Prince Hoare

Prince Hoare (1755–1834) was an English painter and dramatist who wrote librettos and plays for the London stage, including the opera The Lock and Key, with music by William Shield.

The poem here is the sea song of the frigate Arethusa, which C. H. Firth prints in Naval Songs and Ballads (Navy Records Society, 1908), noting that its words are by Prince Hoare and the music by Shield.