"Rash man, that wouldst yon Channel pass
On twigs and staves so rudely fashioned;
Thy heart with some sweet British lass
Must be impassioned."
"I have no sweetheart," said the lad;
"But—absent long from one another—
Great was the longing that I had
To see my mother."
"And so thou shalt," Napoleon said,
"Ye've both my favor fairly won;
A noble mother must have bred
So brave a son."
He gave the tar a piece of gold,
And, with a flag of truce, commanded
He should be shipped to England Old,
And safely landed.
Our sailor oft could scantly shift
To find a dinner, plain and hearty;
But never changed the coin and gift
Of Bonaparté.
Thomas Campbell.
THE BATTLE OF BLENHEIM.
It was a summer's evening,
Old Kaspar's work was done,
And he before his cottage door
Was sitting in the sun;
And by him sported on the green
His little grandchild Wilhelmine.