Spoken at Edinburgh, on Mrs. Bellamy's First Appearance There

SPOKEN AT EDINBURGH, ON MRS. BELLAMY'S FIRST APPEARANCE THERE

I N early days, when Error sway'd mankind,
The scene was censur'd and the stage confin'd:
As the fine arts a nobler taste supply'd,
Old Prejudice grew fainter—droop'd—and dy'd.

 Merit from sanction must deduce her date,
If she'd arrive at a meridian height:
From sanction, is the English stage become
Equal to Athens, and above old Rome.

 If from that stage an actress, fill'd with fears,
New to this northern scene, to-night appears,
Intent—howe'er unequal to the flight,
To hit—what critics call—the "happy right:"
She builds not on your sister's fond applause,
But timidly to you submits her cause:
For Taste refin'd may as judicial sit
Here—as she found her in an English pit.

 Your plaudit must remove the stranger's fear;
The sons of genius are the least severe.
Some favour from the fair she's sure to find;
So sweet a circle cannot but be kind.
Then to your candid patronage she'll trust,
And hopes you gracious—as we know you just.