The miscellaneous works - 1808 Author:Oliver Goldsmith Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD. CHAP. I. Description of the Family of IVakejirltl; in which a Kindred Likeness prevails, as well of Minds as of Persons. 1 Wa... more »s ever of opinion, that the honest man who married, and brought up a large family, did more lerv;ce than he who continued single, und only talked of population. From this motive, I had scrace taken piders a year, before I began to think seriously qf matrimony, and chose my wife, as she did her wedding-gown, not for a fine glossy surface, but such qualities as wou)d wear well. To do her ;ustice, she was a good natured, notable ?yoman ; and, as for breeding, there were few country ladies who at that time could show more. She could read any English book without much spelling ; but for pickling, preserving, and cookery, none could excel her. She prided herself also upon being an excellent contriver in housekeeping ; though I could never find we grew iicher with all her contrivances. However we loved each other tenderly, and our fondness increased with age. There wai, infact, nothing that could make us angry with the world or each other. We had an elegant house, situate in a fine countryand a good neighbourhood. The year was spent in moral or rural a- imisements; in visiting our rich neighbours, and relieving such as vere poor. We had no revolutions to fear, nor fatigues to undergo ; all our ad- Ventures were by the fire side : and all our migrations from the blue bed to the brown. ' As we Jived near the road, we often had the traveller or stranger come to taste our gooseberry Wine, for which we had great reputation ; and I profess with the veracity of an historian, I ne- Ver knew one of them find fault with it. Our cousins too, even to the fortieth remove, all remembered their affinity, without any help from the herald?s of...« less