Home as they went, the fad difcourse renew'd Return'd, he took her bed with little reft, pain. Now forc'd to wake, because afraid to fleep, Her blood all fever'd, with a furious leap, She fprang from bed, distracted in her mind, Andrear'd at every step, a twitching fpright be hind. Darkling and defperate, with ftagg'ring pace, And her purfue, or Theodore be flain, This dreadful image fo poffefs'd her mind, With faults confefs'd commiffion'd her to g Roscius deceas'd, each high aspiring play Puth'd all his int'reft for the vacant chair. The bufkin'd heroes of the mimic stage No longer whine in love, and rant in rage; The monarch quits his throne, and condefce Humbly to court the favour of his friends; For pity's fake tells undeserv'd mishaps, And, their applaufe to gain, recounts his cla Thus the victorious chiefs of ancient Rome, To win the mob, a fuppliant's form affume, In pompous ftrain fight o'er th' extinguish'dw And thew where honour bled in ev'ry fear. But though bare merit might in Rome appea The ftrongeft plea for favour, 'tis not here; We form our judgment in another way; And they will beft fucceed, who beft can pay Thofe, who would gain the votes of British trib Muft add to force of merit force of bribes. What can an actor give? in ev'ry age Cash hath been rudely banish'd from the ftag Monarchs themselves, to grief of ev'ry play`r Appear as often as their image there: They can't, like candidate for other feat,' Pour feas of wine, and mountains raife of me Wine! they could bribe you with the world foon, more, And of roaft beef, they only know the tune But what they have they give; could Clive d [four Though for each million he had brought tom Shuter keeps open houfe at Southwark fair, And hopes the friends of humour will be there In Smithfield, Yates prepares the rival treat For those who laughter love inftead of meat; Foote, at Old Houfe, for even Foote will be, In felf-conceit, an actor, bribes with tea; Which Wilkinfon at fecond-hand receives, And at the New, pours water on the leaves. Death was behind, but hard it was to die. A dre A dress well chofen, or a patch misplac'd, From galleries loud peals of laughter roll, ftar'd. Twice did thofe blockheads ftartle at my name, With fleek appearance,and with ambling pace, Melting, like ghosts, before the rifing day. *With that low cunning, which in fools fupAnd amply too, the place of being wife, [plies, Which Nature, kind, indulgent parent, gave To qualify the blockhead for a knave; With that imooth falfehood, whofe appearance charms, man many, but the peevith tongue dent Age found out that he was young: Murphy fome few pilf ring wits declar'd, Folly clapp'd her hands, and Wisdom And reafon of each wholefome doubt difarms, [womb, Which to the lowest depths of guile descends, mischief train'd, e'en from his mother's By vileft means purfues the vileft ends, oldin fraud,tho' yet in manhood's bloom, Wears friendship's mask for purposes of spite, ng arts, by which gay villains rife, Fawns in the day, and butchers in the night; ach the heights which honeft men defpife; With that malignant envy, which turns pale, **the bar, and in the senate loud, And fickens, even if a friend prevail, agft the dulleft, proudest of the proud; Which merit and fuccefs pursues with hate, prater of the northern race, And damns the worth it cannot imitate; is heart, and famine in his face, With the cold caution of a coward's spleen, thand thrice he wav'd his lily hand-Which fears not guilt, but always feeks a screen; nice he twirl'd his tye-thrice ftrok'd his Which keeps this maxim ever in her viewband[aim, What's bafely done, should be done safely too; With that dull, rooted, callous impudence, Which, dead to fhame, and ev'ry nicer fenfe, Ne'er blush'd, unless, in fpreading Vice's fnares, She blunder'd on fome virtue unawares; With all thefe bleffings, which we feldom find Lavish'd by Nature on one happy mind, A motley figure, of the Fribble tribe, Which heart can fcarce conceive, or pen defcribe, Came fimp'ring on; to afecrtain whofe fex Twelve fage impanell'd matrons would perplex. Nor male, nor female; neither, and yet both; Of neuter gender, tho' of Irish growth; A fix-foot fuckling, mincing in its gait; Affected, peevish, prim, and delicate; Fearful it feem'd, tho' of athletic make, Left brutal breezes fhould too roughly fhake Its tender form, and favage motion spread, O'er its pale cheeks, the horrid manly red. At friendship's call (thus oft with trait'rous Food of faith ufurp faith's facred name) neadthip's call I come, by Murphy fent, thus by me develops his intent. , transfus'd, the fpirit fhould be loft, prit which in ftorms of Rhet'ric tolt, aces about, and flies like bottled beer, own words his own intentions hear. Thanks to my friends-But to vile fortunes born, Arobes of fur these shoulders must adorn. gain Much did it talk, in its own pretty phrase, Of genius and of tafte, of play'rs and plays; Much This fevere character was intended for Mr. Fitzpatrick, a perfon who had rendered himself remarkhas activity in the playhouse riots of 1763, relative to the taking half prices. He was the hero Garrick's Fribbleriad. Much too of writings, which itself had wrote, Known but to few, or only known by name, Nor fhall the mufe (for even there the pride And fcorn'd to tear the laurel from the tomb. And, whilst brave thirst of fame his bofom wa Make England great in letters as in arms? There may-there hath and Shakespear's m afpires Beyond the reach of Greece: with native fi Mounting aloft, he wings his daring flight, While Sophocles below stands trembling at height. Why fhould we then abroad for judges rc When abler judges we may find at home? Happy in tragic and in comic pow'rs, Have we not Shakspeare?Is not Jonfon our For them, your nat'ral judges, Britons, vot They'll judge like Britons, who like Brit wrote. He faid, and conquer'd-Senfe refum'd And difappointed pedants stalk'd away. Shakspeare and Jonfon, with deferv'd appla Joint judges were ordain'd to try the cause. Mean time the stranger ev'ry voice employ To afk or tell his name Who is it?-Lloyd Thus, when the aged friends of Job stood mu And tamely prudent, gave up the difpute, Elihu, with the decent warmth of youth, Boldly stood forth the advocate of truth; Confuted falfehood, and difabled pride, Whilft baffled age ftood fnarling at his fide. The day of trial's fix'd, nor any fear Left day of trial fhould be put off here. Caufes but feldom for delay can call In courts where forms are few, fees none at a The morning came, nor find I that the fi As he on other great events hath done, Put on a brighter robe than what he wore To go his journey in the day before. Full in the center of a spacious plain, On plan entirely new, where nothing vain, Nothing magnificent appear'd, but Art With decent modefty perform'd her part, Rofe a tribunal: from no other court It borrow'd ornament, or fought support: No juries here were pack'd to kill or clear, No bribes were taken, nor oaths broken here No gownfmen, partial to a client's caufe, To their own purpose turn'd the pliant laws. Each Judge was true and fteady to his truft, As Mansfield wife, and as old Fofter juft. In the first seat, in robes of various dyes, A noble wildness flathing from his eyes, Sat Shakspeare-in one hand a wand he bore, For mighty wonders fam'd in days of yore; The other held a globe, which to his will Obedient turn'd, and own'd the mafter's skill: Things of the nobleft kind his genius drew, And look'd thro' nature at a fingle view; A loofe he gave to his unbounded foul; And taught new lands to rife, new feas to roll; Call'd into being fcenes unknown before, And, pafling nature's bounds, was fomethin *Sir Michael Fofter, one of the Judges of the King's Bench. Correct I hate e'en Garrick thus at second-hand. Correctly praa'd each wild luxuriant thought, Act from himself, on his own bottom stand; Marklouber courfe,nor spar'd a glorious fault. The book of man he read with niceft art, danck'd all the fecrets of the heart; arted penetration's utmost force, t'd each paffion to its proper fource; rongly mark'd, in livelieft colours drew, bought each foible forth to public view. acacomb felt a lath in ev'ry word, hung out, their brother fools deterr'd. humour kept the world in awe, frighten'd folly more than law. -The trumpet founds, the crowd je way, proceffion comes in just array. ald I, in fome fweet poetic line, cenfe at Apollo's fhrine; the mufe to quit her calm abode, ken mem'ry with a fleeping ode. hould mortal man, in mortal verse, tes, merits, or their names rehearse? , kind dulnefs, memory and rhyme, put off genius till another time. order came, with folemn step, and flow, dtime his feet were taught to go. from time to time, he caft his eye, hould quit his place, that step awry. aces to fave his only care; feem right, no matter what they are. tes parents faw themselves renew'd, by Sir Critic on Saint Prude. .4 came Behind came King.-Bred up in modeft lore, Bathful and young he fought Hibernia's shore; Hibernia, fam'd, 'bove ev'ry other grace, For matchlefs intrepidity of face. From her his features caught the gen'rous flame, And bid defiance to all fenfe of thame. Tutor'd by her all rivals to furpass, [brafs. 'Mongft Drury's fons he comes, and fhines in Lo Yates! Without the least fineffe of art He gets applaufe-I with he'd get his part. When hot impatience is in full career, How vilely "Hark'e! Hark'e!" grates the ear! When active fancy from the brain is fent, And ftands on tip-toe for fome with'd event, I hate those careless blunders which recall Sufpended fenfe, and prove it fiction all. In characters of low and vulgar mould, Where Nature's coarfeft features we behold, Where, deftitute of ev'ry decent grace, Unmanner'd jefts are blurted in your face, There Yates with juftice ftrict attention draws, Acts truly from himself, and gains applaufe. But when, to please himself or charm his wife, He aims at fomething in politer life, When, blindly thwarting nature's ftubbornplan, He treads the stage, by way of gentleman, The clown, who no one touch of breedingknows, Looks like Tom Errand drefs'd in Clincher's clothes. drum, trumpet, hautboy, fiddle, tate; fer, fweeper, fhifter, foldier, mute; fangels all in white advance; fre, come forward in a dance; figures then are brought to view, in hand with fools go two by two. the treasurer of either house; full purfe, t' other with not a fous. groupe of figures awe create, ith all th' impertinence of state; and feather confecrate to fame, ekings, and queens without a name. Havard, all ferene, in the fame strains, ates and rages, triumphs, and complains: vacant face proclaim'd a heart could not feel emotions, nor impart. mighty Davies. On my life, -Divies hath a very pretty wife :all over!-In plots famous grown! tim came ths a fentence, as curs mouth a bone. Holland came.With truly tragic ftalk, he flies-A hero thould not walk. with heav'n he warr'd, his eager eyes d their batteries again the kies; action, air, pause, start, figh, groan, Tow'd, and made ufe of as his own. ube thrown on any other stage, perhaps, have pleas'd an easy age; appears a copy, and no more, thing better we have feen before. or who would build a solid fame, Anitation's fervile arts difclaim; Fond of his drefs, fond of his perfon grown, Laugh'd at by all, and to himself unknown, From fide to fide he ftruts, he fmiles, he prates, And feems to wonder what's become of Yates. Woodward,endow'd with varioustricks offace, Great mafter in the fcience of grimace, From Ireland ventures, fav'rite of the town, Lur'd by the pleafing profpect of renown; A fpeaking Harlequin, made up of whim, He twifts, he twines, he tortures ev'ry limb, Plays to the eye with a mere monkey's art, And leaves to fenfe the conqueft of the heart. We laugh indeed, but, on reflection's birth, We wonder at ourselves, and curse our mirth. His walk of parts he fatally mifplac'd, And inclination fondly took for taste; Hence hath the town fo often feen display'd Beau in burlefque, high life in mafquerade. But when bold wits,not fuchaspatch up plays, Where modeft judgment her decree fufpends, By turns transform'd into all kinds of shapes, Conftant to none, Foote laughs, cries, ftruts and fcrapes : Now in the center, now in van or rear, Doth a man ftutter, look a-fquint, or halt? If in these hallow'd times, when fober, fad, All courtiers will, like reafonable creatures, more, And humour fet the audience in a roar. Actors I've feen, and of no vulgar name, Arms crofs'd, brows bent, eyes fix'd, A band of malecontents with fpleen o'erfi By nature form'd in her perverfest mood, Some errors, handed down from age to age, But if fome man more hardy than the r What! fhart opinion then, of nature free Auftin would always glisten in French If I forget thee, Blakes, or if I fay Aught hurtful, may I never fee thee play |