GOLD 
curacy, and brought on an early family, without any 
preferment in the church. Oliver was his fecund fon, 
and born very unexpectedly after an interval of feven 
years from the birth of the former child, and the libe¬ 
ral education which their father was then bettowing on 
liis eldelt fon bearing hard upon his fmall income, he 
could only propofe to bring up Oliver to fome mercan¬ 
tile employtitent. With this view he was inttrueted in 
reading, writing, and arithmetic, by a I'chool-malter in 
Jiis father’s village, who liad been a quarter-mailer in 
the army in queen Anne’s wars, in that detachment 
which was fent to Spain; having travelled over a con- 
fiderable part of Europe, and being of a romantic turn, 
lie ufed to entertain Oliver with his adventures; and 
the impreilions thefe made on his Icholar were believed 
by the family to have given him that wandering and tin- 
fettled turn which fo much appeared in his future life. 
Oliver, however, was from his earlieft infancy very dif¬ 
ferent from other children, fubjeCt to particular hu¬ 
mours, for tlie molt part uncommonly lerious and re- 
ferved, but when in gay fpirits none ever fo agreeable 
as he ; and he began at lb early a period to lliew figns 
of genius, that he quickly engaged the notice of all the 
friends of the family, many of whom were in the church. 
At the age of feven or eight he difeovered a natural 
turn for rhyming, and often amtifcd his father and his 
friends with early poetical attempts. V/hen he cottld 
fcarcely write legibly, he was always fcribbling verles, 
■which he burnt as he wrote them. Obferving his fond- 
nefs for books and learning, his mother, with whom he 
was always a favourite, pleaded with his father to give 
him a liberal education ; but his own narrow income, 
the expe'nce attending the education of his eldelt fon, 
and his numerous family, were Itrong objections. Oli¬ 
ver, in the mean time, was placed under the Rev. Mr. 
Griffin, then fchoolmafter of Elphin, and was received 
into the houfe of his father’s brother, John Goldfmith^ 
efq. of Ballyoughter near that town, who with his fa¬ 
mily confidered him as a prodigy for his age, and have 
handed down the following inltance of his early wit. 
“ A large company of young people of both fexes 
were ali'embled one evening at liis uncle’s ; and Oliver, 
then but nine years old, was required to dance to a 
youth then playing on a fiddle. Being but newly re¬ 
covered from the fmall-pox, by which he was much 
disfigured, and his figure being Ihort and thick, the mti- 
fician very archly, as he fuppofed, compared him to 
JEfop dancing ; and Hill harping on this idea which he 
conceived to be very bright, he had the laugh turned 
fuddenly againlt him, by Oliver’s ftopping Ihort in the 
dance with this retort : — 
Our herald hath proclaim’d this faying, 
See JE(op dancing, and his monkey playing.” 
This fmart reply decid’ed his fortune ; for from that 
time it was determined to fend him to the univerfity ; 
and fome of the relations, who were refpeCtable clergy¬ 
men, kindly offered to contribute towards the expence, 
particularly the Rev. Thomas Contarine, who had mar¬ 
ried Oliver’s aunt, a gentleman of dittinguifhed learning 
and good preferment. With this view lie was removed 
to the fchool of Athlone, about five miles from his fa¬ 
ther’s houfe, and was for about two years there under 
the Rev- Mr. Campbel, who had the charaCfer of being 
an ingenious mailer ; but he being obliged to refign the 
fchool for want of health, Oliver was fent to the Rev. 
Patrick Hughes, at Edgeworthllown, where he was fitted 
for the univerfity. 
In June 1744, Oliver was fent to Dublin College, and 
entered under the Rev. Mr. Wilder, one of the fel¬ 
lows, to whom, as he was the fon of a neighbouring 
gentleman, the young pupil v/as particularly recom¬ 
mended. But he was a man of harfli temper and vio¬ 
lent paffions, and Oliver no lei’s thoughilefs and un- 
giiarde,d, fo that they very fooii difagreed, Oliver 
SMITH. . CG7 
formed fome acquaintance in the .city of Dublin, and 
was indifereet enough to invite company of both fexes 
to partake of a lupper and a dance in his rooms. This 
circumltance, unfortunately for him, came to the ears 
ot his tutor, who abruptly entered in the midll of all 
tlieir gaiety, whicli he foon extinguiflied ; for he not 
only proceeded to the highefl excefs of perfbnal abufe, 
but concluded with manual chafiifement before all the 
company. Tl.e difgrace attendiiig this favage treat¬ 
ment drove the poor fludent into defpair, and he deter¬ 
mined never more to fee any of his friends, but to re¬ 
move to fome other country, where, totally unknown, 
he might feek his fortune. He accordingly difpofed of 
his books and clothes, and left the college, but loitered 
about in Dublin till he had only a ffiilling left in his 
pocket, when he fet out on his travels. His intention 
was to go on Ihip-board at Cork, for fome other coun¬ 
try, he knew not whither. On this Ihilling he fup- 
ported himfelf, as he affirmed, for three days, and then 
parting by degrees with the clothes off his back, was 
reduced to fuch extremity of famine, that, after falling 
twenty-four hours, he thought a handful of grey-peafe, 
given him by a girl at a W'ake, the moll comfortable re- 
palt he ever made. By this time he began to be fen- 
lible of his folly, and, like the prodigal fon, defirous of 
returning to his indulgent father. From his fatlier’s 
houfe he now' was not lb dillant but that he contrived 
to fend to his brother, who came to him, clothed and 
carried Itim back to college, where he effebted fome- 
thing of a reconciliation with his tutor ; but, as may 
eafily be imagined, they were nefer afterwards on cor¬ 
dial terms. 
Soon after this event his worthy father died, of whom 
he gives an account in the Citizen of the World, under 
the charatler of the man in black. His good uncle 
Contarine endeavoured to fupply his lofs, and wifhed 
him to prepare for holy orders. But for the clerical 
profeflion he had no liking, having aivvays a flrong in¬ 
clination for vifiting foreign countries ; and when he 
did apply to the bifhop, he was rejebled becaufe he w'as 
too young. His uncle however procured him the office 
of private tutor in the family of a neighbouring^gen¬ 
tleman, wliere he continued about a year; but being 
averfe to the neceffary confinement, lie quitted his 
friends, and having faved about thirty pounds, and pro¬ 
cured a good horfe, he left the country. His friends, 
after an abfence of fix weeks, without having heard 
what had become of him, concluded lie had quitted the 
kingdom ; when he fuddenly returned to his mother’s 
lioufe without a penny, upon a poor little horfe not 
worth twenty fhillings. His friends, as might be ex¬ 
pelled, were highly offended ; yet his brothers and lif¬ 
ters had contrived to meet him, and at length eftecled a 
reconciliation. Being requiretl to account for the lofs 
of his money and linen, and the horfe on which he had 
departed, he told them that he had been at Cork, where 
he had fold his horfe, ajtd paid for his palfage for Ame¬ 
rica to a captain of a fhip. But the winds proving 
contrary for three weeks, he had amufed liimfetf by 
feeing every thing curious in and about that city ; and 
on the day the wind proved fair, being engaged in an 
excurfion into the country, his friend, tlie captain, had 
fet fail without him. He continued in Cork till he had 
only two guineas left, out of v.'hich he paid forty fhil¬ 
lings for his hack ; and when he wifhed to return home, 
he had only the remaining change to carry him a journey 
of a hundred and twenty miles. 
""By the alliflance of his uncle Contarine, to whofe 
perlevering friendlhip he always acknovrledged himfelf 
greatly obliged, Goldlmith removed, about the year 
1752, from Ireland to Edinburgh, for the purpole of 
Undying phyfic. From Edinburgh he embarked for 
Holland, and paffing though Flanders, ' proceeded to 
Leyden; where he refided about a year, and ftudied 
cheiniflry under Gaubius, and anatomy under Albinus. 
In 
