So little of it, in fact, fell to Goldsmith's share, that we speedily
find him reduced to the rank of reader and corrector of the press to
Samuel Richardson, printer, of Salisbury Court, author of 'Clarissa'.
Later still he is acting as help or substitute in Dr. Milner's
'classical academy' at Peckham. Here, at last, chance seemed to open to
him the prospect of a literary life. He had already, says report,
submitted a manuscript tragedy to Richardson's judgement; and something
he said at Dr. Milner's table attracted the attention of an occasional
visitor there, the bookseller Griffiths, who was also proprietor of the
'Monthly Review'. He invited Dr. Milner's usher to try his hand at
criticism; and finally, in April, 1757, Goldsmith was bound over for a
year to that venerable lady whom George Primrose dubs 'the 'antiqua
mater' of Grub Street'--in other words, he was engaged for bed, board,
and a fixed salary to supply copy-of-all-work to his master's magazine.
The arrangement thus concluded was not calculated to endure.
Pages:
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39