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

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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