Poems on Several Occasions by Samuel Wesley. The Second Edition, with Additions |
PROLOGUE
Spoken before the Beau's-Stratagem Acted by some young Persons of Quality.
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Poems on Several Occasions | ||
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PROLOGUE Spoken before the Beau's-Stratagem Acted by some young Persons of Quality.
Let Play-House Actors crowded Seats desire,And stretch their venal Voices for their Hire
We practise not for gain, to grieve, or rage;
But enter, gratis, on a private Stage.
Expect not here to see th' Ambitious rise,
To weep the falling Great, or wretched Wise.
Pleas'd if our Sport a Father entertains,
Or Mother's Joys shall recompense our Pains:
Our End is Mirth, our Characters are low,
A finish'd Rake, and Fortune-hunting Beau:
A Pair unhappy, parted by Consent,
And freed without an Act of Parliament.
T' obtain your Smiles with comick Smiles we try;
'Tis wholesomer to laugh, than 'tis to cry.
What tho' they tell us Griefs, and Pains, and Cares
Oppress with Loads of Woe the hoary Hairs;
Those come too soon, how long soe'er they stay.
Indulge the present Hour, and laugh to-day;
Our Years excuse us, 'tis Our Time to play.
Poems on Several Occasions | ||