To his worst foes, he leaves his honesty, That they may thrive upon't as much as he. He leaves his manners to the roaring boys, Who come in drunk, and fill the house with noise. He leaves to the dire critics of his wit, His silence and contempt of all they writ. To Shakespear's critic, he bequeaths the curse, To find his faults; and yet himself make worse;[55] A precious reader, in poetic schools, Who by his own examples damns his rules. Last, for the fair, he wishes you may be, From your dull critics, the lampooners, free. Though he pretends no legacy to leave you, An old man may at least good wishes give you. Your beauty names the play; and may it prove To each, an omen of triumphant love! FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 54: This seems to be an allusion to the pretended dukedom of Marine, in Beaumont and Fletcher's "Noble Gentleman," which had been revived in 1688, by Tom D'urfey, under the title of the "Three Dukes of Dunstable." _Gent._ Hark you, sir, the king doth know you are a duke. _Mar._ No! does he? _Gent._ Yes, and is content you shall be; but with this caution, That none know't but yourself; for, if you do, He'll take't away by act of parliament. _Mar_. There is my hand, and, whilst I live or breathe, No living wight shall know I am a duke,] [Footnote 55: I do not know if any individual is here levelled at. Shakespeare has had his critics in all ages, who, like the inexpert tinker, have generally made two holes in patching one. In the end of the seventeenth century, his plays were usually acted in a sophisticated state, as altered by Tate, D'Avenant, Crowne, Ravenscroft, and others. The last, in the preface to his alteration of "Titus Andronicus," has the impudence to say, "That if the reader will compare the old play with his copy, he will find that none in all that author's works ever received greater alterations or additions, the language not only refined, but many scenes entirely new, besides most of the principal characters heightened, and the plot much increased."] DRAMATIS PERSONÆ. VERAMOND, _King of Arragon_. ALPHONSO, _his supposed Son_. GARCIA, _King of Navarre_. RAMIREZ, _King of Castile_. SANCHO, } CARLOS, } _Two Colonels_. LOPEZ, _an old Courtier_. XIMENA, _Queen of Arragon_. VICTORIA, _eldest daughter to the King and Queen_, CELIDEA, _her Sister_. DALINDA, _Daughter to_ LOPEZ. _A Nurse with two Children._ SCENE,--_Saragossa in Spain_. LOVE TRIUMPHANT; OR, NATURE WILL PREVAIL. ACT I. SCENE I.--_A Presence-chamber._