PROLOGUE,
Spoken by Mr.DAVIES.
To-night, a Child of Chance is hither brought,Who could be neitherborrow’d,begg’d, norbought;Nay, so alert was said to be the Droll,’Twas well affirm’d he was not to bestole;But hence dispatch’d, back’d by Apollo’s warrant,A messenger haskidnapp’dthis Wag-errant;Poetic Fugitive, has hither dragg’d him,And, safely here arriv’d, has now ungagg’d him,To plead before this Court, his whole amenance;Where, should you sentence him to public Penance,Oh, sad reverse! how would he foam and fret,And sigh for Paris and his sweetSoubrette!Where twice ten thousand tongues are proud to greet him,And wing’d Applause, on tip-toe, stands to meet him;Where the grim Guard, in nightly rapture, stands,And grounds his musquet to get at his hands;Where the retentive Pitt, all prone t’adore him,Repeat hisBon motshalf a bar before him;While everyBel-Esprit, at every hit,Grows fifty-fold more conscious of his Wit.Iffar fetch’d and dear boughtgive Trifles worth,Sure you’ll applaud ourFigaro’s second birth.Nought of his present merit must we say;Bear but in mind,OURDay’s aSpanishDay.Cupid, in warmer Climes, urg’d by the Grape,Calls not each petty violence a Rape!But oft his Votaries leaves intoxicate,HenceFigarohimself is illegitimate.Sanction’d by you, howe’er, this little Blot,So much in fashion, will be soon forgot;That Signature which each kind hand bestows,Shall make him well receiv’d where’er he goes!
To-night, a Child of Chance is hither brought,Who could be neitherborrow’d,begg’d, norbought;Nay, so alert was said to be the Droll,’Twas well affirm’d he was not to bestole;But hence dispatch’d, back’d by Apollo’s warrant,A messenger haskidnapp’dthis Wag-errant;Poetic Fugitive, has hither dragg’d him,And, safely here arriv’d, has now ungagg’d him,To plead before this Court, his whole amenance;Where, should you sentence him to public Penance,Oh, sad reverse! how would he foam and fret,And sigh for Paris and his sweetSoubrette!Where twice ten thousand tongues are proud to greet him,And wing’d Applause, on tip-toe, stands to meet him;Where the grim Guard, in nightly rapture, stands,And grounds his musquet to get at his hands;Where the retentive Pitt, all prone t’adore him,Repeat hisBon motshalf a bar before him;While everyBel-Esprit, at every hit,Grows fifty-fold more conscious of his Wit.Iffar fetch’d and dear boughtgive Trifles worth,Sure you’ll applaud ourFigaro’s second birth.Nought of his present merit must we say;Bear but in mind,OURDay’s aSpanishDay.Cupid, in warmer Climes, urg’d by the Grape,Calls not each petty violence a Rape!But oft his Votaries leaves intoxicate,HenceFigarohimself is illegitimate.Sanction’d by you, howe’er, this little Blot,So much in fashion, will be soon forgot;That Signature which each kind hand bestows,Shall make him well receiv’d where’er he goes!
To-night, a Child of Chance is hither brought,Who could be neitherborrow’d,begg’d, norbought;Nay, so alert was said to be the Droll,’Twas well affirm’d he was not to bestole;But hence dispatch’d, back’d by Apollo’s warrant,A messenger haskidnapp’dthis Wag-errant;Poetic Fugitive, has hither dragg’d him,And, safely here arriv’d, has now ungagg’d him,To plead before this Court, his whole amenance;Where, should you sentence him to public Penance,Oh, sad reverse! how would he foam and fret,And sigh for Paris and his sweetSoubrette!Where twice ten thousand tongues are proud to greet him,And wing’d Applause, on tip-toe, stands to meet him;Where the grim Guard, in nightly rapture, stands,And grounds his musquet to get at his hands;Where the retentive Pitt, all prone t’adore him,Repeat hisBon motshalf a bar before him;While everyBel-Esprit, at every hit,Grows fifty-fold more conscious of his Wit.
To-night, a Child of Chance is hither brought,
Who could be neitherborrow’d,begg’d, norbought;
Nay, so alert was said to be the Droll,
’Twas well affirm’d he was not to bestole;
But hence dispatch’d, back’d by Apollo’s warrant,
A messenger haskidnapp’dthis Wag-errant;
Poetic Fugitive, has hither dragg’d him,
And, safely here arriv’d, has now ungagg’d him,
To plead before this Court, his whole amenance;
Where, should you sentence him to public Penance,
Oh, sad reverse! how would he foam and fret,
And sigh for Paris and his sweetSoubrette!
Where twice ten thousand tongues are proud to greet him,
And wing’d Applause, on tip-toe, stands to meet him;
Where the grim Guard, in nightly rapture, stands,
And grounds his musquet to get at his hands;
Where the retentive Pitt, all prone t’adore him,
Repeat hisBon motshalf a bar before him;
While everyBel-Esprit, at every hit,
Grows fifty-fold more conscious of his Wit.
Iffar fetch’d and dear boughtgive Trifles worth,Sure you’ll applaud ourFigaro’s second birth.Nought of his present merit must we say;Bear but in mind,OURDay’s aSpanishDay.Cupid, in warmer Climes, urg’d by the Grape,Calls not each petty violence a Rape!But oft his Votaries leaves intoxicate,HenceFigarohimself is illegitimate.
Iffar fetch’d and dear boughtgive Trifles worth,
Sure you’ll applaud ourFigaro’s second birth.
Nought of his present merit must we say;
Bear but in mind,OURDay’s aSpanishDay.
Cupid, in warmer Climes, urg’d by the Grape,
Calls not each petty violence a Rape!
But oft his Votaries leaves intoxicate,
HenceFigarohimself is illegitimate.
Sanction’d by you, howe’er, this little Blot,So much in fashion, will be soon forgot;That Signature which each kind hand bestows,Shall make him well receiv’d where’er he goes!
Sanction’d by you, howe’er, this little Blot,
So much in fashion, will be soon forgot;
That Signature which each kind hand bestows,
Shall make him well receiv’d where’er he goes!