PROLOGUETOGODWIN'STRAGEDYOF"FAULKENER"

prologuetogodwin'stragedyof"faulkener"

(1807)

anauthorwhohasgivenyoualldelight,

furnish'dthetaleourstagepresentsto-night.

someofourearliesttearshetaughttosteal

downouryoungcheeks,andforc'dusfirsttofeel.

tosolitaryshoreswholeyearsconfin'd,

whohasnotreadhowpensivecrusoepin'd?

who,nowgrownold,thatdidnotonceadmire

hisgoat,hisparrot,hisuncouthattire,

thestick,due-notch'd,thattoldeachtediousday

thatinthelonelyislandworeaway?

whohasnotshudder'd,wherehestandsaghast

atsightofhumanfootstepsinthewaste?

orjoy'dnot,whenhistremblinghandsunbind

thee,friday,gentlestofthesavagekind?

thegeniuswhoconceiv'dthatmagictale

wasskill'dbynativepathostoprevail.

hisstories,thoughrough-drawn,andfram'dinhaste,

hadthatwhichpleas'dourhomelygrandsires'taste.

hiswasavariouspen,thatfreelyrov'd

intoallsubjects,wasinmostapprov'd.

whate'erthetheme,hisreadymuseobey'd—

love,courtship,politics,religion,trade—

giftedaliketoshineineverysphere,

nov'list,historian,poet,pamphleteer.

insomeblestintervalofparty-strife,

hedrewastrikingsketchfromprivatelife,

whosemovingscenesofintricatedistress

wetryto-nightinadramaticdress:

arealstoryofdomesticwoe,

thatasksnoaidfrommusic,verse,orshow,

buttruststotruth,tonature,anddefoe.