A curious wag,—the peddler’s son,—
And so he mused (the wanton wretch),
“To-night I’ll have a grain of fun.
“We’re all a set of stupid fools
To think the skipper knows by tasting
What ground he’s on: Nantucket schools
Don’t teach such stuff, with all their basting!”
And so he took the well-greased lead
And rubbed it o’er a box of earth
That stood on deck,—a parsnip-bed,—