XXXI. AN ITALIAN BOAT-SONG.

"TRUE bravery may be discovered, and discipline may be conspicuous, in the darkest night during the horrors of the storm-on the sinking wreck; on the barren sands of a desert island; on the unmanageable raft, amid sickness and famine, with a lowering and uncertain future ahead; or they may shine with lustre among a crew, ice-bound for long years, with hope deferred, on the snow-clad shores of the Polar Sea."-Kingston's Blue Jackets.

THE moon shines bright,

And the bark bounds light,

As the stag bounds over the lea;
We love the strife

Of the sailor's life,
And we love our dark-blue sea.

Now high, now low,

To the depth we go,
Now rise on the surge again;
We make a track

O'er the ocean's back
And play with his hoary mane.

Fearless we face

The storm in its chase,

When the dark clouds fly before it;
And meet the shock

Of the fierce siroc,
Though death breathes hotly o'er it.

The landsman may quail
As the shout of the gale

Perils the sailor's joy;

Wild as the waves,
Which his vessel braves,

Is the lot of a sailor boy.

(Translated by) E. BULWER LYTTON.

XXXII. BRITAIN'S BEST BULWARKS ARE HER WOODEN WALLS!

"To be master of the sea is an abridgment of a monarchy. Cicero, writing to Atticus of Pompey, of his preparation against Cæsar, saith: 'Consilium Pompeii plane Themistocleum est; putat enim, qui mari potitur, eum rerum potiri;' and without doubt, Pompey had tired out Cæsar, if upon vain confidence he had not left that way. the great effects of battles by sea: the battle of Actium decided the empire of the world; the battle of Lepanto arrested the greatness

We see

BRITAIN'S BEST BULWARKS HER WOODEN WALLS! 221

of the Turks. There be many examples where sea-fights have been final to the war; but this is when princes or states have set up their rest upon battles. But thus much is certain, that he that commands the sea is at great liberty, and may take as much and as little of the war as he will; whereas those that be strongest by land are many times, nevertheless, in great straits. Surely, at this day, with us of Europe, the vantage of strength at sea (which is one of the principal dowries of this kingdom of Great Britain) is great; both because most of the kingdoms of Europe are not merely inland, but girt with the sea most part of their compass; and because the wealth of both Indies seems, in great part, but an accessary to the command of the seas."-Bacon's Essays.

WHEN Britain on her sea-girt shore
Her ancient Druids erst addressed,
What aid, she cried, shall I implore!
What best defence, by numbers pressed?
The hostile nations round thee rise-
The mystic oracles replied,-

And view thine isle with envious eyes;
Their threats defy, their rage deride,

Nor fear invasion from those adverse Gauls:
Britain's best bulwarks are her wooden walls.

Thine oaks, descending to the main,

With floating forts shall stem the tide,
Asserting Britain's liquid reign,

Where'er her thund'ring navies ride.
Nor less to peaceful arts inclined,

Where commerce opens all her stores,
In social bands shall league mankind,
And join the sea-divided shores :

Spread thy white sails where naval glory calls:
Britain's best bulwarks are her wooden walls.

Hail, happy isle! What though thy vales
No vine-impurpled tribute yield,
Nor fanned with odour-breathing gales,
Nor crops spontaneous glad the field.

Yet liberty rewards the toil

Of industry to labour prone,

Who jocund ploughs the grateful soil,

And reaps the harvest she has sown;

While other realms tyrannic sway enthrals,
Britain's best bulwarks are her wooden walls.

ARNE.

XXXIII. THE FISHING-BOAT.

"How populous is the mighty sea! How many armies swim in its bosom! There the king of its inhabitants sports. There, amidst a thousand dangers, vessels pursue their course; guided and preserved by thy providence, O Lord, all that live on the earth, in the ocean, and in the air, look unto thee, and thou satisfiest them by thy goodness. And we also, O bountiful Father! are fed by the armies with which thou hast peopled the ocean. For our sakes the herrings take long voyages; and by them thou furnishest high and low, rich and poor, with a cheap and wholesome nutriment. May we receive this gift from thy hand with gratitude, and in the use of it bless the God who has formed such profitable creatures!"-Sturm's Reflections.

GOING OUT.

BRISKLY blows the evening gale,
Fresh and free it blows:
Blessings on the fishing-boat,
How merrily she goes!
Christ he loved the fisherman;
Walking by the sea,

How he blessed the fishing-boats
Down in Galilee !

Dark the night, and wild the wave,
Christ the boat is keeping;
Trust in him, and have no fear,
Though he seemeth sleeping.

COMING IN.

Briskly blows the morning breeze,
Fresh and strong it blows;
Blessings on the fishing-boat,
How steadily she goes!
Christ he loved the fisherman,
And he blessed the net
Which the hopeless fishers threw
In Gennesaret.

He blessed our going out,

Blessed, too, our returning;

Gave us laden nets at night,
And fair wind in the morning.

MARY HOWITT.

XXXIV. THE MARINER'S WIFE.

"MEN must frequently be from home at all hours of the day and night. Sailors, soldiers, merchants, all men out of the common track of labour,

THE MARINER'S WIFE.

223

and even some in the very lowest walks, are sometimes compelled by their affairs, or by circumstances, to be from their homes. But I protest against the habit of spending leisure hours from home, and near to it; and doing this without necessity and by choice-liking the next door or any house in the same street better than your own. When absent from necessity, there is no wound given to the heart of the wife; she concludes that you would be with her if you could, and that satisfies. She laments the absence, but submits to it without complaining. Yet in these cases her feelings ought to be consulted as much as possible; she ought to be fully apprised of the probable duration of the absence and of the time of return; and if these be dependent on circumstances, those circumstances ought to be fully stated, for you have no right to keep her mind upon the rack, when you have it in your power to put it in a state of ease. Few men have been more frequently taken from home by business, or by a necessity of some sort, than I have; and I can positively assert, that as to my return, I never once disappointed my wife in the whole course of our married life. If the time of return was contingent, I never failed to keep her informed from day to day: if the time was fixed, or when it became fixed, my arrival was as sure as my life."- William Cobbett.

BUT are ye sure the news is true?
And are ye sure he's weel?

Is this a time to think o' wark?
Ye jauds, fling by your wheel.

For there's nae luck about the house,
There's nae luck at a',
There's nae luck about the house,
When our gudeman's awa.

Is this a time to think o' wark,
When Colin's at the door?

Rax down my cloak-I'll to the quay,
And see him come ashore.

Rise up

and make a clean fireside,

Put on the mickle pot;

Gie little Kate her cotton goun,
And Jock his Sunday's coat.

And mak their shoon as black as slaes,
Their stockins white as snaw;

It's a' to pleasure our gudeman-
He likes to see them braw.

There are twa hens into the crib,
Hae fed this month and mair,

Mak haste and thraw their necks about,
That Colin weel may fare.

My Turkey slippers I'll put on,
My stockins, pearl blue-
It's a' to pleasure our gudeman,
For he's baith leal and true.

Sae sweet his voice, sae smooth his tongue;
His breath's like caller air;
His very fute has music in't,
As he comes up the stair.

And will I see his face again?
And will I hear him speak?
I'm downright dizzy wi' the thought:
In troth I'm like to greet.

For there's nae luck about the house,
There's nae luck at a',

There's nae luck about the house,

When our gudeman's awa.

W. J. MICKLE.