Songs From The Southern Seas - And Other Poems (1873) (Hardcover)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 123 HAUNTED BY TIGERS. TVTATHAN BEANS and William Lambert were two wild New England boys, Known from infancy to revel only in forbidden joys. Many a mother of Nantucket bristled when she heard them come, With a horrid skulking whistle, tempting her good lad from home. But for all maternal bristling little did they seem to care, And they loved each other dearly, did this good-for- nothing pair. So they lived till eighteen summers found them in the same repute, ? They had well-developed muscles, and loose characters to boot. Then they did what wild Nantucket boys have never failed to do,? Went and filled two oily bunks among a whaler's oily crew. And the mothers,'? ah they raised their hands and blessed the lucky day, While Nantucket waved its handkerchief to see them sail away. On a four years' cruise they started in the brave old " Patience Parr," And were soon initiated in the mysteries of tar. There they found the truth that whalers' tales are unsubstantial wiles,? They were sick and sore and sorry ere they passed the Western Isles; . . And their captain, old-man Sculpin, gave their fancies little scope, For he argued with a marlinspike and reasoned with a rope. But they stuck together bravely, they were Ish- maels with the crew: Nathan's voice was never raised but Bill's support was uttered too; And whenever Beans was floored by Sculpin's cruel marlinspike, Down beside him went poor Lambert, for his hand was clenched to strike. So they passed two years in cruising, till one breathless burning day The old " Patience Parr " in Sunda Straits with flapping canvas lay. On her starboard side Sumatra's woods were dark beneath the glare, And on her port stretched Java, slumbering in the ...