A dozen of hearts! and a dozen of hands ! I And the courage of death!—'tis a Yorkshire boast; It was all they asked one November noon When a hurricane blew on the Whitby coast.

For a cry came over the wailing sands, And spread through the village, and swept through the street, There'll be widows to-morrow, and fatherless bairns, For exposed to the storm is the fishermen's fleet.

There was not a minute to dream or to think, It was " Who's for the life-boat" ? and " Who's for the shore? " Just a kissing of lips of the lasses they loved, Just a sigh, and a cheer, and a grasp of the oar.

For the men out at sea were exposed to the storm, But were not forgotten by " pals" on the land; Whilst there's life there is hope, whilst there's strength there's a rope, The heart of a friend, and the grasp of a hand.

Just picture the scene, 0 my brothers in town, With your petty annoyance and impotent strife, In the midst of our city it is Worship of Self— On the fishermen's coast it is Eescue and Life! But the morning breaks, and the storm is past, And over the village, and into the street, The sun is shedding its wintry rays On the scene where they fought for the fishermen's fleet ; And the sea is calm, and the sand is still, Where they manned the boat and they went to death.

What's that ? — out there in the steamer's wake— Here, give us your glass! Then they held their breath; And a beam of light shot out of the sky, And a cheer roared out of the Yorkshire throats, As they saw their Life-boat making home, With the rescued crews from the fishermen's boats.

" Never say die " is the motto of men, Who fight to conquer, and mean to win.

But it's well worth living to earn the tears That wept them out and that cheered them in.

So the tale is told. But there's something more, That can never be done by praise or pen, We must think of the sea when the tempests roar.

And give of our gold to the Life-boat men.

NOTICE.

The next number of the LIFE-BOAT JOUBNAL ivill be published on the 1st February, 1896..