 | The Mockers and other Verses |  |
VII
But Ould Dan, says he: “Musha, where's Mick?”
and Young Dan says: “I bid him to skyte
And fetch in th' ould oars out of her; safer they'll be under cover this night;
Wid this win' drivin' flurries before it, the waves 'ill come ridin' our strand
Like a hunt at a twenty-inch dyke, fit to sweep o'er the breadth of the land.
Bottom up she belike might be floatin' 'gin morn, or broke fine on the shore.
He'll be back now,” says Dan. And wid that come the oar's butt-ind bumpin' the door,
And the gossoon ducked under it, liftin' it up, and the most he could do,
Till he leaned it down slantin' along by the wall; and says he to the two:
“And who's he then at all you have lyin' below in the bows of the boat?
Fast asleep he is body and bones, wid the head of him lapt in his coat.
So I told him the supper was ready widin, but I'm doubtin' he heard
Through the blasts of the win'; 'twas a great shout I let, but himself never stirred.
Is it drinkin' he was? He'd do right anyway to wake up and git home,
For the storm's comin' fierce wid the tide; out to say's all a lather of foam.
He might safer go sleep in his coffin,” says Mick, “than the boat where she lies.”
And fetch in th' ould oars out of her; safer they'll be under cover this night;
Wid this win' drivin' flurries before it, the waves 'ill come ridin' our strand
Like a hunt at a twenty-inch dyke, fit to sweep o'er the breadth of the land.
Bottom up she belike might be floatin' 'gin morn, or broke fine on the shore.
9
And the gossoon ducked under it, liftin' it up, and the most he could do,
Till he leaned it down slantin' along by the wall; and says he to the two:
“And who's he then at all you have lyin' below in the bows of the boat?
Fast asleep he is body and bones, wid the head of him lapt in his coat.
So I told him the supper was ready widin, but I'm doubtin' he heard
Through the blasts of the win'; 'twas a great shout I let, but himself never stirred.
Is it drinkin' he was? He'd do right anyway to wake up and git home,
For the storm's comin' fierce wid the tide; out to say's all a lather of foam.
He might safer go sleep in his coffin,” says Mick, “than the boat where she lies.”
Sure the Divil's the same as ourselves: he can't tell what he'll do till he tries;
And it's fairly surprised some odd whiles he must be wid the folks that he finds
He can fool. Who'd ha' guessed the two Dans 'ud go take such a thought in their minds,
And they dacint poor men all the while? But they let a coarse laugh at the lad,
And says Young Dan to him: “Was it drinkin' you said? Ay, true for you, bedad—
Just a drop he's been takin' too much in a place where there's drinkin' galore;
That's what ails him. But run you, and bid him step in if he's wishful for more.
He'll be hard-set to hear you, for into his dreams he's gone terrible deep;
Mind you wake him,” says Dan; and “No fear,” says the lad, “I'll not lave him asleep.”
10
He can fool. Who'd ha' guessed the two Dans 'ud go take such a thought in their minds,
And they dacint poor men all the while? But they let a coarse laugh at the lad,
And says Young Dan to him: “Was it drinkin' you said? Ay, true for you, bedad—
Just a drop he's been takin' too much in a place where there's drinkin' galore;
That's what ails him. But run you, and bid him step in if he's wishful for more.
He'll be hard-set to hear you, for into his dreams he's gone terrible deep;
Mind you wake him,” says Dan; and “No fear,” says the lad, “I'll not lave him asleep.”
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