To kill a bride, a mistress unenjoy'd;

'Twere fome excufe, had the poor man been cloy'd:

To kill her on fufpicion, ere he knew

Whether the heinous crime were false or true.

The priest faid grace; fhe met him in the bower,
In hopes fhe might anticipate an hour:

Love was her errand, but the hot-brain'd Spaniard,
Inftead of Love-produc'd a filthy Poniard:
Had he been wife at this their private meeting,
The proof o' th' Pudding had been in the Eating:
Madam had then been pleas'd, and Don contented,
And all this blood and murder been prevented.
Britons, be wife, and, from this fad example,
Ne'er break a Bargain, but first take a Sample.

THE

THE

BROTHER S:

A

TRA GED Y.

ACTED AT THE

THEATRE-ROYAL IN DRURY-LANE,

BY HIS MAJESTY'S SERVANTS.

PROLOGUE,

WRITTEN BY MR. DODSLEY,

AND SPOKEN BY MR. HAVARD.

T

PHE Tragic Mufe, revolving many a page
Of time's long records drawn from every age,
Forms not her plans on low or trivial deeds,
But marks the ftriking !——When fome Hero bleeds
To fave his Country, then her powers inspire,
And fouls congenial catch the patriot fire.-
When bold oppreffion grinds a fuffering land;
When the keen dagger gleams in murder's hand;
When black confpiracy infects the throng;
Or fell revenge fits brooding o'er his wrong;
Then walks fhe forth in terror; at her frown
Guilt brinks appall'd, though seated on a throne.
But the rack'd foul, when dark fufpicions rend;
When Brothers hate, and Sons with Sires contend;
When clashing interefts war eternal wage;
And Love, the tendereft paffion, turns to Rage;
Then grief on every vifage ftands impreft,
And Pity throbs in every feeling breaft;
Hope, Fear, and Indignation, rife by turns,
And the strong scene with various passion burns.

Suck

Such is our tale :-Nor blush, if tears should flow;
They're virtue's tribute paid to human woe :
Such drops new luftre to bright eyes impart;
The filent witness of a tender heart :

Such drops adorn the nobleft Hero's cheek,

And paint his worth, in ftrokes that more than speak :

Not he who cannot weep, but he who can,

Shews the great foul, and proves himself a Man.

Yet do not idly grieve at others pain,

Nor let the tears of nature fall in vain:

Watch the clofe crimes from whence their ills have grown, And from their frailties learn to mend your own.

DRAMATIS