Page:A Book of the West (vol. 2).djvu/240

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180
THE TWO LOOKS


been committed to the Tower by James II. Of him the song was sung:—

"A good sword and trusty sword!
A merry heart and true!
King James's men shall understand
What Cornish lads can do!

"And have they fixed the where and when ?
And shall Trelawny die ?
There 's twenty thousand Cornish men
Will know the reason why.

"Out spake their captain brave and bold,
A merry wight was he ;
If London Tower were Michael's hold,
We'll set Trelawny free !

"We'll cross the Tamar, land to land.
The Severn is no stay—
With One and All and hand in hand,
And who shall bid us nay ?

"And when we come to London Wall,
A pleasant sight to view.
Come forth ! come forth ! ye cowards all,
Here 's men as good as you.

"Trelawny he 's in keep and hold,
Trelawny he may die—
But twenty thousand Cornish bold
Will know the reason why!"

With the exception of the choral lines—

"And shall Trelawny die?
Here's twenty thousand Cornishmen
Will know the reason why!"

the rest is mainly, if not wholly, the composition of the late Rev. R. S. Hawker, of Morwenstow. It was written by him in 1825, and was printed first in a Plymouth paper, and then by Mr. Davies