登陆注册
15709300000015

第15章 Ballad: Brave Alum Bey

Oh, big was the bosom of brave ALUM BEY,

And also the region that under it lay,

In safety and peril remarkably cool,

And he dwelt on the banks of the river Stamboul.

Each morning he went to his garden, to cullA bunch of zenana or sprig of bul-bul,

And offered the bouquet, in exquisite bloom,To BACKSHEESH, the daughter of RAHAT LAKOUM.

No maiden like BACKSHEESH could tastily cookA kettle of kismet or joint of tchibouk,

As ALUM, brave fellow! sat pensively by,

With a bright sympathetic ka-bob in his eye.

Stern duty compelled him to leave her one day -(A ship's supercargo was brave ALUM BEY) -To pretty young BACKSHEESH he made a salaam,And sailed to the isle of Seringapatam.

"O ALUM," said she, "think again, ere you go -Hareems may arise and Moguls they may blow;You may strike on a fez, or be drowned, which is wuss!"But ALUM embraced her and spoke to her thus:

"Cease weeping, fair BACKSHEESH!

I willingly swear

Cork jackets and trousers I always will wear,And I also throw in a large number of oathsThat I never - no, NEVER - will take off my clothes!"* * * * *

They left Madagascar away on their right,And made Clapham Common the following night,Then lay on their oars for a fortnight or two,Becalmed in the ocean of Honololu.

One day ALUM saw, with alarm in his breast,A cloud on the nor-sow-sow-nor-sow-nor-west;The wind it arose, and the crew gave a scream,For they knew it - they knew it! - the dreaded Hareem!!

The mast it went over, and so did the sails,Brave ALUM threw over his casks and his bales;The billows arose as the weather grew thick,And all except ALUM were terribly sick.

The crew were but three, but they holloa'd for nine,They howled and they blubbered with wail and with whine:

The skipper he fainted away in the fore,

For he hadn't the heart for to skip any more.

"Ho, coward!" said ALUM, "with heart of a child!

Thou son of a party whose grave is defiled!

Is ALUM in terror? is ALUM afeard?

Ho! ho!

If you had one I'd laugh at your beard."

His eyeball it gleamed like a furnace of coke;He boldly inflated his clothes as he spoke;He daringly felt for the corks on his chest,And he recklessly tightened the belt at his breast.

For he knew, the brave ALUM, that, happen what might,With belts and cork-jacketing, HE was all right;Though others might sink, he was certain to swim, -No Hareem whatever had terrors for him!

They begged him to spare from his personal storeA single cork garment - they asked for no more;But he couldn't, because of the number of oathsThat he never - no, never! - would take off his clothes.

The billows dash o'er them and topple around,They see they are pretty near sure to be drowned.

A terrible wave o'er the quarter-deck breaks,And the vessel it sinks in a couple of shakes!

The dreadful Hareem, though it knows how to blow,Expends all its strength in a minute or so;When the vessel had foundered, as I have detailed,The tempest subsided, and quiet prevailed.

One seized on a cork with a yelling "Ha! ha!"(Its bottle had 'prisoned a pint of Pacha) -Another a toothpick - another a tray -

"Alas! it is useless!" said brave ALUM BEY.

"To holloa and kick is a very bad plan:

Get it over, my tulips, as soon as you can;You'd better lay hold of a good lump of lead,And cling to it tightly until you are dead.

"Just raise your hands over your pretty heads - so -Right down to the bottom you're certain to go.

Ta! ta!

I'm afraid we shall not meet again" -

For the truly courageous are truly humane.

Brave ALUM was picked up the very next day -A man-o'-war sighted him smoking away;

With hunger and cold he was ready to drop,So they sent him below and they gave him a chop.

O reader, or readress, whichever you be,

You weep for the crew who have sunk in the sea?

O reader, or readress, read farther, and dryThe bright sympathetic ka-bob in your eye.

That ship had a grapple with three iron spikes, -It's lowered, and, ha! on a something it strikes!

They haul it aboard with a British "heave-ho!"And what it has fished the drawing will show.

There was WILSON, and PARKER, and TOMLINSON, too -(The first was the captain, the others the crew) -As lively and spry as a Malabar ape,

Quite pleased and surprised at their happy escape.

And ALUM, brave fellow, who stood in the fore,And never expected to look on them more,

Was really delighted to see them again,

For the truly courageous are truly humane.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • BIGBANG你给我站住

    BIGBANG你给我站住

    嗯...你们好第一次写书请多多关照,故事开始了!
  • 创界阿修罗

    创界阿修罗

    倘若在这个世界里,神永生不死,实力不断强大,是谁在给他们提供修炼的资源?倘若在这个世界里,能量是守恒的,其他生物和神之间,是谁会最后活下来?如果树上的叶子永远回归不了泥土,作为泥土活着的我们,是否该坐以待毙?……不,我选择屠神!
  • 心尖独宠:总裁情深不浅

    心尖独宠:总裁情深不浅

    一张结婚证书,把他们捆绑在一起。人前,他是高高在上的总裁,但是却给了她极致的荣宠。但当她纯粹的爱上,却是要离开的时候……三年后,她再次归来,命运使然,两人再次纠缠在一起。云南潇摸摸嘴唇:“差强人意,如果用你来抵三十万,真不知道我俩是谁吃亏。”“谁说我会让自己来抵债了?我根本没有同意!”她气呼呼的:“你放心,三十万我肯定会还给你的!”
  • EXO与我的时光

    EXO与我的时光

    因为一次意外的穿越,你来到了韩国首尔,在这里你遇到了EXO,并且惊奇的发现你竟然加入到了EXO,在经过无数次的坎坷曲折后,收获到了亲情,友情,和来之不易的爱情,以及你的事业,创造出了一个属于你的辉煌时代。这不仅仅只是一个有关爱情的作品,更是一个关乎事业养成的作品。
  • 小四劝退师

    小四劝退师

    体面的家室,轻松的工作,英俊多金的男朋友......都市7分女颜苒本是众人羡慕的对象,怎么都不会想到会有一天被小三。“我爱上他的时候不知道他已婚,凭什么我来承担小三的污名?”感情之事,谁人能凭借对错选择去留?这畸形的社会如果不能忍受,就要学会享受。既然无意间影响了他人的家庭,那就以自己的方式来赎罪。帮正房,斗小四,保护孩子,加把劲~看非传统反典型性小三如何在劝退小四的过程中,升职副经理,嫁给高富帅,走上人生巅峰,觅到此生挚爱。“开玩笑,小三劝退师现在是多高薪的职业!而我,小四劝退师,LEVEL直接高了一个档次了好么?”“颜苒,你是不是脑子有问题?”“你有药啊?”
  • 独宠蜜爱:老公,慢慢来

    独宠蜜爱:老公,慢慢来

    颜天琪阴差阳错的把龙城有名的莫二少给睡了,醒来后却潇洒挥挥手不带走一片云彩的走了……莫二很生气,后果很严重!
  • 守护虚空之世的战姬

    守护虚空之世的战姬

    某高中生于震在醒来的时候突然发现自己变成了绝世的美女,随后又意外碰到了始作俑者。为了寻找恢复身体的方法,于震毅然踏上入了陌生的世界,展开了冒险了旅程……包含着亲情、背叛、阴谋、爱情、热血、友情与轻松日常的作品即将呈现……
  • exo之来自地狱的复仇天使

    exo之来自地狱的复仇天使

    两年前你们不信我,两年后你们也不相信我,这次,别怪我无情!-----冷玉对不起,我爱你。----exo
  • 武道真途

    武道真途

    浩瀚的星空中漂浮着一块块破碎的大陆,高达百万丈的不朽神山耸入星空,其上星辰环绕,吞噬万物的死亡大海在永恒的星空中肆意流淌,蛮横无边的星空巨兽不断地吞吐着一颗颗巨大的星辰、、、
  • 铠甲勇士灼奥

    铠甲勇士灼奥

    在当初的恐龙时代,虽然恐龙时代已经毁灭,但是事情的真相,却并没有那么简单,传说中的凯恩斯经过了六千五百万年的过程终于苏醒,开始寻找所谓的寄生体来加速培养自己的军团,但是后来,出现了一个同时拥有闪光和幻影的身影,缓缓的出现在在世界中央,改变了这一切。