Page:A School History of England (1911).djvu/192

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168
Charles II

not grow herself (e.g. tobacco, rice, beaver-skins) they were to send all such goods to England.

The two Dutch Wars, 1664 and 1672.Charles Il fought two great wars with the Dutch during his reign; and great sailors came to the front, though none as great as Robert Blake, who had been Cromwell's admiral. The sailors and the Navy covered themselves with glory, but, as I said above, the management of the Service was shockingly bad, and it was no thanks to King Charles that the Dutch did not win.


The Dutch in the Medway.

If war were won by feasting,
Or victory by song,
Or safety found in sleeping sound,
How England would be strong!
But honour and dominion
Are not maintained so,
They’re only got by sword and shot,
And this the Dutchmen know!

The moneys that should feed us,
You spend on your delight,
How can you then have sailor-men
To aid you in your fight?
Our fish and cheese are rotten,
Which makes the scurvy grow—
We cannot serve you if we starve,
And this the Dutchmen know!

Our ships in every harbour
Be neither whole nor sound,
And, when we seek to mend a leak,
No oakum can be found,
Or, if it is, the caulkers,
And carpenters also,
For lack of pay have gone away,
And this the Dutchmen know!