Our captain took the Frenchman's sword, a low bow
made to he;
'I haven't the gift of the gab, monsieur, but polite I wish to be.
And odds bobs, hammer and tongs, long as
I've been to sea,
I've fought 'gainst every odds and I've gained the victory ! '
Our captain sent for all of us : * My merry men, ' said
he, 'I haven't the gift of the gab, my lads, but yet I
thankful be : You've done your duty handsomely, each man stood
to his gun;
If you hadn't, you villains, as sure as day, I'd have flogged each mother's son.
For odds bobs, hammer and tongs, as long as
I'm at sea, I'll fight 'gainst every odds and I'll gain
the victory ! '
Afarryat.
LXXXI
CASABIANCA
THE boy stood on the burning deck
Whence all but he had fled; The flame that lit the battle's wreck
Shone round him o'er the dead.
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