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THE SONG. |
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this kind, and turns them into glowing pictures of battle and triumphant victory. And when some famous phrase is hit upon as a refrain, like " Rule Britannia, ' " Hearts of Oak," or" England expects every man this day to do his duty," the enthusiasm they arouse leaves nothing to be desired. All nations have their national songs, wedded to grand melodies; and England, the cradle of liberty, the mistress of the sea, the pioneer of progress, has reason to be proud of its own patriotic music. God save the Queen, Rule Britannia, The Death of Nelson, and Scots wha hae, &c, may be cited as typical examples.
Dibdin's Sea Songs call for special mention here. Of the twelve hundred he is said to have written, the majority are already forgotten, but many of them that remain will endure as long as our tongue is spoken. With little pretension to literary merit, they all have the genuine sniff of the briny about them, and they depict the joys and sorrows of Poor Jack, the hearty, simple-minded tar as we love to regard him. At a critical time in our history his songs are said to have recruited our Navy with volunteers, and to have rendered the odious press-gang unnecessary. In every forecastle over the broad ocean his " Sweet little cherub that sits up aloft," is still invoked by Jack, and even the " Gentlemen who live at home at ease " are ever hushed into appreciative silence when they hear sung the virtues of Poor Tom Bowling. |
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