The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-04-17
The Ballad of the "Ciamphe down"

II was our wdr-siip "Clamphe rdoWn
Would sweep the Channel cl'an.
wherefore she kept her matches close
When the merry Channel chops arose,
TO save the bleached marine
She had one bow-sun Of hundi ed ton,
And "a great stern-gun beside;
Thev dippcd their noses deep in the sea,
Tney racked their stays and STA unchions
free
In the wash Of the wind-whipl3ed tide.
1t was our war-ship "Clampher down.
Fell In with q cruiser light
That carried the dainty Hotchkiss gun
And a pair o. heels wherewith TO run,
From the grip OF a ci0se-tousht fight.
She opened fire at seven miles
AS ye shoot AT "a bobblng cork
And once she hrsl and Twice he fired,
Till the bow-gun dropped like a lily tired
That lolls upon the stalk.
CAPTAIN. the bOw-gun melts apace.
The deck-beans break oelcT.
Twere well 10 rest for an hour or twain,
And botch the shattered Plates again.
And he answered. Make IL So
She opened fire within the mile
As We shoot az the flying duck
And the great stern-gun shot fair and
with the heave Of the ship. to the STAIN
less blue.
And the great stern-turret stuck.
"Captain. the turret fills with steam
The feed-pipes burst below
You can hear the hiss Of Helpless ram.
You can hear the twisted runners jam"
And ne answered, Turn and co.
II was our war-ship "Clampherdown"
Ana grimly did she roll:
Swung round 10 ta<e the cruisers fire
As the White Whale faces the Thresher's
ire
when they war 10y the frozen Pole.
"Captain. tho shells are falling fast.
And faster still fall we:
And 30 is not meet FOR English stock.
To bide iu the heart of an eight-day
clocL
The death they cannot see"
Lie down. lie down my bold A. B.,
We drift upon her beam.
We dare not ram for sho can run;
And dare We fire another gun.
And die in the peeling stcam?'
II was our war-ship 'Elampherdown'
That carried an armour-beit.
But fifty feet at stern and bow.
Lay bare as the paunch of the purser's
SOW.
To the hail Of the Nordenfeldt
Captain. they lack us through and
The chilled steel bolts are swift
We have emptied the bunkers in open
sea,
Their shrapnel bursts where our coal
should be.
And he answered, Let her drift"
II was our war-ship "Clampherdown,'
Swung rounu upon the tide,
Her two dumb guns glared south and
north.
And she ground the cruisers side.
Captain. they cry. the fight IS done
They bid YOU send your sword.
And ne answered, "Grapple her stern
and bow.
They have asked for the steel They
shall have st now;
out cutlasses and board
II was our W2r-Snp 'tldmpntfQOWn,
Spewed up four hundred men;
And the scalded stokers yelped delight.
As they rolled IN the waist and heard the
tight
Stamp Ger their steel-walled pen.
They cleared the cruiser end 70 end,
From conning-tcwer 20 hoid.
They fought as they fought in Nelson's
feet:
They were stripped TO the waist, they
were bare 10 the feet.
As II was in the days OF old.
II was the sinking "Clampherdown"
Heaved up her battered side
And carried a million pounds IN steel.
To the cod and the corpse-fed conCer-ee',
And the scour or the Channel tide.
II was the crew OF the "Ciampherdown'
stood out 10 sweep the sea.
on q cruiser won from an ancient foe,
As u was in the DAYS OF lOng-ago,
And as 10 still shall DE.