THE

DRAGON OF WANTLEY,

A BURLESQUE OPERA.

By H. CAREY, Esq.

Set to Mufic by

Mr. JOHN FREDERICK LAMPE.

DRAMATIS PERSONE.

Edinburgh, 1776

MEN.

The Dragon,

Mr. Hallion.

Moore of Moorehall, a valiant knight, in love

with Margery,

love?

Mr. Brown.

Chorus of Nymphs and Swains.
Scene, That part of Yorkshire near Rotherham.

DEDICATION.

то

Mr. JOHN-FREDERICK LAMPE. Dear JACK,

To whom should I dedicate this opera but to you; for whose interest it was calculated, and at whofe request it was completed: Many joyous hours have we shared during its compofition, chopping and changing, looping, eking out, and coining of words, fyllables, and jingle, to difplay in English the beauty of nonfenfe, fo prevail. ing in the Italian operas.

C 4

This

This pleasure has been fince tranfmitted to the gay, the good-natured, and jocular part of mankind, who have tafted the joke, and enjoyed the laugh; while the morofe, the fupercilious, and afinine, have been fairly taken in, fo far as to be downright angry; they fay 'tis low, very low; now (begging their worships pardon) I affirm it to be fublime, very fublime.

It is a burlefque opera:

And burlefque cannot be too low.

Lownefs (figuratively speaking) is the fublimity of burlesque If fo, this opera is confequently the tip-top fublime of its kind..

:

Your mufic, on the other hand, is as grand and pompous as poffible; by which means the contraft is the ftronger, and has fucceeded accordingly.

The following prediction made by my coufin Harry in the year 1726, is now, I think, amply verified in your favour.

Call not my Lampe obfcure, because unknown;

He fhines in fecret now, to friends alone; Light him but up, let him in public blaze, He will delight not only, but amaze.

Careys Poems in 4to, p. 445. We must both confefs ourselves obliged to the perform. ers, particularly to Mr. Salway and the two Mifs Youngs, not forgetting Signor Laguerrini and Mynheer Reinhold, who have given life and spirit to our compofitions, and pleasure to the public; but, in a more fingular fenfe, we tand indebted to Mr. Rich, who received our poor difconfolate Dragon with pleasure, after it had lain several years dormant in the repofitory, and under the inspection of the moft wife, most learned, and judicious, Squire What d'ye call bim, mafter of Drury-Lane Playhouse. I am, your affectionate friend and fellow ftudent, Pall Mall, Jan. 3. 1738.

3:}

CARINI.

THE ARGUMENT.

WANTLEY in Yorkshire, and the adjacent places, being ofcited by a huge and monitrous dragon, the inha

bitants

bitants, with Margery Gubbins at their head, apply to Moore of Moorehall a valiant knight, for relief; he falls violently in love with Margery, and for her fake undertakes the task; at which Maxalinda, a cast-off mistress of his, is fo enraged, that the attempts to kill Margery, but is prevented by Moore, who reconciles the contending rivals, kills the dragon, and has Margery for his reward.

NB. For farther particulars the reader is referred to the following old ballad from whence this opera was taken.

An excellent Ballad of a moft dreadful combat fought between Moore of Mooreball and the Dragon of Want-ley. To a pleafant tune much in request.

OLD ftories tell how Hercules

A dragon flew at Lerna,

With feven heads and fourteen eyes,

To fee and well difcern-a:

But he had a club this dragon to drub,

Or he had ne'er don't, I warrant ye!
But Moore of Moorehall, with nothing at all!
He flew the Dragon of Wantley.
This dragon had two furious wings,

Each one upon each shoulder;

With a fting in his tail as long as a flail,

Which made him bolder and bolder:

He had long claws, and in his jaws

Four and forty teeth of iron

With a hide as tough as any buff,

Which did him round environ.
Have you not heard of the Trojan horfe,
With feventy men in his belly?
This dragon was not quite fo big,
But very near, I'll tell you :
Devoured he poor children three,
That could not with him grapple;

And at one fup he eat them up,

As one would eat an apple.

All forts of cattle this dragon did eat,
Some fays he eat up trees,

And

1

And that the foreft fure he would

Devour by degrees :

For houses and churches were to him geese and turkies; He eat all, and left none behind,

But fome ftones, dear Jack, which he could not crack,
Which on the hills you'll find.

In Yorkshire, near fair Rotheram,
The place I know it well,

Some two or three miles, or thereabouts,
I vow I cannot tell:

But there is a hedge juft on the hill edge,
And Matthew's houfe hard by't;
O there and then was this Dragon's den,
You could not choose but fpy it..
Some fay this dragon was a witch,
Some fay he was a devil;
For from his nofe a fmoke arofe,
And with it burning fnivel :
Which he caft off, when he did cough,
Into a well that flands by;
Which made it look juft like a brook,
Running with burning brandy,

Hard by a furious knight there dwelt,

Of whom all towns did ring;

[and huff,

For he could wrestle, play at quarter ftaff, kick, cuff,,

Call fon-of a-whore, do any kind of thing;

By the tail and the main with his hands twain,

He fwung a horfe 'till he was dead;

And what is ftranger, he for very anger

Eat him all up but his head..

These children, as I told, being eat;
Men, women, girls, and boys,

Sighing and fobbing, came to his lodging,.
And made a hideous noife;

O fave us all! Moore of Moore-hall!
Thou peerless knight of thefe woods;

Do but flay this Dragon, who won't leave us a rag ong.
We'll give thee all our goods.

Tut, tut, quoth he, no goods I want,
But I want, I want in footh,

A fair maid of fixteen that's brisk,.
And fmiles about the mouth;

Hair black as a floe, and skin white as fnow,
With blushes her cheeks adorning;
To 'noint me o'er night, e'er I go to fight,,
And to drefs me in the morning.

This being done, he did engage
To hew this dragon down;
But firft he went new armour to
Befpeak at Sheffield town:

With spikes all about, not within but without,
Of fteel fo fharp and strong;

Both behind and before, arms, legs, and all o'er,
Some five or fix inches long.

Had you feen him in this dress,

How fierce he look'd, and how big, You would have thought him for to be Some Egyptian Porcupig.

He frighted all, cats, dogs, and all,

Each cow, each horse, and each hog;
For fear they did flee, for they took him to be
Some strange outlandish hedge-hog.

To fee the fight, all people then,

Got upon trees and houses ;

On churches fome, and chimnies too;

But they put on their trowses,

Not to fpoil their hofe. As foon as he arofe,
To make him ftrong and mighty,

He drank, by the tale, fix pots of ale,
And a quart of aqua vitæ.

It is not ftrength that always wins,
For wit does ftrength excel;

Which made our cunning champion

Creep down into a well ;

Where he did think this Dragon would drink;:

And fo he did in truth:

And as he stoop'd low, he rose up and cry'd, boh!
And hit him on the mouth.

Oh, quoth the Dragon, pox take you, come out,
Thou that disturb'ft me in my drink:

With that he turn'd and fh-t at him;
Good lack, how he did ftink!

Befhrew thy foul, thy body is foul,
Thy dung fmells not like balfam';