Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield 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: NOTES. 1. 4. Taken orders. Become a clergyman of the English Episcopal Church. 9. Notable. Look up in Dictionary the meaning of the word, as here used. ... more »2. 14. Herald's Office. More commonly, Herald's College, or College of Arms. A body of officials, incorporated in 1483, whose business it is to preserve genealogical records and grant coats of arms. 3. 22. Progress. A journey of state, an official journey. 6. 4-5. Thirty-five pounds a year. Cf. description of the preacher in The Deserted Village. Goldsmith's father's annual income is reported to have averaged forty pounds. 7. Temporalities. A clergyman's revenues from church property, opposed to spiritualities, the matters pertaining to religion. 19. Whiston. William Whiston (1667-1752), a famous English divine, of great learning and honesty, but of many peculiar notions. One of these ? that a clergyman should not marry a second time ? is now remembered for Dr. Primrose's sake alone. 8. 23. Drinking tea. Tea, in Goldsmith's day, was an expensive luxury, costing from twelve shillings to thirty shillings a pound ($3 to $7.50). After their reverses of fortune, the family could afford it only occasionally. 24. Country dances. Country is here really the French centre, opposite, across; and the country-dance, one in which the partners stand opposite to one another. 26. Backgammon. This game was much in vogue in Goldsmith's time. 27. A twopenny hit. Hit, a stake or bet, here limited, by agreement, to twopence, or four cents. 28. An ominous circumstance. Look out for other illustrations of the Vicar's habit of dwelling on such little matters of detail. What light is thus thrown on his character ? 9. 30-10. i: Your fortune ... is almost nothing. Here is an illustration of that hurried narration to w...« less