Le Brave Chevalier.
[A Tribute to Lieut. R. M. G. Brown.]
Amid the hiss of waters seething,
And roar of winds aloft,
The lightning 'round them wreathing,
And thunderbolts so oft,
Rode the gallant ship, the Trenton,
With her sails all limp and low,
And Cadet Richard Jackson
Standing at the vessel's bow.
And roar of winds aloft,
The lightning 'round them wreathing,
And thunderbolts so oft,
Rode the gallant ship, the Trenton,
With her sails all limp and low,
And Cadet Richard Jackson
Standing at the vessel's bow.
One by one the good ships battled
With the rage of tempest stern;
As Heaven's artillery rattled,
Every heart for home did yearn.
In Apia's reef-filled harbor
Tossed the crafts like children's toys,
Or leaves from vine-clad arbor,
Drifting out from Nature's joys.
With the rage of tempest stern;
As Heaven's artillery rattled,
Every heart for home did yearn.
In Apia's reef-filled harbor
Tossed the crafts like children's toys,
Or leaves from vine-clad arbor,
Drifting out from Nature's joys.
One by one the good ships vanished,
With their freight of human souls,
While the cries from stout hearts banished
All their hopes—the wild bells tolled.
Black the decks with beings thronging,
Clinging hard to rope or mast,
Each with eye uplifted, longing
For the day to break at last.
With their freight of human souls,
While the cries from stout hearts banished
All their hopes—the wild bells tolled.
Black the decks with beings thronging,
Clinging hard to rope or mast,
Each with eye uplifted, longing
For the day to break at last.
When the dawn fell on Samoa,
Ruins lay at every turn;
Hundreds rested 'neath the billows—
Who would make their home-fires burn?
Anguish painted every feature
Of the gallant Trenton's crew;
Knew they well—yes, every creature—
Soon they'd lie beneath the blue.
Ruins lay at every turn;
Hundreds rested 'neath the billows—
Who would make their home-fires burn?
Anguish painted every feature
Of the gallant Trenton's crew;
Knew they well—yes, every creature—
Soon they'd lie beneath the blue.
Heart and courage both were sinking;
"We are lost!" the brave men cried.
"Hold! Not yet," said Brown as, thinking,
He leaned o'er the doomed ship's side;
Then with head and eye uplifted,
He bade one and all, "Aloft!"
"To the rigging!" His voice drifted,
And the winds appeared more soft.
"We are lost!" the brave men cried.
"Hold! Not yet," said Brown as, thinking,
He leaned o'er the doomed ship's side;
Then with head and eye uplifted,
He bade one and all, "Aloft!"
"To the rigging!" His voice drifted,
And the winds appeared more soft.
Quick all clambered, for they loved him,
Every man obeyed his will.
Their bodies in the morning dim
Caught wind and held, until
The Trenton reached deep water.
Saved! And by a single mind
Held back from fearful slaughter,
Four hundred human kind!
Every man obeyed his will.
Their bodies in the morning dim
Caught wind and held, until
The Trenton reached deep water.
Saved! And by a single mind
Held back from fearful slaughter,
Four hundred human kind!