BALLADE OF OLD ADMIRALS
WHEN England’s children needed most
The wall of wood, the naked sword,
There ever stood at duty’s post
A sailor, commoner or lord,
Ready at once to step aboard,
And bid the top-sails heavenward shake,
And smite the foe’s unwieldy horde :—
Nelson and Rodney, Howe and Drake.
Like some white softly-stealing ghost,
The wide-winged ships, with iron stored,
Drop down the Channel, with a toast
To England, Home, and Beauty. Roared
All in a sudden wild accord
The broadside for old England’s sake :
The enemy could not afford
Nelson and Rodney, Howe and Drake.
On every English heart, engrossed
In golden letters, tall and broad,
Are the achievements of our host
And the brave ships, whose horns have gored
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