University of Virginia Library

EPILOGUE.

Written by the late ROBERT MERRY, Esq.
Spoken by Mrs. Jordan.
Ye solemn critics! wheresoe'er you're seated,
To grant a favour may you be entreated?
For which I'll pay you proper adoration,
And strive to please you—that is my vocation:
Then do not frown, but give due share of praise,
Nor rend from Shakespeare's tomb the sacred bays.
The scatter'd flow'rs! he left benignly save!
Posthumous flow'rs! the garland of the grave!
What tho' he liv'd two hundred years ago,
He knew you very well, as I will shew:
His pencil sketch'd you, and that seldom errs;
You're all, whate'er you think, his characters.
How!—do you doubt it?—cast your eyes around,
In ev'ry corner of this house they're found.
Observe the jolly grazier in the pit,
Why, he is Falstaff, fat, and full of wit;—
In fun and feasting places his delight,
And with his Dolly emulates the Knight.
Look at that youth, whose countenance of woe
Denotes a tender-hearted Romeo;
He only wishes, tho' he dare not speak,
To be a glove to touch his Juliet's cheek;
While she, from yonder terrace, smiles serene,
And longs with him to play the garden scene.
But O! I tremble now,—there sits a man,
Rugged and rough, a very Caliban!
He growls out his displeasure—'tis a shame!
Do, dear Miranda! make the monster tame.
And you, my pretty Beatrice, don't fret,
Your Benedick is fond of a coquette.
For tho' he vows he'll think no more about you,
He means to marry—he can't live without you.
Kind faithful Imogens are here, to charm us,
Mad Edgars, Ancient Pistols to alarm us,
And Hotspurs too, who seek the glorious boon,
“To pluck bright honour from the pale-fac'd moon.”
Besides, we have our Touchstones, Shylocks dire,
Iagos false, and many a shallow Squire.
Nay, there are ladies, who in their own houses,
Are Desdemonas, plagu'd with jealous spouses.
'Tis true, there is some change, I must confess,
Since Shakespeare's time, at least in point of dress.
The ruffs are gone, and the long female waist
Yields to the Grecian more voluptuous taste;
While circling braids the copious tresses bind,
And the bare neck spreads beautiful behind.
Our senators and peers no longer go
Like men in armour glitt'ring in a row;
But, for the cloak and pointed beard we note
The close-cropt head, and little short great-coat.
Yet is the modern Briton still the same,
Eager to cherish, and adverse to blame;
Foe to deception, ready to defend,
A kind protector and a gen'rous friend.