{"id":1979,"date":"2011-12-19T19:54:31","date_gmt":"2011-12-19T19:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertstephenhawker.co.uk\/?page_id=1979"},"modified":"2011-12-19T19:54:31","modified_gmt":"2011-12-19T19:54:31","slug":"lines-to-the-rev-r-s-hawker-vicar-of-morwinstow-by-david-arrott","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.robertstephenhawker.co.uk\/?page_id=1979","title":{"rendered":"Lines to the Rev. R. S. Hawker Vicar of Morwinstow by David Arrott"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who so benevolently superintended the interment of the bodies of the crew of the brig Caledonia, of Arbroath, lost on the coast of Cornwall.<\/em><\/p>\n

Deem it not rude – a stranger dares to send
\nThese lines to thee, who are the stranger’s friend.
\nFeebly indeed, by words, can I impart
\nThe humble tribute of a grateful heart;
\nA tribute due to him who strove to save
\nThe sons of Scotland from the angry wave.
\nWhat though thine arm was impotent to wage
\nTh’unequal contest with the ocean’s rage?
\nIf Heav’n decreed that death should be their doom,
\nThy pious care provided them a tomb.
\nTo thee the ruthless sea gave up her dead,
\nThat thou migh’st lay them in their lowly bed.<\/p>\n

HAWKER! to thee a pitying heart is giv’n,
\nWorthy, indeed, a delegate of Heav’n.
\nNo kindred came to pay the tribute due,
\nTo the cold ashes of the shipwreck’d crew;
\nNo mourning widow’s burning tears were shed
\nO’er him whom she deemed living – who was dead;
\nNo mother gaz’d on him who was her joy;
\nBut now, alas! her dead – her sailor boy.
\nNo – and no train of kindred mourners come
\nThe bear their kinsman to their last sad home.<\/p>\n

‘Twas thine to shed the sympathetic tear,
\nIn pity bending o’er the strangers’ bier –
\nThine to fulfil the self-imposed trust,
\nTo lay their bones in consecrated dust.
\nThou need’st no thanks from me, a grateful bard;
\nThy virtuous action finds its own reward.
\nWhat though on earth thou ne’er shall cease to share
\nThe mother’s, widow’s, and the orphan’s prayer!
\nSuch deeds as thine are register’d in Heav’n,
\nAnd there<\/em> alone can due reward be giv’n.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 *\u00a0 *\u00a0 *\u00a0 *<\/p>\n

This poem was originally published in the Arbroath Guide, <\/em>15 October 1842, and appears in the appendix to The Wreck at Sharpnose Point, <\/em>by Jeremy Seal, along with ‘Lines on the Crew of the Caledonia’ by John Adams.<\/p>\n

LINKS<\/strong><\/p>\n

– The Wreck of the ‘Caledonia<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who so benevolently superintended the interment of the bodies of the crew of the brig Caledonia, of Arbroath, lost on the coast of Cornwall. Deem it not rude – a stranger dares to send These lines to thee, who are the stranger’s friend. Feebly indeed, by words, can I impart The humble tribute of a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1116,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1979","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertstephenhawker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertstephenhawker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertstephenhawker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertstephenhawker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertstephenhawker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1979"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertstephenhawker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1987,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertstephenhawker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1979\/revisions\/1987"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertstephenhawker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertstephenhawker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}