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TO MRS. BARNES,
THE ACTRESS.
ear Ma’am—we seldom take the pen
To praise, for whim and jest our trade is;
We’re used to deal with gentlemen,
To spatter folly’s skirts, and then
We’re somewhat bashful with the ladies.
Nor is it meant to give advice;
We dare not take so much upon us;
But merely wish, in phrase concise,
To beg you, Ma’am, and Mr. Price,
For God’s sake, to have mercy on us!
Oh! wave again thy wand of power,
No more in melodramas whine,
Nor toil Aladdin’s lamp to scour,
Nor dance fandangoes by the hour
To Morgiana’s tambourine!
Think, Lady, what we’re doomed to feel—
By Heaven! ’twould rouse the wrath of Stoics,
To see the queen of sorrows deal
