II.
"Come down while thunders deaden
The minute-guns afar,
And the lightnings as they redden
Make pale the signal's star;
Come down where waves are leaping
And the stricken folk stand weeping,
Our gallant boat uncover,
And through the wet sand shove her,
And speed her o'er the bar;
For though she's but a light one,
For such a sea a slight one,
She's a trim one and a tight one,
And where to-night is he
Whose yearning would not waken
To help the lives forsaken?
Come down with hearts unshaken,
And brave the deep with me!"