eir attempts to bend thee down
Will but arouse thy generous flame,
And work their woe and thy renown.
"Rule, Britannia, &c."

To thee belongs the rural reign;
Thy cities shall with commerce shine;
All thine shall be the subject main,
And every shore it circles thine.
"Rule, Britannia, &c."

The Muses, still with freedom found,
Shall to thy happy coast repair;
Bless'd isle! with matchless beauty crown'd,
And manly hearts to guard the fair.
"Rule, Britannia! Britannia rule the waves!
Britons never shall be slaves!"
--_James Thomson._

GOD SAVE THE KING!

The words we now sing with such hearty British loyalty all round the
Seven Seas originated in the parole and countersign on board the famous
Portsmouth Fleet of 1545, when the parole was _God save the King!_ and
the answering countersign was _Long to reign over us!_ The National
Anthems of all the other Empires, Kingdoms, and Republics in the world
come from their armies and the land. Our own comes from the Royal Navy
and the Sea.

God save our gracious King,
Long live our noble King,
God save the King.
Send him victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God save the King.

O Lord our God, arise,
Scatter his enemies,
And make them fall.
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
God save us all.

Thy choicest gifts in store,
On him be pleased to pour;
Long may he reign.
May he defend our laws,
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice,
God save the King.

CHAPTER XXVIII

WELL DONE!

The day the Armistice was signed (the 11th of November, 1918) King George
sent this Royal Message to the Navy:

Now that the last and most formidable of our enemies has acknowledged the
triumph of the Allied arms on behalf of right and justice, I wish to
express my praise and thankfulness to the officers, men, and women of the
Royal Navy and Marines, with their comrades of the Fleet Auxiliaries and
the Mercantile Marine, who, for more than four years have kept open the
seas, protected our shores, and given us safety. Ever since that fateful
Fourth of August, 1914, I have remained steadfast in my confidence that,
whether fortune frowned or smiled, the Royal Navy would once more prove
the sure shield of the British Empire in the hour of trial. Never in its
history has the Royal Navy, with