On the Loss of the Royal George
by William Cowper

English poet. The simplicity of his work and his treatment of natural subjects was in marked contrast to the sophistication of the fashionable Pope; he was an important forerunner of the Romantics, and his unfinished poem 'Yardley Oak' was particularly admired by Wordsworth. Other notable poems include 'The Poplar Trees', 'The Journey of John Gilpin' and 'The Castaway', while The Task is his most ambitious work in verse. Olney Hymns (1779) contains his popular hymns 'God moves in a mysterious way' and 'Oh, for a closer walk with God'. His autobiographical Memoir was published in 1816, and his letters have been widely appreciated, providing an intimate picture of the man.

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On the Loss of the Royal George
by William Cowper

Written when the news arrived.

Toll for the brave!
The brave that are no more!
All sunk beneath the wave
Fast by their native shore.

Eight hundred of the brave,
Whose courage well was tried,
Had made the vessel heel,
And laid her on her side.

A land-breeze shook the shrouds,
And she was overset;
Down went the Royal George,
With all her crew complete.

Toll for the brave!
Brave Kempenfelt is gone;
His last sea-fight is fought,
His work of glory done.

It was not in the battle,
No tempest gave the shock,
She sprang no fatal leak,
She ran upon no rock.

His sword was in its sheath,
His fingers held the pen,
When Kempenfelt went down
With twice four hundred men.

Weigh the vessel up,
Once dreaded by our foes;
And mingle with our cup
The tears that England owes.

Her timbers yet are sound,
And she may float again
Full charged with England's thunder,
And plough the distant main.

But Kempenfelt is gone,
His victories are o'er;
And he and his eight hundred
Shall plough the wave no more.

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On the Loss of the Royal George by William Cowper