I SAW a certain sailorman who sat beside the sea, And in the manner of his tribe he yawned this yarn to me: "'Twere back in eighteen-fifty-three, or mebbe fifty-four, I skipped the farm, -- no, 't were the shop, -- an' went to Baltimore. I shipped aboard the @3Lizzie@1 -- or she might ha' bin the @3Jane@1; Them wimmin names are mixey, so I don't remember plain; But anyhow, she were a craft that carried schooner rig, (Although Sam Swab, the bo'sun, allus swore she were a brig); We sailed away from Salem Town, -- no, lemme think; -- 't were @3Lynn,@1 -- An' steered a course for Africa (or Greece, it might ha' bin); But anyway, we tacked an' backed an' weathered many a storm -- Oh, no, -- as I recall it now, that week was fine an' warm! Who did I say the cap'n was? I @3didn't@1 say at all? Wa-a-ll now, his name were 'Lijah Bell -- or was it Eli Ball? I kinder guess 't were Eli. He'd a big, red, bushy beard -- No-o-o, come to think, he allus kept @3his@1 whiskers nicely sheared. But anyhow, that voyage was the first I'd ever took, An' all I had to do was cut up cabbage for the cook; But come to talk o' cabbage just reminds me, -- that there trip Would prob'ly be my @3third@1 one, on a Hong Kong clipper-ship. The crew they were a jolly lot, an' used to sing @3'Avast,'@1 I think it were, or else @3'Ahoy,'@1 while bailing out the mast. And as I recollect it now, --" But here I cut him short, And said: "It's time to tack again, and bring your wits to port; I came to get a story both adventurous and @3true,@1 And here is how I started out to write the interview: 'I saw a @3certain@1 sailorman,' but you turn out to be The most @3un@1-certain sailorman that ever sailed the sea!" He puffed his pipe, and answered, "Wa-a-ll, I @3thought@1 'twere mine, but still, @3I must ha' told the one belongs to my twin brother Bill!"@1 |