Memoir of a Brother

by Thomas Hughes

Every man to his fancy:—I’m too old to mend—

So give me a good stretch down the Abingdon reach,

Six miles every inch, and “hard all” to the end.

Then row, dear Etonians and Westminsters, row,

Row, hard-fisted craftsmen on Thames and on Tyne,

Labuan,[12] New Zealand, your chasubles[13] peel, and

In one spurt of hard work, and hard rowing, combine

Our maundering critics may prate as they please

Of glory departed and influence flown—

Row and work, boys of England, on rivers and seas,