You see what shifts we are enforced to try, To help out wit with some variety; Shows may be found that never yet were seen, 'Tis hard to find such wit as ne'er has been: You have seen all that this old world can do, We, therefore, try the fortune of the new, And hope it is below your aim to hit At untaught nature with your practised wit: Our naked Indians, then, when wits appear, Would as soon chuse to have the Spaniards here. 'Tis true, you have marks enough, the plot, the show, The poet's scenes, nay, more, the painter's too; If all this fail, considering the cost, 'Tis a true voyage to the Indies lost: But if you smile on all, then these designs, Like the imperfect treasure of our minds, Will pass for current wheresoe'er they go, When to your bounteous hands their stamps they owe. THE INDIAN EMPEROR OR, THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO BY THE SPANIARDS. BEING THE SEQUEL OF THE INDIAN QUEEN. Dum relego, scripsisse pudet, quia plurima cerno, Me quoque, qui feci, judice, digna limi. OVID. TO THE MOST EXCELLENT AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS PRINCESS, ANNE, DUCHESS OF MONMOUTH AND BUCCLEUCH, WIFE TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS AND HIGH-BORN PRINCE, JAMES, DUKE OF MONMOUTH[A]. [Footnote A: Anne Scott, duchess of Buccleuch and Monmouth, was the last scion of a race of warriors, more remarkable for their exploits in the field, than their address in courts, or protection of literature. She was the heiress of the Scotts, barons and earls of Buccleuch; and became countess, in her own right, upon the death of her elder sister, lady Mary, who married the unfortunate Walter Scott, earl of Tarras, and died without issue in 1662. In 1665, Anne, countess of Buccleuch, married James Fitzroy, duke of Monmouth, eldest natural son of Charles II. They were afterwards created duke and duchess of Buccleuch. She was an accomplished and high-spirited lady, distinguished for her unblemished conduct in a profligate court. It was her patronage which first established Dryden's popularity; a circumstance too honourable to her memory to be here suppressed.]