236 TENNYSON
And the sun went down, and the stars came out far
over the summer sea, But never a moment ceased the fight of the one and
the fifty-three.
Ship after ship, the whole night long, their high- built galleons came, Ship after ship, the whole night long, with her
battle-thunder and flame; Ship after ship, the whole night long, drew back
with her dead and her shame. For some were sunk and many were shattered, and
so could fight us no more God of battles, was ever a battle like this in the
world before ?
For he said, 'Fight on! fight on! '
Though his vessel was all but a wreck;
And it chanced that, when half of the short summer
night was gone,
With a grisly wound to be drest he had left the deck, But a bullet struck him that was dressing it suddenly
dead, And himself he was wounded again in the side and
the head, And he said, 'Fight on! fight on! '
And the night went down and the sun smiled out
far over the summer sea, And the Spanish fleet with broken sides lay round us
all in a ring; But they dared not touch us again, for they feared
that we still could sting,
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