THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES Ballads of Brave Deeds All Rights Reserued ^j ^OinUts BALLADS OF BRAVE DEEDS BY H. D. Rawnsley, M.A. Hon. Can. of Carlisle With a Frontispiece and Preface by G. F. Watts, R.A. London J. M. Dent & Co. MDCCCXCVI 2>c5icate6 TO MY DEAR FRIENDS G. F. WATTS AND MRS WATTS WHOSE SYMPATHY ENCOURAGED ME TO PUT ON RECORD IN VERSE THESE DEEDS OF HEROISM The writer desires to thank Messrs Macmillan <&^ Co. for right to republish ^'' The Wreck of the ''Ocean Queen'' ^^j the Editor of the Pall Mall Magazine for leave to reprint '"''The Heroes of Rhondda Vale "; and the Editor of Atalanta for per- mission to reprint "A Ballad of Port Blair ^^ and ''''Well done., 'Calliope' r' Notes will be found at the end of the Volume which will explain any local allusions in the Ballads. Prefatory Note These poems were inspired by deep and reverential admiration for affecting and splendid self-sacrifice, even unto death, and for brave endeavours to save the lives of others, often unknown, and in no way con- nected save by the brotherhood of need. This sublime sympathy, in the highest degree and beyond all else human, receives only the transient record afforded by a paragraph in the daily papers, and is forgotten ! We pay the tribute due to those who distinguish themselves so nobly when duty calls, in the field and in the dangers that beset active life, and who receive the just reward of their devotion and service, in honours and dignities and permanent record in the annals of the nation, but our admiration is especially called for, when life is risked and given, not exacted by duty in the ordinary sense, not amid the tumultuous Vll viii Prefatory Note rush of comrades, not even in the forgetfulness of momentary excitement, but with the calm dehberate- ness of what may without exaggeration be called divine sympathy, undaunted by certain peril and often in the face of repeated failure that might justify abandonment of effort. The known history of the world affords nothing more worthy of profound admiration. These deeds, happily far from uncom- mon, will more than anything else constitute in the far future our claim to be considered a noble people. When our material successes may be more than rivalled by peoples and states now undreamed of; inspired by the highest human impulse, by the secret of these deeds, the beating of the great heart of the nation will vibrate through all time. G. F. Watts. Contents MrcHAEL Hardy . In a Battery Alice Ayres The Warriors' Death-Song Brave Beresford Heroes of Chitral Captain Baird— In Memoriam A Crosthwaite Hero . Loss of H.M.S. "Victoria" The Greater Love A Pearl for our Sea-King's Crown The Falling Star A Ballad of Port Blair M'Dermott's Deed The Harvest of Courage PAGE I 4 lo '3 17 20 23 25 28 35 37 40 44 48 53 IX X Contents "Well DONE, 'Calliope' !" A River Tragedy A Brave Bishop .... The Loss of the "Serpent" . Murphy, the Fireman . A Cumberland Miner's Story A Hero of Walhalla . A Modern Viking The Mate of the " Norham Castle" Tried in the Fire The Wreck of the " Ocean Queen " Dodd, The Hero of Audley Mine . The Brothers .... The Heroes of Rhondda Vale The Drummer Boy of the Malakand Pass Harley's Eight . Fletcher's Fight A Lincolnshire Hero Jacob's Well Hosan the Faithful Brave Plate-laying In Honour of E. A. Hatton The "Aidar's" Master. Michael Hardy BEFORE THE R^DAN^/une 1 8, 1 854 Starless and dark ! cold mist upon the ground ! No first faint glimmer on Careenage Bay ! We heard the surly Russian pace his round, As cramped beside our ladders still we lay. Then Mamelon thundered, MalakofF made boom, We knew the gallant Frenchmen faced the foe ; With light of hell the cannon's cry of doom Rolled thro' our hearts a sound of coming woe. But from the Eight-gun Battery sudden broke The swift flag-signal ; each man like a ghost Stole from the trench, and never a voice that spoke, And every foot pressed forward to his post. 2 Ballads of Brave Deeds Thick on the ground, with noise of tropic hail, The foemen's bullets swept the way before, Death's murd'rous battle-hand ne'er wielded flail With deadlier might upon a deathlier floor. Ladders and men shot-shattered, on they passed From gloom to gloom, swift falling, man by man ; Shall any reach the "Abatis" at last Or dare the Ditch that guards the grim Redan. Yes, tho' the Russians from their earthen tower Mock at our melting lines and cry, " Come on ! " One heart through fiery sleet and furious shower Has heard the louder cry, " Well done ! Well done 1 Alone he crossed the fence ; " Retire ! Retire ! " The bugle rang ; — he heeded not the call, For Michael Hardy with his soul afire, Will die or scale the flaming Russian wall. Thro' treacherous grasses pitted with the storm Of nine months' battle, on and up he pressed, The Russian gunners sware they saw a form Of one not man, if man, by fiend possessed. Michael Hardy 3 Down to the deep-hewn Ditch he leapt apace, He saw a hundred rifles overhead, Clenched fist and shook it in the fortress face, Put hand to climb, reeled backward, and was dead. " Well to the front ! " let proud " Leander " say ; "Well to the front ! " All wounds in front and well ; They found the leader of the desperate way Close to the fierce embrasure where he fell. We may forget the sorrow of that height, The storm-swept trenches filled with blood and mire, The hope forlorn, the wild unequal fight. The bitter bugle-note that bade retire. Forget this other Eighteenth day of June, When Russia mocked us from her high Redan And swept us out of being ; but ah ! not soon Will Britain's heart forget her bravest man. In a Battery CAPTAIN PEEL Did you know our Captain Peel ? Such a face to give command, Full of thought, clear-chiselled, fair ! Such a wealth of wavy hair O'er a forehead high and square ! Such broad shoulders ! but a hand Like a woman's, and soft eyes Bluest-grey as English skies, Though they flamed and flashed like steel When he made his swift replies ; Such a brow to feel the rush Of the heart's blood, with the blush Of a girl ! but mouth firm-set ; Peel, we never can forget, In a Battery Kind to man and kind to beast, Loving greatest in the least, Iron-willed, but tender-sweet, Gentle-hearted to the core ; Peel, the darling of the fleet ! Peel, the hero of the shore ! Have you heard how Captain Peel, Of the " Excellent," excelled All excelling, for his grace ; How his gallantry upheld The dear honour of our fleet, Made the name of Captain sweet For all sailor souls that feel ? Have your hearts not beat to learn How at sea in dirty weather. In his cabin at the stern, He heard the fateful cry " Lower boat, man overboard," Saw a man go flashing by, Smite the waters, disappear. And, well knowing the ship's pace By the furrow foaming free, Never stayed to loose his sword. Knew his duty plain and clear. Ballads of Brave Deeds From the port-hole on the lee Sprang right out into the sea, Caught the drowning man, and cried, " Hold on fast ! whate'er betide We will sink or swim together, Man and captain side by side ? " And the crew were unaware, Thought their captain sitting there In his cabin ; came to tell How the " main-top " seaman fell ; But they little knew his care For the drowner at his need, Till the boat alongside came. Then they felt their hearts aflame For the daring and the deed! Have they told you, how he fought On the bitter upland height. Where the Russian gunners wrought Hurt and havoc, day and night : Where death mined and countermined With the subtlety of hell, And the wit of devil-kind, And fierce sickness, more than shell, Was the slayer in the fight ? In a Battery Have you heard how Peel was then Hope and heart for all our men ? How, a hero to the core Through the nine long months he bore Head erect, and never blenched, While the sailors sapped and trenched, And the bullets hailed around, And the red shot ploughed the ground ; How, where fiercest death-shower burst, With his gabion ever first, Eyes to see and mind to feel For all round, was gallant Peel, Swift to succour, sure to plan. Heart and soul of every man. Full in front of the Redan. Have you heard how on a day, When our battery blazed away From its twenty-one gun-throats, And the " Diamond " sent her boats With fresh powder for the fray, Through our parapet there came A live shell with fuse aflame. While our powder-boxes round Lay all open on the ground ; 8 Ballads of Brave Deeds And we knew our end had come, And we flung ourselves in fear To the dust we soon should be, Thought of God, and thought of home, — England far across the sea, Almost glad that death was near, On our faces as we fell, Seeing death should set us free From the Russian shot and shell ? But our gallant Captain Peel Caught the monster in his hand, Cool of head, and nerved like steel, Heaved the bomb upon his chest, Rolled it o'er the rampart crest, And we heard his clear command " To your guns, and do the rest. They have given us of their worst Let us pay them with our best ! " And beyond the earthwork's breast Lo, the forty pounder burst ! On the uplands grim and grey, Full in front of the Redan, In a Battery Where our English hfe -blood ran Into purple Russian clay, Now the war-mounds melt away, And the walls are in decay, And the trenches on the hill. Once so loud, are hushed and still, And the blood in battle spilt Blooms to poppy, grows to wheat ; But the battery we built And we called the " Koh-i-nor " For the " Diamond's " Captain, meet. Shall be honoured more and more. There the name of Peel is sweet As it was in days of yore — Peel, the darling of the fleet ! Peel, the hero of the shore ! Alice Ayres Alice Ayres, On the stairs, Do you hear the horses come ? God grant that we may see Your mantle falling free, When your soul is caught up home. Aye, she hears, Has no fears, Tho' the flames are round her feet, She has set the window wide, To the crowd below has cried. Casts the mattress to the street. One by one — Nobly done — Alice Ayres 1 1 Seeks the children through the smoke, Though the red flames break the door, Though the white fumes through the floor Curl, to stifle and to choke. Seeks and brings On the wings Of her love so strong and brave All the children of her care, Drops them gently thro' the air To the hands outstretched to save. "Alice! leap! We will keep Safe from harm ! " the great crowd calls ; Half in swoon, faint for breath, From a fiery doom, to death Shattered fearfully, she falls. Alice Ayres, On the stairs. When the golden horses came. Your mantle fell so free. All the world was there to see Heaven's chariot-wheels of flame. 12 Ballads of Brave Deeds Somewhere still Work and will, Tried by fire can stand the test, Still we think in Red-Cross Hall, Of " our Alice," hear her call, " Die for others, do your best." j 1 The Warriors' Death-Song WILSON'S LAST STAND Lions from darkest lair, Vultures from bluest air, Horribly come, Here, where in Lion-land, Lions in heart, the band Made their undaunted stand — Fell, far from home. Tho' closer and more close Crept the three thousand foes, And, in dismay, Each trooper saw his horse Roll at his feet a corse. Still the heroic force Held all at bay. 13 14 Ballads of Brave Deeds There on the piteous bank, — Bleeding haunch, heaving flank- Too fierce for sorrow, Each man his rifle laid, Each for swift dying prayed, But till death came obeyed Wilson and Borrow. Then while the bullets sang Shrill, and the war-cry rang, Cheering each other, Grimly they kept their ground ; Foes fell like grass around. And, every man, his wound Hid from his brother. For full three hours they fight With Lion-children's might — None dare draw near : Still, as their comrades fall, Building apace the wall, Proof against bullet-ball. Fence against spear. The Warriors' Death-Song 15 So the fierce battle wore On, till of guns but four Smoked o'er the screen : Brave Wilson cried out then — " Here in the Lions' den, Friends, we are Englishmen ! ' God save the Queen ! ' " " Give the last shot, and cheer ! England may chance to hear, Hear and rejoice. Hear, how with power to sue Life, the red white and blue Flag kept us tried and true ; Death was our choice ! " Then wounded sore they rose In sight of all their foes — Could deed be bolder ? Heads bared, and drenched with blood. Facing the warrior flood. Fearless of fate, they stood. Shoulder to shoulder. 1 6 Ballads of Brave Deeds Sang the old country's song That keeps the nation strong In loyal pride, " Send Her victorious, Happy, and glorious, Long to reign over us. — " And singing, died. Sons ! — you who fought and fell So bravely and so well. Ye served a queen — Fame — who with gracious hand. Gives a wide world command, And bids your native land Keep your names green. Brave Beresford AN INCIDENT OF THE ZULU WAR, 1 879 It was Beresford's charger who led us that day, When we ventured a view of the King and his horde, It was Beresford's charger bore two men away From the braves of Ulundi, in ambush who lay ; To the praise of its rider, our gallant young lord. Ah ! little we knew as we followed their flight, And the snowy-flecked chestnut went proud in the van. That the foe were all round us to left and to right, That a thousand would spring in a moment to sight, And every grass-tuft prove a spear and a man. B »7 i8 Ballads of Brave Deeds But we saw on a sudden a mighty Zulu, With the ring on his head and the shield on his arm, Up-gather himself for the deed he would do, But our Beresford's blade turned the lightning that flew, And flashed back the flame through the heart that would harm. Then forth from the grasses each side of us showed Brindled shields and spears hungry for lying in wait, " Back, back ! " shouted Buller, and backward we rode. While swift from the deep-hidden watercourse flowed The foemen by thousands in torrent of hate. Then the bullet-hail hissed, and we answered it back, Two saddles are emptied, a third man is down, And his horse, at a gallop, has followed our track — Shall Beresford leave him, a prey to the pack, Or dare for Old England a deed of renown ? Brave Beresford 19 No moment to ponder ! but back at full speed, With his hand at his holster, and rowels red-rose, He has dashed to his comrade-in-arms, at his need. Has lifted the man, wounded sore, to his steed, Has mounted behind him in face of the foes. With hands woman-tender but stronger than steel He held the faint trooper, nigh drenched with his blood ; Cheered the steed, who, half human to know and to feel, Stretched out, double-weighted, and showed a clean heel. Till safe at the Laager in glory she stood. Oh ! sound of the Impis that gather from far, When, with shield for their drum-head, the warriors come, Oh ! sound of the yelp of those death-dogs of war. Could you drown the long note of the English hurrah Which welcomed the chestnut and Beresford home? Heroes of Chitral Baird ! is he wounded ? up there on the height ? A mile ? Ay a mile and a half away ! What of the sunset, what of the night, What of the tribesmen flushed with the fight, And the line of our Gurkhas melting away ! But forth on the hope forlorn they went — The Doctor and twelve of his fighting men. From in face of the foeman a cheer we sent : We counted their rifles ; we knew what it meant— They would few of them reach the fort again. The ravines might smoke, and the rock spit fire, But there on the heights was a wounded man ! If a hundred bugles had bade retire, Would Whitchurch be baulked of his soul's desire To save from the clutches of Umra Khan ? 89 Heroes of Chitral 21 They have climbed to the ridge, they have tenderly cared For him who had led his Gurkhas well, For love of their wounded Captain Baird. As back with the dooly swift they fared There was never a groan when a Sepoy fell. But forward ever — each brave brown face Set for the Fort in the plain beneath — For him they loved of the white man's race, With a sturdy hand and a steady pace, They dared the gauntlet of doom and death. Volley to left of them, volley to right, " Nullahs " and " Sangars " tongued with flame. Bullets singing from hollow and height. And the foemen following hard on their flight, The furious Hillmen sure of their game. They heard the yelp of the Pathan pack, — Tribesmen in triumph a thousand strong. But never of hope did their true hearts slack. With bullet for bullet they answered back, And bleeding and breathless hurried along. 22 Ballads of Brave Deeds But the fire was fierce, and the bearers fell. God have mercy and mend their case ! Tho' the foe be close, by their fiendish yell. Shall love not end what began so well ? And courage not win the desperate race ? Then the Surgeon stooped and he lifted Baird Gently and strong as a Doctor will, And on thro' the dark with his burden fared To the Fort in the plain, where the torches flared To guide the gallant back from the hill. He charged the trenches, he rushed the walls, Swept from the hollows and over the mounds. Brave, tho' many a comrade falls, To cheer a way thro' the whistling balls, And to staunch as he went the mortal wounds. The Fort is won ! they are safe inside ! Safe from the clutches of Umra Khan ! In the arms of his fellows the Captain died ; But the Doctor's daring — a nation's pride — Shall live as long as we honour a man. Captain Baird IN MEMORIAM With resolute smile, as only warriors may, He met the stubborn conqueror men call Death, Died, but would plan, the while in pain he lay. How best we still might hold the foe at bay. And wished us victory with his latest breath. Baird whom we honoured, Baird we held so dear, Baird whom the Gurkhas followed with such will. First to the front, when danger hovered near, Strongest to counsel, rally and to cheer, Baird whose bright presence we could spare so ill. How doubly dark that night we laid him dead, Beyond the gate, our loved one and our brave ; 23 24 Ballads of Brave Deeds We had no need of volleys o'er his head, The fierce foe sent us bitter hail of lead, Loud were the guns above his silent grave. The Fort may crumble back into the sand, His warrior dust to all the winds be blown; Still in our hearts his monument shall stand, And on it, writ in gold by memory's hand, " This man for others laid a true life down ! " A Crosthwaite Hero IN MATABELE LAND Trooper Abbott, when the Matabele faces Crept up closer in their anger, your despair; Did old Crosthwaite and its happy fellside places, Did the Walla woods and Derwentwater fair. Come with comfort to your prayer ? Could you see again, in flashes swift as lightning, All the days you went so peacefully to school ? Could you feel again our April meadows brightening, Bathe again beyond the alders in the pool. Hear once more the bells of Yule ? When, with louder cries and ever fiercer rushes, You knew the ring of doom was drawing near, 25 26 Ballads of Brave Deeds When the fire-tongues flickered death from all the bushes, And every tuft of grass became a spear, Did a mother's face shine clear ? Did a father's voice, from where in sorrow coiling Beside his cot the river waters run,* Bid you still, with lips made solemn by hard toiling In all weathers from the dawn to set of sun. Bravely end what brave begun ? Trooper Abbott, when the last ball cartridge sputtered, And a broken arm beside you helpless fell, Clear above the words your dying comrades muttered, Loud above the Matabele's furious yell. You could hear an " All is well ! " * Trooper Abbott's father — a roadman in the employ of the County Council of Cumberland — lives in a cottage at High Hill, Keswick, beside the river Greta (the mourner), just where it coils round towards the town ere it enters the Dervvent. A Crosthwaite Hero 27 All is well for those who fearlessly press onward, Face the foe, whate'er the issue of the fight ; Those who, dying, lift a darkened people sunward Prove the heart that helped our England into light : Fall, but never turn to flight. Loss of H.M.S. Victoria OFF TRIPOLI, JUNE 22ND, 1893 What Fate, foreknowing thine, Great daughter of the Tyne, Made stars of evil shine, When they laid the keelson down ? What Fury, working shame. Bade mortals change the name Of the hull that seaward came, " Victoria " not " Renown " ? That scarce escaped away From Dragomesti Bay Unharmed, for future fray And the fortune of the wave. With a harbour on the lee. When the Syrian sun shone free. 28 Loss of H.M.S. Victoria 29 Thou hast sunk down thro' the sea To an eighty-fathom grave. Right clear the signals flew ; 'Not a man among the crew, But had earned the honour due To the sure and ready hand ; Not a heart or eye that feared, When the docile monsters neared To their cables' length, and veered As the helmsman heard command. Oh, the glow and power and pride Of the vessels side by side ! How the cheery boatswains cried ! How the sailors swore and laughed! Oh, the humming and the stir, And the engines pant and whirr ! " Port and starboard, steady, sir ! " How the words went fore and aft ! With their fourteen hundred horses. Chained to speed the huge keel-courses, Can we marvel if the forces Of dark Fate were laughed to scorn ? 30 Ballads of Brave Deeds That it seemed beyond all wonder How the iron walls built under Those citadels of thunder, Could by any chance be torn ? Blue sea beneath was glancing To the glory of their prancing, As the huge hulls in their dancing, Moved and shifted side to side. Blue sky above was burning, All the foam-bells of their churning Into wreaths of blossom turning-. That floated far and wide. When flew the fatal sign, " Inward curve upon your line Sixteen points and follow mine, Keep six cable lengths away." God ! what captain in the fleet Would have ventured such a feat ? Error there ! for all to see it Orders there ! let all obey. And thus in open sight, As if sudden jealous spite. Loss of H.M.S. Victoria 31 Or some Fury mad for fight In the Camperdown awoke, Tho' a thousand seamen cried, Tho' the steam-horns all were plied, She fell upon our side With her fiercest battle-stroke. With a crackle ; with a roar, On thro' bulk-head, water-door. Its way the prow-axe tore Just beneath our belt of mail. Came amidships with a dash. The thunder of its crash Crumpling plates of steel to ash. While the splinters flew like hail. Then out cried our gallant Tryon — " We have stouter walls than iron, We have true hearts to rely on ; To your quarters, men, like men. It's clear broadside breach ! no chink ! If we swim or if we sink. Let the land we love so ! think Of us proudly now and then. 32 Ballads of Brave Deeds " Loose the prisoners ! bring the sick From below on deck, and quick ! At my post I mean to stick, While the ship can float a man. And if shore we may not reach, For the water thro' the breach, There's at least another beach Where we end what we began." And the sailors went below For a tussle with the foe, But their fate they well might know. For the wound was deep and great ; All the water-doors shut tight Stood to order, silent quite, As men sailing into fight, Who the last dread summons wait. And the holds were full of steam, And we heard the stokers scream, For we felt her pitch a-beam Pause, heel over on the tide ; Then the great ship gave a groan. And, with whirlpool hiss and moan. Loss of H.M.S. Victoria 33 The Victoria sank like stone, Nigh three hundred men inside. Too much air with them to drown — Eighty fathoms they went down — Thinking each one of his own, And the happy days gone past. Standing calm and face to face With their God a moment's space, Asking mercy, praying grace For safe harbour at the last. Like the death-plunge of a whale, Our Leviathan of mail With its whirring iron flail Thrashed the waters into blood ; And we heard the peals of thunder, As the boilers burst asunder, And the sea-spouts sent from under Human jetsam of the flood. Where they foundered let them sleep In the sapphire Syrian deep, Never wind nor tide can sweep To the breaking of their rest. 34 Ballads of Brave Deeds There they h'e till day of doom, Hid within the darkened womb Of their iron-girdled tomb — They, our bravest and our best ! But when Lebanon is kissed By the sun to amethyst, Or the long sands shine like mist Silver-white beneath the moon ; On the shore I see One stand — He who gave His strong right hand When our men sailed safe for land, On the decks of silent Swoon. And I hear a clear voice say " They who hearken and obey — Tho' the flesh forbid the way. And their doom before them lies- Find His Spirit fear controls, As the death-wave o'er them rolls, With the Captain of their souls Steer right on to Paradise." The Greater Love THE HEROES OF EAST UKU—July I, 1 895 When to the horrible pit of mire and clay To save their fellows, brother men went down, I saw a glorious angel of the day- Set on each head a crown. For these were kings who venturous would invade The borders of the Death-pale Tyrant's land ; In his own stifling gloom were unafraid To wrestle hand to hand. Not like the Roman 'mid a town's applause, Who leapt with dazzling arms and gallant steed ; Our country's " treasure " owned a nobler cause, Help for a brother's need. 35 36 Ballads of Brave Deeds One after one ! No time to say farewell, No time to count the loss or know the gain, Their bodies went down quick into the hell, Their souls came back again. And still above the pit of dreadful doom. While the dark flood of sorrow rolls below. As long as fair forget-me-nots may bloom, Self-sacrifice shall grow. A Pearl for our Sea-king's Crown Garnet ! one of the jewels we wear in our sea-king's crown, Fairer you shine for the jewel of English courage to-day — You, who rode to the storm, when the glass went suddenly down. And the waves rose up and roared right into Victoria Bay ! Man overboard ! like a leaf blown clean from his clasp of the boom — Man overboard ! how it shrilled through quarters, cabin and hold ! But the boatswain's pipe blew shriller to save a soul from its doom, And we sprang to " lower away," more swift than the telling is told. 37 38 Ballads of Brave Deeds But swifter still was the eye, and surer the dauntless will Of the bold young midshipmite, and he cried — " Can he swim ? Can he swim ? " And over the side he went like a flash, for good or for ill, Lost to our sight in the surges that leaped to swallow him. Then fell a silence on all, for the stoutest heart was afeared, But the tightest lip ever set, to a Father in Heaven can pray ; For we loved that midshipmite, and we knew the course he steered Was Death, in the hurricane hollow of dark seas there in the bay ! Our cutter she dashed to the helping — a true hand cast the line — And drew not one — but twain from the jaws of the ravening wave ; A Pearl for our Sea-king's Crown 39 And we cheered that midshipmite who had made our " Garnet " shine, And set in our Sea-king's crown the pearl of a deed that is brave. The Falling Star BRAVE JOHN WAVE, THE OVERMAN The daun is dark at Penycraig, And grime of coal is on the ground, The grass is smitten as with plague, The pit-head wheel goes moaning round, And moan it will for many a day — We've lost our overman, John Waye. So like the rest, we hardly knew He held for friends his life so cheap- One of the ordinary crew Who, toiling in earth's central deep, Strike still a deeper lode, and find In work done well the heavenly mind. 40 The Falling- Star 41 We stepped into the cage — John Waye, Three mates, and Isaacs, " Ive," and I ; We knew not as we left the day That four of us were doomed to die. Away we went ; with cheer and shout They paid the new-spHced cable out. Down, down we dropped from grey to blue, From blue to black ; our lamps outshone ; Beside us still the rope ran true And changed from hiss to humming tone Till, where the iron serpent swung, We touched — and bitterly it stung. The trembling cage wherein we swayed. Tilted, and sudden from below, Its fellow swept with shock and stayed, We heard a cry, and well might know That three of us were cast to death Abysmal, and we gasped for breath. Then, when the rush of life-blood leapt Back to the heart from startled brain, 42 Ballads of Brave Deeds Death-pale, we saw John's face had kept Its colour — heard his voice speak plain : " Mates, for your sake, whate'er betide I'll dare the pit-shaft by ' the guide ! ' " Our teeth they chattered as he spoke, His mouth was set for weal or woe ; We cried, and crying seemed to choke, " God help us ! Nay, if one must go, Our road from earth to heaven is small, We fall together if we fall ! " But never a word John Waye he said, He doffed the coat from off his back, He swathed his hands in woollen braid — Poor hands we found so charred and black ! Hung at his girth the lamp of hope, And clutched the grey steel guiding-rope. We saw his lamp — a falling star — Flash out and pale as on he sped. "He goes to where the dead men are ! " We prayed " God keep him from the dead," Then the light faded, all was still, The trembling guide-rope ceased to thrill. The Falling Star 43 But they, five hundred feet below — Those hauliers in the landing seam, Will never quite forget the glow Of that star's heart ; they caught the gleam, They heard a cry from out the star Call " Mates, is bottom near or far ? " They told how after came a voice — A prayer as of a warrior soul, That felt he had no longer choice, But needs must face the final goal. They saw his saviour arms extend. They heard a crash — they knew the end. Oh ! days are dark at Penycraig, And grime of coal is on the ground, The grass is smitten as with plague, But one bright flower may there be found- The flower of love, to bloom for aye Above thy resting, brave John Waye ! A Ballad of Port Blair Steel for fetters and iron for gyves, But a stronger chain can be ; The cord of pity, and love that is brave To cast itself to the teeth of the wave, The cord of hands, that a moment free Will weave of them strands to drag from the sea, And succour shipmen's lives. We heard all night the breakers' boom, Awake each one in her cell ; We felt the hurricane shake the bars, The doors flung wide ; no moon ! no stars ! Then forth we hied from our narrow room, For the warder cried thro' the tempest's gloom, And the prison rocked and fell. 44 A Ballad of Port Blair 45 Then down to the shore we went — our gang, The air was thick with foam, We were free once more as the wind, and knew That its voice we heard and its breath we drew Would crash the canes at the dawn, and come With a roar thro' the pahns of our long-left home, And our hearts with the wild wind sang. For the wind it had burst our prison in, And set our bruised feet free ; And our thoughts were as fast as the free-foot wind To follow far over the waves, and find Our father's house, and our people's kin, And the young we had left when we came for our sin To this sorrowful isle of the sea. And on to the South Point Reef we passed, And a ship came plunging by- Mad as the storm — we heard the shock As it leapt back, pierced to the heart by the rock, Then stayed, — and we saw the rockets fly. And knew, by the shipmen's terrible cry, The coral held it fast. 46 Ballads of Brave Deeds But what could we do for their dark dismay, Though our hands were strong and brave ? The wild winds caught the waves from under, Hurled at the hull with the rattle of thunder, And there, at the first fierce glare of day, We saw the mariners fall away Like leaves, to their foaming grave. Dashed on the teeth of the rocks they fell, Spat from the waves in scorn ; Long time had our limbs been numbed by the steel Of the chain that galled, but our souls could feel — Ah ! how our woman's heart was torn For the poor bruised bodies cast forth forlorn To the havoc of hurt and hell ! Then we saw in the wrath of the waves a band Of men who still had breath ; And into the rollers we rushed to the waist — To the chin ! what matter if doom be faced ! So long as we weave of our bodies' strand A cord of help with an outstretched hand, To drag from the jaws of Death ! A Ballad of Port Blair 47 Sucked down the horrible surges thro' Stoned and stung by the swell, Our battle it seemed a whole life long, But our hands were free and our hope was strong And here, as I sit in my convict cell I know six mariners live to tell What woman's love can do. 48 M'Dermott's Deed With nostril keen, and eager eye, The white shark hunts the deep ; Far off his quarry doth espy And never sinks to sleep. His teeth are cruel as a saw, His throat as hell is wide. Yea, cavernous as Death his maw, As Death, unsatisfied. He well foreknows what hurt or pain Shall hap to sailor-men, What ship shall strike, Avhat life be slain Are clear unto his ken ; And like a ghoulish sail his fin Moves after thro' the sea, Wherever Doom the day shall win, Or sick men dying be. M'Dermott's Deed 49 God wot the air with spice was sweet, The ocean mile on mile Lay trembling sapphire in the heat Round Uzi's coral isle. The " Swallow's " flight at last was o'er, She rested in the sun ; Our Bo'sun piped all hands ashore For frolic and for fun. M'Dermott — so his name we hailed — A rough and ready tar ; No better Bo'sun ever sailed From port for Zanzibar. For piping early, piping late, We came to his command ; We lost the Master in the Mate ; We found a comrade's hand. " Now go," he cried — " till sunset's rim Be red o'er yonder bay ; While some may race, and some may swim, Beside the boat I stay." D 50 Ballads of Brave Deeds Like merry lads let loose from school, The sailors dashed to land ; They sought the palms for shade and cool, They vanished from the strand. They little thought, there in the heat, The Bo'sun left behind. Would make the world's heart faster beat For honour of his kind. But in the stern M'Dermott kept His guardian watches good ; While overboard his comrades leapt For revel in the flood. White English limbs they moved and flashed Like ivory thro' the blue. White English hands to silver plashed The water's sapphire hue. Glad English hearts, in joy forgot The terror of the bay ; Or knowing death, they heeded not The death so far away. M'Dermott's Deed 51 But murder watched from out the dark, With eyes that never sleep, And swift and silent lo ! a shark Came upward thro' the deep. The ocean-hound athirst for blood Sped straight toward the shore, A fin was seen above the flood, Where was no fin before ! The fierce fin sank from out of sight ; And e'er M'Dermott cried. The murderous shadow turned to white, . The shark was on its side. No time had he to doff his coat, Who scarce had time for dread ; The Bo'sun sprang from out the boat Full at the monster's head. He knew the need — his heart was brave To meet the treacherous foe ; From forth the jaws of death to save, To death he dared to Sfo. 52 Ballads of Brave Deeds He chanced the stroke of furious fin, He met the mouth of greed ; That so his men their boat might win, M'Dermott did this deed. He dared to die ; but in the light Of day, still lives the man, Who leaped unarmed to face and fight The fierce leviathan. Fly " Swallow " fly ! sail " Swallow " sail ! And bring him home to land ! Our voices would the hero hail, Our hands would hold his hand. The Harvest of Courage A BALLAD OF THE BOSTON DEEPS — Augtist 1 895 On Boston Deeps by the Lincoln Fen, Has courage scattered a golden seed, Her harvests there are the hearts of men That are swift to succour in time of need. Wild was the wind ; on the wrinkled sand The waves had written their fiercest name, The mills were whirling up on the land And the sea-mews over the cornfields came. But across the marsh where the reeds were loud And the plovers flashed, and the rooks flew low, Mad and merrily came the crowd. For the Sea-god's breath and the Wind-god's blow. 53 54 Ballads of Brave Deeds Oh, the strange sea-murmur, the sweet sea-smell, The white wave-horses following free, Let the child mound castles and gather the shell, But the men will away to the wondrous sea. The foam-bells flew, and the sands were a-smoke The thunder-bastions piled o'erhead ; But the " Princess " Skipper he nothing spoke, Blow fair or foul he must needs eat bread. He has sailed the " Deeps " for many a day. Swift with the sail, and strong with the oar ; His boat is filled, with a " heave and away," He has set his prow for the Lincoln shore. Away goes the yawl with a close-reefed sail, The boat like a cockle-shell dances after, They are bound for a frolic, that shall not fail, Till the dreadful drench of the sea stop laughter. Ah ! well may the laughers leaving the shore Cry " Well ; farewell ! " to their friends on land, For five of the crew shall return no more, Till they lie dumb drift on the silent sand. The Harvest of Courage 55 But the laughter dies, and the cheek grows pale, And the Skipper's face is a face of pain. For, threshing the breakers flat with its flail, There bursts with a roar the hurricane. The sheets fly out, and the helm is plied, Man, he may strive, but the winds decree, And ere ever a single voice has cried There are sixteen sinking down thro' the sea. Then into the Skipper's soul there came The sudden strength of an angel's mind. With a heart of hope no hurricanes tame, Tho' he sink, tho' he swim, he will succour his kind. He kicked off his sea-boots heavy as lead. He rose thro' the water, knife in hand. Caught the "dingy " there by the head, Grasped the " painter " and severed the strand. Hoisted the ship-boy into the boat. Swam to the midst of the drowning throng. Fought the wild fear that would clutch at his throat. Calmed men and cheered them and oared them along. 56 Ballads of Brave Deeds Trod the waters, outfaced the wind, Hero of heroes, wherever they be, The love of God in a man's heart shrined ! The Hope of Life in a hungry sea. So from the terrible wrath of the wave The lives of eleven were kept that day, Men call him " Riches ; " with hearts as brave, Our Island treasure shall never decay. The Downs are flushed with the rose of morn, The Huns'ton cliffs they are burnished gold. The Norfolk fields are ablaze with corn, The red wheat gleams on the Lincoln wold, But a new light shines on the shore by the Fen, Where Courage has scattered her golden seed ; And the Harvest-joy of the Norfolk men Is praise for the " Princess " Skipper's deed. " Well done, ' Calliope ' ! \6th March 1889 Come, listen to my story And tell it far and free, How Englishmen won glory That shall never cease to be. When the gallant ship " Calliope " Stood stoutly out to sea ! Fair, fair are the Samoan isles Beneath an azure sky. Where careless for a thousand miles The land birds sea-ward fly, And emerald shore and sapphire deep In sun and slumber lie. But fierce Samoan islands seem, When winds begin to blow, •t I >> 57 58 Ballads of Brave Deeds When pale as ash the waters gleam And where the palm trees grow, About the coral rocks are flung Storm-woven wreaths of snow. Black Friday ! down the glass did run The birds came hurrying back ; To angry seas an angry sun Went down behind the wrack ; And pale for swoon the full March moon Fled frightened thro' the pack. The wind blew west, the wind blew east. We dropped our heaviest chain. The sea was churned and flew like yeast Before the thrashing rain ; And through the night of roar and spite We fought the hurricane. Steam up, with head to wind, we lay. And bitter broke the morn ; Three ships cast hopelessly away Three, doomed to fate forlorn — "Well done, 'Calliope'!" 59 Like steeds that strain against the rein — Still battled, tempest-torn. Hemmed round by reefs whose ragged teeth Beset the harbour ways, While wind-sucked surges from beneath Were flung in blinding haze, What hand could steer, what eye see clear To thread the cruel maze ? Our cables snapped, our ropes were bent, Our starboard " bower " was sound ; Chained, but in agony we went, Like a mad bull, round and round ; Ahead, astern, at every turn, we feared To touch the ground. With fierce ungovernable prow The " Olga " smote and passed ; And soon her hulk across our bow The wild " Vandalia " cast ; With bowsprit jammed and quarter rammed Still, still, we fought the blast. 6o Ballads of Brave Deeds Now close beneath our counter ran The reef-mad furious wave ; The crew looked silent man to man ; Then cried our captain brave — " Slip cables all ! whate'er befall, let ocean Be our grave," For better far it is to dare The fiercest winds that be, Than beach and break a craft so fair As our ' Calliope.' " Full steam ahead ! " the captain said, And so we stood to sea. Full steam ahead ! no fiercer breath Did ever piston fill, The engines seemed to race with Death, The stokers worked with will ; Our seven fires burned, our great screw turned, But we were standing still. Nor long our iron-hearted ship Irresolute would stay, ''Well done, 'Calliope'!" 6i 'Twixt rolling hull and reef we slip ; We steer toward the bay, And make the strait and stormy gate Where " Trenton " bars the way. Now God have mercy ! save us all, From iron heel and boom ! We rose up o'er the water wall, We scarce had passage-room, Starboard or port a yard too short. It would have sealed our doom. Then to the " Trenton's " rigging sprang The sailors with a cry ; Above the storm their voices rang Bravo ! good-bye ! — good-bye ! When men, — so near to dying, — cheer, It is not hard to die. Scathed by the dragon's teeth we passed From out the jaws of hell. We faced all day the howling blast. Rose mountains high and fell. 62 Ballads of Brave Deeds And still far forth toward the north We steered, and all was well. Within our plunging coffin pent We heard the tempest roar, We knew the fate from which we went Nor recked the death before ; Some loved their lives, some loved their wives, But all loved honour more. Now climbing up the whelming wave Nor left nor right we veered ; Now poised, now falling to our grave, Again the prow upreared. No hand, no heart but played its part, And not a soul that feared. O'erswept by seas from stem to stern, Our ship was true as steel ; Still bravely did the furnace burn, And steady went the wheel. And taut and tight we trod the might Of the storm beneath our keel, " Well done, ' Calliope ' ! " 63 And when the second dawn had come And sullen sank the sea, " Bout ship " we went, and stood for home, The home where we would be ; And heard the cheer ring loud and clear, " Well done, ' Calliope ' ! " A River Tragedy Barmouth To the memory of the brave men Paton and Gray, who lost their lives in attempting to rescue others from drowning in the river Mawddach, ist August 1894. Old Caerdeon's brow is heather-bright ; From Dyfws far to Idris' purple chair The heavens are cloudless blue, the noon is fair. And every bay is filled with sapphire light. Clouds fleck the heaven, and Cader fades from sight ; Dull grows the heather, sunless is the air ; The wind moans loud o'er shallows blank and bare, And mournfully on Mawddach sinks the night. Now Sorrow on from cape to headland wails ; And childless mothers weep along the shore For those dear dead so silent on the sands ; 64 A River Tragedy 65 But two bright stars have risen to set no more, And Christ, the Saviour cries with wounded hands — " Love that will lose its life alone avails." A Brave Bishop ZULULAND We trekked, and ere the sunset we out-spanned, Drove the tired oxen to the hollow square ; Built, round the laager, fence of thorns with care, And swift each waggon manned ; For still from veldt to veldt, from knoll to knoll. The foe hke phantoms close beside us stole. But with the morn our scouts went left and right, Now scurrying forth, now swift returning home ; Till, with the cry, " The Matabele come ! Up-laager for the fight ! " — Night fell ; we heard the rush of feet draw near. And all the moving dusk seemed man and spear. 66 A Brave Bishop 67 Then did each rifle fiercely break to flame, The " Maxim " showered its death-rain through the wood ; We wist not if the foemen fled or stood, We only knew they came ; Till in a hush the far hyena cried. Somewhere, we knew, a man in pain had died. The grim dawn broke above dark heaps of slain, — Torn bodies, splintered spear, and shattered shield : Pale Victory there upon the bloodiest field Sat counting up her gain, In her own awful silence, save where one Waved a faint hand to bid black Death begone. And I might know how sudden as if stung By agony to life, a dead man rose And tossed his arms, and cried to friend or foes In his own native tongue. Yea, called for " Mother " in his heart's distress — A child once more for pain and helplessness. 68 Ballads of Brave Deeds Then forth from out the laager, God-possessed, Strode a true-hearted soldier of the Cross ; Armed well with peace, and careless of all loss Of what men hold the best. He dared to face dark-flying shot and spear To loose the wounded foeman from his fear. He heard the bullets hiss, he felt their wind ; Stepped o'er the dead, his feet were wet with blood ; Then where the wounded warrior crying stood, Showed love was all his mind ; Yea, as a mother, soothed his wild alarms And bare the helpless back in Mercy's arms. But we who saw, forgat the foeman's kin. And, fain our brave knight-errant's task to share. Prayed with rough lips too little used to prayer, " God bring them safely in ; " And when they reached the laager, took his hand And gave those cheers we English understand. J A Brave Bishop 69 Oh ! hearts that leap to name the name of Bruce, And souls made strong by tale of knightly deed, This Knight, this Bruce, shall surely have his meed Of praise, till praise bring truce, And nations learn it is the nobler way To heal than hurt — to succour than to slay. The Loss of the '* Serpent" Two hundred hands, well found, We sailed from Plymouth Sound For the South and sunshine bound ; But sunless was the English sky, and surly was the sea ; And we wondered at the will That could wish our craft such ill, While the west was piping shrill. And the sea-mews making landward on our lee. But our storm-glass fell and fell Down to " hurricane," and well Did the wind-wise pillar tell Of the gale that swept to meet us as we cleared the Eddystone ; 70 The Loss of the "Serpent" 71 Head to wind a time we lay, Then we plunged on thro' the " Bay," Shipping seas and drenched with spray, While the vessel like " a murdered man " made moan. That night was grim and black ; But the sun it came not back, And we steamed a sightless track Whilst the captain very grave, to the chart-room came and went ; " Land ho there above that crest ! " Little welcome ! name unguessed, " South by west, three quarters west, Keep her steady ! " so we sheered off, ill-content. And a murkier night came down, With the storm but half o'er-blown. And we saw the captain frown, " Where's the lighthouse of Villano, and the star of Finisterre .-' " How could rough men understand That an iron-hearted band Would out-reach a magic hand, And forbid the compass tell us where we were ? 72 Ballads of Brave Deeds How should helmsman ne'er so bold To his bearings hope to hold, When no sun nor star was told, With the whole Atlantic's fury flung upon his weather- beam ? When the ship beneath the wrack, Like a drunkard reeling back, Tossed bewildered in the track And the torrent of the ocean's tidal stream ? But the fog-horns from the steep Vainly sounded, for the deep Blew such trumpets, while asleep Some were lying worn and weary with the battle of the day ; And the bells went ten o'clock As we struck with sudden shock — Stopped full dead upon the rock Of the cruel reef in Camarinas Bay. Then we men who knew the coast Felt our " Serpent " sure was lost. But we went each to his post ; Slammed the water-doors, heard captain — " Clear away boats ! steady boys ! " The Loss of the "Serpent" 73 When a huge sea wrought despair, Came aboard us unaware, Stove our Hfe-boat swung in air All to splinters, washed her crew away like toys. And we cast out grapnels blind But no holding could we find, Oh ! the roaring of the wind, And the thunder of the reef, and the crackling of the wreck ! Oh ! the prayers our breath beneath For a swift and certain death. Ere we touched the dragon's teeth, As, one by one, men vanished from the deck ! Then our captain cried at last — " Hope of saving ship is past ! Save yourselves ! " but all stood fast. " With our captain, mates, and vessel we will perish side by side." So the crew were cast away On that reef, the Punta Buey ; And let Camarinas say If braver men beneath her waves have died. Murphy the Fireman Sons of the Prophet, you who say They only can be saved, who dare To cross on Allah's judgment day The great bridge of the single hair, Above the fiery gulf that lies Between this earth and Paradise — We have our bridge's awful span Set up for judgment here and now, Whereby the God that moves in man His Son's salvation can avow, By which, who passes, wins the shore Of Heaven's acclaim for evermore. " Fire in the street ! " that fearful cry That scares the city, stops the mart, 74 Murphy the Fireman 75 " Fire in the street ! " and Thames went by With horror in its beating heart ; " Fire ! " and our London's bravest came To fight the fierce insurgent flame. The engines hummed, the hoses played, The fountains crackled as they flew, And still, to mock all human aid, The great smoke-banner belched and blew. With serpent hiss and sulphurous breath The flames roared upward from beneath. What hope, tho' life for succour call ! To ashes fall the floor, the stairs, No fire-escape can touch the wall Whose heart within so hotly glares ; When hark ! O'erhead, through flame and cloud Of smoke, comes cry of anguish loud ! Then sudden, high above the glow, Men saw upon the girder span A saviour form, and down below A hush through all the thousands ran. 76 Ballads of Brave Deeds God help the fireman now whose feet Will bridge that gulf of stifling heat ! He gropes his way from room to room, Again the dizzy bridge he dares, And safe, from out her fiery doom, A woman in his grasp he bears. Though down beneath him writhe and hiss The fired rakes of the dread abyss. But he whose feet are well-nigh charred, Whose eyes with smoke and fire are blind, Has learned upon the mizzen-yard Foot-hold in rolling seas to find, And even in battle-smoke to dare Adventurous duty high in air. Then, with unfaltering step and slow. He treads the steaming girder's span. And moves above the awful glow — Heroic angel, more than man — And while the roar of flame is drowned In cheers, the gallant wins the ground. Murphy the Fireman 77 He died on duty by the Tyne, When fire and fume to heaven were rolled, First of the fierce flame-fighter's line. Still Murphy's deed with praise is told, Who dared, while thousands held their breath, The fiery bridge 'twixt life and death. A Cumberland Miner's Story Where Criffel looks across the flood And Solway flows and shines, The iron earth is red as blood, Men toil at Eskett mines ; But the earth henceforth is black for me Who labour by the Solway Sea. You know my boy — the best at school. First wrestler of the green, No better ever handled tool Earth's iron walls between ; None swifter could a " heading " drive — Would God my son were still alive ! He kissed his mother on the cheek, He shouldered pick and spade, 78 A Cumberland Miner's Story 79 We closed the door, we did not speak, Ours is a solemn trade, — For none who pass at dawn from home Know if at eve they back will come. The raven croaked above our head, We saw a black cat run, We felt some lad will sure be dead Before the set of sun ; But to " the cage " we stepped, and brave Went down, into our living grave. We then were four — My son and I, And with us each a friend ; Thro' wet and dry the pick to ply And ore up-bank to send ; To-day, we men are only three Who labour by the Solway Sea, For sudden, thundering thro' the dark, The red earth came with doom, " Lights out ! Life out ! " I shouted, — hark ! — Faint voices in the gloom. " My son ! " I cried. He did not speak — Dead ! and my heart grew big to break. 8o Ballads of Brave Deeds But in that momentary pain, Beyond all pains that be, I heard God's voice in accent plain Say — " Leave thy son to me. Brothers there are thou still shalt save ; Give them back breath, unseal their grave." And at that word came wondrous aid ; I rose in wrath with Death, And toiling made with pick and spade, A way for life and breath. My arm was stronger now than ten. To loose those prisoned fellow-men. There where the iron torrent rushed And fell in fiercest load, I smote a human body crushed, I cast it from my road. And still with might I laboured on, Tho' that dead body was my son. And now the voice within mine ear Spake almost in his tone, " Work, father, work, their end is near ; Think of my mates alone ; A Cumberland Miner's Story 8i They still may see how Solway shines, And win their bread in Eskett mines. " Work on, for very sweet is life ; Set thou those prisoners free, For one but late has taken wife, And one has children three ; I cannot work, but I can will ; My soul can love my brothers still." I laboured on with lion-heart. Their limbs were set so fast ; They took my hand, the bitter smart Of Death from me had past, For in the darkness at my side Methought my son his pickaxe plied. But when those comrades, bruised and sore, Whom we had freed from doom, Sought carefully in earth, and bore His body from the gloom. And kissed, with lips that could not speak The red, red earth from off his cheek, And when we felt once more the sun Look down on his cold face, 82 Ballads of Brave Deeds And heard the mother cry and run Her dead boy to embrace, I knew His agony who gave A son, so others He might save. And now whene'er I toil for food In Eskett's iron mines, Or walk the fields as red as blood Where Solway sobs and shines — I think of that dread Tomb, whose spice Still breathes of pure self-sacrifice. a A Hero of Walhalla QUEENSLAND Men say that in the Twilight of the Gods Great Odin, dreaming of a dream, saw plain How Heaven was opened, sudden cleft in twain, And while the dwarfs before their stony doors Made moan in Jotenheim, across the floors That shuddered as they passed, swart Surtur came Leading the sons of Fire with swords of flame To Helheim's drear abodes. We have no Odin, tho' like dwarfs we stand Before earth's stony doors, and strive and strive, With tiny Thor-strokes hammering, to rive Our way to Asgard, struggling still to find Those shining tablets, lost and out of mind, Given to the Father of the Gods, but hurled 83 84 Ballads of Brave Deeds To darkness at the breaking of the world, The gold to bless mankind. But in our " Hall of Chosen Ones "* are still Men who, tho' all the sons of Muspell come, Led by swart Surtur, ravaging their home, Fearless to face the flaming tyrant, run, And strike with swords that can outface the sun For brightness — swords of courage, that can dare, And in Walhalla for their girdles wear Indomitable will. Twice in the week From Stringer's Creek The jingling horses go ; Last time they came With news of flame Of homelessness and woe. And sitting by his waggon's bale The sun-burnt teamster told this tale. One day in seven Is miner's heaven, * Walhalla. A Hero of Walhalla 85 Walhalla, great and small, Went forth to play And keep the day, A well-earned festival ; How glad for weary men to lie And watch the sun go down the sky ! The fire-bell rang And up they sprang The town ! the town 's on fire ! Roof-ridge to ridge The fierce flames bridge, They leap from high to higher, The whole Creek's torrent would not stay The fury of their fleet-foot way. Red glares the sun As down they run, The townsmen thro' the smoke ; This woman wild To seek her child, That man whose heart is broke, — His aged mother in her bed Burnt into ash, his father dead. 86 Ballads of Brave Deeds Then to the sky Went up a cry- Above the roar of fate, " To flight ! To flight ! The dynamite ! The flame is at the gate ! Behind the powder barrels stored, The dynamite ! Oh save us Lord ! " A thousand pound Lies underground, Within a rocky hold, To aid the skill Of pick and drill That seek ' Long Tunnel's ' gold, For gold — Walhalla's bread and pride- Hides deep in yonder mountain side." To far-off height They sped their flight As men who race with doom, The air was stirred, And fancy heard Long Tunnel's galleries boom. A Hero of Walhalla 87 Saw home in ashes, mines a cloud Of sulphurous dust and thunder loud. But strong and weak At Stringer's Creek Have left one lad behind, A boy scarce known About the town Of ordinary kind, And yet the angels on him look, His name is written in God's book. In fire-land bred He has no dread, And oft has watched with glee The flames, beneath Their flag of death, Leap on from tree to tree. Has heard them marching from afar With noise of drums that roll for war. From childhood's prime He, many a time, 88 Ballads of Brave Deeds Has faced the fiery rush, And bold has planned With lighted brand To save by flame the Bush. Though all the townsmen take to flight He'll stay to guard the dynamite. And well he loves The ferny groves That wave o'er Stringer's Creek : In grass-tree shade That stream has made A joy he scarce can speak, Now not a bird or beast but calls To save Long Tunnel's mountain walls. He runs to save, And in the wave He dips his hempen flail. Wet sack in hand He takes his stand. Sparks fly like golden hail ; There, at the powder-cavern's door The dry wood kindles on the floor. A Hero of Walhalla 89 Death in his ears Shouts " fool ! ", he hears, But nearer hears the flame ; Wood-creatures cry ! The wild birds fly And mock him by his name ! But still before doom's awful porch, From fate he keeps death's lightning torch. No time for prayer. But time to dare ; Alone he fought the fight. He kept at bay The flames all day, Close by the dynamite. His name like gold shall ever shine, For Rawson saved Long Tunnel Mine. Norsemen I cried, Across the tide Where'er your dark ships roam. Your sons still stand 90 Ballads of Brave Deeds With sword in hand To fight for hearth and home, Bright swords of " courage against odds " Fit for Walhalla, and the gods. A Modern Viking NEWCASTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA The blood that helped to make us great When wild Norse-rovers came from over sea, And raised the How and cleared the Thvvaite, And hewed the forest down, and plowed the lea. Flows on from sire to son, a tide Full breathed, and vigorous with the Sea-king's air ; Its quintessential powers abide, Its dauntless strength, to battle, and to dare. Though tides 'twixt east and west are set. And Vikings claim a Newer Southern Wales, We have our Herewards with us yet, Whose heart, whose hand of courage never fails. 91 92 Ballads of Brave Deeds The bathers, weary of the day, Went to the deeps for sweet refreshing cool, What time Leviathan, for prey, Came prowling coastward, hunting reef and pool. None marked the stealthy shadow nigh, None saw the cruel fin had crossed the bar, Till at the shout of " Shark " they fly. And every swimmer felt the land was far. All turned for flight, yet not all fled. One heard a louder call to stay, and knew His own loved brother, sore bested, And to his help from the devourer flew. Unarmed and naked, lion-brave. He rushed to join the fierce, unequal fight ; Flashed back the water's crimson wave, And robbed the ravening sea-hound of his right. Swam ever 'twixt the shore and death, A fence of life against Leviathan, Felt at his back the monster's breath, But only thought him of the wounded man. fc A Modern Viking 93 Then, while the waves for joy broke loud, He pushed his fainting brother safe ashore, Nor knew a whole wide world was proud Of him who dared, as Sea-kings dared of yore. The Mate of the " Norham Castle " " Slow her down, and stand to sea," From his bridge the Captain cried, Shore is somewhere on the lea ! When the " Norham Castle " slows, There is danger close beside, Every man aboard her knows. ' And our stokers worked with will As we turned her head to wind, But the vessel nigh stood still ; And with dawn-light thro' the wrack, God be praised, there, close behind. Stared the stark reefs grim and black. 94 The Mate of the " Norham Castle" 95 Yea, and bitterer far to view, On the cruel jagged rock Lay a ship with all her crew, Swept of bulwark, shorn of mast, And we heard the breakers shock. And we knew she could not last. But her flag above the roar Cried for succour thro' the gale. And we stood toward the shore ; Yet we durst not venture near, Tho' the good ship " Fascadale " Sent us English cheer for cheer. " Who will go ? " the Captain cried, " For I may not give command," And the mate, who stood beside. With a quiver in his throat For the girl he loved on land. Said, " I'll dare it with the boat." So the brave men lowered away. And the "Norham Castle" stood. Half in wonder, half dismay. 96 Ballads of Brave Deeds Making shift a wall to be Against wind and water-flood, As the life-boat took the sea. And we watched the coxswain steer Very cunningly and well, But they could not come too near ; Cast out anchors, lion-bold. In the hurly and the swell. And we prayed the hemp might hold. Then we saw how from the ship One with rope about his waist To the surges dared to slip. But the rope was short of strand, God ! how terrible to taste Life, and fail for reach of hand ! Then the mate rose up and said, " Friends, I'll venture with a line. Draw me back alive or dead ; " And the ship-wrecked raised a shout, For his deed they could divine As we paid his log-line out. The Mate of the " Norham Castle" 97 So the swimmers rose and fell Straining- ever with one mind, Till they met, and all was well ; Never such a deed was done As they did, who spliced and twined, In such sea-way, lines to one. Very carefully they drew All the drowning men along-, Tho' the wind a tempest blew, And the life-boat, anchored, lay In the breakers, firm and strong, Till the last was safe away. Then for home the life-boat turned — How we wondered, how we hoped ! How the hearts within us burned ! For the doomed ship brake in twain Where the dark reef seawards sloped, And went under in the main. But the " Norham Castle " stood Like a wall against the tide. To her purpose true and good, G 98 Ballads of Brave Deeds Never ship gave prouder hand, As the crew came back beside, To her gallant sailor band. And we praised the " Norham's " mate For a hero to the core. Since he faced such odds of fate ; But he smiled, and answer sent — " I've a girl I love ashore ; She commanded, and I went ! " Tried in the Fire THE STEWARDESS OF THE lONA Gaze on them tenderly, these who lie Just heaps of ash on the burning floor ; They were caught by the flames as they fled for the door, The fire has left of them nothing human ; So shrivelled and charred you may scarce descry Which was the little child — which the woman. But the beast that roared in that cabin's cage, With blood-red tongue and with golden hair, Though it maimed the bodies that once were fair. Has left us a sign we may understand ; See here are the bones that are safe from its rage, They are locked together, are hand in hand. 99 lOO Ballads of Brave Deeds The people were singing their evening psalm As we cleared Leith Harbour for London town, The sun of the Sabbath went restfully down, And the stars looked out of a quiet heaven On seas as silent and silver calm As ever to mariner's feet were given. Slumber in Heaven and sleep on the sea, And our engines humming a drowsy tone ; The sleepers below into dreamland gone. With their " hails " and their " farewells " mingling close, When, out of a room where the deck-lamps be, Flame broke, and the cry " Ship's afire ! " arose. But swift at our need the girl-stewardess came, " Rouse ye and run ye ! God help us, and save ! " There was fear in her heart, but her words were brave. She dashed through the smoke, waked the women from sleeping. Heedless of hurricane breath of flame, And called, " Where's the child that was left in my keeping ? " Tried in the Fire loi Then back to the horrible fiery den The heroine sprang. How the forked tongues Of the fierce flame-serpents leapt and stung, Struck at her bosom and blinded her eye ! But One went with her whose word to men Is, " Life for the least, though the strongest die." She has taken the little one safe in her hand, Angel of help, she has turned for the door — This eloquent heap of ash on the floor Is seal of her will and is sign of her doom, But her feet so swift for the purpose planned Are set, God knows, in a larger room. She was sailing from Leith for London town, Her last last voyage of earthly care, She has touched the haven of hearts that dare ; And, over the sea that is mingled with fire, The harpers bring her the palm and the crown For life through death and for love's desire. Think of her gratefully, girls of the Tyne Whose blood is salt with the Northern sea ! I02 Ballads of Brave Deeds The salt that shall keep our England free From the savour of Death, is a salt of flame, Salt of self-sacrifice, salt divine. That is sprinkled on all, as we name her name. The Wreck of the ''Ocean Queen" TO THE HEROES OF COLWYN BAY — Nov. 7, 189O Men of Cornwall ! men of Devon ! Listen well ! For if ever wind of Heaven Blew a hurricane from Hell, It was when November's night Broke with Colwyn Bay in sight, And we saw Llandula's Head above the swell. " Sheer away, boys, sheer away ! " The captain roared — " God preserve us from the Bay ! " As he spoke, the tempest's sword Smote our topsail into shreds, Brought the gear about our heads, And our foremast went like tinder by the board. 103 I04 Ballads of Brave Deeds Then the skipper girt a rope Round his waist. " While there's Hfe ! " he cried, " there's hope ! Lash me fast ; — I have outfaced Fifty storms, but run aground, With a keel and cargo sound ? Never, men ! for death were better to my taste ! " And we three, who through the wrack Saw the land, With the quarry yawning black. Turned our faces from the strand. Gave up thought of home again, Though the grey fields glimmered plain, And cruel seemed our captain's stern command. But the tide was with the wind. And the waves Swept us shoreward, reeling blind. Dashed our one boat into staves. As we went round, in a ring, Like a bird, with broken wing — Well we knew Llandula's shore should be our graves. The Wreck of the "Ocean Queen" 105 Then we struck, and leapt, and struck, " Hands aloft ! " So we scrambled to the truck, Dazed ; but never half so soft Seemed we, dying men, to hear Our wives' welcome, and the cheer Of the children's voices calling from the croft. How the water's fury flew O'er the mast ! How the wind benumbing blew ! But our girdles held us fast ; How the hail cut like a knife. As we swung and clung for life, Almost praying that our time to feel were past ! In a lull we heard the clock Tolling ten ; And we watched the people flock From the quarry and the glen. Like a torrent to the beach Cheering, calling each to each. Racing forward to our rescue, gallant men ! io6 Ballads of Brave Deeds Where's the boat ? A mile away, Beached and dry ! Thro' the sea-smoke of the bay Runners bring it shoulder-high ; Dare they launch that cockle-shell On the hurly of the swell, Through this hurricane of hell ? Let them try ! Off with clogs ! and on with coat ! Fearless four ! See they leap into the boat, Little trained to use of oar, But accustomed long to death, Strong of sinew, full of breath, Trained to nerve in that dark quarry by the shore. Then we heard a ringing cheer, Well we knew Love had triumphed over fear ! And a boat rose full in view, — But a billow roaring under Hurled it high ashore with thunder. While the oars from out their hands like feathers flew. The Wreck of the ''Ocean Queen" 107 Again, and once again, Driven back ! Then they signalled, but in vain, " Loose a life-buoy, let the slack Whirl a line ashore, or snatch Help we send you by this match," And a rocket screamed out seaward through the wrack, Soared, and fell far short and sank. Try the boat ! So they ran it down the bank. And our captain waved a coat. Left his perch upon the mast. Overboard a ladder cast — And we watched which way our chance of life would float. But the malice of the sea Worked our doom ; For he paid his line out free But it tangled in a boom, Then we knew and felt His hand. That would bring us safe to land. And we heard a voice not mortal thro' the gloom. io8 Ballads of Brave Deeds It was easy now to die, Soon or late, Sooner best — but hark ! a cry ! For the seventh time they wait Till the huge sea backward coil, Then with courage nought can foil. Forth the landmen push to rescue us from fate. And the boat rode forward brave, Rose and sank ; Till an overwhelming wave Dashed it back with gride of plank On a rock — God help the lost ! Half the awful passage crossed ! And our eyes met one another's — hopeless blank. But from out the cloud of foam Straight the four. Never looking once for home, Lifted keel, and bent the oar ; Clomb up wearily the crest, Swept down cheerily the breast, Dropped alongside — and I scarce remember more. The Wreck of the "Ocean Queen" 109 But I know I left the mast, Felt a hand ; Heard a hoarse voice bid them cast Wreckage clear, then give command — " Home, boys, home ! " — and then the rush Of a breaker, and the crush, And the cheer of hearts that welcomed us to land. Wake again, the harp of Wales, As of yore ! Long as storm shall rend the sails. And Atlantic billows roar, — Long as wrecks ashore are rolled, Shall your dauntless deed be told. Gallant heroes of the quarry by the shore. Dodd The Hero of Audley Mine Shouts of " Water has broken through ! From Rookery Pit, or the Diglake Mine ! " By the flap of the air you may well divine There is work for the stoutest of hearts to do. Then Dodd cried, "Make for the Boyle's Hall shaft !" And into the torrent, waist-high, he went, Though the Devil himself the flood had sent He would save his friends by his miner's craft. In the " Ten-feet Dip " the double tide, With rush of havoc and roar of hate, Met like a whirlpool ; — met too late. For Dodd has fought to the other side. Dodd, the Hero of Audley Mine 1 1 1 Then down to the " Eight-foot Working," bold — As only they who are led by love — The miner went, with the flood above And the water below him cruel and cold. The hollow fills, and the lamp burns blue, The boys call back to his cheering cry — " Leap, I will grasp as the stream goes by ! " And the boys have leapt, and the hand is true. Then swift he dropped to the " Under Seam," For the walls crashed in, and the lights were out, Sent through the wildering dark his shout, Swept on like a straw by the torrent stream. Hurled along on the ruining wave, He caught at a pit-stay, clutched a rope. Faced the flood in his fearless hope ; God had need, there were others to save. Up through the " Staple Shaft " he pressed, Felt the waters, heavy as lead. Battering down on his breast and head ; Swooned at the top, but knew no rest : — 112 Ballads of Brave Deeds Woke in a moment — woke and cried : " Brothers and men, will ye volunteer ? When we meet in Heaven is time for fear ! There are prisoners still at the Boundary side ! " They trimmed their lamps, and they clenched their teeth, They thought of their homes, and breathed a prayer. And Courage and Life went down Death's stair. To the hurly of waters and hell beneath. Through flood knee-deep, or flood to the chin, Stubborn of heart, the miners strode. Swam where the torrent deeply flowed, In hope for the living, and love for their kin. They smote at the " Stoppings," they hammered the walls, The voice of their warning went like a flame ; Then far lamps answered, and hurrying came Their friends in affright to the saving calls. " Make for the ' Staple Pit,' nor stay Till Boyle's Hall hold you, safe and sound ! " Dodd, the Hero of Audley Mine 113 So thirty went up from underground, But Dodd and his comrades held their way. They challenged each " gallery," hasted along, Till they won where the pit-boys cowering stood. Thrust them from hand to hand through the flood ; They cheered the aged, they led the strong, Knew no weariness, heart nor brain. Till the pit-roofs fell, and the flood had risen, And death was alone with the doomed in prison, And hands were powerless, help was vain. It is darker than night o'er the deep dark grave — Grave of the living who fain would die — Hope's sun has set, there are stars in the sky, There are stars upon earth — Dodd's work was brave. H The Brothers A BALLAD OF SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN In the marshes by the sea, Whence our English fathers came, Very slow the rivers run ; Skies are wide and stars are free ; From the rise to set of sun Men may feel its heart of flame. But a wider Heaven is ours, And the sun is brighter far, And life's rivers swiftlier move, When the will with hero powers Dares a brother's deed of love, And true courage is the star. ^ts'' It was wild November's night When the Schleswig people knew, IJ4 The Brothers 1 15 By the rockets leaping clear, That a ship in sorry plight To the bitter coast drew near, With her storm-bewildered crew. But with wild dawn, o'er the wave, Through the rollers mountain high. Gallant fishers launched away, Sworn to perish or to save ; For through thunder and through spray They could hear the seamen cry. Bravely battling up and down. In the valleys — on the crest, Shot to Heaven — tossed to Hell — Still the oarsmen held their own, Still the life-boat rose and fell, Mercy-manned and God-possessed. Came alongside on the lea, Filled its bosom with such store As may fall, more dead than live, From the battered crossyard tree. When but six poor souls survive From a crew of twenty-four. ii6 Ballads of Brave Deeds Turned for home— but left behind One too lifeless far to fall, Lashed beyond his fellows' reach, Good as dead, stark out of mind — Turned and struggled for the beach. Safely landed one and all. How they cheered, and how they ran Throusli the breakers with a will. Hauled the life-boat safe ashore ! " We have left behind a man, Will ye venture, mates, once more ? " Cried young Jansen, breathless still. There was silence, " God ne'er gave Men such chances twice a day. Will ye tempt Him still to give? Let the ocean be his grave. He had scarce five minutes to live When for home we turned away." But that moment on the mast. Far out seaward, Jansen saw How the dead man waved an arm ; Through the crowd a great thrill passed. The Brothers 117 Quoth he, " God can keep from harm ; Life for life is Heaven's one law." If ye will not make a crew Yea, alone I'll dare the deed ; For the love of God I'll face Fiercest wind that ever blew, For the man in yonder case Is a Brother and in need." Then a grey-haired woman spake, " Son, thou knowest how thy brother Went to sea nor e'er returned ; Venture not, Son, for his sake." Jansen's word with fierceness burned — " Yonder man, too, has a mother." So they went toward the shore, And they wondered at his word, Called him " Fool," but launched his boat, Gave him tenderly each oar. Prayed with choking in the throat " Lord have mercy ! Save him. Lord ! " And they watched him toil and toil, Board the vessel, climb the mast, ii8 Ballads of Brave Deeds Reach the seaman hanging there ; Saw him swift the ropes uncoil, Bring the body down with care, In the boat his burden cast. Women prayed and rough men swore, As they watched the hero come ; But the man who for his brother Risked his own life, stepped ashore, And said he — " Go, tell our Mother I have brought her lost boy home." In the marshes by the sea, Whence our English fathers came, Slowly still the rivers run. And where'er their children be, From the rise to set of sun. Flows their courage still the same. The Heroes of Rhondda Vale Sing me an ode, shout a song, chant a hymn on The deed of undying renown in the dark Rhondda Vale, Sons of grey Snowdon and hoary Plinlimmon ! Children of Cader so purple ! for song cannot fail, If the deed that is sung be of worth ; And this deed was of Heaven, not of Earth. So far let its glory go free. Bid the streams from the Usk to the Dee Bear it down to the wandering sea ; Let the tides roll it back to the strand, And the winds bring it up to the land ; For a deed has been done in the deep Of the earth that shall never sleep ; iig I20 Ballads of Brave Deeds A thought has been born underneath, In the horrible womb Of the pit, that shall break from its tomb, And shall rise up above. On wings of sweet savour like breath Of a rich sacrifice. A glorious deed has been done, To make the heart leap, And to lighten the eyes Of the old men who sit in the sun, Of the young men who toil in the mine, Of the maidens who follow the kine : A deed of pure love — Of love that is careless of death, Of life that most lives when it dies. Fire in the pit ! and the fury of flame and the stifle of smoke ; Men in the workings beyond ! the gates barred fast by the smother ! Who shall bear message of cheer, or bring through the terrible choke Word of a chance of escape, hope against hope for a brother ? The Heroes of Rhondda Vale 121 Then underground ran a groan, and the face of the bravest grew pale ; " Fire ? Heaven help us ! and flame between us and the far-away shaft ? See how the brattice-cloth hangs ! God save us ! the air-currents fail, Stopped by a fall of the roof, sucked the wrong road by the draught ! " Hark to the crash of the coal, hiss, and the crackle of flame ! Sulphurous cloud of the fume rolling its poison along, Serpent of ill, coiling on from the cradle of doom whence it came, Fed by the death that it flies— Fury, relentless and strong ! Belched from the three-foot, it leapt to the four-foot seam — paused undecided ; Gathered its folds, turned to yellow and lead, like a cobra that springs. Swept to the gallery, crept to the drift ; at the cross- ways divided. Pouring its horrible breath forward on pestilent wings. 122 Ballads of Brave Deeds Down the dark passages, filled with the smother and reek, came a cry ; Pickaxes flung ! and lamps out ! waggons left half- filled with their load ! Desperate haste to escape from the doom that men felt they must die, Heart-hopeless hurry of feet that would race bitter Death on his road. Lights and faint glimmer at last, and a cheer far away in the gloom ; Help for the five of them yet : now God be thanked for His grace ! Help — but never for five ; for one of the five is there room ; The cage is crammed head over head, and only for one is there place. Then was a terrible moment, for four of them thought of their wives. Back to their home in the valley their hearts in a trice seemed to run ; Men who had lived long enough to be fond of their labour and lives, Glad for the green, and the break of the leaf, and the laughter of sun. The Heroes of Rhondda Vale 123 Out spake one of the four : " My head is greyer than thine, Leap to the cage, lad, leap, and say, if we fall in the smother, ' Life had learned to forego love's best in the Rhondda mine. Was stronger to give than to get, was willing to die for a brother.' " Up speeds the cage into light, with a shout, " There are four left behind ! " Round roars the drum, and the sparks fly, as the cables outrun. Slow, may the cables coil back, and the drum with a groan may rewind ! There are four brought back to the day who shall never behold the sun ! The Drummer Boy of the Malakand Pass He who made with His marvellous hand Our hearts, these vases that throb and brim, Made them of fair or of darkest earth, Gave them love of their native land. From the mountain crest to the far sea's brim, Bade them be true to the home of their birth. Sons of the ranges that shoulder the skies. Of the deep vales cleft by the earthquake sword, Of the dread ravines where the rock roars down, You where the torrents fall and rise As the frost forbids or the sun sends word. Did ye not dare to die for your own ? 124 The Drummer Boy 125 It was April noon when the bugle blew And we faced the Hillmen fierce for the fight, Climbed while the rifles cracked o'erhead. It was April eve when our good flag flew On the last grim ridge of the Malakand height, And we counted the living and gazed on the dead. Gazed on the face of that grey old man, Who, bearing his banner of white and rose, Charged our " Borderers " there on the hill ; Fell shot-shattered, but up and ran Alone with a shout in the teeth of his foes, And died at our feet in his desperate will. But of all the five hundred who died that day In front of the gate of their mountain land, No braver heart did a bullet pierce thro' Than his at the foot of the clifi" who lay, With drum round his neck, and with sticks in hand, Still playing, stark dead, his loud tattoo. By the gorge, on the roof of a hut he stood, Clear seen, jet black, in the deep blue sky ; Tho' the marksman's bullet went angrily past, 126 Ballads of Brave Deeds Tho' the drum he was drumming was wet with his blood, He would beat to the charge as his friends went by, For love of the Prophet while life should last. We saw how he dropped like a cat from the wall, Dropped to the dressing of wounds that stung ; How back to his post and his task would he come Till the death-shot struck ; but the headlong fall Sheer over the precipice, never unslung The drum he was beating for Allah and home. And there at the close of the battle we found The brave boy drummer who drummed to the death, The hero heart of the Pathan crew ; It was God gave him love of his mountain ground. It was Love he would serve with his latest breath : We shall hear his Drum at the Great Review. Harleys Eight A BALLAD OF CHITRAL — April 1 6, 1 895 Here's luck to the sixty Kashmir men, And the forty Sikhs so tried and true, Who smote the Chitralis there in their den, Who fired the mine and saved us then From Umra Khan and his warrior crew. By the deed they wrought for the Red White and Blue. One moon had waned slowly, another was full, And, shut in the hornets' nest of harm, We knew no rest and we felt no lull In the passionate storming of Sher Afzul, But we trusted that courage, with good right arm, Could keep us still from the Pathan swarm. 127 128 Ballads of Brave Deeds Bullets from " Sangars " high on the hill Bullets from tree tops close in the grounds, Bullets that plagued for all our skill The road to the river we went to fill Our buckets, red with the bearers' wounds, And still the Sikh sentry paced his rounds. But fire might win where the musket would fail. And the mole creep thro' where assault was vain, They would fling their fagot and trust to the gale, Where bullets were harmless the reek might prevail, But we drenched the tall tower with might and with main, And quenched their flame-fury with earthen rain. And the mole in his burrow nearer came While louder the tom-tom beat all day, And fiercer they cursed by their hill-god's name. And ever their loop-holes brake to flame, But the Sikh's keen ear it can never stray, And we heard the picks at their muffled play. Twelve feet from the Tower ! no moment to lose ! No time for a counter with spade to spade. Harley's Eight 129 But time to resolve on the death they would choose, As the heroes slung round their powder and fuse And sware they would face all the host's fusilade, But would blow into sunlight the mine that was made. Then the gate of the fortress, eastwards set, Silently opened, and forth they ran ; No shot was fired, but foes ne'er met More fierce a thrust home from the bayonet Than those who were dead ere the fight began. The moles who were miningf for Umra Khan. 'fa For out of the tunnel's mouth they poured. No time to draw, and no time to cower Ere death fell with dark ; but the Pathan horde Drew round in a ring ; when suddenly roared The ground into gaping, and veiled in a shower Of dust and in smoke, our men rushed for the Tower. Back from the water-way, back by the wall, Back to the garden-house hurried the foe, Sang the swift bullet, and hissed the ball. And the fortress sent answer and cheer above all, I 130 Ballads of Brave Deeds By the rift in the earth down beneath, we might know They had dealt the besieger the deadliest blow. Then the door with swift welcome wide open was flung, But not for the hundred who saved us from fate : There were those who should ne'er hear their praises sung, Who felt not the shake of the earth that upsprung; And still the beleaguered must think of the eight Who came not with Harley back under the gate. Fletchers Fight A BALLAD OF NYASA LAND We were eighteen men all told that day- Inside a half-built wooden pen, When the king Kawinga came our way, With his fifteen hundred fighting men. But eight were Sikhs as tried as good. And nine we had taught to handle a gun ; And the fury of battle was in my blood, For I was an arrow-maker's son. Long years ago in the green-wood land With little to eat and many to fight, My father's fathers were deft of hand To shape the bolt, and to feather its flight. 131 132 Ballads of Brave Deeds And here we were in the rough stockade, Undyked, unmounded, a handful pent, With none to succour or send for aid. And a King's whole tribe on our murder bent. Their bugles sounded, their tom-toms beat, Spears flashed and banners were waved on high, There was crackle of forest and trample of feet, And " Loot ! Loot ! Loot ! " was the warrior cry. Each black-heart serpent crawled in the grass With his pouches of poison and fiery tongue, And bullets in thousands seemed to pass As the spite of their death-shower over us sung. Never before in that warrior world Had a few in the face of such hundreds stood, Never before had such hail been hurled, And spears so thirsted to drink of blood. Never since Africans hammered a blade, Or bows were fashioned, or javelins thrown, Was heard in the forest such fusillade As scared the wild dogs of Malemya's town. Fletcher's Fight 133 But our triggers were true and our eyes saw well, As prone on the ground we eighteen lay, And all in a ring the black men fell, And the fifteen hundred were held at bay. But the sun came over the Baobab trees, For we fought from the morn till the height of noon; Not once did we dare to rise to our knees, But we knew our powder must fail us soon. " Now fix your bayonets," loud I cried, " Let us give them a cheer, and charge, my men. It is better by far to fall outside Than die like beasts in a cattle pen." So we leapt to our feet and nine by nine Straight forth of the shelter dared to go. With bayonets fixed, and in double line We fired a volley and rushed on the foe. And the cheer we gave as beneath the smoke Of our own fierce volley we charged like flame, It bred such panic, the foemen broke, For they deemed that devils to fight with them came. 134 Ballads of Brave Deeds By the Yaos, Walolos and Coast-men slain, By the spear and the matchlock cast away, Eight miles thro' the forest the road was plain To the fort we had held for our Queen that day. Ah ! give me a handful of Sikhs to shoot. To cheer and to charge from their lions' den, And the King Kawinga may come for loot With his fifteen hundred fighting men ! A Lincolnshire Hero Land of the Lindiswaras of old, Land of Hingvar and Hubba the Dane, Land of the grey and the golden wold. Land of the glimmering seaward plain : Not in vain has your seed brought forth Hughs and Langtons fearless and strong, Bred us a Franklin — Star of the North, Reared us a Tennyson — Lord of Song : Made sheep-masters and lords of the soil Tamers of marshland, victors of fen. Conquerors they by the rights of toil God's fellow-labourers — husbandmen. Not in vain, ere the Norman came. Did your fruit in the furrows of freedom wave ; 135 136 Ballads of Brave Deeds The Trent may have reddened but not with shame, For he found in Lincolnshire never a slave.* Now in the end of the days has it proved Seed as good as in time of yore ; Still by your sons is the free life loved, Life, free to be given, is loved the more. There at Gainsborough's market-town, While the bells of Christmas echo in Heaven, Shall a brave man venture his life laid down, That life for another may so be given. We were gaily gossiping holiday folk, The train was due, there was much to say, The signal fell, and we saw the smoke And heard a murmuring far away. And the faint far murmur became a roar. When a great cry rose and our hearts aghast Hushed the babble so loud before, " There's a lad on the rails and his foot is fast ! " * When, at William the Conqueror's bidding, the Doomsday Book was compiled, Nottingham and Lincolnshire were the only two counties wherein it was found that there were no slaves. A Lincolnshire Hero 137 Let women faint, and the little ones scream, And strong men hopelessly gasp for breath, Let the old men stand stock-still as in dream, But one will succour or die the death. With sinews strong for his hammer's stroke, And eye sure-trained by his striker's trade. Young Whitehouse leaps from the fear-dazed folk, Of the rush of the " Fire-Drake " unafraid. He has clutched the lad — must he vainly strive ? He will lever his body with good head-thrust ; The train roars in ! — are they dead or alive .? They are safe in the six-foot's smother and dust ! Oh ! Land of the Lindiswaras of old, Land of Hingvar and Hubba the Dane, There are heroes still in the fen and the wold, The seed of their sowing was not in vain. Jacob's Well AN INCIDENT IN THE SKIRMISH OF DOORNKOP, TRANSVAAL He knew the risk he ran, As by the wounded man The hero Burgher knelt, To proffer drink from his cool water-can ; Taught in the lonely veldt, To dare the thing he felt : Most right, not safest, was the Bible plan. And " Love your enemies " Shone clear before his eyes ; Tho' round him bullets hissed, He still would bring, to poor parched lips' surprise, His water-cup — nor wist He gave it unto Christ, So soon to be with Him in Paradise. 138 Jacob's Well 139 " Remember by this sign My sacrifice divine, This is My Blood," Christ said, " Brothers be fruitful branches of the Vine : " And still that cup is red, Where the brave Boer fell dead, Who, with his heart's blood, turned the water wine. Children of Israel ! Your Holy Scriptures tell Of how three warriors won Drink for their king thro' foemen fierce and fell. This man for David's Son, Has dared the deed, alone, To bring Life's cup from Love's eternal well. Hosan the Faithful In the dust of the desert young Hosan lay dead, Through a welter of blood the sun sank in the west, The wings of the vultures were dark overhead, And the earth where he fell with the wound in his breast Was redder than sunset, but still in his hand Was the bridle he held when he swooned on the sand. God the Lord was against us that day when we met The musk-scented Mahdi on Worogat plain ; No quarter to give and no quarter to get. We fought till the bravest were captive or slain ; But Hosan, to dash through his captors would dare, For his colonel's grey Arab was left in his care. He leapt to the saddle, he whispered the word. But the men of Ababdeh are swifter than sight, 140 Hosan the Faithful 141 Though fast sped Mubarak, the faster they spurred, Like lightning they came on the left, on the right, Then a spear-head shone silver, and flushed into rose, And Hosan fell pierced to the shout of his foes. But he springs to his feet, he has hold of the rein. The spear-man who smote, to the saddle may leap. But Hosan, the faithful, through blood and through pain, His master's last charge till death free him, will keep. By the angels of judgment who question the just None shall say that young Hosan was false to his trust. Then Mubarak flew on, for the fierce rowel stung, But a hand on the bridle will not slack its hold. Till a sword cleave the rein where the clenched fingers clung. And a-swoon in the dust the brave Hosan has rolled. While the rose of God's wrath blossomed large in the west. And the earth sobbed to red from the rose of his breast. 142 Ballads of Brave Deeds I found him at eve, in the dust where he lay, His lips parched for thirst and his eyes growing dim, But he smiled, — " Bear Salaams to my master and say, Though my life play me false I was faithful to him. Strove to break through the fence of the spear and the sword, To bring back his horse and be true to my word. " Say my heart was no coward's, take this from my hand. This rein,hewill know it, the sword cleft it through — " Then he ceased, — backward fell the proud head on the sand. Ah ! master, thy Hosan was faithful and true : Lo ! the sign of his service and faith to the last, Scarce loosed from his fingers — death shut them so fast. Brave Plate-laying Stand back ! the fire-devourer comes ! The signal dips ! the Hne is clear ! He scatters dust upon the way, Too proud to ask if mortal clay Be cast therewith, while darkened homes Are fruitage of his mad career. Stand back ! but men, their brothers, saw That Jamieson's eyes were filled with light, That Jamieson leapt upon the rail, There in the six-foot drove the nail, To mend the " sleeper's " deadly flaw. And bade the younger clinch it tight. Then, safe on its triumphant way The fiery-footed monster fared 143 144 Ballads of Brave Deeds High o'er the ringing arch of stone, And left a mother's heart to moan, And left a widow, well-a-day ! To weep for those who died but dared. Green grows the corn, the sun shines fair From Paisley on to Glasgow town, But all the way I see a grave And think of those plate-layers brave Who fixed the " sleeper " and the " chair," And gave for other lives their own. In Honour of E. A. Hatton, Seaman of the '' Dunbar Castle " When England calls with pride her hero roll, Or graves in gold the memorable deed, Then let a grateful generation read Of that strong sailor soul To whom our praise is given. The man who when his shipmate fell Into the perilous surges hissing past, What tho' Leviathan with mouth of hell Watched if his prey should overboard be cast, What tho' his ship thro' darkness to her goal Stood on with ever undiminished speed, Leapt to the rescue, felt a brother's need Could claim life's offering whole. And plunged for God and Heaven. K '^5 The Aidar's Master We had passed Messina's Straits And the whirlpool at the gates, When suddenly in Adria we saw the rockets leap ; And we heard our Captain say- As we lowered boats away, "She cannot last much longer for her hull is lying deep." And we toiled through all that night, And by grey of morning light. Though the Master still stood by her, we had rescued twenty-nine. But he cried from off the wreck, " With a wounded man on deck, What master would forsake a man? His fate shall sure be mine." 146 The Aidar's Master 147 And our hearts were sorely tried As we pulled ofif from her side, For his courage seemed to shame us, as from death and doom we fled. Then the Aidar rolled in pain, Foundered head-first in the main, And we felt the whirlpool surges, as we plied our oars in dread. Oh the glory of that grave ! Oh the wild unfeeling wave ! Never better heart of Englishman had sunk be- neath the sea. What a death to show man great ! What a deed outfacing fate ! Britain's sons by such self-conquest shall a wide world's conquerors be. But we saw a dark thing float, God be praised ! The Aidar's boat — Bottom up ! with men upon her ! — fireman ! master ! how we cheered ! How we rowed across the swirl ! Heedless all of water- whirl ! How the sea-foam sprang right over, as or rescue straight we steered ! 148 Ballads of Brave Deeds But the Master bravely cried When the coxswain came beside " Save the fireman ! he is helpless ! I am sound of lung and bone ! He who brought me from the deep Twenty fathoms, sure can keep, Life or death it little matters, if there's duty to be done." So with skill of hand and oar — Very gently then we bore The fireman, nigh to swooning for the bitter cold and pain. But no word of praise would come As full-hearted we went home, With the truest master mariner that ever sailed the main. Notes MICHAEL HARDY PAGE I Those who have read Sir Evelyn's Wood's volume, "The Crimea in 1854 and 1894," will remember his account of an able-seaman, Michael Hardy, of H.M.S. " Leander," and the record of this Irishman's bravery. On the morning fixed for the assault of the Redan, the i8th of June, the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, young Evelyn Wood, who was ill, writes : — "Thinking I would secure, at all events, one physically strong man at my side, I observed to Hardy, who was holding me on to my saddle, ' When we go out, I shall stick to Captain Peel, mind you stick to me.' Hardy replied somewhat evasively ; ' Yes, I'll stick to him, if he goes well to the front.' This in- domitable blue-jacket fully carried out his somewhat insub- ordinately expressed intention of not permitting anyone to surpass him in the assault." That evening, young Wood, who had been wounded, whilst lying in the operating tent, enquired anxiously for his friend Michael Hardy, of whom he could learn nothing then ; but he continues : — " At the flag of truce next day, his body was 149 150 Ballads of Brave Deeds found under an embrasure of the Redan, the only man as far as I know, who crossed the 'Abatis' and Ditch that day." — {Cf. "The Crimea in 1854 and 1894," chap, xv., p. 246. Chap. xix., p. 318.) IN A BATTERY PAGE 4 At the time of the Crimean War, Wilham Peel, the third son of the great minister, was Captain of H.M.S. " Diamond." Evelyn Wood writes : — " We had heard of him, that when in command of his first ship, H.M.S. " Excellent," he was reading in the stern cabin, and hearing the shout, ' man overboard,' rushed to the window in time to see a blue-jacket pass underneath him. With one spring Peel was in the water, and supported the man till both were picked up ; and when the officer of the watch ran down to report ' man overboard — boat lowered,' the cabin was empty — it was not known what had happened until both were brought on board." Though all our officers were brave, it was Captain Peel who inspired his followers with a part of his own nature. He exemplified the American poet's hero : — " The bravest are the tenderest, The loving are the daring." In 185 1, when crossing the Nubian Desert from Korosko to Abu Hamed (where Colonel Stewart and his companions, sent down by Colonel Gordon, were treacherously slain in 1884), Notes 151 Peel dismounted from his camel to give water from his store to a small dying bird ! One day, he to my knowledge, although I did not see it, gave us a grand example. A shell weighing 42 pounds came through the parapet, and rolled into the centre of a small group of men who threw themselves flat on the ground, which would not, however, have saved those nearest, for there were several boxes of powder on the ground then being passed into the magazine. Peel, stooping down, lifted the shell, and resting it on his chest, carried it back to the parapet, and stepping on to the " banquette," rolled the shell over the superior crest, on which it immediately burst. (Extract from "The Crimea in 1854 and 1894," by General Sir Evelyn Wood, G.C.B., V.C). — Fortnightly Review, October, 1894. ALICE AYRES PAGE 10 On the night of April 25, 1886, a fire broke out in an oil and colourman's shop, at the corner of Gravel Lane in Union Street, Borough. The fire cut off all chance of escape by the stairs, and was too fierce to admit of the use of the fire-escape. Alice Ayres who was the nurse-maid in the household, was seen at a window in the second floor with a child in her arms and the crowd called to her to save herself. She refused to do this ; after pushing a mattress through the narrow window, she 152 Ballads of Brave Deeds waited till the people below held it ready, and then dropped the child down upon it. She disappeared into the burning house and reappeared with a second child whom she likewise dropped through the window to safety ; again heedless of the cries to save herself she went back for the third time and effected the rescue of the last of her charges. Then and not till then she herself attempted to jump, but owing probably to her being faint from the fumes, she could not jump clear of the house, struck one of the dummy jars above the shop front, and fell thence to the pavement with a broken back. She lingered a little while in Grey's hospital saying only to those who came to see her on her death-bed that she " had tried to do her best." There is a fine fresco in the Red Cross Hall, by Walter Crane, which illustrates this heroic incident. The people there speak of her proudly as " Our Alice." A full account of her is given by Miss Lane in her " Heroes of Every-day Life,'' pp. 60-64. THE WARRIOR'S DEATH-SONG Wilson's last stand — Shangani River — Dec. 4, 1893 PAGE 13 Lord Gifford, V.C, has communicated the following to Renter's Agency : — "The Hon. Maurice Gifford writes by this mail a graphic account of how Major Wilson and his party met their fate in Notes 153 their plucky attempt to capture Lobengula. Mr Gifford ob- tained the information from an Induna of the Insuka Regiment, who was present at the engagement. The account is briefly as follows : — " ' On Major Wilson and his party returning with Captain Sorrow's reinforcements to the King's scherm in the morning, they were received by a volley from part of the Inguba and Imbisu regiments, who had orders to take up their position on the road by which Major Wilson and his party would return. On receiving the volley, Major Wilson retired into the bush towards the river, but he found his party surrounded on all sides by natives numbering from 2,500 to 3,000 at the very least. The orders from the Indunas to their men were that on reaching Major Wilson's party they were to shoot the horses first. This order the Matabele proceeded to carry into effect, Major Wilson's party keeping up a heavy fire all the time. The horses which Major Wilson had tied together in a ring were soon all shot. The Englishmen then lay down behind them, and kept up a steady fire, with such good effect that they succeeded in driving off the Matabele for a short time ; but reinforcements arriving from across the river, the attack was again renewed, and, as far as Mr Gifford could gather from the Induna, the fight must have lasted some three hours. A number of our men were seen to be wounded, and their ammunition began to run short. Then the natives gradually crept up closer, shooting any one they could. The Induna describes Major Wilson most accurately by his dress and the hat he wore, and states that he was wounded in several places 154 Ballads of Brave Deeds and covered with blood, whilst another wounded man stood by his side loading rifles and handing them to him. Major Wilson and his men fought desperately to the very last. The Induna said, that as the supreme moment came, the English- men, who were still able to rise, stood shoulder to shoulder, took off their hats, and joined in a song, the kind of song that he (the Induna) had heard missionaries sing to the natives. The Matabele then rushed up, and whilst the men were singing what we suppose to have been ' God Save the Queen,' they were overwhelmed by the natives and assegaied. The Induna estimated that the Matabele lost eight to every one of the 34 white men killed, and said that Lobengula's warriors lay round the dead white men like grass.'" — Cf. The Times, March 13///, 1893. BRAVE BERESFORD PAGE 17 The incident here described took place on 2nd June 1879, during the Zulu war, when Sir Redvers Buller, with Lord Beresford acting as his staff officer, undertook a reconnaisance in force across the Umvaloosi River towards the Kraal of King Cetewayo at Ulundi. The gallant deed, which attracted much notice at the time, won for Lord William Beresford the Victoria Cross. It is very fully described by the war-corres- pondent, Archibald Forbes, in a paper entitled, " The Bravest Deed I ever saw," in the first number of Pearson's Magazine for Jan. 1896. Notes 155 HEROES OF CHITRAL PAGE 20 " The Queen has been graciously pleased to signify her intention to confer the decoration of the Victoria Cross upon the under- mentioned Officer, whose claim has been submitted for her Majesty's approval, for his conspicuous bravery during the sortie from Chitral Fort, on the 3rd March last, as recorded against his name : — Department. — Indian Medical Service. Name. — Surgeon Captain Harry Frederick Whitchurch. Act of Courage for which recommended. — During the sortie from Chitral Fort of the 3rd March last, at the commencement of the siege. Surgeon Captain Whitchurch went to the assistance of Captain Baird, 24th Bengal Infantry, who was mortally wounded, and brought him back to the fort under a heavy fire from the enemy. Captain Baird was on the right of the fighting line, and had only a small party of Gurkhas and men of the 4th Kashmir Rifles. He was wounded on the heights at a distance of a mile and a half from the fort. When Surgeon Captain Whitchurch proceeded to his rescue, the enemy, in great strength, had broken through the fighting line ; darkness had set in, and Captain Baird, Surgeon Captain Whitchurch, and the sepoys were completely isolated from assistance. Captain Baird was placed in a dooly by Surgeon Captain Whitchurch, and the party then attempted to return to the fort. The Gurkhas bravely clung to the dooly until three were killed and a fourth was severely wounded. Surgeon Captain Whitchurch then put Captain Baird upon his back and carried him some distance 156 Ballads of Brave Deeds with heroic courage and resolution. The little party kept diminishing in numbers, being fired at the whole way. On one or two occasions Surgeon Captain Whitchurch was obliged to charge walls, from behind which the enemy kept up an incessant fire. At one place particularly the whole party was in imminent danger of being cut up, having been surrounded by the enemy. Surgeon Captain Whitchurch gallantly rushed the position, and eventually succeeded in getting Captain Baird and the sepoys into the fort. Nearly all the party were wounded, Captain Baird receiving two additional wounds before reaching the fort." — Cf. The Standard^ July 17, 1895. " It is difficult to write temperately about Whithurch," said Mr Robertson in reporting this action to the Government, and men who have themselves gained the Victoria Cross have said that never was it more gallantly earned than on this occasion by the Surgeon Major. BAIRD — In Memoriam PAGE 23 "On the arrival of our relief party" write the Captains Younghusband in their " Relief of Chitral," " One of the first subjects on which they spoke to us was about poor Baird. Few officers have ever attached their comrades more sincerely to them than did this brave officer, and he was one of the best and keenest soldiers in the service. He was noted for his tact and for the amiability of his character, and he studied his profession with the spirit of an enthusiast. His coolness was as remark- able as his zeal, and suffering though he was and knowing that Notes 157 he must die, he remained cheerful and collected to the last. He said that he would not have wished to die any other death than the soldier's death which he was now to meet ; he had done his duty and led his men as a soldier should do, and he never regretted his fate. He gave a few last messages to those at home and then, with a smile on his face, and thinking of his profession to the very end, wished his comrades success in their plans and bade them good-bye. " He died on the morning of March 4th, and was buried in the dead of night outside the main gate of the fort while the enemy were firing all round." A CROSTHWAITE HERO PAGE 25 Trooper Abbott, of Crosthwaite, Keswick, fell with Major Wilson, Captain Borrow, and thirty-five comrades near the Shangani river, Matabeleland, 4th December, 1893, when in pursuit of Lobengula. THE GREATER LOVE The Heroes of East Hhu—July i, 1895 PAGE 35 " Yesterday morning a shocking occurrence happened at the East Ham sewage pumping station in which four men lost their lives, and another lies in the West Ham Hospital in a precarious condition ; in fact, little hopes are entertained of his recovery. It appears that between six and seven o'clock 158 Ballads of Brave Deeds a man named Arthur Rutter went down a well for the purpose of cleaning the screen in front of the sewer pipes leading to the pumping station. It was noticed that Rutter suddenly disappeared in the water, which was five feet deep at the time. Digby at once descended the well to rescue his companion, when he also disappeared. Mr F. Mills, the chief engineer in charge of the works, was informed of what had occurred, and immediately descended the ladder, and, hearing groans, asked what was the matter. These were the last words he is supposed to have uttered, as he almost immediately dis- appeared. Durrant was the next to go to the rescue, and he met with a similar fate, and was followed by a man named Jones. The latter, however, feeling the effects of the gas, nearly met with a similar fate as the other men. The test of placing a bucket of fire down the shaft was then resorted to, and it was found that this would burn. A man named Herbert Worman volunteered to go down, and succeeded in bringing the body of Jones to the top, and he was taken on the poUce ambulance to West Ham Hospital. With great determination Worman descended no less than four times, and was driven back by the foul gases. At last, however, after a lapse of three hours he brought the first body to the surface, and afterwards brought two more to the top. A man named George Wheal brought the fourth man out. All four were dead. Mr Mills was very popular amongst his men." — The Daily Chronicle^ July itid, 1895. Notes 159 A PEARL FOR OUR SEA-KING'S CROWN PAGE 37 The news of this heroic deed comes from Victoria in British Columbia. A storm raged so furiously on Wednesday, 24th January 1894, in the harbour there, where Her Majesty's Ship " Garnet" was lying, that a sailor was blown clean overboard. It is easy to understand from this fact the force of the wind, and what the waves would have been like. On the disappearance of the sailor, orders to lower the cutter were immediately given. It was seen, however, that the man was drowning, and his death would have been certain, had not Midshipman Addison, the very youngest officer of the ship, jumped overboard, and supported the man until help arrived. Captain Hughes-Hallett of the " Garnet " reports that the action was one of uncommon bravery, as a full gale was blowing, and he will recommend the young officer for the Royal Humane Society's medal. THE FALLING STAR, or BRAVE JOHN WAVE, THE OVERMAN PAGE 40 A SHAFT accident which happened at the Naval Colliery, Penycraig, on Thursday night, December 14, 1893, will long be remembered for the heroism displayed by a collier who lost his life in the attempt to save his comrades. Six men had descended in the cage to put in position a rope which had just been lowered after having been brought to bank and i6o Ballads of Brave Deeds spliced. As they were going down, the rope, which was hang- ing in the shaft, struck against the side of the cage and shghtly tilted it over. Almost immediately the ascending cage struck it, and three men were jerked out, and falling to the pit's bottom, were instantly killed. There still remained in the now blocked cage the overman (John Waye), the rope inspector (Thomas Isaacs), and a lad named Ivor Foster, aged i6. Seeing their perilous position, Waye said he would go down by the guide rope, get through the pit to the upcast shaft, and so obtain help. Isaacs and his mate could see Waye descend safely for about 1 50 yards. Then he called out to some hauliers on the four-foot landing, "How far am I from the bottom?" They replied, " Not far." Thereupon he was heard to mumble something, and then to cry out, " O dear, I am done for now." The friction had probably become too great for him to hold on longer. He let go, and was hurled like a flash past the hauliers in the landing, dashed against the pit's bottom, and instantly killed. — Daily Paper. A BALLAD OF PORT BLAIR PAGE 44 On November 1st, 1891, a cyclone swept over Port Blair, the Indian Penal settlement in the Andaman islands. The " Enterprise," which was lying at her moorings, was caught by the tornado, and at 2 o'clock in the morning of the 2nd broke adrift, and was dashed upon the South Point Reef, where she soon went to pieces. There were eighty-three souls on board ; out of this total only Notes i6i six Lascar seamen were saved. And these were rescued by an admirable act of courage. Close to the spot where the steamer was driven upon the rocks is a small settlement of female convicts. As the cyclone threatened to destroy the buildings, these women were allowed to go down to the shore. When the " Enterprise " broke up and the crew were seen struggling in the waves, these brave women formed themselves into a line holding one another by the hand, and so while the one end of this living chain remained on shore, the other reached out far into "the surf, ready to seize and help the ex- hausted survivors. It is solely to the gallant conduct of these female prisoners that the six survivors owe their lives. M'DERMOTT'S DEED PAGE 48 On the evening of September 9th, 1892, the sailing cutter of H.M. " Swallow," while cruising off the south end of the Zanzibar Islands, anchored off Uzi Island, when half the men landed, leaving the chief boatswain M'Dermott, John Sadler, H. Payne, Charles Lawford, and W. Rundle, A.B. seamen, in the boat. Lawford and Payne jumped overboard and were bathing, when a large shark was seen making towards Lawford. The shark was only four or five feet off when, without any hesitation, and without waiting to divest himself of any of his clothes, M'Dermott plunged into the sea " right on top of the shark," L 1 62 Ballads of Brave Deeds and with the splash he made frightened it away for a short time, while the men were quickly drawn into the boat. This extraordinary act of heroism, the particulars of which have just been forwarded to the Royal Humane Society by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, has been investigated by the committee of the former body, which has unanimously con- ferred its silver medal upon Thomas M'Dermott. THE HARVEST OF COURAGE PAGE 53 The following is an extract from a letter which appeared in the Daily Chro?iicle of ^of/i Aug. 1895 from the Sec. of the Hunstanton Branch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. " Sir, — May I call the attention of your readers to the disaster which befell the " Princess," one of our pleasure-boats, through a whirlwind squall off Skegness at the beginning of this week, an account of which they will have seen in your columns ? "In this accident five lives were lost, and it was only through the splendid heroism of the skipper, A. Riches, that the remainder, numbering eleven, were saved. " Immediately upon the boat foundering, when all were thrown into the water, he, with rare presence of mind, helped a boy into the small boat attached to the yawl, and gave him his open knife to cut the line connecting it, and swimming in a rough sea he saved in all by his own individual exertions nine of the party, of whom not one was able to swim. He had at one time no less than five persons clinging to him at once, all of whom he ultimately rescued." Notes 163 "WELL DONE 'CALLIOPE'!" PAGE 57 I AM indebted to one of the ship's company for the narrative upon which this ballad is based. A BRAVE BISHOP PAGE 66 " One incident of heroism is worth recording ; as the dayhght was breaking we heard, about one hundred yards off, yells of pain, and on looking in the direction saw a wounded nigger standing up, crying 'Miaw' (* Mother,' an exclamation always used by Zulus in time of distress). Immediately every rifle ceased firing, and cries of ' Run in ' were raised. He seemed undetermined for a long while, till the Bishop of Mashonaland, Dr Knight-Bruce, went out to him, and helped him in to camp, amid constant shot from the enemy. A cheer went up, and business was resumed." — Extract from J. Solder's account of the battle of Shangani River. — The Standard, ifthjan. 1894. THE LOSS OF THE "SERPENT" PAGE 70 H.M.S. "Serpent," Commander H. L. Ross, sailed on Saturday, Nov. Zth, 1890, from Plymouth for the West African Station, and after encountering heavy gales was cast upon a reef called the Punta Buey, near Camarinas, on the N.E. coast of Spain, and her crew numbering nearly two hundred hands, with three exceptions, perished. 164 Ballads of Brave Deeds It is believed that in consequence of the heavy weather lights and bearings were unobtainable ; that owing to some atmos- pheric disturbance, or to the presence of large quantities of iron ore in the geological formation of the coast, the ship's compass had been temporarily put out of gear, and that the set of the Atlantic current, accelerated by the westerly gale, drove the ship out of her course ; while the officer of the watch, failing to make the light of Cape Finisterre, got into Camarinas Bay, wherefrom, as he missed the light on Cape Villano, escape was impossible. One of the survivors stated that they struck at 10 p.m., when it was black as pitch ; everybody kept cool, notwithstanding that the sea broke furiously over the deck and continually washed men away. An hour after the ship struck, the Commander, seeing that all was lost, gave the men leave to save themselves as best they could, but only one man sprang into the water. Another survivor said, " as soon as we struck there was a rush on deck, but order was immediately obtained. Captain Ross was most cool and collected. He at once gave the order ' Close all water-tight doors and clear away the boats,' and the orders were instantly obeyed. " The whaler from the port quarter with nine or ten men in her was lowered away, but she had barely touched the water before she was dashed against the ship's side and crushed to pieces. " There was never any panic. I wish this to be known in fair- ness to those that are gone." Notes 165 MURPHY, THE FIREMAN PAGE 74 After the great fire that destroyed Messrs Mawson & Swan's chemical warehouses at Newcastle-on-Tyne, a fireman, named Murphy, died from the effects of the fumes. Formerly a man-of-warsman, Murphy had been instrumental from first to last in saving thirty lives as member of the various fire brigades he had joined. One of the most heroic rescues he effected is the subject of the accompanying ballad. A fire had broken out in London in a tenanted house of four or five stories, and working its way upward had entirely gutted the lower floors, when suddenly the face of a woman appeared at a top window. All attempts at rescue seemed out of the question. Between the top of the side wall of the house where the fire had originated, and the adjoining building which had also now caught fire, there was an iron girder or stay many yards in length, and about a foot wide. The girder was almost red hot, but suddenly a fireman appeared upon it, and amid the absolute silence of the crowd beneath, he slowly and steadily stepped across upon it and disappeared into the burning building. He soon reappeared, carrying a woman in his arms, and again deliberately crossed by the girder, and was quickly in the street with his burden safe and sound. His face was scorched, and his boots had been burned off his feet by the hot girder. This was Murphy, the Fire Brigade-man. 1 66 Ballads of Brave Deeds A CUMBERLAND MINER'S STORY PAGE 78 William Walker, his son, and two other men, were working in Postlethwaite's Eskett mines on the Cumberland seaboard. A sudden rush of red hematite iron ore took place, crushed and buried Walker's son, and overwhelmed his companions. William Walker felt that his boy was beyond human help, but heard faint cries from the others, and knew that not a moment was to be lost. He set to work in the terrible darkness with desperate will to dig them out ; in so doing, his spade actually came in contact with his own son's dead body, but he kept his presence of mind, stuck to his purpose, and though his heart was nigh to breaking, toiled on till he had effected the rescue of his comrades. — 1891. A HERO OF WALHALLA PAGE 83 My informant, in a diary written on the spot, at Walhalla, Stringer's Creek, Gippsland, Victoria, says : — "Two or three years ago the whole town, or nearly the whole, was burned down. The fire started on a Saturday afternoon in the Hotel. Almost all the folk were on the hills above the town, for it was hot weather. They made for their homes, and began getting their goods out ; but someone raised a cry, ' The dynamite.' " Everything was abandoned at once. The dynamite was Notes 167 stored in great quantity — enough to blow the whole town to pieces — in a cave under the hill (the hill was lovely, covered with grass-trees), beside the Long Tunnel Gold Mine Yard to the left hand of Stringer's Creek. In front of the dynamite was the gunpowder, and in front of that, just outside the cave, a quantity of dry wood. " Had an explosion taken place the quartz battery and most of the workings must have been destroyed, and Walhalla would have ceased to exist. " One lad, young Rawson — I believe his Christian name was George — about seventeen years old, thought of that, and made straight for the cave, taking with him an armful of old sacks which he dipped in the Creek as he went. The wood was just kindling as he reached it, and he stood there beating the flames out until the risk was over." " My informant adds : — " Australians often have to fight fire, but not with the added danger which young Rawson faced. His mother told me the story, which was confinned by others, whom I questioned. He met with no special recognition of his courage ; was given a good ' billet ' in the mines, that was all." A MODERN VIKING PAGE 91 " The Queen has been pleased to confer the decoration of the Albert Medal of the second class on Mr Hereward Hewison, of Newcastle, New South Wales. The following is an account of the services in respect of which the decoration has been 1 68 Ballads of Brave Deeds conferred. While a number of men were bathing on the sea beach at Newcastle, New South Wales, on the morning of November 28th, 1894, the cry of "shark" was suddenly raised. Everyone at once made for the shore, with the exception of Mr Horace Hewison, who cried out that the shark had seized him, and immediately afterwards disappeared under the water. Mr Hewison, realising the danger of his elder brother, promptly turned, and, swimming to the spot, found that the shark had seized his brother's right arm. He at once grasped his brother round the body, and the two fought the shark as well as they were able, until the complete severance of the arm just above the elbow joint released Mr Horace Hewison, and afforded them an opportunity to escape to the shore, which they suc- ceeded in reaching without further accident. Mr Hereward Hewison assisted his brother by keeping behind him and pushing him forward." — Cf. The Standa?-d,July 18, 1895. Hereward Hewison thus writes to me : — "The accident occurred on the 28th November 1894; we were in the habit of going for a swim every morning, and on this particular morning the sea was so very calm that we did not think it safe to venture out as far as usual, fearing that sharks might be prompted to come in by the smoothness of the sea, and consequently stopped within fifteen yards of the shore. There were about fifty people in bathing at the time and about one hundred on shore. " We were all swimming about when the cry " shark " was raised by my brother. A general rush for the shore ensued, no Notes 169 one imagining that the shark had seized him, but when on looking round as I swam I was horrified to see the shark with its head right out of water clutching my brother's arm. I turned and swam back to him, but just as I got close to them, it dragged him under water, he all the time struggling and trying to hit it with his left hand ; I dived and caught him under the left arm and pulled, and just then the other arm was completely severed above the elbow, we then swam in to shore, I supporting him by the left arm, neither of us thinking that his right arm was off, for, as he said afterwards, he thought the shark was still hanging on to his arm, but when we reached the shore the sight was awful, the muscles were hanging in shreds from the stump of his arm and the bone scraped bare ; the doctors had to amputate the arm close up to the shoulder, but in thirteen days my brother (thanks to a good constitution) was able to go back to his office." THE MATE OF THE " NORHAM CASTLE" PAGE 94 The incident on which this ballad is founded was related to me by a passenger, who was on board the " Norham Castle " during the same voyage on which the rescue had been effected off the Natal Coast. Early in the morning, February 6th, 1895, the wreck of the "Fascadale" was sighted off the Impengali River, on a reef surrounded by a terrible surf, and Captain Duncan of the " Norham Castle " stood in towards her and called for volunteers to man the lifeboat, and try to effect a rescue. Mr Whitehead, lyo Ballads of Brave Deeds chief ofificer, volunteered his services. It was found impossible to venture near, and swimming seemed out of the question. But, signalling to those on the wreck to do likewise, Mr Whitehead waited for the rebound of a wave, and with a life- buoy and cord attached, or as another account says, with a log-line round his body, he leapt from the boat into the water, and was carried towards the wreck. A boy on board the " Fascadale," Ferris by name, with a line and a lifebuoy leapt at the same time into the surge, and meeting Mr Whitehead on the top of a wave they tied the lines together and effected a com- munication by means of which i8 lives were saved. All this time the " Norham Castle" stood off, broadside on, to break the seas and give what shelter she could to the boat's crew. The men had barely left the wreck when a heavy sea broke it in two, and the " Fascadale " disappeared. The heroism of Whitehead, who had again leapt into the surf to save the life of the captain of the " Fascadale," was accentuated by the fact, which was learned afterwards by my friend, that just before he sailed from home he had become engaged to be married. TRIED IN THE FIRE PAGE 99 Early in the morning of Monday, i6th September 1895, when the passenger steam-ship " lona," Captain G. Thomson, was on her voyage from Leith to London and was just off Clackton on Sea, a fire broke out on board, it is believed in the lamp room, which swiftly communicated itself to the ladies' cabin. Notes 171 Edith Mary Ledingham, a native of Gateshead, who had been a lover of the sea from her girlhood, had joined the ship as stewardess in June, and was making one of her first few voyages to London. She had won all hearts, we are told, by her kindness and capability. She was awaked from sleep, and after rousing the ladies in her cabin and warning them to escape at once to a place of safety she was seen to run up on deck. Then remembering that a little child — Lily Mowall Stewart, who had been put in her charge — was still in the cabin, she was heard to say, " Oh ! how terrible ! " and without a moment's hesitation she rushed back into the very jaws of a fiery doom to rescue the child. When the fire was got under and the cabin was sufficiently cooled to allow of exploration, the sailors found seven bodies on the floor, reduced to ashes. One of them, though charred beyond recognition at first sight, was the body of the brave stewardess, still holding the little child by the hand. Her mother writes me as follows : — " She and her brothers, who are both of them stewards, have always had a great liking for the sea, since I brought them up to London from Newcastle by steamer nine years ago. " My daughter's character was of the noblest. Always ready to run in a case of emergency. Twice to my knowledge she ran for a doctor in the middle of the night, half clad. And when her father was dying, it was she I telegraphed for to come and help me. I may well say I have lost my right-hand supporter in the home. She had been a great reader, and was very much touched by the history of Grace Darling, her prize from school." 172 Ballads of Brave Deeds THE WRECK OF THE "OCEAN QUEEN" PAGE 103 During the great gale of November 7th, 1890, the "Ocean- Queen," a schooner bound from Padstow to Runcorn, with a crew of four, struck on a rock one hundred and fifty yards from the shore opposite Llandulas Quarry. Their boat was stove in by the sea, and the Llandulas life-boat had been so damaged by recent service as to be unfit for use. But a small cobble was launched from the beach by the quarrymen, and after being beaten back six times succeeded at the seventh in making its way alongside and bringing the crew safe to land. The names of these gallant fellows were John Jones, John Roberts, and William Williams, quarrymen, and William Williams, shop- keeper. DODD, THE HERO OF AUDLEY MINE PAGE I 10 From William Dodd, the under-manager at the Diglake Mine, come these particulars of the disaster : Shortly before noon, on Monday, January 21st, a boy ran into the office, saying, "There is water rushing down the loft. dip." Dodd hurried out and saw 3ft. to 4ft. of water rushing right through the pit bottom, and making along the roadway. He shouted at the top of his voice, " Make off for Boyle's Hall." By this time the large volume of water was joined by another torrent from a different direction. With considerable difficulty Dodd fought his way through it to the Staple Pit, about 100 yards off. Descending, Notes 173 he found three men. He told the two oldest to make their way to Boyle's Hall, and the third to go with him. Further down were four lads who were beyond a pool of water which was only nine or twelve inches from the roof He shouted to them to plunge into the stream and he would catch them as they came by. They followed his instructions, and were landed in safety. Dodd then shouted to some others, but got no answer, the walls at that moment collapsing and filling the place from top to bottom. After this he made an effort to go down the dip with the full current, and dropped through a trap-door, and here he met the fireman, Thomas Longshaw, and got him to come along with him. In the main dip he was washed along by the current like a straw, and had it not been for a post that he was knocked against he must have been drowned. The stream he found too deep for any living man to get down, and he gave up the attempt. With Longshaw he then made his way to the Staple Pit Shaft, but found the water pouring down in a roaring torrent. Long- shaw tried to go up, but failed. The water subsided a little, and they went to look at the main dip but found it no shallower. With the water pouring down on them, the two men then made their way desperately up the ladders at the Staple Pit. At the top Dodd felt someone lay hold of him, and overcome with exhaus- tion, sunk into unconsciousness. When he came round, kind friends offered to escort him home, but he was determined to help the men in the " boundary side," and called for volunteers to go with him. Three men offered themselves, and sixteen men were found in the boundary, and six lower down. These were all saved. Dodd and the three men then went to the over- 174 Ballads of Brave Deeds cast, where they found the water had subsided a little. One man stayed here to help the men through the stream, while Dodd and another made their way further upwards into the workings, and knocked at the brick stoppings, and men rushed down in answer to the alarm. Dodd shouted, " Where are you lads ? " and they answered, " We are here William, and we are glad to see you." He told them to follow his light, and they made their way up the stream, keeping themselves up by the bell-wire. After these were in safety two of the volunteers came and said they had found six more men and wanted assistance. Three men went with them, and the six, greatly exhausted, were rescued. All were now out of the top workings. Dodd and another then made their way towards No. 2 pit, and found water up to the armpits. Dodd asked his companion if he could face it, and he said, "Yes, I can swim." He swam away, while the under-manager followed for a distance of sixty or seventy yards. Four lads were found perched on the top of an engine, and these were handed from one to the other along the roadway, as the water was too deep for them to walk in. These were the last to be saved. There were twelve in the 8ft. seam, but probably they could not face the torrent, as they were warned. One man. Beech, Dodd thinks, lost his life in trying to save others. William Dodd has since been summoned to Windsor Castle, and has received, from the hand of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, the gold Albert Medal for conspicuous gallantry. Notes 175 THE BROTHERS PAGE 114 The account of this heroic rescue with its dramatic ending appeared in the daily press in the autumn of 1894. Readers will remember that it was from the swamps of Schleswig-Holstein that our English forefathers hailed. It would appear that courage has never left its native ground. THE HEROES OF THE RHONDDA VALE PAGE 119 In the terrible disaster at the Great Western Pit at Ponty- pridd, in the Rhondda Vale, at the first alarm of danger a group of four or five men hurried from their working-place to the bottom of the shaft, a mile distant. They found, to their dismay, that it was only possible to squeeze one more into the cage. Amongst the breathless colliers was one young man — the rest were old ones. The old men decided that the young collier should have the preference, and away the cage swept up the shaft, to hurry down again to the brave fellows who were waiting its return. The interval, although short, had however, been too long for those below, and they were found to have been suffocated. THE DRUMMER BOY OF THE MALAKAND PASS PAGE 124 The Battle of the Malakand Pass was fought on April 3rd, 1895. The first obstacle which lay in the path of the Southern Column of the Chitral Relief force was an exceptionally strong 176 Ballads of Brave Deeds position ; and was not carried till after five hours hard fighting. The enemy fought desperately and lost 500 men, while nearly 1000 were wounded. The British lost 70 killed and wounded. " Of the enemy's bravery," write the Captains Younghusband in their ' Relief of Chitral,' Chap, iv., p. 69, " it is impossible to speak too highly, and individual courage was conspicuous. One leader, carrying a large red and white banner, called on his men to charge the Scottish Borderers when they were half- way up the hill. The charge was made, but all his followers gradually fell till the leader alone was left. Nothing daunted, he held steadily on, now and again falling, heavily hit, but up and on again without a moment's delay, till at last he was shot dead, close to the line. More desperate courage than this is difficult to imagine. " Again, one of the enemy's drummers, not content with taking his fair share of risks, persisted in mounting on to the roof of a hut, where he showed up clear and conspicuous against the sky line, and thence cheered on his comrades. Every now and again a bullet would find him out, and he would drop to dress his wounds, and then, again mounting, recommence beating his drum. At last a bullet got him through the heart, and he fell headlong a hundred yards down the cliff, and there lay stark dead, but with his drum round his neck, and his arms ready raised to strike it." Notes 177 HARLEY'S EIGHT PAGE 127 The account of the daring sortie by which, on the eve of their being relieved by Colonel Kelly, the gallant defenders of the Chitral Fort blew up the enemy's mine, which would other- wise have been their ruin, will be found in " The Relief of Chitral," by the Captains Younghusband, Chap. vi. p. 126. FLETCHER'S FIGHT PAGE 131 A FULL account of the gallant way in which Mr William Fletcher, uncommissioned officer of Royal Engineers, on February 7th, 1895, with a mere handful of men, held a half- finished stockade at Malemya's Town against the chief Kawinga and 1500 warriors, and after fighting for four hours, finding that his ammunition was failing, charged and put them to flight, — was given in the British Cetitral Africa Gazette^ lith March 1895. Mr Alfred Sharpe, British Consul for the territories under British influence to the North of the Zambesi, who came to the relief of the garrison after the attack, corroborated the account, and gave me further details of one of the most daring sorties in the face of overwhelming numbers that was probably ever made. The name Fletcher may imply that the hero's ancestors were arrow-makers. M lyS Ballads of Brave Deeds A LINCOLNSHIRE HERO PAGE 135 The following incident occurred at the Gainsborough Station on 26th December 1895; — a striker named Thomas White- house, twenty years of age, saving the life of one of Messrs Smith & Son's newsboys at the risk of his own. The lad, named Furniss, about fifteen years of age, was crossing the metals when his foot became wedged in the points on the up line. The train was in sight, and the lad shrieked for help, and was told by some of the people to he down. Whitehouse threw down some parcels he was carrying and jumped on to the metals, but could not dislodge the lad's foot. Furniss threw his arms round him, and shrieked again for help. Whitehouse then put his head between the lad's legs, and bodily lifted him out of his precarious position, and they both fell into the six-foot just as the train rushed in. Thomas Whitehouse sends me the following account : — "On Boxing Day I was going to Rotherham, to see some friends, and whilst I was standing on the platform of the M . S. & L. Railway Station, the bell rang for the ten minutes to eight train, and when it was about 90 or 100 yards from the station, the news-boy, William Furniss, came running across the metals and stepped on to the points to get on to the platform and his foot slipped in between. The poor lad looked around and saw the train coming towards him and on the same metals and cried for help. I saw the danger, dropped my parcels and jumped down to try and get him out, but his foot was too fast the first try ; he then cried bitterly for help ; Notes 1 79 I put my head between his legs and lifted all I could, and his boot-sole gave way, and we both fell into the six-foot. I then got up, lifted him up, and carried him to the other side of the platform." JACOB'S WELL AN INCIDENT IN THE BATTLE OF DOORNKOP, TRANSVAAL PAGE 138 In a lull in the fighting at Doornkop, a young Boer, named Jacobz, took pity on one of Jameson's wounded troopers, and carried him some water. Whilst performing this act of mercy he was shot down and killed by another wounded trooper, who had probably mistaken his intentions. — The Daily Tele- graphy January i2,th, "Incidents on the Battlefield," by Central News Agency, Capetown, /a;z«ar)' ()ih, 1896. HOSAN, THE FAITHFUL PAGE 140 After the battle of Om Worogat in which Slatin Bey's forces were decimated, whilst he was attending the wounded Isa, it occurred to him that he had not seen his other boy, Morgan Hosan, who was leading one of his horses. " He was," says Slatin Bey, "a fine, intelligent young fellow, scarcely sixteen years old, honest, quiet, and brave. ' Isa,' said I, to the boy carrying the satchel, ' where is Morgan, who was leading my horse Mubarak ; he is an active fellow, and perhaps mounted the horse, and has managed to escape.^' Sad and broken- i8o Ballads of Brave Deeds hearted, poor Isa shook his head, and, his eyes filling with tears, he handed me a bit of my horse's bridle. 'What is this ? ' I asked. ' Master,' said he, ' I did not want to make you more sorry than you are. I found him not far from here, lying on the ground, with a spear-wound in his chest. When he saw me he smiled, and whispered, " I knew you would come and look for me. Say good-bye to my master, and tell him I was not a coward. I did not let go his horse, and it was only when I fell down stabbed in the chest that they cut the bridle to which I clung, and took him ; show my master the bit of the bridle that is still in my hand, and tell him that Morgan was faithful. Take the knife out of my pocket, — it belongs to my master ; give it to him, and say many salaams to him from me.'" Isa, his voice choked with sobbing, handed me the knife, and I, too, now quite broke down. Poor Morgan, so young and so true ! Poor master, to have lost so faithful a servant and so true a friend ! ' Tell me, Isa, what was the end ? ' I said. ' He was thirsty,' he replied, ' and I took his head in my hands, and in a few seconds he was dead. I then got up and left him ; I had other things to do, and there was no time to cry.' " Extract from "Fire and Sword in the Soudan, 1879-1895," by Rudolf Slatin Pacha, C.B. BRAVE PLATE-LAYING PAGE 143 In an old Paisley churchyard that slopes down to the railway were laid to rest in the same grave, during the Notes i8i summer of 1874, the remains of two plate-layers, uncle and nephew, Jamieson by name. They were working with other navvies on the railway between Glasgow and Paisley, and stood back at the approach of an express train, which, after passing them, would have to cross a lofty viaduct. The engine was in sight, when it was seen that a "sleeper" had started, and unless replaced, would wreck the train. Jamieson made a sign to his nephew ; the two rushed forward ; they fixed the sleeper, saved the train, and were left dead in the six-foot. An account, by Miss F. Martin, of this heroic deed, appeared in Macniillatis Magazine at the time, and Walter Crane has made it the subject of one of bis cartoons in the Red Cross Hall. — Cf. The English Illustrated Magazine, June 1 893. E. A. HATTON PAGE 145 The Stanhope Gold Medal, the chief prize of the Royal Humane Society for the year 1895, was awarded to seaman E. A. Hatton of the " Dunbar Castle." When nearly dark, and with a high sea running, he jumped overboard and rescued the carpenter who had been swept from the deck. The steamer was running ten knots an hour, and the sea was full of sharks. — Cf. The Spectator, April nth, 1896. 1 82 Ballads of Brave Deeds THE "AIDAR'S" MASTER PAGE 146 "The Queen has been pleased to confer the decoration of the Albert Medal of the first class on Mr William John Nutman, late master of the steamship 'Aidar,' of Liverpool. The following is an account of the services in respect of which the decoration has been conferred : — At two A.M. on the 19th January 1896, while the steamship 'Staffordshire,' of Liver- pool, was on a voyage from Marseilles to Port Said, signals of distress were observed to be proceeding from the steamship ' Aidar,' also of Liverpool, and the ' Staffordshire ' immediately proceeded to her assistance. As the 'Aidar' was found to be sinking fast, three of the ' Staffordshire's ' life-boats were at once launched, and with great difficulty, owing to the darkness and the heavy sea, succeeded in rescuing her passengers and crew, twenty-nine in number. At 6.10 A.M. the only persons left on the 'Aidar' were Mr Nutman (the master), and an injured and helpless fireman, whom he was endeavouring to save, and whom he absolutely refused to abandon. The steamer was now rapidly settling down, and as it was no longer safe to remain near her, the officer in charge of the rescuing boat asked Mr Nutman for a final answer. He still persisted in remaining with the injured man, choosing rather to face almost certain death than to leave him to his fate. The men in the boat were obliged to pull away, and immediately afterwards, at 6.17 A.M., the 'Aidar' gave one or two lurches, and foundered. After she dis- appeared, Mr Nutman was seen on the bottom of an upturned Notes 183 boat, still holding the fireman. Half-an-hour elapsed before the rescuing boat could approach, but eventually Mr Nutman and the fireman were picked up and taken on board the ' Staffordshire,' where the injured man was with difficulty restored by the ship's surgeon." — Cf. The Standardy April c)tk, 1896. PRINTED BY TURNBULL AND SPEARS EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 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