I didn't like my berth tho', howsomdever,
Because the yarn, you see, kept getting tauter,—
Says I—I wish this job was rayther shorter!
The chase had gain'd a mile
A-head, and still the she-mare stood a-drinking;
Now, all the while
Her body didn't take of course to shrinking.
Says I, she's letting out her reefs, I'm thinking—
And so she swell'd, and swell'd,
And yet the tackle held,