That was a day to cherish
When Rhett and a gallant few
Summoned the best among us;
Called for a daring crew.
New and raw at the business,
To the smithy's roar and clang,
We drove our aching muscles
And as we worked we sang,
Until one blowing morning
With summer on the sea,
The Henry to the windward,
The Sea Nymph down alee,
Flecking the wide Atlantic
With a flaring, lacy track,
We went, as glad as the winds are glad,
To buy our honor back.
IV
Over the wooded shore-line,
Where the hidden rivers stray
Down to the sea like timid girls,
I saw in the first faint gray
A burst of cloudy topsails
Go blowing swiftly by,
With the stars aswirl behind them
Like bright dust down the sky.
Gone were the days of waiting,
And the long, blind search was gone;
With a cheer we swung to meet them
On the forefoot of the dawn.
Out of the screening woodland
Into the open sound
The frigate crashed, then staggered
Careening, fast aground.