“You never see a decent figure-’ead,

Not now,” Bill said;

“A fiddlin’ bit o’ scrollwork at the bow,

That’s the most now;

But Lord! I’ve seen some beauties, more ’n a few,

An’ some rare rum uns too.

“Folks in all sorts o’ queer old-fashioned rigs,

Fellers in wigs,

Chaps in cocked ’ats an’ ’elmets, lords an’ dukes.

Folks out o’ books,

Niggers in turbans, mandarins an’ Moors,

And ’eathen gods by scores;

“An’ women in all kinds o’ fancy dresses—

Queens an’ princesses,

Witches on broomsticks too, an’ spankin’ girls

With streamin’ curls,

An’ dragons an’ sea serpents—Lord knows what

I’ve seen an’ what I’ve not!

“An’ some’s in breakers’ yards now, thick with grime

And weathered white wi’ time;

An’ some stuck up in gardens ’ere an’ there

With plants for ’air;

An’ no one left as knows but chaps like me

How fine wi’ paint an’ gold they used to be

In them old days at sea.”