Tül Heav'n flung out the fignal to deftroy,
And dropt its curtain o'er this fcene of joy :
Nine tedious weeks the languid patient lay
To dire difeafe an unrefifting prey;
The tenth fucceeded--when, alas! behold
A worse tormentor in a human mould,
A griping creditor; efcape who can,
When man's great foe affumes the fhape of
man?

Steel'd to their trade, and deaf to all their cries,
Relentless ruffians feize their legal prize;
From my fond arms a dying husband tear
And plunge their victim in a dungeon-there.
ΜΑΝ.

Enough! go fpeak the healing words of
peace

To thy fad mate, and bear him this release; Tell him the Mufe, which on thefe fcenes attends,

That balfam to his wounded spirit fends;
And know this truth thyfelf, 'tis not alone
The preacher's pulpit, and the Monarch's
throne

That charity frequents; but, in this age,
She guides the theatre, and treads the stage:
Lo! fhe is prefent, caft your eyes around,
And here in each spectator's heart she's found.

PROLOGUE
To the new Dramatic Entertainment of
A CHRISTMAS TALE.
Mufic plays, and enter feveral Perfons with
different Kind of Dishes.

Enter Mr. Palmer, in the Character of Chrift

G

mas.

O on-prepare my bounty for my friends, And fee that Mirth with all her crew attends :

To the AUDIENCE.
Behold a Perfonage well known to fame;
Once lov'd and honour'd-Chriflmas is my
name!

My Officers of State my tafte difplay;
Cooks, fcullions, paftry-cooks, prepare my way
Hoily and ivy round me honcurs fpread,
And my retinue fhew I'm not ill-fed;
Minc'd pies, by way of belt, my breast divide,
And a large carving-knife adorns my fide;
'Tis no fop's weapon, 'twill be often drawn ;
This turban for my head is collar'd brawn!
Tho' old and white my locks, my cheeks are
cherry;

Warm'd by good fires, good cheers, I'm always

Clear well your minds from politics and spleen, Hear my Tale out-fee all that's to be feen! Take care, my children, that you well behave, You, Sir, in blue red cape-not quite fo grave: That critic there in black-so stern and thin, Before you frown, pray let the Tale beginYou, in the crimson capuchin, I fear you, Why, Madam, at this time, fo croís appear you?

Excufe me pray-I did not fee your husband

Open your mouths, pray fwallow every thing!
Critics, beware, how you our pranks defpile;
Hear well my Tale, or you fhan't touch my
pies;

The proverb change,-be merry, but not
wife.

*To the Upper Gallery.

On AIR, in Imitation of the Earl of Rochester's Verses on NOTHING, and ef Mr. Pope's Verfes on SILENCE.

HOU wert, ere Time brought with it fickly care,

TH

Before all nature-hou wert fure somewhere,
For all the world grew from a breath of air,

From thee is fprung whatever here we find,
External riches-riches of the mind,
For wits and beauties (boafted fuch) are wind.

The great man's pomp, with all his show and glare,

The lover's vows, and the fine Lady's pray',
Are nothing else than emptinels and air.

The Courtier's promife, or his Lordship's fmile,
Is quite an airy, nothing-meaning file,
That, as we grafp at, flies away the while.

Our Nobles heads are much in debt to thee,
This was-it is-and till time cease shall be,
As if Fate faid-it is my great decree.

The philofophic fage, when crown'd with years,
Owns his paft labour (owns with many tears)
Just like an empty bubble-disappears.
What lawyers plead, what Judges do decree,
How much wou'd mea be, Air, oblig'd to thee,
Cou'dft thou but clear it from difhonefty.
The parton's preaching, and his form of pray't,
Are nothing elfe (all practice does declare)
Than just a gentle breeze of pleafing air.

O, Ladies fair, are these fit men to wed?
Such husbands, balf, had better be quite dead.
But to return-vain men, throughout the nation
Boaft they alone have Colledge-education :
Are not we qualify'd to take degrees?
We've caps, and gowns, nay bands too, if you
please,

Cornely's, and Almack's, our Universities!
Young female ftudents rue, if girls of parts,
From under Graduates-Miftreffes of Arts!
The bafhful fpinfters turn important fpoules,
Strive to be Matters, and the Heads of Houfes!
Will any of you here, bleft with a wife,
Difpute the fact-you dare not for your life.

A

Pray tell me truly, critics, and be free,
Do you this night prefer the wife to me?"
Shati Mrs. Belville give the play a name?
What are her merits? a cold, fmiling dame,
While I, a falamander, liv'd in flame!
Prefs'd by three lovers! 'twas indeed provok-
ing!

Ladies, upon my word, it was no joking.
Can you from mortal woman more require,
Than fave her fingers, and yet play with fire?
The risks I run the partial bard upbraids ;
Wives won't be taught—be it the School for
Maids.

SIR,

BOUT the clofe of laft fummer, I made a vifit to an acquaintance of mine, who is of the clafs of men commonly called Virtuofi, or rather Curiofi. This Gentleman, in youth, first converfed much with books, then commenced a very intimate correfpondence with the world, and now, as if cloyed and tired of every thing, feems, in a great measure, to have withdrawn himfelf intirely from both. For, though he has treasured up a very valuable collection of books, and contracted a very polite intimacy with many in the more exalted stations of life, he feems to have retired from all, to purfue the ftudy of Nature in a little rural retreat, where he spends his time in gardening, agriculture, in the management of bees, and in breeding cattle, fowl, and fifh, in the most aftonishing variety.

In thefe he now places his chief amufement, and feems to totally engaged and wrapped up in them, that very few, and thefe only his felect friends, can gain accefs to his retirement. He has done me the pleasure to rank me among the number of these friends; and, as often as I have leifure to indulge myfelf in delights of this kind, I gladly embrace the opportunity of taking a view of his rural abode, where we may behold almoft the whole animal creation in epitome: All enjoying the fulleft fcope of liberty, blended with all the comforts of life.

His house is rather convenient than magnificent. His tenants and fervants are content and happy. His gardens produce every thing that is ufeful or curious: The vegetable tribes flourish there in all their beauty and perfection. His lands are divided and inclofed, fo that every field feems furnished with all that is neceffary or defirable for comfort or fupport. His woods are the nursery

and afylum of their native inhabitants; and his ponds, as well as running waters, are ftored with fish and water-fowl in great abundance. And, what adds greatly to the delight of this pleasing scene is, that all the animals within thefe happy bounds feem to have laid aside intirely their natural ferocity, They all know their Lord and protector: All the beafts of the field and foreit, together with all the fowl, flock about, and, with the ftrongest indications of love and gratitude, look up to their common benefactor, from whofe hand they daily receive new inftances of his bounty. Even the intractable and timorous fishes come in shoals to the banks on which he appears.

His plantations, which are very extenfive, feem to vie with nature. Every tree ftands in the moft proper foil and fituation for its health and improvement. They enjoy all the affiftance, but never feel the restraints of art. And hence they conftantly afford the due return of all that may be expected from utility or ornament.

Nothing furely can afford a more pleafing idea of paradife than this. Nor is it easy to conceive with what pleasure I contemplate on the fituation and circumstances of my generous friend, whom I look upon as infinitely more happy, in all refpects, than the greatet and moft favoured Monarch in the world.

I could not long afford myself the pleafure of viewing thole happy manfions, which daily offered new fcenes of delight, as well as fufficient matter for contemplation; was obliged to return to the butle of the noify town.

but

Soon after my arrival, I made a vifit to another of my acquaintance, whofe mind was of a very different caft, and whofe habi tion flood in the neighbourhood of the city.

He has a confiderable garden, and fome
fields well planted with trees; but, among
them all, you can scarce find one that wears
the common appearance of nature. The
garden is laid out in the ftricteft and molt
unnatural irregularity. The walks are all
of determined figures and fizes, and always
uniform. The trees and fhrubs are cut into
various shapes and figures; fo that they
look like fo many monuments, pyra-
mids, or statues; and the hedges are cut as
plain as walls, and fometimes formed into
regular figures of arcades, niches, and the
like.

He has ponds, but they are cut into re-
gular figures of fquares, hexagons, octo-
gons, &c. The trees in the fields are
planted in the fame stiff order, and fuch a
Itrict fymmetry and uniformity is obferved
throughout the whole, that, if any, thing
fhould obftruct the view, it is painful to the
fight. In short, the whole labour has been,
not to follow or improve, but to hide or re-
Arain, the innumerable and inimitable beau-
ties of nature.

This contraft to my rural friend's im-
provement gave me a very degrading idea of
my city friend's taste. But this was greatly
heightened by obferving his treatment of
the animal creation, of which he was equally
stocked with my friend in the country. He
had a curious collection of various kinds of

animals, but they were all confined. His
beafts were bound with chains, and his birds
fhut up in cages, of different materials and
manufactures, according as the creature was
more or lefs efteemed by its Mafter. I faw
a poor gentle goldfinch, whofe flender
limbs were never defigned for toil, obliged
to work hard for every gram of feed, and
every drop of water he was allowed for his
fuftenance; and a modest owl, that bird of
filence and darkness, exposed to a large sky-
light in a noify room; while the frong and
towering eagle, the hawk, and the raven,
were pining in darkness and inactivity.

The contrast between the behaviour of
my two friends filled me with ideas of the
moft oppofite kinds. I could not help com-
paring the creatures that lived within the in-
clofures of the former to the subjects of a
land of liberty, where the Prince is adored
for his beneficence, and confidered as the
real father of his people: While thofe that
filled the cages and prifons of the latter dif-
played the miferies of a defpotic Govern-
ment in all its horrors; where the Prince is
beheld with terror instead of delight, and
where no perfon has any thing he can pro-
The iron hand of ty-
perly call his own.

ranny there holds the fceptre of defpotifm,
and the complainings of distress and mifery
are heard throughout the kingdom.

A.

BOUDAAB defeats Ali Bey.

150
161

163

Account of an Affray that happened at
Vauxhall
Account of General Ganfel's Trial 164
Account of the mufical Drama called the
Deferter
Account of the Disturbance at Covent gar-

den theatre
Achilles in Petticoats

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