Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: AN ADDRESS WITHOUT A PHCENIX. BY S. T. P.1 " This was looked for at your hand, and this was balked." . What you Will. What stately vision mocks my waking sense ? Hence, dear delusion, sweet enchantment, hence ! Ha! is it real?—can my doubts be vain? It is, it is, and Drury lives again! Around each grateful veteran attends, Eager to rush and gratulate his friends, Friends whose kind looks, retraced with proud delight, Endear the past, and make the future bright: 1 For an account of this anonymous gentleman, see the Preface. Yes, generous patrons, your returning smile Blesses our toils, and consecrates our pile. When last we met, Fate's unrelenting hand Already grasped the devastating brand; Slow crept the silent flame, ensnared its prize, Then burst resistless to the astonished skies- The glowing walls, disrobed of scenic pride, In trembling conflict stemmed the burning tide, Till crackling, blazing, rocking to its fall, Down rushed the thundering roof, and buried all! Where late the sister Muses sweetly sung, And raptured thousands on their music hung, Where Wit and Wisdom shone, by Beauty graced, Sat lonely Silence, empress of the waste; And still had reigned—but he, whose voice can raise More magic wonders than Amphion's lays, Bade jarring bands with friendly zeal engage To rear the prostrate glories of the stage. Up leaped the Muses at the potent spell, And Drury's genius saw his temple swell; Worthy, we hope, the British Drama's cause, Worthy of British arts, and your applause. Guided by you, our earnest aims presume To renovate the Drama with the dome; The scenes of Skakespeare and our bards of old, With due observance splendidly unfold, Yet raise and foster with parental hand The living talent of our native land. O ! may we... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.