Page 44 - Poetry-Whimsy

Altruism (A Tale)

The Lovely Mary, on her way
From Singapore to Boston Bay,
Had cloudless skies and glorious weather,
With favoring winds for days together;
And everything was going well,
When, near the Cape, it so befell
That, with a most decided shock,
The Lovely Mary—struck a rock.

She sank; but as the night was clear,
The ocean calm, an island near,
All who could keep themselves afloat
With cask, spar, life-preserver, boat
(In short, whatever came to hand),
Put off, and safely reached the land;
Leaving the gallant ship to sleep
Beneath the waves nine fathoms deep.
Now, as it chanced, upon that ship,
Returning from an Eastern trip,
Two scholars sailed, of great renown,
Jones, and the yet more famous Brown;
And when ‘twas plain that naught could save
The vessel from a watery grave,
As Fate or Chance would have it, each
Espied within convenient reach
Something that both desired to own,
A life-preserver, which, ‘tis known,
Can never be relied upon
To hold up safely more than one.
Yet on this life-preserver both
Seized in an instant, nothing loath;
And all of it Brown couldn’t clasp
Was quickly locked in Jones’s grasp;
And Jones’s keen, determined eye
In grim resolve was equaled by
The stern, uncompromising frown
Upon the lofty brow of Brown.
But lest you think that selfish thought
In those two noble bosoms wrought,

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