[ 8'4 1 



ciently deep in his writings. Some of them being fuch as 

 he could not but know to be his faults, difclofe themfelves 

 by his efforts to palliate and defend them ; others are feen 

 cither through his ignorance of their exiftence, or his ignorance 

 of any inode by which they might be concealed. For that 

 even Goldfmith made fome attempts at concealing his Angu- 

 larities is I think evident from his flriking out of the Vicar 

 of Wakefield the following, deemed by Johnfon a fine pafTage, 

 w^hich originally was in it. " When I was a young man, being 

 " anxious to diftinguifh myfelf, I was perpetually ftarting new 

 " propofitions. But I foon gave this over, for I found that 

 " generally what was new was falfe." The only reafon to be 

 conjedlured for his fuppreffing this was a confcioufnefs that the 

 fault fpecified was the fault of his youth, and that the reafoning 

 which condemned it was not in his advanced age ftrong enough 

 to oppofe his anxiety to diftinguifh himfelf, or to prevent its 

 betraying itfelf in his converfation by dogmatical, ridiculous and 

 paradoxical aflertions. 



Goldsmith has drawn all his principal perfonages axikwardly 

 ignorant of the world, as if he had wifhed to infinuate that 

 this quality is generally an afTociate of virtue, and a necefTary 

 component part of an amiable character. His Good-natured 

 Man, Young Marlow, and Vicar of Wakefield agree in this 

 particular with each other, becaufe in this particular they all 

 agree with the author himfelf. Goldfmith's plots and ftories 

 fhew the very fame quality : they ufually turn on incidents 

 which an author who knew the world could never for a moment 



fuppofe 



