Page:Landon in Literary Gazette 1833.pdf/7



And can this be the vessel That went so boldly forth, With the red flag of Old England, To brave the stormy North?

There were blessings poured upon her When from her port sailed she, And prayers and anxious weeping Went with her o'er the sea.

And once she sent home letters, And joyous ones were they, Dashed but with fond remembrance Of friends so far away.

Ah! many a heart was happy That evening when they came, And many a lip pressed kisses On a beloved name!

How little those who read them Deemed far below the wave, That child, and sire, and lover, Had found a seaman's grave!

But how that brave ship perished None knew, save Him on high; No island heard her cannon, No other bark was nigh.

We only know from England She sailed far o'er the main— We only know to England She never came again.

And eyes grew dim with watching, That yet refused to weep; And years were spent in hoping For tidings from the deep.

It grew an old man's story Upon their native shore,— God rest those souls in Heaven Who met on earth no more! L. E. L.