‘Of silver and of gold I will give to you a store;
And my pretty little daughter that dwelleth on the shore,
Of treasure and of fee as well, I’ll give to thee galore,
As we sail by the Low-lands low.’
IV
Then they row’d him up tight in a black bull’s skin,
And he held all in his hand an augur sharp and thin,
And he swam until he came to the Spanish Gal-a-lin,
As she lay by the Low-lands low.
V
He bored with his augur, he bored once and twice,
And some were playing cards, and some were playing dice,
When the water flowèd in it dazzled their eyes,
And she sank by the Low-lands low.
VI
So the Cabin-boy did swim all to the larboard side,
Saying ‘Captain! take me in, I am drifting with the tide!’
‘I will shoot you! I will kill you!’ the cruel Captain cried,
‘You may sink by the Low-lands low.’
VII
Then the Cabin-boy did swim all to the starboard side,
Saying,‘Messmates, take me in, I am drifting with the tide!’
Then they laid him on the deck, and he closed his eyes and died,
As they sailed by the Low-lands low.