CHAPTER XIIL Literary Projects.-Brooke's Natural History.-Martial Review.-Literary Club.Prefaces and Translations.-Letters from a Nobleman to his Son. It was probably about this period he projected an edition of Pope's works, with a life and notes, containing such illustrative matter as time had made public since the death of that distinguished poet. With this view he addressed a letter, which was known to be in existence a few years afterwards, to Tonson the bookseller in the Strand, detailing the design. But his name being unknown for poetry, and the publisher doubting either his weight in public opinion, his ability, or his diligence, did not deign to return a written answer, but desired a printer to call upon the gentleman in his name and give a verbal negative. This was at least discourteous; but as Tonson is represented to have been a good-natured man, we may attribute it rather to inadvertency than intentional insult, and at least believe he would not send an impertinent message whatever he may have thought of the supposed presumption of the proposal: an offensive reply however was delivered; and the messenger exhibiting other proofs of impertinence, Goldsmith attempted to chastise him; nor was it till after some violence had taken place that the combatants were separated. This story first transpired at the period of his assaulting Evans the bookseller, but with aggravations, such as that his adversary being the stronger, succeeded in rolling him in the kennel; the object being to fix upon him the charge of being prone to affrays arising from extreme irritability of temper. In the spring of the year 1763, about the period of ceasing to write the articles on Belles Lettres formerly mentioned in the British Magazine, he projected a work on biography, for which the cessation of Newbery's compendium on that subject presented, as he believed, an opening. The plan and probably part of the materials provided for the former work were submitted to Dodsley, who acceded to the proposal, and the following agreement was drawn up: it is transcribed from the original in the handwriting of Goldsmith, formerly in the possession of Mr. Nicol of Pall Mall, and now the property of Samuel Rogers, Esq., whose politeness in offering the use of it deserves acknowledgment: "It is agreed between Oliver Goldsmith, M. B. on one hand, and James Dodsley on the other, that Oliver Goldsmith shall write for James Dodsley a book called a Chronological History of the Lives of Eminent Persons of Great Britain and Ireland, or to that effect, consisting of about two volumes 8vo., about the same size and letter with the Universal History published in 8vo.; for the writing of which and compiling the same, James Dodsley shall pay Oliver Goldsmith three guineas for every printed sheet, so that the whole shall be delivered complete in the space of two years at farthest ; James Dodsley, however, shall print the above work in whatever manner or size he shall think fit, only the Universal History above mentioned shall be the standard by which Oliver Goldsmith shall expect to be paid. "Oliver Goldsmith shall be paid one moiety upon delivery of the whole copy complete, and the other moiety, one half of it at the conclusion of six months, and the other half at the expiration of twelve months next after the publication of the work, James Dodsley giving, however, upon the delivery of the whole copy, two notes for the money left unpaid. Each volume of the above intended work shall not contain more than five-and-thirty sheets, and if they should contain more, the surplus shall not be paid for by James Dodsley. Oliver Goldsmith shall print his name to the said work. "March 31st, 1763." "OLIVER GOLDSMITH. "JAMES DODSLEY. How far he proceeded in this undertaking, and why it was relinquished, are unknown. Upon such a subject, and with his powers of composition we have probably lost by the omission one of the pleasantest books in the language. There were, however, to one in his situation some difficulties attending its execution if meant to be a book of authority. Biography, however fascinating a theme, is not that which an author militant, who is dependent on his daily labour for his daily bread, should choose as a matter of profit. To write a life sometimes requires no inconsiderable portion of a life ;* at least to do it as it should be done when distinguished men are the subjects, minutely and well, to throw all the lights upon it that our engagement tacitly binds us whenever practicable to furnish; it is therefore under favourable circumstances only, as when the materials are all under the eye or within the immediate knowledge of the writer, that it can be written as a tale or an essay, currente calamo. Like history, of which it forms one of the most interesting portions, it should be a work of investigation; for a name, a date, or even a trifling fact, though abstractedly of little importance in itself, may require time and inquiry to authenticate, or if incorrectly Diligiven, is likely to create want of confidence in the author. gence in research is one of the necessary duties of a biographer, for the want of which genius cannot always compensate. Even Johnson's Lives of the Poets, admirable in all other respects, suffer in our estimation by their occasional deficiency in facts, which a little more time and labour might have supplied, and the want of which as causing a diminution of our pleasure, we may be permitted to regret. A similar objection would no doubt have applied to the lives by Goldsmith: what was simply indolence in Johnson, would in him * Boswell's Life of Johnson, and Middleton's Life of Cicero, the most complete biographies in our language, required a long time for their completion. have been indolence and the pressure of necessity combined. To the older lives he could probably have added little. In those of more recent date something more than every ones memory or library could supply, would have been expected in return for the demand made upon the public confidence by two octavo volumes from an accredited writer, and two years was much too short a time for serious or minute inquiry. Yet we are scarcely at liberty to speculate on the probable imperfections of any thing from a writer whose pen contained a charm able to compensate for obvious disadvantages. And if upon the subject of natural history, of which he knew practically little, he has written a book which with all its faults has been almost the only one consulted by general readers for sixty years past, what might not have been expected from his labours in biography? Two publications of Newbery about this period, "Description of Millennium Hall," the supposed seat of a society of ladies in the west of England, in March; and "The Wonders of Nature and Art, being an account of what is most curious and remarkable throughout the World," in four volumes, which appeared in May are supposed to be indebted to his pen for revision, and the latter for some additions to several of the subjects. No direct evidence of his participation in either appears; and the latter opinion may have originated in his acknowledged powers of furnishing amusement for youth. With another work of more pretensions from the same publisher, his connexion is better established, being employed not only to assist the author, but to revise, to recommend, and to introduce his book to more general favour by a preface and by introductions to the chief subjects which in clearness, spirit, and elegance no writer can hope to excel. The subject was Natural History, and the writer a physician whose name has been long familiar as the compiler of a Gazetteer. The advertisement (July 18th, 1763,) states that the whole of the work is printed off in six thick volumes duodecimo, and that on the 1st of August a volume, to be followed by one every succeeding month till completed, will appear, of "A new and accurate System of Natural History: containing, in vol. 1., The History of Quadrupeds; 2. of Birds; 3. of Fishes and Serpents; 4. of Insects; 5. of Mineral Waters; 6. of Vegetables, &c. By R. Brookes, M. D., Author of the General Practice of Physic, &c. &c." Appended to this announcement in the newspaper is the following persuasive to purchasers, as strongly indicative of the hand of Goldsmith as any thing to which he put his name; the first paragraph he introduced into the preface: "To the Public. "Of all the studies which have employed the industrious or amused the idle, perhaps Natural History deserves the preference: other sciences generally terminate in doubt or rest in bare speculation; but here every step is marked with certainty; and while a description of every object around us teaches to supply our wants, it satisfies our curiosity. "A comprehensive system, however, of this most pleasing science has been hitherto wanting. Nor is it a little surprising, when every other branch of literature has been of late cultivated with so much success, how this most interesting department should have been neglected. "How far the present performance has supplied the defects, and reformed the errors, of Natural History, is left to the public to determine. Those who have read the author's Practice of Physic, and his other medical and geographical compositions, will see evident marks not only of the philosopher but of the accurate and judicious traveller; and cannot doubt that his abilities were adequate to this undertaking, and that he had abundant opportunities to convince himself of the truth of what he had asserted. "He has indeed, one advantage over almost all former naturalists, namely that of having visited a variety of countries, and examined the productions of each upon the spot. Whatever America or the known parts of Africa have produced to excite curiosity has been carefully observed by him, and compared with the accounts of others. "This work, though comprised within the compass of six volumes, has employed great part of the author's life; and there is not a figure represented in any of the plates but what was drawn either by himself or his son under his inspection. Nor has the reader's convenience been less considered than his pleasure and improvement. Each of these volumes, if printed as works of this kind usually are, might have made a large quarto, and the whole have been sold for six guineas instead of eighteen shillings; but as the improvement of natural knowledge may conduce to the improvement of religion and piety, it was thought expedient to make this work as cheap as possible, that it might fall within the compass of every studious person, and that all might be acquainted with the great and wonderful works of nature, see the dependence of creature upon creature, and of all upon the Creator." The revision of this work, in addition to the matter supplied, occupied him several weeks; for the speculation being of moment to the bookseller, was not to be risked without all the aids that some knowledge and much genius could supply. Besides the preface, introduced into his miscellaneous works on their first collection, he wrote the introduction to the history of quadrupeds, which though known to be his by Bishop Percy, Isaac Reed, and others, found no place on that occasion, in consequence of the misunderstanding of the former already alluded to with the publishers, by which they lost his aid previous to publication. Aware of this omission, it occurred to the writer there might be others; and a close examination of the volumes rendered it certain by internal evidence, that, in addition to other traces of his pen, the introductions to the histories of Birds, of Fishes, of Insects, and of Botany, were his, the whole forming about eighty pages, characterized by his usual ingenuity of remark, philosophical spirit, and elegance of manner. Influenced by the same guide of internal evidence, he was led to reject the introduction to the fifth volume, giving an account of mineral waters, written probably by Brookes himself: the pen of Goldsmith is not to be traced in it; it simply states facts of their supposed combinations and uses in diseases, and therefore by its nature required no power of writing to excite the curiosity or propitiate the favour of the reader. This book never became popular, being too extensive perhaps too dry, for the juvenile description of readers, and too imperfect for those of more advanced age who required to be really instructed: the plates likewise were wretchedly executed; and the claim set up for the author, of having verified by personal examination all the productions noticed in his volumes belonging to America and the known parts of Africa, would appear, however extensively he may have travelled, impracticable, and thence have occasioned distrust in the general accuracy of his statements. Two years have elapsed since the preceding notice was written; and the conviction in the mind of the writer of the obligations of this book to Goldsmith have been recently fully confirmed. The first positive intimation was discovered in a newspaper announcement of Brookes's work in 1775, where it is stated by the publishers,* that "four volumes of this edition were corrected by Mr. Oliver Goldsmith," and subsequently more positive proofs have been put into his hands in the receipts for money for the assistance rendered which passed on the occasion. By these it appears his remuneration in the first instance was small; afterwards, in consideration of further labour in correction and revision and adding to the number of prefaces, the original sum in the following receipt was nearly trebled. "Oct. 11th, 1763.-Received of Mr. John Newbery eleven guineas in full, for writing the introductions and preface to Dr. Brookes's Natural History. "OLIVER GOLDSMITH.” Two items in another account state that Dr. Goldsmith is to have credit for "3 Prefaces to the Natural History Correcting 4 vols. Brookes's Nat. History £6 6 0 0 0 0" In another set of memorandums of the publisher, eighteen in number, to settle accounts with various persons, the sixteenth on the list is the following: "Mrs. Brookes's, and charge for alterations made in the plates and the printed copy that was obliged to be cancelled £26 0 0 "And to Dr. Goldsmith, writing prefaces, and correcting the work 30 0 0 During the summer, he appears to have been frequently in London, notwithstanding a press of literary occupation, enjoying with *Carnan and Newbery :-it appeared in opposition to "Animated Nature." |