Oliver Goldsmith (b. 1728, d. 1774) was born at Pallas, or Pallasmore, in the parish of Forney, Ireland. He received his education at several schools, at Trinity College, Dublin, at Edinburgh, and at Leyden. He spent some time in wandering over continental Europe, often in poverty and want.
In 1756 he became a resident of London, where he made the acquaintance of several celebrated men, among whom were Dr. Johnson and Sir Joshua Reynolds. His writings are noted for their purity, grace, and fluency. His fame as a poet is secured by "The Traveler," and "The Deserted Village;"
as a dramatist, by "She Stoops to Conquer;" and as a novelist, by "The Vicar of Wakefield." His reckless extravagance always kept him in financial difficulty, and he died heavily in debt. His monument is in Westminster Abbey.
1. Good people all, with one accord, Lament for Madam Blaize, Who never wanted a good word-- From those who spoke her praise.
2. The needy seldom pa.s.sed her door, And always found her kind; She freely lent to all the poor-- Who left a pledge behind.
3. She strove the neighborhood to please, With manner wondrous winning: She never followed wicked ways-- Unless when she was sinning.
4. At church, in silks and satin new, With hoop of monstrous size, She never slumbered in her pew-- But when she shut her eyes.
5. Her love was sought, I do aver, By twenty beaux and more; The king himself has followed her When she has walked before.
6. But now, her wealth and finery fled, Her hangers-on cut short all, Her doctors found, when she was dead-- Her last disorder mortal.
7. Let us lament, in sorrow sore; For Kent Street well may say, That, had she lived a twelvemonth more-- She had not died to-day.
DEFINITIONS.--1. Ac-cord", agreement of opinion, consent. 2. Pledge, personal property delivered to another as a security for a debt. 6.
Hang"ers-on, followers. Mor"tal, destructive to life.
XXIII. KING CHARLES II AND WILLIAM PENN.
King Charles. Well, friend William! I have sold you a n.o.ble province in North America; but still, I suppose you have no thoughts of going thither yourself?
Penn. Yes, I have, I a.s.sure thee, friend Charles; and I am just come to bid thee farewell.
K.C. What! venture yourself among the savages of North America! Why, man, what security have you that you will not be in their war kettle in two hours after setting foot on their sh.o.r.es?
P. The best security in the world.
K.C. I doubt that, friend William; I have no idea of any security against those cannibals but in a regiment of good soldiers, with their muskets and bayonets. And mind, I tell you beforehand, that, with all my good will for you and your family, to whom I am under obligations, I will not send a single soldier with you.
P. I want none of thy soldiers, Charles: I depend on something better than thy soldiers.
K.C. Ah! what may that be?
P. Why, I depend upon themselves; on the working of their own hearts; on their notions of justice; on their moral sense.
K.C. A fine thing, this same moral sense, no doubt; but I fear you will not find much of it among the Indians of North America.
P. And why not among them as well as others?
K.C. Because if they had possessed any, they would not have treated my subjects so barbarously as they have done.
P. That is no proof of the contrary, friend Charles. Thy subjects were the aggressors. When thy subjects first went to North America, they found these poor people the fondest and kindest creatures in the world. Every day they would watch for them to come ash.o.r.e, and hasten to meet them, and feast them on the best fish, and venison, and corn, which were all they had. In return for this hospitality of the savages, as we call them, thy subjects, termed Christians, seized on their country and rich hunting grounds for farms for themselves. Now, is it to be wondered at, that these much-injured people should have been driven to desperation by such injustice; and that, burning with revenge, they should have committed some excesses?
K C. Well, then, I hope you will not complain when they come to treat you in the same manner.
P. I am not afraid of it.
K.C. Ah! how will you avoid it? You mean to get their hunting grounds, too, I suppose?
P. Yes, but not by driving these poor people away from them.
K.C. No, indeed? How then will you get their lands?
P. I mean to buy their lands of them.
K.C. Buy their lands of them? Why, man, you have already bought them of me!
P. Yes, I know I have, and at a dear rate, too; but I did it only to get thy good will, not that I thought thou hadst any right to their lands.
K.C. How, man? no right to their lands?
P. No, friend Charles, no right; no right at all: what right hast thou to their lands?
K.C. Why, the right of discovery, to be sure; the right which the Pope and all Christian kings have agreed to give one another.
P. The right of discovery? A strange kind of right, indeed. Now suppose, friend Charles, that some canoe load of these Indians, crossing the sea, and discovering this island of Great Britain, were to claim it as their own, and set it up for sale over thy head, what wouldst thou think of it?
K.C. Why--why--why--I must confess, I should think it a piece of great impudence in them.
P. Well, then, how canst thou, a Christian, and a Christian prince, too, do that which thou so utterly condemnest in these people whom thou callest savages? And suppose, again, that these Indians, on thy refusal to give up thy island of Great Britain, were to make war on thee, and, having weapons more destructive than thine, were to destroy many of thy subjects, and drive the rest away--wouldst thou not think it horribly cruel?
K. C. I must say, friend William, that I should; how can I say otherwise?
P. Well, then, how can I, who call myself a Christian, do what I should abhor even in the heathen? No. I will not do it. But I will buy the right of the proper owners, even of the Indians themselves. By doing this, I shall imitate G.o.d himself in his justice and mercy, and thereby insure his blessing on my colony, if I should ever live to plant one in North America.
--Mason L. Weems.
DEFINITIONS.--Can"ni-bals, human beings that eat human flesh. Reg"i-ment, a body of troops, consisting usually of ten companies. Ag-gress"ors, those who first commence hostilities. Ven"i-son (pro. ven"i-zn, or ven"zn), the flesh of deer. Ex-cess"es, misdeeds, evil acts. Con-demn"est (pro.
kon-dem"est), censure, blame.
NOTES.--Charles II. was king of England from A.D. 1660 to 1685. William Penn (b. 1644, d. 1718) was a noted Englishman who belonged to the sect of Friends. He came to America in 1682, and founded the province which is now the state of Pennsylvania.
He purchased the lands from the Indians, who were so impressed with the justice and good will of Penn and his a.s.sociates, that the Quaker dress often served as a sure protection when other settlers were trembling for their lives.
XXIV. WHAT I LIVE FOR.
1. I live for those who love me, Whose hearts are kind and true; For the heaven that smiles above me, And awaits my spirit, too; For all human ties that bind me, For the task my G.o.d a.s.signed me, For the bright hopes left behind me, And the good that I can do.
2. I live to learn their story, Who suffered for my sake; To emulate their glory, And follow in their wake; Bards, patriots, martyrs, sages, The n.o.ble of all ages, Whose deeds crown History"s pages, And Time"s great volume make.
3. I live to hail that season, By gifted minds foretold, When man shall live by reason, And not alone by gold; When man to man united, And every wrong thing righted, The whole world shall be lighted As Eden was of old.