ADVERTISEMENT. THERE are an hundred faults in this Thing, and an hundred things might be faid to prove them beauties: but it is needlefs. A book may be amusing with numerous errors, or it may be very dull without a single abfurdity. The hero of this piece unites in himself the three greateft characters upon earth; he is a prieft, an husbandman, and the father of a family. He is drawn as ready to teach, and ready to obey; as simple in affluence, and majestic in adverfity. In this age of opulence and refinement, whom can fuch a character please? Such as are fond of high life, will turn with difdain from the fimplicity of his country fire-fide; fuch as mistake ribaldry for humour, will find no wit in his harmless converfation; and fuch as have been taught to deride religion, will laugh at one whose chief ftores of comfort are drawn from futurity. OLIVER GOLDSMITH. THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD. CHAP. I. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE FAMILY OF WAKEFIELD; IN WHICH A KINDRED LIKENESS PREVAILS AS WELL OF MINDS AS OF PERSONS. I Was ever of opinion, that the honeft man who married and brought up a large family, did more fervice than he who continued fingle, and only talked of population. From this motive, I had scarce taken orders a year, before I began to think seriously of matrimony, and chofe my wife as she did her wedding-gown, not for a fine gloffy furface, but fuch qualities as would wear well. To do her justice, she was a good-natured notable woman; and as for breeding, there were few country ladies who could fhew more. She could read any English book without much fpelling: but for pickling, preferving, and cookery, none could excel her. She prided herself alfo upon being an excellent contriver in house-keeping; though I could never find that we grew richer with all her contrivances. However, we loved each other tenderly, and our fondnefs increased as we grew old! There was in fact, nothing that could make us angry with the world, or each B other. We had an elegant house, fituated in a fine country, and a good neighbourhood. The year was spent in a moral or rural amusement; in vifiting our rich neighbours, and relieving fuch as were poor. We had no revolutions to fear, nor fatigues to undergo; all our adventures were by the fire-fide, and all our migrations from the blue bed to the brown. As we lived near the road, we often had the traveller or ftranger vifit us, to taste our goofcberry-wine, for which we had great reputation; and I profefs, with the veracity of an historian, that I never knew one of them find fault with it. Our coufins too, even to the fortieth remove, all remembered their affinity, without any help from the herald's office, and came very frequently to fee us. Some of them did us no great honour by these claims of kindred; as we had the blind, the maimed, and the halt, amongst the number. However, my wife always infifted, that as they were the same flesh and blood, they fhould fit with us at the fame table. So that if we had not very rich, we generally had very happy friends about us; for this remark will hold good through life, that the poorer the guest, the better pleased he ever is with being treated; and as fomé men gaze with admiration at the colours of á tulip, or the wing of a butterfly, fo I was by nature an admirer of happy human faces. However, when any one of our relations was found to be a perfon of a very bad character, a troublesome gueft, or one we defired to get rid of, upon his leaving my houfe, I ever took care to lend him a riding-coat, or a pair of boots, or fometimes an horse of fmall value, and I always had the fatisfaction of finding he never came back to return them. By this the house was cleared of fuch as we did not like; but never was the fa |