An Allegorical Masque by Elizabeth Craven

Brandenburgh house from The Beauties of England and Wales by John Britton.

The text of this allegory is preserved in the British Library. The original edition is simply entitled "Prelude," and it is not attributed in the catalogue to Elizabeth Craven. However, there can be no doubt that she is the author.
It appears to be the first work of Elizabeth Craven's that was performed in her celebrated private theatre at Brandenburgh House in Hammersmith, Middlesex in what is now London.  The work can be firmly dated to 1793 because of its allusions to the outbreak of war between Britain and France, and also from its verses dedicating the theatre to the Muse Thalia, and pronouncing a benediction over it.

The text below has been edited and corrected.

Brandenburgh House from the River Thames. The theatre is visible on the left of the picture.

 

An Allegorical Masque, performed at Brandenburgh House in 1793, written by Elizabeth Craven, Margravine of Anspach

PRELUDE. 

 [SCENE, A wood. In the back-ground, a view of the Thames.[1]

A dreadful storm of thunder and lightening. Queen Mab [2] enters surrounded by fairies. She waves her wand,---- the storm ceases. She speaks.

WHENCE come these omens of Heav’n’s displeasure?

The forked lightning scares my pigmy train

From dance, from revels, and their wonted play.

Have England’s sons on their devoted heads

Drawn Jove’s indignant thunderbolts this night?

Now by my magic wand’s unerring power

Your queen shall know the cause of your dismay!

For still on this green shore your feet shall tread,

In many a mystic round – Haste! – appear!

Whate’er thou art, the cause, the hidden cause

Of Heav’ns displeasure, for Mab will know the truth.

A Trophy of Arms rises, the Banners of England and Prussia crown the top of it. The Furies enter, tearing and trampling under foot the Banner of France:[3] seeing the others, they endeavour to seize upon them; but Mab strikes them motionless, and thus addresses them:

    Desist, ye ministers of hell! rebellious fiends!

    That tempt the wrath of Heaven. Your sacrilegious hands

    From Royalty would tear the just insignias

    But here, here, your efforts all are vain,

    And, like your chief, in adamantine chains

You're doom'd to sink below the light of day.

Here worth hereditary scorns your new

And bitter mischiefs from its sacred bowers.

Here, far from broils, from discord, and from care,
A Brandenbourg shall taste the Charms of peace ; [4]
His mildest virtues chase you from this grove,
And send you bootless to your native fires.

Too long imbrued in blood, your hands have torn [5]
From laws and lovely order all their charms.---
Rouse not the British Lion's dread revenge;

Nor tempt the Northern Eagle's waken'd fury: [6]
United here, they keep inviolate

The wealth and freedom of this sea-girt isle.
From Cassups and the hardy Vandals sprung,

        A warrior fixes here his lov'd abode, [7]

And Berkley's daughter hails him all her own. [8]
While England smiles to see her native child
Return with more than birthright dignities,--[9]

She grateful weaves the fragrant myrtle wreath
That shall unfading blow for him alone;

        To Heaven-born poetry she consecrates this place;

        To harmony and all its soothing train.

Here shall her hero rest, retir'd from pomp
And all the pageant falsehood of a court:
Here magic scenes shall speak of nought but love---
Of nought but honour, decency and truth.
Hence! hence, foul fiends! sink into endless night,
There howl fell discord to the realms below!

The furies sink, an attendant Fairy sings,

                Recitative.

Hence, vile insidious arts! Hence guilty care!

Hence crimes that sexes, ages neither spare!

                Song.

In robes of innocence array’d

Here sport in peace our faireal [10] train;

Here wisdom, truth stand undismay’d,

Rebellion shakes her spear in vain.

Chorus of fairies.

In magic circles dance around,

To consecrate this new-made ground.

        Return'd from toil and threat'ning war,

          Each British youth shall find this place

        Bedeck'd with wreaths by Albion's fair,

         Whose looks are beauty, steps are grace.

       When love and friendship both unite

          To captivate the human breast,

       Peace, comfort, joy and soft delight

          Bespeak uninterrupted rest.

              In magic circles, dance around,

              To consecrate this new-made ground.

The River God rises from the Thames and the fairies vanish. Thames speaks.

  What magic power, my peaceful shores along,

Disturbs my sleep with poetry and song?

What sumptuous buildings from my banks arise?

What fays and goblins sport before my eyes?

What sounds harmonious vibrate on my ear?

O Genius of this happy isle, appear !

Come, godlike Genius! I implore thy aid:

I long in careless indolence have laid.

My aged head, unus'd to sounds like these,

Still aches for silence, solitude and ease.

The Genius of the Isle descends in a cloud and coming to the River-God, says

I come, obedient to thy well-known voice;

I come to bid thee with thy sons rejoice.

A British Muse, still partial to thy stream,

Who oft made thee her choicest, dearest theme,

 Return'd from distant climes,intends once more

To hail with gayer, fresher notes thy shore.

Her daring flight, now borne on eagle's wings,

Of things unheard of yet, she boldly sings.

See, at her call, the Comic Muse advance!

The Graces lead her steps with festive dance.

The three Graces [enter], preceded by Thalia,[11] who addresses the God

  This is my palace; and this lovely train,

Sprung like their beauteous mother from the main,

Shall teach the Bards, that oft invoke thy stream,

Of things immortal like thyself to dream.

No bacchanalian rout shall stain this spot;

Nor tragic scenes, by dismal vice begot,

Shall rouse thy Naiads from their limpid sport,

Or fright the Graces from their fav'rite court :

This court of friendship, sensibility;

Where Love, with winking laughter-loving eye,

Shall teach my willing hands to hold the reins,

And bind the human mind in silken chains.

England and Prussia here their power blend;
Here, to the Muses, are one common friend.
Th' immortal Frederic's spirit o'er this place [12]
Shall hover, and give dignity to grace.

Britannia's virtuous sons can never, here,
From vice or satire turn a wounded ear.[13]
Here morals chaste as light, and taste as pure
As thy own silver stream, their worth secure.

To bed, to bed, old Thames, in peace! for, know,
While thou and all thy streams to Ocean flow,
My lyre new-strung shall, constant as thy tide,
In silver numbers like thy waters glide.

Thy shores, thy meads, this consecrated grove,
Are doom'd to ring of harmony and love.
Here youth shall sport, and age be taught to smile;
While poetry dull mortal cares beguile.

Here talents find their home; for, here, each day
The Muse Thalia holds imperial sway.

Protected by such force, authors may write

And genius unrestrain’d pursue his flight.

( Enter Thalia) The Genius to THALIA.

When Muses sing of Virtue’s sacred name,

Their talk is pleasure, their reward is fame.

Come, fair Thalia, come with me away,

And claim fresh honour from the God of day.

His choicest garlands shall thy presence greet.

While English blossoms spring beneath thy feet:

Sweet blossoms of this island’s honest praise!

The just reward of artless, cheerful lays.

                           FINIS

---

[1] Brandenburgh House and its theatre were overlooking the Thames at Hammersmith.

[2] Mab, or Maeve, Queen of the Fairies according to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Before that, a pagan earth spirit and Nature Deity.

[3] This allegory indicates the date is 1793 when war was declared by England and Prussia against France.

[4] Charles-Christian-Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburgh-Ansbach, second husband of Elizabeth Craven. 

[5] imbru'd in blood. A reference to the Terror that raged in France.

[6] Northern Eagle, i.e. Prussia, ally of Britain. The Margrave was cousin to the King of Prussia.

[7] A warrior i.e. the Margrave, who had in his youth served in the Prussian army under Frederick II of Prussia.

[8] Elizabeth Craven was the daughter of Augustus, 4th Earl of Berkeley.

[9] Craven had returned to England after many years abroad, but whether all of society smiled or approved of her second marriage was a moot point.

[10] Faireal. Adjective from Fairy. Craven was very fond of this word and used it elsewhere.
[11] Thalia or Thaleia, ancient Greek goddess, Muse of Comedy and bucolic poetry.
[12] Frederick the Great, uncle of the Margrave. He had been a noted patron of all the arts, including music and theatre, in between his military campaigns.
[13]  "of" in the digital source is clearly an error. Actually Craven did put on certain later productions that were far from keeping within the bounds of contemporary propriety.

To find out more about Elizabeth Craven, her career, her writings and her fascinating life, see the literary biography published by Vernon Press 2017.

TEXT source:

• Title: 
  Prelude [to some theatrical performance at Brandenburgh House]. MS. notes.
• Publication Details: [London?], [1795?] 
• Identifier: System number: 002982343 
• Physical Description: (4º) 
• Shelfmark(s): General Reference Collection 840.l.34.(7.) 

On Google Books  . Source: The British Library

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=okVgAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA12&focus=viewport&dq=Brandenburgh+House+play+sons&output=text#c_top