[Illustration]
Behold the beardless _Flat_, a fancied _Kean_;
The mawkish maid a stilted heroine;
Tailors, retailers, spread dismay around,
Heroes, by "=This Endenture=," basely bound,
Braving the Chamberlain's portentous frown,
Wield the baton, or mount the paper crown;
Renounce their civic fetters for a throne;
For _horses_ barter _kingdoms_ not their own;
And find too late,—too soon, perhaps, by far,—
The stage a half-way step from bench to _bar_.
That Queen, in satin train, was trained in camlet,
And he carves Ham who nightly cuts up Hamlet;
The frail Jane Shore perchance is no impostor;
While Gloster's Duke by day serves double Gloster;
And 'tis but heaping Pelion on Ossa,
If Ross, the barber, shines as Barbarossa.
Then cheer up, Covent Garden! courage, Drury!
Misfortune's storms in vain may vent their fury,
When counter, kitchen, garret, bench, and stall,
Send forth such champions to avert your fall.