Volume I Part 25 (1/2)

VII

But he took us through his palace and, my lads, as I'm a sinner, We walked into an opal like a sunset-coloured cloud-- ”My dining-room,” he says, and, quick as light we saw a dinner Spread before us by the fingers of a hidden fairy crowd; And the skipper, swaying gently After dinner, murmurs faintly, ”I looks to-wards you, Prester John, you've done us very proud!”

_Cho._--And we drank his health with honours, for he _done_ us _very_ proud!

VIII

Then he walks us to his garden where we sees a feathered demon Very splendid and important on a sort of spicy tree!

”That's the Phoenix,” whispers Prester, ”which all eddicated seamen Knows the only one existent, and _he's_ waiting for to flee!

When his hundred years expire Then he'll set hisself a-fire And another from his ashes rise most beautiful to see!”

_Cho._--With wings of rose and emerald most beautiful to see!

IX

Then he says, ”In younder forest there's a little silver river, And whosoever drinks of it, his youth shall never die!

The centuries go by, but Prester John endures for ever With his music in the mountains and his magic on the sky!

While _your_ hearts are growing colder, While your world is growing older, There's a magic in the distance, where the sea-line meets the sky,”

_Cho._--It shall call to singing seamen till the fount o' song is dry!

X

So we thought we'd up and seek it, but that forest fair defied us,-- First a crimson leopard laughs at us most horrible to see, Then a sea-green lion came and sniffed and licked his chops and eyed us, While a red and yellow unicorn was dancing round a tree!

_We_ was trying to look thinner, Which was hard, because our dinner Must ha' made us very tempting to a cat o' high degree!

_Cho._--Must ha' made us very tempting to the whole menarjeree!

XI

So we scuttled from that forest and across the poppy meadows Where the awful s.h.a.ggy horror brooded o'er us in the dark!

And we pushes out from sh.o.r.e again a-jumping at our shadows, And pulls away most joyful to the old black barque!

And home again we plodded While the Polyphemus nodded With his battered moon-eye winking red and yellow through the dark.

_Cho._--Oh, the moon above the mountains, red and yellow through the dark!

XII

Across the seas of Wonderland to London-town we blundered, Forty singing seamen as was puzzled for to know If the visions that we saw was caused by--here again we pondered-- A tipple in a vision forty thousand years ago.

Could the grog we _dreamt_ we swallowed Make us _dream_ of all that followed?

We were only simple seamen, so of course we didn't know!