Poems :: :: University of Virginia Library

In Townley, Charles Surface, and parts such as those,
Where merit exists in deportment and clothes,
The well-bred Comedian gets thro' with great ease,
And sometimes delights us, but always must please.
He proves the full force of Queen Bess's narration,
For his face is a letter of recommendation.
With pleasure, with transport, the audience descry,
The traits of benevolence beam in his eye;

But that's to a Briton superior to art,
'Tis a comment which tacitly honors the heart.
In the high paths of elegance who dare aspire,
To walk as his compeer, or copy his fire!
For Comedy pleasantly singled him out
As Her Gentleman-Usher, when giving a route;
To regulate manners, pretensions, and places,
To model the awkward, and teach them new graces.

But Tragedy—that is a step 'yond his skill,
He may play it from duty, but should not from will.
No varying sounds from his eloquence flow,
To mark the gradations of gladness or woe;
But a tedious monotony hangs on the ear,
Discordant, if loud; and, unmeaning, if clear;
Tho' Nature his person has form'd with great pride,
The Grief-waking requisites all are denied:
Let him stick to his mistress, and eager enjoy her,
He may do a vast deal ere his efforts can cloy her.