Ship me somewhere east of Suez, where the best is like the worst
Where there aren’t no Ten Commandments, an’ a man can raise a thirst;
For the temple-bells are callin’, an’ it’s there that I would be—
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, looking lazy at the sea.
He did not see Dolly’s frowns, nor the pained expression upon the vicar’s face, nor yet the smirks of the yokels; and when the song was ended he came suddenly back to earth, as it were, and was abashed at the feebleness of the applause.
Later, as he left the hall, he was stopped outside the door by a disreputable, red-haired creature, nicknamed “Smiley-face,” who was often spoken of as the village idiot. He grinned at Jim and touched his forelock.
“Thank ’e, sir,” he said, “for that there song. My, you do sing beautiful, sir!”
“I’m glad you liked it,” Jim answered.
“It was just like dreamin’,” Smiley-face muttered.