a say, attend § 143. Yanko. By the same. What though by duty I am call'd Where thund'ring cannons rattle, Dear Yanko say, and true he say, Where Valor's self might stand appallid ? Al mankind, one and i' other, When on the wings of thy dear love Negro, mulatto, and Malay, To Heaven above Through all the world be broder. Thy fervent orisons are down, In black, in yellow, what disgrace, The tevder prayer That scandal so he use 'en ? Thou putt’st up there For dere no virtue in de face, Shall call a guardian angel down, De virtue in de bosom. To watch me in the battle. What harm dere in a shape or make ? My safety thy fair truth shall be, What harm in ugly feature? As sword and buckler serving ; Whatever color, form, he take, My life shall be more dear to me, The heart make human creature. Because of thy preserving: Then black and copper both be friend, Let peril come, let horror ihreat, No color he bring beauty; Let thund'ring cannons rattle, For beauty, Yanko I'll fearless seek the conflict's heat, Assur'd when on the wings of love To Heaven above, &c. Some kindred god inspir'd thee; Who wonder'd and admir'd thee. I We bipeds, made up of frail clay, assur'd : go : iny life, adieu; Alas! are the children of sorrow; Though thund'ring camnons rattle, And, though brisk and merry to-day, Though murdering carnage stalk in view, We all be unhappy to-morrow. When on the wings of thy true love may To Heaven above, &c. $ 146. Iridian Song. By ihe same. I grant the best blessing we know The sun's descending in the wave ; 1 I go, my fate to brave : Ghosts of dead incas, now appear, Oh! 'taste not the dangerous pleasure. Sbriek as ye come Thus friendship's a flimsy affair, Cold from the tomb, Thus riches and health are a bubble; And see if Moniaco knows to fear. Thus there's nothing delightful but care, Oh Sun, my sire ! Nor any thing pleasing but trouble. Lend me all thy noble fire: If a mortal would point out that life Illia Voniaco to thy tomb, Which on earth could be nearest to heaven, Oh Atabalipa, soon shall come ; Let him, thanking his stars, choose a wife Cover me with scars, To whom truth and honor are given. Nought can control But honor and truth are so rare, The dauntless soul, And horns, when they ’re cutting, so tingle, That shall live among its kindred stars. That, with all my respect to the fair, What is 't to die? To leave this clay, F'd advise him to sigh, and live single. And breathe an everlasting day, It appears from these premises plain, For robes celestial shake off dust; That wisdom is nothing but folly; Among the blest, From care to rest, And emulate the virtues of the just : Then, Sun, my sire, That 'tis fine frisk and fun to be grieving; Lend me all thy noble fire, Illia Moniaco, &c. Bliss is for me, but woe for you ; The upper beaven, § 145. The Soldier's Adieu. By the same. You shall be driven Adieu, adieu, my only life! Like scatter'd chaff before false fortune's wind. My honor calls me from thee; Now, Sun, my sire, Remember thou 'rt a soldier's wife, I feel, I feel thy noble fire ! Those tears but ill become thee. Illia Moniaco, &c. yet, lest friend prove d $ 147. By the sume. $ 149. Song. STEPHENS. Hark the din of distant war, Once the gods of the Greeks, at ambrosial feast, How noble is the clangor! Large bowls of rich nectar were quafling, Pale Death ascends his ebon car, Merry Momus among them appeared as a guest: Clad in terrific anger. Homer says the celestials love laughing. A doubtful fate the soldier tries This happen'd 'fore Chaos was fix'd into form, Who joins the gallant quarrel : While nature disorderly lay; Perhaps on the cold ground he lies, While elements adverse engender'd the storm, No wife, no friend, to close his eyes, And uproar embroil'd the loud fray. On every Olympic the humorist drolld, So none could bis jokes disapprove; How many, who, disdaining fear, He suny, reparteed, and some old stories told, And at last thus began upon Jove : Rush on the desperate duty, Sire, mark how yon matter is heaving below, Shall claim the tribute of the tear Were it settled 't would please all your court; That dims the eye of beauty ? 'Tis not wisdom to let it lic useless, you know; A doubtful fate, &c. Pray people it, just for our sport. Jove nodded assent, all Olympus bow'd down, If we should fall; but if we live, At bis fiat creation took birth; We live our country's glory. The cloud-keeping deity smil'd on his throne, 'Tis true, a doubtful fate, &c. Then announc'd the production was earth. Apollo presented it light; To silver the shadow of night: The of soft wishes, foul Vulcan's fair Poor Peggy lov'd a soldier lad More, far more, than tongue can tell ye; bride, Leer'd wanton on her man of war; [guide. Yet was her tender bosom sad Whene'er she heard the loud reveiller. Saying, As to these earth-folks, I'll give them a The fifes were screech-owls to her ears, So she sparkled the morn and eve star. From her cloud, all in spirits, the goddess up The drums like thunder seem'd to rattle ; sprung, Ah, too prophetic were her fears, They call d 'hin from her arms to battle. In ellipsis each planet advanc'd; There wonders he against the foe The tune of the spheres the Nine Sisters sung, Perform'd, and was with laurels crown'd; As round Terra Nova they danc'd. Even Jove himself could not insensible stand, Bid Saturn his girdle fast bind: [hand, Her heart all love, her soul all truth, The expounder of fate grasp'd the globe in his That none her fears or flight discover, And laugh'd at those mites call'd mankind. Poor Peg, in guise a comely youth, From the hand of great Jove into space it Follow'd to the field her lover: hurl'd, Directed by the fife and drum He was charm'd with the roll of the ball, To where the work of death was doing; Bid his daughter Attraction take charge of the Where of brave hearts the time was come, And she hung it up high in his hall. [world, Who, seeking honor, grasp at ruin : Her very soul was chill'd' with woe, Miss, pleas'd with the present, review'd the New horror came in every sound, globe round, And whisper’d, death had laid him low Saw with rapture hills, valleys, and plains ; On the cold ground. The self-balanc'd orb in an atmosphere bound, Prolific by suns, dews, and rains. With mute affliction as she stood, With silver, gold, jewels, she India endow'd, While her woman's fears confound her, France and Spain she taught vineyards 10 With terror all her soul subdued, rear; A mourning train came thronging round her. What was fit for each clime on each clime she The plaintive fife, and mushed drum, bestow'd, The marshal obsequies discover; And freedom she found flourish'd here. The blue-cy'd celestial, Minerva the wise, Then heart-rent by a sigh of woe, Ineffably smil'd on the spot ; Fell, to the grief of all around, My dear, says plum'd Pallas, your last gift I Where death had laid her lover low prize, On the cold ground! But, excuse me, one thing is forgot. was Licentiousness freedom's destruction may bring, | The blossoms of liberty gaily , 'gan smile, Unless prudence prepares its defence. And Englishımen fed on the fruit. The goddess of sapience bid Iris take wing, Thus fed, and thus bred, by a bounty so rare, And on Britons bestow'd common-sense. Oh! preserve it as pure as 'twas giv'n. We will while we've breath ; nay we'll grasp Four cardinal virtues she left in this isle, it in death, As guardians to cherish the root; And return it untainted to heav'n. PROLOGUES AND EPILOGUES. ness. a not. § 1. Epilogue to A Woman killed with Kind- | For they, heswears, to th' theatre would coine 1617. Ere they had din'd, to take up the best room; An honest crew, disposed to be merry, There sit on benches, not adorn’d with mats, Came to a tavern by, and call'd for wine : Aud graciously did vail their high-crown'd hats The drawer brought it (smiling like a cherry), To every half-dress'd player, as he still And told them it was pleasant, neat, and fine. Thro' th' hangings peep'd to see how the house Taste it, quoth one; he did : O fie! (quoth did fill. be): Good easy-judging souls! with what delight This wine was good : now 't runs too near They would expect a gig or target fight; the lee. A furious tale of Troy, which wey ne'er thought Was weakly written, so'twere strongly fought; Another sipp'd to give the wine his due, Laughid at a clinch, the shadow of a jest, and said unto the rest it drank too flat; And cry'd • A passing good one, I protest !' The third said it was old; the fourth too new ; Such dull and humble-witted people were Nay, quoth the fifth, the sharpness likes me Even your forefathers, whom we govern d here; And such had you been too, be swears, had not Thus, gentlemen, you see how in one hour The poets taught you how to unweave a plot, The wine was new, old, fat, sharp, sweet, And'trace the winding scenes; taught you i' and sour. admit (wit. Unto this wine do we allude our play; [grare: Thus they have arw'd you gainst themselves to What was true sense, not what did sound like Which some will judge too trivial, some too You, as our guests, we entertain this day, fight, [write. And bid you welcome to the best we have. Made strong and mischievous from what they Excuse me then ;, good wine may be di grac'd With two great wits*, tha grac'd our theatre. You have been lately highly feasted here. When ev'ry sev'ral mouth has sundry laste. But, if to feed you often with delight He vors to ise you, which he much abhors, As others did your homely ancestors. Spoken at Black-Friars. 10+3. DAVENANT. but half so humble to confess, As you are wise to know, your happiness ; Our author would not grieve to see you sit $ 3. Epilogue to The Cutter of ColemanRuling with such unquestion d pow'r his wit : slicet, spokon ly the Persie who acted What would I give, ihat I could still preserve Cutier. 1036. COWLEY. My loyalty to him, and yet deserve METHINKS a vision bids me silence break, Your kind opinion by revealing now [1] thout nis Peruke. The cause of that great storm which clouds his And some words to this congregation speak; brow; [you, So great and gay a one I ne'er did meet And his close murmurs, which, since meant to At the fifth inonarch's court in Coleman. I cannot think or mannerly or true! street; be? [Puts on his Peruke. Your silly ancestors in twenty year, [here : Y'expeci should in two hours be given you Beaumont and Fletcher. § 2. Were you Not Cutter the pretended cavalier; Gallants, look to't; you say there are no sprites; For, to confess ingenuously here But I'll come dance about your beds at nights ; To you, who always of that party were, And 'faith you'll be in a sweet kind of taking, I never was of any'; up and down When I surprise you between sleep and waking. I roll’d, a very rake-hell of this town. To tell you true, I walk, because I die But now iny follies and my faults are ended, Out of my calling, in a tragedy. My fortune and my mind are both ameniled ; o poet, damu'd dull poet! who could prove And if we may believe one who bas fail'd be- So senseless, to make Nelly die for love! fore, (no more. Nay, what's yet worse, to kill me in my prime Our author says he'll mend--that is, he'll write Of Easter-term, in tart and cheesecake time! I'll fit the fop; for I'll not one word say, T'excuse his godly out-of-fashion play; $ 4. Prologue to Vero. 1675. LEE. A play which if you dare but twice sit out, You'll all be slander'd, and be thought derout. Good plays, and perfect sense, as scarce are But farewell, gentlemen; make haste to me; grown I'm sure ere long to have your company. As civil women in this d-d lewd town ; As for my epitaph, when I am gone, Plain sense is despicable as plain clothes, I'll trust no poet, but will write my own: As English hats, bone-lace, or woollen hose. Here Nelly lies, who, tho’she liv'd a slattern", "Tis your brisk fool that is your man of note; Yet died a princess, acting in St. Cath'rinet. Yonder he goes, in the embroider'd coat: Snch wenching eyes, and hands so prone to ruffle, 6. Prologue to Alcibiades. 1675. Orway. The genteel Aing, the trip, and modish shuffle; Never did rhymer greater hazards run, Salt soul and Aame, as gay as any prince; Mongst us by your severity undone ; Thus tags and silks make up your men of sense. Tho' we, alas ! to oblige ye have done most, I'm told that some are present here to-day And bonght ye pleasures at our own sad cost, Who, ere they see, resolve to damn this play, Yet all our best endeavours have been lost. So much would interest with ill-nature sway. So ost a statesinan lab'ring to be good, But, ladies, you, we hope, will prove more civil, His honesty's for treason understood; And charm these wits that damn beyond the Whilst some false flattering minion of the court Then let each critic here all hell inherit, (devil; Shall play the traitor, and be honour'd for't. You have attractions that can lay a spirit. To you, known judges of what's sense and wit, A bloody fatal play you'll see to-night; Our author swears he gladly will subunit: I vow to God,'t has put me in a fright. But there's a sort of things in fest the pit, The meanest waiter huffs, looks big, and struts, | That would be witty spite of nature too, Gives breast a blow, then hand on hilt he puts. And, to be thought so, haunt and pester you. "Tis a fine age, a tearing thundering age, Hither sometimes those would-be-wits repair, Pray heaven this thund'ring does not crack the In quest of you; where, if you don't appear, This play. I like not now [stage: Cries one-Pugh! D-n me, what do we do And yet, for aught I know, it may be good, here? But still I hate this fighting, wounds, and Straight up he starts, his garniture then puts blood, [nour? | In order, so he cocks, and out he struts Why, what the devil have I to do with Flo- To the coffee-house, where he about him looks: Let heroes court her; I cry, Pox upon her! Spies friend; cries, Jack, I've been to-night at All tragedies, i'gad, to me sound oddly; th' Duke's ; I can no more be serious, than you godly. The silly rogues are all undone, my dear, I'gad, not one of sense that I saw ihere. Thus to himself he'd reputation gather $ 5. Epilogue to Tyrannic Love; spoken by Of wil, and good acquaintance, but has neither. Neil Gwyn, when she was to lie carried of Wit has indeed a stranger been, of late; dead by the learers. 1672. Dryden. 'Mongst its pretenders, nought so strange as that. Both houses too so long a fast have known, That coarsest nonsense goes most glibly down. Hold! are you mad, you damn'd confounded dog? Thus though this trifler never wrote before, Yet faith he ventured on the common score : I am to rise, and speak thc epilogue. Since nonsense is so generally allow'd, He hopes that this may pass amongst the crowd. $7. Epilogue to Aurengsebe. 1676. I'm what I was, a little harmless devil; DRYDEN. For, after death, we sprites have just such na- A PRETTY task! and so I told the fool, [tures: Who needs would undertake to please by rule: We had, for all the world, when human creaAnd therefore I, that was an actress here, # Her real character. Play all my tricks in hell, a goblin there. + The character she represented in the play. a a tures Crys He thought that if his characters were good, Whose each convulsion, when the spirit moves, The scenes entire, and freed from noise and Damns every thing that maggot disapproves. blood, With canting rule you would the stage refine, Though he, perhaps, has fail'd in ev'ry one. Unless it be the old Black-Friars way, Shaking his empty noddle o'er bamboo, He cries, Good faith, these plays will never do. Your pleasure on your fancy must depend; Ah, sir! in my young days, what lofty wit, The lady's pleas'd, just as she likes her friend. What high-strain'd scenes of fighting, there No song! no dance! no show! he fears you'll were writ! say, These are slight airy toys. But tell me, pray, You love all naked beauties, but a play. What has the House of Commons done to-day? He much mistakes your methods to delight, Then shows his politics, to let you see And, like the French, abhors our target fight: Of state affairs he'll judge as notably But those damn’d dogs can never be i'th' right. As he can do of wit and poetry. True English bate your Monsieurs' paltry arts; The younger sparks, who hither do resort, For you are all silk-weavers* in your hearts. Bold Britons, at a brave bear-garden fray, Pox o'your gentle things! give us more sport; Are rous'd, and, clatı'rinz sticks, cry, Play, Damme! I'm sure't will never please the court. play, play! Such fops are never pleas'd, unless the play Mean time, your fribbling foreigner will stare, Bc stuff’d with fools, as brisk and dull as they; And mutter to himsell, Ah, gens burlare! Such might the half-crown spare, and in a And, 'gad, 'tis well he mutters, well for him; glass Our butchers else would rear him limb from At home behold a more accomplish'd ass; limb. Where they may set their cravais, wigs, and 'Tis true, the time may come, your sons may be faces, Infected with this French civility : And practise all their buffoon'ry grimacesBut this in after-ages will be done; See how this huff becomes this damme stare, Our poet writes an hundred years too soon. Which they at home may act, because they This age comes on 100 slow or he too fast; dare; And early springs are subject to a blast. But must with prudent caution do elsewhere. Who would excel, when few can make a test O, that our Nokes, or Tony Lee, could shew Betwixt indifferent writing and the best? A fop but half so much to th' life as you ! For favours cheap and common who would strive, Which, like abandon'd prostitutes, you give? $9. Epilogue to The Duke of Guise. 1683. Yet scaiter'd here and there I some behold, Spoken ly Mrs. Cook. Dryden. Who can discern the tinsel from the gold; Much time and trouble this poor play bas cost, To these he writes; and, if by them allow'd, And, 'faith, I doubted once the cause was lost. 'Tis their prerogative to rule the crowd; Yet no one man For he more fears (like a presuming man) was meant, nor great nor small; Their votes who cannot judge, than theirs who Our poets, like frank gainesterst, threw at all. They took no single aim-- hearty, Huzza'd, and fir'd broadsides at the whole party. 98. Epilogue to the First Part of The Rover, or Duels are crimes; but when the cause is sizhi the Banished Cavaliers. 1677. Mrs.Behn. In battle every man is bound to tight: For what should binder me to sell my skin The banish'd cavaliers! a roving blade! Dear as I could, if once my heart were in? A popish carnival! a masquerade ! Se defendendo never was a sin. The devil's in't if this will please the nation, "Tis a fine world, my masters--right or wronz, In these our blessed times of reformation, The Whigs must talk, and Tories hold their When conventicling is so much in fashion. tongue. They must do all they canThat mutinous tribe less factions do beget, But we, forsooth, must bear a Christian mind, Than your continual ditering in wit. And fight like boys with one hand lied behind : Your judgment (as your passion) 's a disease ; Nay, and when one boy's down 'twere wondNor Muse nor Miss your appetite can please ; rous wise You're grown as nice as queasy consciences, To cry, Box fair, and give him time to rise. Alluding to the rivalry of the Spitalfields manufactures with those of France. + This play was written jointly by Dryden and Lee. can. And yet |
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