A prologue spoken at Mithridates King of Pontus, the first play acted at the Theatre royal this year, 1681 Dryden, John, 1631-1700. 1682 Approx. 5 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 2 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2008-09 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A69870 Wing D2333 ESTC R11076 12037596 ocm 12037596 52911 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A69870) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 52911) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 672:10 or 866:14) A prologue spoken at Mithridates King of Pontus, the first play acted at the Theatre royal this year, 1681 Dryden, John, 1631-1700. Lee, Nathaniel, 1653?-1692. 1 sheet ([2] p.) Printed for J. Sturton, London : [1682] Reproduction of original in Huntington Library. Attributed to John Dryden. cf. NUC pre-1956. Date of publication suggested by Wing and NUC pre-1956 imprints. Written for the 1681 revival of Nathaniel Lee's Mithridates. cf. Cambridge bibliography of English literature. This item can be found at reels 672:10 and 866:14. Entry for L864 cancelled in Wing (2nd ed.). Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. 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Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor. The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines. Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Mithridates -- VI Eupator, -- King of Pontus, ca. 132-63 B.C. -- Drama. Broadsides 2007-06 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2007-07 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2007-08 Pip Willcox Sampled and proofread 2007-08 Pip Willcox Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion A PROLOGUE spoken at MITHRIDATES King of PONTUS , the First Play Acted at the THEATRE ROYAL this Year , 1681. AFter a four Months Fast we hope at length Your queasie Stomachs have recover'd strength That You can taste a Play ( your old coarse Messe ) As honest and as plain as an Addresse . And therefore Welcome from your several Parts , You that have gain'd kind Country Wenches Hearts : Have watch'd returning Milk-maids in the Dark , And sinn'd against the Pales of every Park . Welcom fair Ladies of unblemish'd Faith , That left Town Bagnio's for the fruitful Bath ; For when the Season's Hot , and Lover's there , The Waters never fail to get an Heir . Welcom kind Men that did your Wives attend , And Welcom He that was the Husbands Friend , Who holding Chat did silently Encroach , With Treacherous Hand to grabble in the Coach. Hail you New-Market Brothers of the Switch , That leap left Strumpets , full of Pox and Itch , A leap more dangerous than the Devil's Ditch . Last Welcom you who never did appear ; Gave out i' th' Country , but lay fluxing here . Now Crawl abroad with Stick , lean-chapt and thin , And Fair as Lady that hath new lain in ; This Winter let us reckon you our own , For all Wise Men will let the State alone : The Plot 's remov'd , a Witness of Renown Has lodg'd it safe , at t' other End o' th' Town , And that it ne're may fail , some pious Whore Has cast her Mite , and fairly at his Dore Laid two small squalling Evidences more ; Which well instructed , if we take their words , In time may grow to hang two Popish Lords ; Heav'n Grant the Babes may Live , for Faith there 's need , Swearers fall off so fast , if none succeed The Land 's in danger quite to loose the breed . Unless you break an Act , which were a Sin , And for recruit let Irish Cattle in . Well ; after all 't were better to Compound , Then let the foolish Frolick still go round , Both sides have lost and by my Computation None but Jack Ketch has gained in the Nation . EPILOGUE . POX on this Play-house , 't is an old tir'd Jade , 'T will do no longer , we must force a Trade ; What if we all turn Witness of the Plot ? That 's overstockt , there 's nothing to be got . Shall we take Orders ? That will Parts require , And Colledges give no Degrees for Hire , Would Salamancha was a little nigher . Will nothing do ? Oh now 't is found I hope ; Have not you seen the Dancing of the Rope ? When Andrew's Wit was clean run off the Score , And Jacob's Cap'ring Tricks could do no more , A Damsel does to the Ladders Top advance And with two heavy Buckets drags a Dance ; The Yawning Crowd pearch't up to see the sight , And slav'r'd at the Mouth for vast Delight : Oh Friends there 's nothing to Enchant the Mind , Nothing like that sweet Sex to draw Mankind : The Foundred Horse that switching will not stir , Trots to the Mare , afore without a Spur. Faith I 'le go scoure the Scene-room and Engage Some Toy within to save the falling Stage . Exit . Re-Enters with Mrs. Cox. Who have we here again , what Nymphsi'th ' Stocks ? Your most Obedient Servant , sweet Madam Cox. You 'd best be Coy , and Blush for a pretence , For Shame say something in your own Defence . Mrs. Cox , What shall I say ? I have been hence so long I 've e'ne almost forgot my Mother Tongue ; If I can Act I wish I were ten Fathom Beneath — M. Goodman . — Oh Lord , Pray , no swearing , Madam ; Mrs. Cox , Why Sir , If I had sworn , to laye the Nation I could find out some Mental Reservation . Well in plain Termes , Gallants , without a Shamm , Will you be pleas'd to take me as I am . Quite out of Countenance , with a down cast look , Just like a Truant that returnes to Book : Yet I 'me not old , but if I were this place Ne're wanted Art to peice a ruin'd Face . When Grey-Beards Govern'd I forsook the Stage , You know 't is piteous work to Act with Age ; Though there 's no sex amongst these Beardless Boys , There 's what we Women love , that 's Mirth & Noise , These young Beginners may grow up in time , And the Devil 's in 't if I 'me past my Prime . London , Printed for J. Sturton .