And Boney was defeated,
        Oh aye oh,
    And Boney was defeated,
        John France wa.

    Oh Boney’s made a prisoner,
        Oh aye oh,
    Oh Boney’s made a prisoner,
        John France wa.

    They sent him to St. Helena! 
        Oh aye oh,
    They sent him to St. Helena,
        John France wa!

    Oh Boney was ill-treated! 
        Oh aye oh,
    Oh Boney was ill-treated,
       John France wa!

    Oh Boney’s heart was broken! 
        Oh aye oh,
    Oh Boney’s heart was broken,
        John France wa.

    Oh Boney died a warrior;—­
        Oh aye oh,
    Oh Boney died a warrior,
        John France wa.

    But Boney was an Emperor! 
        Oh aye oh! 
    But Boney was an Emperor,
        John France wa!

This song never failed to arouse the greatest enthusiasm, so much so that the officer in charge had to keep a keen eye on what was going on and shout out “belay!” before something should be broken!  The sailors’ regard for the great Emperor was a passion; and as they neared the final tragedy they seemed to imagine they were in combat with his foes, so that it was dangerous to leave them without strict supervision.

One of the most rollicking and joyous days the sailor had during a voyage was that on which his dead horse expired; that is, when his month’s advance was worked out.  If he took a month’s advance, he always considered that he had worked that month for nothing:  and, literally, he had done so, as the money given to him in advance usually went towards paying a debt or having a spree; so it was fitting, considering these circumstances, that special recognition should be made of the arrival of such a period.  An improvised horse was therefore constructed, and a block with a rope rove through it was hooked on to the main yardarm.  The horse was bent on, and the ceremony commenced by leading the rope to the winch or capstan, and the song entitled “The Dead Horse” was sung with great gusto.  The funeral procession as a rule was spun out a long time, and when the horse was allowed to arrive at the yard arm the rope was slipped and he fell into the sea amid much hilarity!  The verse which announces his death was as follows:—­

    “They say my horse is dead and gone;—­
    And they say so, and they say so! 
    They say my horse is dead and gone;—­
        Oh, poor old man!”

The verse which extinguishes him by dropping him into the sea goes like this:—­

    “Then drop him to the depths of the sea;—­
    And they say so, and they say so! 
    Then drop him to the depths of the sea;—­
        Oh, poor old man!”

This finished the important event of the voyage; then began many pledges of thrift to be observed for evermore, which were never kept longer than the arrival at the next port, or at the longest until the arrival at a home port, when restraint was loosened.  The same old habits were resumed, and the same old month’s advance was required before sailing on another voyage.