Neglected Genius A Poem. Illustrating the Untimely And Unfortunate Fate Of Many British Poets; From the Period of Henry the Eighth to the Aera of the Unfortunate Chatterton. Containing Imitations of their Different Styles, &c. &c. By W. H. Ireland |
Prologue to Lillo's Elmeric.
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Neglected Genius | ||
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Prologue to Lillo's Elmeric.
BY JAMES HAMMOND.
No labour'd scenes to-night adorn our stage,
Lillo's plain sense wou'd here the heart engage;
He knew no art, no rule; but warmly thought
From passion's force; and as he felt he wrote.
His Barnwell once no critic's test could bear,
Yet from each eye still draws the nat'ral tear;
With gen'rous candour hear his latest strains,
And let kind pity shelter his remains.
Depress'd by want, afflicted by disease,
Dying he wrote, and dying wish'd to please:—
O! may that wish be now humanely paid,
And no harsh critic vex his gentle shade.
'Tis yours his unsupported fame to save,
And bid one laurel grace his humble grave.
Neglected Genius | ||