THE VICTORY-WRECK[16]
[June 3, 1898]
O stealthily-creeping Merrimac,
Hush low your fiery breath;
You who gave life to ships of strife
Are sailing unto your death!—
"I am ready and dressed for burial,
Beneath the Cuban wave;
But still I can fight for God and right,
While resting in my grave!"
O men that are sailing the Merrimac,
Your hearts are beating high;
But send a prayer through the smoking air,
To your Captain in the sky!—
"We know there is death in every breath,
As we cling to the gunless deck;
And grand will be our voyage, if we
Can make of our ship a wreck!"
Now drop the bower of the Merrimac,
And swing her to the tide.
Now scuttle her, braves, and bid the waves
Sweep into her shattered side!—
"Through a flying hell of shot and shell,
We passed Death, with a sneer;
We wrenched our life from a novel strife,
And even our foemen cheer!"
Will Carleton.
Examination showed that the channel had not been blocked. The Merrimac had gone too far in, and had sunk lengthwise of the channel instead of across it. So the Spanish ships were not yet "corked."
HOBSON AND HIS MEN
[June 3, 1898]