G

OOD men and true! in this house who dwell,
To a stranger bouchal, I pray you tell

Is the Priest at home? or may he be seen? I would speak a word with Father Green."

"The Priest's at home, boy, and may be seen;
'Tis easy speaking with Father Green;

But you must wait, till I go and see
If the holy Father alone may be."

The youth has entered an empty hall
What a lonely sound has his light footfall!
And the gloomy chamber's chill and bare,
With a vested Priest in a lonely chair.

The youth has knelt to tell his sins.
"Nomine Dei," the youth begins :
At "mea culpa" he beats his breast
And in broken murmurs he speaks the rest.

"At the siege of Ross did my father fall, And at Gorey my loving brothers all.

I alone am left of my name and race;

I will go to Wexford and take their place.

-

"I cursed three times since last Easter Day -
At Mass-time once I went to play;

I passed the churchyard one day in haste,
And forgot to pray for my mother's rest.

"I bear no hate against living thing;
But I love my country above my King.
Now, Father! bless me, and let me go
To die, if God has ordained it so.

The Priest said nought, but a rustling noise
Made the youth look above in wild surprise;
The robes were off, and in scarlet there
Sat a yeoman captain with fiery glare.

With fiery glare and with fury hoarse,
Instead of blessing, he breathed a curse :

"'Twas a good thought, boy, to come here and shrive; For one short hour is your time to live.

Upon yon river three tenders float;

The Priest's in one, if he isn't shot;

We hold his house for our Lord the King,
And-Amen' say I-may all traitors swing "

At Geneva barrack that young man died,
And at Passage they have his body laid.
Good people who live in peace and joy,
Breathe a prayer and a tear for the Croppy boy.

THE GOOD SHIP CASTLE DOWN

A Rebel Chaunt, A. D. 1776

H, how she plowed the ocean, the good ship
Castle Down,

That day we hung our colors out, the Harp without the Crown!

A gallant barque, she topped the wave, and fearless hearts were we,

With guns and pikes and bayonets, a stalwart company. 'Twas a sixteen years from THUROT; and sweeping down the bay

The "Siege of Carrickfergus "so merrily we did play: And by the old castle's foot we went, with three right

hearty cheers,

And waved aloft our green cockades, for we were Volunteers,

Volunteers!

Oh, we were in our prime that day, stout Irish Volun

teers.

'Twas when we heaved our anchor on the breast of smooth Garmoyle

Our guns spoke out in thunder: "Adieu, sweet Irish

Our voices o'er the water struck the hollow mountains round

Young Freedom, struggling at her birth, might utter such a sound.

By that green slope beside Belfast, we cheered and cheered it still —

For they had changed its name that year, and they called it Bunker's Hill.

Bunker's Hill!

Oh, were our hands but with our hearts in the trench at Bunker's Hill!

Our ship cleared out for Quebec; but thither little. bent,

Up some New England river, to run her keel we

meant ;

So we took a course due north as round the old Black Head we steered,

Till Ireland bore southwest by south, and Fingal's rock appeared.

Then on the poop stood Webster, while the ship hung flutteringly,

About to take her tack across the wide, wide ocean

sea

He pointed to th' Atlantic: "Sure, yon's no place for

slaves:

Haul down these British badges, for Freedom rules the

waves

Rules the waves ! Three hundred strong men answered, shouting, "Freedom rules the waves ! ""

Then all together rose and brought the British ensign down,

And up we hauled our Irish Green, without the British Crown.

Emblazoned there a Golden Harp like a maiden undefiled,

A shamrock wreath around her head, looked o'er the sea and smiled.

A hundred days, with adverse wind, we kept our course

afar,

On the hundredth day came bearing down a British sloop of war.

When they spied our flag they fired a gun, but as they neared us fast,

Old Andrew Jackson went aloft and nailed it to the

mast

To the mast!

A soldier was old Jackson, and he made our colors fast.

Patrick Henry was our captain, as brave as ever sailed. "Now we must do or die," said he, "for the Green Flag is nailed."

Silently came the sloop along; and silently we lay Flat, till with cheers and loud broadside the foe began

the fray.

Then the boarders o'er the bulwarks, like shuttlecocks, we cast;

One close discharge from all our guns cut down the tapering mast.

"Now, British tars! St. George's Cross is trailing in the sea

How d'ye like the greeting and the handsel of the Free?

Of the Free!

How like you, lads, the greeting of the men who will

be free?"