ADDITIONAL LINES TO THE PROLOGUE,
Spoken At Newbury,
In Consequence Of Lady Craven Bespeaking The Lecture,
Who Had Published
Some Lines On Dreaming
She Saw Her Heart At Her Feet.
Written By Mr. Pratt.
'MIDST scenes like these, for so her lines impart,
The Queen of Benham lost that gem her heart;
Scar'd by the din, her bosom treasure flew,
And with it every grace and muse withdrew.
But far, or long, the wanderer could not roam,
For wit and taste soon brought the truant home!
One tuneful sonnet at her feet it sung,
Then to her breast, its snowy mansion, sprung;
Thither it went, the virtues in its train,
To hail the panting blessing back again.
On its fair throne it now appears as Queen,
And sheds its lustre o'er this humble scene;
Its radiant sceptre deigns o'er me to spread
The genial beams which fancy feign'd were fled.
Ah, no! her gentle heart this night is here;
Where'er 'tis wanted-you will find it there:
In vain the Muse shall fix it on the floor,
It knocks this ev'ning at the Lecturer's door,
And smiles, with him, that riot is no more.
LECTURE ON HEADS.
PART I.
Every single speaker, who, like me, attempts to entertain an audience, has not only the censure of that assembly to dread, but also every part of his own behaviour to fear. The smallest error of voice, judgment, or delivery, will be noted: "All that can be presumed upon in his favour is, a hope that he may meet with that indulgence which an English audience are so remarkable for, and that every exhibition stands so much in need of."
This method of lecturing is a very ancient custom; Juno, the wife of Jupiter, being the first who gave her husband a lecture, and, from the place wherein that oration was supposed to have been delivered, they have always, since that time, been called curtain lectures.