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Article THE LIFE OF DAVID GARRICK, ESQ. ← Page 2 of 5 →
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The Life Of David Garrick, Esq.
hon of the sale , his numerous family were left in a great measure unprovided for . His son , David , received the first part of his education at the free school of Litchfield ; and early met with a friend in Mr . Gilbert "Walmsley , register of the ecclesiastical court of that diocese , ( then unmarried , and well advanced in years ) whose friendship seemed to promise some favourable expectations of a permanent provision ;
all which , however , were destroyed by his unexpectedly taking a v . re . Mr . Walmsley was alsc the friend of Dr . Johnson , who has given him the following excellent character : ' ' -At his table , I enjoyed many cheaiful and instructive hours , with companions such as are not often found ; with one who has lengthened , and one who has gladdened life ; with Dr . Jameswhose skill in hysic will be
, p long remembered ; and with David Garrick , whom I hoped to have gratified with this character of our common friend . But what are the hopes , of man ! I am disappointed by that stroke of death , which has eclipsed tbe gaiety of nations and impoverished the public stock of harmless pleasures . ' So earldid he conceive an attachment to theatrical
representay tion , that when he was little more than eleven years old , he p layed the part of Serjeant Kite , in the Recruiting Officer , at Litchfield , with some other young persons ; and the play was acted in a manner so far above the expectation of the audience , that it gave general satisfaction , and was much applauded . This early attempt was in 1727 .
Not long after he was invited to Lisbon b y his uncle , who was a considerable wine-merchant there ; but his stay in that city was short , for he returned to Litchfield the following year . During his short stay at Lisbon , he made himself agreeable to all who knew ; him , particularly to the English merchants who resided there , with whom he often dined . After dinner they usually diverted themselves
by placing him on a table , and calling upon him to repeat verses and speeches from plays , which he did with great readiness , and much to the satisfaction of his hearers . Some Portuguese young gentlemen of the hi ghest rank , who were of his own age , were also much delighted with his conversation . I have heard him say ( Mr . Davies adds ) that he had been often in company with the
unfortunate Duke D'Aveiro , who was afterwards put to death for a conspiracy against the king of Portugal . He was for some time pupil to Dr . Samuel Johnson , who then kept an academy at Edial , near Litchfield . On that great nun ' s quitting the situation of schoolmaster , and setting out for Lcndrn , young Garrick determined on accompanying him , with an intention
to complete his education , and follow the profession of the law . This joint expedition of those two eminent men to the metropolis was many years afterwards noticed in an allegorical poem on iShakspeare ' s 'Mulberry Tree , ' by Mr . LoviboiuC the ingenious author of - the Tears of Old May-Day . ' They were recoinmeck-d to Mr . Oolson , ati eminent mathematician , and master of the acad-niy at Rochester , by the following letter irom Mr . \ Vi . ii ; - ; i'j } ;
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Life Of David Garrick, Esq.
hon of the sale , his numerous family were left in a great measure unprovided for . His son , David , received the first part of his education at the free school of Litchfield ; and early met with a friend in Mr . Gilbert "Walmsley , register of the ecclesiastical court of that diocese , ( then unmarried , and well advanced in years ) whose friendship seemed to promise some favourable expectations of a permanent provision ;
all which , however , were destroyed by his unexpectedly taking a v . re . Mr . Walmsley was alsc the friend of Dr . Johnson , who has given him the following excellent character : ' ' -At his table , I enjoyed many cheaiful and instructive hours , with companions such as are not often found ; with one who has lengthened , and one who has gladdened life ; with Dr . Jameswhose skill in hysic will be
, p long remembered ; and with David Garrick , whom I hoped to have gratified with this character of our common friend . But what are the hopes , of man ! I am disappointed by that stroke of death , which has eclipsed tbe gaiety of nations and impoverished the public stock of harmless pleasures . ' So earldid he conceive an attachment to theatrical
representay tion , that when he was little more than eleven years old , he p layed the part of Serjeant Kite , in the Recruiting Officer , at Litchfield , with some other young persons ; and the play was acted in a manner so far above the expectation of the audience , that it gave general satisfaction , and was much applauded . This early attempt was in 1727 .
Not long after he was invited to Lisbon b y his uncle , who was a considerable wine-merchant there ; but his stay in that city was short , for he returned to Litchfield the following year . During his short stay at Lisbon , he made himself agreeable to all who knew ; him , particularly to the English merchants who resided there , with whom he often dined . After dinner they usually diverted themselves
by placing him on a table , and calling upon him to repeat verses and speeches from plays , which he did with great readiness , and much to the satisfaction of his hearers . Some Portuguese young gentlemen of the hi ghest rank , who were of his own age , were also much delighted with his conversation . I have heard him say ( Mr . Davies adds ) that he had been often in company with the
unfortunate Duke D'Aveiro , who was afterwards put to death for a conspiracy against the king of Portugal . He was for some time pupil to Dr . Samuel Johnson , who then kept an academy at Edial , near Litchfield . On that great nun ' s quitting the situation of schoolmaster , and setting out for Lcndrn , young Garrick determined on accompanying him , with an intention
to complete his education , and follow the profession of the law . This joint expedition of those two eminent men to the metropolis was many years afterwards noticed in an allegorical poem on iShakspeare ' s 'Mulberry Tree , ' by Mr . LoviboiuC the ingenious author of - the Tears of Old May-Day . ' They were recoinmeck-d to Mr . Oolson , ati eminent mathematician , and master of the acad-niy at Rochester , by the following letter irom Mr . \ Vi . ii ; - ; i'j } ;