86
THE PORTSMOUTH SAILOR.
"Now the story of our great-uncle
The pirates carried away."
The pirates carried away."
"Yes," she would sigh, "it was William,
The last of my brothers three;
Slender and straight as a light-house tower,
And strong and brave was he.
Our mother wept when he sang of the waves,
And to hold him close was fain;
But he was a sailor born, and bent
To rove the boundless main.
The last of my brothers three;
Slender and straight as a light-house tower,
And strong and brave was he.
Our mother wept when he sang of the waves,
And to hold him close was fain;
But he was a sailor born, and bent
To rove the boundless main.
"So he shipped on a gallant vessel,
The "Cadiz," fleet and stout,
And the gray March day she bore away
The wildest winds were out.
But he laughed at the gale and the gloomy sky
As he saw her sails unfurl,
And said he would bring me corals bright
And our mother a brooch of pearl.
The "Cadiz," fleet and stout,
And the gray March day she bore away
The wildest winds were out.
But he laughed at the gale and the gloomy sky
As he saw her sails unfurl,
And said he would bring me corals bright
And our mother a brooch of pearl.
"Dear noble lad! I can see him yet
As he stood at the mainmast's side,
When the "Cadiz" down the river went
With the wind and the ebbing tide.
He waved his cap as she passed the forts
And turned to her distant shore;—
Alas! nor lad nor gallant prow
Came up the river more!
As he stood at the mainmast's side,
When the "Cadiz" down the river went
With the wind and the ebbing tide.
He waved his cap as she passed the forts
And turned to her distant shore;—
Alas! nor lad nor gallant prow
Came up the river more!
