 | The Works of Thomas Love Peacock |  |
233
PROLOGUE TO MR. TOBIN'S COMEDY OF THE GUARDIANS, PERFORMED AT THE THEATRE ROYAL, DRURY LANE, NOVEMBER, 1816
Spoken by Mr. ---
Beyond the hopes and fears of earlier days,The frowns of censure and the smiles of praise,
Is he, the bard, on whose untimely tomb,
Your favour bade the Thespian laurel bloom;
Though late the meed that crowned his minstrel strain,
It has not died, and was not given in vain.
If now our hopes one more memorial rear,
To blend with those that live unwithering here;
If on that tomb where genius sleeps in night,
One flower expands to bloom in lingering light,
Flower of a stem which no returning spring
Shall clothe anew with buds and blossoming;
Oh! yet again the votive wreath allow
To grace his name which cannot bind his brow;
And, while our tale the scenic maze pursues,
Still prove kind Guardians to his orphan muse.
| The Works of Thomas Love Peacock | |