"Their object Truth, Utility their aim, “ Thus aided arts shall with fresh vigour shoot; PROLOGUE то THE SIEGE OF DAMAS CU S. SPOKEN BY LORD SANDWICH. HEN arts and arms, beneath Eliza's fmile, WHE Spread wide their influence o'er this happy isle; A golden reign, uncurs'd with party-rage, That foe to tafte, and tyrant of our age; Ere all our learning in a libel lay, And all our talk, in politics, or play: The statesman oft would foothe his toils with wit, There, woo the Muse, and wake the moving lyre. The world at once enlighten and adorn; Rough Rough nature soften'd into grace and ease; And now, When erring Phocyas, whom wild paffions blind, EP *The Siege of Damafcus was acted at Woburn, by the Duke of Bedford, the Earl of Sandwich, and fome other perfons of diftinction, in the month of May, 1743. EPILOGUE то THE BROTHERS, A TRAGEDY, BY DR. YOUNG, T O woman, fure, the most severe affliction Is, from these fellows, point-blank contradiction. Our Bard, without-I wish he would appearUd! I would give it him-but you shall hear Good Sir! quoth I- and curtsey'd as I spokeOur pit, you know, expects and loves a joke'Twere fit to humour them: for, right or wrong, True Britons never like the fame thing long. To-day is fair-they ftrut, huff, fwear, harangue : To-morrow's foul-they fneak afide, and hang. Is there a war-peace! peace! is all their cry: The peace is made-then, blood! they'll fight and die. Gallants, in talking thus, I meant no treafon : I would have brought, you fee, the man to reason. But with fome folks, 'tis labour lost to strive: A reasoning mule will neither lead nor drive. He hum'd, and haw'd; then, waking from his dream, Cry'd, I must preach to you his moral scheme. 2 A scheme, A scheme, forfooth! to benefit the nation! * Some queer, odd whim of pious propagation! Yet, after all, to give the Devil his due, Our Author's scheme, though strange, is wholly new: For drums and routs, make him a while your passion, And, spite of real or imagin'd blunders, Ev'n let him live, nine days, like other wonders. PROLOGUE. T 0 MR. THOMSON'S AGAMEMNON, WHEN this decifive night, at length, appears, WHE The night of every author's hopes and fears, What shifts to bribe applaufe, poor poets try! In all the forms of wit they court and lye: These meanly beg it, as an alms; and those, By boastful blufter dazzle and impose. Nor *The profits arifing from this play were intended to be given, by the Author, to the Society for propagating Chriftian Knowledge, 2 Nor poorly fearful, nor fecurely vain, Ours would, by honest ways, that grace obtain ; Would, as a free-born wit, be fairly try'd : And then-let candor, fairly too, decide. He courts no friend, who blindly comes to praife; By what may win the judgment, wake the heart, By scenes, fo wrought, as may applause command |