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The beauties of Goldsmith, or, The complete treasury of genius
The beauties of Goldsmith or The complete treasury of genius Author:Oliver Goldsmith Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ... " Another feature in bis character we cannot help hying before the reader. Previous to the publication of his Dusei.-ted tillage, the bookseller had given hi... more »m A note for one hundred guineas for the copy ; whick the Doctor mentioned, a few hours after, to one of hi friends, who observed it was 41 very great sum for so short. a performance. 'In truth/ replied Goldsmith, ' I think so too; it is much more than the honest man can afford, or the piece is worth ; I have not been easy jince I received JU therefore I will go back and return him his note ;' which he absolutely did, and left it entirely to the bookseller to pay him according to the profits produced by dm sale of the poeru, whick i ,t:.!;.tfl-.i O"i i-fl t'..'. . ' '5 During the last rehearsal of his comedy, intitkxl, She Stoops to Conquer, which Mr. Coleman bad n opinion would succeed, on the Doctor's objecting to JJ?e repetition of one of Tony Lumpkin's speeches, being apprehensive it might injure the play, the manager with great keenness replied, ' Pshti, my dear Doctor, do not be (earful of squibs, when we have been sitting almost these two hours upon a barrel of jgunpowder !' The piece, hovvevr, contrary to Mr. Coleman'-; expectation, was received with uncommort applause b) the audience ; and Goldsmith's pride was so hurt by the severity of the above observation, that it entirely put on end to his friendship for the ge:itle- man who made it. " Notwithstanding ine great success of his pieces, . by soineof which, it is asserted, upon good authority, he cleared ISOCl. m fine year, his circumstances were by no means in :a prosperous situation ! partly owing to the liberality of his .disposition, aiid partly to an un- i'ur.tunate habit he had coutrauted.ot aivinu, (hearts of which he -knew very little...« less