In all my wanderings round this world of care, In all my griefs--and God has given my share-- I still had hopes my latest hours to crown, Amidst these humble bowers to lay me down; To husband out life’s taper at the close, And keep the flame from wasting by repose: I still had hopes, for pride attends us still, Amidst the swains to show my book-learned skill,-- Around my fire an evening group to draw, And tell of all I felt, and all I saw; And as a hare whom hounds and horns pursue, Pants to the place from whence at first he flew, I still had hopes, my long vexations past, Here to return--and die at home at last. _The Deserted Village_ Goldsmith’s miscellaneous poems are important, for they include some of his characteristic humorous and pathetic writing. The ballad called _The Hermit_ is done in the sentimental fashion, the witty _Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog_ is suggestive of Swift without Swift’s savage barb, and the fine lines beginning “When lovely woman stoops to folly” are among the best he ever wrote. =3. His Drama.= Goldsmith wrote two prose comedies, both of which rank high among their class. The first, called _The Good-natured Man_ (1768), is not so good as the second, _She Stoops to Conquer_ (1773). Each, but especially the latter, is endowed with an ingenious and lively plot, a caste of excellent characters, and a vivacious and delightful style. Based on the Restoration comedy, they lack the Restoration grossness. The second play had an immense popularity, and even yet it is sometimes staged. =4. His Prose.= The prose is of astonishing range and volume. Among his works of fiction we find _The Citizen of the World_ (1759), a series of imaginary letters from a Chinaman, whose comments on English society are both simple and shrewd. This series was contributed to _The Public Ledger_, a popular magazine. He wrote many other essays in the manner of Addison, almost as well done as those of Addison. His other important work of fiction is his novel _The Vicar of Wakefield_ (1766), which is in the first rank of the eighteenth-century novels. The plot of the novel is simple, but fairly well handled, the characters are human and attractive, and the book has all the Goldsmith qualities of humor and pathos. We give an example of his style. The passage is taken from one of his essays, in which he sketches the character of a man who, while he pretends to be hard-hearted, is in reality of a generous disposition. The humor is typical; it is artless, but it is acute and pervading, and shows us quite plainly that the writer was by no means the zany that Boswell (who disliked Goldsmith) desired us to imagine in his _Life of Johnson_.