Great sea dog, fighter in the great old way! br What though thy ships were tinder, and the pest br Rotted thy ruffian crews that need had prest, br And all thy keels were clogged with foul decay, br Yet through the roaring months thy squadron lay br A watch-dog eager at the throat of Brest br While all the ocean smote her from the West br And all the tempests tore her in their play. br Thy soul was of the whirlwind, and thy cry br Still leaps from out the crash of guns and waves br To hurl us headlong on the foeman’s van, br As in the Bay of Death, ’mid breakers high br And felon reefs whereo’er the Atlantic raves, br Thy flagship foremost into glory ran.