Page:Poems, now first collected, Stedman, 1897.djvu/206

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THE CARIB SEA

Now cruel Lolonnois
And fierce Le Basque
Unlade with wolfish joy
The cargazon;
Land all their ribald braves,
Captives and naked slaves,
With many a bale and cask,
By rapine won;


Armor and altar-plate
Brought over sea:
Pesos, a countless weight,
The horde divide—
To each an equal share,
Else blades are in the air!
Cries Du Plessis: "For me,
My ship, and bride!"


They sailed the Mer du Nord,
The Carib Sea,
Whose galleons fled before
The Frenchman's crew;
But, in one deadly fight,
A swivel aimed aright
Brought down young Du Plessis,
Shot through and through.


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