 | Humfrey, Duke of Gloucester |  |
EPILOGUE. Spoken by Mrs. OLDFIELD.
The
Business of an Epilogue, they say,
Is, to destroy the Moral of the PLAY:
To wipe the Tears of Vertue from your Eyes;
And make your Merry,—lest you should grow Wise.
Is, to destroy the Moral of the PLAY:
To wipe the Tears of Vertue from your Eyes;
And make your Merry,—lest you should grow Wise.
Well!—You have heard a dismall Tale, I own:
It, almost, makes One dread—to lie, alone.
Ruffians, and Ghosts, and Murder, and Despair,
May chace more pleasing Visions from the Fair.
Wives can awake their Husbands, in their Fright:
But, if poor Damsels be disturb'd, by Night;
How shall They (helpless Creatures!) lay the Spright?
It, almost, makes One dread—to lie, alone.
Ruffians, and Ghosts, and Murder, and Despair,
May chace more pleasing Visions from the Fair.
Wives can awake their Husbands, in their Fright:
But, if poor Damsels be disturb'd, by Night;
How shall They (helpless Creatures!) lay the Spright?
Forget it all;—And, Beaufort's Crime forgive:—
Duke Humfrey was—too Good a Man, to live.
And, yet;—his Merit, rightly understood;
We, Now, have Store of Patriots,—full as Good!
Great Souls; Who, for their Countrey's Sake, would be content,
Their Spouses should be doom'd—to Banishment.
Duke Humfrey was—too Good a Man, to live.
And, yet;—his Merit, rightly understood;
We, Now, have Store of Patriots,—full as Good!
Great Souls; Who, for their Countrey's Sake, would be content,
Their Spouses should be doom'd—to Banishment.
Since Chronicles have drawn our Duke, so tame;
Is Eleanor, if she survives, to blame?
A Widow knows the Good, and Bad, of Life:
And, has it in her Choice, to be, or not to be, a Wife!—
Virgins, impatient, cannot stay to choose:
They risque it all;—not having Much to lose!—
I mean,—such Nymphs, as sigh in rural Shades;
No Midnight Shepherdess, at Masquerades:
Or, such ill-fated Maids, as pine in Grotto's;
And, Never, had the Experience of Ridotto's!
Where (notwithstanding They their Market smother)
Some gain One Trinket; and, Some lose Another.
These Novelties, with Grief, considerate Women see:
Is Eleanor, if she survives, to blame?
A Widow knows the Good, and Bad, of Life:
And, has it in her Choice, to be, or not to be, a Wife!—
Virgins, impatient, cannot stay to choose:
They risque it all;—not having Much to lose!—
I mean,—such Nymphs, as sigh in rural Shades;
No Midnight Shepherdess, at Masquerades:
Or, such ill-fated Maids, as pine in Grotto's;
And, Never, had the Experience of Ridotto's!
Where (notwithstanding They their Market smother)
Some gain One Trinket; and, Some lose Another.
For, should Italian Modes prevail; pray, What are We?
How oft' do Men our tender Spirits vex,
By telling us; We are a Trifling Sex!—
Yet,—I am told, Philosophers maintain;
Nature makes not the smallest Thing, in vain:
And, let demurest Prudes say, What they will;
The Best of Women would be Women, still.
FINIS.
| Humfrey, Duke of Gloucester | |