Great Britain -- History, Naval -- Poetry; Sea songs -- Great Britain
P. 165. =The Boatswain’s Whistle.= From the collection entitled _The
Lark_, 1740, p. 25. In this version line 4 of the chorus runs ‘My boy,
let us stir, let us toil,’ but Smollett’s reading has been adopted as
preferable. I have not been able to find a copy of the original or the
date of its publication.
P. 166. =The Downfall of Piracy.= From _The Worcestershire Garland_ in
the British Museum (pressmark, 11621. c. 4 [89]). Reprinted by Ashton,
_Real Sailor Songs_, p. 7.
P. 168. =Admiral Cavendish’s Distress on Board the Canterbury.= The
Canterbury was the flagship of Rear-Admiral Philip Cavendish from July
16, 1728, to January 24, 1730-31. She sailed from Spithead on September
18, 1728, and arrived at Gibraltar on the afternoon of October 14. The
log of the Canterbury thus describes the storm. ‘Monday, September
23.--About 11 this forenoon we were taken with a violent squall out
of the N. W., which carried away our mizen mast and split the main
topsail. In this squall we lost sight of the Romney. 24.--For the
most part strong gales of wind with violent squalls. Yesterday in the
afternoon we lowered down our fore and main yards and got the sails
reefed and furled and cut away the main topsail yard, sail and all,
as it was split. About nine last night we lost our mainmast, and soon
after the foremast, which fell to windward, and took away our best
bower anchor stock. In the fall of the mast it stave both barge and
pinnace (which we hove overboard) and fell on the outer part of one of
our quarterdeck guns, which it carried away overboard with it. Also
we likewise lost our two lower stunsail booms. In this disaster we
lost seven of our men, and had one man’s thigh broke, and another very
much bruised.’ The name of the purser referred to in the last verse
was Walter Harris. There are two later versions of this ballad in the
Madden collection. One is called _The Sailor’s Lamentation_, and is
dated in ink ‘1736, Dec. 23’ (_Slipsongs_, iii. 92, No. 1661). The
other, printed later still, is called _A New Sea Song_ (_Slipsongs_,
ii. 264, No. 1260). A version in the editor’s possession, dated in
pencil ‘1728,’ has been made the basis of the text adopted, with one or
two corrections supplied by the Madden versions.
P. 170. =The Pacifick Fleet.= From a folio pamphlet in the Bodleian
Library, dated 1729 (_Godw. Pamph._ 1667 [19]).
P. 172. =The English Sailor’s Resolution.= From the Madden collection
(_Slipsongs_, i. 254, No. 535).
P. 174. =England’s Glory in the Declaration of War.= From a broadside
in the possession of the editor.
P. 175. =The Taking of the Princissa.= From the Madden collection
(_Slipsongs_, iii. 148, No. 1781). The original prints ‘Orphan,’
instead of ‘Orford,’ and in verse 3, line 2, ‘with courageous skill.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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