[1] From the edition of 1809. The poem was first published in the May number of the United States Magazine, 1779, and much revised and enlarged for the edition of 1786, where it bore the title, "George III. His Soliloquy for 1779." This earliest version, which began with the startling line,
"O Damn this Congress, damn each upstart state,"
was made up as follows, the numbering referring to the above version:
Lines 68-72, 47-64, followed by
"Yet rogues and savage tribes I must employ,
And what I cannot conquer will destroy."
Lines 23-32, followed by
"Ye daring hosts that croud Columbia's shore,
Tremble ye traitors, and exult no more;
Flames I shall hurl with an unceasing hand,
Till fires eternal blaze throughout your land,
And every dome and every town expires,
And traitors perish in the unfeeling fires;
But hold—though this be all my soul's desire,
Will my own towns be proof to rebel fire.
If in revenge my raging foes should come,
And burn my London—it would strike me dumb,
To see my children and my queen in tears,
And these tall piles come tumbling round my ears,
Would to its inmost caverns fright my mind,
And stun ourself, the boldest of mankind."
Lines 73-76, followed by
"My future years I consecrate to woe,
For this great loss my soul in tears shall flow."
Ending with lines 77-82.