Identify poem and author of the lines:
"A soldier lay adying in a barracks in Algiers;
there was a dearth of women's nursing and a dearth of women's tears..."

Dear Bigjohnii,

The title of the poem is Bingen On The Rhine  by Caroline Sheridan Norton 


Bingen on The Rhine  
By Caroline Sheridan Norton (1808-1877)


?A soldier of the Legion lay dying in Algiers;
There was lack of women's nursing, 
   there was dearth of women's tears;  
But a comrade stood beside him, while his life-
   blood ebbed away;
And bent, with pitying glances, to hear what he 
   might say. 
The dying soldier faltered, as he took
   that comrade's hand,
And he said: "I never more shall see my own, 
   my native land:
Take a message and a token to some distant 
   friends of mine;
For I was born at Bingen--at Bingen on the 
   Rhine.?

You can read the full text of this poem at the following link:
http://www.geocities.com/meleponine/bingen.html


'Bingen on the Rhine' is narrated by a German soldier who has been
mortally wounded on the battlefield at Algiers. Although the ballad is
written almost entirely in standard English, the use of the word 'aye'
for 'always' in the second line of the third verse suggests that the
song probably originated in Scotland rather than England or Germany.
Deathbed ballads, last words and elegies were all very popular among
the broadside-buying public.?

Additional details are available here:
National Library of Scotland 
http://www.nls.uk/broadsides/broadside.cfm/id/16130


?According to Norm Cohen, "Lady Caroline Norton's Bingen on the Rhine"
was set to music by Judson I. Hutchinson of the Hutchinson Family.?
http://www.bluegrassmessengers.com/master/legendoftherebel2.html


Search criteria:
Algiers "dearth of women's tears?
Caroline  "Bingen On The Rhine?

I hope you find this helpful!

Best regards,
Bobbie7