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Whilst hardy vet'rans, long inur'd to arms,
Hear, unappall'd, the battle's loud alarms.

Thus we, unpractis'd in the stage's arts,
Have, without fear, rehears'd our various parts,
Talk'd wond'rous big of our theatric feats,
And dar'd the cenfures of the vacant feats.
But now, alas! the cafe is alter'd quite,
When fuch an audience opens on the fight;
Garrick himself, in such a situation,

(Tho' fure to please) might feel fome palpitation.
Our anxious breafts no fuch prefumption cheers,
Light are our hopes, but weighty are our fears;
So (for 'tis now too late to quit the field)
We to your judgment at difcretion yield;
O then be merciful: the fault's not ours,
If, with a wish to please, we want the pow'rs.

EPILOGUE,
I LO

WRITTEN BY MR. COLMAN, FOR LADY WRONG.. HEAD, AND ALTERED FOR MANLY.

SPOKEN BY MR. MILLES.

I FEAR the Ladies think my last night's dealing Betray'd a heart quite destitute of feeling;

Who

Who to my married friends fuch leffons gave,
As make each husband think his wife a flave:
So, doctor-like, I took an early round,

And just step in to tell you that I found
My Lady Townly quite to health restor❜d,
And coufin Wronghead's pulse is vaftly lower'd ;
The firft, whose bosom grateful Friendship warm'd,
Thus fpoke the dictates of a heart reform'd:
"Sick of my follies, faithful to my vows
"I'm now re-married to my noble spouse ;
"Ladies there are at this may feel remorse,
"And find perhaps more charms in a divorce.
"I've trod the giddy round, and don't deplore,
"That the gay dream of diffipation's o'er :
"But Lady Wronghead ftill bewails her fate,
"And fighs for fplendor, equipage and state.
"Farewel, dear fcenes, the cried; was ever wife,
"Born with a genius for the gayeft life,
"Like me untimely blasted in her bloom-
"Like me condemn'd to fuch a difmal doom?
"No London-when I just began to taste it;
"No money-when I just knew how to waste it.
"Farewel--the high-plum'd head, the cushion'd tete,
"Which takes the cushion from its prop'rer feat.
"Seven is the main !-that found must now expire,
"Loft at hot cockles, round a Christmas fire.

The lines marked with inverted Commas were in the original.. "Farewel

Farewel-dear fcenes, where late fuch joys I knew, Drefs, cards, and dice, I bid ye all adieu ! "Those joys thus vanish'd, I fhall taste no more; } "For Lady Wronghead's occupation's o'er. "How fhall I drag out life, and how, alas! "Shall tedious country winter evenings pafs."

Dear Ma'am, I faid, your groundless fears difmifs, I have a thought a new one-it is this: Shall we come down, and try to act a play? A play!-and what d'ye think the wits will fay? Unheard, with keenest fatire they'll decry it, "Turn all to farce, and fwear 'tis vain to try it."

Avaunt, fuch wits! who, with ill-judging spleen, Shall rudely strive to blaft the well-meant fcene. Far happier he, his faults, like us, who flops, And checks his follies when the curtain drops. No more in vice or error to engage,

And play the fool at large on life's great stage.

VOL. VI.

C

PROLOGUE

PROLOGUE

TO THE FRENCH PIECE OF

PYGMALION, PER

FORMED BY MONSIEUR TESSIER.

SPOKEN BY LORD MALDEN.

As fome there are who may not know the story,

Which the French Poet means to lay before
I'll tell you in plain English what he says:

ye,

A young unmarried Prince, in former days,
Long rail'd at wedlock, but could never find
In all the fex a woman to his mind :

Some were too fhort, and others were too tall;`
Too fat, too thin, there were fome fault in all.
Tir'd with the fruitlefs fearch, at length, he cried,
Art fhall fupply what Nature has denied ;
I'll make a faultless maid. So faid, so done,
Juft to his tafte he forin'd a maid of stone;
Th' enraptur'd artist as her charms he view'd,
Stood by the magic of his art fubdu'd :

But yet the was a piece of mere ftill life,
And fomething more he wanted in a wife.

A wife he thought fome little warmth should share,
(Are there none here whofe wives have fome to fpare?)
He kifs'd her oft; but, ah! how cold the kifs,
Especially in fuch a night as this.

Vain was his art, (for do whate'er he cou'd)
There was no comfort without flesh and blood:
To Venus he address'd his fervent pray'r,
That the fhould animate the obd'rate fair;
For Venus can, whene'er fhe will, impart
A yielding foftness to the hardest heart.

His pray'r was heard-to him she turn'd her head,
And o'er her limbs the glow of life was spread:
Convinc'd at laft, he feels her pulfe beat high,
And wanton feem'd to roll her am'rous eye;
Loos'd was her tongue, fhe was indeed a wife,
And he no more complain'd she wanted life.

Lord Villiers admirably fupported the very difficult character of Lord Townly, both as to voice, figure, action, and elocution :-He was eafy, animated, and graceful;-and perhaps the character never appeared to more advantage in the hands of any performer, except Mr. Barry. If any part of his performance can be found fault with, he did not feem to exprefs fufficient displeasure in his countenance at his Lady's conduct; but that is not to be wondered at, as Lady Villiers never gives him reafon to practise it; and without practise it was impoffible to be feigned, when the enchanting Mifs Hodges, in the character of Lady Townly, was fmiling before his eyes.

We beg both Meffrs. Yates and Macklin's pardon, when we fay we prefer Mr. Fury to either of them for C 2

a Sir

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