Page:Twenty years before the mast - Charles Erskine, 1896.djvu/51



Lawrence, Columbia’s pride and boast, Of conquest counted sure as fate. &ensp;He thus address’d his haughty host, With form erect and heart elate: "Three cheers, my brave boys, let your courage bespeak And give them a taste of your cannon; And soon they shall know that the proud Chesapeake Shall ne’er lower a flag to the Shannon."

&ensp;Silent as death each foe drew nigh. While lock’d in hostile, close embrace &ensp;Brave Broke, with British seaman’s eye, The signs of terror soon could trace. He exclaim’d, while his looks did his ardor bespeak: "Brave boys, they all flinch from their cannon; Board, board, my brave messmates; the proud Chesapeake Shall soon be a prize for the Shannon."

&ensp;Swift flew the word — Britannia’s sons Spread death and terror where they came; &ensp;The trembling foe forsook their guns, And called aloud on Mercy’s name. Brave Broke led the way, but fell, wounded and weak, But exclaim’d: "They have fled from their cannon; Three cheers, my brave seamen, the proud Chesapeake  Has lower’d her flag to the Shannon."

&ensp;The day was won, but Lawrence fell; He closed his eyes in endless night; &ensp;And oft Columbia’s sons will tell Of hopes all blighted in that fight. But brave Captain Broke, though wounded and weak, Survived, again to play his cannon; And his name from the shores of the wide Chesapeake Shall resound to the banks of the Shannon.