Chapter XV: Part 15

Next to Port Cornwallis our course we then did steer,
And hoisted all our stunsails without either dread or fear.
The next thing that appear’d in view was the Calcutta fleet,
Was lying there at anchor, all waiting us to meet.

Our fleet being assembled (the sail was sixty-three)
A signal gun for sailing was fired instantly;
When out to sea we bore again, and sailed both night and day,
And on the tenth of May, my boys, we anchor’d in their bay.

It was early the next morning, the weather being fair,
We weigh’d our anchors to the bows, and up the river did steer.
The enemy commenced on shore to put us to the rout;
But we upon the decks did stand, resolved to fight it out.

The _Lilly_ frigate led the way, when clouds of smoke did rise,
The _Leander_ sloop in company, which did our foes surprise;
The _Sophia_ brig and gun boats, their cannon loud did roar,
Like thunder rent the elements all on the Burmese shore.

‘All hands prepare for landing!’ resounded through the fleet;
‘Let every man have sixty rounds his enemy for to meet.’
Like lions bold we rushed on shore at ten o’clock that day:
These cowardly dogs could not us stand, we forced them to give way.

Now Rangoon we have taken, let us drink unto our king;
May all his loyal subjects fresh laurels to him bring.
Likewise to General Campbell, who commanded on that day,
And pull’d their saucy peacock down on the eleventh day of May.

_THE BOLD ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN ROSS._

Air--_Tars of the ‘Blanche.’_

Come listen awhile with attention,
You seamen and landsmen likewise,
While I of a hero will mention
Which England, fam’d England, should prize.
Bold Ross was our noble commander,
His equal was ne’er seen before;
But mark what us sailors went under
When we sailed from Old England’s shore.

We sail’d to the Pacific Ocean,
Our hearts both undaunted and free,
Bold Ross cheered us all with the notion
That we should all prosperous be;
But our mainmast was soon smashed to pieces
While we hauled in the ship _Fury’s_ store.
Said Ross, ‘Now the tempest increases,
’Tis for honour of Old England’s shore.’

Long time in tempestuous weather,
’Midst rocks, ice and water were we;
We were staunch, bold, and vowed to each other
To die or the North Pole to see.
Ross espied from the ship’s starboard quarter
The land that did add to their store--
Crying, ‘Look out, my boys, for fresh water,
We’re far from Old England’s shore.’

Our hardships we bore, and were ready
To follow our brave captain’s call,
Who was bold, was undaunted but ready,
His study alone was us all;
While we roamed o’er the cold stormy regions,
On wilds that were ne’er trod before,
No cot, house, or church or religion,
Like those upon Old England’s shore.

You may talk about Parry and Cook, boys,
Who tried these cold regions to find--
Only a short trip they took, boys,
Then left the bright magnet behind.
Bold Ross left the British flag flying,
Which no one could e’er do before,
Then light-hearted, though nearly dying,
Came with glory to Old England’s shore.

’Twas thought that no one since Creation
Would find it until time did end;
But King William’s name of this nation
So proud on that magnet does bend.
So build for bold Ross a fine pillar,
And cast it with gold letters o’er;
Bold Ross brav’d the wave, ice, and billow,
In triumph reached Old England’s shore.

This hero, the pride of our nation,
Gained honour, likewise his ship’s crew;
May they rise into dignity’s station
For being undaunted and true.
Bold Ross, as a pledge of honour,
With the Lord Mayor of London did dine,
And they gave him three cheers and a bumper,
Drank to trade and to commerce in wine.

_THE CAPTURE OF ST. JEAN D’ACRE._

Come, all you old warlike liners, who boast of deeds of war
Achieved by famous Nelson in the glorious days of yore,
Hear what has happened lately along the Syrian coast:
The downfall of the Egyptians, of which we made our boast.
_So here’s a health to brave Napier; to brave Napier huzza!
Who conquered the Egyptians, and made them run away._

On the first day of November, and forty was the year,
The _Wasp_ off St. Jean d’Acre arrived, as you may hear.
That night we anchor’d in the bay, and lay there all the night;
At half-past ten the following day, the squadron hove in sight.

As they came in they anchor’d, and furl’d without more ado;
But some of us kept under weigh, the _Castor_, _Wasp_, and Co.
The next forenoon they all did weigh, (it was our admiral’s plan)
To close with St. Jean d’Acre; the _Powerful_ led the van.

We took up our positions, abreast of Acre town,
Determin’d, if they’d not give in, to knock their ramparts down.
A flag of truce was then sent in, but they refused to treat
Or come to any peaceful terms with this gallant British fleet.

At half-past two that afternoon the action did begin:
Our shot and shell swift flew like hail, the ramparts soon fell in;
The flagship and the _Powerful_ showed them smart British play,
Against the noble _Benbow’s_ fire the Egyptians could not stay.

The _Castor_ acted well her part: the foe strove hard to shake her,
But rather hot she sent her shot ’gainst the forts of St. Jean
d’Acre.
The _Edinburgh_ and _Revenge_, the _Carysfort_ and _Pique_,
The _Hazard_ and the _Talbot_ made them think of quick retreat.

The saucy _Thunderer_ that day poured forth her British thunder,
Knowing well it was the surest way to make her foes knock under.
Besides, four steamers fit for war were there, I am proud to tell;
They harassed well our enemy with death-conveying shell.

The warlike brave _Bellerophon_ is worthy of her name;
For as she ranged up to the forts she poured forth smoke and flame.
Austrian frigates and the Turks, although in number few,
By Britons led they did their best--great praise to them is due.

Then comes the little stinging _Wasp_, her weight in gold she’s
worth;
For under the walls of Acre she took a liner’s berth:
As close as ever she could get, her captain strove to take her,
And sprung her broadsides to the forts, and stung poor St. Jean
d’Acre.

That afternoon, at four o’clock, we heard a dreadful roar:
Each vessel trembled at the shock, each eye was turned on shore.
One of their magazines blew up, it was an awful sight;
Death made an awful conquest there, the heavens were black as night.

The poor Egyptians, paralysed, scarce knew what course to take,
And after five they all began their quarters to forsake:
A general terror soon was spread throughout the shattered town;
They confess’d us British conquerors and haul’d their colours down.

_THE BORNEO HEROES._

Come, all you jolly sailors bold, the truth you soon shall know
Concerning of a glorious fight on the Isle of Borneo.
As we were cruising off the coast we heard the dreadful news
How the pirates they had massacred our merchants’ crews.
_Huzza! huzza! huzza! huzza! with Captain Talbot, boys, we’ll
die or win the day!_

The news it flew like lightning, from ship to ship it ran:
Admiral Cochrane gave the word, brave Talbot led the van;
And soon we manned all our boats, and down the river flew.
Brave Talbot he commanded us with all the vessel’s crew.
_Huzza, etc._

When we came up to the boom we found it so secure,
The cannon from their batteries on us poor lads did pour;
But soon we cut our way through, like lions sprang on shore,
And soon five hundred pirates lay bleeding in their gore.
_Huzza, etc._

While they were bleeding in their gore we rushed into their town,
And there the produce of many a gallant ship we found;
For plunder and distribution, boys, it was our whole intent:
In one hour and twenty minutes the town to ashes sent.
_Huzza, etc._

When we returned to our admiral and told him the glorious news,
‘Three cheers, my boys, for England, and all the gallant crews!’
So we’ll drink to Admiral Cochrane, and gallant Talbot too,
The officers of the squadron, and all the vessel’s crew.
_Huzza, etc._

Now we have returned to England, to let our friends all know
How we destroyed the pirates on the coast of Borneo;
For we left the flag of England by all nations to be seen:
And for our reward we’ll boldly go, boys, to our gracious Queen.
_Huzza, etc._

_THE SLAVE CHASE._

Set every stitch of canvas to woo the fresh’ning wind;
Our bowsprit points to Cuba, the coast lies far behind.
Filled to the hatches full, my boys, across the seas we go;
There’s twice five hundred niggers in the stifling hold below.
‘A sail! What say you, boys? Well--let him give us chase
A British man-of-war you say--well, let him try the race;
There’s not a swifter vessel ever floated on the waves
Than our tidy little schooner well ballasted with slaves.’

Now stronger yet and stronger still came down the fiery breeze,
And ever fast and faster sped the strange ship on the seas,
Flinging each rude and bursting surge in glittering haloes back,
And bearing high to heaven aloft the English Union Jack!
‘Now curses on that ensign,’ the slaving captain said;
‘There’s little luck for slavers when the English bunting’s spread.
But pack on sail and trim the ship; before we’ll captured be
We’ll have the niggers up, my boys, and heave them in the sea.’

Hoarse was the slaving captain’s voice, and deep the oath he swore:
‘Haul down the flag; that’s shot enough, we don’t want any more.’
Alongside dashed the cruiser’s boat to board and seize the prize.
Hark to that rattling British cheer that’s ringing to the skies!
‘Up, up with the negroes speedily; up, up, and give them breath;
Clear out the hold from stem to stern: that noisome den is death;
And run aloft St. George’s Cross, all wanton let it wave,
The token proud that under it there never treads a slave.’

_THE RUSSIANS WON’T COME OUT._

Written by a seaman on board the _Cressy_.

What can we luckless sailors do? no fun comes to our share;
The enemy keeps out of view--to meet us they won’t dare!
In vain our pennants fly so gay, our cruisers roam about,
We might as well in Portsmouth lay--the Russians won’t come out!

In Helsingfors they lay quite close; ’neath Cronstadt mole they
crowd;
They’ll not come out and meet the foes whom once they dared so loud.
Like to some worn-out batter’d hulk each gallant ship so stout
Behind the batteries does skulk--the cowards won’t come out!

The _Arrogant_ and _Hecla_, too, gave them a lesson rough;
Tho’ fighting to our lads was new they proved both smart and tough;
They strewed the ground with soldiers gay, their batteries knocked
about,
And brought their merchant ships away, yet still they won’t come out!

While in the Baltic we deplore our idle time at sea,
Our comrades on the Turkish shore are as badly off as we.
Though many ships they’ve made their own, ta’en many a strong
redoubt,
And batter’d half Odessa down, the Russians won’t come out!

That mighty man, Prince Menschikoff, in harbour still does lie,
And at the Allied Fleets does scoff as they are sailing by.
‘Don’t think,’ says he, ‘that I’m a fool, a valiant, headstrong lout;
I’m safe and snug in Sebastopol, and be hanged if I’ll come out.’

Oh! would they but their anchors weigh and boldly put to sea,
With joy to see a sight so gay how full each heart would be;
But oh! such wishes are in vain: they know there’s little doubt,
They never would get in again if once they venture out.

_DON’T FORGET YOUR OLD SHIPMATE._

We’re the boys that fear no noise
Whilst thundering cannons roar,
And long we’ve toiled on the rolling wave,
And now we’re safe on shore.
_Don’t forget your old shipmate,
Fol de rol._

Since we sailed from Plymouth Sound,
Four years gone, to-night, Jack,
Were there ever chummies known,
Such as you and I, Jack?
_Don’t forget, etc._

We have served the self-same gun,
Quarter-deck division,
Sponger I, and loader you,
Through the whole commission.
_Don’t forget, etc._

Oftentimes have we laid out,
Toil nor danger fearing,
Hauling out the flapping sail
To the weather ear-ring.
_Don’t forget, etc._

When the middle watch was on,
And the time went slow, boy,
Who could tune a rousing stave,
Who like Jack or Joe, boy?
_Don’t forget, etc._

There she swings an empty hulk,
Not a soul below now;
Number seven, starboard mess,
Misses Jack and Joe now.
_Don’t forget, etc._

But the best of friends must part,
Fair or foul the weather;
Tip us your flipper for a shake,
Now a drink together;
_And don’t forget your old shipmate, etc._

NOTES

P. 1. =The Battle of Sluys.= From Joseph Hall’s edition of the _Poems_ of Lawrence Minot, p. 14. The following explanations of references and words are from Mr. Hall’s notes:--

Line 1. Lithes = listen.

Stanza 1.--Suth = true; sad = serious; salue = greet; bute (bote) = remedy, benefit.

Stanza 2.--Sir Hugh Kyret = Hugues Quiéret, Seigneur de Tours en Vimieu; leve = believe; lare = teaching; brin (bren) = burn; unkind = unnatural; sowed = smarted; lered = taught.

Stanza 3.--Buriase = burgesses; sone = soon; mekill = much, great; grame = hurt.

Stanza 4.--Sergantes = sergeants, soldiers; snell = quick.

Stanza 5.--Dight = ready; kene = bold; byfor = before; Blankebergh = Blanckenberghe, in West Flanders; sary = wretched; waniand = waning (moon).

Stanza 6.--Sir Robard, &c. = Sir Robert Morley, Marshal of Ireland; wonnen = captured; oway = gone, worthless.

Stanza 7.--Erle of Northamton = William de Bohun; wede = armour; Sir Walter the Mawnay = Sir W. Manny; bede = offer.

Stanza 8.--The duc of Lankaster = Henry of Derby; drive = rush, dash on; mody = courageous, proud; stint = stopped; strive = a conflict; fone = few.

Stanza 9.--Eth = easy; raw = line, order of battle; fer = far; bud = behoved.

Stanza 10.--Earl of Glowcester=Hugh de Audley; glade = gladden; biker = fight; baldely = bravely; brim = sea, flood; at = to.

Stanza 11.--Prest = ready.

Stanza 12.--John of Aile = Jan van Eyle or Heylle; scheltron = squadron; schene = bright; Cagent = Cadzant, in Zeeland; cantly = eagerly; tene = sorrow.

Stanza 13.--Swith = quickly; skrith = escape; kouth = knew; kith = show.

Stanza 14.--Kogges = cogs, or cocks, ships of burden; stound = time, short time.

Stanza 15.--Wall = choice; flude (flode) = sea; confort = cheer.

Stanza 16.--Gert = caused; blin = cease.

P. 3. =Les Espagnols sur Mer.= From Joseph Hall’s edition of the _Poems_ of Lawrence Minot, p. 33.

Stanza 1.--Spede = cause to prosper; wight = stout; dale = earth, grave; fele = many; fare = brag.

Stanza 2.--Taburns = tabours, small drums; weremen = warriors; holl = hull.

Stanza 3.--Hurdis = bulwark; on here = on high; neghed = approached; snaper = stumble; ferr = farther; fine = come to an end, die; tyne = lose; reved = carried off.

Stanza 4.--Boy with thi blac berd--Barbenoire or Bocca-Negra, pirate of Genoa; rede = advise; blin = cease; were on = fight against; domp = plunge; lout = bow low to.

P. 4. =The Pilgrims’ Sea Voyage.= From a MS. in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. Edited by J. F. Furnivall for the Early English Text Society in 1867; also printed in Halliwell’s _Early Naval Ballads_, p. 1. Date of MS. temp. Henry VI. A translation is given by Clowes, _The Royal Navy_, i. 344.

On p. 5, line 15, ‘lyle’ is a misprint for ‘lyke.’

Stanza 1.--Gramys = troubles.

Stanza 2.--Hissa = hoist away: French ‘hissez’; crake = talk.

Stanza 3.--Taylia = haul aft the sheet.

Stanza 4.--No nere = steer no nearer the wind. The note of interrogation is clearly wrong.

Stanza 5.--Trussa = haul on the truss; probably the French ‘troussez.’; Wartake = French ‘uretacque’ (Jal); defined by Falconer as ‘the preventer fore tack.’ Cf. _Inventories of Henry VII._, p. 71.

Stanza 6.--Pery = a squall; Thou canst no whery = thou understandest not a ship.

P. 6. =Sir Andrew Barton.= Text in Hales and Furnivall, _Bishop Percy’s Folio MS._, iii. 399, and in Child, _English and Scottish Popular Ballads_, iii. 334. There is also a later broadside version which is printed in _A Collection of Old Ballads_, 1723, i. 159, and in _Roxburghe Ballads_, i. 10. Percy’s _Reliques_ contains a composite version.

Bishop Percy’s MS. is said to belong to the reign of Charles I., but the version of this ballad it contains probably belongs to an earlier period. It apparently attributes to Charles, Lord Howard of Effingham, who died in 1624, the exploit of his kinsman, Sir Edward Howard, who died in 1513, a kind of confusion which is not uncommon in ballads handed down by tradition.

Contemporary narratives give no account of Sir Edward Howard’s tactics, and the details given are probably the invention of the author of the ballad. The reference to ‘beams’ in stanzas 7 and 9 on p. 9 has been explained in many different ways. One explanation is that it refers to some primitive form of ram, such as that described by De la Roncière in his _Histoire de la Marine Française_, i. 256. Another is, that the ‘beams,’ also termed in the MS. ‘beanes’ or ‘beaves,’ were heavy weights designed to be dropped on the enemy’s ship. It seems more likely that some apparatus for grappling the enemy’s ship was meant. ‘He clasped me to his archborde’ says the merchant in stanza 3 on p. 9. ‘Archborde’ is explained by Hales and Furnivall in a note to mean the side of a ship, and to be the same as hatch-bord.’ _Bishop Percy’s Folio MS._, iii. 407.

The two following stanzas from Percy’s _Reliques_, i. 335, ed. 1893, will serve to fill the gap on p. 10 of the text:

‘And seven pieces of ordinance,
I pray your honour lend to mee,
On each side of my ship along,
And I will lead you on the sea.
A glasse Ile sett, that may be seene,
Whether you sayle by day or night;
And to-morrowe, I sweare, by nine of the clocke
You shall meet with Sir Andrew Barton, knight.’

THE SECOND PART.

‘The merchant sett my lorde a glasse
So well apparent in his sight,
And on the morrowe, by nine of the clocke,
He shewed him Sir Andrewe Barton, knight.
His hachebord it was gilt with gold,
So deerlye dight it dazzled the ee:
“Nowe by my faith,” lord Howarde sais,
This is a gallant sight to see.’

P. 16. =John Dory.= Text in Ritson, _Ancient Songs and Ballads_, ed. 1877, p. 198, and in Child, _English and Scottish Popular Ballads_, v. 131. The ballad was first printed in 1609, but is mentioned in 1575. Tune in Chappell, _Old English Popular Music_, i. 93, ed. Wooldridge. It refers to no known historical event, but is perhaps a traditional account of some incident in the Hundred Years’ War. Carew, in his _Survey of Cornwall_, refers to the ballad as ‘an old three-man’s song’ about ‘one Nicholas, son to a widow near Foy’ (ed. 1602, p. 135).

P. 17. =The Mariner’s Song.= From the _Comedy of Common Conditions_, circa 1570. Printed by J. P. Collier, _English Dramatic Poetry_, ed. 1879, ii. 293; also in Stone’s _Sea Songs and Ballads_, p. 4.

P. 18. =The Obtaining of the Great Galleazzo.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vi. 384. Also printed in Arber’s _Tudor Tracts_, p. 485, and in J. P. Collier’s _Broadside Black-Letter Ballads_, 1868, p. 79, which gives some variants. By Thomas Deloney.

P. 21. =The Winning of Cales.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vi. 402. Printed also in Hales and Furnivall, _Bishop Percy’s Folio MS._, iii. 453, which gives some variants. Written by Thomas Deloney, and probably first appeared in his _Garland of Good Will_, about 1596, soon after the capture of Cadiz.

P. 23. =The Sailor’s Onely Delight.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vi. 408. A version with variants is given by Child, _English and Scottish Popular Ballads_, v. 133. In Fletcher’s _Two Noble Kinsmen_, the jailor’s daughter sings a fragment of an earlier version:

The George Alow came from the South
From the coast of Barbary-a;
And there he met with brave gallants of war
By one, by two, by three-a.
Well hail’d, well hail’d, you jolly gallants,
And whither now are you bound-a?
O let me have your company
Till [I]come unto the Sound-a.

The second part of the ballad was licensed in 1611: the first part is not entered, but the tune is that of a ballad registered in March 1611 (Arber, _Stationers’ Register_, iii. 206, b.). The ballad may refer to an historical event. ‘In 1596 letters of reprisal were granted to Diggory Piper in the Sweepstakes of London.... He was authorised to attack Spanish and Portuguese ships; he commenced with some Flemings, continued with two French traders, and finished with a Dane having goods worth 3,000_l._ on board.’ (Oppenheim, _The Administration of the Royal Navy_, p. 180).

P. 25. =The Seaman’s Song of Captain Ward.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vi. 784. Date of first publication July 3, 1609 (Arber, _Stationers’ Register_, iii. 185, b.).

P. 27. =The Song of Danseker.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vi. 423. Same date as the preceding.

P. 30. =Captain Ward and the Rainbow.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vi. 426. The earliest printed editions of this ballad belong to the latter half of the seventeenth century. It was reprinted as a broadside by J. Pitts in the early part of the nineteenth century. See Logan, _A Pedlar’s Pack_, p. 7. The ballad is possibly a legendary version of Rainborow’s expedition to Sallee in 1637. Essex is celebrated as a naval commander in _Queen Elizabeth’s Champion_ (_Roxburghe Ballads_, vi. 405).

P. 31. =The Lamentable Cries of 1,500 Christians.= Text from a MS. in the Bodleian Library (_MS. Rawlinson Poet._ clii. f. 36).

P. 34. =The Honour of Bristol.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vi. 429. A later version, entitled _The Jovial Mariner’s Resolution_, is contained in a chapbook, called _The Jovial Mariner’s Garland_, in the Bodleian Library (Douce P.P. 183).

P. 36. =Neptune to England.= Printed by Halliwell, _Early Naval Ballads_, p. 68, from _MS. Sloane_, 1514, f. 40, in the British Museum.

P. 36. =On His Majesties Fleet.= Text from _Add. MS._ 29, 975, f. 109, in the British Museum.

P. 37. =Upon the Great Ship.= Text from _MS. Rawlinson Poet._ clx. f. 164, in the Bodleian Library. A poem on the same subject in Latin and English is printed in Sir Richard Fanshawe’s _Pastor Fido and Poems_, ed. 1676, p. 228.

P. 40. =Sailors for my Money.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vi. 797. Date somewhere between 1630 and 1655. Mr. Ebsworth dates it 1635. On its author, Martin Parker, see _Dictionary of National Biography_, xliii. 242.

P. 42. =The Jovial Mariner.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vi. 369. Attributed by Mr. Ebsworth to John Playford and dated circa 1670-84.

P. 45. =Neptune’s Raging Fury.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vi. 432. Written about 1635, says Mr. Ebsworth. For the tune see Chappell’s _Old English Popular Music_, ed. Wooldridge, ii. 47.

P. 47. =The Famous Fight at Malago.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, iv. 412; and Halliwell, _Early Naval Ballads_, p. 64. The fight took place in July 1656. The five frigates were the Lyme, Nantwich, Newbury, Maidstone, and Ruby, with the Fox fireship, so that only one of the names given in verse 2 is correct. See _Thurloe State Papers_, v. 195, 233, 257.

P. 48. =Elegy on the Death of Robert Blake.= From a pamphlet in the British Museum (669. f. 20 [21]).

P. 53. =The Valiant Seaman’s Congratulation to King Charles II.= From the Euing collection in the Library of the University of Glasgow (No. 368). For the tune see Chappell, _Old English Popular Music_, ii. 15.

P. 54. =England’s Valour and Holland’s Terrour.= From the Euing collection (No. 103).

P. 56. =Song Written at Sea.= By the Earl of Dorset, printed in Rochester’s _Works_, ed. 1731, vol. ii. p. 53, and reprinted in Ward’s _English Poets_, ii. 412. Tune and words in Chappell’s _Old English Popular Music_, ed. Wooldridge, ii. 154. In the last line of verse 3 Chappell reads ‘bring’ instead of ‘waft.’ For another version, see _Pills to Purge Melancholy_, v. 168.

P. 58. =The Royal Victory.= Printed in _Roxburghe Ballads_, vi. 435. Dated by Ebsworth, June 9, 1665. Tune given in Chappell, ed. Wooldridge, i. 259.

P. 61. =The English Seaman’s Resolution.= From the Euing collection (No. 106).

P. 63. =England’s Tryumph and Holland’s Downfall.= From the Euing collection (No. 93).

P. 68. =England’s Royal Conquest.= From Anthony Wood’s collection in the Bodleian Library (Wood, E. 25. f. 55). Printed for Richard Burton, at the Horse-Shoe in West-Smithfield.

P. 69. =Holland turn’d to Tinder.= From the Euing collection (No. 134). Printed by E. Crowch for F. Coles, T. Vere, and J. Wright.

P. 72. =A New Ballad of a Famous German Prince.= From Anthony Wood’s collection in the Bodleian Library (Wood, E. 416. f. 111). The Second Part is from the same source (f. 113).

P. 79. =The Dutch Damnified.= From the Euing collection (No. 60).

P. 82. =A Song on the Duke’s late Glorious Success.= Printed by Halliwell, _Early Naval Ballads_, p. 62, from a broadside in the possession of Mr. Rimbault. On the battle of Solebay, May 28, 1672.

P. 83. =News from the Coast of Spain.= From the Rawlinson collection in the Bodleian (Rawlinson, 566, p. 82). Action February 13, 1674.

P. 86. =Captain Mansfield’s Fight with the Turks.= From the Madden collection in the Cambridge University Library (_Slipsongs_, i. 120, No. 260). Probably based on Kempthorne’s repulse of the seven Algerine ships, December 29, 1669. May refer to Captain Michael Mansfield, on whom see Charnock, _Biographia Navalis_, i. 348.

P. 88. =The Algiers Slave’s Releasement.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vi. 447.

P. 89. =The Benjamin’s Lamentation.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vii. 529.

P. 92. =The Treachery of the Spaniards of Porto Rico.= From the Pepys collection in the Library of Magdalene College, Cambridge, v. 374. The Journal of Ignatius White, the captain of the Dartmouth, gives an interesting account of this incident, dated April 1686 (No. 3819). See also MS., Rawlinson A., clxxxix. f. 337.

P. 95. =The Golden Voyage.= From the Pepys collection (iv. 199). Printed for J. Blare, at the Looking Glass on London Bridge.

P. 97. =The Boatswain’s Call.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, iii. 463.

P. 99. =The Undaunted Seaman.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vii. 551.

P. 101. =The Seaman’s Adieu.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vii. 524.

P. 104. =The Maiden’s Frolick.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, iii. 402.

P. 106. =The Courageous Commander.= From the Pepys collection (iv. 219). Printed for R. Kell, at the White Hart, near Pye Corner, in West Smithfield.

P. 108. =The Seaman’s Victory.= _Bagford Ballads_, i. 283.

P. 110. =Torringtonia.= From the Pepys collection (v. 377).

P. 112. =England’s Triumph at Sea.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vii. 745, and _Poems on State Affairs_, I. ii. 263. The text of the two versions differs. Verses 9 and 10 are added from a manuscript.

P. 113. =England’s Great Loss by a Storm of Wind.= Printed in Ashton’s _Real Sailor Songs_, p. 40*. Another version is in the Madden collection, entitled _A Copy of Verses made upon the Loss of the Coronation, and eight more Ships of War_ (_Slipsongs_, i. 174, No. 372). A third version, printed in Marryat’s _Poor Jack_, is headed _The Return from the Baltic of the English Fleet under Admiral Sir Edward Russell_. All are late versions, and full of corruptions. They place the disaster in November, instead of September 1691, and differ in the names of the ships. According to Burchett, the Coronation was lost with most of her crew, the Harwich ‘ran on shore and bulged,’ the Royal Oak and Northumberland ‘tailed on the ground, though afterwards they were luckily got off’ (_Transactions at Sea_, p. 102; cf. Clowes, ii. 345). The second line of verse 4 is, in Marryat’s version, ‘But fiercely to the west did run’; in the Madden copy, ‘The sea strong to the west did run.’ In verse 5, Marryat’s version runs:

‘A-shore went the Northumberland,
The Harwich and the Cumberland,
The Lion, and the Warwick too;
But Elizabeth, she had most for to rue,
She came stem on, and her Lion broke,
And she sunk the Gloster at the stroke.’

Marryat’s version draws a moral from the disaster:

‘They was punished for their misdeeds
For grumbling when they had no needs.’

The Madden copy, on the other hand, says:

‘Walking Plymouth streets one day,
I heard some sea captains for to say
“God will reward us for our deeds,
In flogging men when there’s no need.”’

There are many minor variations in the three versions which are not worth noting.

P. 114. =Naval Warfare of 1692.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vii. 746.

P. 117. =The Royal Triumph.= _Bagford Ballads_, i. 297. ‘Fistula master’ in verse 10 is an allusion to the fact that Louis XIV. was operated upon for a fistula November 18, 1686. (Martin, _Histoire de France_, 4th ed. xiv. 74).

P. 119. =Admiral Russell’s Scowering the French Fleet.= Printed in _Bagford Ballads_, i. 119, from a copy in _The Midshipman’s Garland_, published in Queen Anne’s reign. The tune and four verses of the ballad are given in D’Urfey’s _Pills to Purge Melancholy_, iv. 333. In the second verse D’Urfey reads ‘scupper-holes’ instead of ‘port-holes,’ and ‘king’ instead of ‘queen’ in verse 4. Verses 5 and 6 are probably later additions to the original. For tune see _The Edinburgh Musical Miscellany_, 1804, p. 270.

P. 120. =A Merry New Ballad.= From the Pepys collection (v. 382). A broadside printed ‘for R. Baldwin near the Oxford Arms in Warwick Lane,’ 1692. In the last verse ‘Petres’ refers to Edward Petre the Jesuit, confessor of James II.

P. 125. =The Valiant Seaman’s Courage.= From the Pepys collection (v. 385). A broadside printed for C. Bates at the White Hart in West Smithfield.

P. 126. =England’s Glory in the Behaviour of Brave Killeygrove.= Printed in Ashton’s _Real Sailor Songs_, p. 10. Original in British Museum (pressmark l. 20. c. 30 [18]). See Charnock, _Biographia Navalis_, ii. 328. In the last line ‘Marseilles’ is evidently a misprint for ‘Messina.’

P. 128. =The Frighted French.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vi. 446. The original reads ‘do tide’ in verse 5.

P. 129. =The Cæsar’s Victory.= From the Pepys collection (iv. 198). A broadside printed for J. Deacon at the Angel in Giltspur Street.

P. 131. =A Copy of Verses by Captain Henry Every.= From the Pepys collection (v. 384). There is an eighteenth-century version in the Madden collection (_Slipsongs_ ii. 72, No. 1, 166) entitled _Bold Captain Avery_. The numerous variants in the later version are merely corruptions and not worth noting. The ballad follows very closely the facts set forth at the trial of six of Every’s crew in 1696. Henry Every, _alias_ Bridgman, on May 30, 1694, seized a merchant ship called The Charles the Second, Charles Gibson master, as she lay at anchor about three leagues from the Groyne (_i.e._ Corunna). Having set Gibson and sixteen honest men ashore and renamed the ship, Every sailed for the coast of Guinea. A proclamation against Captain Henry Every, of the ship Phancy, was issued July 18, 1696 (Luttrell’s _Diary_, iv. 86). The reference to the different flags used by pirates in verses 9-12 is explained by the following extract from the narrative of a captive: ‘About eleven of the clock one night, after the whole crew had been some time assembled in the great cabbin, I heard three huzzas, and then they all came up on deck and hoisted _Jolly Roger_ (for so they call their black ensign, in the middle of which is a large white skeleton with a dart in one hand striking a bleeding heart, and in the other an hour-glass).... When they fight under _Jolly Roger_ they give quarter, which they do not when they fight under the red or bloody flag.’ (From Captain Richard Hawkins’s account of his capture by Captain Spriggs and his sufferings amongst the pirates of the Spanish Main in the year 1724, reprinted in Boyer’s _Political State of Great Britain_, vol. xxviii. pp. 147-156).

P. 133. =Villany Rewarded.= From the Pepys collection (ii. 99). A broadside printed for Charles Barnes, 1696. See _The Trial of Joseph Dawson &c. for several Piracies and Robberies by them committed in company of Every the Grand Pirate_: London, 1696, folio. The six accused were all condemned and hanged at Execution Dock, November 25, 1696.

P. 134. =Captain Kid’s Farewell.= This ballad is reprinted, for the first time, from the unique example in the collection of Lord Crawford. The trial of William Kid (or Kidd), which took place in 1701, is contained in volume xiv. of the _State Trials_, p. 123. The ballad follows the trial pretty closely. One indictment against Kid was for the murder of his gunner, William Moore. The dialogue which caused the assault is thus related. Captain Kid called Moore ‘a lousy dog.’ ‘Says William Moore, “If I am a lousy dog, you have made me so; you have brought me to ruin, and many more.” Upon his saying this, says Captain Kid, “Have I ruined you, ye dog?” and took a bucket bound with iron hoops and struck him on the right side of the head, of which he died next day.’ Another indictment was for the capture of a merchant ship called The Quedagh Merchant, bound from Bengal to Surat, the property of certain Armenian merchants and Moors, but commanded by an Englishman (see verse 7). This was in January 1698. About June 1696 Kid had taken on his voyage to New York ‘a French banker,’ as a witness calls it, _i.e._ a French fishing-ship bound for Newfoundland (see verse 8). At Babs Key or Bobs Key, ‘a small island at the entrance of the Red Sea,’ Kid projected an attack upon ‘the Mocca fleet,’ fourteen or fifteen merchantmen of various nationalities, but found them too strong for him (verse 9).

Captain Culliford (mentioned in verse 15) was a notorious pirate, commander of the Resolution, formerly the Mocca frigate, whom Kid met at Madagascar. When they met, Culliford thought Kid had come to arrest him. But they became friends at once. ‘And on the quarter-deck they made some bomboo and drank together; and Captain Kid said, “Before I would do you any harm I would have my soul fry in hell fire,” and wished damnation to himself several times if he did’ (_State Trials_, xiv. 153, 167). In the report of the trial Culliford is described as now in custody, and he probably followed Kid to the gallows.

Kid was executed May 23, 1701.

On his case see also _A full Account of the Proceedings in relation to Capt. Kidd_, in _A Collection of State Trials, published during the Reign of King William III._, vol. iii. p. 230.

A fragment of a traditional version of this ballad is given in Masefield’s _A Sailor’s Garland_, p. 17.

P. 137. =A Satyr on the Sea Officers.= Printed in the _Miscellaneous Works_ of George Duke of Buckingham, i. p. 90, 1704. Probably written about 1691. The players were at Oxford in July 1691 (_Cal. S. P. Dom._, 1690-1, p. 430).

P. 140. =The Sea Martyrs.= From the Pepys collection (v. 375). The broadside has no printer’s name or date. Probably written about January 1691. Luttrell notes, about the middle of December 1690, that ‘some seamen belonging to the Suffolk man-of-war, having mutinied for want of their pay, are secured and sent to the Marshalsea in order to their trial’ (_Diary_, ii. 144.)

P. 143. =Advice to Young Maidens.= From _The Hampshire Garland_ in the Douce collection in the Bodleian Library.

P. 145. =The Seamen’s Wives’ Vindication.= From the Pepys collection (iv. 185). A broadside printed for J. Deacon, at the Angel in Giltspur Street.

P. 146. =Billy the Midshipman’s Welcome Home.= _Bagford Ballads_, i. 112. From the _Midshipman’s Garland_, published about the beginning of Queen Anne’s reign. The tune is given in _Pills to Purge Melancholy_, v. 301.

P. 148. =Admiral Benbow.= Printed in Halliwell’s _Early Naval Ballads_, p. 38. A slightly different version is given in Ashton’s _Real Sailor Songs_, p. 19*. A chapbook dated 1784, entitled _Four Excellent New Songs_, in the Bodleian Library (Douce S. 370) seems to be the earliest printed version. From it, with the omission of three or four words, the stanza about Captain Crosbie, which is not in Halliwell’s version, has been added. A slipsong printed by Jennings, Water Lane, Fleet Street, about the beginning of the nineteenth century, gives the verse thus:

‘And there Captain Kirby proved a coward at last,
And with Wade played at bo-peep behind the main-mast;
And there they did stand, boys, and quiver and shake,
For fear those French dogs their lives should take.’

This was originally a much longer ballad: in the Jennings and Douce versions there are many variants and some additional lines. The third and fourth stanzas in the former run as follows:

‘We took our leave of them, and made quick dispatch,
And we steered our course to the island of Vache;
And turning to the windward as near as we could lie,
On the 14th of August ten sail we did espy.

‘They hoisted their pendants and their colours spread,
And they hoisted their bloody flag at the topmast head;
Then we hoisted our jack flag at the mizen peak,
And so brought up our squadron in a line most complete.’

The Douce version has this fourth stanza in slightly different words, but omits the third. It reads ‘chance shot’ instead of ‘chain shot.’ No good text can be put together till some older and more authoritative edition of the ballad is discovered. For the tune, see Chappell’s _Old English Popular Music_, ii. 92, and also Sharpe’s _Folk Songs from Somerset_, No. 73.

Historically the first line of the ballad is incorrect. Benbow sailed first to Barbadoes and thence to Port Royal (see Clowes, ii. 368). As to the details of the engagement, the account of the court-martial on Benbow’s captains is printed in _State Trials_, xiv. 538-546. The fight was August 19-24, 1702; the trial, October 8-12, 1702. Benbow was wounded at three in the morning of August 24, ‘his right leg being broke, but commanded the fight to be vigorously maintained,’ after which, says the report, he ‘lay wounded in a cradle.’

Crosbie in verse 6 should be Kirkby. Captain Richard Kirkby, commander of the Defiance, was sentenced to be shot. In the report it is alleged ‘that during the six days’ engagement he never encouraged his men; but by his own example of dodging behind the mizen-mast, and falling down upon the deck on the noise of shot ... the said men were under great discouragement.’

P. 149. =The Death of Admiral Benbow.= Printed by Halliwell, _Early Naval Ballads_, ‘from a broadside printed at Salisbury by Fowler, a noted ballad printer of the last century.’ A chapbook printed at Edinburgh in 1823 supplies some variants in verses 1-7, and adds verses 8-10. Some of these variants have been adopted in the text, especially in verses 4 and 7, where they supply the rhymes missing in Halliwell’s version. The three verses given in brackets are evidently a later addition.

In verse 4 ‘Noah’s Ark’ is perhaps a nickname, but more probably a corruption of the name of Benbow’s flagship, the Breda. In the report of the trial it is called throughout the ‘Bredah,’ and the accentuation of the last syllable would account for the appearance of ‘Ark.’ No doubt the line originally ran ‘’Twas the Ruby and Bredah.’

For the tune see Chappell, _Old English Popular Music_, ii. 94.

P. 151. =Sailor’s Account of the Action at Vigo.= From the collection of the Earl of Crawford. A broadside printed by Sam. Farley of Exeter.

P. 153. =On the Sea Fight between Sir G. R. and Toulouse.= _Poems on Affairs of State_, ed. 1716, iii. 112.

P. 153. =A Song on the Same.= _Ib._, p. 113.

P. 154. =The Sailor’s Tragedy.= From the Douce collection in the Bodleian Library (_The Sea-faring Garland_: Douce P. P. 183).

P. 156. =The Valiant Admiral.= _Ib._

P. 158. =The Sea-Fight, or the French Prize taken.= From _The Diverting Muse, or the Universal Medley_, part vi., 1707.

P. 159. =The Dismal Lamentation, &c.= From the Douce collection in the Bodleian Library (_The New Portsmouth and Spithead Garland_: Douce P. P. 183). On the accident see Clowes ii. 529.

P. 162. =The Sailor’s Complaint.= Text from a volume of songs called _The Nightingale_, printed in 1738. A nineteenth-century version from a broadside is given in Ashton’s _Real Sailor Songs_, p. 65*. For the tune see Chappell, _Old English Popular Music_, ed. Wooldridge, ii. 165.

P. 163. =Fair Sally.= Text from _A Collection of Diverting Songs_, published about 1740, p. 217. Another version, which substitutes ‘seaman’ for ‘sailor,’ may be found at p. 174 of the collection called _The Lark_, published in 1740, and also in Ashton’s _Real Sailor Songs_, p. 63.

P. 164. ‘=How Pleasant a Sailor’s Life Passes.=’ From _A Collection of Diverting Songs_. Also in Ramsay’s _Tea Table Miscellany_, p. 168, where it is entitled _The Sailor’s Rant_.

P. 165. =The Boatswain’s Whistle.= From the collection entitled _The Lark_, 1740, p. 25. In this version line 4 of the chorus runs ‘My boy, let us stir, let us toil,’ but Smollett’s reading has been adopted as preferable. I have not been able to find a copy of the original or the date of its publication.

P. 166. =The Downfall of Piracy.= From _The Worcestershire Garland_ in the British Museum (pressmark, 11621. c. 4 [89]). Reprinted by Ashton, _Real Sailor Songs_, p. 7.

P. 168. =Admiral Cavendish’s Distress on Board the Canterbury.= The Canterbury was the flagship of Rear-Admiral Philip Cavendish from July 16, 1728, to January 24, 1730-31. She sailed from Spithead on September 18, 1728, and arrived at Gibraltar on the afternoon of October 14. The log of the Canterbury thus describes the storm. ‘Monday, September 23.--About 11 this forenoon we were taken with a violent squall out of the N. W., which carried away our mizen mast and split the main topsail. In this squall we lost sight of the Romney. 24.--For the most part strong gales of wind with violent squalls. Yesterday in the afternoon we lowered down our fore and main yards and got the sails reefed and furled and cut away the main topsail yard, sail and all, as it was split. About nine last night we lost our mainmast, and soon after the foremast, which fell to windward, and took away our best bower anchor stock. In the fall of the mast it stave both barge and pinnace (which we hove overboard) and fell on the outer part of one of our quarterdeck guns, which it carried away overboard with it. Also we likewise lost our two lower stunsail booms. In this disaster we lost seven of our men, and had one man’s thigh broke, and another very much bruised.’ The name of the purser referred to in the last verse was Walter Harris. There are two later versions of this ballad in the Madden collection. One is called _The Sailor’s Lamentation_, and is dated in ink ‘1736, Dec. 23’ (_Slipsongs_, iii. 92, No. 1661). The other, printed later still, is called _A New Sea Song_ (_Slipsongs_, ii. 264, No. 1260). A version in the editor’s possession, dated in pencil ‘1728,’ has been made the basis of the text adopted, with one or two corrections supplied by the Madden versions.

P. 170. =The Pacifick Fleet.= From a folio pamphlet in the Bodleian Library, dated 1729 (_Godw. Pamph._ 1667 [19]).

P. 172. =The English Sailor’s Resolution.= From the Madden collection (_Slipsongs_, i. 254, No. 535).

P. 174. =England’s Glory in the Declaration of War.= From a broadside in the possession of the editor.

P. 175. =The Taking of the Princissa.= From the Madden collection (_Slipsongs_, iii. 148, No. 1781). The original prints ‘Orphan,’ instead of ‘Orford,’ and in verse 3, line 2, ‘with courageous skill.’

P. 177. =English Courage Displayed.= From the Madden collection (_Slipsongs_, i. 252, No. 531). For the tune, see Chappell’s _Old English Popular Music_, p. 109. Vernon’s popularity is further attested by two little songbooks--_Vernon’s Glory, containing 15 New Songs occasioned by the taking of Porto-Bello and Fort Chagre_. London: printed by W. Webb, 1740, price sixpence. _Vernon’s Glory_, Part II., sold by the same publisher, contains not only new songs on the exploits mentioned, but also others on the admiral’s birthday. As, for instance:

‘Freeborn Britons, fill your glasses,
Give this day to generous mirth;
For the circling bumper passes
To your Vernon’s happy birth.’

P. 179. =Hosier’s Ghost.= The version of _Hosier’s Ghost_ given on p. 179 is the usual text, viz. that which is reprinted in Percy’s _Reliques_. It no doubt represents the final version of Glover’s poem. A version published in 1740, ‘printed for Mr. Webb, near St. Paul’s (price sixpence),’ states that it was to be sung to the tune of ‘Come and Listen to my Ditty.’ It supplies some various readings. Stanza 1, line 1, instead of ‘our,’ ‘my’; stanza 4, line 7, ‘yet to hear of my undoing’; stanza 5, line 7, instead of ‘tale,’ ‘fate’; stanza 6, lines 5-8,

‘Oh that, with my wrath complying,
I had cast them in the main,
Then, no more unactive lying,
I had lowered the pride of Spain.’

Stanza 7, line 4, instead of ‘hast achieved,’ ‘didst achieve’; stanza 7, line 8, ‘of these gallant men had been,’; stanza 9 runs as follows:

‘Unrepining at thy glory,
Thy successful arms we hail,
But remember our sad story,
When to Britain back you sail!
All your country’s foes subduing,
When your Patriot friends you see,
Think on vengeance for my ruin,
And for England sham’d in me.’

Stanzas 10 and 11 are omitted, and the form of stanza 9 seems to show that the original version of the ballad did not contain these two.

For the tune, see Chappell, _Old English Popular Music_, ii. 165.

P. 181. =Vernon’s Glory.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, vii. 280. This ballad was probably written in 1741, about May, before the failure to storm Fort San Lazar on April 9 had become known. Vernon’s despatch, dated April 1, had just come to hand, giving an account of his forcing the passage through the Bocca Chica, and of having the whole fleet inside the harbour. The capture of Cartagena was a natural, but incorrect, inference. See Clowes, _The Royal Navy_, iii. 67-75. Another contemporary ballad anticipates the capture in the same way--_English Courage Displayed: or Admiral Vernon’s taking of Cartagena_. To the tune of Glorious Charles of Sweden (Madden collection, _Slipsongs_, i. 252). It is an imitation of the ballad printed on p. 177.

P. 184. =The Saphirah in Triumph.= From the Madden collection (_Garlands_, iii. 107, No. 699).

P. 186. =Admiral Matthews’ Engagement.= _Roxburghe Ballads_, viii. 289.

P. 187. =A Song in Praise of Captain Hornsby.= From _The Pretty Milkmaid’s Garland_, in the British Museum (pressmark, 11621, c. 2 [59]). Several corrections have been made in the text.

P. 189. =Captain Cobb’s Bravery.= From the Madden collection (_Slipsongs_, i. 119, No. 258). The text is corrupt, and several corrections have been made.

P. 190. =The Princess Royal’s Escape.= From the Madden collection (_Slipsongs_, iii. 62, No. 1597).

P. 192. =The Loss of the Victory.= Printed in Ashton’s _Real Sailor Songs_, p. 42*.

P. 192. =Disconsolate Judy’s Lamentation.= From the Madden collection (_Slipsongs_, i. 223, No. 472).

P. 193. =England’s Glory.= Ashton, _Real Sailor Songs_, p. 29; pressmark of the British Museum copy, 1876. e. 7. Date 1745; see Beatson, _Naval and Military Memoirs_, i. 280.

P. 195. =The Lucky Sailor.= Madden collection (_Slipsongs_, ii, 156, No. 1034). In verse 6 the original gives ‘survive,’ instead of ‘revive.’ On Anson’s action with La Jonquière, May 3, 1757, see Clowes, iii. 125.

P. 197. =Tit for Tat.= From a copy in the possession of the editor, without name or date. On the action see Clowes, iii. 127, and Burrows, _Life of Hawke_, ed. 1896, p. 67.

P. 199. =A New Song on Admiral Knowls.= From the Madden collection (_Slipsongs_, ii. 312). Rear-Admiral Charles Knowles captured Port Louis in Hispaniola, March 8, 1748 (Clowes, iii. 133).

P. 200. =A New Song Sung by Hannah Snell.= From the Madden collection (_Slipsongs_, ii. 333, No. 1406). The original has a cut of a woman in sailor’s dress, with long hair, a cutlass, brace of pistols, and boarding axe. Hannah Snell’s narrative of her life, entitled, _The Female Soldier, or the Surprising Adventures of Hannah Snell_, was published in 1750, and reprinted in _Women Adventurers_, 1892. Her life is contained in the _Dictionary of National Biography_, liii. 205,

P. 201. =The Lighterman’s Prentice.= From the Madden collection (_Slipsongs_, ii. 137, No. 993). In line 32 ‘Portsmouth’ is a correction of ‘Plymouth.’

P. 203. =Great Britain’s Resolution to Fight the French.= From the Madden collection (_Slipsongs_, i. 87, No. 199). ‘Plods’ in verse 8 means ‘plaids,’ and ‘Charley,’ Prince Charles Edward.

P. 204. =The Terrible Privateer.= From a slipsong in the possession of the editor. ‘Valance,’ in verse 3, is a popular rendering of ‘Vengeance.’ ‘Carteel,’ in verse 8, means the ship employed to exchange prisoners. ‘All into a hell’ is the last line in the original.

P. 205. =Captain Death.= From a slipsong in the possession of the editor, with some corrections from Halliwell’s _Early Naval Ballads_, p. 120. Another version is in Logan’s _Pedlar’s Pack_, p. 31. For the facts see _A Faithful Narrative of the Cruel Sufferings of Captain Death and his Crew_. By Samuel Stoaks. For the tune see F. Kidson’s _Traditional Tunes_, Oxford, 1891, p. 105,

P. 206. =A New Song.= From the Madden collection (_Slipsongs_, ii. 270, No. 1227). The following extracts will explain the reference. ‘Captain Edgcumbe, with his little squadron, had been obliged to return from off Minorca on the appearance of the French. He had left behind him Captain Carr Scrope of the Dolphin, who commanded the naval detachment on shore, to act as signal officer in the event of the appearance of a British squadron before the island.’ When Byng appeared he sent the Phœnix, Chesterfield, and Dolphin ‘to reconnoitre the mouth of Mahon harbour, to pick up intelligence, and to endeavour to send ashore a letter to General Blakeney ... the enemy’s fleet appeared in the S.E., and the detachment had to be recalled’ (Clowes, iii. 147-8). In the absence of Scrope, the Dolphin was commanded by Benjamin Marlow. Scrope, who was on shore all the time, could not have distinguished himself in the way the ballad makes him do, though he did good service during the siege (see Entick, _History of the Late War_, ii. 282, 301). The ballad is a specimen of the fictions circulated to increase the popular hatred of Byng.

P. 207. =The Letter of a Certain Admiral=, printed in _Bungiana_ (a collection of poems and letters against Byng, published in 1756), p. 17. It appeared in _The Evening Advertiser_ for July 3, and is a parody of Byng’s despatch of May 25.

P. 209. =A Rueful Story.= From a broadside in the possession of the editor. Said to be printed ‘at the sign of the Gibbet, near Execution Dock; and sold by all well-wishers to Old England.’

P. 210. =Admiral Byng and Brave West.= Printed with the tune in W. Christie’s _Traditional Ballad Airs_, ii. 261, 1881. In the last line ‘deen’ apparently means ‘done.’

P. 211. =Song on the Isle of Aix.= From the Madden collection (_Slipsongs_, ii. 337, No. 1418). Verse 4 seems to refer to the old ballad on Henry V.’s conquest of France. ‘Recruit me Cheshire and Lancashire, and Derby hills that are so free,’ says that King (see Hales and Furnivall, _Bishop Percy’s Folio M.S._ ii. 597).

P. 212. =Bold Sawyer.= From a slipsong in the possession of the editor. Also in the British Museum (pressmark 11621. l. 1 [190]). Printed in Ashton’s _Real Sailor Songs_, p. 13. In verse 1 Sawyer = James Sayer, captain of the Nassau. In verse 12, ‘Maclome’ is possibly a misprint for ‘Mahon.’ Goree was taken December 28, 1758.

P. 214. =Captain Barton’s Distress.= From the Madden collection (_Slipsongs_, i. 118). For the shipwreck, see Duncan, _Mariner’s Chronicle_, iii. 118.

P. 216. =Gilchrist and Hotham’s Bravery.= From the Madden collection (_Slipsongs_, i. 322, No. 680). ‘And’ is omitted in the title of the original. The action took place March 28, 1759 (Entick, iv. 299).

P. 217. =Hawke’s Engagement.= Two copies of this are in the British Museum (pressmarks 11621. c. 3 [81] and 11621. c. 6 [29]). Printed in Ashton’s _Real Sailor Songs_, p. 14. The original gives the month as September instead of November. The engagement was on November 20, not November 15.

P. 218. =Neptune’s Resignation.= Printed in Halliwell’s _Early Naval Ballads_, from a broadside, p. 131. Said to be written by J. Wignell.