And who heard a muffled bumping noise that passed along the side—
A noise that many men have heard an instant ere they died;
And broke the silence following the last appalling thud
With "Good old ruddy Kaiser! there's another bloomin' dud!"
There's a story too of Jutland, or perhaps another show,
When the cruisers and destroyers had a meeting with the foe;
And as the range was closing, and they waited for the word,
From a sailor at an after-gun the following was heard:
"It isn't that that turns me up—'e's not the only one"—
But then the roar of ranging guns—the action had begun—