On Reviving "The Merchant of Venice"

ON REVIVING " THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, "

At the Time a Bill had passed for naturalizing the Jews.

'T WIXT the sons of the stage, without pensions or places,
And the vagabond Jews, are some similar cases;
Since time out of mind, or they're wrong'd much by slander,
Both lawless, alike, have been sentenc'd to wander:
Then faith 'tis full time we appeal to the nation,
To be join'd in this bill for na-tu-ra-li-za-ti-on;
Lard, that word's so uncouth! — 'tis so irksome to speak it!
But 'tis Hebrew, I believe, and that's taste, as I take it.

Well — now to the point — I'm sent here with commission,
To present this fair circle our humble petition:
But conscious what hopes we should have of succeeding,
Without (as they phrase it) sufficiently bleeding;
And convinc'd we've no funds, nor old gold we can rake up,
Like our good fathers — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;
We must frankly confess we have nought to present ye,
But Shakspeare's old sterling — pray let it content ye.

This Shylock, the Jew, whom we mean to restore ye,
Was naturaliz'd oft by your fathers before ye;
Then take him to-night to your kindest compassion,
For to countenance Jews is the pink of the fashion.