1806 7

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1806.7
Song
“Leo”
The Gentleman's Magazine, LXXVI (August, 1806), p. 750

    Wandring from town to town, I go,
A beggar boy oppress'd with woe;
My Father was a gallant tar,
He fought and fell at Trafalgar;
O, faint am I for want of bread,
And weary is my naked head;
Yet still my bosom swells with pride,
My sire with Nelson conquering died.

    O, when the news of victory came
My Mother shudder'd at the name,
And soon she heard that in the strife
My noble father lost his life;
She clasp'd my neck, and kiss'd my cheek,
And sigh'd and wept, but could not speak;
Yet still her bosom swell'd with pride,
My sire with Nelson conquering died.

    But, ah! misfortune had not pass'd,
And heavier than the first the last:
My Mother from my arms must part,
Continual sorrow broke her heart!
An orphan now bereft of joy
I wander on a beggar boy;
Yet still my bosom swells with pride,
My sire with Nelson conquering died.

Stokesley.


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