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SONGS, &c. [...]N THE PROPHET; A COMIC OPERA.
Price SIX-PENCE.
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THE AIRS, DUETTS, TRIOS AND CHORUSSES, &c. IN THE PROPHET; A COMIC OPERA, IN THREE ACTS; PERFORMED AT THE THEATRE-ROYAL, COVENT-GARDEN. The Muſick partly ſelected from the Works of Hayd'n, Purcell, Ployel, Anfoſſi, Cimaroſo, Gretry, Giordani and Sacchini, and partly compoſed by Mr. SHIELD; with a grand Overture by Salieri.
LONDON: Printed for T. CADELL, in the Strand. 1788.
CHARACTERS.
[]- Sultan,
- Mr. BANNISTER.
- Vizier,
- Mr. RYDER.
- Carlos,
- Mr. JOHNSTONE.
- Rathmud,
- Mr. QUICK.
- Selim,
- Mr. EDWIN.
- Lazarus,
- Mr. BLANCHARD,
- Heli,
- Mr. BOOTH.
- Farruknaz,
- Mrs. BILLINGTON.
- Iſmene,
- Mrs. MARTYR.
- Amra,
- Mrs. WEBB.
Mob, Mutes, Guards, &c.
SCENE,—Conſtantinople.
*⁎* The lines mark'd with inverted Commas are omitted in the Repreſentation.
[]AIRS, DUETS, &c. IN THE PROPHET.
ACT I.
AIR I.—ISMENE.
SWEET bluſhing flower! a while,
Breathe ſoft incenſe on the air,
Yet thy balmy dews diſtill,
And be the Gard'ner's pride and care!
Yet a little, charm the ſenſe,
Yet a moment—fix the eye;
Then, for thy ſhort pre-eminence,
Be raviſh'd from thy ſtock and die!
AIR II.—FARRUKNAZ.
[8]DEAR native ſcenes, fair Seville's Towers,
That rear your antique ſpires ſo high,
Your awful groves and fragrant bowers
Fond memory traces with reverted eye;
And Hope, of all that train remaining
Which once gay youth and pleaſure led,
At every pauſe of my complaining,
Points to your vales belov'd, and ſacred ſhade.
" Haply beneath ſome crumbling ruin,
" Some dripping arch, or rifted tree,
" My Carlos lingers yet, renewing
" Vows of angelic love, and waits for me!
" There yet a while, ſweet ſpirit hover!—
" I come, my holy vow to keep,
" I come to join my ſainted lover;—
" And joy to die, who only live to weep.
AIR III.—ISMENE.
[9]THE heart which love has wounded,
By fear and death ſurrounded,
One only thought alarms;
It mocks the raging ocean,
The ſtormy winds commotion,
Or din of hoſtile arms:
Its wonted cares are baniſh'd,
Its early terrors vaniſh'd,
It pants with fears unknown,
Throbs with too fierce pulſation,
To mark the dull vibration,
That trembles with its own.
AIR IV.—FARRUKNAZ.
" FROM Carmel's ſpicy groves, or where
" Stain'd with many a marty'rs blood,
" Old Kedron rolls his holy flood,
" To Sion Wall, the tomb of God,
" Pilgrims who precious reliques bear;—
" If ſudden on the ſcorching ſand
" The prowling Arab's felon band
" Round the fainting Camels ſtand,
" Some portion feel of my deſpair!
[10]Who, by the fraud-avenging ſea,
Are daſh'd, upon ſome verdant Iſle;
And worn with care, and ſpent with toil,
In ſleep from thought eſcape awhile,
By ſome clear ſtream, or perfum'd tree;—
But wake to ſavage ſongs, and view
The feather'd chief, and ſable crew,
And kindling fires on mountains blue,
May weep, and rage, and rave, like me!
AIR V.—SULTAN.
THE God who form'd our wretched race,
In pity clos'd the book of Fate,
Forbad with impious ſearch to trace
The ills—that all alike await.
Ah wherefore burſt the friendly ſhade,
Which ſhuts the future from our ſight;
And tear the veil, by mercy ſpread,
To ſhield us from a painful light!
Full ſoon ſhall Time, ſo ſeeming ſlow,
With noiſeleſs ſteps his courſe fulfil,
And call to birth each deſtin'd woe,
Each embrio grief, and ripen'd ill.
AIR VI.—VIZIER.
[11]CHLOE, with all that Nature
Coud lend of loves and graces,
To deck each conqu'ring feature,
Or wanton in her treſſes,
For twenty years, the nation
Had rul'd, with ſway tyrannie,
'Till for her ſoul's ſalvation,
She lately felt a panic.
Unlike the Grecian Bully
That all the world had won, Sir,
Then wept ſo pitifully
Becauſe there was but one, Sir,
She in the ſkies diſcovers
An Empire worth acquiring;
So quits her quitting lovers,
And flies from the retiring,
For now her form is waining,
And eyes begin to twinkle,
And all the Loves remaining,
Are Loves, that love a wrinkle—
Herſelf, a Pagan Goddeſs,
Into a ſaint ſhe turns, Sir,
Nor longer for the bodies,
But ſouls of men, ſhe burns, Sir.
[12]
So, leſt her faith ſhould fail her,
Or youthful ſins might ſink her,
She keeps a preaching Taylor,
And apoſtolic Tinker;
Who, to regeneration
May guide her and refreſh her;—
In caſe too of temptation,
May ſtruggle with the fleſh, Sir.
AIR VII.—ISMENE.
HAVE you not ſeen an Infant's prize,
In vain its ſnowy pinions beat,
That tipp'd with gold, and Tyrian dyes,
Are only guilty of its fate?
With cruel kindneſs, to her breaſt,
The thoughtleſs nymph her captive preſies;
That tortur'd ſtill, and ſtill careſs'd,
Breathes out its little life in kiſſes!
Such is, in faithful lines pourtray'd,
The ſtory of the woes I prove;—
So wretched woman is betray'd
By beauty, and undone by love!
With cruel kindneſs, &c.
TRIO—AIR VIII.—FARRUKNAZ, ISMENE, and SULTAN.
[13]THINK not ſorrow made for you!
The ſlaves of love are tortur'd too!
Eyer cruel, ever ſmiling,
Sill detected, ſtill beguiling,
Cupid wreaths his chains with flowers,
And hides his rack in perfum'd bowers!
Chorus. Think not ſorrow, &c.
END OF FRST ACT.
ACT II.
[14]AIR IX.—CARLOS.
FAIR liberty! whom heaven gave
But where peculiarly it loves;
And put off all it meant for ſlave
With orange-bow'rs, and citron-groves!
The children of the frozen North,
Where nature half her gifts retains,
Are doom'd to tame the churliſh earth,
For taſteleſs fruits, and tardy grains;
Yet while their weary taſk they ply,
By thee their fainting ſouls are cheer'd!
No ſtern unfeeling Lord is nigh,
No rods are ſeen, no chains are heard!
Still as they guide the delving plough,
Or bind pale Autumn's ſcanty ſtore;
To thee, their manly lives they vow,
To thee, their grateful ſtrains they pour!
RONDEAU—AIR X.—CARLOS.
[15]SWEET innocence has charms, to ſoothe
Each lawleſs thought, which love inſpires,
And calms the fiery pulſe of youth
With meek Devotion's pure deſires!
To chaſten, and refine, ſhe knows,
Tumultuous wiſhes, burning ſighs;
And turns the breath of eager vows
To incenſe, and to ſacrifice!
AIR XI.—AMRA.
TO be true to the man they admire,
Is a virtue, all women alike have—
When pleaſure and duty conſpire
Our conduct's as plain as a pike-ſtaff:
But at once to deteſt, and be true too,
Another to love, and reſiſt him,
Is on wives too tyranic a duty,
To be practiſed by Turk, or by Chriſtian.
AIR XII.—RATHMUD.
[16]SEE the mutes!
Cruel brutes!
They ſeize me—
Round they fling
Hempen ſtring,
And ſqueeze me!
While I weeze,
My deceaſe
They quicken—
I flicker,
Much quicker
Than chicken.
You ſtand by
While I die.—
Then, bolder,
With your blade,
Cut my head
From ſhoulder▪
Down the ſtair-caſe
Kick my carcaſe,
In a hole:
And my noddle
Rides a ſtraddle,
On a Pole.
TRIO—AIR XIII.—LAZARUS, HELI, RATHMUD.
[17]Laz.
THO' Womanſh and Wine be de bleſsh⯑ings of Laife,
Yet moniſh iſh moche more delighting—
For, Deſe are de cauſhes of quarrelſh and ſhtraife,
But for dis we can cheat vedout faighting.
Heli.
If the bleſſings of life be but women, and wine!
Ne'er quarrel, but part them between us:
The joys of the roſy-cheek'd Bacchus be mine;
And do you take the pleaſures of Venus.
Rath.
To love and to drink, are the bleſſings of life,
When your wine than your miſtreſs is older—
But ſo new is my wine, and ſo antique my wife,
My ſole pleaſure in drink, is to ſcold her.
Rath. and Heli.
[18]The joys of the roſy-cheek'd Bachus be thine ⟨/⟩ mine
Rath. and Laz.
And we'll part the money between us.
Heli.
And do you take the pleaſures of Venus.
AIR XIV.—LAZARUS.
WHEN I waſh a mighty little boy,
Heart-cakes I made, and peppermint-drops,
Wafers and ſweet-chalk I us'd for to cry,
Alicompain, and nice Lollipops.
Nexſht I made rollers for de Macs,
To curl deir hair, 'twaſh very good—
Roſin I painted for ſhealing-wax,
And forg'd upon't Wel brand en vaſt houd.
" Slippers for Inns I next learnt to ſtitch,
" Quickſilver balls I made, to make Braſs-Buckles white,
" Then a ſnug box I took very near Houndſ⯑ditch,
" And, Oh, how I us'd to melt plate every night!
[19]" Of their Commiſſions, Officers I chouſe,
" Tradeſmen I ſwindle of every dimenſions;
" I cheat every ſoul that come to my houſe,
" Parſons of their Livings, Widows of their Penſions.
Then to try my luck in de Alley I went,
But of dat I ſoon grew tir'd, or wiſer—
Moniſh I lent at fifty per cent,
And waſh I. H. in de Public Advertizer.
De nexſht thing I did, waſh a ſpirited prank,
Which at a ſtroke my fortune made,
For I happen'd to write ſo like de Caſhiers of de Bank,
De Clerks didn't know de difference, and de moniſh was paid.
So having ſheated the Gentiles, as Moſes com⯑manded,
I began to tremble at every Gibbet I ſaw,
So I got on board a ſhip, and here I am landed,
In ſpite of Judges, Counſellors, Attorneys and Law.
AIR XV.—SULTAN.
[20]SAY, when the chaſt'ning hand of heaven re⯑quires
Of the torn breaſt, its better, dearer part;
Can Love, obedient, put out all his fires,
Or reaſon quell the pulſe, and calm the heart?
" Will no fond paſſage linger in the mind,
" Nor tender words yet vibrate on the ear,
" Nor look nor geſture, leave its trace behind,
" The hand its preſſure, nor its brine the tear?
No—In this bleeding vault of breathing earth,
Thy gracious image ſhall for aye, remain,
Or from its living cavern burſting forth
Glide thro' the chambers of my madding brain!
By heaven rejected and of thee bereav'd,
Madneſs or death muſt draw the ſhaft of fate.
My tortur'd ſenſe muſt crack to be reliev'd,
My heart, to be at eaſe, muſt ceaſe to beat.
AIR XVI.—CARLOS.
[21]IN each new ſcene of varied woes
My long-loſt fair I find;
No picture of diſtreſs but ſhews
Her image to my mind—
No heart but Her's, appears to thrill,
No boſom heaves but Her's,
And with Her form my terrors fill,
Each dreſs affliction wears.
AIR XVII.—SULTAN,
WHAT cares ſurround a Monarch's brow,
And weigh the ſplendid ſufferer down;
Known victim of each public woe—
And ſilent martyr of his own.
With the bright circle of a crown,
Around our temples, grief we bind;
And preſs beneath the royal gown
The vulture, that devours the mind.
[22]For Us no ſocial boſom heaves,
No ſympathetic ſorrows roll;
But faith, proſcrib'd with friendſhip, leaves
A dreary ſolitude of ſoul—
The ills of life alone we taſte,
Thus inſulated from our race!
Preſide with Famine at the feaſt,
With Miſery have the power to bleſs.
END OF THE SECOND ACT.
ACT III.
[23]AIR XVIII.—FARRUKNAZ.
HOPE, treach'rous meteor, lucid vapour!
Ever flying,
Still belying
The village taper—
Wand'ring pilgrims—lone, benighted
Thy blue falſehood, pleas'd, deſcry;
See the cheerful faggot lighted,
Think the ſocial cottage nigh.—
Lambent fire, deceive, but harm not;
Pallid gleam, relume, but warm not—
Light no error in my breaſt,
Sooth my weary ſoul, but charm not;
Unrelenting,
Unconſenting,
Swearing never to be bleſs'd—
AIR XIX.—CARLOS.
THE ſmiling years, that pleaſure leads,
Unmark'd, their placid tenor keep,
Ere yet the wounded boſom bleeds,
Or knows to wake and weep.
[24]" But ſlow the ling'ring moments creep,
" And ſlow the flagging hour recedes;
" When taught by love, to wake and weep,
" The wounded boſom bleeds.
AIR XX.—FARRUKNAZ.
SOMETIMES, 'tis ſaid, the ſpirits of the bleſt
Float on the buoyant boſom of the air;
And watch with aid divine, the maid diſtreſt,
The Hermit's wand'ring ſtep, or midnight pray'r!
With penſile minſtrelſy the heaven they fill—
With harps unſeen the ſtarry roofs reſound;
While from their ſacred extaſies diſtill
Peace to each care, and Balm to every wound.
AIR XXI.—FARRUKNAZ.
WHAT are the boaſted joys of love!
By danger won, in fear poſſeſt,
There ſcarce is leiſure in the breaſt,
Its wiſh'd-for ſtate to prove!
[25]How ſhort the hours of bliſs we know!
By toil forerun, by terror preſt!
The heart was never truly bleſt,
That did not tremble too!—
DUO—CARLOS and FARRUKNAZ.
Carl.
" MERCY, ſole right divine of Kings,
" Can all the toils of pow'r atone—
" And guards with wide-expanded wings,
" The righteous Prince, and lawful throne.
Farr.
" For her the godlike Monarch bears,
" Oppreſs'd with public ills, to live—
" And finds a balm for Empire's cares,
" In the bleſt privilege—to forgive.
Carl.
" Who, of mankind's offending race
" At heaven's chancery ſhall appear,
" His conſcious judge ſee face to face,
" The accuſer of his boſom hear?
Farr.
[26]" Yet mercy, tender ſeraph, ſtill
" Pleads the general human cauſe;
" By tears ſhe melts the heavenly will;
" By tears, the fix'd eternal laws.
Both.
" To Her we bend, in Her we truſt,
" Thro' whom the beſt muſt be for⯑given—
" Sublime myſterious Maid! more juſt
" Than juſtice, and more kind than Heaven.
FINALE—AIR XXII.—FARRUKNAZ.
IF glory charm the hero's ſoul
By godlike virtue won!
Spread wide his high renown
As winds can waft, or waters roll!
CHORUS.
Long, happy, great, and wiſe,
Rule o'er mankind, and late attain the ſkies!
A nation's vows, bleſt inſence, riſe
Before the heavenly throne—
By wafting ages blown
Their curling volume to the ſkies.
CHORUS.
Long, happy, &c.
[27]
Deaf to the prieſt, or tyrant's pray'rs,
Heav'n, when a people kneels,
By mighty works reveals,
It has no favorite but theirs.
CHORUS.
Long, happy, &c.
THE END▪
- Citation Suggestion for this Object
- TextGrid Repository (2016). TEI. 3827 The airs duetts trios and chorusses c in The prophet a comic opera in three acts performed at the Theatre Royal Covent Garden. University of Oxford Text Archive. University of Oxford, License: Distributed by the University of Oxford under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/]. https://hdl.handle.net/11378/0000-0005-D380-B