Classic Poem

A REVELATION .

I N the dark and grimy galley
Of a vessel from afar,
Sits a pitiful impostor,
Who is called a " Jolly Tar. "

In his dress and speech and manner
He betrays a painful lack
Of the stock characteristics
Of the stage and novel " Jack. "

For he does n't speak the jargon
So familiar on the stage,
And forbears to hitch his trousers,
With a reverence for age.

His jacket is n't tarry,
But of dubious glossy hue,
And his pantaloons are loudish,
Not an unpretending blue.

No poetic, trim tarpaulin,
But a cap of greasy prose,
Hides his close-cut locks, and covers
Both his eyes and half his nose.

And when I hail him " Shipmet! "
He does not reply " Belay, "
But he growls a salutation
In his surly, salty way.

He spins no naval yarn,
And he sings no naval song,
And his language is sententious,
And sulphurous and strong.

He grumbles at the hardships
Of a life upon the blue;
He reviles the mate and captain
And the boatswain and the crew.

He has curses for the owners
Of his thrice-accursed ships,
With profanest recollections
Of preceding cursed trips.

He blasphemes about the " lobscouse "
And the " plum duff " and the " prog; "
And he mutters imprecations
On the 'baccy and the grog.

He is low and coarse and dirty,
And is very, very far
From my picturesque ideal
Of the jolly Jack-a-Tar.

And I think of Susan's William,
But I know they called him Bill,
And of Kidd and Vanderdecken,
Who is navigating still.

And I've doubts of solemn Bunsby,
And of Cuttle sagely mild;
And I say, " A tar is tarnished,
As a pitcher is defiled. "