THE STOUT BLUE LINE
Vanity Fair (UK) (June 23, 1904)
(Dr Yorke-Davies says that British sailors are much too fat. They are almost too fat, he says, to waddle across the deck.)
SINCE Britain, rising from the brine,
The waves began to sway,
Her vessels never were so fine
As at the present day.
Secure they sail from land to land—
No hurricane can wreck ’em;
But what of this when they are manned
By fat boys straight from Peckham?
When Nelson ’gainst the fleet of France
Sailed out to die or win,
He knew that he’d a splendid chance,
For all his men were thin.
Each man who fought in Rodney’s crew
Of slimness was a model;
And, when the bo’sun’s whistle blew,
They ran: they didn’t waddle.
How changed are things in modern days
On Britain’s men-of-war:
There’s not a man aboard but weighs
His twenty stone and more.
It’s true they’re brave: no British tar
In danger ever glum is;
But what of mighty souls, if far,
Far mightier their tummies?
Knock off the sailor’s tot of grog;
Reduce his bread and cheese:
Much fatted pork and spotted dog
Are bad for bold ABs.
Don’t give him supper from the grill,
With soups and rich brown gravies;
And there’s a chance for England still—
At least, so says Yorke-Davies.