“Eager to write, as well as act a play,
“And wooing Phœbus frowning on the roof.
“There on the boards he often play’d his part
“Up to his ears in business of the stage;
“He ey’d the boxes oft with aching heart,
“And trembling, strove their favor to engage.
“Fronting the audience, in a double mood,
“Muttering his dialogue, now brisk, now sad:
“Sometimes, as actor, tolerably good,
“Always, as bard, intolerably bad.