PREFACE

APART from the correction of a few typographical errors, the text of this edition of Irving's "Life of Goldsmith" remains as the author passed it through the press. As the book is assigned for reading, not for study, the notes aim merely to give information not at Irving's command regarding Goldsmith himself, to throw a little light upon the persons and places associated with him, to explain a few allusions, and to assist in developing lines of thought suggested by the text. The regular numbering, in all editions, of the articles of the "Citizen of the World" and the Bee, from which the author quotes most frequently, simplifies reference to Goldsmith's works. In the brief Chronological Table all of the writings of Irving and the first important works of his contemporaries are given. Criticism has been studiously avoided; and an effort has been made to minimize editorial comment.

L. B. S.