THIS Poem was the last Piece of Service, which I had the Honour to do, for my Gracious Master, King CHARLES the Second: And though he liv'd not to see the Performance of it, on the Stage; yet the PROLOGUE to it, which was the Opera of Albion and Albanius, was often practis'd before Him at Whitehal, and encourag'd by His Royal Ap­probation. It was indeed a Time, which was proper for Triumph, when He had overcome all those Dif­ficulties which for some Years had perplex'd His Peace­ful Reign: But when He had just restor'd His Peo­ple to their Senses, and made the latter End of His Government, of a Piece with the Happy Beginning of it, He was on the suddain snatch'd away, from the Blessings and Acclamations of His Subjects, who arriv'd so late to the Knowledge of Him, that they had but just time enough to desire Him longer, be­fore they were to part with Him for ever. Peace be with the Ashes of so Good a King! Let His Hlumane Frailties be forgotten; and His Clemency and Mode­ration [Page](the inherent Virtues of His Family) be re­membred with a Grateful Veneration by Three King­doms, through which He spread the Blessings of them. And, as your Lordship held a principal Place in His Esteem, and perhaps the first in His Affection, during His latter Troubles; the Success which accompanied those prudent Counsels, cannot but reflect an Honour on those few who manag'd them; and wrought out, by their Faithfulness and Diligence, the Publick Safe­ty. I might dilate on the Difficulties which attended that Undertaking, the Temper of the People, the Power, Arts and Interest of the contrary Party, but those are all of them Invidious Topicks; they are too green in our Remembrance; and he who touches on them, Incedit per ignes, suppositos cineri doloso. But without reproaching one side to praise another, I may justly recommend to both, those wholsom Coun­sels, which wisely administred, and as well executed, were the Means of preventing a Civil War, and of extinguishing a growing Fire which was just ready to have broken forth among us. So many Wives, who have yet their Husbands in their Arms; so many Pa­rents, who have not the Number of their Children lessen'd; so many Villages, Towns and Cities, whose Inhabitants are not decreas'd, their Property violated, or their Wealth diminish'd, are yet owing to the sober Conduct, and happy Results of your Advice. If a true Account may be expected by future Ages, from the present, your Lordship will be delivered over to Posterity, in a fairer Character than I have given: And be read, not in the Preface of a Play, (whose Author is not vain enough to promise Immortality to [Page]others, or to hope it for himself) but in many Pages of a Chronicle, fill'd with Praises of your Administra­tion. For if Writers be just to the Memory of King CHARLES the Second, they cannot deny him to have been an exact Knower of Mankind, and a perfect Distinguisher of their Talents. 'Tis true, his Neces­sities often forc'd him to vary his Councellours and Councils, and sometimes to employ such Persons in the Management of his Affairs, who were rather fit for his present purpose, than satisfactory to his Judg­ment: But where it was Choice in him, not Compul­sion, he was Master of too much good Sense to delight in heavy Conversation; and whatever his Favourites of State might be, yet those of his Affection, were Men of Wit. He was easie with these; and comply'd only with the former: But in the latter part of his Life, which certainly requir'd to be most cautiously manag'd, his secret Thoughts were communicated but to few; and those selected of that sort, who were Amici omnium Horarum, able to advise him in a serious Consult, where his Honour and Safety were con­cern'd; and afterwards capable of entertaining him with pleasant Discourse, as well as profitable. In this Maturest part of his Age, when he had been long season'd with Difficulties and Dangers, and was grown to a Niceness in his Choice, as being satisfied how few cou'd be trusted; and, of those who cou'd be trusted, how few cou'd serve him, he confined himself to a small Number of Bosom Friends; amongst whom, the World is much mistaken, if your Lordship was not first.

If the Rewards which you receiv'd for those Ser­vices, were only Honours, it rather shew'd the Ne­cessities of the Times, than any want of Kindness in your Royal Master: And as the Splendour of your Fortune stood not in need of being supported by the Crown, so likewise in being satisfied without other Recompence, you show'd your self to be above a Mercenary Interest; and strengthen'd that Power, which bestowed those Titles on you: Which truly speaking, were Marks of Acknowledgment more than Favour.

But, as a Skilful Pilot will not be tempted out to Sea, in suspected Weather, so have you wisely chosen to withdraw your self from publick Business, when the Face of Heaven grew troubled; and the frequent shisting of the Winds foreshew'd a Storm: There are Times and Seasons when the best Patriots are willing to withdraw their Hands from the Commonwealth; as Phocion in his latter Days was observ'd to decline the Management of Affairs: Or, as Cicero, (to draw the Similitude more home) left the Pulpit, for Tusculum; and the praise of Oratory, for the sweet Enjoyments of a private Life. And, in the Happiness of those Retirements, has more oblig'd Posterity by his Moral Precepts, than he did the Republick, in quelling the Couspiracy of Catiline. What pru lent Man, wou'd not rather follow the Example of his Retreat, than stay like Cato, with a stubborn unseasonable Virtue, to oppose the Torrent of the People, and at last be driven from the Market-place by a Riot of a Multi­tude, uncapable of Counsel, and deaf to Eloquence? There is likewise a Portion of our Lives, which every [Page]Wise Man may justly reserve to his own peculiar use, and that without defrauding his Native Coutry. A Roman Soldier was allow'd to plead the Merit of his Services for his dismission at such an Age; and there was but one Exception to that Rule, which was, an Invasion from the Gauls. How far that, may work with your Lordship, I am not certain; but I hope it is not coming to the Trial.

In the mean time, while the Nation is secur'd from Foreign Attempts, by so powerful a Fleet, and we enjoy not only the Happiness, but even the Ornaments of Peace, in the Divertisement of the Town, I hum­bly offer you this Trifle, which if it succeed upon the Stage, is like to be the chiefest Entertainment of our Ladies and Gentlemen this Summer. When I wrote it, seven Years ago, I employ'd some reading about it, to inform my self out of Beda, Bo [...]hartus, and other Authors, concerning the Rites and Customs of the Heathen Saxons; as I also us'd the little Skill I have in Poetry to adorn it. But not to offend the pre­sent Times, nor a Government which has hither­to protected me, I have been oblig'd so much to alter the first Design, and take away so many Beauties from the Writing, that it is now no more what it was sormerly, than the present Ship of the Royal Sovereign, after so often taking down, and altering, to the Vessel it was at the first [...]. There is nothing better, than what I intended, [...] the Musick; which has since arriv'd to a greater Per­fection in England, than ever formerly: especially pas­sing through the Artful Hands of Mr. Purcel, who has [Page]Compos'd it with so great a Genius, that he has no­thing to fear but an ignorant, ill-judging Audience. But the Numbers of Poetry and Vocal Musick, are sometimes so contrary, that in many places I have been oblig'd to cramp my Verses, and make them rugged to the Reader, that they may be harmonious to the Hearer: Of which I have no Reason to repent me, because these sorts of Entertainment are principally design'd for the Ear and Eye; and therefore in Reason my Art on this occasion, ought to be subservient to his And besides, I flatter my self with an Imagination that a Judicious Audience will easily distinguish be­twixt the Songs, wherein I have comply'd with him, and those in which I have followed the Rules of Poe­try, in the Sound and Cadence of the Words. Not­withstanding all these Disadvantages, there is some­what still remaining of the first Spirit with which I wrote it: And, though I can only speak by ghess, of what pleas'd my first and best Patroness the Dutchess of Monmouth in the reading, yet I will venture my Opinion, by the knowledge I have long had of her Graces Excellent Judgment, and true taste of Poetry, that the parts of the Airy and Earthy Spirits, and that Fairy kind of writing, which depends only upon the Force of Imagination, were the Grounds of her liking the Poem, and afterwards of her Recommending it to the Queen. I have likewise had the satisfaction to hear, that Her Majesty has Graciously been pleas'd to peruse the Manuscript of this Opera, and given it Her Royal Approbation. Poets, who subsist not but on the Favour of Sovereign Princes, and of great Persons, [Page]may have leave to be a little vain, and boast of their Patronage, who encourage the Genius that animates them. And therefore I will again presume to ghess, that Her Majesty was not displeas'd to find in this Poem the Praises of Her Native Country; and the Heroick Actions of so famous a Predecessor in the Go­vernment of Great Britain, as King Arthur.

All this, My Lord, I must consess, looks with a kind of Insinuation, that I present you with somewhat not unworthy your Protection: But I may easily mi­stake the Favour of Her Majesty for Her Judgment: I think I cannot be deceiv'd in thus addressing to your Lordship, whom I have had the Honour to know, at that distance which becomes me, for so many Years. 'Tis true, that formerly I have shadow'd some part of your Virtues, under another Name; but the Chara­cter, though short and imperfect, was so true, that it broke through the Fable, and was discover'd by its Native Light. What I pretend by this Dedication, is an Honour which I do my self to Posterity, by ac­quainting them that I have been conversant with the first Persons of the Age in which I liv'd; and there­by perpetuate my Prose, when my Verses may possi­bly be forgotten, or obscur'd by the Fame of Future Poets. Which Ambition, amongst my other Faults and Imperfections, be pleased to pardon, in