days, and during that time enjoying all the honours
and all the privileges of royalty. 2. This new form of government
continued for a year; but the plebeians, who saw this method of
transferring power was only multiplying their masters, insisted upon
altering that mode of government. The senate being thus driven to an
election, at length pitched upon Nu'ma Pompil'ius, a Sab'ine, and
their choice was received with universal approbation by the people. [1]
3. Nu'ma Pompil'ius, who was now about forty, had long been eminent
for his piety, his justice, his moderation, and exemplary life. He was
skilled in all the learning and philosophy of the Sab'ines, and lived
at home at Cu'res,[2] contented with a private fortune; unambitious of
higher honours. It was not, therefore, without reluctance, that he
accepted the dignity; which, when he did so, produced such joy, that
the people seemed not so much to receive a king as a kingdom.
4. No monarch could be more proper for them than Nu'ma, at a
conjuncture when the government was composed of various petty states
lately subdued, and but ill united to each other: they wanted a master
who could, by his laws and precepts, soften their fierce dispositions;
and, by his example, induce them to a love of religion, and every
milder virtue. 5. Numa's whole time, therefore, was spent in
inspiring his subjects with a love of piety, and a veneration for the
gods. He built many new temples, instituted sacred offices and feasts;
and the sanctity of his life gave strength to his assertion--that he
had a particular correspondence with the goddess _Ege'ria_. By her
advice he built the temple of _Janus_, which was to be shut in time of
peace, and open in war. He regulated the appointment of the vestal
virgins, and added considerably to the privileges which they had
previously enjoyed.
6. For the encouragement of agriculture, he divided those lands, which
Romulus had gained in war, among the poorer part of the people; he
regulated the calendar, and abolished the distinction between Romans
and Sabines, by dividing the people according to their several trades,
and compelling them to live together. Thus having arrived at the age
of fourscore years, and having reigned forty-three in profound peace,
he died, ordering his body, contrary to the custom of the times, to be
buried in a stone coffin; and his books of ceremonies, which consisted
of twelve in Latin, and as many in Greek, to be buried by his side in
another. [3]
_Questions for Examination. _
1. Upon the death of Romulus, what took place in regard to his
successor?
2. How long did this order of things continue?
3. What was the character of Numa Pompilius?
4. Was Numa a monarch suited to this peculiar conjuncture?
5. Relate the acts of Numa?
6. What were the further acts of Numa?
7. What orders did he leave at his death?
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Nu'ma Pompil'ius was the fourth son of Pompil'ius Pom'po, an
illustrious Sab'ine. He had married Ta'tia, the daughter of Ta'tius,
the colleague of Rom'ulus, and on the death of his wife, gave himself
up entirely to solitude and study. (Plutarch--Livy. )
[2] More probably at Quirium, the Sabine town which was united with
Rome. (See Introduction, Chap. II. )
[3] The age of Nu'ma is scarcely more historical than that of
Rom'ulus, but the legends respecting it are fewer and partake less of
extravagance. Indeed, he had himself discouraged the songs of the
bards, by ordering the highest honours to be paid to Tac'ita, the
Came'na or Muse of Silence. His memory was best preserved by the
religious ceremonies ascribed to him by universal tradition. The later
poets loved to dwell on his peaceful virtues, and on the pure
affection that existed between him and the nymph Egeria. They tell us
that when the king served up a moderate repast to his guests on
earthen-ware, she suddenly changed the dishes into gold, and the plain
food into the most sumptuous viands. They also add, that when he died,
Egeria melted away in tears for his loss, and was changed into a
fountain.
* * * * *
CHAPTER IV.
FROM THE DEATH OF NUMA TO THE DEATH OF TULLUS HOSTILIUS THE THIRD KING
OF ROME. --U. C. 82.
From either army shall be chose three champions,
To fight the cause alone. --_Whitehead. _
1. At the death of Nu'ma, the government once more devolved upon the
senate, and so continued, till the people elected Tullus Hostil'ius
for their king, which choice had also the concurrence of the other
part of the constitution. This monarch, the grandson of a noble
Roman,[1] who had formerly signalized himself against the Sab'ines,
was every way unlike his predecessor, being entirely devoted to war,
and more fond of enterprise than even the founder of the empire
himself had been; so that he only sought a pretext for leading his
forces to the field.
2. The _Albans_, by committing some depredations on the Roman
territory, were the first people that gave him an opportunity of
indulging his favourite inclinations. The forces of the two states met
about five miles from Rome, prepared to decide the fate of their
respective kingdoms; for, in these times, a single battle was
generally decisive. The two armies were for some time drawn out in
array, awaiting the signal to begin, both chiding the length of that
dreadful suspense, when an unexpected proposal from the Alban general
put a stop to the onset. 3. Stepping in between both armies, he
offered the Romans to decide the dispute by single combat; adding,
that the side whose champion was overcome, should submit to the
conqueror. A proposal like this, suited the impetuous temper of the
Roman king, and was embraced with joy by his subjects, each of whom
hoped that he himself should be chosen to fight the cause of his
country. 4. There were, at that time, three twin brothers in each
army; those of the Romans were called Hora'tii, and those of the
Albans Curia'tii; all six remarkable for their courage, strength, and
activity, and to these it was resolved to commit the management of the
combat. [2] At length the champions met, and each, totally
regardless of his own safety, only sought the destruction of his
opponent. The spectators, in horrid silence, trembled at every blow,
and wished to share the danger, till fortune seemed to decide the
glory of the field. 5. Victory, that had hitherto been doubtful,
appeared to declare against the Romans: they beheld two of their
champions lying dead upon the plain, and the three Curia'tii, who were
wounded, slowly endeavouring to pursue the survivor, who seemed by
flight to beg for mercy. Too soon, however, they perceived that his
flight was only pretended, in order to separate his three antagonists,
whom he was unable to oppose united; for quickly after, stopping his
course, and turning upon the first, who followed closely behind, he
laid him dead at his feet: the second brother, who was coming up to
assist him that had already fallen, shared the same fate. 6. There now
remained but the last Curia'tius to conquer, who, fatigued and
disabled by his wounds, slowly advanced to offer an easy victory. He
was killed, almost unresisting, while the conqueror, exclaiming, "Two
have I already sacrificed to the manes of my brothers, the third I
will offer up to my country," despatched him as a victim to the
superiority of the Romans, whom now the Alban army consented to
obey. [3]
7. But the virtues of that age were not without alloy; that very hand
that in the morning was exerted to save his country, was, before
night, imbrued in the blood of a sister: for, returning triumphant
from the field, it raised his indignation to behold her bathed in
tears, and lamenting the loss of her lover, one of the Curia'tii, to
whom she had been betrothed. This so provoked him beyond the powers of
sufferance, that in a rage he slew her: but the action displeased the
senate, and drew after it the condemnation of the magistrate. He was,
however, pardoned, by making his appeal to the people, but obliged to
pass under the yoke; an ignominious punishment, usually inflicted on
prisoners of war. [4]
8. Tullus having greatly increased the power and wealth of Rome by
repeated victories, now thought proper to demand satisfaction of the
Sab'ines for the insults which had been formerly offered to some Roman
citizens at the temple of the goddess Fero'nia, which was common
to both nations A war ensued, which lasted some years, and ended in
the total overthrow of the Sab'ines.
[Illustration: The victorious Horatius killing his sister. ]
Hostil'ius died after a reign of thirty-two years; some say by
lightning; others, with more probability, by treason.
_Questions for Examination_.
1. On whom devolved the government on the death of Numa, and what is
the character of his successor?
2. What opportunity first offered of indulging the new king's
inclinations?
3. What proposal was offered, and accepted for deciding the dispute?
4-6. Relate the circumstances which attended the combat, and the
result of it.
7. What act followed the victory?
8. What conquest was next achieved?
FOOTNOTES:
[1] It seems to have been part of the compact between the Romans and
Sabines, that a king of each people should reign alternately.
[2] The Hora'tii and Curia'tii were, according to Diony'sius of
Halicarnas'sus, the sons of two sisters, daughters of Sequin'ius, an
illustrious citizen of Alba. One married to Curia'tius, a citizen of
Alba, and the other to Hora'tius, a Roman: so that the champions were
near relatives.
[3] This obedience of the Albans was of short duration; they soon
rebelled and were defeated by Tullus, who razed the city of Alba to
the ground, and transplanted the inhabitants to Rome, where he
conferred on them the privileges of citizens.
[4] Livy, lib. i. cap. 26. Dion. Hal. l. 3.
* * * * *
CHAPTER V.
FROM THE DEATH OF TULLUS HOSTILIUS TO THE DEATH OF ANCUS MARTIUS THE
FOURTH KING OF ROME. --U. C. 115.
Where what remains
Of Alba, still her ancient rights retains,
Still worships Vesta, though an humbler way,
Nor lets the hallow'd Trojan fire decay. --_Juvenal_.
1. After an interregnum, as in the former case, Ancus Mar'tius, the
grandson of Numa, was elected king by the people, and their choice was
afterwards confirmed by the senate. As this monarch was a lineal
descendant from Numa, so he seemed to make him the great object
of his imitation. He instituted the sacred ceremonies, which were to
precede a declaration of war;[1] but he took every occasion to advise
his subjects to return to the arts of agriculture, and to lay aside
the less useful stratagems of war.
2. These institutions and precepts were considered by the neighbouring
powers rather as marks of cowardice than of wisdom. The Latins
therefore began to make incursions upon his territories, but their
success was equal to their justice. An'cus conquered the Latins,
destroyed their cities, removed their inhabitants to Rome, and
increased his dominions by the addition of part of theirs. He quelled
also an insurrection of the _Ve'ii_, the _Fiden'ates_, and the
_Vol'sci_; and over the Sab'ines he obtained a second triumph.
3. But his victories over the enemy were by no means comparable to his
works at home, in raising temples, fortifying the city, making a
prison for malefactors, and building a sea-port at the mouth of the
Ti'ber, called Os'tia, by which he secured to his subjects the trade
of that river, and that of the salt-pits adjacent. Thus having
enriched his subjects, and beautified the city, he died, after a reign
of twenty-four years.
_Questions for Examination_.
1. Who was elected by the people after the interregnum, and what
measures did he pursue?
2. In what light did his enemies consider his institutions? With what
success did they oppose him?
3. What were the other acts of Ancus? How many years did he reign?
FOOTNOTES:
[1] First an ambassador was sent to demand satisfaction for the
alleged injury; if this were not granted within thirty-three days,
heralds were appointed to proclaim the war in the name of the gods and
people of Rome. At the conclusion of their speech, they threw their
javelins into the enemy's confines, and departed.
* * * * *
CHAPTER VI.
FROM THE DEATH OF ANCUS MARTIUS, TO THE DEATH OF TARQUINIUS PRISCUS
THE FIFTH KING OF ROME. --U. C. 130.
The first of Tarquin's hapless race was he,
Who odium tried to cast on augury;
But Nævius Accius, with an augur's skill.
Preserved its fame, and raised it higher still. --_Robertson_.
1. Lu'cius Tarquin'ius Pris'cus was appointed guardian to the sons of
the late king, and took the surname of Tarquin'ius from the city of
_Tarquin'ia_, whence he last came. His father was a merchant of
Corinth,[1] who had acquired considerable wealth by trade, and had
settled in Italy, upon account of some troubles at home. His son, who
inherited his fortune, married a woman of family in the city of
Tarquin'ia.
2. His birth, profession, and country, being contemptible to the
nobles of the place, he, by his wife's persuasion, came to settle at
Rome, where merit also gave a title to distinction. On his way
thither, say the historians, as he approached the city gate, an eagle,
stooping from above, took off his hat, and flying round his chariot
for some time, with much noise, put it on again. This his wife
Tan'aquil, who it seems was skilled in augury, interpreted as a
presage that he should one day wear the crown. Perhaps it was this
which first fired his ambition to pursue it.
3. Ancus being dead, and the kingdom, as usual, devolving upon the
senate, Tarquin used all his power and arts to set aside the children
of the late king, and to get himself elected in their stead. For this
purpose, upon the day appointed for election, he contrived to have
them sent out of the city; and in a set speech, in which he urged his
friendship for the people, the fortune he had spent among them, and
his knowledge of their government, he offered himself for their king.
As there was nothing in this harangue that could be contested, it had
the desired effect, and the people, with one consent, elected him as
their sovereign.
4. A kingdom thus obtained by _intrigue_, was, notwithstanding,
governed with equity. In the beginning of his reign, in order to
recompense his friends, he added a hundred members more to the senate,
which made them, in all, three hundred.
5. But his peaceful endeavours were soon interrupted by the inroads of
his restless neighbours, particularly the Latins, over whom he
triumphed, and whom he forced to beg for peace. He then turned his
arms against the Sabines, who had risen once more, and had passed the
river Ti'ber; but attacking them with vigour, Tarquin routed their
army; so that many who escaped the sword, were drowned in attempting
to cross over, while their bodies and armour, floating down to Rome,
brought news of the victory, even before the messengers could arrive
that were sent with the tidings. These conquests were followed by
several advantages over the Latins, from whom he took many towns,
though without gaining any decisive victory.
6. Tarquin, having thus forced his enemies into submission, was
resolved not to let his subjects grow corrupt through indolence. He
therefore undertook and perfected several public works for the
convenience and embellishment of the city. [2]
7. In his time it was, that the augurs came into a great increase of
reputation. He found it his interest to promote the superstition of
the people; for this was, in fact, but to increase their obedience.
Tan'aquil, his wife, was a great pretender to this art; but Ac'cius
Næ'vius was the most celebrated adept of the kind ever known in Rome.
8. Upon a certain occasion, Tarquin, being resolved to try the augur's
skill, asked him, whether what he was then pondering in his mind could
be effected? Næ'vius, having consulted his auguries, boldly affirmed
that it might: "Why, then," cries the king, with an insulting smile,
"I had thoughts of cutting this whetstone with a razor. " "Cut boldly,"
replied the augur; and the king cut it through accordingly.
Thenceforward nothing was undertaken in Rome without consulting the
augurs, and obtaining their advice and approbation.
9. Tarquin was not content with a kingdom, without having also the
ensigns of royalty. In imitation of the Lyd'ian kings, he assumed a
crown of gold, an ivory throne, a sceptre with an eagle on the top,
and robes of purple. It was, perhaps, the splendour of these royalties
that first raised the envy of the late king's sons, who had now,
for above thirty-seven years, quietly submitted to his government. His
design also of adopting Ser'vius Tul'lius, his son-in-law, for his
successor, might have contributed to inflame their resentment. 10.
Whatever was the cause of their tardy vengeance, they resolved to
destroy him; and, at last, found means to effect their purpose, by
hiring two ruffians, who, demanding to speak with the king, pretending
that they came for justice, struck him dead in his palace with the
blow of an axe. The lictors, however, who waited upon the person of
the king, seized the murderers as they were attempting to escape, and
put them to death: but the sons of Ancus, who were the instigators,
found safety in flight.
11.
Thus fell Lu'cius Tarquin'ius, surnamed Pris'cus, to distinguish
him from one of his successors of the same name. He was eighty years
of age, and had reigned thirty-eight years. [3]
_Questions for Examination_.
1. Who was Lucius Tarquinius Priscus?
2. What occasioned his removal to Rome, and what circumstances
attended it?
3. Was this presage fulfilled, and by what means?
4. In what manner did he govern?
5. Was Tarquin a warlike prince?
6. How did he improve his victories?
7. By what act did he insure the obedience of his subjects?
8. What contributed to increase the reputation of the augurs?
9. What part of his conduct is supposed, to have raised the envy of
the late king's sons?
10. What was the consequence of this envy and resentment?
11. What was his age, and how long did he reign?
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Corinth (now Corito) was a celebrated city of ancient Greece,
situated on the isthmus of that name, about sixty stadia or furlongs
from the sea. Its original name was Ephy're.
[2] Preparations for building the Capitol were made in this reign. The
city was likewise fortified with stone walls, and the cloacæ, or
common sewers, constructed by the munificence of this prince. (See
Introd. )
[3] The history of the elder Tarquin presents insuperable
difficulties. We are told that his original name was Lu'cumo; but
that, as has been mentioned in the Introduction, was the Etrurian
designation of a chief magistrate. One circumstance, however, is
unquestionable, that with him began the greatness and the splendour of
the Roman city. He commenced those vaulted sewers which still attract
the admiration of posterity; he erected the first circus for the
exhibition of public spectacles; he planned the Capitol, and
commenced, if he did not complete, the first city wall. The tradition
that he was a Tuscan prince, appears to be well founded; but the
Corinthian origin of his family is very improbable.
* * * * *
CHAPTER VII.
FROM THE DEATH OF TARQUINIUS PRISCUS TO THE DEATH OF SERVIUS TULLIUS
THE SIXTH KING OF ROME. --U. C. 176.
Servius, the king, who laid the solid base
On which o'er earth the vast republic spread. --_Thomson_.
1. The report of the murder of Tarquin filled all his subjects with
complaint and indignation; while the citizens ran from every quarter
to the palace, to learn the truth of the account, or to take vengeance
on the assassins. 2. In this tumult, Tan'aquil, widow of the late
king, considering the danger she must incur, in case the conspirators
should succeed to the crown, and desirous of seeing her son-in-law his
successor, with great art dissembled her sorrow, as well as the king's
death. She assured the people, from one of the windows of the palace,
that he was not killed, but only stunned by the blow; that he would
shortly recover; and that in the meantime he had deputed his power to
Ser'vius Tul'lius, his son-in-law. Ser'vius, accordingly, as it had
been agreed upon between them, issued from the palace, adorned with
the ensigns of royalty, and, preceded by his lictors, went to despatch
some affairs that related to the public safety, still pretending that
he took all his instructions from the king. This scene of
dissimulation continued for some days, till he had made his party good
among the nobles; when, the death of Tarquin being publicly
ascertained, Ser'vius came to the crown, solely at the senate's
appointment, and without attempting to gain the suffrages of the
people.
3. Ser'vius was the son of a bondwoman, who had been taken at the
sacking of a town belonging to the Latins, and was born whilst his
mother was a slave. While yet an infant in his cradle, a lambent
flame[1] is said to have played round his head, which Tan'aquil
converted into an omen of future greatness.
4. Upon being acknowledged king, he determined to make a great change
in the Roman constitution by admitting the plebeians to a
participation in the civil government. The senate was too weak to
resist the change when it was proposed, but it submitted with great
reluctance. 5. Ser'vius divided all the Romans into classes and
centuries according to their wealth and the amount of taxes paid
to the state. The number of centuries in the first class nearly
equalled that of all the others; a great
DALZIELS' ILLUSTRATED
GOLDSMITH:
COMPRISING of
THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD
THE TRAVELLER
THE DESERTED VILLAGE
THE HAUNCH OF VENISON
THE CAPTIVITY: AN ORATORIO
RETALIATION
MISCELLANEOUS POEMS
THE GOOD-NATURED MAN
SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER
AND A SKETCH OF THE
LIFE OF OLIVER GOLDSMITH,
BY H. W. DULCKEN, PH. D.
WITH
ONE HUNDRED PICTURES
DRAWN BY
G. J. PINWELL,
ENGRAVED BY THE BROTHERS DALZIEL.
WARD, LOCK AND CO. ,
LONDON: WARWICK HOUSE, SALISBURY SQUARE, E. C.
NEW YORK: 10 BOND STREET.
[Illustration: Publisher]
CONTENTS.
PAGE
A SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF OLIVER GOLDSMITH vi
THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD 1
THE TRAVELLER 175
THE DESERTED VILLAGE 189
THE HAUNCH OF VENISON 202
THE CAPTIVITY 205
RETALIATION 212
MISCELLANEOUS POEMS 225
THE GOOD-NATURED MAN 266
SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER 361
A SKETCH
OF THE
LIFE OF OLIVER GOLDSMITH.
The middle of the last century was an evil time, in England, for
literature and for literary men. The period was eminently one of
transition; and transition periods are always times of trial to all
whose interests they affect. The old system passes away, bearing with it
those who cling to it; the new system requires time until it is in
working order, and those who depend upon its advent for their
subsistence are sorely harassed while the turmoil lasts. Thus it was
with literature at the time when Goldsmith began to write. The age in
which literary men depended upon patrons had passed away. No more snug
government berths, no more secretaryships, as in the time of Addison and
Prior and Steele—and the time when the public was to support literature
had not yet come.
Thus the author was compelled either to depend entirely on the
booksellers, or to sell his pen, in true hireling fashion, to the
government of the day, or to the opposition, and to scribble approval or
invective at his master's dictation. Happily for his own fame, happily
for English literature, the author of the "Vicar of Wakefield" chose the
former alternative.
Oliver Goldsmith was born at Pallas, or Pallasmore, county Longford,
Ireland, on the 10th of November, 1728. He was one of a numerous family,
of whom he alone attained celebrity. His father, the Rev. Charles
Goldsmith, a clergyman of the Established Church, was in very poor
circumstances at the time of the birth of his famous son; but little
Oliver was only two years old when the sunshine of prosperity descended
upon his house, with what must have appeared to the inmates quite a
blaze of noonday splendour. The small income of forty pounds a-year,
upon which the Rev. Charles Goldsmith had managed painfully and
penuriously to struggle on with his family, was suddenly increased to
two hundred, when the rectory of Kilkenny-west was obtained by that
fortunate divine; and the Goldsmiths removed to Lissoy, near Athlone.
The Rev. Charles Goldsmith seems to have possessed, in a very large
degree, certain traits of character by which all the Goldsmiths were
more or less distinguished. Almost culpably careless in worldly matters,
his easy good-nature and kindly generous disposition frequently made him
the dupe of the designing and ungrateful. Himself incapable of cunning
and deceit, he imagined that all men were frank and open. The last man
in the world to take an unfair advantage of his neighbour, he never
suspected that any man could possibly take advantage of him. Goldsmith
himself under the guise of the Man in Black, gives us an insight into
affairs at the Rectory in these early days. "My father's education," the
Man in Black tells us, "was above his fortune, and his generosity
greater than his education. " Then we hear of numerous guests entertained
at the hospitable parson's table, and paying for their dinner by
laughing at the host's oft-repeated jests and time-honoured anecdotes.
"He told the story of the ivy tree, and that was laughed at; he repeated
the jest of the two scholars and one pair of breeches, and the company
laughed at that; but the story of Taffy in the sedan chair was sure to
set the table in a roar; thus his pleasure increased in proportion to
the pleasure he gave; he loved all the world; and he fancied all the
world loved him. We were told that universal benevolence was what first
cemented society; we were taught to consider all the wants of mankind as
our own; to regard the human face divine with affection and esteem; he
wound us up to be mere machines of pity, and rendered us incapable of
withstanding the slightest impulse made either by real or fictitious
distress; in a word, we were perfectly instructed in the art of giving
away thousands before we were taught the more necessary qualifications
of getting a farthing. "
[Illustration:
_The Man in Black_—(_Citizen of the World. _)
]
In fact, this inimitable Man in Black, who appears as one of the
characters in Goldsmith's "Citizen of the World," is, in many respects,
a counterpart of Goldsmith himself. Like our author, he is overreached
by every knave, and an object of contemptuous pity to all the worldly
wise. He tries one position after another, and fails in each, chiefly
through his honesty and credulity. He cannot succeed as follower to a
great man, because he will not flatter where he disapproves; he loses
his mistress because he believes her sincere when she expresses
admiration of him, and detestation of his rival's high-heeled shoes.
Everywhere he is snubbed and elbowed away by men more versed than
himself in the ways of the world; but, like Goldsmith again, he has an
easy, good-humoured philosophy, that carries him gaily through trials
and troubles that would have swamped other men. As he cannot be rich and
happy, he resolves to be poor and contented. He does not "invoke gods
and men to see him dining upon a ha'porth of radishes;" but rather tries
to persuade himself and others that a vegetable diet suits him. And he
has his reward in the verdict universally pronounced upon him—that he
"is very good-natured, and has not the least harm in him. "
On a lad of ordinary disposition, the Rev. Charles Goldsmith's peculiar
ideas would, perhaps, have had little effect. The small world of the
school-room, and the larger world in which he would afterwards have to
play his part, could scarcely fail to teach him to distinguish between
real and fictitious distress, and to give him the prudence which makes
charity begin at home, and, indeed, too often causes it to end there.
But the Goldsmiths were not ordinary people. Warm-hearted, and of large
sympathy—anxious to relieve the distress of all who sued to them for
aid—they were the very persons whom the prudent and prosperous are ever
holding up to ridicule, as dupes and simpletons, utterly deficient in
wisdom—as though there existed no other than _worldly_ wisdom; as though
"our being's end and aim" were the attainment of wealth. And here, at
the very outset, we come upon the cause of many of the troubles and
cares that beset Oliver Goldsmith throughout his entire career. His
kindly nature led him to relieve distress wherever he found it; and, as
his disposition became known, there is no doubt that distress—real and
feigned—sought him out pertinaciously enough.
The words he wrote of his brother Henry, the benevolent
clergyman—"passing rich on forty pounds a year"—and whose "pride" was to
"relieve the wretched," might be equally applied to himself. When
applicants for succour came to him—
"Careless their merits, or their faults to scan,
His pity gave ere charity began. "
But the wish to relieve was so largely in excess of the power, that
frequently when Justice called to present a claim for payment Generosity
had been beforehand, and had carried away the money; and Justice had to
wait, or, alas, in too many cases, to go away unsatisfied. Thus the most
humiliating position in which Goldsmith was ever placed in the days of
his direst poverty, arose from his hastily obeying an impulse to relieve
the landlord of his miserable lodgings, who had been arrested for debt,
and whose wife came to Goldsmith, weeping and wringing her hands.
Thinking only how he could liberate the poor man by the only means in
his power, the poet rushed off and pledged some books, and a suit of
clothes, procured on the credit of Ralph Griffiths, a bookseller, that
Goldsmith might appear decently at an examination, which he failed to
pass, and dire was the wrath of Griffiths on the occasion.
The young days of Oliver Goldsmith offer nothing very remarkable to
record. He was considered a dull boy by his first instructors, though
there are indications at times of poetical talent. One of his sisters
married a gentleman of fortune of the name of Hodson, to whom Henry
Goldsmith, Oliver's eldest brother, was tutor. In order that his
daughter might not enter this family without a suitable marriage
portion, the Rev. Charles Goldsmith made a sacrifice, which, while it
impoverished the whole family, was peculiarly detrimental to the
fortunes of Oliver. He executed a bond, pledging himself to pay four
hundred pounds as the marriage portion of his daughter Catherine. The
immediate effect of this proceeding was that Oliver was obliged to
enter, in the humblest possible manner, upon the college career he was
about to commence. On the 11th of June, 1745, Oliver Goldsmith was
admitted as a sizar of Trinity College, Dublin.
Very wretched and very unsatisfactory was his life at that seat of
learning. The menial duties exacted in return for the reduced expense of
the sizar's education disgusted him. The brutalities of his tutor
Wilder, a man at once ferocious and pedantic, and totally unable to
appreciate the young scholar's genius, caused him the keenest
mortification; and to these ills were added the grinding poverty with
which he now first became familiar; a poverty occasionally alleviated by
gifts from his uncle, the Rev. Mr. Contarine, a truly kind-hearted and
benevolent man, to whom our poet was bound to the last by ties of
affectionate gratitude. Now also his father died, and his necessities
became greater than ever. We hear of him, writing ballads, and selling
the copyrights at five shillings each; then stealing out at night to
hear these, the earliest efforts of his muse, sung through the streets.
A small triumph, in the shape of an exhibition, worth some thirty
shillings, induced the young awkward student to give a very humble kind
of ball at his rooms. To this ball came an unexpected visitor in the
shape of Wilder the tutor, who put the guests to flight, and publicly
beat the host. Smarting under the disgrace, Goldsmith quitted the
college, and was only induced, after a time, to return by the
persuasions of his brother Henry, who brought about a reconciliation, or
rather a truce, between Oliver and his tyrant. On the 27th of February,
1749, he obtained his B. A. degree, and, returning home, remained for a
time idle and unemployed, looking out for the chance of a career. He
presented himself for ordination and was refused; was a tutor in a
private family, and left in consequence of a quarrel; was furnished with
funds by Uncle Contarine to study law, lost his money, and appeared
again at home destitute. At length, with some last assistance from the
friendly uncle's purse, he started on a tour through Europe; travelling,
not like the majority of British tourists in coach and on horseback, but
on foot and alone, making his way from place to place, and studying men
rather than science. Important, and rich in results for his whole future
life, was this remarkable journey. And, among the most memorable of its
effects was, that it suggested the poem of the "Traveller. " Marvellously
true were the views taken by the poor student of the various lands
through which he passed; and remarkable were the words in which, in one
of his early essays, he predicted the change that was coming upon
France. Clearly and distinctly he heard the first far-off mutterings of
the great revolutionary storm. He saw the growth and spread of the
spirit of freedom among the people, and while others cried "peace" when
there was no peace, he distinctly and clearly foresaw the great crash of
revolution that was coming.
Early in the year 1756 Oliver Goldsmith found himself alone in London.
He was in his twenty-eighth year—without a profession, almost utterly
friendless, and destitute of all means of subsistence. Of this part of
his life he could be scarcely ever induced to speak in his later and
happier days; but here and there we get a glimpse which shows us that it
must have been dreary in the extreme. At Sir Joshua Reynolds's he once
startled the company by commencing an anecdote with "When I lived among
the beggars in Axe Lane;" and there is something very significant in the
way in which the pangs of starvation are described in his "Natural
History. " He must have felt those pangs himself to describe them so
graphically.
By various means he made a shift to live. At one time he pounded drugs
for an apothecary near London Bridge; at another, he attempted to
practise physic amongst the poorest of the poor. Now we find him
correcting press proofs for a printer; and now he is settled for a time
as usher in Dr. Milner's boys' school at Peckham. We have a picture of
him here, drawn by Miss Milner, the principal's daughter. He is
described as exceedingly good-natured, always ready to amuse the boys
with his flute, giving away his money, or spending it in tarts and
sweetmeats for the boys as soon as he received it, and generally
recommending himself by his amiability and kindliness of heart. But
Goldsmith himself considered this servitude at the Peckham Academy as
the most dreary period of his life. The position of an usher was at that
time, if possible, worse than it is now; and the mortifications he
experienced at Peckham helped to throw a shadow over his later life.
But on a certain day in April, 1757, Ralph Griffiths, a prosperous
London bookseller, dined at Peckham, with the Milners. He was the
proprietor of a critical magazine; and, as the conversation turned on
the literature of the day, Griffiths became aware that the remarks made
by the poor usher were not those of an ordinary man. He took him aside,
and asked if he would undertake to write some literary notices and
reviews. The offer was accepted, as was also the very moderate salary
Griffiths offered in return for the daily services of the writer; and
thus at last Goldsmith was fairly started in authorship, and beginning
to serve his apprenticeship to letters.
A dreary apprenticeship it was. Griffiths, and Griffiths' wife, ruled
over their "hack" author with a rod of iron; curtailed his leisure,
carped at the amount of "work" done, and ruthlessly altered his
articles. He began with some reviews, which, for their elegance of
style, facility of expression, and gracefulness of fancy, must have
astonished the readers of the ordinarily dull and common-place "Monthly
Review. " Soon, however, the tyranny of the Griffiths pair became
intolerable; a quarrel ensued, and the connexion between master and
servant was broken off. Goldsmith established himself in a garret in a
court near Fleet Street, and began the almost hopeless attempt to
support himself independently by miscellaneous writing.
Very hard and bitter was the struggle through which he had to pass; and
now and then he made efforts to emancipate himself entirely from the
thraldom of literature. Indeed, we even find him once more at his desk
at Dr. Milner's school, at Peckham. He obtained an appointment as
medical officer in the East India Company's service on the Coromandel
coast, but lost it, probably through inability to pay his passage and
procure the necessary outfit. Then, as a last resource, he presented
himself for examination at Surgeons' Hall, intending to become a
"hospital mate;" but was rejected, as the books of the society record,
as "not qualified. " Thus, perforce driven back to literature, he girded
himself up manfully for the struggle; and gradually the dawn of a better
day began to break. The long and hard battle he had fought had at length
produced one gain for him. He was known to the bookselling fraternity;
and, as they would have phrased it, "his value in the market began to
rise. " A number of new magazines were started simultaneously, and the
proprietors were naturally anxious to secure the services of Goldsmith's
graceful pen. We find him writing for several magazines at once, and
receiving a respectable price for his work. Thus, with the year 1759,
the shadow of squalid poverty and grinding want passes away from
Goldsmith's life. Happy would it have been for him had his distresses
taught him prudence. But the prosperity came too late. His habits were
formed; the unfortunate custom of living from hand to mouth, of flying
from the thoughts of the dark future by heedless indulgence in any
pleasure that could be snatched in the present—the inveterate
disposition to alternate periods of over-work with intervals of thorough
inaction—these were the marks which the hard conflict had left upon
him—wounds which were seared over, indeed, but never thoroughly healed.
[Illustration:
_Goldsmith wandering among the streets
of the great, cold, wicked city. _
]
But these years of adversity had also taught him lessons whose memory
remained with him to the last day of his life—lessons which he was among
the first to teach to the unthinking world around him. Poverty and pain
had spoilt him to some extent for society—had brought upon him a
melancholy which he would strive vainly to banish with fits of strained
and forced hilarity—had rendered him abrupt in speech and uncouth in
gesture—but never hardened his heart. He had been poor himself—miserably
poor—and his sympathies were with the poor, and his voice was honestly
uplifted in their behalf. Long before Sir Samuel Romilly had arisen to
denounce the harshness and cruelty of our penal code—long before the
eagle glance of Howard had pierced into the gloom of the debtor's fetid
prison, Goldsmith pointed out the effects of harsh legislation, and the
evils and contamination of our gaols. He would leave his home at night to
wander among the streets of the great, cold, wicked city, taking note of
the misery and destitution he found there, and sympathising with the
distress of the wretched outcasts whom none else would succour or
befriend. And manfully was his voice raised against those who, having
caused much of that wretchedness, were suffered, by a false and
heartless system of mock morality, to escape the penalty of infamy they
had justly incurred.
In a publication called the "Bee," which he edited, there is a paper of
matchless pathos, entitled a "City Nightpiece," in which he indignantly
draws attention to poor houseless girls, who have been flattered and
cozened into sin, and then left desolate in their misery. He concludes
with the following withering denunciation of the authors of all this
misery:—
"But let me turn from a scene of such distress to the sanctified
hypocrite, who has been 'talking of virtue till the time of bed',[1] and
now steals out, to give a loose to his vices under the protection of
midnight—vices more atrocious because he attempts to conceal them. See
how he pants down the dark alley; and, with hastening steps, fears an
acquaintance in every face. He has passed the whole day in company he
hates, and now goes to prolong the night among company that as heartily
hate him. May his vices be detected! may the morning rise upon his
shame! Yet I wish to no purpose: villany, when detected, never gives up,
but boldly adds impudence to imposture. "
Goldsmith's Essays, afterwards collected by himself into a volume, were
chiefly written between 1758 and 1762. In this kind of writing he
peculiarly excelled; and his friend Dr. Johnson allowed him to be
unrivalled in it. As a specimen of his humourous style, the following
extract from the "History of a Strolling Player" may be taken as
displaying the quaint drollery and quiet fun he could infuse in this
style of composition. Goldsmith has picked up in one of the parks a
jocose, talkative, hungry man, who proposes that the two should dine at
the expense of his new acquaintance, promising that he himself will
return the favour at some future time not accurately defined. Stimulated
by a good dinner, and by a tankard which he takes care shall be
frequently replenished, the talkative man tells his history, of which
the following is a part. He has been a soldier, and finds the profession
not at all to his liking. He says:
"The life of a soldier soon, therefore, gave me the spleen.
