It was on the 20th day of June, 1896,
That the Life Boat Procession took its stand
On Bruntfield Links so grand,
With Councillor Waterson in command.
To see them was a sight most grand,
Which was good enough for the noblest in the land.
Their banners were most beautiful to be seen,
And the silk they were made of was of the finest green.
Then the bands were most lovely to hear,
Who the people often did cheer,
And when the precession did advance
It was quite enough to make you dance.
In the Park it was lovely to see
How the people did dance in their glee
When the lifeboat was launched on the Loch,
The money came largely, of course.
Notes
This excerpt was published in the Dundee Courier, and is all that remains of this poem. The abrupt ending to the last line is reproduced faithfully from the paper, but must surely have been the result of a mistranscription on their part. What the original text was we may never know.
Poem cut short ? Frankly until I learned this I was amazed that McGonagall had shown such brevity, a truly unique experience.
Mind you its brevity may have been due to his wife Jean hitting him on the head with a bottle when in a bibulous state. In whch cad the newspaper is innocent.