Is nothing less than if it had
A larger volume been.
Accept it then in love,

And read it for thy good;

There's nothing in't can do thee hurt,
If rightly understood.

The God of Heaven grant

These lines so well to speed,

That thou the things of thine own peace
Through them may'st better heed;
And may'st be stirred up

To stand upon thy guard,

That Death and Judgment may not come

To find thee unprepar'd.

Oh, get a part in Christ,

And make the Judge thy friend;

So shalt thou be assured of

A happy, glorious end.

Thus prays thy real friend

And servant for Christ's sake,

Who, had he strength, would not refuse

More pains for thee to take.

THE BURWELL PAPERS

BACON'S DEATH

AN ANONYMOUS "HISTORY OF BACON'S AND INGRAM'S REBELLION," FIRST PRINTED BY THe MassachuseTTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 1814

Bacon having for some time been besieged by sickness, and now not able to hold out any longer, all his strength and provisions being spent, surrendered up that fort he was no longer able to keep, into the hands of that grim and all-conquering captain, Death, after that he had implored the assistance of the above-mentioned minister, for the well making his articles of rendition. The only religious

duty (as they say) he was observed to perform during these intrigues of affairs, in which he was so considerable an actor, and so much concerned, that rather than he would decline the cause, he became so deeply engaged in the first rise thereof, though much urged by arguments of dehortations by his nearest relations and best friends, that he subjected himself to all those inconveniences that, singly, might bring a man of a more robust frame to his last home. After he was dead he was bemoaned in these following lines (drawn by the man that waited upon his person, as it is said), and who attended his corpse to their burial place, but where deposited till the general day, not known, only to those who are resolutely silent in that particular. There was many copies of verses made after his departure, calculated to the latitude of their affections who composed them; as a relish taken from both appetites I have here sent you a couple:

BACON'S EPITAPH, MADE BY HIS MAN

Death, why so cruel? What! no other way
To manifest thy spleen, but thus to slay
Our hopes of safety, liberty, our all,

Which, through thy tyranny, with him must fall
To its late chaos? Had thy rigid force
Been dealt by retail, and not thus in gross,
Grief had been silent. Now we must complain,
Since thou, in him, hast more than thousand slain,
Whose lives and safeties did so much depend
On him their life, with him their lives must end.
If 't be a sin to think Death brib'd can be

We must be guilty; say 't was bribery
Guided the fatal shaft. Virginia's foes,

To whom for secret crimes just vengeance owes
Deserved plagues, dreading their just desert,
Corrupted Death by Paracelsian art

Him to destroy; whose well tried courage such,

Their heartless hearts, nor arms, nor strength could touch.
Who now must heal those wounds, or stop that blood
The Heathen made, and drew into a flood?

Who is 't must plead our cause? nor trump, nor drum
Nor Deputation; these, alas! are dumb

And cannot speak. Our Arms (though ne'er so strong)
Will want the aid of his commanding tongue,
Which conquer'd more than Cæsar. He o'erthrew
Only the outward frame: this could subdue
The rugged works of nature. Souls replete
With dull chill cold, he'd animate with heat
Drawn forth of reason's limbec. In a word,
Mars and Minerva both in him concurred
For arts, for arms, whose pen and sword alike
As Cato's did, may admiration strike
Into his foes; while they confess withal
It was their guilt styl'd him a criminal.
Only this difference does from truth proceed :
They in the guilt, he in the name must bleed.
While none shall dare his obsequies to sing
In deserv'd measures; until time shall bring
Truth crown'd with freedom, and from danger free
To sound his praises to posterity.

Here let him rest; while we this truth report
He's gone from hence unto a higher Court
To plead his cause, where he by this doth know
Whether to Cæsar he was friend, or foe.

LOVEWELL'S FIGHT

A POPULAR BALLAD WRITTEN SHORTLY AFTER the Battle of MAY 8, 1725

Of worthy Captain Lovewell, I purpose now to sing,
How valiantly he served his country and his King;
He and his valiant soldiers did range the woods full wide,
And hardships they endured to quell the Indian's pride.

'T was nigh unto Pigwacket, on the eighth day of May,
They spied a rebel Indian soon after break of day ;
He on a bank was walking, upon a neck of land,
Which leads into a pond as we 're made to understand.

Our men resolved to have him, and travelled two miles round,
Until they met the Indian, who boldly stood his ground;

Then up speaks Captain Lovewell, "Take you good heed,” says he, "This rogue is to decoy us, I very plainly see.

"The Indians lie in ambush, in some place nigh at hand,

In order to surround us upon this neck of land;
Therefore we 'll march in order, and each man leave his pack;
That we may briskly fight them when they make their attack."

They came unto this Indian, who did them thus defy,
As soon as they came nigh him, two guns he did let fly,
Which wounded Captain Lovewell, and likewise one man more,
But when this rogue was running, they laid him in his gore.

Then having scalped the Indian, they went back to the spot, Where they had laid their packs down, but there they found them

not,

For the Indians having spied them, when they them down did lay, Did seize them for their plunder, and carry them away.

These rebels lay in ambush, this very place hard by,

So that an English soldier did one of them espy,

And cried out, "Here's an Indian "; with that they started out,
As fiercely as old lions, and hideously did shout.

With that our valiant English all gave a loud huzza,
To show the rebel Indians they feared them not a straw:
So now the fight began, and as fiercely as could be,
The Indians ran up to them, but soon were forced to flee.

Then spake up Captain Lovewell, when first the fight began,

་་

Fight on my valiant heroes! you see they fall like rain." For as we are informed, the Indians were so thick,

A man could scarcely fire a gun and not some of them hit.

Then did the rebels try their best our soldiers to surround,
But they could not accomplish it, because there was a pond,

To which our men retreated and covered all the rear,

The rogues were forced to flee them, although they skulked for fear.

Two logs there were behind them that close together lay,
Without being discovered, they could not get away;
Therefore our valiant English they travelled in a row,
And at a handsome distance as they were wont to go.

'T was ten o'clock in the morning when first the fight begun,
And fiercely did continue until the setting sun;

Excepting that the Indians some hours before 't was night,
Drew off into the bushes and ceased awhile to fight.

But soon again returned, in fierce and furious mood,
Shouting as in the morning, but yet not half so loud;
For as we are informed, so thick and fast they fell,
Scarce twenty of their number at night did get home well.

And that our valiant English till midnight there did stay,
To see whether the rebels would have another fray;
But they no more returning, they made off towards their home,
And brought away their wounded as far as they could come.

Of all our valiant English there were but thirty-four,
And of the rebel Indians there were about fourscore.

And sixteen of our English did safely home return,

The rest were killed and wounded, for which we all must mourn.

Our worthy Captain Lovewell among them there did die,
They killed Lieut. Robbins, and wounded good young Frye,
Who was our English Chaplain; he many Indians slew,
And some of them he scalped when bullets round him flew.

Young Fullam too I'll mention, because he fought so well,
Endeavoring to save a man, a sacrifice he fell:

But yet our valiant Englishmen in fight were ne'er dismayed,
But still they kept their motion, and Wyman's Captain made,