1777, for attempting to set fire to the dockyards at Portsmouth, Plymouth, and Bristol. See Lord Mahon's History of England, ed. 1858, pp. 141-145.

P. 255. Admiral Keppel Triumphant. Roxburghe Ballads, viii. 326. From Dr. Burney's collection of English songs in the British Museum, ix. 110. Words and music by J. Timms, of Dartford, published about February 1779 after Keppel's acquittal.

P. 257. Keppel for Ever. Roxburghe Ballads, viii. 325. 'Sir Hugh' is printed 'Sir You,' in the original. Twitcher' means Lord Sandwich.

P. 258. A New Song on Admiral Barrington. From the Madden collection (Slipsongs, ii. 311, No. 1364). On the battle, July 6, 1779, see Clowes iv. 434.

P. 259. Paul Jones. There are many versions of this ballad. One is printed in Roxburghe Ballads, viii. 332 (with four others). A more correct version was printed by Such, Forth, and other country printers. The version given in the text is a composite one put together from these different sources by the editor.

P. 260. Captain Farmer. From the Madden collection (London Printers, ii. 36). On Tyrrell and Cornwall see Clowes iii. 300, and Charnock iv. 131.

P. 261. The Bold Blades of Old England. Madden collection (Slipsongs, i. 73, No. 164).

From the

P. 262. The Royal Sailor. From a song-book called The Vocal Companion, published at Preston, in the Bodleian Library (pressmark 2802. e. 1). In verse 6 coral-red' is an emendation for 'coral-clad.' The Royal Sailor is also printed in The New Vocal Enchantress, 1789, p. 180.

P. 263. Hood's Conquest over the Count de Grasse. From the Madden collection (Slipsongs, ii. 34, and also Garlands, i. 1.)

P. 265. The Loss of the Centaur. Ashton, Real Sailor Songs, p. 40. See Clowes iv. 88, and Duncan, The Mariner's

Chronicle, i. 191.

P. 266. The Robin Hood. From the Madden collection (Slipsongs, ii. 265). It has proved impossible to identify either the Robin Hood or her captain.

P. 267. Nymphe and Cleopatra. From the Madden collection (Slipsongs, ii. 315, No. 1371). The statement of the ballad as to the armament of the two frigates is inaccurate, as such statements frequently are in songs. The Nymphe had on her main-deck twenty-six 12-pounders, the Cléopâtre, twentyeight; the Nymphe had eight carronades, 24-pounders, the Cléopâtre four 36-pounders. Their force was practically equal.

P. 268. The Downfall of the French Fleet. From the Madden collection (Slipsongs, ii. 319, No. 1379).

P. 271. A New Sea Song. Bodleian Library (pressmark 2803. f. 4).

P. 274. The Blanche Frigate. A composite text put together from three versions in the editor's possession, printed by Pitts, Keys, and Ferraby, and from one in the Madden collection (Country Printers, i. 486). The latter is the earliest and best, but some readings have been adopted from the others, and there are several conjectural emendations. An alternative title is The Tars of the Blanche.

P. 276. The Amazon Frigate. From a slipsong in the possession of the editor, printed by J. Pitts. On the action see James's Naval History, ii. 12; on the wreck of the Droits de l'Homme see Duncan, Mariner's Chronicle, ii. 300.

P. 277. A New Song (The Seventeen Bright Stars). Record Office, Admiralty, Secretary. In Letters cxi. Correspondence of Bridport and Others, August 1798.

P. 279. The Genius of Britain. collection (Slipsongs, i. 318).

P. 280. British Tars Rewarded. collection (Slipsongs, i. 96, No. 316).

P. 282. A New Song on Parker. A Sailor's Garland, p. 121.

From the Madden

From the Madden

Printed by Masefield,

Printed by W. H. Logan,

P. 282. The Death of Parker. A Pedlar's Pack, p. 62. Other versions with variants are in the possession of the editor.

P. 283. A New Song in Praise of Admiral Duncan. From the Madden collection (Country Printers, i. 50).

P. 285. A New Song on the Engagement between the Mars and La Hercule. From the Madden collection

(Slipsongs, ii. 318, No. 1378).

P. 286. Verses Written on Board the Astræa. Extracted from the Memoirs of James Hardy Vaux, 2nd edition, London 1827, p. 57. Stanza 5, 1. 5 my poor half-pint.' Half a pint of rum (or arrack in India) was the ration till about 1825. Officers, and apparently the midshipmen, got it in bottles. To the men, since Vernon's time, it was served out as grog twice a day.

P. 289. The Arrow. Printed in Ashton's Real Sailor Songs, p. 23. Original in the British Museum (pressmark

11621. C. 6 [1]).

P. 290. Copenhagen. Printed in Laughton's Nelson Memorial, p. 196, and in Beattie's Life of T. Campbell, ii. 42-6. P. 295. Action off Copenhagen. From the Madden collection (London Printers, ii. 7). In the original the first line

of the last verse runs, 'Now, my brave boys, we have beaten the Danes,' and there is another verse beginning, 'Now to conclude and to finish my tale.'

P. 296. A New Song on Lord Nelson's Victory. Printed in Ashton's Real Sailor Songs, p. 16. Original in the British Museum (pressmark 1077. g. 47 [18]-a chapbook entitled Nelson's Wreath).

P. 297. A New Song composed by the Wounded Tars at the Siege of Boulogne. Versions of this, entitled The Battle of Boulogne, were printed by Catnach and Birt, and are reprinted by Ashton, Real Sailor Songs, p. 17. The version in the text is from a chapbook in the British Museum (pressmark 1076. 1. 2 [45]).

P. 298. France Covered with Glory. From Haslewood's collection of songs in the Bodleian.

P. 300. La Loire Frigate. From Fairburn's Naval Songster for 1806, p. 34. The action was June 2, 1805 (Clowes v. 362). P. 301. Nelson's Glorious Victory at Trafalgar. From Logan's Pedlar's Pack, 1869, p. 67.

P. 302. Death of Nelson. Versions of this, differing slightly in the words, were printed by Pitts, Such, Forth of Pocklington, and other town and country printers during the first half of the nineteenth century. In The Scouring of the White Horse, by T. Hughes, p. 153, it is described as sung in a Berkshire publichouse about 1859. The Doctor walked over to a lower table and spoke to a grisly-headed old man in a velveteen coat and waistcoat and a blue birdseye neckerchief, who seemed pleased, and drew his sleeve across his mouth, and cleared his throat. Then there was a rapping on the table, and the old bargee began in a rumbling bass voice: "Come all you gallant seamen as unites a meeting.'

Four verses only are given, the third in our version being omitted. The last verse ends:

'And now to conclude, and to finish these verses:

My time it is come; kiss me, Hardy!" he cried.
Now thousands go with you, and ten thousand blessings
For gallant Lord Nelson, in battle who died.'

The text adopted on p. 302 is a composite version from Such's and Forth's: the first four lines are from Such's version, the last four from Forth's, and readings are taken from both. The order of the second and third verses has been changed, and the two halves of stanza 3 transposed. Some verbal emendations have been made-e.g. 'rest on,' for 'resting,' in the last line.

P. 394. Admiral Strachan's Victory. From Fairburn's Naval Songster for 1806, p. 32. The action was fought November 4, 1805 (Clowes, v. 171).

P. 305. The Amethyst and Thetis. From the Madden collection (London Printers, ii. 227, No. 451). See Clowes, v. 427; James, iv. 376. The action took place November 10-11, 1808.

P. 306. The Successful Attempt . . . in the Basque Roads. From the Madden collection (London Printers, i. 174). See Clowes, v. 252-270; James, iv. 395-430.

P. 307. Jefferys the Seaman. From the Madden collection (London Printers, ii. 2). A full account of the case is given by James, Naval History, iv. 273, ed. 1886. Captain Warwick Lake was dismissed from the Navy, February 1810, for marooning Robert Jeffery on the desert island of Sombrero, in the West Indies.

P. 308. 'Ye Parliament of England.' Text from G. C. Eggleston's American War Ballads and Lyrics. New York (1889), i. 131. It was still a favourite song in many parts of the country as late as 1859,' writes the editor.

P. 309. The Constitution and Guerriere. Text from Eggleston's American War Ballads and Lyrics, i. 115. Action August 19, 1812. See James, v. 372; Clowes, vi. 34; Mahan, Sea Power: its Relation to the War of 1812, i. 330.

I have been unable to discover the date of the tune mentioned in the title, nor is the date of the song itself certain. It is contended on the American side that this song preceded that on the Shannon and Chesapeake, which was imitated from it, and on the other side that The Constitution and Guerriere is the later of the two. The evidence alleged for the priority of the American song is, briefly: William Dunlap's Yankee Chronology (a spirited musical drama) was produced at the Park Theatre, in New York, September 9, 1812 (Ireland's New York Stage, i. 288), and Mr. Brander Matthews thinks that may be the origin of these verses. An intelligent veteran of the war of 1812, present at the unveiling of the Perry statue at Cleveland on Lake Erie in 1860, told the historian Lossing that he heard them sung at the Park Theatre, in New York, early in the fall of 1812, and that they were much heard at public meetings, in bar-rooms, in workshops, and in the streets of the city (extract from the Bulletin of the Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., vol. xx.). These arguments are not very conclusive. The discovery of the original song, The Landlady of France, which both imitate, would probably settle the matter. In the meantime it seems best to print the song on the victory of the Constitution first, because the incident it celebrates happened first.

P. 311. Shannon and Chesapeake. The text is a traditional version supplied by Sir J. K. Laughton. There is a broadside version, reprinted in Logan's Pedlar's Pack, p. 69, which omits the third verse and gives many different readings. The most important differences are the following:-In verse 4, The engagement scarce begun, Ere they flinched from their guns, Which at first they thought of working, &c. Then brave Broke he drew his sword,' &c. In verse 5, 'They no sooner heard the word, Ere they quickly jumped on board, And hauled down the Yankee ensign, &c. Notwithstanding all their brag, Now the glorious British flag At the Yankee's mizen peak was quite the dandy O.' The last verse begins, 'Here's a health, brave Broke, to you, To your officers and crew, Who on board the Shannon frigate fought so handy O!' Another version is to be found in the Harrow School Song-book.

On the action see James, vi. 50; Clowes, vi. 75; Mahan, Sea Power in its relations to the War of 1812, ii. 131.

P. 312. Battle of the Shannon and Chesapeake. Text from two broadsides, one printed by Pitts, the other by Such, both in the editor's collection.

P. 313. The Endymion's Triumph. From the Madden collection (Garlands, i. 257). Action on January 15, 1815. See James, vi. 238; Clowes, vi. 167; Mahan, Sea Power in its relations to the War of 1812, ii. 398.

P. 316. The British Tars. Text from the editor's collection. Printed by J. Pitts, 6 St. Andrew Street, Seven Dials. Line 15 reads, 'haughty Gaul,' clearly erroneous.

P. 316. The Fancy Frigate. Text from British Museum Ballads, 1871, f. 32. Also printed by Ashton, Real Sailor Songs, p. 78*.

Another version supplied by Sir J. K. Laughton begins, 'There was a fine frigate, the Pique was her name.' Some corrections of the printed text have been adopted from the traditional version. In line 9 this traditional version gives 'Mr. McCleverty,' which was apparently the real name of the officer whose nickname is given in the text. A third and shorter version, called The Flash Frigate, is printed in Mr. Masefield's Sailor's Garland, p. 188.

P. 319. The Saucy Scylla. From the Madden collection (Country Printers, vii. 267).

P. 320. The Vanguard. From the Madden collection (Country Printers, vii. 163). In the last line, 'Jondy'=Masterat-Arms.

P. 322. The Port Admiral. By Captain Marryat, printed in Snarleyow, or the Dog-Fiend.

P. 324. Oh, Cruel. Text from a broadside printed by Evans, Long Lane, London, in the editor's collection. Another