Chapter 106 THE BIRKENHEAD

Amid the loud ebriety of War,

With shouts of 'la Republique' and 'la Gloire,'

The Vengeur's crew, 'twas said, with flying flag

And broadside blazing level with the wave

Went down erect, defiant, to their grave

Beneath the sea.-'Twas but a Frenchman's brag,

Yet Europe rang with it for many a year.

Now we recount no fable; Europe