[from Collected Works, T.E.Brown]

THE CHRISTENING

HOULD him up
Hould him up!
Joy ! joy!
Hould him up ! hould him up!
Is that the boy ?
Hould him up!

Stand out of the way, women,
Stand out of the way!
Here, Misthress Shimmin!
Here, I say!
Here ! here!
Aw dear!
Is this him?
Every limb
Taut and trim—
Here’s a hull !
Here’s a breast—
Like a bull !
He’s got my finger in his fess¹—
He hess ! ² he hess!
Look at the grip !
Is that a smile upon his lip?
He can’t do that !
What ! what!
Smile!
My gough ! what a chile!

Feel the gristle!
Feel it though!
Stop ! I’ll whistle—
Whew— ! bo!
What’s he doin’?
Is it cooin’
You call it when he goes like yandhar?
See his eyes the way they wandhar!
Hullo ! hullo!
Where’ll you go ? where’ll you go?
Keep her so!

There’s a look!
There’s another!
The little rook!
What’s he wantin’
With this gallivantin’?
Ah ! the mother ! ah ! the mother!
Yiss ! yiss ! muss hev a kiss'
Aw, Kitty, Kitty bogh ! ³
Aw my gough!
Kitty darlin’ ! Kitty then!
And me so far away!
The hard it muss ha’ ben ! ⁴
Were you freckened,⁵Kitty, eh?
Navar mind!
Here I am!
As consigned!
And, axin’ your pardon, Misthress Shimmin, ma’am,
Here’s the joy!
Here’s our boy, Kitty!
Here’s our boy!

Listen ! I’ll tell you a thing—
By jing !
I’ve calkerlated it to a dot,
But whether or not—
The very night Kitty was tuk—
Just three days,
If you plaze,
Out of Dantzic, there was a sea struck—
Jemmy ‘ll remember—
Every timber
Shuck!

Close-hauled, you know, and I navar tould ye,
But behould ye!
In the trough there, rowlin’ in it,
Just that minute—
I saw a baby, as plain,
Passin’ by on a slant of rain
To leeward, and his little shiff ⁶
Streamin’ away in the long gray driff.
I saw him there—you didn’ ⁷ me—
But his face was toward me—
Oughtn’t I to know him?
Well, I saw him afore Kitty saw him!
I saw him, and there he ess,⁸
There upon his mother’s breast,
The very same, I’ll assure ye;
And I think that’ll floor ye!
And his body all in a blaze of light—
A dirty night!
" Where was he goin’ ? "
Who’s knowin’?
He was in a hurry in any case,
And the Baltic is a lonesome place—
But here he is, all right!
Here he is now ! joy ! joy!
God bless the boy!

Have you tould the Pazon ? what did he say ?
Has he seen him—ould Pazon Gale?
Aw, you tould the Pazon anyway!
Tould I he’ll turn the scale
At thirty pound,
I’ll be bound.
Did you put it in the papers?
No, no ! What capers!
No, no!
Splendid though!
Upon my life—
Catharine, wife
Of Mounseer
Eddard Creer,
Esqueer
Otherwise dadaa,
Of a son and heer!
Hip-hip-hip-hip, hooraa!

Bless my sowl I am I draemin’?
He’ll make a seaman
Will yandhar lad—
Aw, the glad!
Yiss ! yiss I Misthress Shimmin, certainly
Go down to the smack,
Jemmy, and see—
Yiss ! Misthress Shimmin
And all the rest of the women—
‘Scuse me, ladies I rather ‘cited—
Just the delighted, you know, the delighted!
And every raison to suppose
(See him cockin’ his nose!)
That the best of care
And ceterar—_
I’ll get that with Misthress Shimmin—did ye say?
Eh?

Go, Jemmy, they’re lyin’ quite handy,
A bottle of rum and another of brandy,
In the starboard locker theer—
And, Jemmy ! there’s a taste of gin—-
Aw, navar fear!
Tell the chaps to finish it—
All the kit—
And listen—tell ould Harper
We’ll take and warp her
Inside
On the morning’s tide—
About hafe-past four ‘ll be time to begin—
My gough I but we’ll have a chrizzenin’!

1 Fist.
2 Has .
3 Poor Kitty.
4 Must have been.
5 Frightened.
6 Shift.
7 See.
8 Is.