Johnson also honoured the memory of his friend with the following Greek tetrastic : Τὸν τάφον ἐισοράας τον Ολιβάριοιο, κονίην Οἶσι μέμηλε φύσις. μέτρων χαρις, ἔργα παλαιῶν, Goldsmith's personal appearance was by no means prepossessing. His stature was under the middle size; his body strongly built; his features large and coarse; his complexion pale, or rather sallow; his forehead low his face almost round, and pitted with small pox. His address was that of an awkward pedant affecting the easy manners of a gentleman; and in his dress he was, by turns, slovenly to excess, and outrageously fine. Yet the concurring testimony of his contemporaries describes him as in no ordinary degree vain of his personal appearance, and as extremely impatient of the merriment which his pretensions in this respect provoked among his companions. The following amusing anecdote is recorded by Boswell, with his usual graphic power. He had invited a literary party to dine at his lodgings, and among others, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Johnson, Goldsmith, and Garrick. They had to wait some little time for one of the company who was late of arriving: "Goldsmith, to divert the tedious minutes, strutted about, bragging of his dress, and, I believe, was seriously vain of it, for his mind was wonderfully prone to such impressions. Come, come,' said Garrick, talk no more of that. * Imitated, Stranger, behold the tomb where Goldsmith lies, Nor with rash foot his awful dust profane : You are perhaps the worst-eh, eh!' Goldsmith was eagerly attempting to interrupt him, when Garrick went on, laughing ironically,- Nay! you will always look like a gentleman; but I am talking of being well or ill drest!' Well, let me tell you,' said Goldsmith, when my tailor brought home my bloom coloured coat, he said, Sir, I have a favour to beg of you. When anybody asks you who made your clothes, be pleased to mention John Filby, at the Harrow, in Water Lane.' JOHNSON.—'Why, Sir, that was because he knew the strange colour would attract crowds to gaze on it; and thus they might hear of him, and see how well he could make a coat even of so absurd a colour.'"* Upon another occasion, when he was travelling in France, in 1770, with two beautiful young ladies of the name of Horneck, and their mother, he was seriously offended that the young ladies excited more attention than himself. But his love of praise was not satisfied with claiming admiration for his personal appearance, or his mental accomplishments; he was also jealous of the applause which was earned by others for arts in which he could have no pretensions to excel, and for excellence which could not be to him a legitimate object of ambition. Happening to be present at an exhibition of the Fantoccini, when some one expressed his admiration of the dexterity with which a puppet was made to toss a pike, he could not bear to hear it praised, and exclaimed, with some warmth, "Pshaw! I can do it better myself.”† He afterwards went home with Mr Burke to supper, and broke his shin in attempting to exhibit to the company how much better he could jump over a stick than the Boswell's Life of Johnson. + Ibid. There is a somewhat different version of the same story told by Murphy in his Essay on the Life and Genius of Dr Johnson. puppets. So remarkable a feature of his character was this extreme unwillingness that any other should, for whatever cause, share that attention which he thought exclusively due to himself, that his companions sometimes took advantage of it to make him appear in a very ridiculous light. The following story, which, if related of any other man, would scarcely obtain credit, on any evidence, is told by Mr Croker, on the authority of his friend, Colonel O'Moore, who was himself present on the occasion: "One afternoon, as Colonel O'Moore and Mr Burke were going to dine with Sir Joshua Reynolds, they observed Goldsmith (also on his way to Sir Joshua s) standing near a crowd of people, who were staring and shouting at some foreign women in the windows of one of the houses in Leicester Square. 'Observe Goldsmith,' said Mr Burke to O'Moore, and mark what passes between him and me by and by at Sir Joshua's. They passed on, and arrived before Goldsmith, who came soon after, and Mr Burke affected to receive him very coolly. This seemed to vex poor Goldsmith, who begged Mr Burke would tell him how he had had the misfortune to offend him. Burke appeared very reluctant to speak, but, after a good deal of pressing, said, 'that he was really ashamed to keep up an intimacy with one who could be guilty of such monstrous indiscretions as Goldsmith had just exhibited in the Square.' Goldsmith, with great earnestness, protested he was unconscious of what was meant. 6 Why,' said Burke, 'did you not exclaim, as you were looking up at those women, What stupid beasts the crowd must be for staring with such admiration at those painted Jezebels, while a man of your talents passed by unnoticed?' Goldsmith was horror-struck, and said, 'Surely, surely, my dear friend, I did not say so?'. 'Nay,' replied Burke, 'if you had That's not said so, how should I have known it ?'. true,' answered Goldsmith, with great humility; 'I am very sorry-it was very foolish: I do recollect that something of the kind passed through my mind, but I did not think I had uttered it.'"* He was also envious of the reputation which any of his brother authors obtained by their writings; or perhaps we should rather say, that he was at no pains to conceal that jealousy which is generally felt of one another, by fellow-craftsmen, and by none more strongly than by those who belong to the irritable race of bards. As he had neither the art nor the prudence to conceal his spleen, he incurred the odium of ill nature, without exciting the sympathy which he aimed at. Of this unfortunate disposition, Boswell, in his Life of Johnson, has recorded numerous instances; but they are generally to be regarded rather as the indiscreet ebullitions of restless vanity than as proofs of a malicious disposition. Boswell indeed appears to have entertained an unaccountable grudge at Goldsmith, and misses no opportunity of presenting him in an unfavourable light: we must therefore take the character which he draws of him with some grains of allowance. There appears no reason, however, to doubt the general resemblance of the portrait, since his description is for the most part borne out by the testimony of other contemporaries who were disposed to view the poet's eccentricities with a more friendly eye, as Cumberland, Davies, and Dr Percy. We do not mention Sir John Hawkins, whose general malignity makes his statements questionable, and his portrait of no value; nor Mrs Piozzi, who, as a woman and a wit, may be suspected of writing sometimes with a greater regard for effect than love of truth. * Croker's edition of Boswell's Life of Johnson, vol. i. p. 423, note. That the impression which he made in society, was not equal to the reputation which he acquired by his writings is certain: that he was the mere idiot in conversation, which he is sometimes represented, may, we think, be fairly questioned. His misfortune was, that he had an unconquerable desire to shine in every company to which he was introduced, and upon every subject which chanced to be started in conversation. But for obtaining colloquial fame he was entirely disqualified by his eagerness of controversy, and the great hurry and confusion of his ideas, added to a confirmed habit of stammering, and incredible ignorance on general topics: for though his intellectual powers were such that he could easily make himself master of any study to which he chose to direct his application, his stock of available knowledge was always extremely limited; and even upon those subjects which he had treated in the most masterly manner in his closet, he would, in conversation, betray an ignorance altogether unaccountable. It was in reference to this, that Mr Chamier, after listening for some time to his conversation, said to a friend, “Well, I do believe he wrote this poem (the Traveller) himself, ana let me tell you this is a great deal." Another of his friends † observed of him, that no man was a greater fool when he had not a pen in his hand, nor wiser when he had. His fondness for paradox contributed to make his conversation still more absurd; and as he had no settled notions upon almost any subject, he often spoke at random, and was easily led into contradictions. This general character of his conversation is confirmed by almost all his literary friends, ‡ yet it is scarcely borne out by the specimens which Boswell gives, in his Life of Johnson, *Boswell's Life of Johnson. + Dr Johnson. Boswell, Percy, Hawkins Reynolds, Beattie, &c. |