THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD A TALE SUPPOSED TO BE WRITTEN BY HIMSELF BY OLIVER GOLDSMITH Sperate miseri, cavete felices EDITED BY JAMES GILBERT RIGGS, A. M. SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. LEACH, SHEWELL, & SANBORN, BOSTON. NEW YORK. CHICAGO. Edue T 834.510,515 HARVARD COLLEG JCT 17 1919 COPYRIGHT, 1896, BY LEACH, SHEWELL, & SANBORN. TYPOGRAPHY BY C. J. PETERS & SON, BOSTON. PRESSWORK BY BERWICK & SMITH. PREFACE. THIS book is prepared more especially for the use of students in academies and high schools, but it is hoped that it may not be unwelcome to any who find enjoyment in this masterpiece of Goldsmith's authorship. The text is that of the fifth edition, printed in 1774, and contains Goldsmith's modifications of the language of the first edition. Some of the more valuable comments which otherwise might not be easily accessible are introduced. It is not intended that the notes shall be so full as to take from the teacher or pupil a due share of work, but rather to offer aid and suggestion on points which are more or less obscure. Where Dr. Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language, which gives the usage of Goldsmith's time, could furnish a definition, it has been inserted. Grateful acknowledgment is made to Warren Fenno Gregory, A.M., for the Biographical Sketch and Literary Productions of Oliver Goldsmith, which appear in his edition of the Traveller and Deserted Village, in this series of publications; and to Professor John F. Genung of Amherst College for reading the manuscript of the notes. |
