DEEDS, NOT WORDS.
Benny says he'll be a soldier:
He will march to fife and drum,
With a musket on his shoulder;
Never stouter heart nor bolder,
Where the shots the thickest come.
(Yet I've seen the speckled hen
Put to rout brave Captain Ben!)
Willie longs to be sailor:
He will cross the farthest seas;
'Mid the terror and commotion
Of the dark, tempestuous ocean,
He will pace his deck at ease.
(Storms are certain when we scrub
Willie in his bathing-tub.)
Nellie hears with awe and wonder
Of the perils they will seek;
Weeps at thought of cruel slaughter;
Prays for seamen on the water;
Blushes for her courage weak:
(Yet the best thing, Nellie dear,
Is to do the duty near.)
A. D. W.
