And half of the rest of us inaimed for life In the crash of the cannonades and the desperate strife; And the sick men down in the hold were most of them stark and cold; And the pikes were all broken or bent, and the powder was all of it spent ; 80 And the masts and the rigging were lying over the side. But Sir Richard cried in his English pride: "We have fought such a fight for a day and a night As may never be fought again! At sea or ashore, 85 We die - does it matter when? Sink me the ship, Master Gunner — sink her, split her in twain! Fall into the hands of God, not into the hands of Spain!" XII 90 And the gunner said, "Ay, ay;" but the seamen made reply: "We have children, we have wives, And the Lord hath spared our lives. We will make the Spaniard promise, if we yield, to let us go: But a bullet struck him that was dressing We shall live to fight again and to strike it suddenly dead, And himself he was wounded again in the side and the head, And he said, "Fight on! fight on!" |