TheBallyshannonfoundered off the coast of Cariboo,And down in fathoms many went the captain and the crew;Down went the owners—greedy men whom hope of gain allured:Oh, dry the starting tear, for they were heavily insured.
Besides the captain and the mate, the owners and the crew,The passengers were also drowned excepting only two:YoungPeter Gray, who tasted teas forBaker,Croop,and Co.,AndSomers, who from Eastern shores imported indigo.
These passengers, by reason of their clinging to a mast,Upon a desert island were eventually cast.They hunted for their meals, asAlexander Selkirkused,But they couldn’t chat together—they had not been introduced.
ForPeter Gray, andSomerstoo, though certainly in trade,Were properly particular about the friends they made;And somehow thus they settled it without a word of mouth—ThatGrayshould take the northern half, whileSomerstook the south.
OnPeter’sportion oysters grew—a delicacy rare,But oysters were a delicacyPetercouldn’t bear.OnSomers’ side was turtle, on the shingle lying thick,WhichSomerscouldn’t eat, because it always made him sick.
Graygnashed his teeth with envy as he saw a mighty storeOf turtle unmolested on his fellow-creature’s shore.The oysters at his feet aside impatiently he shoved,For turtle and his mother were the only things he loved.
AndSomerssighed in sorrow as he settled in the south,For the thought ofPeter’soysters brought the water to his mouth.He longed to lay him down upon the shelly bed, and stuff:He had often eaten oysters, but had never had enough.
How they wished an introduction to each other they had hadWhen on board theBallyshannon! And it drove them nearly madTo think how very friendly with each other they might get,If it wasn’t for the arbitrary rule of etiquette!
One day, when out a-hunting for themus ridiculus,Grayoverheard his fellow-man soliloquizing thus:“I wonder how the playmates of my youth are getting on,M‘Connell, S. B.Walters,Paddy Byles, andRobinson?”
These simple words madePeteras delighted as could be,Old chummies at the Charterhouse wereRobinsonand he!He walked straight up toSomers, then he turned extremely red,Hesitated, hummed and hawed a bit, then cleared his throat, and said:
“I beg your pardon—pray forgive me if I seem too bold,But you have breathed a name I knew familiarly of old.You spoke aloud ofRobinson—I happened to be by.You know him?” “Yes, extremely well.” “Allow me, so do I.”
It was enough: they felt they could more pleasantly get on,For (ah, the magic of the fact!) they each knewRobinson!And Mr.Somers’ turtle was atPeter’sservice quite,And Mr.SomerspunishedPeter’soyster-beds all night.
They soon became like brothers from community of wrongs:They wrote each other little odes and sang each other songs;They told each other anecdotes disparaging their wives;On several occasions, too, they saved each other’s lives.
They felt quite melancholy when they parted for the night,And got up in the morning soon as ever it was light;Each other’s pleasant company they reckoned so upon,And all because it happened that they both knewRobinson!
They lived for many years on that inhospitable shore,And day by day they learned to love each other more and more.At last, to their astonishment, on getting up one day,They saw a frigate anchored in the offing of the bay.
ToPeteran idea occurred. “Suppose we cross the main?So good an opportunity may not be found again.”AndSomersthought a minute, then ejaculated, “Done!I wonder how my business in the City’s getting on?”
“But stay,” said Mr.Peter: “when in England, as you know,I earned a living tasting teas forBaker,Croop,and Co.,I may be superseded—my employers think me dead!”“Then come with me,” saidSomers, “and taste indigo instead.”
But all their plans were scattered in a moment when they foundThe vessel was a convict ship from Portland, outward bound;When a boat came off to fetch them, though they felt it very kind,To go on board they firmly but respectfully declined.
As both the happy settlers roared with laughter at the joke,They recognized a gentlemanly fellow pulling stroke:’TwasRobinson—a convict, in an unbecoming frock!Condemned to seven years for misappropriating stock!!!
They laughed no more, forSomersthought he had been rather rashIn knowing one whose friend had misappropriated cash;AndPeterthought a foolish tack he must have gone uponIn making the acquaintance of a friend ofRobinson.
At first they didn’t quarrel very openly, I’ve heard;They nodded when they met, and now and then exchanged a word:The word grew rare, and rarer still the nodding of the head,And when they meet each other now, they cut each other dead.
To allocate the island they agreed by word of mouth,AndPetertakes the north again, andSomerstakes the south;AndPeterhas the oysters, which he hates, in layers thick,AndSomershas the turtle—turtle always makes him sick.
[287a]“Go with me to a Notary—seal me thereYour single bond.”—Merchant of Venice, Act I., sc. 3.
[287b]“And there shall she, at Friar Lawrence’ cell,Be shrived and married.”—Romeo and Juliet, Act II., sc. 4.
[287c]“And give the fasting horses provender.”—Henry the Fifth, Act IV., sc. 2.
[288a]“Let us, like merchants, show our foulest wares.”—Troilus and Cressida, Act I., sc. 3.
[288b]“Then must the Jew be merciful.”—Merchant of Venice, Act IV., sc. 1.
[288c]“The spring, the summer,The chilling autumn, angry winter, changeTheir wonted liveries.”—Midsummer Night Dream, Act IV., sc. 1.
[288d]“In the county of Glo’ster, justice of the peace andcoram.”—Merry Wives of Windsor, Act I., sc. 1.
[288e]“What lusty trumpet thus doth summon us?”—King John, Act V., sc. 2.
[288f]“And I’ll provide his executioner.”—Henry the Sixth(Second Part), Act III., sc. 1.
[288g]“The lioness had torn some flesh away,Which all this while had bled.”—As You Like It, Act IV., sc. 3.
[452]“Like a bird.”