PERHAPS already you may know SIR BLENNERHASSET PORTICO?
A Captain in the Navy,he
A Baronet and K.C.B.
You do?I thought so!
It was that Captain's favourite whim (A notion not confined to him)That RODNEY was the greatest tar Who ever wielded capstanbar.
He had been taught so.
"BENBOW!CORNWALLIS!HOOD!Belay!
Compared with RODNEY"he would say
"No other tar is worth a rap!
The great LORD RODNEY was the chap The French to polish!
"Though,mind you,I respect LORD HOOD;CORNWALLIS,too,was rather good;
BENBOW could enemies repel,LORD NELSON,too,was pretty well That is,tollolish!"
SIR BLENNERHASSET spent his days In learning RODNEY'S little ways,And closely imitated,too,His mode of talking to his crew His port and paces.
An ancient tar he tried to catch Who'd served in RODNEY'S famous batch;But since his time long years have fled,And RODNEY'S tars are mostly dead:
EHEU FUGACES!
But after searching near and far,At last he found an ancient tar Who served with RODNEY and his crew Against the French in 'Eightytwo,(That gained the peerage).
He gave him fifty pounds a year,His rum,his baccy,and his beer;And had a comfortable den Rigged up in what,by merchantmen,Is called the steerage.
"Now,JASPER"'t was that sailor's name "Don't fear that you'll incur my blame By saying,when it seems to you,That there is anything I do That RODNEY wouldn't."
The ancient sailor turned his quid,Prepared to do as he was bid:
"Ay,ay,yer honour;to begin,You've done away with 'swifting in'Well,sir,you shouldn't!
"Upon your spars I see you've clapped Peak halliard blocks,all ironcapped.
I would not christen that a crime,But 'twas not done in RODNEY'S time.
It looks halfwitted!
Upon your maintopstay,I see,You always clap a selvagee!
Your stays,I see,are equalized
No vessel,such as RODNEY prized,Would thus be fitted!
"And RODNEY,honoured sir,would grin To see you turning deadeyes in,Not UP,as in the ancient way,But downwards,like a cutter's stay You didn't oughter;
Besides,in seizing shrouds on board,Breast backstays you have quite ignored;Great RODNEY kept unto the last Breast backstays on topgallant mast They make it tauter."
SIR BLENNERHASSET "swifted in,"
Turned deadeyes up,and lent a fin To strip (as told by JASPER KNOX)The iron capping from his blocks,Where there was any.
SIR BLENNERHASSET does away,With selvagees from maintopstay;And though it makes his sailors stare,He rigs breast backstays everywhere In fact,too many.
One morning,when the saucy craft Lay calmed,old JASPER toddled aft.
"My mind misgives me,sir,that we Were wrong about that selvagee I should restore it."
"Good,"said the Captain,and that day Restored it to the maintopstay.
Wellpractised sailors often make A much more serious mistake,And then ignore it.
Next day old JASPER came once more:
"I think,sir,I was right before."
Well,up the mast the sailors skipped,The selvagee was soon unshipped,And all were merry.
Again a day,and JASPER came:
"I p'r'aps deserve your honour's blame,I can't make up my mind,"said he,"About that cursed selvagee It's foolish very.
"On Monday night I could have sworn That maintopstay it should adorn,On Tuesday morning I could swear That selvagee should not be there.
The knot's a rasper!"
"Oh,you be hanged,"said CAPTAIN P.,"Here,go ashore at Caribbee.
Get out good bye shove off all right!"
Old JASPER soon was out of sight
Farewell,old JASPER!
