Page:Mr. Punch's history of the Great War, Graves, 1919.djvu/135

 September, 1916.

AN HAY" wrote a fine book on "The First Hundred Thousand"—the first batch of Kitchener's Army. Another book, equally glorious, remains to be written about another Hundred Thousand—the Sweepers of the Sea. And with them are to be reckoned the heroes of the little ships of whom we hear naught save the laconic record in a daily paper that "the small steamer struck a mine yesterday and sank," and that all the crew were lost:

Who to the deep in ships go down, Great marvels do behold, But comes the day when some must drown In the grey sea and cold. For galleons lost great bells do toll, But now we must implore God's ear for sunken Little Ships Who are not heard of more. When ships of war put out to sea, They go with guns and mail, That so the chance may equal be Should foemen them assail; But Little Ships men's errands run, And are not clad for strife; God's mercy, then, on Little Ships Who cannot fight for life. To warm and cure, to clothe and feed, They stoutly put to sea, And since that men of them had need Made light of jeopardy; Each in her hour her fate did meet, Nor flinched nor made outcry; God's love be with these Little Ships Who could not choose but die. To friar and nun, and every one Who lives to save and tend, Sisters were these whose work is done And cometh thus to end;