,transcribed from the #aiba ,chatto and ,windus edition by ,david ,price1 email ccx#jgdpglaf4org ,picture3 ,book cover ,,moral ,,emblems ,,other ,,poems ,,written ,,and ,,illustrated ,,with ,,woodcuts ,,by ,,robert ,,louis ,,stevenson ,,first ,,printed ,,at ,,the ,,davos ,,press ,,by ,,lloyd ,,osbourne ,,and ,,with ,a ,,preface ,,by ,,the ,,same ,picture3 ,woodcut #8,labor ,crux ,corona' ,,london ,,chatto ,,windus #aiba 99 99 99 99 99 ,all rights reserved 99 99 99 99 99 ,,preface ,,it is with some diffidence that ,i sit down at an age so mature that ,i cannot bring myself to name it1 to write a preface to works ,i printed and published at twelve4 ,i would have the reader see a little boy living in a chlet on a ,swiss mountain-side1 overlooking a straggling village named ,davos-,platz1 where consumptives coming to get well more often died4 ,it was winter2 the sky-line was broken by frosty peaks2 the hamlet--it was scarcely more then--lay huddled in the universal snow4 ,morning came late1 and the sun set early4 ,a still1 silent and icy night had an undue share of the round of hours1 which at least it had the grace to mitigate by a myriad of shining stars4 ,the little boy thought it was a very jolly place4 ,he loved the tobogganing1 the skating1 the snow-balling2 loved the crisp1 tingling air1 and the woods full of ,christmas trees1 glittering with icicles4 ,nor with his toy theatre and printing-press was the indoor confinement ever irksome4 ,he but dimly appreciated that his stepfather and mother were less happy in so favoured a spot4 ,his mother's face was often anxious2 sometimes he would find her crying4 ,his stepfather1 whom he idolised1 was terribly thin1 and even to childish eyes looked frail and spectral4 ,the stepfather was an unsuccessful author named ,robert ,louis ,stevenson1 who would never have got along at all had it not been for his rich parents in ,edinburgh4 ,the little boy at his lessons in the room which they all shared grew used to hearing a sentence that struck at his heart4 ,perhaps it was the tone it was uttered in2 perhaps the looks of discouragement and depression that went with it4 #8,fanny1 ,i shall have to write to my father4' ,it served to make the little boy very precocious about money4 ,in a family perennially short of it he learned its essentialness early4 ,he knew too1 that he was a dreadfully expensive child4 ,his stepfather paid forty pounds for his winter's tutoring1 not to speak of an additional outlay on a dying ,prussian officer who taught him ,german with the aid of a pocket-knife stuck down his throat to give him the right accent4 ,it was with consternation that he once heard his stepfather say in a voice of tragedy3 #8,good ,heavens1 ,fanny1 we are spending ten pounds a week on food alone6' ,the little boy1 under the stress of this financial urgency1 decided to go into business1 finding a capital opening in the ,hotel ,belvidere1 where a hundred programmes were required weekly for the ,saturday night concerts4 ,a gentleman with a black beard1 who was in charge of these arrangements1 willingly offered to pay two francs fifty centimes for each set of programmes4 ,the little boy was afraid of the gentleman with the black beard2 he was a formidable gentleman1 with a formidable manner1 and he was very exacting about spelling4 ,the gentleman with the black beard attached an inordinate importance to spelling4 ,the gentleman with the black beard was wholly unable to make allowances for the trifling mistakes that will occur in even the best-managed of printing-offices4 ,if the little boy printed3 #8',twas in ,trofolgar's ,bay 4 4 4 sung by ,mr4 ,edwin ,smith1' the black-bearded gentleman had no mercy in sending that poor little boy back to do it all over again4 ,but he paid promptly--a severe man1 but extremely honourable4 ,there were charity-bazaars too1 public invitations1 announcements1 letter-heads1 all bringing grist to the mill4 ,the #8,elegy for ,some ,lead ,soldiers' was brought out1 and sold for a penny4 ,once there was a colossal order for a thousand lottery tickets4 ,the little boy's ambitions soared4 ,he wrote and printed a tiny book of eight pages1 entitled #8,black ,canyon1 or ,life in the ,far ,west1' in which he used all the #8cuts' he had somehow accumulated with his type--the story conforming to the illustrations instead of the more common-place way of the illustrations conforming to the text4 ,this work can occasionally be picked up at one of ,sotheby's auctions1 and if you can get it for less than twenty-five pounds you are lucky--that is if you are a collector and prize such things4 ,it has risen to the dignity of #8,,davos ,,booklets2 ,,stevensoniana2 ,,excessively ,,rare4' ,but its original price was sixpence1 and its sale was immediate and gratifying4 ,the little boy discovered that there was much more money to be made from one book than a dozen sets of programmes1 and that without any black-bearded gentleman either to tweak his nose when errors crept in4 ,louis1 as the little boy always called his stepfather1 with a familiarity that was much criticised by strangers1 followed this publishing venture with absorbing interest4 ,then his own ambitions awakened1 and one day1 with an affected humility that was most embarrassing1 he called at the office1 and submitted a manuscript called1 #8,not ,i1 and ,other ,poems1' which the firm of ,osbourne and ,co4 gladly accepted on the spot4 ,it was an instantaneous hit1 selling out an entire edition of fifty copies4 ,the publisher was thrilled1 and the author was equally jubilant1 saying it was the only successful book he had ever written1 and jingling his three francs of royalties with an air that made the little boy burst out laughing with delighted pride4 ,in the ensuing enthusiasm another book was planned1 and the first poem for it written4 #8,if only we could have illustrations1' said the publisher longingly4 ,but his #8cuts' had all been used in #8,black ,canyon1 or ,life in the ,far ,west4' ,illustrations had to be put by as a dream impossible of fulfilment4 ,no1 not impossible6 ,louis1 who was a man of infinite resourcefulness 7he could paint better theatre-scenes than any one could buy71 said that he would try to carve some pictures on squares of fretwood4 ,the word fretwood seems as unknown nowadays as the thing itself2 it was an extremely thin piece of board with which one was supposed to make works of art with the help of pasted-on patterns1 an aggravating little saw1 and the patience of ,job4 4 4 4 ,well1 ,louis cut out a small square of fretwood1 and in a deeply-thoughtful manner applied himself to the task4 ,he had only a pocket-knife2 real tools came later2 but he was impelled by a will to win that carried all before it4 ,after an afternoon of almost suffocating excitement--for the publisher--he completed the engraving that accompanies the poem3 #8,reader1 your soul upraise to see4' ,but it had yet to be mounted on a wooden block in order to raise it to the exact level of the type4 ,at last this was done4 ,a proof was run off4 ,but the impression was unequal4 ,oh1 the disappointment6 ,author and publisher gazed at each other in misery4 ,but woman's wit came to the rescue4 ,why not build it up with cigarette papers8 #8,bravo1 ,fanny6' ,the author set to work1 deftly and skilfully4 ,then more proofs1 more cigarette-papers1 more running up and down stairs to the little boy's room1 which in temperature hovered about zero4 ,but what was temperature8 ,the thing was a success4 ,the little boy1 entranced beyond measure1 printed copy after copy from the sheer pleasure of seeing the wet ink magically reproducing the block4 ,the next day the little boy was sent to a dying ,swiss--half the population of ,davos were coughing away the remnants of life--who lived with his poverty-stricken family in one room1 earning their bread by carving bears4 ,a model block was shown him4 ,could he reproduce a dozen exactly like it1 but in a wood without any grain8 ,the dying ,swiss said he could1 leaving his bear forthwith1 and applying himself to the task4 ,the pinched-face children looked on amazed2 the little print of #8,reader1 your soul upraise to see' was passed from hand to hand with exclamations of astonishment4 ,the dying ,swiss gave the little boy the blocks1 beautifully and faultlessly finished4 ,would the little boy care to buy a bear8 ,no1 the little boy didn't4 ,he scurried home through the snow with the precious blocks4 ,thus #8,moral ,emblems' came out2 ninety copies1 price sixpence4 ,its reception might almost be called sensational4 ,wealthy people in the ,hotel ,belvidere bought as many as three copies apiece4 ,friends in ,england wrote back for more4 ,meanwhile the splendid artist was assiduously busy4 ,he worked like a beaver1 saying that it was the best relaxation he had ever found4 ,the little boy once overheard him confiding to a visitor3 #8,i cannot tell you what a ,godsend these silly blocks have been to me4 ,when ,i can write no more1 and read no more1 and think no more1 ,i can pass whole hours engraving these blocks in blissful contentment4' ,these may not have been the actual words1 but such at least was their sense4 ,thus the second #8,moral ,emblems' came out2 ninety copies1 price ninepence4 ,the public welcomed it as heartily as the first1 the little boy becoming so prosperous that he accumulated upwards of five pounds4 ,but let it never be said that he spurned the humble mainstay of his beginnings4 ,he printed the weekly programmes as usual1 and bore the exactions of the black-bearded gentleman with fortitude4 ,when he made such a trifling mistake1 for instance1 as #8,the ,harp that ,once ,through ,tara's ,hells1' he dutifully climbed the hill to his freezing room1 and ran off a whole fresh set4 ,two francs fifty was two francs fifty4 ,every business man appreciates the comfort of a small regular order which can be counted on like the clock4 ,but one day there was no black-bearded gentleman4 #8,oh1 he was dead4 ,had had a hemorrhage three days before and had died4' ,i don't know whether the little boy mourned for him particularly1 but it was a shock to lose that two francs fifty centimes4 ,the little boy was worried until he found a lady who had substituted herself for the gentleman with the black beard4 ,she was a very kind lady2 you could print anything for that lady1 and #8get away with it' as ,americans say4 ,but she was frolicsome and lacked poise2 she was vague about appointments1 and had a disheartening way of saying3 #8,oh1 bother1' when the little boy appeared2 she would insist on kissing him amid circumstances of the most odious publicity2 was so abased a creature besides1 that she often marred the programmes by making pen-and-ink corrections4 ,in contrast1 the little boy looked back on the black-bearded gentleman almost with regret4 ,two winters were thus occupied1 with incidental education that seemed far less important4 ,the ,prussian officer had fortunately died1 releasing the little boy from any further study of ,german4 ,all that he retains of it to-day is the taste of that pocket-knife1 and of the ,prussian officer's thumb4 ,then he was sent to boarding-school in ,england1 or to be precise to a tutor who had half a dozen resident pupils4 ,time passed2 publishing became a memory4 ,then a long summer holiday found the little boy1 now much grown and matured1 reunited with his family in ,kingussie4 ,the printing-press was there1 and business was resumed with enthusiasm4 ,the stepfather1 who had made much more progress with engraving than the boy had with ,latin1 had the blocks and poems all ready for #8,the ,graver and the ,pen4' ,but the printing-press broke down2 and after an interval of despair and unavailing attempts to repair it1 an amiable old man was found who had a press of his own behind a microscopic general shop4 ,here #8,the ,graver and the ,pen' was printed with what now seems an almost regrettable perfection4 ,the amiable old man was altogether too amiable4 ,he would insist on doing far too much himself1 though he had been merely paid a trifling rent for the use of the press4 ,an edition of a hundred copies was printed1 of which almost none were sold4 ,the little boy had grown such a big boy that he was ashamed of tradesmanship4 ,he had passed the age when he could take sixpences and ninepences with ease from strangers4 ,new standards were imperceptibly forming1 and it pleased him better to see his stepfather give away #8,the ,graver and the ,pen' to those worthy of so signal an honour4 ,in fact #8,the ,graver and the ,pen' was the last enterprise of ,osbourne and ,co4 #8,the ,pirate and the ,apothecary' was projected2 three superb illustrations were engraved for it2 yet it never saw more light than the typewriter afforded4 #8,the ,builder's ,doom' has remained in manuscript until the present time4 ,no illustrations were either drawn or engraved for it4 ,it marked the final decline of a once flourishing business1 which in its day had given so much laughter to many people sadly in need of it4 ,,lloyd ,,osbourne4 ,,contents ,,page ,,preface v ,,not ,i1 ,,and ,,other ,,poems-- ,i4 ,some like drink #c ,,ii4 ,here1 perfect to a wish #d ,,iii4 ,as seamen on the seas #e ,,iv4 ,the pamphlet here presented #f ,,moral ,,emblems3 ,a ,,collection ,,of ,,cuts ,,and ,,verses-- ,i4 ,see how the children in the print #i ,,ii4 ,reader1 your soul upraise to see #aa ,,iii4 ,a ,,peak ,,in ,,darien--,broad-gazing on untrodden lands #ac ,,iv4 ,see in the print how1 moved by whim #ae ,v4 ,mark1 printed on the opposing page #ag ,,moral ,,emblems3 ,a ,,second ,,collection ,,of ,,cuts ,,and ,,verses-- ,i4 ,with storms a-weather1 rocks-a-lee #ba ,,ii4 ,the careful angler chose his nook #bc ,,iii4 ,the ,abbot for a walk went out #be ,,iv4 ,the frozen peaks he once explored #bg ,v4 ,industrious pirate6 see him sweep #bi ,a ,,martial ,,elegy ,,for ,,some ,,lead ,,soldiers-- ,for certain soldiers lately dead #cc ,,the ,,graver ,,and ,,the ,,pen3 ,,or1 ,,scenes ,,from ,,nature1 ,,with ,,appropriate ,,verses ,i4 ,,proem--,unlike the common run of men #cg ,,ii4 ,,the ,,precarious ,,mill--,alone above the stream it #da stands ,,iii4 ,,the ,,disputatious ,,pines--,the first pine to the #de second said ,,iv4 ,,the ,,tramps--,now long enough had day endured #di ,v4 ,,the ,,foolhardy ,,geographer--,the howling desert miles #ea around ,,vi4 ,,the ,,angler ,,and ,,the ,,clown--,the echoing bridge you #ee here may see ,,moral ,,tales-- ,i4 ,,robin ,,and ,,ben3 ,,or1 ,,the ,,pirate ,,and ,,the #ei ,,apothecary--,come1 lend me an attentive ear ,,ii4 ,,the ,,builder',s ,,doom--,in eighteen-twenty ,deacon ,thin #gc ,,not ,i ,,and ,,other ,,poems ,i ,,not ,i ,some like drink ,in a pint pot1 ,some like to think2 ,some not4 ,strong ,dutch cheese1 ,old ,kentucky rye1 ,some like these2 ,not ,i4 ,some like ,poe1 ,and others like ,scott1 ,some like ,mrs4 ,stowe2 ,some not4 ,some like to laugh1 ,some like to cry1 ,some like chaff2 ,not ,i4 ,,ii ,here1 perfect to a wish1 ,we offer1 not a dish1 ,but just the platter3 ,a book that's not a book1 ,a pamphlet in the look ,but not the matter4 ,i own in disarray3 ,as to the flowers of ,may ,the frosts of ,winter2 ,to my poetic rage1 ,the smallness of the page ,and of the printer4 ,,iii ,as seamen on the seas ,with song and dance descry ,adown the morning breeze ,an islet in the sky3 ,in ,araby the dry1 ,as o'er the sandy plain ,the panting camels cry ,to smell the coming rain3 ,so all things over earth ,a common law obey1 ,and rarity and worth ,pass1 arm in arm1 away2 ,and even so1 to-day1 ,the printer and the bard1 ,in pressless ,davos1 pray ,their sixpenny reward4 ,,iv ,the pamphlet here presented ,was planned and printed by ,a printer unindented1 ,a bard whom all decry4 ,the author and the printer1 ,with various kinds of skill1 ,concocted it in ,winter ,at ,davos on the ,hill4 ,they burned the nightly taper2 ,but now the work is ripe-- ,observe the costly paper1 ,remark the perfect type6 ,,moral ,,emblems ,i ,picture3 ,woodcut of person coming to house with children to welcome ,i ,see how the children in the print ,bound on the book to see what's in 't6 ,o1 like these pretty babes1 may you ,seize and apply this volume too6 ,and while your eye upon the cuts ,with harmless ardour opes and shuts1 ,reader1 may your immortal mind ,to their sage lessons not be blind4 ,picture3 ,woodcut of person leaving seated person ,,ii ,reader1 your soul upraise to see1 ,in yon fair cut designed by me1 ,the pauper by the highwayside ,vainly soliciting from pride4 ,mark how the ,beau with easy air ,contemns the anxious rustic's prayer1 ,and1 casting a disdainful eye1 ,goes gaily gallivanting by4 ,he from the poor averts his head 4 4 4 ,he will regret it when he's dead4 ,picture3 ,person raising arms1 bird in sky ,,iii ,a ,,peak ,,in ,,darien ,broad-gazing on untrodden lands1 ,see where adventurous ,cortez stands2 ,while in the heavens above his head ,the ,eagle seeks its daily bread4 ,how aptly fact to fact replies3 ,heroes and eagles1 hills and skies4 ,ye who contemn the fatted slave ,look on this emblem1 and be brave4 ,picture3 ,man and elephant ,,iv ,see in the print how1 moved by whim1 ,trumpeting ,jumbo1 great and grim1 ,adjusts his trunk1 like a cravat1 ,to noose that individual's hat4 ,the sacred ,ibis in the distance ,joys to observe his bold resistance4 ,picture3 ,man punching another who falls backs from edge ,v ,mark1 printed on the opposing page1 ,the unfortunate effects of rage4 ,a man 7who might be you or me7 ,hurls another into the sea4 ,poor soul1 his unreflecting act ,his future joys will much contract1 ,and he will spoil his evening toddy ,by dwelling on that mangled body4 ,,moral ,,emblems ,,ii ,picture3 ,man seeing sailing boat ,i ,with storms a-weather1 rocks a-lee1 ,the dancing skiff puts forth to sea4 ,the lone dissenter in the blast ,recoils before the sight aghast4 ,but she1 although the heavens be black1 ,holds on upon the starboard tack1 ,for why8 although to-day she sink1 ,still safe she sails in printer's ink1 ,and though to-day the seamen drown1 ,my cut shall hand their memory down4 ,picture3 ,man fishing ,,ii ,the careful angler chose his nook ,at morning by the lilied brook1 ,and all the noon his rod he plied ,by that romantic riverside4 ,soon as the evening hours decline ,tranquilly he'll return to dine1 ,and1 breathing forth a pious wish1 ,will cram his belly full of fish4 ,picture3 ,two people by tree ,,iii ,the ,abbot for a walk went out1 ,a wealthy cleric1 very stout1 ,and ,robin has that ,abbot stuck ,as the red hunter spears the buck4 ,the djavel or the javelin ,has1 you observe1 gone bravely in1 ,and you may hear that weapon whack ,bang through the middle of his back4 ,hence we may learn that ,abbots should ,never go walking in a wood4 ,picture3 ,man on path ,,iv ,the frozen peaks he once explored1 ,but now he's dead and by the board4 ,how better far at home to have stayed ,attended by the parlour maid1 ,and warmed his knees before the fire ,until the hour when folks retire6 ,so1 if you would be spared to friends1 ,do nothing but for business ends4 ,picture3 ,person with telescope looking from cliff ,v ,industrious pirate6 see him sweep ,the lonely bosom of the deep1 ,and daily the horizon scan ,from ,hatteras or ,matapan4 ,be sure1 before that pirate's old1 ,he will have made a pot of gold1 ,and will retire from all his labours ,and be respected by his neighbours4 ,you also scan your life's horizon ,for all that you can clap your eyes on4 ,a ,,martial ,,elegy ,,for ,,some ,,lead ,,soldiers ,for certain soldiers lately dead ,our reverent dirge shall here be said4 ,them1 when their martial leader called1 ,no dread preparative appalled2 ,but leaden-hearted1 leaden-heeled1 ,i marked them steadfast in the field4 ,death grimly sided with the foe1 ,and smote each leaden hero low4 ,proudly they perished one by one3 ,the dread ,pea-cannon's work was done6 ,o not for them the tears we shed1 ,consigned to their congenial lead2 ,but while unmoved their sleep they take1 ,we mourn for their dear ,captain's sake1 ,for their dear ,captain1 who shall smart ,both in his pocket and his heart1 ,who saw his heroes shed their gore1 ,and lacked a shilling to buy more6 ,,the ,,graver ,,the ,,pen3 ,,or1 ,,scenes ,,from ,,nature1 ,,with ,,appropriate ,,verses ,i ,,proem ,unlike the common run of men1 ,i wield a double power to please1 ,and use the ,,graver and the ,,pen ,with equal aptitude and ease4 ,i move with that illustrious crew1 ,the ambidextrous ,kings of ,art2 ,and every mortal thing ,i do ,brings ringing money in the mart4 ,hence1 in the morning hour1 the mead1 ,the forest and the stream perceive ,me wandering as the muses lead-- ,or back returning in the eve4 ,two muses like two maiden aunts1 ,the engraving and the singing muse1 ,follow1 through all my favourite haunts1 ,my devious traces in the dews4 ,to guide and cheer me1 each attends2 ,each speeds my rapid task along2 ,one to my cuts her ardour lends1 ,one breathes her magic in my song4 ,picture3 ,strange building ,,ii ,,the ,,precarious ,,mill ,alone above the stream it stands1 ,above the iron hill1 ,the topsy-turvy1 tumble-down1 ,yet habitable mill4 ,still as the ringing saws advance ,to slice the humming deal1 ,all day the pallid miller hears ,the thunder of the wheel4 ,he hears the river plunge and roar ,as roars the angry mob2 ,he feels the solid building quake1 ,the trusty timbers throb4 ,all night beside the fire he cowers3 ,he hears the rafters jar3 ,o why is he not in a proper house ,as decent people are6 ,the floors are all aslant1 he sees1 ,the doors are all a-jam2 ,and from the hook above his head ,all crooked swings the ham4 #8,alas1' he cries and shakes his head1 #8,i see by every sign1 ,there soon all be the deuce to pay1 ,with this estate of mine4' ,picture3 ,pine trees ,,iii ,,the ,,disputatious ,,pines ,the first pine to the second said3 #8,my leaves are black1 my branches red2 ,i stand upon this moor of mine1 ,a hoar1 unconquerable pine4' ,the second sniffed and answered3 #8,pooh6 ,i am as good a pine as you4' #8,discourteous tree1' the first replied1 #8,the tempest in my boughs had cried1 ,the hunter slumbered in my shade1 ,a hundred years ere you were made4' ,the second smiled as he returned3 #8,i shall be here when you are burned4' ,so far dissension ruled the pair1 ,each turned on each a frowning air1 ,when flickering from the bank anigh1 ,a flight of martens met their eye4 ,sometime their course they watched2 and then-- ,they nodded off to sleep again4 ,picture3 ,three tramps ,,iv ,,the ,,tramps ,now long enough had day endured1 ,or ,king ,apollo ,palinured1 ,seaward he steers his panting team1 ,and casts on earth his latest gleam4 ,but see6 the ,tramps with jaded eye ,their destined provinces espy4 ,long through the hills their way they took1 ,long camped beside the mountain brook2 ',tis over2 now with rising hope ,they pause upon the downward slope1 ,and as their aching bones they rest1 ,their anxious captain scans the west4 ,so paused ,alaric on the ,alps ,and ciphered up the ,roman scalps4 ,picture3 ,man by river ,v ,,the ,,foolhardy ,,geographer ,the howling desert miles around1 ,the tinkling brook the only sound-- ,wearied with all his toils and feats1 ,the traveller dines on potted meats2 ,on potted meats and princely wines1 ,not wisely but too well he dines4 ,the brindled ,tiger loud may roar1 ,high may the hovering ,vulture soar2 ,alas6 regardless of them all1 ,soon shall the empurpled glutton sprawl-- ,soon1 in the desert's hushed repose1 ,shall trumpet tidings through his nose6 ,alack1 unwise6 that nasal song ,shall be the ,ounce's dinner-gong6 ,a blemish in the cut appears2 ,alas6 it cost both blood and tears4 ,the glancing graver swerved aside1 ,fast flowed the artist's vital tide6 ,and now the apologetic bard ,demands indulgence for his pard6 ,picture3 ,man on bridge ,,vi ,,the ,,angler ,,and ,,the ,,clown ,the echoing bridge you here may see1 ,the pouring lynn1 the waving tree1 ,the eager angler fresh from town-- ,above1 the contumelious clown4 ,the angler plies his line and rod1 ,the clodpole stands with many a nod1-- ,with many a nod and many a grin1 ,he sees him cast his engine in4 #8,what have you caught8' the peasant cries4 #8,nothing as yet1' the ,fool replies4 ,,moral ,,tales ,picture3 ,the ,pirate and the ,apothecary3 ,scene the ,first ,i ,,robin ,,and ,,ben3 ,,or1 ,,the ,,pirate ,,and ,,the ,,apothecary ,come1 lend me an attentive ear ,a startling moral tale to hear1 ,of ,pirate ,rob and ,chemist ,ben1 ,and different destinies of men4 ,deep in the greenest of the vales ,that nestle near the coast of ,wales1 ,the heaving main but just in view1 ,robin and ,ben together grew1 ,together worked and played the fool1 ,together shunned the ,sunday school1 ,and pulled each other's youthful noses ,around the cots1 among the roses4 ,together but unlike they grew2 ,robin was rough1 and through and through ,bold1 inconsiderate1 and manly1 ,like some historic ,bruce or ,stanley4 ,ben had a mean and servile soul1 ,he robbed not1 though he often stole4 ,he sang on ,sunday in the choir1 ,and tamely capped the passing ,squire4 ,at length1 intolerant of trammels-- ,wild as the wild ,bithynian camels1 ,wild as the wild sea-eagles--,bob ,his widowed dam contrives to rob1 ,and thus with great originality ,effectuates his personality4 ,thenceforth his terror-haunted flight ,he follows through the starry night2 ,and with the early morning breeze1 ,behold him on the azure seas4 ,the master of a trading dandy ,hires ,robin for a go of brandy2 ,and all the happy hills of home ,vanish beyond the fields of foam4 ,ben1 meanwhile1 like a tin reflector1 ,attended on the worthy rector2 ,opened his eyes and held his breath1 ,and flattered to the point of death2 ,and was at last1 by that good fairy1 ,apprenticed to the ,apothecary4 ,so ,ben1 while ,robin chose to roam1 ,a rising chemist was at home1 ,tended his shop with learnd air1 ,watered his drugs and oiled his hair1 ,and gave advice to the unwary1 ,like any sleek apothecary4 ,meanwhile upon the deep afar ,robin the brave was waging war1 ,with other tarry desperadoes ,about the latitude of ,barbadoes4 ,he knew no touch of craven fear2 ,his voice was thunder in the cheer2 ,first1 from the main-to'-gallan' high1 ,the skulking merchantmen to spy-- ,the first to bound upon the deck1 ,the last to leave the sinking wreck4 ,his hand was steel1 his word was law1 ,his mates regarded him with awe4 ,no pirate in the whole profession ,held a more honourable position4 ,at length1 from years of anxious toil1 ,bold ,robin seeks his native soil2 ,wisely arranges his affairs1 ,and to his native dale repairs4 ,the ,bristol ,swallow sets him down ,beside the well-remembered town4 ,he sighs1 he spits1 he marks the scene1 ,proudly he treads the village green2 ,and1 free from pettiness and rancour1 ,takes lodgings at the #8,crown and ,anchor4' ,strange1 when a man so great and good ,once more in his home-country stood1 ,strange that the sordid clowns should show ,a dull desire to have him go4 ,picture3 ,the ,pirate and the ,apothecary3 ,scene the ,second ,his clinging breeks1 his tarry hat1 ,the way he swore1 the way he spat1 ,a certain quality of manner1 ,alarming like the pirate's banner-- ,something that did not seem to suit all-- ,something1 ,o call it bluff1 not brutal-- ,something at least1 howe'er it's called1 ,made ,robin generally black-balled4 ,his soul was wounded2 proud and glum1 ,alone he sat and swigged his rum1 ,and took a great distaste to men ,till he encountered ,chemist ,ben4 ,bright was the hour and bright the day ,that threw them in each other's way2 ,glad were their mutual salutations1 ,long their respective revelations4 ,before the inn in sultry weather ,they talked of this and that together2 ,ben told the tale of his indentures1 ,and ,rob narrated his adventures4 ,last1 as the point of greatest weight1 ,the pair contrasted their estate1 ,and ,robin1 like a boastful sailor1 ,despised the other for a tailor4 #8,see1' he remarked1 #8with envy1 see ,a man with such a fist as me6 ,bearded and ringed1 and big1 and brown1 ,i sit and toss the stingo down4 ,hear the gold jingle in my bag-- ,all won beneath the ,jolly ,flag6' ,ben moralised and shook his head3 #8,you wanderers earn and eat your bread4 ,the foe is found1 beats or is beaten1 ,and1 either how1 the wage is eaten4 ,and after all your pully-hauly ,your proceeds look uncommon small-ly4 ,you had done better here to tarry ,apprentice to the ,apothecary4 ,the silent pirates of the shore ,eat and sleep soft1 and pocket more ,than any red1 robustious ranger ,who picks his farthings hot from danger4 ,you clank your guineas on the board2 ,mine are with several bankers stored4 ,you reckon riches on your digits1 ,you dash in chase of ,sals and ,bridgets1 ,you drink and risk delirium tremens1 ,your whole estate a common seaman's6 ,regard your friend and school companion1 ,soon to be wed to ,miss ,trevanion 7,smooth1 honourable1 fat and flowery1 ,with ,heaven knows how much land in dowry71 ,look at me--,am ,i in good case8 ,look at my hands1 look at my face2 ,look at the cloth of my apparel2 ,try me and test me1 lock and barrel2 ,and own1 to give the devil his due1 ,i have made more of life than you4 ,yet ,i nor sought nor risked a life2 ,i shudder at an open knife2 ,the perilous seas ,i still avoided ,and stuck to land whate'er betided4 ,i had no gold1 no marble quarry1 ,i was a poor apothecary1 ,yet here ,i stand1 at thirty-eight1 ,a man of an assured estate4' #8,well1' answered ,robin--#8well1 and how8' ,the smiling chemist tapped his brow4 #8,rob1' he replied1 #8this throbbing brain ,still worked and hankered after gain4 ,by day and night1 to work my will1 ,it pounded like a powder mill2 ,and marking how the world went round ,a theory of theft it found4 ,here is the key to right and wrong3 ,steal little1 but steal all day long2 ,and this invaluable plan ,marks what is called the ,honest ,man4 ,when first ,i served with ,doctor ,pill1 ,my hand was ever in the till4 ,picture3 ,the ,pirate and the ,apothecary3 ,scene the ,third ,now that ,i am myself a master1 ,my gains come softer still and faster4 ,as thus3 on ,wednesday1 a maid ,came to me in the way of trade4 ,her mother1 an old farmer's wife1 ,required a drug to save her life4 #8,at once1 my dear1 at once1' ,i said1 ,patted the child upon the head1 ,bade her be still a loving daughter1 ,and filled the bottle up with water4' #8,well1 and the mother8' ,robin cried4 #8,o she6' said ,ben--#8,i think she died4' #8,battle and blood1 death and disease1 ,upon the tainted ,tropic seas-- ,the attendant sharks that chew the cud-- ,the abhorred scuppers spouting blood-- ,the untended dead1 the ,tropic sun-- ,the thunder of the murderous gun-- ,the cut-throat crew--the ,captain's curse-- ,the tempest blustering worse and worse-- ,these have ,i known and these can stand1 ,but you--,i settle out of hand6' ,out flashed the cutlass1 down went ,ben ,dead and rotten1 there and then4 ,,ii ,,the ,,builder',s ,,doom ,in eighteen-twenty ,deacon ,thin ,feu'd the land and fenced it in1 ,and laid his broad foundations down ,about a furlong out of town4 ,early and late the work went on4 ,the carts were toiling ere the dawn2 ,the mason whistled1 the hodman sang2 ,early and late the trowels rang2 ,and ,thin himself came day by day ,to push the work in every way4 ,an artful builder1 patent king ,of all the local building ring1 ,who was there like him in the quarter ,for mortifying brick and mortar1 ,or pocketing the odd piastre ,by substituting lath and plaster8 ,with plan and two-foot rule in hand1 ,he by the foreman took his stand1 ,with boisterous voice1 with eagle glance ,to stamp upon extravagance4 ,for thrift of bricks and greed of guilders1 ,he was the ,buonaparte of ,builders4 ,the foreman1 a desponding creature1 ,demurred to here and there a feature3 #8,for surely1 sir--with your permeession-- ,bricks here1 sir1 in the main parteetion4 4 4 4 ' ,the builder goggled1 gulped1 and stared1 ,the foreman's services were spared4 ,thin would not count among his minions ,a man of ,wesleyan opinions4 #8,money is money1' so he said4 #8,crescents are crescents1 trade is trade4 ,pharaohs and emperors in their seasons ,built1 ,i believe1 for different reasons-- ,charity1 glory1 piety1 pride-- ,to pay the men1 to please a bride1 ,to use their stone1 to spite their neighbours1 ,not for a profit on their labours4 ,they built to edify or bewilder2 ,i build because ,i am a builder4 ,crescent and street and square ,i build1 ,plaster and paint and carve and gild4 ,around the city see them stand1 ,these triumphs of my shaping hand1 ,with bulging walls1 with sinking floors1 ,with shut1 impracticable doors1 ,fickle and frail in every part1 ,and rotten to their inmost heart4 ,there shall the simple tenant find ,death in the falling window-blind1 ,death in the pipe1 death in the faucet1 ,death in the deadly water-closet6 ,a day is set for all to die3 ,caveat emptor6 what care ,i8' ,as to ,amphion's tuneful kit ,thebes rose1 with towers encircling it2 ,as to the ,mage's brandished wand ,a spiry palace clove the sand2 ,to ,thin's indomitable financing1 ,that phantom crescent kept advancing4 ,when first the brazen bells of churches ,called clerk and parson to their perches1 ,the worshippers of every sect ,already viewed it with respect2 ,a second ,sunday had not gone ,before the roof was rattled on3 ,and when the fourth was there1 behold ,the crescent finished1 painted1 sold6 ,the stars proceeded in their courses1 ,nature with her subversive forces1 ,time1 too1 the iron-toothed and sinewed1 ,and the edacious years continued4 ,thrones rose and fell2 and still the crescent1 ,unsanative and now senescent1 ,a plastered skeleton of lath1 ,looked forward to a day of wrath4 ,in the dead night1 the groaning timber ,would jar upon the ear of slumber1 ,and1 like ,dodona's talking oak1 ,of oracles and judgments spoke4 ,when to the music fingered well ,the feet of children lightly fell1 ,the sire1 who dozed by the decanters1 ,started1 and dreamed of misadventures4 ,the rotten brick decayed to dust2 ,the iron was consumed by rust2 ,each tabid and perverted mansion ,hung in the article of declension4 ,so forty1 fifty1 sixty passed2 ,until1 when seventy came at last1 ,the occupant of number three ,called friends to hold a jubilee4 ,wild was the night2 the charging rack ,had forced the moon upon her back2 ,the wind piped up a naval ditty2 ,and the lamps winked through all the city4 ,before that house1 where lights were shining1 ,corpulent feeders1 grossly dining1 ,and jolly clamour1 hum and rattle1 ,fairly outvoiced the tempest's battle4 ,as still his moistened lip he fingered1 ,the envious policeman lingered2 ,while far the infernal tempest sped1 ,and shook the country folks in bed1 ,and tore the trees and tossed the ships1 ,he lingered and he licked his lips4 ,lo1 from within1 a hush6 the host ,briefly expressed the evening's toast2 ,and lo1 before the lips were dry1 ,the ,deacon rising to reply6 #8,here in this house which once ,i built1 ,papered and painted1 carved and gilt1 ,and out of which1 to my content1 ,i netted seventy-five per cent42 ,here at this board of jolly neighbours1 ,i reap the credit of my labours4 ,these were the days--,i will say more-- ,these were the grand old days of yore6 ,the builder laboured day and night2 ,he watched that every brick was right3 ,the decent men their utmost did2 ,and the house rose--a pyramid6 ,these were the days1 our provost knows1 ,when forty streets and crescents rose1 ,the fruits of my creative noddle1 ,all more or less upon a model1 ,neat and commodious1 cheap and dry1 ,a perfect pleasure to the eye6 ,i found this quite a country quarter2 ,i leave it solid lath and mortar4 ,in all1 ,i was the single actor-- ,and am this city's benefactor6 ,since then1 alas6 both thing and name1 ,shoddy across the ocean came-- ,shoddy that can the eye bewilder ,and makes me blush to meet a builder6 ,had this good house1 in frame or fixture1 ,been tempered by the least admixture ,of that discreditable shoddy1 ,should we to-day compound our toddy1 ,or gaily marry song and laughter ,below its sempiternal rafter8 ,not so6' the ,deacon cried4 ,the mansion ,had marked his fatuous expansion4 ,the years were full1 the house was fated1 ,the rotten structure crepitated6 ,a moment1 and the silent guests ,sat pallid as their dinner vests4 ,a moment more and1 root and branch1 ,that mansion fell in avalanche1 ,story on story1 floor on floor1 ,roof1 wall and window1 joist and door1 ,dead weight of damnable disaster1 ,a cataclysm of lath and plaster4 ,siloam did not choose a sinner-- ,all were not builders at the dinner4 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,edinburgh3 ,printed by ,t4 and ,a4 ,,constable ,,ltd4