[Page 205]
The Dying INDIAN.
1 THE dart of Izdabel prevails! 'twas dipt
2 In double poison — I shall soon arrive
3 At the blest island, where no tigers spring
4 On heedless hunters; where anana's bloom
5 Thrice in each moon; where rivers smoothly glide,
6 Nor thundering torrents whirl the light canoe
[Page 206]7 Down to the sea; where my forefathers feast
8 Daily on hearts of Spaniards! — O my son,
9 I feel the venom busy in my breast,
10 Approach, and bring my crown, deck'd with the teeth
11 Of that bold christian who first dar'd deflour
12 The virgins of the sun; and, dire to tell!
13 Robb'd PACHACAMAC'S altar of its gems!
14 I mark'd the spot where they interr'd this traitor,
15 And once at midnight stole I to his tomb,
16 And tore his carcase from the earth, and left it
17 A prey to poisonous flies. Preserve this crown
18 With sacred secrecy: if e'er returns
19 Thy much-lov'd mother from the desart woods
20 Where, as I hunted late; I hapless lost her,
21 Cherish her age. Tell her I ne'er have worship'd
22 With those that eat their God. And when disease
23 Preys on her languid limbs, then kindly stab her
24 With thine own hands, nor suffer her to linger,
25 Like christian cowards, in a life of pain.
26 I go! great COPAC beckons me! farewell!
About this text
Author: Joseph Warton
Themes:
race; racism; anger; death
Genres:
blank verse
References:
DMI 25759
Text view / Document view
Source edition
Dodsley, Robert, 1703-1764. A Collection of Poems in Six Volumes. By Several Hands. Vol. IV. London: printed by J. Hughs, for R. and J. Dodsley, 1763 [1st ed. 1758], pp. 205-206. 6v.: music; 8⁰. (ESTC T131163; OTA K104099.004) (Page images digitized by the Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive from a copy in the archive's library.)
Editorial principles
The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.
Other works by Joseph Warton
- The ENTHUSIAST: OR THE LOVER of NATURE. A POEM. ()
- FASHION: A SATIRE. ()
- ODE AGAINST DESPAIR. ()
- ODE occasion'd by Reading Mr. WEST'S Translation of PINDAR. ()
- ODE TO A GENTLEMAN UPON HIS TRAVELS THROUGH ITALY. ()
- ODE TO A LADY WHO HATES THE COUNTRY. ()
- ODE to FANCY. ()
- ODE TO HEALTH. WRITTEN ON A RECOVERY FROM THE SMALL-POX. ()
- ODE TO LIBERTY. ()
- ODE TO SOLITUDE. ()
- ODE TO SUPERSTITION. ()
- ODE TO THE NIGHTINGALE. ()
- The Revenge of AMERICA. ()
- STANZAS written on taking the Air after a long Illness. ()
- VERSES Written at MOUNTAUBAN in FRANCE, 1750. ()