Digital Paxton: Digital Collection, Critical Edition, and Teaching Platform

A Battle! A Battle! - 9

And since they cannot, rule alone,
Divide a share of Pow’r with none.
  To this of late some made pretence,
And were thought men of consequence.
For why should we be e’er neglected
Who’ve right t’elect or be elected.
And never was a place of profit,
But we bore all the burden of it.
  Through all the province ’tis well known,
We have no interest of our own;
But strive to make the sorrows less,
Of wretches that are in distress.
  We beg thy patience, friend, to hear,
And lend us one, if not each ear.
  There goes about a cook’t up story,
In which the wicked ones do glory;
That we, when Paxton men came down
Convey’d six Indians out of town;
And for this very reason, viz:
That they might not discern the phiz
Of ev’ry individual Savage,
Guilty of murder or of Ravage.
  Thus our good name they would destroy,
By testimony of a boy,
Who now is no where to be found,
Either above or under ground:
And neither of us all can tell,
If he be gone to heav’n or hell.
This we affirm, but will not swear,
Before Recorder or the May’r.
If thee, our faith and honour try,
Thee’ll find we will not trick or lie.

[What follow’d here in the Original, was thought
too horrid even for the DOVE’S Quill—there-
fore not inserted in this Edition.]

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