Old and New London, Volume I: A Narrative of Its History, Its People, and Its PlacesThornbury, Walter
History
Old and New London, Volume I: A Narrative of Its History, Its People, and Its Places
Thornbury, Walter
London (England) -- Description and travel; London (England) -- History
On the partial success of _The Good-Natured Man_ (January, 1768),
Goldsmith, having cleared L500, broke out like a successful gambler. He
purchased a set of chambers (No. 2, up two pairs of stairs, in Brick
Court) for L400, squandered the remaining L100, ran in debt to his
tailor, and borrowed of Mr. Bolt, a man on the same floor. He purchased
Wilton carpets, blue merino curtains, chimney-glasses, book-cases, and
card-tables, and, by the aid of Filby, enrobed him in a suit of Tyrian
bloom, satin grain, with darker blue silk breeches, price L8 2s. 7d.,
and he even ventured at a more costly suit, lined with silk and
ornamented with gilt buttons. Below him lived that learned lawyer, Mr.
Blackstone, then poring over the fourth volume of his precious
"Commentaries," and the noise and dancing overhead nearly drove him mad,
as it also did a Mr. Children, who succeeded him. What these noises
arose from, Mr. Forster relates in his delightful biography of the poet.
An Irish merchant named Seguin "remembered dinners at which Johnson,
Percy, Bickerstaff, Kelly, 'and a variety of authors of minor note,'
were guests. They talked of supper-parties with younger people, as well
in the London chambers as in suburban lodgings; preceded by blind-man's
buff, forfeits, or games of cards; and where Goldsmith, festively
entertaining them all, would make frugal supper for himself off boiled
milk. They related how he would sing all kinds of Irish songs; with what
special enjoyment he gave the Scotch ballad of 'Johnny Armstrong' (his
old nurse's favourite); how cheerfully he would put the front of his wig
behind, or contribute in any other way to the general amusement; and to
what accompaniment of uncontrolled laughter he once 'danced a minuet
with Mrs. Seguin.'"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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