A collection of poems on various subjects including the theatre, a didactic essay; in the course of which are pointed out, the rocks and shoals to which deluded adventurers are inevitably exposed. Ornamented with cuts and illustrated with notes, original letters and curious incidental anecdotes [by Samuel Whyte] |
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 | A collection of poems on various subjects |  |
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[PIECES COMPLEMENTARY]
LITCHFIELD. TO MISS SEWARD,
LEFT IN FARQUHAR'S PARLOUR AT THE GEORGE INN,
THURSDAY AUGUST IIND, MDCCLXXXVII.
Thrice favour'd Litchfield! fair, illustrious town!
High in fame's brightest page stands thy renown.
From thee, whatever sage or poet knew
Of wisdom's endless volume, Johnson drew;
In thy rich glebe, pendent with golden fruit,
Production rare! did Garrick's laurels shoot;
But what should flatter as it honours most,
A Seward's genius is thy living boast:
Whether in virtue's cause her bosom glow,
Or the sad strain to friendship sacred flow,
Or meditating yet a nobler song,
With wonted aid the muses round her throng,
In wit a phoenix, and in heart a dove,
Her sex's pride, our wonder and our love.
Hither, elate with hope, I came from far
To view insphered the famed poetic star,
Which oft in song, tho' a reflected blaze,
Had rapt my fancy and outshone my praise;
But from this seat of excellence depart
With lingering step and disappointed heart;
For still to me, with deep regret I own,
She shines unseen and captivates unknown.
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IMPROMPTU,
ON SEEING MRS. BARRY IN THE CHARACTER OF ZENOBIA.
MDCCLXXIII.
To crown the fame of this dramatic age,
Three heroines lately have adorn'd the stage;
First, great and glorious, with consummate pow'r
The sock and buskin graceful Pritchard wore;
Next plaintive Cibber topp'd the tender part,
Drew tears from brutes, and cleft the flinty heart:—
To full perfection none durst e'er aspire,
With Cibber's softness tempering Pritchard's fire;
What then could nature for her Barry do?
“To make a third, she join'd the former two.”
THE GRECIAN DAUGHTER,
ON SEEING A VERY YOUNG PERFORMER IN THAT DIFFICULT AND TRYING PART,
MARCH XXIII, MDCCXCI.
Monimia's rising talents, heaven-acquir'd,
I have oft remark'd, applauded and admir'd:
Prov'd in a complicated round of parts,
She gains all hands and captivates all hearts.
Her youth, her beauty, modesty and sense
O'er all she does a nameless charm dispense;
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Her skill I fear, her inexperience dread—
‘How should a perfect novice hope to draw,
‘With taste and judgment what she never saw?’
Thus closely question'd, not untruth to say,
On specious grounds, I went to see the play;
When, lo!—the sex how fertile in device!—
Copying her faithful glass, and in a trice
Collecting all her powers, the cunning elf
Gives us a striking portrait of herself.
Her tones, looks, actions, suited to the word,
Like strings in perfect unison accord,
And filial virtue with enchanting grace
Pervades her form and brightens in her face.
Others from stage finesse applauses seek,
What nature dictates her exertions speak,
And up to each incitement of her part,
Attest the genuine feelings of her heart;
We see, allowing for dramatic strife,
The very character she acts in life;
And not a movement of her lovely frame,
But gives an earnest of her future fame.
Envy may snarl and jealousy repine,
'Tis hers with honour unimpeach'd to shine;
New to the stage, unpatroniz'd, unknown,
Her merit's glorious and 'tis all her own.
| A collection of poems on various subjects | |