GOLD LACE 



2529 



GOLDSMITH 



those greenish ancestors have sprung the dart- 

 ing creatures of aquariums everywhere, gleam- 

 ing pure gold in the sunshine. 



Goldfish can be purchased for from ten to 

 twenty-five cents each, depending chiefly on 

 the size. They grow to about five or six inches 

 in length, and have been known to live ten 

 years in an aquarium. They may live a 

 hundred years under perfect natural conditions. 

 They should be placed in water, not too cold, 

 in which some water-plant is growing and to 

 which a little fresh water is added each day, 

 and should be given a little sunshine, and fed 

 the prepared food sold for the purpose. 



GOLD LACE, a handsome fabric woven of 

 gilded silk thread, used for decorating uni- 

 forms, liveries, altar cloths and ecclesiastical 

 robes, banners and theatrical dress, as well as 

 for ornamentation in women's apparel. To 

 make the thread, a rod of silver is covered 

 with gold leaf and drawn between perforated 

 diamonds or rubies to make it into a fine wire. 

 The finest of such wire is so delicate that a 

 mile and a quarter of it weighs only an ounce. 

 It is then wound around with silk thread, and 

 the resulting thread of golden luster is woven 

 into lace. Silver lace is similarly made. 



GOLDSMITH, OLIVER (1728-1774), an Eng- 

 lish story-writer, essayist, dramatist and poet, ^ 

 the author of one of the earliest English novels, 

 The Vicar of Wakefield, and one of the best 

 comedies of the eighteenth century, She Stoops 

 to Conquer. The latter still holds the favor 

 of the public because of its uproarious fun. 

 As a poet he is remembered chiefly for The 

 Deserted Village, a poem which touchingly 

 describes the decay of the little town where he 

 spent his boyhood. Its opening lines are: 



Sweet Auburn ! loveliest village of the plain, 

 Where health and plenty cheered the laboring 



swain, 



Where smiling spring its earliest visit paid 

 And parting summer's lingering blooms delayed. 

 Dear lovely boWers of innocence and ease, 

 Seats of my youth, when every spot could please, 

 How often have I loitered o'er thy green, 

 Where humble happiness endeared each scene. 



The Deserted Village and The Vicar of 

 Wakefield both show a departure from the arti- 

 ficial standards of the eighteenth century; in 

 its sincerity and sympathy for nature and 

 humanity, the former belongs rather to the 

 new school of the nineteenth century (see 

 ROMANTICISM). The Vicar of Wakefield, a 

 delightful narrative of village life, is aimless 

 in plot and weakened by absurdities, but it 

 is justly admired for its simple and charming 

 159 



style, engaging humor and excellent character 

 drawing. Dr. Primrose, the vicar of Wakefield, 

 is one of the en- 

 during creations 

 in English fiction. 

 Goldsmith was 

 born in Ireland, 

 the son of a poor 

 curate who is 

 pictured in the 

 country parson of 

 The Deserted 

 Village. He was 

 a lazy and indif- 

 ferent student, 

 and his teachers OLIVER GOLDSMITH 



c A 1 1 P ri him i Much of his work is in- 

 1 a eluded among the literary 

 dullard. In 1744 treasures of English-speaking 

 , j m people. He wrote with grace 



ne entered Inn- and sweetness, and tender, 

 ity College, Dub- Pathetic charm, 

 lin, obtained a degree five years later, and after 

 his graduation made a trial of several profes- 

 sions, including the ministry, teaching and 

 medicine. In none of these did he meet with 

 success. The years between 1753 and 1756 he 

 spent in wandering about Europe, where he 

 sometimes earned his bread and lodging by 

 playing the flute for dancing peasants. 



Finally he took up literature, the one calling 

 for which he was suited. Beginning as a hack- 

 writer for London booksellers, he soon won the 

 notice of the great Samuel Johnson (which 

 see), who was charmed by the delightful style 

 of his letters, published in 1760 and the year 

 following under the title, A Citizen of the 

 World. It was not long before Goldsmith 

 found himself a member of the famous Liter- 

 ary Club to which belonged the greatest writ- 

 ers and artists of the period. In 1764 he 

 established his fame with the publication of 

 The Traveller, a poem equal in merit to The 

 Deserted Village, though it has never become 

 so popular. His literary work continued until 

 his premature death, in his forty-seventh year. 

 Among his writings not mentioned above are 

 several school histories, more attractively 

 written than accurate, and a comedy, The 

 Good-Nalured Man. 



Goldsmith's conversation had little of the 

 charm of his writings, and his friends took 

 great delight in an "epitaph" which said, 



Here lies Nolly Goldsmith, for shortness called 



Noll, 

 Who wrote like an angel and talked like poor Poll. 



Consult Dobson's Great Writers; Kelly's Early 

 Haunts of Oliver Goldsmith. 



