Little cared they for Mahomet or Mufti,

Unless to make their kettle-drums a new skin Out of their hides, if parchment had grown dear, And no more handy substitute been near.

XVIII.

Then there were foreigners of much renown,
Of various nations, and all volunteers;
Not fighting for their country or its crown,
But wishing to be one day brigadiers:

Also to have the sacking of a town;

A pleasant thing to young men at their years. 'Mongst them were several Englishmen of pith, Sixteen call'd Thomson, and nineteen named Smith.

XIX.

Jack Thomson and Bill Thomson;-all the rest
Had been call'd" Jemmy," after the great bard;
I don't know whether they had arms or crest,
But such a godfather's as good a card.
Three of the Smiths were Peters; but the best
Amongst them all, hard blows to inflict or ward,
Was he, since so renown'd" in country quarters
At Halifax;" (1) but now he served the Tartars.

XX.

The rest were Jacks and Gills and Wills and Bills; But when I've added that the elder Jack Smith

Was born in Cumberland among the hills,

And that his father was an honest blacksmith,

(1) [See the farce of " Love Laughs at Locksmiths."]

I've said all I know of a name that fills

[smith,"

Three lines of the despatch in taking "Schmack

A village of Moldavia's waste, wherein

He fell, immortal in a bulletin.

XXI.

I wonder (although Mars no doubt's a god I
Praise) if a man's name in a bulletin
May make up for a bullet in his body?
I hope this little question is no sin,
Because, though I am but a simple noddy,

I think one Shakspeare puts the same thought in The mouth of some one in his plays so doting, Which many people pass for wits by quoting.

XXII.

Then there were Frenchmen, gallant, young, and gay:
But I'm too great a patriot to record
Their Gallic names upon a glorious day;

I'd rather tell ten lies than say a word
Of truth;-such truths are treason; they betray
Their country; and as traitors are abhorr'd
Who name the French in English, save to show
How Peace should make John Bull the Frenchman's

foe.

XXIII.

The Russians, having built two batteries on
An isle near Ismail, had two ends in view;
The first was to bombard it, and knock down
The public buildings and the private too,

No matter what poor souls might be undone.
The city's shape suggested this, 'tis true;
Form'd like an amphitheatre, each dwelling
Presented a fine mark to throw a shell in.(1)

XXIV.

The second object was to profit by

The moment of the general consternation, To attack the Turk's flotilla, which lay nigh Extremely tranquil, anchor'd at its station: But a third motive was as probably

To frighten them into capitulation; (2) A phantasy which sometimes seizes warriors, Unless they are game as bull-dogs and fox-terriers.

XXV.

A habit rather blamable, which is

That of despising those we combat with, Common in many cases, was in this

The cause (3) of killing Tchitchitzkoff and Smith;

(1) [" On s'était proposé deux buts également avantageux, par la construction de deux batteries sur l'île qui avoisine Ismaël : le premier, de bombarder la place, d'en abattre les principaux édifices avec du canon de quarante-huit, effet d'autant plus probable, que la ville étant bâtie en amphithéâtre, presque aucun coup ne serait perdu."-Hist. de la Nouvelle Russie, p. 203.]

(2) ["Le second objet était de profiter de ce moment d'alarme pour que la flotille, agissant en même temps, pût détruire celle des Turcs. Un troisième motif, et vraisemblement le plus plausible, était de jeter la consternation parmi les Turcs, et de les engager à capituler.” — Ibid. p. 203.]

(3) ["Un habitude blâmable, celle de mépriser son ennemi, fut la cause."- Ibid. p. 203.]

One of the valorous "Smiths" whom we shall miss Out of those nineteen who late rhymed to "pith;" But 'tis a name so spread o'er "Sir” and “Madam," That one would think the first who bore it " Adam.”

XXVI.

The Russian batteries were incomplete,

Because they were constructed in a hurry ;(1) Thus the same cause which makes a verse want feet, And throws a cloud o'er Longman and John Murray, When the sale of new books is not so fleet

As they who print them think is necessary, May likewise put off for a time what story Sometimes calls "murder," and at others "glory."

XXVII.

Whether it was their engineer's stupidity,
Their haste, or waste, I neither know nor care,
Or some contractor's personal cupidity,
Saving his soul by cheating in the ware
Of homicide, but there was no solidity
In the new batteries erected there ;(1)
They either miss'd, or they were never miss'd,
And added greatly to the missing list.

XXVIII.

A sad miscalculation about distance

Made all their naval matters incorrect; Three fireships lost their amiable existence Before they reach'd a spot to take effect:

(1) [. . . “ du défaut de perfection dans la construction des batteries; on voulait agir promptement, et on négligea de donner aux ouvrages la solidité qu'ils exigaient."- Hist. de la N. R. p. 203.]

The match was lit too soon, and no assistance

Could remedy this lubberly defect;

They blew up in the middle of the river, [ever. (1) While, though 't was dawn, the Turks slept fast as

XXIX.

At seven they rose, however, and survey'd
The Russ flotilla getting under way;
'Twas nine, when still advancing undismay'd,
Within a cable's length their vessels lay
Off Ismail, and commenced a cannonade,
Which was return'd with interest, I may say,
And by a fire of musketry and grape,

And shells and shot of every size and shape.(2)

XXX.

For six hours bore they without intermission
The Turkish fire, and aided by their own
Land batteries, work'd their guns with great precision:
At length they found mere cannonade alone
By no means would produce the town's submission,
And made a signal to retreat at one.

One bark blew up, a second near the works
Running aground, was taken by the Turks. (3)

(1) ["On calcula mal la distance; la même esprit fit manquer l'effet de trois brûlots; on se pressa d'allumer la mêche, ils brûlèrent au milieu du fleuve, et, quoiqu'il fût six heures du matin, les Turcs, encore couchés, n'en prirent aucun ombrage. -Hist. de la N. R. p. 203.]

(2) ["1er Dec. 1790. La flotille Russe s'avança vers les sept heures; il en était neuf lorsqu'elle se trouva à cinquante toises de la ville d'Ismaël : elle souffrit, avec une constance calme, un feu de mitraille et de mousqueterie..."-Ibid. p. 204.]

(3) [..." près de six heures: les batteries de terre secondaient la flotille; mais on reconnût alors que les canonnades ne suffisaient pas pour réduire la place, on fit la retraite à une heure. Un lançon sauta pendant l'action, un autre dériva par la force du courant, et fut pris par les Turcs."- Ibid. p. 204.]