Who will sing a new Ballad, the music by Mr. Linley, the words
by Mr. Crummles, entitled
THE SONG OF THE WRECK.
I.
"The wind blew high, the waters raved,
A Ship drove on the land,
A hundred human creatures saved,
Kneeled down upon the sand.
Three-score were drowned, three-score were thrown
Upon the black rocks wild;
And thus among them left alone,
They found one helpless child.
II.
A Seaman rough, to shipwreck bred,
Stood out from all the rest,
And gently laid the lonely head
Upon his honest breast.
And trav'ling o'er the Desert wide,
It was a solemn joy,
To see them, ever side by side,
The sailor and the boy.
III.
In famine, sickness, hunger, thirst,
The two were still but one,
Until the strong man drooped the first,
And felt his labours done.
Then to a trusty friend he spake:
'Across this Desert wide,
O take the poor boy for my sake!'
And kissed the child, and died.
IV.
Toiling along in weary plight,
Through heavy jungle-mire,
These two came later every night
To warm them at the fire,
Until the Captain said one day:
'O seaman good and kind,
To save thyself now come away
And leave the boy behind!'
V.
The child was slumb'ring near the blaze:
'O Captain let him rest
Until it sinks, when God's own ways
Shall teach us what is best!'
They watched the whiten'd ashey heap,
They touched the child in vain,
They did not leave him there asleep,
He never woke again."