View source for H.M.S. "Foudroyant"


''H.M.S. "Foudroyant"'' (also titled "For Nelson's Sake") is a poem written by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] published in [[The Daily Chronicle]] on 12 september 1892.

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== Editions ==
* in ''[[The Daily Chronicle]]'' (12 september 1892 [UK]) as ''"For Nelson's Sake" H.M.S. 'Foudroyant' ''
* in ''[[Hearth and Home]]'' (15 september 1892 [UK])
* in ''[[The Illustrated London News]]'' (17 september 1892 [UK]) as ''"For Nelson's Sake" H.M.S. 'Foudroyant' '' (last strophe missing)
* in ''[[The Cornish Telegraph]]'' (22 september 1892 [UK]) as ''For Nelson's Sake'' (extract)
* in ''[[The Penny Illustrated Paper]]'' (24 september 1892 [UK]) as ''"For Nelson's Sake""''
* in ''[[The West Sussex Times and The Sussex Standard]]'' (24 september 1892 [UK]) as ''"For Nelson's Sake"''
* in ''[[Songs of Action]]'' (1898-1916, [[Smith, Elder & Co.]] [UK])
* in ''[[Songs of Action]]'' (august 1898, [[Charles Scribner's Sons]] [US])
* in ''[[Songs of Action]]'' (september 1898, [[Doubleday & McClure Co.|Doubleday, Page & Co.]] [US])
* in ''[[Songs of Action]]'' (1918-1920, [[John Murray]] [UK])
* in ''[[The Poems of Arthur Conan Doyle]]'' (1922-1928, [[John Murray]] [UK])


== H.M.S. "Foudroyant" ==
[[File:the-daily-chronicle-london-1892-09-12-p5-for-nelson-s-sake.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[The Daily Chronicle]] (12 september 1892, p. 5)]]
[[File:the-illustrated-london-news-1892-09-17-hms-foudroyant-p7.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[The Illustrated London News]] (17 september 1892, p. 7)]]

''(Sold to the Germans for a thousand pounds).''

''[Being an humble address to Her Majesty's Naval advisers, who sold Nelson's old flagship to the Germans for a thousand pounds.]''


<poem>
Who says the Nation's purse is lean,
Who fears for claim or bond or debt,
When all the glories that have been
Are scheduled as a cash asset?
If times are bleak and trade is slack,
If coal and cotton fail at last,
We've something left to barter yet-
Our glorious past.

There's many a crypt in which lies hid
The dust of statesman or of king;
There's Shakespeare's home to raise a bid,
And Milton's house its price would bring.
What for the sword that Cromwell drew?
What for Prince Edward's coat of mail?
What for our Saxon Alfred's tomb?
They're all for sale!

And stone and marble may be sold
Which serve no present daily need;
There's Edward's Windsor, labelled old,
And Wolsey's palace, guaranteed.
St. Clement Danes and fifty fanes,
The Tower and the Temple grounds;
How much for these? Just price them, please,
In British pounds.

You hucksters, have you still to learn,
The things which money will not buy?
Can you not read that, cold and stern
As we may be, there still does lie
Deep in our hearts a hungry love
For what concerns our island story?
We sell our work - perchance our lives,
But not our glory.

Go barter to the knacker's yard
The steed that has outlived its time!
Send hungry to the pauper ward
The man who served you in his prime!
But when you touch the Nation's store,
Be broad your mind and tight your grip.
Take heed! And bring us back once more
Our Nelson's ship.

And if no mooring can be found
In all our harbours near or far,
Then tow the old three-decker round
To where the deep-sea soundings are;
There, with her pennon flying clear,
And with her ensign lashed peak high,
Sink her a thousand fathoms sheer.
There let her lie!
</poem>





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* [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:Complete Works|Back to Complete Works]]
* [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Back to Conan Doyle]]