Page:Landon in Literary Gazette 1833.pdf/7

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Literary Gazette, 12th January, 1833, Page 27



And can this be the vessel
    That went so boldly forth,
With the red flag of Old England,
    To brave the stormy North?

There were blessings poured upon her
    When from her port sailed she,
And prayers and anxious weeping
    Went with her o'er the sea.

And once she sent home letters,
    And joyous ones were they,
Dashed but with fond remembrance
    Of friends so far away.

Ah! many a heart was happy
    That evening when they came,
And many a lip pressed kisses
    On a beloved name!

How little those who read them
    Deemed far below the wave,
That child, and sire, and lover,
    Had found a seaman's grave!

But how that brave ship perished
    None knew, save Him on high;
No island heard her cannon,
    No other bark was nigh.

We only know from England
    She sailed far o'er the main—
We only know to England
    She never came again.

And eyes grew dim with watching,
    That yet refused to weep;
And years were spent in hoping
    For tidings from the deep.

It grew an old man's story
    Upon their native shore,—
God rest those souls in Heaven
    Who met on earth no more!
L. E. L.