Oliver Goldsmith | Page 6

no such thing; as usual, her influence prevailed, and
Oliver, instead of being instructed in some humble but cheerful and
gainful handicraft, was devoted to poverty and the Muse.
A severe attack of the small-pox caused him to be taken from under the
care of his story-telling preceptor, Byrne. His malady had nearly
proved fatal, and his face remained pitted through life. On his recovery
he was placed under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Griffin, schoolmaster of
Elphin, in Roscommon, and became an inmate in the house of his uncle,
John Goldsmith, Esq., of Ballyoughter, in that vicinity. He now entered
upon studies of a higher order, but without making any uncommon
progress. Still a careless, easy facility of disposition, an amusing
eccentricity of manners, and a vein of quiet and peculiar humor,
rendered him a general favorite, and a trifling incident soon induced his
uncle's family to concur in his mother's opinion of his genius.
A number of young folks had assembled at his uncle's to dance. One of
the company, named Cummings, played on the violin. In the course of
the evening Oliver undertook a hornpipe. His short and clumsy figure,
and his face pitted and discolored with the small-pox, rendered him a
ludicrous figure in the eyes of the musician, who made merry at his
expense, dubbing him his little Aesop. Goldsmith was nettled by the
jest, and, stopping short in the hornpipe, exclaimed:
"Our herald hath proclaimed this saying, See Aesop dancing, and his
monkey playing."
The repartee was thought wonderful for a boy of nine years old, and
Oliver became forthwith the wit and the bright genius of the family. It
was thought a pity he should not receive the same advantages with his
elder brother Henry, who had been sent to the University; and, as his
father's circumstances would not afford it, several of his relatives,
spurred on by the representations of his mother, agreed to contribute
toward the expense. The greater part, however, was borne by his uncle,
the Rev. Thomas Contarine. This worthy man had been the college

companion of Bishop Berkeley, and was possessed of moderate means,
holding the living of Carrick-on-Shannon. He had married the sister of
Goldsmith's father, but was now a widower, with an only child, a
daughter, named Jane. Contarine was a kind-hearted man, with a
generosity beyond his means. He took Goldsmith into favor from his
infancy; his house was open to him during the holidays; his daughter
Jane, two years older than the poet, was his early playmate, and uncle
Contarine continued to the last one of his most active, unwavering, and
generous friends.
Fitted out in a great measure by this considerate relative, Oliver was
now transferred to schools of a higher order, to prepare him for the
University; first to one at Athlone, kept by the Rev. Mr. Campbell, and,
at the end of two years, to one at Edgeworthstown, under the
superintendence of the Rev. Patrick Hughes.
Even at these schools his proficiency does not appear to have been
brilliant. He was indolent and careless, however, rather than dull, and,
on the whole, appears to have been well thought of by his teachers. In
his studies he inclined toward the Latin poets and historians; relished
Ovid and Horace, and delighted in Livy. He exercised himself with
pleasure in reading and translating Tacitus, and was brought to pay
attention to style in his compositions by a reproof from his brother
Henry, to whom he had written brief and confused letters, and who told
him in reply that if he had but little to say to endeavor to say that little
well.
The career of his brother Henry at the University was enough to
stimulate him to exertion. He seemed to be realizing all his father's
hopes, and was winning collegiate honors that the good man considered
indicative of his future success in life.
In the meanwhile Oliver, if not distinguished among his teachers, was
popular among his schoolmates. He had a thoughtless generosity
extremely captivating to young hearts; his temper was quick and
sensitive, and easily offended; but his anger was momentary, and it was
impossible for him to harbor resentment. He was the leader of all
boyish sports and athletic amusements, especially ball-playing, and he

was foremost in all mischievous pranks. Many years afterward, an old
man, Jack Fitzimmons, one of the directors of the sports and keeper of
the ball-court at Ballymahon, used to boast of having been schoolmate
of "Noll Goldsmith," as he called him, and would dwell with vainglory
on one of their exploits, in robbing the orchard of Tirlicken, an old
family residence of Lord Annaly. The exploit, however, had nearly
involved disastrous consequences; for the crew of juvenile depredators
were captured, like Shakespeare and his deer-stealing colleagues, and