OLIVER GOLDSMITH'S LIFE AND TIMES. [BOOK m.
1759, if the gallant captain would cure his son of philosophic con-
templation, the only way will be to send some handsome thing
for a waistcoat and breeches as aforesaid. " They tell me
" velvet is very cheap at Gibraltar. Amen, and so be it!"
One fancies the smile and tear together starting to the
father's face as he reads little David's letters; and if, over
that last, the tear lingered a littlej its successor of a fort-
night's later date brought happier thoughts again. Here
the young letter-writer broke off into talk about art and
painters, saying suddenly, that there existed one piece of
Le Grout's (a miniature-painter of that day) which he valued
above all the pieces of Zeuxis or Apelles; and it gave him
more pleasure, he would affirm, to have one glance of that
than to look a whole day at the finest picture in the world ;
nay, it had this effect upon him, that whenever he looked
upon it he fancied himself at Gibraltar, saw the Spaniards,
and sometimes mounted garrison. The portrait was then in
his hand, he added, yet he could not satisfactorily describe
it. " It is the figure of a gentleman, and I suppose military
" by his dress; I think Le Grout told me his name was one
"Captain Peter Garrick; .perhaps as you are in the army
" you may know him,, he is pretty jolly, and I believe not
" very tall." Is not the letter a bit of comedy in itself, a
piece of character and feeling such as Farquhar might have
written?
Meanwhile there has been talk of the University for the
young letter-writer, which again and again recedes under
pressure of wants more craving, but is still not wholly given
up, when, on the good Gilbert Walmsley's suggestion, he avails
himself of an advertisement in the Gentleman's Magazine*
for ever memorable to all students of our English tongue,
* For June and July, 1736.