Charles George Douglas Roberts, poet and novelist, was born near
Frederickton, New Brunswick, January 10, 1860. He was at one time
Professor of English Literature in King’s College, Windsor, Nova
Scotia. Of recent years he has resided in the United States and
devoted himself entirely to writing. He is commonly spoken of as
the leader of the Canadian School of poets.
George Dewey, who by his victory over the Spanish in Manila Bay has come
to be looked upon as the greatest naval commander of modern times, was
born in Montpelier, Vermont, December 26, 1837. He was with Farragut at
the opening of the Mississippi (see “The River Fight”), and took part in
the severe engagements at Fort Fisher. He became a commodore in 1896,
and in recognition of his Manila victory (May 1, 1898), and his
subsequent services, he was promoted, first to the rank of rear-admiral,
and later to that of admiral.
=Stanza 1.= =Corregidor=, an island at the entrance to Manila Bay.
=Stanza 4.= =El Fraile= (the Friar), an outcrop of rock, tunnelled to serve
as a battery, lying in the main channel almost due south of the westerly
tip of Corregidor.
=Stanza 7.= =Kalibuyo= and =Salinas=, towns in the province of Cavité, on the
southern shore of Manila Bay.
=Stanza 8.= =Cavité=, a former Spanish fortress and naval station situated
upon a point of land seven miles south of Manila.
=Stanza 10.= =Bakor Bay=, the bay formed by the projection upon which Cavité
is situated.
=Stanza 14.= =Drake= (Sir Francis, 1540-1596), the greatest of the
Elizabethan seaman, whose strategy and skill and audacious courage were
largely instrumental in destroying the Spanish Armada.
=Farragut.= See “The River Fight.”
=Blake= (Robert, 1599-1657), called, next to Nelson, the greatest of the
English admirals, and noted for his victories over the Dutch and
Spanish.
=Stanza 16.= =Nelson.= See “The Fight of the _Armstrong_ Privateer.”