XXXI
The Old Way
"I deeply regret to report the loss of H.M. ships. . . ."—Sir John Jellicoe's Despatch ("The Times," July 7th, 1916).
THERE'S a sea that lies uncharted far beyond the setting sun,
And a gallant fleet was sailing there whose fighting days are done,
Sloop and galleon, brig and pinnace, all the rigs you never met,
Fighting frigate, grave three-decker with their snowy canvas set;
Dozed and dreamed, when, on a sudden, ev'ry sail began to swell,
For the breeze has spoken strangers, with a stirring tale to tell,
And a thousand eager voices flung the challenge out to sea:
"Come they hither in the old way, in the only way that's free?"
And the flying breeze called softly: "In the old way,
Through the winters and the waters of the North,
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