THE CAT.

Observer, Volume 3, Issue 68, 31 December 1881, Page 248

THE CAT.

A TALE FOR THE MARINES.*

Attend, ye gallant sailors, wherever ye may be— Among the dangers of the shore, or snug upon the seaWhile I relate a truthful tale of hateful actions done In the South Atlantic Ocean in the year of '81. 'Twas in the good ship Albatross, with Captain Henry Jinks (As fearless as a lion and as watchful as a lynx), "We sailed with eighteen passengers adown the noble Clyde For Wellington, New Zealand, across the ocean wide. An aged maiden lady, she sailed among the rest, Tor she could not find in Britain the man her soul loved best ; So she sailed to seek a husband across the stormy sea, And her favourite cat was with her, as black as black could be. 'Twas in the sultry tropics, when faint the breezes blew, This cat, with thirst and hunger, most piteouslj would mew, And slie prowled about at midnight, when all had gone to sleep, Till those who heard her howling gave curses low, but deep. Some passengers were heard to swear, by all that they adored, They would seize her by her sooty tail and pitch her overboard ; But the sailors swore as loudly that this thing would not be, Or they'd fling the fellow overboard who put her in the sea. With a superstitious pleasure thew saw the cat on deck, And as long as they beheld her they feared not storm or wreck ; But they said if one should harm her, or take away her life, The sbip would be in danger from stormy tempests' strife. And though oft the sailors grumbled about their wretched food — Not half enough in quantity, the quality not good — They had still a bit of choicest beef and softest bread to spare When pussy to the fo'c'sle went, their scanty meal to share. Thus onward sped the gallant ship, till fifty days were gone, Until, when drawing near the Cape, one night a, gale came on, And puss was heard till midnight loud mewing as before, • But from that fatal evening poor pussy mewed no more. Next morn the maiden lady awoke from troubled sleep, For she dreamed her sooty favourite was thrown into the deep ; She wept and wrung her hands, and cried, " Oh, pussy ! fond and true ; You were my only friend on earth, and now I've lost voutoo !" Full wrathful were the sailors when puss could not be found ; They cursed at all the passengers in curses rough and round, And they swore if they but knew the one who dared to take her life They'd pitch him over to the sharks, or rip him with a knife. And when they saw no longer the cat upon the deck The sailors spoke in whispers of terni )es t and of wreck ; For they alll believed sincerely, if puss was in the deep, She would raise the Powers of Darkness, and the ship to ruin sweep. But hark to what I tell you (though strange, it all is true) — From that night ceased the tempest, the gale no longer blew, And a steady breeze impelled the ship o'er waves that lightly curled, And we sailed right on to Wellington with all our sails unfurled. And all the sailors wondered, and shook their heads at that (For bud luck aye should follow the drowning of a cat)— All but one, named Jacob Bumble, and a sneaking wretch was he, Who stole the boy's new oilskins the first week out at sea. At Wellington the sailors wont ashore to spend their "tin," And Harry, Jack, and Bumble were drinking at an inn, And they talked about the voyage and the drowning of the cat, But Bumble laughed and chuckled, and said "All round my hat !" Then Harry asked of Bumble to tell them what lie meant, And Bumble, " half-seas-over," was very well content To "spin a yarn" to please them; so he laughed and licked his lips, And said : — "About the cat, beys ; 'was cook and I and 'chips.' "'Twas yon tempestuous midnight poor pussy's spirit fled; I took a stout belaying-pin and struck her on the head, And I pitched her carcase in the bunk whore cook and chips they lay, And those two skinned and cooked her before the break of day. " They cooked her in a pie, boys, with crust so crisp and sweet, With carrots at her head, boys, potatoes at her feet ; And before the sun had risen the cook and I and chips Had eaten cat and crust and all, and licked our hungry lips. " And weren't we quite right, boys ? for she made a dainty dish — Far better than a porpoise or a score of flying fish ; And old Hadfield shouldn't starve iis in his [hanged] teetotal ships, And we'll sail in such no longer — the cook and me and chips." Jack and Harry swore at Bumble, and left him whore he sat, For they cotild not bear a rascal who could eat a pussycat : And Bumble, cook, and carpenter were all discharged next day, And they went ashore together with their "toggory" and pay. Well, that is all my story; I have notliing more to state, Except that these three scoundrels each met a dreadful fate; They sailed away to Sydney, where their money all was spent, And as they could not find a ship, from bad to worse they went. The wretched Jacob Bumble, he joined the "Kelly gang," ■ - And was shot down by the bobbies in the town of Barra* wang ; Cook's mouth broke out in blisters, his tongue swelled in a lump. Till he died of sheer starvation ; and chips went off his " chump." Moral. Now, all ye gallant sailors, wherever ye may bo, Take warning by my story, so truthful and so free. If your owner fain would starve you, and grudges you a meal, Eat flying-fish and porpoise, buy, borrow, beg, and steal } Go even to the " slush-pot," and fill yourselves from that Though you'd likely then have scurvy) ; but be sure don't eat thh cat. The Black Knisht. * This poem is based upon a very prevalent superstition among sailors, that it is most unlucky to drown a cat at sea; and it is also to a slight extent founded on the occurrences which transpired during a recent voyage to New Zealand, though the real names are, of course, suppressed.