BOXING THE COMPASS.

[PEARCE.]
BLUE PETER at the mast-head flew,
And to the girls we bade adieu,

Weigh'd anchor, and made sail :
The boatswain blew his whistle shriil
The reefs shook out began to fill,
We caught a fav'ring gale,
And with a can of flip,

To cheer the honest tar,
Thus gaily may he trip,

Lara lar, lara lar.

We cruis'd along the coast of France,
But not a mounseer gave us chance;

We tried on every tack,
We drank, and laugh’d, and sung together,
We kept the sea, nor cared for weather,
'Twas all the same to Jack.

And with a can, &c.

Sometimes while squalls have o'er us swept,
High at the mast-head watch I've kept ;

We did, my lads, the best;
Still on the look-out for the rumpus,
At every corner of the compass,
The north, south, east, and west,

And with a can, &c.

BEN BACKSTAY.

[CHARLES DIBDIN.] BEN BACKSTAY loved the gentle Anna :

Constant as purity was she ; Her honey words, like succ'ring manna, Cheer'd him each voyage he made to sea.

N

One fatal morning saw them parting:

While each the other's sorrow dried, They by the tear that then was starting,

Vow'd to be constant till they died. At distance from his Anna's beauty,

While howling winds the sky deform, Ben sighs, and well performs his duty,

And braves for love the frightful storm : Alas ! in vain—the vessel batter'd,

On a rock splitting, open'd wide, While lacerated, torn, and shatter'd,

Ben thought of Anna, sigh'd, and died. The semblance of each charning feature,

That Ben had worn around his neck, Where art stood substitute for nature,

A tar, his friend, sav'd from the wreck.
In fervent hope while Anna burning,

Blush'd as she wish'd to be a bride,
The portrait came-joy turned to mourning--

She saw, grew pale, sunk down, and died.

WE TARS HAVE A MAXIM!

[CHARLES DIBDIN.]
WE tars have a maxim, your honours, d'ye see,

To live in the same way we fight;
We never give in, and, when running lee,

We pipe hands the vessel to light.
It may do for the lubber to snivel and that,

If by chance on a shoal he be cast;
But a tar among breakers, or thrown on a flat,
Pull away, tug, and tuy to the last,

With a yeo, yeo, yev, tol de rol, &c.
This life as we're told is a bit of a cruise,

In which storms and calms take their turn ; If it's storm, why we bustle, if calm, then we booze,

All taut from the stem to the stern.

Our captain, who in our own lingo would speak,

Would say “To the cable stick fast ; And whether the anchor be cast or apeak, Pull away, tug, and tug to the last !"

With a yeo, &c.

THE WATERY GRAVE.

[CHARLES DIBDIN.] WOULD you hear a sad story of woe,

That tears from a stone night provoke; 'Tis concerning a tar, you must know,

As honest as e'er biscuit broke: His name was Ben Block, of all men

The most true, the most kind, the most brave: But harsh treated by fortune, for Ben

In his prime found a watery grave. His place no one ever knew more ;

His heart was all kindness and love ; Though on duty an eagle he'd svar,

His nature had most of the dove.
He lov'd a fair maiden named Kate;

His father, to intrest a slave,
Sent him far from his love, where hard fate

Plung’d him deep in a watery grave.
A curse on all slanderous tongues!

A false friend his mild nature abus'd, And sweet Kate of the vilest of wrongs,

To poison Ben's pleasure, accus'd : That she never had truly been kind ;

That false were the tokens she gave; That she scorn'd him, and wish'd he might find

In the ocean a watery grave. Too sure from this cankerous elf

The venom accomplish'd its end : Ben, all truth and honour himself,

Suspected no fraud in his friend.

On the yard while suspended in air,

A loose to his sorrows he gave; “Take thy wish,” he cried, “ false, cruel fair,"

And plung'd in a watery grave.

WHILE UP THE SHROUDS..

[CHARLES DIDDIN.] WHILE up the shrouds the sailor goes,

Or ventures on the yard,
The landsman, who no better knows,

Believes his lot is hard.
But Jack with smiles each danger meets,

Casts anchor, heaves the log,
Trims all the sails, belays the sheets,

And drinks his can of grog.
When mountains high the waves that swell,

The vessel rudely bear,
Now sinking in a hollow dell,
Now quiv'ring in the air-

Bold Jack, &c.

When waves 'gainst rocks and quicksands roar,

You ne'er hear him repine;
Freezing near Greenland's icy shore,
Or burning near the line

Buld Jack, &c.
If to engage they give the word.

To quarters all repair,
While splinter'd masts go by the board,
And shot sing through the air-

Bold Jack, &c.

INDEX TO THE FIRST LINES.

PAGB

A boy amid the blossoms played...
A famous man was Robin Hood ....
Again the willing trump of fame
Ah! it is not the matin bell ...
A girl and her blind old mother ...
A lyre its plaintive music poured
Along the lonely mountain side...
All hail to the shrine, for the spot m
All the fields were silent, sleeping
A maiden so fair loved a Moorish knigh
A maiden bright loved a gay young knight ...
A north country lass np to London did pass ...
And have I lost thee
Arm, brothers, arm, the wolf is out
Around the face of blue-eyed Sue
As a beam on the face of the waters may gl
A stalwart lad is the blacksmith's son...
As I walked forth one summer's-day
A spell is hanging o'er me
As fortune's billows heaved me ...
As wit and beauty for an hour ..
A warrior came from the far-off f
A wind came up out of the sea ...
Begone, dull care, I prithee begone from me ...
Bell that soundest merrily ...
Be kind to each other
Ben Backstay loved the gentle Anna
Beware the chain love's wreathing
Bleak was the morn when William left his Nancy
Blue Peter to the mast-head flew
Brightly, brightly hast thou fled
Bright things can never die ...
Bright hopes o'er his heart were stealing -
Can any king be half so great ...
Child of the sun, unhappy slave ...
Come, busk you gallantlie