THE LIFE. OF DR. OLIVER GOLDSMITH. THE life of a scholar,' our author obferves in the account prefixed to the Works of Parnell, 'feldom abounds with adventures. His fame is acquired in folitude. And the historian who only views him at a diftance, must be content with a dry detail of actions by which he is scarcely diftinguished from the rest of mankind.'—This is indeed true with respect to the generality of writers, whofe lives, marked with few incidents, and thofe of an uninterefting nature, are paffed in fludy and too frequently in obfcurity.-Very different indeed was the fate of Dr. Goldsmith, the events of whose life were various and checquered, and whose memoirs are replete with curious and entertaining matter. OLIVER GOLDSMITH was born on the twentyninth day of November, 1728, at a place called Pallas, in the parish of Forney and county of Longford in Ireland. His father, the Rev. Charles Goldfmith, a native of the county of Rofcommon, was a Clergyman of the established Church, and had been educated at Dublin College. Though he afterwards obtained VOL. I. b obtained the living of Kilkenny Weft in the county of Westmeath, yet before he had acquired any preferment, he married Anne, daughter of the Rev. Oliver Jones, mafter of the Diocefan School of Elphin. Her mother's brother the Rev. Mr. Green, at that time Rector of Kilkenny Weft, lent the young couple the house in which our poet was born; and at his death the Rev. Charles Goldfmith fucceeded him in his benefice. It was a tradition in our poet's family, that they were defcended from a Spanish gentleman named Juan Romeiro, who had fometime in the fixteenth century come into Ireland, with a Spanifh nobleman; to whom with modern ideas they fuppofed him to have been tutor or guardian; and that fettling in Ireland, from a marriage with a wife of the name of Goldfmith, his defcendants affumed her English name. Although Oliver had evidently his chriftian name from his mother's father, yet he used to affert, that it had been introduced into her family by fome affinity or connexion with that of the Protector Oliver Cromwell; he alfo claimed kindred to that of General Wolfe. Of our poet's early life and character, and of fome remarkable adventures at school and at college, we have a curious account by his eldeft fifter Catharine, * Communicated by the Right Reverend Dr. Law, bishop of Elphin. |