PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3277, 3 January 1917, Page 57

PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

WHAT HAS THE XAVY DONE? '• Songs of tho Sailor Men,' 1 by T. B. D. s one of the shilling net (Is 6d here, I think) —i am like a well-known advertisement, not happy till I get it, and do not remember prices,—is a capital collection of rhymes to pass away an hour with. One piece is called "Provisioning Ships," an:! in its homely way it brings home to us what the navy has done for the Empire. The first verso runs : The holds arc empty, but you haven't longto wait, The heavy-laden storeship has brought her welcome freight; And all the corners of the globe have been ransacked to fill The boxes, casks, and cases that complete her loading bilk So haul the ropes with a will, my lads, And run them through the blocks; And give a cheer for the men of yore Who sailed and fought, so you can store From Port o' London Docks. Kipling, in "The Flag of England," calls i'.p the four winds of heaven to tell what tho "Flag of England" has done, is doing, and, we hope, will do, in the future; but T. B. I), enumerates the produce brought Home from the cotiiers of the earth. In the first verse he tells us of the "red-rimmed casks of mm" from Jamaica, " the sugar drums from Demcrara's torrid shores," and tho salmon tins from out of the Golden West. This verse ends up: If Dn;ke hadn't sailed in tho Golden Hind, Tbero'm little of sugar or rum you'd find At Port o' London Do:ks. This is followed by a vense about tho herds soaJning the Argentine, about cases of rabbits from Van Diemen's Land— Tasnranians won't thank tho versifier for nsin-j that name, —and the tin-lined caees of tea fvom India, and ends thus:

If Clive hadn't sailed the Eastern Sea There's little you'd find of Indian tea At Port o' London Docks. Then comes a reference to tobacco and cocoa beans with the refrain—never mind the irrammar, which has had to give way to the exigencies of metre : If English settlers had never broke The Indian power, there'd bo little to smoke At Port o' London Docks. Still dealing with the tropics, wo are reminded of limejuice from the West Atlantic seas, and coffee from Surinam, Java, and Bourbon —Reunion Island, near the Mauritius —summed up in : If it wasn't for Rodney, and Hood, and Howe, There'd be little of coffee and lime-juice now At Port o' London Docks. We are then transported to the wheat fields of Canada and the pasture lands producing sheep and cattle; but—another injustice to Old Ireland —Australia and New Zealand are not mentioned. This stanza ends up with : If it wasn't for Wolfe and the men he led, There'd be little of flour to make your bread At Port o' London Docks. After all this comes the summing up : And give you a cheer for the merchant ships, All built on British stocks, If it wasn't for them and the guarding fleet, There's little you'd get to drink and eat From Port o' Loudon Docks. I think the piece in full would make a goocT, vigorous recitation for a lad of spirit. "The Merchant Skipper's Song" is another rollicking piece. Of the seven verses I quote one : My next job was the China Trade, Hongkong, Amoy, Foo-chow; And we never did a single trip But the crew kicked up a row; We used to make the dagos work, With our fists and a little tact, But I often prayed for a cell or two And a proper working Act. Heigh-ho, who'd have thought it possible That I should be a-sailing in the cold North Sea; With a crew, like men-of-war Under proper naval law ; By order of their Lords of the Admiraltee.

" The Old Salt: First and Second Impression " gives a review of the old order and the new, and can be appreciated to the full only by those who, in the strenuous times at Home, have offered their services when past middle age, and have had to adapt themselves to new methods. The Old Salt goes on board prejudiced against ready-made clothes —"A man was ashamed in the good old days to be seen in readymade togs," electic dodges, and so on; but after he has been on board a short time he changes his opinion—" I've been at the job now a fortnight, and I tell you I've changed my tune," —though he still misses " the old smell of the rope yarns," and doesn't " think much of the wires " —wire ropes. In " The Crystal Palace Army " he says, "I thought when them Germans turned nasty I'd join up to give 'em

' what for.' " Here is the concluding one of 10 verses: So back once more to the Palace, as soon as I'd passed the test, And they gave me a nice little ribbon to wear on mo manly chest: And 'ere we are drillin' and shootin', and I reckun were quite 0.K.; If you're still 'oldin' back from your duty, Just chuck it and step this way. For 'ere we are a merry crew, A fine 'ard-bitien army— Seaside mashers, Cut-a-dashers, All the shirkers Turned 'arc! workers Good ole Palace Array. " Song of the White Ensign " is a rhyme of nine verses reminiscent of Kipling. Here is one of the quatrains bear ing direct or indirect reference to seafights of the present war: — I appeared off the TJio do Oro and. secured the Atlantic trade [H.S.S. Highflyer defeats Kaiser WilhelmJ, I showed off the Isle of Fernandez and saved the Pacific from raid [Sinking of the Dresden] ; From barren Perim to Delgado, there isn't a creek or bay [Konigsberg, etc.] But knows of the power behind me and the price that my enemies pay. Notice how the writer knows his history in what I have quoted. Rhyming is one thing, but rhyming with historical knowledge behind it is another. " The Reason Why " is strong in this application to history. Some cannot see in this poem of action anything, only a glorifying of blood-lust; but to me they tell of fighting for glorious freedom against nations wishing to enslave us and others. At times the men really did not know .what they were fighting for, because of their horizon being limited by their immediate surroundings; but as wo look back we can see isolated actions or frays fitting in to make up a great epoch. Just one more quotation to finish with. One piece is called " The (July Son," and each verse is made up of question put by the sou and answer given by the mother : Who'll love and comfort you, mother of mine, Shall I never return and be killed in the war ? If you've lived like a man, as your father before, Then you'll live in. my heart, son of mine. This verse is followed by a series of questions: Who'll build my coffin '! The shiprights have driven the rivets to seal <" wonderful coffin of armour-plate steel. Who'll sing hymns? Who'll drag the hearse? Near ten thousand horses will drive in your team, for the boilers will quiver with well-harnessed steam. Who'll toll the bell? Who'll dig my grave for me? Who'll place the wreaths for me? Who'll weep and mourn for me? " Songs of the Sailor Men " is one of nine or 10 shilling net hooks published by Hodder and Stoughton under the general titlo " The Sailors' IBeoks." My heading is " What Has tho Naw Done?" but what I have written, though all about tho navy, is not caviare to my subject. But never mind that.