And she may float again,
Full charged with England's thunder,
And plough the distant main.
"But Kempenfelt is gone,
His victories are o'er,
And he, and his eight hundred
Shall plough the wave no more."
Blowing Up Of The Royal George.
Admiral Kempenfelt was writing in his cabin when the ship sank; his first captain tried to inform him of their situation, but the heeling of the ship so jammed the cabin doors that he could not open them: thus the admiral perished with the rest. It seems Cowper thought the Royal George might be recovered; other people were of the same opinion.