  The curtain falls, the plays are done, To roar of shell and shock of gun; The scuttled shipping bobs and sways, In grime and muck of shallow bays. The tattered ensigns mould’ring lie, As diving otters bark and cry; While—in the lee of crumbling piers, The rotting hulk its decking rears. Gray, screaming kestrels wheel and sheer, Above the wasted steering gear. In moulding kelp and mackerel’s sheen, The blighted log-book hides unseen. Red flash the beams of northern blaze. Through beaded clouds of Elmo’s haze; While dim, unkempt, the ghostly crew Float by, and chant the lesson true! Sons of the fog-bound Northland; sons of the blinding seas, If ye would cherish the trust which your fathers left, Ye must strive—ye must work—without ease. Strong have your good sires battled, oft have your fathers bled, If ye would hold up the flag which they’ve never let sag, The shimmering icebergs call you; the plunging screw-drums scream, By shallowing shoals they haul you, to the beat of the walking beam. The twisting petrels chatter, as ye drift by the waiting fleet, In your towering grim, gray Dreadnought,—a king who sneers at defeat. While the silken pennons flutter; as the frozen halyards strain; Comes the growling old-world mutter, the voice of the million slain: Keep to your manly war games; keep to your warrior’s play. Though the dove of peace is dancing to the sounding truce harp’s lay. Arbitrate if you have to; smooth it o’er if you must, But, be prepared for battle, to parry the war king’s thrust. Don’t foster the chip on the shoulder; don’t hasten the slap in the face. But, burnish your sword, ere you’re older,—the blade of the ancient race. Hark to the deeds of your fathers; cherish the stories I’ve told, Then—go and do like, if you have to—and die—like a Hero of Old. Transcriber's Note Punctuation errors have been repaired. Hyphenation has been made consistent within the main text. There is some archaic and variable spelling, which has been preserved as printed. The following amendments have also been made: Page 3—repeated book title deleted. Page 77—omitted word 'to' added after row—"... jumped into two small wherries in order to row to the lugger." Page 156—pedlers amended to peddlers—"There are tinkers, tailors, haymakers, peddlers, fiddlers, ..." Page 178—Huzza amended to Huzzah—"“... Huzzah for Fortunatus Wright!”" Page 226—envollÉ amended to envolÉ—"“Sapristi! L’oiseau s’est envolÉ.”" Page 248—manoever amended to manoeuver—"... had simply followed my manoeuver of wearing around under easy helm ..." Illustrations have been moved slightly where necessary so that they are not in the middle of a paragraph. The frontispiece and advertising matter have been moved to follow the title page. |
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