Gloucester
by Edmund Clarence Stedman

" On reef and bar our schooners drove 
Before the wind, before the swell; 
By the steep sand-cliffs their ribs were stove, — 
Long, long their crews the tale shall tell! 
Of the Gloucester fleet are wrecks three score; 
Of the Province sail two hundred more 
Were stranded in that tempest fell. 
The bedtime bells in Gloucester Town 
That Sabbath night rang soft and clear; 
The sailors' children laid them down, — 
Dear Lord! Their sweet prayers couldst Thou hear? 
Tis said that gently blew the winds; 
The good wives, through the seaward blinds, Looked down the bay and had no fear."