“Jerusalem and Madagascar,
And North and South Amerikee:
There’s the British fleet a riding at anchor,
With Admiral Nelson, K.C.B.”
So when they got aboard of the Admiral’s ship
He hanged fat Jack and flogged Jimmee;
But as for little Bill, he made him
The Captain of a Seventy-three.
It is stated that Thackeray first sang this amusing piece of nonsense extempore. When it first found its way into print is not known, but it occurs as early as 1863 in an article on Thackeray which appeared in the now defunct, “North British Review.” Prior to that date an incorrect version was printed in some American newspapers, and rumour at once fixed upon O. W. Holmes as the author. Perhaps Holmes may have written a parody on it, but if so, it does not appear in his collected poems.