putes with the booksellers; and, on one
occasion, seems to have been much hurt because Johnson, who had been
asked to step in as arbiter, decided against him. He was offended with
Johnson on another occasion because of his sending away certain dishes
at a dinner given to him by Goldsmith, as a hint that these
entertainments were too luxurious for one in Goldsmith's position. It
was probably owing to some temporary feeling of this sort--perhaps to
some expression of it on Goldsmith's part--that Johnson spoke of
Goldsmith's "malice" towards him. Mrs. Thrale had suggested that
Goldsmith would be the best person to write Johnson's biography. "The
dog would write it best, to be sure," said Johnson, "but his
particular malice towards me, and general disregard of truth, would
make the book useless to all and injurious to my character." Of course
it is always impossible to say what measure of jocular exaggeration
there may not be in a chance phrase such as this: of the fact that
there was no serious or permanent quarrel between the two friends we
have abundant proof in Boswell's faithful pages.

To return to the various endeavours made by Goldsmith and his friends
to meet the difficulties now closing in around him, we find, first of
all, the familiar hack-work. For two volumes of a _History of Greece_
he had received from Griffin L250. Then his friends tried to get him a
pension from the Government; but this was definitely refused. An
expedient of his own seemed to promise well at first. He thought of
bringing out a _Popular Dictionary of Arts and Sciences_, a series of
contributions mostly by his friends, with himself as editor; and among
those who offered to assist him were Johnson, Reynolds, Burke, and Dr.
Burney. But the booksellers were afraid. The project would involve a
large expense; and they had no high opinion of Goldsmith's business
habits. Then he offered to alter _The Good-natured Man_ for Garrick;
but Garrick preferred to treat with him for a new comedy, and
generously allowed him to draw on him for the money in advance. This
last help enabled him to go to Barton for a brief holiday; but the
relief was only temporary. On his return to London even his nearest
friends began to observe the change in his manner. In the old days
Goldsmith had faced pecuniary difficulties with a light heart; but
now, his health broken, and every avenue of escape apparently closed,
he was giving way to despair. His friend Cradock, coming