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A

TRAGEDY.

As it is Acted at the

THEATRE-ROYAL in Drury Lane.

BY

His MAJESTY'S SERVANTS.

Ecce Spectaculum dignum, ad quod refpiciat, intentus operi fuo, Deus! Ecce par Deo dignum, vir fortis cum malá fortuna compofitus! Non video, inquam, quid habeat in terris Jupiter pulchrius, fi convertere animum velit, quàm ut fpe&tet Catonem, jam partibus non femel fractis, nihilominus inter ruinas publicas erectum.

Sen. de Divin. Prov.

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W

HILE you the fierce divided Brtions awe,
And Cato with an equal virtue draw,

While Envy is itself in Wonder loft,

And Factions ftrive who fhall applaud you moft;
Forgive the fond ambition of a friend,

Who hopes himself, not you, to recommend,
And join th' applaufe which all the Learn'd beftow
On one, to whom a perfect work they owe.

*

To my light Scenes I once infcrib'd your name,

And impotently ftrove to borrow fame:

Soon will that die, which adds thy name to mine;
Let me, then, live, join'd to a work of thine.

Tender Husband, Dedicated to Mr. Addison.

RICHARD STRELE.

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Tho'

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HO' Cato fbines in Virgil's epic fong,

THO

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Preferibing laws among th' Elyfian throng;

Tho' Lucan's verfe, exalted by his name,

O'er Gods themselves has rais'd the Hero's fame;
The Roman fage did ne'er his image fee,
Drawn at full length; a task referv'd for thee.
By thee we view the finish'd figure rife,
And awful march before our ravifb'd eyes
We hear his voice, asserting virtue's cause ;
His fate renew'd our deep attention draws,
Excites by turns our various hopes and fears,
And all the patriot in thy scene appears.

On Tiber's banks thy thought was first inspir'd,
Twas there, to fome indulgent grove retir'd,
Rome's ancient fortunes rolling in thy mind,
Thy happy Mufe this manly work defign'd:
Or in a dream thou fav'ft Rome's Genius fand,
And, leading Cato in his facred hand,
Point out th' immortal subject of thy lays,
And ask this labour to record his praise.

'Tis done.

-the Hero lives, and charms our age!

While nobler morals grace the British flage!
Great Shakespear's ghoft, the folemn ftrain to hear,
(Methinks I fee the laurell'd Shade appear!)
Will hover o'er the Scene, and wond'ring view
His fav'rite Brutus rival'd thus by you.
Such Roman greatness in each action shines,
Such Roman eloquence adorns your lines,

That

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