His 'Pantheon', a revised
translation
from the Latin of
the Jesuit, Francis Pomey, was a popular school-book of
mythology, with copper-plates.
the Jesuit, Francis Pomey, was a popular school-book of
mythology, with copper-plates.
Oliver Goldsmith
I only beg you'll endeavour to make your souls unison* with
mine, and hear with the same enthusiasm with which I have written. The
poem begins with the description of an author's bedchamber: the picture
was sketched in my own apartment; for you must know, gentlemen, that I
am myself the heroe. Then putting himself into the attitude of an
orator, with all the emphasis of voice and action, he proceeded.
Where the Red Lion, etc. '
The verses then follow as they are printed in this volume; but
he is unable to induce his audience to submit to a further sample. In a
slightly different form, some of them were afterwards worked into 'The
Deserted Village', 1770. (See ll. 227-36. )
*[footnote] i. e. accord, conform.
l. 3. -----
"Where Calvert's butt, and Parsons' black champagne". The
Calverts and Humphrey Parsons were noted brewers of 'entire butt
beer' or porter, also known familiarly as 'British Burgundy' and
'black Champagne. ' Calvert's 'Best Butt Beer' figures on the
sign in Hogarth's 'Beer Street', 1751.
l. 10. -----
"The humid wall with paltry pictures spread". Bewick gives the
names of some of these popular, if paltry, decorations:--'In
cottages everywhere were to be seen the "Sailor's Farewell" and
his "Happy Return," "Youthful Sports," and the "Feats of
Manhood," "The Bold Archers Shooting at a Mark," "The Four
Seasons," etc. ' ('Memoir', 'Memorial Edition,' 1887, p. 263. )
l. 11. -----
"The royal game of goose was there in view". (See note, p. 188,
l. 232)
l. 12. -----
"And the twelve rules the royal martyr drew". (See note, p.
187, l. 232. )
l. 13. -----
"The Seasons, fram'd with listing". See note to l. 10 above, as
to 'The Seasons. ' Listing, ribbon, braid, or tape is still used
as a primitive 'encadrement'. In a letter dated August 15, 1758,
to his cousin, Mrs. Lawder (Jane Contarine), Goldsmith again
refers to this device. Speaking of some 'maxims of frugality'
with which he intends to adorn his room, he adds--'my landlady's
daughter shall frame them with the parings of my black
waistcoat. ' (Prior, 'Life', 1837, i. 271. )
l. 14. -----
"And brave Prince William". William Augustus, Duke of
Cumberland, 1721-65. The 'lamp-black face' would seem to imply
that the portrait was a silhouette. In the letter quoted on p.
200 it is 'Prussia's monarch' (i. e. Frederick the Great).
l. 17. -----
"With beer and milk arrears". See the lines relative to the
landlord in Goldsmith's above-quoted letter to his brother. In
another letter of August 14, 1758, to Robert Bryanton, he
describes himself as 'in a garret writing for bread, and
expecting to be dunned for a milk score. ' Hogarth's 'Distrest
Poet', 1736, it will be remembered, has already realized this
expectation.
l. 20. -----
"A cap by night--a stocking all the day". 'With this last
line,' says 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, i. 121, 'he [the
author] seemed so much elated, that he was unable to proceed:
"There gentlemen, cries he, there is a description for you;
Rab[e]lais's bed-chamber is but a fool to it:
'A cap by night--a stocking all the day! '
There is sound and sense, and truth, and nature in the trifling
compass of ten little syllables. "' (Letter xxix. ) Cf. also 'The
Deserted Village', l. 230:--
A bed by night, a chest of drawers by day.
If Goldsmith's lines did not belong to 1759, one might suppose
he had in mind the later 'Pauvre Diable' of his favourite
Voltaire. (See also APPENDIX B. )
ON SEEING MRS. ** PERFORM IN THE CHARACTER OF ****.
These verses, intended for a specimen of the newspaper Muse, are
from Letter lxxxii of 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 87,
first printed in 'The Public Ledger', October 21, 1760.
ON THE DEATH OF THE RIGHT HON. ***
From Letter ciii of 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 164,
first printed in 'The Public Ledger', March 4, 1761. The verses
are given as a 'specimen of a poem on the decease of a great
man. ' Goldsmith had already used the trick of the final line of
the quatrain in 'An Elegy on Mrs. Mary Blaize', ante, p. 198.
AN EPIGRAM.
From Letter cx of 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 193,
first printed in 'The Public Ledger', April 14, 1761. It had,
however, already been printed in the 'Ledger', ten days before.
Goldsmith's animosity to Churchill (cf. note to l. 41 of the
dedication to 'The Traveller') was notorious; but this is one of
his doubtful pieces.
l. 3. -----
"virtue". 'Charity' ('Author's note').
l. 4. -----
"bounty". 'Settled at One Shilling--the Price of the Poem'
('Author's note').
TO G. C. AND R. L.
From the same letter as the preceding. George Colman and Robert
Lloyd of the 'St. James's Magazine' were supposed to have helped
Churchill in 'The Rosciad', the 'it' of the epigram.
TRANSLATION OF A SOUTH AMERICAN ODE.
From Letter cxiii of 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 209,
first printed in 'The Public Ledger', May 13, 1761.
THE DOUBLE TRANSFORMATION.
'The Double Transformation' first appeared in 'Essays: By Mr.
Goldsmith", 1765, where it figures as Essay xxvi, occupying pp.
229-33. It was revised for the second edition of 1766, becoming
Essay xxviii, pp. 241-45. This is the text here followed. The
poem is an obvious imitation of what its author calls ('Letters
from a Nobleman to his Son', 1764, ii. 140) that 'French elegant
easy manner of telling a story,' which Prior had caught from La
Fontaine. But the inherent simplicity of Goldsmith's style is
curiously evidenced by the absence of those illustrations and
ingenious allusions which are Prior's chief characteristic. And
although Goldsmith included 'The Ladle' and 'Hans Carvel' in his
'Beauties of English Poesy', 1767, he refrained wisely from
copying the licence of his model.
l. 2. -----
"Jack Book-worm led a college life".
The version of 1765 reads 'liv'd' for 'led. '
l. 6. -----
"And freshmen wonder'd as he spoke".
The earlier version adds here--
Without politeness aim'd at breeding,
And laugh'd at pedantry and reading.
l. 18. -----
"Her presence banish'd all his peace".
Here in the first version the paragraph closes,
and a fresh one is commenced as follows:--
Our alter'd Parson now began
To be a perfect ladies' man;
Made sonnets, lisp'd his sermons o'er,
And told the tales he told before,
Of bailiffs pump'd, and proctors bit,
At college how he shew'd his wit;
And, as the fair one still approv'd,
He fell in love--or thought he lov'd.
So with decorum, etc.
The fifth line was probably a reminiscence of the college riot
in which Goldsmith was involved in May, 1747, and for his part
in which he was publicly admonished. (See 'Introduction', p. xi,
l. 3. )
l. 27. -----
"usage". This word, perhaps by a printer's error, is
'visage' in the first version
l. 39. -----
"Skill'd in no other arts was she". Cf. Prior:--
For in all Visits who but She,
To Argue, or to Repartee.
l. 46. -----
"Five greasy nightcaps wrapp'd her head". Cf.
'Spectator', No. 494--'At length the Head of the
Colledge came out to him, from an inner Room, with half
a Dozen Night-Caps upon his Head. ' See also Goldsmith's
essay on the Coronation ('Essays', 1766, p. 238), where
Mr. Grogan speaks of his wife as habitually 'mobbed up
in flannel night caps, and trembling at a breath of
air. '
l. 52. -----
"By day, 'twas gadding or coquetting". The first version after
'coquetting' begins a fresh paragraph with--
Now tawdry madam kept, etc.
l. 58. -----
"A sigh in suffocating smoke".
Here in the first version follows:--
She, in her turn, became perplexing,
And found substantial bliss in vexing.
Thus every hour was pass'd, etc.
l. 61. -----
"Thus as her faults each day were known". First version:
'Each day, the more her faults,' etc.
l. 71. -----
"Now, to perplex". The first version has 'Thus. '
But the alteration in line 61 made a change necessary.
l. 85. -----
"paste". First version 'pastes. '
l. 91. -----
"condemn'd to hack", i. e. to hackney, to plod.
A NEW SIMILE.
The 'New Simile' first appears in 'Essays: By Mr. Goldsmith, 1765, pp.
234-6, where it forms Essay xxvii. In the second edition of 1766 it
occupies pp. 246-8 and forms Essay xix. The text here followed is that
of the second edition, which varies slightly from the first. In both
cases the poem is followed by the enigmatical initials '*J. B. ,' which,
however, as suggested by Gibbs, may simply stand for 'Jack Bookworm' of
'The Double Transformation'. (See p. 204. )
l. 1. -----
"Long had I sought in vain to find". The text of 1765
reads--
'I long had rack'd my brains to find. '
l. 6. -----
"Tooke's Pantheon". Andrew Tooke (1673-1732) was first
usher and then Master at the Charterhouse. In the latter
capacity he succeeded Thomas Walker, the master of Addison and
Steele.
His 'Pantheon', a revised translation from the Latin of
the Jesuit, Francis Pomey, was a popular school-book of
mythology, with copper-plates.
l. 16. -----
"Wings upon either side--mark that". The petasus of
Mercury, like his sandals (l. 24), is winged.
l. 36. -----
"No poppy-water half so good". Poppy-water, made by
boiling the heads of the white, black, or red poppy, was a
favourite eighteenth-century soporific:--'Juno shall give her
peacock 'poppy-water', that he may fold his ogling tail. '
(Congreve's 'Love for Love', 1695, iv. 3. )
l. 42. -----
"With this he drives men's souls to hell".
Tu. . . .
. . . . virgaque levem coerces
Aurea turbam. --Hor. 'Od'. i. 10.
l. 57. "Moreover, Merc'ry had a failing".
Te canam. . . .
Callidum, quidquid placuit, iocoso
Condere furto. --Hor. 'Od'. i. 10.
Goldsmith, it will be observed, rhymes 'failing' and 'stealing. '
But Pope does much the same:--
That Jelly's rich, this Malmsey healing,
Pray dip your Whiskers and your tail in.
('Imitation of Horace', Bk. ii, Sat. vi. )
Unless this is to be explained by poetical licence, one of these
words must have been pronounced in the eighteenth century as it
is not pronounced now.
l. 59. -----
"In which all modern bards agree".
The text of 1765 reads 'our scribling bards. '
EDWIN AND ANGELINA.
This ballad, usually known as 'The Hermit', was written in or before
1765, and printed privately in that year 'for the amusement of the
Countess of Northumberland,' whose acquaintance Goldsmith had recently
made through Mr. Nugent. (See the prefatory note to 'The Haunch of
Venison'. ) Its title was "'Edwin and Angelina. A Ballad'. By Mr.
Goldsmith. " It was first published in 'The Vicar of Wakefield', 1766,
where it appears at pp. 70-7, vol. i. In July, 1767, Goldsmith was
accused [by Dr. Kenrick] in the 'St. James's Chronicle' of having taken
it from Percy's 'Friar of Orders Gray'. Thereupon he addressed a letter
to the paper, of which the following is the material portion:--
'Another Correspondent of yours accuses me of having taken a Ballad, I
published some Time ago, from one by the ingenious Mr. Percy. I do not
think there is any great Resemblance between the two Pieces in Question.
If there be any, his Ballad is taken from mine. I read it to Mr. Percy
some Years ago, and he (as we both considered these Things as Trifles at
best) told me, with his usual Good Humour, the next Time I saw him, that
he had taken my Plan to form the fragments of Shakespeare into a Ballad
of his own. He then read me his little Cento, if I may so call it, and I
highly approved it. Such petty Anecdotes as these are scarce worth
printing, and were it not for the busy Disposition of some of your
Correspondents, the Publick should never have known that he owes me the
Hint of his Ballad, or that I am obliged to his Friendship and Learning
for Communications of a much more important Nature. -- I am, Sir, your's
etc. OLIVER GOLDSMITH. ' ('St. James's Chronicle', July 23-5, 1767. ) No
contradiction of this statement appears to have been offered by Percy;
but in re-editing his 'Reliques of Ancient English Poetry' in 1775,
shortly after Goldsmith's death, he affixed this note to 'The Friar of
Orders Gray:-- 'As the foregoing song has been thought to have
suggested to our late excellent poet, Dr. Goldsmith, the plan of his
beautiful ballad of 'Edwin and Emma [Angelina]', first printed
[published? ] in his 'Vicar of Wakefield', it is but justice to his
memory to declare, that his poem was written first, and that if there is
any imitation in the case, they will be found both to be indebted to the
beautiful old ballad, 'Gentle Herdsman, etc. ', printed in the second
volume of this work, which the doctor had much admired in manuscript,
and has finely improved' (vol. i. p. 250). The same story is told, in
slightly different terms, at pp. 74-5 of the 'Memoir' of Goldsmith drawn
up under Percy's superintendence for the 'Miscellaneous Works' of 1801,
and a few stanzas of 'Gentle Herdsman', which Goldsmith is supposed to
have had specially in mind, are there reproduced. References to them
will be found in the ensuing notes. The text here adopted (with
exception of ll. 117-20) is that of the fifth edition of 'The Vicar of
Wakefield', 1773[4], i. pp. 78-85; but the variations of the earlier
version of 1765 are duly chronicled, together with certain hitherto
neglected differences between the first and later editions of the novel.
The poem was also printed in the 'Poems for Young Ladies', 1767, pp.
91-8*. The author himself, it may be added, thought highly of it. 'As to
my "Hermit," that poem,' he is reported to have said, 'cannot be
amended. ' (Cradock's 'Memoirs', 1828, iv. 286. )
[footnote] *This version differs considerably from the others, often
following that of 1765; but it has not been considered necessary to
record the variations here. That Goldsmith unceasingly revised the piece
is sufficiently established.
l. 1. -----
"Turn, etc. " The first version has --
Deign saint-like tenant of the dale,
To guide my nightly way,
To yonder fire, that cheers the vale
With hospitable ray.
l. 11. -----
"For yonder faithless phantom flies".
'The Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, has --
'For yonder phantom only flies. '
l. 30. -----
"All". 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, 'For. '
l. 31. -----
"Man wants but little here below". Cf. Young's 'Complaint',
1743, 'Night' iv. 9, of which this and the next line are a
recollection. According to Prior ('Life', 1837, ii. 83), they
were printed as a quotation in the version of 1765. Young's line
is--
Man wants but Little; nor that Little, long.
l. 35. -----
"modest". 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, 'grateful. '
l. 37. -----
"Far in a wilderness obscure". First version, and 'Vicar of
Wakefield', first edition:--
Far shelter'd in a glade obscure
The modest mansion lay.
l. 43. -----
"The wicket, opening with a latch". First version, and 'Vicar
of Wakefield', first edition:--
The door just opening with a latch.
l. 45. -----
"And now, when busy crowds retire". First version, and 'Vicar
of Wakefield', first edition:--
And now, when worldly crowds retire
To revels or to rest.
l. 57. -----
"But nothing, etc. " In the first version this stanza runs as
follows:--
But nothing mirthful could assuage
The pensive stranger's woe;
For grief had seized his early age,
And tears would often flow.
l. 78. -----
"modern". 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, reads 'haughty. '
l. 84. -----
"His love-lorn guest betray'd". First version, and 'Vicar of
Wakefield', first edition:--
The bashful guest betray'd.
l. 85. -----
"Surpris'd, he sees, etc. " First version, and 'Vicar of
Wakefield', first edition:--
He sees unnumber'd beauties rise,
Expanding to the view;
Like clouds that deck the morning skies,
As bright, as transient too.
l. 89. -----
"The bashful look, the rising breast". First version,
and 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition:--
Her looks, her lips, her panting breast.
l. 97. -----
"But let a maid, etc. " For this, and the next two stanzas,
the first version substitutes:--
Forgive, and let thy pious care
A heart's distress allay;
That seeks repose, but finds despair
Companion of the way.
My father liv'd, of high degree,
Remote beside the Tyne;
And as he had but only me,
Whate'er he had was mine.
To win me from his tender arms,
Unnumber'd suitors came;
Their chief pretence my flatter'd charms,
My wealth perhaps their aim.
l. 109. -----
"a mercenary crowd". 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, has:--
'the gay phantastic crowd. '
l. 111. -----
"Amongst the rest young Edwin bow'd". First version:--
Among the rest young Edwin bow'd,
Who offer'd only love.
l. 115. -----
"Wisdom and worth, etc. " First version, and 'Vicar of
Wakefield', first edition:--
A constant heart was all he had,
But that was all to me.
l. 117. -----
"And when beside me, etc. " For this 'additional stanza,' says
the 'Percy Memoir', p. 76, 'the reader is indebted to Richard
Archdal, Esq. , late a member of the Irish Parliament, to whom it
was presented by the author himself. ' It was first printed in
the 'Miscellaneous Works', 1801, ii. 25. In Prior's edition of
the 'Miscellaneous Works', 1837, iv. 41, it is said to have been
'written some years after the rest of the poem. '
l. 121. -----
"The blossom opening to the day, etc. " For this and the next
two stanzas the first version substitutes:--
Whene'er he spoke amidst the train,
How would my heart attend!
And till delighted even to pain,
How sigh for such a friend!
And when a little rest I sought
In Sleep's refreshing arms,
How have I mended what he taught,
And lent him fancied charms!
Yet still (and woe betide the hour! )
I spurn'd him from my side,
And still with ill-dissembled power
Repaid his love with pride.
l. 129. -----
"For still I tried each fickle art, etc. " Percy finds the
prototype of this in the following stanza of 'Gentle Herdsman':--
And grew soe coy and nice to please,
As women's lookes are often soe,
He might not kisse, nor hand forsoothe,
Unlesse I willed him soe to doe.
l. 133. -----
"Till quite dejected with my scorn, etc. " The first edition
reads this stanza and the first two lines of the next thus:--
Till quite dejected by my scorn,
He left me to deplore;
And sought a solitude forlorn,
And ne'er was heard of more.
Then since he perish'd by my fault,
This pilgrimage I pay, etc.
l.
mine, and hear with the same enthusiasm with which I have written. The
poem begins with the description of an author's bedchamber: the picture
was sketched in my own apartment; for you must know, gentlemen, that I
am myself the heroe. Then putting himself into the attitude of an
orator, with all the emphasis of voice and action, he proceeded.
Where the Red Lion, etc. '
The verses then follow as they are printed in this volume; but
he is unable to induce his audience to submit to a further sample. In a
slightly different form, some of them were afterwards worked into 'The
Deserted Village', 1770. (See ll. 227-36. )
*[footnote] i. e. accord, conform.
l. 3. -----
"Where Calvert's butt, and Parsons' black champagne". The
Calverts and Humphrey Parsons were noted brewers of 'entire butt
beer' or porter, also known familiarly as 'British Burgundy' and
'black Champagne. ' Calvert's 'Best Butt Beer' figures on the
sign in Hogarth's 'Beer Street', 1751.
l. 10. -----
"The humid wall with paltry pictures spread". Bewick gives the
names of some of these popular, if paltry, decorations:--'In
cottages everywhere were to be seen the "Sailor's Farewell" and
his "Happy Return," "Youthful Sports," and the "Feats of
Manhood," "The Bold Archers Shooting at a Mark," "The Four
Seasons," etc. ' ('Memoir', 'Memorial Edition,' 1887, p. 263. )
l. 11. -----
"The royal game of goose was there in view". (See note, p. 188,
l. 232)
l. 12. -----
"And the twelve rules the royal martyr drew". (See note, p.
187, l. 232. )
l. 13. -----
"The Seasons, fram'd with listing". See note to l. 10 above, as
to 'The Seasons. ' Listing, ribbon, braid, or tape is still used
as a primitive 'encadrement'. In a letter dated August 15, 1758,
to his cousin, Mrs. Lawder (Jane Contarine), Goldsmith again
refers to this device. Speaking of some 'maxims of frugality'
with which he intends to adorn his room, he adds--'my landlady's
daughter shall frame them with the parings of my black
waistcoat. ' (Prior, 'Life', 1837, i. 271. )
l. 14. -----
"And brave Prince William". William Augustus, Duke of
Cumberland, 1721-65. The 'lamp-black face' would seem to imply
that the portrait was a silhouette. In the letter quoted on p.
200 it is 'Prussia's monarch' (i. e. Frederick the Great).
l. 17. -----
"With beer and milk arrears". See the lines relative to the
landlord in Goldsmith's above-quoted letter to his brother. In
another letter of August 14, 1758, to Robert Bryanton, he
describes himself as 'in a garret writing for bread, and
expecting to be dunned for a milk score. ' Hogarth's 'Distrest
Poet', 1736, it will be remembered, has already realized this
expectation.
l. 20. -----
"A cap by night--a stocking all the day". 'With this last
line,' says 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, i. 121, 'he [the
author] seemed so much elated, that he was unable to proceed:
"There gentlemen, cries he, there is a description for you;
Rab[e]lais's bed-chamber is but a fool to it:
'A cap by night--a stocking all the day! '
There is sound and sense, and truth, and nature in the trifling
compass of ten little syllables. "' (Letter xxix. ) Cf. also 'The
Deserted Village', l. 230:--
A bed by night, a chest of drawers by day.
If Goldsmith's lines did not belong to 1759, one might suppose
he had in mind the later 'Pauvre Diable' of his favourite
Voltaire. (See also APPENDIX B. )
ON SEEING MRS. ** PERFORM IN THE CHARACTER OF ****.
These verses, intended for a specimen of the newspaper Muse, are
from Letter lxxxii of 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 87,
first printed in 'The Public Ledger', October 21, 1760.
ON THE DEATH OF THE RIGHT HON. ***
From Letter ciii of 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 164,
first printed in 'The Public Ledger', March 4, 1761. The verses
are given as a 'specimen of a poem on the decease of a great
man. ' Goldsmith had already used the trick of the final line of
the quatrain in 'An Elegy on Mrs. Mary Blaize', ante, p. 198.
AN EPIGRAM.
From Letter cx of 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 193,
first printed in 'The Public Ledger', April 14, 1761. It had,
however, already been printed in the 'Ledger', ten days before.
Goldsmith's animosity to Churchill (cf. note to l. 41 of the
dedication to 'The Traveller') was notorious; but this is one of
his doubtful pieces.
l. 3. -----
"virtue". 'Charity' ('Author's note').
l. 4. -----
"bounty". 'Settled at One Shilling--the Price of the Poem'
('Author's note').
TO G. C. AND R. L.
From the same letter as the preceding. George Colman and Robert
Lloyd of the 'St. James's Magazine' were supposed to have helped
Churchill in 'The Rosciad', the 'it' of the epigram.
TRANSLATION OF A SOUTH AMERICAN ODE.
From Letter cxiii of 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 209,
first printed in 'The Public Ledger', May 13, 1761.
THE DOUBLE TRANSFORMATION.
'The Double Transformation' first appeared in 'Essays: By Mr.
Goldsmith", 1765, where it figures as Essay xxvi, occupying pp.
229-33. It was revised for the second edition of 1766, becoming
Essay xxviii, pp. 241-45. This is the text here followed. The
poem is an obvious imitation of what its author calls ('Letters
from a Nobleman to his Son', 1764, ii. 140) that 'French elegant
easy manner of telling a story,' which Prior had caught from La
Fontaine. But the inherent simplicity of Goldsmith's style is
curiously evidenced by the absence of those illustrations and
ingenious allusions which are Prior's chief characteristic. And
although Goldsmith included 'The Ladle' and 'Hans Carvel' in his
'Beauties of English Poesy', 1767, he refrained wisely from
copying the licence of his model.
l. 2. -----
"Jack Book-worm led a college life".
The version of 1765 reads 'liv'd' for 'led. '
l. 6. -----
"And freshmen wonder'd as he spoke".
The earlier version adds here--
Without politeness aim'd at breeding,
And laugh'd at pedantry and reading.
l. 18. -----
"Her presence banish'd all his peace".
Here in the first version the paragraph closes,
and a fresh one is commenced as follows:--
Our alter'd Parson now began
To be a perfect ladies' man;
Made sonnets, lisp'd his sermons o'er,
And told the tales he told before,
Of bailiffs pump'd, and proctors bit,
At college how he shew'd his wit;
And, as the fair one still approv'd,
He fell in love--or thought he lov'd.
So with decorum, etc.
The fifth line was probably a reminiscence of the college riot
in which Goldsmith was involved in May, 1747, and for his part
in which he was publicly admonished. (See 'Introduction', p. xi,
l. 3. )
l. 27. -----
"usage". This word, perhaps by a printer's error, is
'visage' in the first version
l. 39. -----
"Skill'd in no other arts was she". Cf. Prior:--
For in all Visits who but She,
To Argue, or to Repartee.
l. 46. -----
"Five greasy nightcaps wrapp'd her head". Cf.
'Spectator', No. 494--'At length the Head of the
Colledge came out to him, from an inner Room, with half
a Dozen Night-Caps upon his Head. ' See also Goldsmith's
essay on the Coronation ('Essays', 1766, p. 238), where
Mr. Grogan speaks of his wife as habitually 'mobbed up
in flannel night caps, and trembling at a breath of
air. '
l. 52. -----
"By day, 'twas gadding or coquetting". The first version after
'coquetting' begins a fresh paragraph with--
Now tawdry madam kept, etc.
l. 58. -----
"A sigh in suffocating smoke".
Here in the first version follows:--
She, in her turn, became perplexing,
And found substantial bliss in vexing.
Thus every hour was pass'd, etc.
l. 61. -----
"Thus as her faults each day were known". First version:
'Each day, the more her faults,' etc.
l. 71. -----
"Now, to perplex". The first version has 'Thus. '
But the alteration in line 61 made a change necessary.
l. 85. -----
"paste". First version 'pastes. '
l. 91. -----
"condemn'd to hack", i. e. to hackney, to plod.
A NEW SIMILE.
The 'New Simile' first appears in 'Essays: By Mr. Goldsmith, 1765, pp.
234-6, where it forms Essay xxvii. In the second edition of 1766 it
occupies pp. 246-8 and forms Essay xix. The text here followed is that
of the second edition, which varies slightly from the first. In both
cases the poem is followed by the enigmatical initials '*J. B. ,' which,
however, as suggested by Gibbs, may simply stand for 'Jack Bookworm' of
'The Double Transformation'. (See p. 204. )
l. 1. -----
"Long had I sought in vain to find". The text of 1765
reads--
'I long had rack'd my brains to find. '
l. 6. -----
"Tooke's Pantheon". Andrew Tooke (1673-1732) was first
usher and then Master at the Charterhouse. In the latter
capacity he succeeded Thomas Walker, the master of Addison and
Steele.
His 'Pantheon', a revised translation from the Latin of
the Jesuit, Francis Pomey, was a popular school-book of
mythology, with copper-plates.
l. 16. -----
"Wings upon either side--mark that". The petasus of
Mercury, like his sandals (l. 24), is winged.
l. 36. -----
"No poppy-water half so good". Poppy-water, made by
boiling the heads of the white, black, or red poppy, was a
favourite eighteenth-century soporific:--'Juno shall give her
peacock 'poppy-water', that he may fold his ogling tail. '
(Congreve's 'Love for Love', 1695, iv. 3. )
l. 42. -----
"With this he drives men's souls to hell".
Tu. . . .
. . . . virgaque levem coerces
Aurea turbam. --Hor. 'Od'. i. 10.
l. 57. "Moreover, Merc'ry had a failing".
Te canam. . . .
Callidum, quidquid placuit, iocoso
Condere furto. --Hor. 'Od'. i. 10.
Goldsmith, it will be observed, rhymes 'failing' and 'stealing. '
But Pope does much the same:--
That Jelly's rich, this Malmsey healing,
Pray dip your Whiskers and your tail in.
('Imitation of Horace', Bk. ii, Sat. vi. )
Unless this is to be explained by poetical licence, one of these
words must have been pronounced in the eighteenth century as it
is not pronounced now.
l. 59. -----
"In which all modern bards agree".
The text of 1765 reads 'our scribling bards. '
EDWIN AND ANGELINA.
This ballad, usually known as 'The Hermit', was written in or before
1765, and printed privately in that year 'for the amusement of the
Countess of Northumberland,' whose acquaintance Goldsmith had recently
made through Mr. Nugent. (See the prefatory note to 'The Haunch of
Venison'. ) Its title was "'Edwin and Angelina. A Ballad'. By Mr.
Goldsmith. " It was first published in 'The Vicar of Wakefield', 1766,
where it appears at pp. 70-7, vol. i. In July, 1767, Goldsmith was
accused [by Dr. Kenrick] in the 'St. James's Chronicle' of having taken
it from Percy's 'Friar of Orders Gray'. Thereupon he addressed a letter
to the paper, of which the following is the material portion:--
'Another Correspondent of yours accuses me of having taken a Ballad, I
published some Time ago, from one by the ingenious Mr. Percy. I do not
think there is any great Resemblance between the two Pieces in Question.
If there be any, his Ballad is taken from mine. I read it to Mr. Percy
some Years ago, and he (as we both considered these Things as Trifles at
best) told me, with his usual Good Humour, the next Time I saw him, that
he had taken my Plan to form the fragments of Shakespeare into a Ballad
of his own. He then read me his little Cento, if I may so call it, and I
highly approved it. Such petty Anecdotes as these are scarce worth
printing, and were it not for the busy Disposition of some of your
Correspondents, the Publick should never have known that he owes me the
Hint of his Ballad, or that I am obliged to his Friendship and Learning
for Communications of a much more important Nature. -- I am, Sir, your's
etc. OLIVER GOLDSMITH. ' ('St. James's Chronicle', July 23-5, 1767. ) No
contradiction of this statement appears to have been offered by Percy;
but in re-editing his 'Reliques of Ancient English Poetry' in 1775,
shortly after Goldsmith's death, he affixed this note to 'The Friar of
Orders Gray:-- 'As the foregoing song has been thought to have
suggested to our late excellent poet, Dr. Goldsmith, the plan of his
beautiful ballad of 'Edwin and Emma [Angelina]', first printed
[published? ] in his 'Vicar of Wakefield', it is but justice to his
memory to declare, that his poem was written first, and that if there is
any imitation in the case, they will be found both to be indebted to the
beautiful old ballad, 'Gentle Herdsman, etc. ', printed in the second
volume of this work, which the doctor had much admired in manuscript,
and has finely improved' (vol. i. p. 250). The same story is told, in
slightly different terms, at pp. 74-5 of the 'Memoir' of Goldsmith drawn
up under Percy's superintendence for the 'Miscellaneous Works' of 1801,
and a few stanzas of 'Gentle Herdsman', which Goldsmith is supposed to
have had specially in mind, are there reproduced. References to them
will be found in the ensuing notes. The text here adopted (with
exception of ll. 117-20) is that of the fifth edition of 'The Vicar of
Wakefield', 1773[4], i. pp. 78-85; but the variations of the earlier
version of 1765 are duly chronicled, together with certain hitherto
neglected differences between the first and later editions of the novel.
The poem was also printed in the 'Poems for Young Ladies', 1767, pp.
91-8*. The author himself, it may be added, thought highly of it. 'As to
my "Hermit," that poem,' he is reported to have said, 'cannot be
amended. ' (Cradock's 'Memoirs', 1828, iv. 286. )
[footnote] *This version differs considerably from the others, often
following that of 1765; but it has not been considered necessary to
record the variations here. That Goldsmith unceasingly revised the piece
is sufficiently established.
l. 1. -----
"Turn, etc. " The first version has --
Deign saint-like tenant of the dale,
To guide my nightly way,
To yonder fire, that cheers the vale
With hospitable ray.
l. 11. -----
"For yonder faithless phantom flies".
'The Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, has --
'For yonder phantom only flies. '
l. 30. -----
"All". 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, 'For. '
l. 31. -----
"Man wants but little here below". Cf. Young's 'Complaint',
1743, 'Night' iv. 9, of which this and the next line are a
recollection. According to Prior ('Life', 1837, ii. 83), they
were printed as a quotation in the version of 1765. Young's line
is--
Man wants but Little; nor that Little, long.
l. 35. -----
"modest". 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, 'grateful. '
l. 37. -----
"Far in a wilderness obscure". First version, and 'Vicar of
Wakefield', first edition:--
Far shelter'd in a glade obscure
The modest mansion lay.
l. 43. -----
"The wicket, opening with a latch". First version, and 'Vicar
of Wakefield', first edition:--
The door just opening with a latch.
l. 45. -----
"And now, when busy crowds retire". First version, and 'Vicar
of Wakefield', first edition:--
And now, when worldly crowds retire
To revels or to rest.
l. 57. -----
"But nothing, etc. " In the first version this stanza runs as
follows:--
But nothing mirthful could assuage
The pensive stranger's woe;
For grief had seized his early age,
And tears would often flow.
l. 78. -----
"modern". 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, reads 'haughty. '
l. 84. -----
"His love-lorn guest betray'd". First version, and 'Vicar of
Wakefield', first edition:--
The bashful guest betray'd.
l. 85. -----
"Surpris'd, he sees, etc. " First version, and 'Vicar of
Wakefield', first edition:--
He sees unnumber'd beauties rise,
Expanding to the view;
Like clouds that deck the morning skies,
As bright, as transient too.
l. 89. -----
"The bashful look, the rising breast". First version,
and 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition:--
Her looks, her lips, her panting breast.
l. 97. -----
"But let a maid, etc. " For this, and the next two stanzas,
the first version substitutes:--
Forgive, and let thy pious care
A heart's distress allay;
That seeks repose, but finds despair
Companion of the way.
My father liv'd, of high degree,
Remote beside the Tyne;
And as he had but only me,
Whate'er he had was mine.
To win me from his tender arms,
Unnumber'd suitors came;
Their chief pretence my flatter'd charms,
My wealth perhaps their aim.
l. 109. -----
"a mercenary crowd". 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, has:--
'the gay phantastic crowd. '
l. 111. -----
"Amongst the rest young Edwin bow'd". First version:--
Among the rest young Edwin bow'd,
Who offer'd only love.
l. 115. -----
"Wisdom and worth, etc. " First version, and 'Vicar of
Wakefield', first edition:--
A constant heart was all he had,
But that was all to me.
l. 117. -----
"And when beside me, etc. " For this 'additional stanza,' says
the 'Percy Memoir', p. 76, 'the reader is indebted to Richard
Archdal, Esq. , late a member of the Irish Parliament, to whom it
was presented by the author himself. ' It was first printed in
the 'Miscellaneous Works', 1801, ii. 25. In Prior's edition of
the 'Miscellaneous Works', 1837, iv. 41, it is said to have been
'written some years after the rest of the poem. '
l. 121. -----
"The blossom opening to the day, etc. " For this and the next
two stanzas the first version substitutes:--
Whene'er he spoke amidst the train,
How would my heart attend!
And till delighted even to pain,
How sigh for such a friend!
And when a little rest I sought
In Sleep's refreshing arms,
How have I mended what he taught,
And lent him fancied charms!
Yet still (and woe betide the hour! )
I spurn'd him from my side,
And still with ill-dissembled power
Repaid his love with pride.
l. 129. -----
"For still I tried each fickle art, etc. " Percy finds the
prototype of this in the following stanza of 'Gentle Herdsman':--
And grew soe coy and nice to please,
As women's lookes are often soe,
He might not kisse, nor hand forsoothe,
Unlesse I willed him soe to doe.
l. 133. -----
"Till quite dejected with my scorn, etc. " The first edition
reads this stanza and the first two lines of the next thus:--
Till quite dejected by my scorn,
He left me to deplore;
And sought a solitude forlorn,
And ne'er was heard of more.
Then since he perish'd by my fault,
This pilgrimage I pay, etc.
l.
