The first of his family to feel the effects of this economy was Oliver. The
time had now arrived for him to be sent to the University, and,
accordingly, on the 11th of June, 1747, when sixteen years of age, he
entered Trinity College, Dublin; but his father was no longer able to place
him there as a pensioner, as he had done his eldest son Henry; he was
obliged, therefore, to enter him as a sizer or "poor scholar." He was
lodged in one of the top rooms adjoining the library of the building,
numbered 35, where it is said his name may still be seen, scratched by
himself upon a window frame.
A student of this class is taught and boarded gratuitously, and has to pay
but a very small sum for his room. It is expected, in return for these
advantages, that he will be a diligent student, and render himself useful
in a variety of ways. In Trinity College, at the time of Goldsmith's
admission, several derogatory and indeed menial offices were exacted from
the sizer, as if the college sought to indemnify itself for conferring
benefits by inflicting indignities. He was obliged to sweep part of the
courts in the morning, to carry up the dishes from the kitchen to the
fellows' table, and to wait in the hall until that body had dined.
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