r, more
just ideas of her, or perhaps curiosity brought a full house. Mr.
Brunton himself spoke the prologue, which was written for him by the
ingenious Mr. Meyler, and was as follows:

Sweet Hope! for whom his anxious parent burns,
Lo! from his tour the travelled heir returns,
With each accomplishment that Europe knows,
With all that Learning on her son bestows;
With Roman wit and Grecian wisdom fraught,
His mind has every letter'd art been taught.
Now the fond father thinks his son of age,
To take an active part in life's vast stage;
And Britain's senate opes a ready door,
To fill the seat his sire had fill'd before,
There when some question of great moment springs,
He'll rise--then "hear him, hear him," loudly rings,
He speaks--th' enraptur'd list'ning through admire
His voice, his argument, his genius' fire!
The fond old man, in pure ecstatic joy,
Blesses the gods that gave him such a boy!
But if insipid Dulness guide his tongue,
With what sharp pangs his aged heart is wrung--
Despair, and shame, and sorrow make him rue
The hour he brought him to the public view.
And now what fears! what doubt, what joys I feel!
When my first hope attempts her first appeal,
Attempts an arduous task--Euphrasia's wo--
Her parent's nurse--or deals the deadly blow!
Some sparks of genius--if I right presage,
You'll find in this young novice of the stage:
Else had not I for all this earth affords
Led her thus early on these dangerous boards.
If your applause gives sanction to my aim,
And this night's effort promise future fame,
She shall proceed--but if some bar you find,
And that my fondness made my judgment blind,
Discern no voice, no feeling she possess,
Nor fire that can the passions well express;
Then, then forever, shall she quit this scene,
Be the plain housewife, not the tragic queen.

Such an appeal, delivered with all the powers of an excellent speaker,
and enforced by the genuine and unfeigned feelings of a father's heart,
told home--peals of applause gave assurance that her entrance was
strewed with flowers, and that at least, her reception, would correspond
with his fondest wishes.

The accounts that have been given by spectators of the events of that
night are extremely interesting. Many, no doubt, went there with a
prepossession, raised by the unfavourable reports of her personal
appearance; and if lofty stature were indispensibly nece