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She could scud before the wind

With just a sail set;

Or beat up and go about

With not a foot wet.

It was in September

That she went out anew,
As fresh as a little daisy
Brimful of morning dew.
Brushed, painted, holystoned,
Tarred, trimmed, and laced,
Like a beauty in a ball-dress
With a sash round her waist.

She went out of harbour

With a light breeze and fair, And every shred of canvas spread Upon the soft blue air; But when she passed the Needles, It was blowing half a gale,

And she took in a double reef And hauled down half her sail.

Just as the sun was sinking,

A cloud sprang from the east,
Like an angry whiff of darkness
Before the daylight ceased.
It went rushing up the sky,

And a black wind rushed below,

And struck the little schooner

As a man strikes his foe.

She fought like a hero

Alas! how could she fight,
In the clutch of the hurling demons
Who roar in the seas by night?
White stars, wild stars,

With driving clouds before;
You saw her driven like a cloud
Upon a cruel lee-shore !

There were ten souls on board of her,
The crew, I ween, were eight;
And the ninth was a woman,
And she was the skipper's mate:
The ninth was a woman,

With a prayer upon her lip;
And the tenth was a little cabin-boy,
And this was his first trip.

As they drove upon the rocks,
Before they settled down,
They could see the happy windows
Along a shining town.

The flicker of the firelight

Came through the swirls of foam,

And they cried to one another,
"Oh! thus it looks at home!"

By those bright hearths they guessed not, Closing their peaceful day,

How ten poor souls were drowning

Not half-a-mile away.

But there were some hardy fellows
Keeping a bright look-out,

Who had manned the life-boat long ago,
And launched her with a shout.

Out in the darkness, clinging
To broken mast and rope,
The ten were searching sea and sky,
With eyes that had no hope;
And the moon made awful ridges
Of black against the clear,
And the life-boat over the ridges
Came leaping like a deer!

Up spoke the life-boat coxswain
When they came near the wreck,
"Who casts his life in this fierce sea
To carry a rope on deck ?”

The men were all so willing

That they chose the first who spoke, And he plunged into the breathless pause, Before a huge wave broke.

And the wave sprang like a panther,

And caught him by the neck; And tossed him, as you toss a ball, Upon the shuddering wreck. Faint, eager hands upheld him

Till he had got his breath,

And could make fast the blessed rope-
A bridge to life from death!

There's many a precious cargo
Comes safe to British sands;
There's many a gallant fighting-man
About our British lands;

But I think our truest heroes
Are men with names unknown,
Who save a priceless freight of lives,
And never heed their own.

Now bear those weary wanderers
From the dark shores below,

And warm them at the hearths whose light,
They watched an hour ago;
And call the fishers and sailors

Gravely to see, and say,

"Our turn may come to-morrow, As theirs has come to-day."

Among the fishers and sailors

There came a sunburnt man,
And he stared at the little cabin-boy
Lying so white and wan;
Lying so white and speechless,

They thought his days were done:
And the sailor stared and wrung his hands,
And cried, "It is my son!

"Oh! I was bound for Plymouth, And he for the coast of Spain,

But little I thought when we set sail

How we should meet again.

And who will tell his mother

How he is come ashore ?

For though I loved him very much,
I know she loved him more.

"I'll kiss his lips full gently

Before they are quite cold,

And she shall take that kiss from mine Ere this moon waxes old." "Father!" the pale lips murmur, "Is mother with you here?" The answer to these welcome words Was a sob and then a cheer!

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Now all you life-boat heroes,

Who reckon your lives so cheap, You banish tears from other homes,Make not your own to weep!

You cannot die like lions,

For all you are so strong;

While you are saving other lives,

God keep your own from wrong

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