 | Poems |  |
Mr. BERNARD.
Agile Bernard, thro' George's three nations well known,
In Archer's disguise made his bow to the town;
But who gave him that part, prov'd in fact but his foe,
As no bulwark he rais'd—twixt the groom and the beau.
'Tis the actors of France know the use of those arms,
Which were meant by our God anatomical charms;
Tho', if we may judge from our players strange duties,
All believe them incumbrances—none think them beauties!
And to prove how impatient their feelings abide 'em,
In the pocket or bosom with industry hide 'em:—
But that tale would amaze, such a tale could I tell,
That a country-bred actor play'd gentlemen well;
There the grant to do wrong but enervates the will,
And Nature unbridled, oft wanders to Ill.
In Archer's disguise made his bow to the town;
240
As no bulwark he rais'd—twixt the groom and the beau.
'Tis the actors of France know the use of those arms,
Which were meant by our God anatomical charms;
Tho', if we may judge from our players strange duties,
All believe them incumbrances—none think them beauties!
And to prove how impatient their feelings abide 'em,
In the pocket or bosom with industry hide 'em:—
But that tale would amaze, such a tale could I tell,
That a country-bred actor play'd gentlemen well;
There the grant to do wrong but enervates the will,
And Nature unbridled, oft wanders to Ill.
If high-born example can qualify wrong,
Pleasant Bernard may quote England's historic song;
Warm and wild with his errors, unshackl'd he rov'd,
As the heart strongly urg'd what the mind disapprov'd:
Thus the jest-loving Charles, and his comic adherents,
Assum'd Britain's sceptre, as Laughter's vicegerents;
Having smil'd 'mid the Belgæ, they seiz'd Albion's throne,
When exotic follies corrupted their own.—
Pleasant Bernard may quote England's historic song;
Warm and wild with his errors, unshackl'd he rov'd,
As the heart strongly urg'd what the mind disapprov'd:
Thus the jest-loving Charles, and his comic adherents,
Assum'd Britain's sceptre, as Laughter's vicegerents;
Having smil'd 'mid the Belgæ, they seiz'd Albion's throne,
When exotic follies corrupted their own.—
'Tis not ludicrous tricks can upraise a strange name,
Or give mask'd Desert to the volumes of Fame;
For the part and the habit must both be convey'd,
To the critical eye, as the man and his shade.
—But let him not droop at his fate, or regret it;
When the diamond is polish'd, the public will set it;
Tho' the town and the claimant oft growl when they meet,
Yet Custom at length makes their bickerings sweet;
Till enraptur'd his feebleness Charity sees,
And their atoms commix by a chain of degrees.
If an actor for years has repeated a crime,
Still the edge of that error is blunted by Time;
Hence Hull is permitted his post to retain,
And the tones of a Bensley are heard without pain!!!
The audience of London, (thus all know the case is)
Are notoriously fond—of old friends and old faces!
And well must he know all the wiles of Seduction,
Tho' indebted to Wit for a brief introduction;
Who by efforts of dignified worth can remove
The fim harden'd base of their old fashion'd love;
For misled by its whisperings oft Judgment retires,
While Peace warms the bosom with Amity's fires.
Or give mask'd Desert to the volumes of Fame;
241
To the critical eye, as the man and his shade.
—But let him not droop at his fate, or regret it;
When the diamond is polish'd, the public will set it;
Tho' the town and the claimant oft growl when they meet,
Yet Custom at length makes their bickerings sweet;
Till enraptur'd his feebleness Charity sees,
And their atoms commix by a chain of degrees.
If an actor for years has repeated a crime,
Still the edge of that error is blunted by Time;
Hence Hull is permitted his post to retain,
And the tones of a Bensley are heard without pain!!!
The audience of London, (thus all know the case is)
Are notoriously fond—of old friends and old faces!
And well must he know all the wiles of Seduction,
Tho' indebted to Wit for a brief introduction;
Who by efforts of dignified worth can remove
The fim harden'd base of their old fashion'd love;
For misled by its whisperings oft Judgment retires,
While Peace warms the bosom with Amity's fires.
| Poems | |