ADVERTISEMENT. Most of the popular histories of England, as well as of the American war, give an authentic account of the desolation of Wyoming, in Pennsylvania, which took place in 1778, by an incursion of the Indians. The scenery and incidents of the following Poem are connected with that event. The testimonies of historians and travellers concur in describing the infant colony as one of the happiest spots of human existence, for the hospitable and innocent manners of the inhabitants, the beauty of the country, and the luxuriant fertility of the soil and climate. In an evil hour, the junction of European with Indian arms converted this terrestrial paradise into a frightful waste. Mr. Isaac Weld informs us that the ruins of many of the villages, perforated with balls, and bearing marks of conflagration, were still preserved by the recent inhabitants, when he travelled through America, In 1796. GERTRUDE OF WYOMING. PART I. I. ON Susquehanna's side, fair Wyoming! II. Delightful Wyoming! beneath thy skies, III. Then, where of Indian hills the daylight takes IV. And scarce had Wyoming of war or crime The blue-eyed German changed his sword to pruning-hook. V. Nor far some Andalusian saraband Would sound to many a native roundelay But who is he that yet a dearer land * Scotland. The Gaelic appellation for the porpoise. |