The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-03-19
POETRY.
Tennyson's New Poem.

"fhe Revenge: Ballad of the Fleet" is
the title of MIR. Tennyson's new poem in the
current number of the Nineteenth Century. 1t
is too long to copy entire. We give the more
striking portions:
At Flores in the Azores Sir Richard Grenville lay,
And pnnace, like a fiutered bird, came flying from
far away:
spanish ships of war at sea! we have sighted fifty
threei'
Then sware Lord Thomas Howard "'Fore God 1
am no coward,
But cannot meet them here, for my ships are out
And the halfmy men are sick. must fly, but fol-
low quick.
We are six ships of the line; can we fight with fty-
Then spake Sir Richard Granville: 81 know you are
You fly them for moment to fight with them again.
But I've ninety men and more that are lying sick
ashore.
should count myself the coward if left Them my
To these Inquistiop dogs and the devdoms of
Span.'
Lord Howard passes away, and Sir Richard
Grenvile is left with his own ship, containing
ninety sick men and hundred seamen fit to
work the ship and fight. They encounter the
Spanish fleet, one to fifty-.hree.
And the sun went down, and the stars came out far
DER the summer sea,
But never moment ceased the fight of the Que and
Ship alter ship, the whole night long, their high
built galeons came;
Ship after snip the whole night long, with her bat
Ship after ship, the whole night long, drew back
IT, with her dead and her shame.
ror some were sunk and many were SHATTERED, and
SO could fight us no more
God OF battles, was ever a battle like this in the
For be said, Flight on fight enr'
Tho his vessel was all but wreck;
ana IL CHANGED that, when half Of the summer night
With grsy wound 10 be drest he had left the deck.
But bullet struck him that was dressing it sudden
And himself he was wounded again in the side and
the Lead,
And he said, Flight onr' fight on.''
AND toe night went down, and the sun smiled out
far over the summer sea.
Ana the Spanish feet with broken sides lay round
us all in ring;
But they dared not touch US again, for they iearei
that We still could sung, "
So they watch'd what the end would be.
The end was not doubtful, and Sir Richard
Grenville had his way of encountering it,
''Sink me the ship Master Gunner-sink her, split
Fall into the hands of God, not into the hands Of
Spain!"
But the crew were of less heroic mood, for
"she lion there lay dying, and they yielded to
the foe.'' -
And the stately Spanish mon to their flagship bore
Where they laid him by the mast old Sir Richard
And they praised him his face with their courtly
foreign grace;
But he rose upon their decks and he cried:
81 have fought for queen and faith like a valiant
man and true:
have only done my duty as man is bound to do;
With joyful spirit l, Sir Richard Grenvie diei''
And he fell upon their decks and he died.
And they stared at the dead that had been so valiant
and true,
And had holden the power and glory of Spain 50
cheap
That he dared her with one little ship and his Eng
lish few.
Was be devil or man? he was devil for aught they
knew.
But they sank his body with honor down into the
deep.
And they manned the Revenge with swarthier
alien crew,
And away she sad with her loss and long'd for her
own;
When wind from the lands they had ruin'd
awoke from sleep,
And the water began to heave and the weather to
moan,
And or ever that evening ended great gale blew,
And wave like the wave that is raised by an earth
quake grew,
Till it smote on their huls and their sails and their
masts aud their flags
And the whole plunged and fell on the shot,
shattered navy of Spain,
And the little Revenge herself went down by the
island craas
To be los. eyermore in the main.
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