The Laws of the Navy

THE ships in Chailey Dockyard lay crippled as they could be,

Rigging and masts and timbers, and in no-wise fit for sea,

And some, tho' new from the cradle, seemed only built to fail,

And none might work to windward in the teeth of a winter gale.

So the shipwrights came to Chailey to succour the ships therein,

For this is the craftsman's honour, to prove what his skill may win,

But gravely they spake and graver, as they saw the halt and lame,

"We must send for the Master Shipwright," so the Master Shipwright came.

And no man saw His coming, but His presence was noon-tide clear,

In the work of the toiling shipwrights, who worked with exceeding cheer.

He wrought no mighty magic, but He taught them day by day

To use the gifts He gave them, for that is the Master's way.

New Faith He gave to the shipwrights, that shone in the craftsman's skill,

New Hope to the ships they tended, the hope no wounds may kill.

But a message more than either, to toil for the Master's sake,

And the shipwrights learned the message that the Master Ship wright spake.

For it wedded love to labour, and that's why their labour lives;

And who shall measure the giving, when the Master Shipwright gives?

Till the shipyard sang with service, as ship by ship was gained

To carry whole her topsails, nor fear that a mast be strained.

So the craft from Chailey Dockyard go forth from the building ships

('Twas ever the oaks of Sussex that fashioned the stoutest ships),

To speed with the summer breezes, or fight with a searching wind,

To join in the Master's service, in the service of mankind.

They hail and cheer in passing, they signal great and small,

For the mark of the Master Shipwright is on and through them all;

They carry the shipwrights' message, on a thousand new won keels,

That men may know of the healing wherewith the Master heals.