Yet the rolling might be ended if the waves could be amended
To synchronously swell, all want of symmetry to save,
But we can't be Canutes, can we? He could no more stop it than we—
That amplitude of rolling when non-synchronous the wave.
So Lord Dufferin entreated all the experts, round him seated,
To build a ship where passengers could comfortably shave,
Even where a billiard-table would be absolutely stable,
No amplitude of rolling, though non-synchronous the wave.
Naval Architects, then, hasten to diminish woes which chasten
The happiness of hundreds, be they timorous or brave;