EPILOGUE to SHAKESPEAR'S first Part of King HENRY IV. ACTED BY Young GENTLEMEN at Mr. NEWCOME'S School at HACKNEY, 1748; John Hoadly Alexander Huber Editor Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
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Oxford This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. T131163 K104099.005 Dodsley, Robert, 1703-1764. A Collection of Poems in Six Volumes. By Several Hands. Vol. V. London printed by J. Hughs, for R. and J. Dodsley 1763 [1st ed. 1758] pp. 281-282. 6v.: music; 8⁰.

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EPILOGUE to SHAKESPEAR'S first Part of King HENRY IV . ACTED BY Young GENTLEMEN at Mr. NEWCOME'S School at HACKNEY , 1748 ; Spoken by Mr. J. Y. in the Character of FALSTAFF , Push'd in upon the Stage by Prince HENRY . By the Same . A Plague upon all cowards still I say — Old Jack must bear the heat of all the day , And be the master-fool beyond the play — Amidst hot-blooded Hotspur's rebel strife , By miracle of wit I sav'd my life , And now stand foolishly expos'd again To th' hissing bullets of the critic's brain . Go to , old lad , 'tis time that thou wert wiser — Thou art not fram'd for an epiloguizer . There's Hal now , or his nimble shadow Poins , Strait in the back , and lissome in the loins , Who wears his boot smooth as his mistress' skin , And shining as the glass she dresses in ; Can bow and cringe , fawn , flatter , cog and lye — Which honest Jack cou'd never do — not I . Hal's heir-apparent face might stand it buff , And make ( ha ! ha ! ha ! ) a saucy epilogue enough ; But I am old , and stiff — nay , bashful grown , For Shakespear's humour is not now my own . I feel myself a counterfeiting ass ; And if for sterling wit I give you brass , It is his royal image makes it pass . Fancy now works ; and here I stand and stew In mine own greasy fears , which set to view Eleven buckram critics in each man of you . Wights , who with no out-faceings will be shamm'd , Nor into risibility be bamm'd ; Will , tho' she shake their sides , think nature treason , And see one damn'd , ere — laugh without a reason . Then how shall one not of the virtuous speed , Who merely has a wicked wit to plead — Wit without measure , humour without rule , Unfetter'd laugh , and lawless ridicule ? ' Faith ! try him by his peers , a jury chosen — The kingdom will , I think , scarce raise the dozen . So — be but kind , and countenance the cheat , I'll in , and swear to Hal — I've done the feat .