The old way : and other poems

6015

;APTAIN R.A.HOPWOOD.F

THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

THE OLD WAY

AND OTHER POEMS

THE OLD WAY

AND OTHER POEMS

BY

CAPTAIN RONALD A. HOPWOOD, R.N.

LONDON

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.

1916

All rights reserved

PR

CONTENTS

PAGE

THE OLD WAY - 7

First published in TTte Times September 16, 1916.

THE LAWS OF THE NAVY - - 15

First published in the Army and Navy Gazette,
July 23, 1896.

OUR FATHERS - - 27

First published in the Naval and Military Record,
October 15, 1913.

THE AUXILIARY - - 35

THE OAKS OF ENGLAND - - 43

THE FIGUREHEADS - - - - - 49

THE BOATSWAIN'S CALL - - - - 57

937C

THE OLD WAY

" I deeply regret to report the loss of H.M.
ships. . . ."—Sir John Jellicoe's Despatch (" The
Times," July 7, 1916).

THE OLD WAY

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,
They have waited, ah the waiting, in the old way,
Strong and patient, from the Pentlands to the Forth.
There was fog to blind and baffle off the headlands,
There were gales to beat the worst that ever blew,
But they took it, as they found it, in the old way,
And I know it often helped to think of you."

'Twas a Frigate, under stun-sails, as she gently gathered way

Spoke in jerks, like all the Frigates, who have little time to stay:

" We'd to hurry, under Nelson, thank my timbers I was tough,

For he worked us as he loved us, and he never had enough

Are the English mad as ever ? were the Frigates just as few ?

(Will their sheets be always stranding, ere the rigging's rove anew ?)

Just as Saxon slow at starting, just as weirdly wont to win ?

Had they Frigates out and watching ? Did they pass the signals in ?'*

And the laughing Breeze made answer: "In the old way;

You should see the little cruisers spread and fly,

Peering over the horizon, in the old way,

And a seaplane up and wheeling in the sky.

When the wireless snapped ' The enemy is sighted,'

If his accents were comparatively new,

Why, the sailor men were cheering, in the old way,

So I naturally smiled, and thought of you."

10

THE OLD WAY

Then a courtly voice and stately from a tall Three-decker came —

She'd the manners of a monarch and a story in her name;

" We'd a winter gale at even, and my shrouds are aching yet,

It was more than time for reefing when the upper sails were set.

So we chased in woful weather, till we closed in failing light,

Then we fought them, as we caught them, just as Hawke had bid us fight;

And we swept the sea by sunrise, clear and free beyond a doubt.

Was it thus the matter ended when the enemy was out ?"

Cried the Breeze: " They fought and followed in the old way,

For they raced to make a record all the while,

With a knot to veer and haul on, in the old way,

That had never even met the measured mile — •

And the guns were making merry in the twilight,

That the enemy was victor may be true,

Still — he hurried into harbour— in the old way —

And I wondered if he'd ever heard of you."

ii

THE OLD WAY

Came a gruff and choking chuckle, and a craft as black as doom

Lumbered laughing down to leeward, as the bravest gave her room.

" Set 'un blazin', good your Lordships, for the tide be makin' strong,

Proper breeze to fan a fireship, set 'un drivin' out along !

'Tis the ' Torch,' wi' humble duty, from Lord Howard 'board the 'Ark '

We'm a laughin'-stock to Brixham, but a terror after dark,

Hold an' bilge anigh to burstin', pitch and sulphur, tar an' all,

Was it so, my dear, they 'm fashioned for my Lord High Admiral ?"

Cried the Breeze: " You'd hardly know it from the old way

(Gloriana, did you waken at the fight ?).

Stricken shadows, scared and flying in the old way

From the swift destroying spectres of the night,

There were some that steamed and scattered south for safety,

From the mocking western echo ' Where be tu ?'

There were some that — got the message — in the old way,

And the flashes in the darkness spoke of you."

12

THE OLD WAY

There's a wondrous Golden Harbour, far beyond the setting sun,
Where a gallant ship may anchor when her fighting days are done,
Free from tempest, rock and battle, toil and tumult safely o'er,
Where the breezes murmur softly and there's peace for evermore.
They have climbed the last horizon, they are standing in from sea,
And the Pilot makes the Haven where a ship is glad to be:
Comes at last the glorious greeting, strangely new and ages old,
See the sober grey is shining like the Tudor green and gold !

And the waiting jibs are hoisted, in the old way,
As the guns begin to thunder down the line;
Hear the silver trumpets calling, in the old way !
Over all the silken pennons float and shine.
" Did you voyage all unspoken, small and lonely ?
Or with fame, the happy fortune of the few ?
So you win the Golden Harbour, in the old way,
There's the old sea welcome waiting there for you."

THE LAWS OF THE NAVY

TO MY COMRADES JN THE SERVICE

THE LAWS OF THE NAVY

Now these are the laws of the Navy.

Unwritten and varied they be;
And he that is wise will observe them,

Going down in his ship to the sea;
As naught may outrun the destroyer,

Even so with the law and its grip,
For the strength of the ship is the Service,

And the strength of the Service, the ship.

THE LAWS OF THE NAVY

Take heed what ye say of your rulers,
Be your words spoken softly or plain,

Lest a bird of the air tell the matter,
And so ye shall hear it again.

If ye labour from morn until even,
And meet with reproof for your toil,

It is well — that the gun may be humbled,
The compressor must check the recoil.

On the strength of one link in the cable
Dependeth the might of the chain;

Who knows when thou mayest be tested ?
So live that thou bearest the strain !

18

THE LAWS OF THE NAVY

When the ship that is tired returneth,

With the signs of the sea showing plain,
Men place her in dock for a season,

And her speed she reneweth again.
So shalt thou, lest, perchance, thou grow weary

In the uttermost parts of the sea,
Pray for leave, for the good of the Service

As much and as oft as may be.

Count not upon certain promotion,

But rather to gain it aspire;
Though the sight-line shall end on the target,

There cometh perchance a miss-fire.

THE LAWS OF THE NAVY

Can'st follow the track of the dolphin

Or tell where the sea swallows roam ?
Where leviathan taketh his pastime ?

What ocean he calleth his home ?
Even so with the words of thy Rulers,

And the orders those words shall convey.
Every law is as naught beside this one —

" Thou shaU not criticize, bitt obey /"
Saith the wise, " How may I know their purpose ?"

Then acts without wherefore or why:
Stays the fool but one moment to question,

And the chance of his life passeth by.

20

THE LAWS OF THE NAVY

If ye win through an African jungle,
Unmentioned at home in the Press,

Heed it not: no man seeth the piston,
But it driveth the ship none the less.

Do they growl ? It is well : be thou silent,

So that work goeth forward amain;
Lo, the gun throws her shot to a hair's breadth

And shouteth, yet none shall complain.
Do they growl and the work be retarded ?

It is ill, speak, whatever their rank;
The half-loaded gun also shouteth,

But can she pierce armour with blank ?

21

THE LAWS OF THE NAVY

Doth the paintwork make war with the funnels ?

Do the decks to the cannon complain ?
Nay, they know that some soap or a scraper

Unites them as brothers again;
So ye, being Heads of Departments,

Do your growl with a smile on your lip,
Lest ye strive and in anger be parted,

And lessen the might of your ship.

Dost deem that thy vessel needs gilding,
And the dockyard forbear to supply ?

Place thy hand in thy pocket and gild her,
There be those who have risen thereby.

22

THE LAWS OF THE NAVY

Dost think, in a moment of anger,

'Tis well with thy seniors to fight ?
They prosper, who burn in the morning,

The letters they wrote over-night;
For some there be, shelved and forgotten,

With nothing to thank for their fate,
Save That (on a half-sheet of foolscap),

Which a fool " had the honour to state — ."

THE LAWS OF THE NAVY

If the fairway be crowded with shipping,

Beating homeward the harbour to win,
It is meet that, lest any should suffer,

The steamers pass cautiously in;
So thou, when thou nearest promotion,

And the peak that is gilded is nigh,
Give heed to thy words and thine actions,

Lest others be wearied thereby.
It is ill for the winners to worry,

Take thy fate as it comes with a smile,
And when thou art safe in the harbour

They will envy, but may not revile.

THE LAWS OF THE NAVY

Uncharted the rocks that surround thee,

Take heed that the channels thou learn,
Lest thy name serve to buoy for another

That shoal, the Courts-martial Return.
Though Armour the belt that protects her,

The ship bears the scar on her side;
It is well if the Court shall acquit thee,

It were best hadst thou never been tried.

THE LAWS OF THE NAVY

Now these are the laws of the Navy,

Unwritten and varied they be;
And he that is wise will observe them,

Going down in his ship to the sea.
As the wave rises clear to the hawse pipe,

Washes aft, and is lost in the wake,
So shall ye drop astern, all unheeded,

Such time as the law ye forsake.

OUR FATHERS

TO THE MEMORY OF THE NAMELESS
KILLED AND WOUNDED

These verses were written during the Naval
Manoeuvres of 1913.

OUR FATHERS

THOUGH the seaplane, soaring upward, may betray the submarine
To the oil-fed super-Dreadnought, steaming nervously between;
In pursuance of her mission, she'll be well advised to shun
Any interfering cruiser with the newest seaplane gun.

Thus does Science rule the revels that our Fathers used to know,
While the sea, that bred our Fathers, marks the fashions come and go,
Humours each, but sometimes wonders if the Truth were better sought
In the latest words of Science, or the deeds our Fathers wrought.

Quaint and crude our Fathers' methods, and their ships and guns the

same;

Watch them " warping out of Plimouth " when the Great Armada came
Hear them " give the Duke defiance," all their shot and powder spent
Men in truth, but manning makeshifts — still the Duke Medina went.

29

OUR FATHERS

Went in shame and hopeless ruin, with the fear alone in mind,
Of our Fathers, spent and weary, hanging grimly on behind;
Scant of food, in rags and tatters, " What you have will have to do ";
Lacking everything they needed, but the heart that pulled them through.
\

So they fought, explored, discovered, so they sailed from day to day;
When the Lizard dipped behind them there was none might bid them

stay.

With Marconi yet undreamed of, none to call, or heed their prayers,
They had none of our good fortune; we, alas ! have none of theirs.

Uncontrolled by standing orders, well they prospered, none the less;
They applied for no instructions, they reported no address,
And the building of the Empire was retarded not a whit,
For its builders, very seldom, " Had the honour to submit."

OUR FATHERS

But in truth our simple Fathers were unlearned kind of men,
And their strokes, although courageous, were unsuited to the pen ;
So they chose the weaker weapon for their most successful hits,
Till the keenness of its temper was reflected in their wits.

Far away the friendly Dockyard that their offspring now expect,
Kindly barnacles protected one enormous "Pink" defect;
Till hi some secluded corner of the hostile Spanish main,
They had beached, and scraped, and caulked her, and were off to sea
again.

On the anvil of their duty, Hawkyns, Frobisher, and Drake
Forged traditions of the Service for the use of Robert Blake,
Who adopted them in toto with the silence of his breed,
And bequeathed to his successors, fully proved and guaranteed.

OUR FATHERS

Now, there may be " too much Nelson," for the times have changed since

then,

But as long as Man is human we shall have to count on men;
Though machines be ne'er so perfect, there may come a day, perhaps,
When you find out just how helpless is a heap of metal scraps.

So the man, machine-ly treated, and whose hopes are fast aground
In the " Proper Service Channels," where the broken hearts are drowned,
When he's strained will fracture badly, and be crippled, mind and limb •
You may try to join the pieces, but you'll get no help from him.

In an age of swift invention it is frequently believed
That the pressure of a button is as good as work achieved ;
But the optimist inventor should remember, if he can,
Though the instrument be perfect, there are limits to the man.

OUR FATHERS

Wherefore, when we've raced the seagulls, run submerged across the Bay,
When we've tapped a conversation fifteen hundred miles away,
When the gyros spin superbly, when we've done away with coals,
And the'tanks are full of fuel, and the targets full of holes,

When the margin's full of safety, when the weakest in the fleet

Is a Hyper-Super-Dreadnought, when the squadrons are complete,

Let us pause awhile and ponder, in the light of days gone by,

With their strange old ships and weapons, what our Fathers did, and why.

Then if still we dare to argue that we're just as good as they,
We can seek the God of Battles on our knees, and humbly pray
That the work we leave behind us, when our earthly race is run,
May be half as well completed as our Fathers' work was done.

33

THE AUXILIARY

TO THE TRAWLERS

35

THE AUXILIARY

i.

' ' LITTLE trawler, little trawler, are you putting out to sea ?
Will you bring me back a herring ? I'm as hungry as can be."
And the trawler said, "I'm sorry; I would bring you what you wish,
But, for urgent private reasons, I shall not be catching ....
herrings, for

" I've got a job of work to do for England;

It's a job that seems particularly new.

Yet I wouldn't be without it, and I'll tell you more about it,

If you'll promise not to shout it when I'm through.

And you'll discover,

That it's just as old as Drake and Captain Hawkins;
For it's risky where it isn't full of fun.
Oh, I've got a job of work to do for England,
And I'll not be back at Grimsby till it's done."

37

THE AUXILIARY

2.

" Little trawler, little trawler, have you truly told me all ?
That's a wicked-looking Hotchkiss, is it used to shoot the trawl ?"
" Now I wonder," said the trawler, "where I got the beggar from ?
Or the thing that you are kicking, that's the newest kind of . . .
football, and

" We use it when we play for Merrie England;

But it's delicate, and liable to fits,

So we're careful where we stow it, till we get a chance to throw it

At a certain fish below it, name of Fritz.

Oh, Gott strafe England !

How it would have tickled Drake and Captain Hawkins !
For it's risky where it isn't full of fun.
Oh, I've got a job of work to do for England,
And I'll not be back at Grimsby till it's done."

THE AUXILIARY

3-

" Little trawler, little trawler, with the quaint old English name,
Did the little ships before you ever join in such a game ?"
" Well, I've heard my Mother tell me," said the trawler, " long ago,
That Lord Howard had to use 'em just as much as .........

his successor, when

" He went to do a job of work for England,

With the odds against him four or five to one.

They went chasing through the Narrows,

Like a flock of little sparrows,

With their pikes and bows and arrows and a gun —

If they were lucky,

Calling, ' Out ! and follow Drake and Captain Hawkins !'
For it's risky where it isn't full of fun.
Oh, I've got a job of work to do for England,
And I'll not be back at Grimsby till it's done."

39

THE AUXILIARY

4-

" Little trawler, little trawler, you are mocking me I, think,
What's the fish that you are after ?" And the trawler stopped to wink
" Well, it's not exactly silver and it's not exactly green,
And it's rather like a mack'rel, but it's just a ............

trifle larger, and

" You meet it in a job of work for England;

But look out you don't mistake it for a whale,

For it's oily when it's sinking,

But it's nose will set you thinking,

And there's something spins like winking, in it's tail;

But if it's peevish,

You can tell it about Drake and Captain Hawkins.
Though it's risky where it isn't full of fun,
But I've got a job of work to do for England ;
I must hurry out to sea and get it done."

40

THE AUXILIARY

5-

" Little trawler, home from seaward, oh, so black against the sky,
With your sides all torn and battered, and your flag but half-mast high.
Did your voyage fail to prosper ?" Cried the little trawler, " No !
We went out and did our duty — but the Skipper lies below.

" Oh, he went to do a job of work for England,

And he did it as a Skipper ought to do.

There were shot and shell a-flying,

But we sank her where she's lying,

For the Skipper down and dying pulled us through

And cheered and left us,

For to sail with Frankie Drake and Captain Hawkins,
To a harbour shining brighter than the sun,
Where a man that's done a job of work for England
Comes to anchor, safe and welcome, when it's done."

THE OAKS OF ENGLAND

TO VIRGINIA

MA Y 1, 1916

43

THE OAKS OF ENGLAND

THEY'VE felled the Oaks of England,
To serve Her Grace's need !
Famed of the Royal Forests,
The best the realm could breed,
Bowed to the axe like courtiers,
Rejoicing as they fell,
For she was Queen of England,
And England loved her well.

O Loyal Oaks of England,
What if all else depart ?
Dies not the faith of England
Ye drew from England's heart.
Deep calls to deep, whose voices
Echo by rock and shoal.
Give heed, for in their secrets
A ship shall find her soul.

45

THE OAKS OF ENGLAND

They've launched the Oaks of England —

Was ever such a craft ?
The Golden Dragon forward,

The great poop-lanterns aft.
Deep was the roar of cheering

Swelling from wharf and quay,
But deeper still the message

Came rolling in from sea:

" Be welcome, Oaks of England !
And give you good success,
As one, where ye were many,
Steadfast in selflessness,
So that ye pray by labour,
Ceaseless with might and main,
Seeking nor praise nor profit,
We give you life again !"

46

THE OAKS OF ENGLAND

They've proved the Oaks of England,

Black night or windy morn, •
Aching in tropic stillness

Or fighting off the Horn —
Till in a voice of thunder

The winds of Heaven spoke:
" Salute, ye gales, the pilgrim,

With heart of English Oak !

" Greeting ! O Oaks of England;
Right well your fathers knew
Storms be the strength of England :
We give new strength to you."
So, through the years that followed
They faltered not, nor failed.
But, joyous, into battle
The Oaks of England sailed.

47

THE OAKS OF ENGLAND

They've stripped the Oaks of England —

Watch the old ship go by,
Crowned by the golden sunset,

In patient dignity;
So on the hearths she's guarded,

That they who love may learn,
In radiant rainbow splendour

The scarred old timbers burn.

God bless the Oaks of England !
Stanch to the end they blaze,
Singing of hard-fought battles,
Praising the ancient days.
With humble heart and thankful
Search deep the crimson glow,
So shall ye win the secrets
The Oaks of England know.

THE FIGUREHEADS

AN INCIDENT WHICH TOOK PLACE ON
BOARD H.M.S. "BRUNSWICK" DURING
THE BATTLE OF THE 1ST OF JUNE, 1794

TO THE SHIP'S COMPANIES

49

THE FIGUREHEADS

i.

THE most noble Duke of Brunswick was a figure proud and trim,
For the Captain of the Fo'c'sle did his valeting for him,
Smoothed his hat of royal purple, brushed his coat of gold and red,
Till Lord Howe himself would marvel at the Brunswick's figurehead.

2.

They were smart on board the Brunswick, and a merry-hearted crew,
Who would fight till further orders, as a happy ship should do,
And would dance to any measure, if his Lordship called the tune;
So they followed the Queen Charlotte on the famous First of June.

THE FIGUREHEADS

3-

But the enemy was crafty, and his line was ordered so
That the gap was blocked completely where the Brunswick tried to go.
But she knew, in less than no time, she'd have something like a fight,
For her starboard bower anchor hooked the Vengeur hard and tight.

4-

" Shall I clear her ?" cried the Master. Captain Harvey made reply,
" As we've got her, we will keep her !" Then the shot began to fly,
And the range was less than inches, e'er the lower guns could play;
So the Brunswicks, double-shotted, blew their lower ports away.

5-

They were busy in the Brunswick, for there wasn't room to miss,
And their decks were blown to splinters, and the flames began to hiss,
While the bullets ripped the fo'c'sle — but they only laughed at that,
Till a chain-shot from the Vengeur got the Duke of Brunswick's hat !

THE FIGUREHEADS

0.

Then a solemn deputation from the Brunswick's fo'c'sle came

With the news to Captain Harvey: " Sir ! Your Honour ! 'tis for shame,

And in no ways right or proper, for our Royal Duke to go

With his noble head uncovered in the face of any foe."

7-

At a word, the Captain's coxswain fetched a hat superbly laced,
Which the captain of the fo'c'sle on the oaken temples placed,
Nailed secure, and passed a lashing fit to stand the hardest strain,
And the happy deputation scampered off to fight again !

8.

Ten o'clock the battle started; close on two before they'd done,
With the gallant Vengeur sinking and the Brunswick's mizen gone;
But the noble Duke came through it, like a fighter born and bred,
With his hand upon his sword-hilt and his hat upon his head.

53

THE FIGUREHEADS

*
5-

You may search the North Seas over till you find the British Fleet,
And at first, perhaps, you'll think that figureheads are obsolete;
But the sailor-folk can see them where they always used to be,
Full of strength and mystic meaning, gazing far and out to sea !

10.

In the hazy northern twilight, through the spray that drives and stings,
Swift the famous phantoms gather, shades of mighty Queens and Kings,
Nymphs and Shepherds, Gods and Heroes, back again to guide and

guard,
For they've left their battered bodies in the old ship-breaking yard.

ii.

Home, to fill the vacant places, for the jack-staff's down and stow'd,
And the old old work's beginning down the long-remembered road.
Well content, they form and follow in their leader's whirling wake,
As the bow wave springs to greet them, and for old acquaintance' sake.

54

THE FIGUREHEADS

12.

Though their thrones be strangely fashioned, they can tell with half

an eye

That there's nothing changed that matters when the shot begin to fly;
For by turret, flat, or furnace, with a chuckle now and then,
Fight the lineal descendants of the Brunswick's fo'c'sle men.

55

THE BOATSWAIN'S CALL

25TH APRIL, 1513

TO THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF

57 H

THE BOATSWAIN'S GALL

LORD EDWARD HOWARD walked his quarter-deck.
His badge, of Henry's Royal hand bestowed,
Thejgolden call and chain, about his neck,

High Admiral of England.

Up from the South — and who shall say him nay ?-
Came the Chevalier Pregent de Bidoux,
His fleet of galleys formed in brave array

Off Brest, across the Channel.

THE BOATSWAIN'S CALL

" But six ships we, your lordship, few and small."
" The better then my whistle ye shall hear,
And rally to the watchword in its call,

High Admiral of England."

So forth they fared, by oar and wind and tide,
Faithful to follow where my Lord should lead ;
His galley's laid along the foeman's side,

Off Brest, across the Channel.

He called his boarders. Swift they made reply,
" St. George for England!" leaping from the decks,
And ever in the van his battle-cry,

" High Admiral of England 1"

60

THE BOATSWAIN'S CALL

While yet they swarm across nor count the cost,
The galleys drave asunder, leaving there
Him and sixteen to face de Bidoux's host,

Off Brest, across the Channel.

To fight and die unyielding in their pride,

A hundred swords and pikemen thrust them down,

And last was he, borne fighting over side,

High Admiral of England —

Who, scorning death, so that his honour be
All pure, unclasped his chain and flung it far
Into the keeping of the Narrow Sea,

Off Brest, across the Channel.

61

THE BOATSWAIN'S CALL

And smiling as it flashed and sank from sight,
" None else," he cried, " shall wear, and mocking say
This was his badge, token of England's might,
High Admiral of England."

So passed to rest. Yet, while the great ships steer
Outward or home, in safety, as ye go
Is it the night wind only that ye hear —

Off Brest, across the Channel f

Then, be the daily task or great or small,
What time the old shrill note awakes the decks,
So each receives the message in its call —

" High Admiral of England."

62

THE BOATSWAIN'S CALL

" Such as pass on the seas " shall never cease,
In lawful cause, secure, to come and go,
And, in their passing, he shall rest at peace,

Off Brest, across the Channel.

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