FABLES. 



267 



THE HARPER. 



A Man who used to play upon the harp, and sing- 

 to it, in little ale-houses, and made a shift in those 

 narrow confined walls to please the dull sots who 

 heard him, from hence entertained an ambition of 

 shewing his parts in the public theatre, where he 

 fancied he could not fail of raising a great reputa- 

 tion and fortune in a very short time. He was 

 accordingly admitted upon trial; but the spacious- 

 ness of the place, and the throng of the people, so 

 deadened and weakened both his voice and instru- 

 ment, that scarcely either of them could be heard, 

 and where they could, his performance sounded 

 so poor, so low, and wretched, in the ears of his 

 refined audience, that he was universally hissed 

 off the stage. 



