*THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE.

Is this the mighty England we boast so much about?

While every time a hero lands we drum and cheer and shout;

Is this the mighty England that would rather die than yield ?

Let witness be the peerless charge on Balaclava's field;

A charge when British pluck and true valour were display'd,

That for aye will render famous the gallant Light Brigade;

Lord Tennyson has sung the charge that millions long have heard,

While cheering to the echo each breathing, living word,

Which stirs the blood to action and the tongue to loudly beat

That even Leonidas could show braver host -

A host of splendid soldiers, our glory and our pride,

Whose gore at Balaclava flow'd in a crimson a tide;

Has England in her history of arms a brighter page ?

A page of British valour that brighter grows with age,

And tells in face of danger how English soldiers fell,

Dismay'd not though they enter'd the very jaws of hell,

While each rode into action of this famous fighting band,

With a courage that was dauntless and an honour to the land;

Both Greece and ancient Rome against such fearful odds,

Would have look'd upon these heroes at little less than gods;

Honours would be voted and lyrics would be sung,

To stlr the martial ardour of the aged and the young;

England has her lyrics for these gallant Englishman,

But lyrics are not edible that ripple from the pen ;

These men are not chameleons, to subsist upon the air,

And are worthy of something better than the British workhouse fare,

Ye of England, ye men of higher grade,

Ye wealthy merchant princes who have made your wealth in trade;

Ye men who're feting Stanley in your thousands day by day,

Let your purses quickly open in different kind of way; The survivors who have fought your fight on Balaclava's plains,

Beseech of you a trifle from your large and swelling gains;

Subscribed has keen already some four and twenty pounds,

A trifle that would not feed an English pack of hounds.

Is this our generous England, that we all so justly prize?

A land of more than plenty, that amid the ocean lies;

Yes? Its heart wants only moving, its purse will open then,

To give its help and succour to our Balaclava men.

* The national subscription for the survivors of the Balaclava charge amounts only to £24. Several of these heroes are in the workhouse, and some others are almost, if not actually, reduced to beggary. Glory, like virtue, tends to be its own reward, especially with the common soldier. Surely Englishmen, in absence of provision from the Government, will assist these men to end their days mere comfortably than relegating them to the workhouse. Let Hull set a good example and start subscription sheets for these soldiers; no doubt many ladies would be ready to lend a helping hand, and I certain the working-men will not be slow to cast their coppers in.

THOS. J. Monkman.

Hull, May, 1890.