Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
England: Vols. I–IV. 1876–79.
On the Loss of the “Royal George”
By William Cowper (1731–1800)T
The brave that are no more!
All sunk beneath the wave,
Fast by their native shore!
Whose courage well was tried,
Had made the vessel heel,
And laid her on her side.
And she was overset:
Down went the “Royal George,”
With all her crew complete.
Brave Kempenfelt is gone;
His last sea-fight is fought,
His work of glory done.
No tempest gave the shock;
She sprang no fatal leak,
She ran upon no rock.
His fingers held the pen,
When Kempenfelt went down
With twice four hundred men.
Once dreaded by our foes!
And mingle with our cup
The tear that England owes.
And she may float again,
Full charged with England’s thunder,
And plough the distant main.
His victories are o’er;
And he and his eight hundred
Shall plough the waves no more.