Classic Poem

A health to the Watch,
we love it undoubtedly;
'tis a toast we mislike not
to cross our breast from the right;
we will never omit it,
since we are so loyal
to the most dutiful heroes
that ever stood in a rank:
those stalwart warriors
who were natives of Scotland,
hunters of deer
throughout rugged moors.
I have heard them reported
to be no less expert by the sea:
their kitchens would be well supplied
with catches of fish.

Triumph aye to the lads
who were nurtured in Britain,
and sailed from us a while since,
to give service as needed.
The stout vessel bore them off
and no trifle would strain her;
the sea roared to urge them
and suited them well;
each deck-hand most deftly
fitted ropes of strongest hemp
to the sturdy mast-heads,
by the side of each sail;
and she coursed over oceans,
when the north wind blew fairly;
she was famous for swiftness,
and smoothly she moved.
When they put the heroes
ashore in Flanders,
far from their people
and their own native parts,
the honour of the Gaels
was dependent on their prowess,
and that had, as usual,
no flaw in the world.
Now there is honour
for each district they sprang from,
through the goodness of their habits,
their nature and code:
to be leal to their friends
and to humble their foes;
there is many a land wherein they left
warm blood on the sward.

'Twas the day of Fontenoy
won them plenty of glory,
when they assembled together
and the conflict began;
loudly shouted your colonel,
placing warriors in order,
those youthful gay lads
who eagerly followed him —
the best fighters of battles
serving King George,
who acquired style and discipline,
and skill in proportion;
of this I am persuaded
that in time of unsheathing or turmoil
one score of them would
shatter a hundred.

Men of elan and mettle,
with blue blade in pommel,
fit to hew to its tip,
and exceedingly keen;
along with a targe,
a diced belt, silver-studded,
and the neatest of pistols
in their oxters for defence;
having also bright guns,
that refused them not fire —
fresh flints being firmly
jammed in their locks;
with their whinger and dagger,
powder, measure and horn,
they are greatly esteemed,
courageous and strong.

Undaunted the gallants
who were practised in smiting,
and would not shrink from pursuing
the same course again;
to make expeditions
and to exact justice,
in their hand a three-grooved blade,
wherewith to aim blows;
essaying feats in the morning,
they would not seek a respite
to the end of the day,
and the hour of sunset.
Their speech is expressive,
with the war song of battle;
their sword is their castle
to keep them unharmed.

Well equipped, armed men,
with their chequered banners,
they made a goodly array
and their achievements were famed.
Men bred in the Roughbounds,
the host that is trustworthy,
whose fury will not be checked
till they prove they never yield.
The time seems to us long
since you fared forth to Germany,
to wipe out each villain
who roused you to wrath:
to capture and slay them
and disperse them like small deer,
when the hounds pursue them
on the slope of the hill.

Descendants of noble clans,
begotten of north men,
'twas their instinct in action,
to advance at each step:
every foot was the swiftest,
every hand was the hardest,
and their pride was rampant
as they struck mighty blows;
for their foes it was usual
to lie still on the field,
while the part that escaped them
had pursuit on their trail:
through the lads' volleys,
and their keen, pointed blades,
their foes would be on the run,
bleeding from wounds.

Of good repute were the gallants,
so vigorous, trim, comely —
a pleasing sight to look at,
for all who can see;
in every way, they appear as they used to,
with their colourful garments,
their hose of diced patterns
and their belted plaids.
I look forward to their home-coming
in the not distant future —
all the English forces,
bringing covenants of justice,
having navigated the deep,
and traversed the dark-blue sea;
and I hope the wide ocean
will not obstruct or delay them.

When the trouble arose,
it was the Forty-second
that was dauntless in spirit
and their own self-esteem;
they were ardent, proud, experienced,
without failure or break-down,
a special part of their gifts
being shrewdness and sense.
Those men show always
manifold talents,
in each region they come to
or wherever they go.
Who now shall I say
will presently match you,
unless you transmit all
to posterity now?