For this is our motto at old Hawk and Buckle, We cling to it close and we sing all together, "Every man for himself at our old Hawk and Buckle, And devil take the hindmost this hot summer weather." THE "ALICE JEAN". One moonlit night a ship drove in, A ghost ship from the west, Drifting with bare mast and lone tiller, Like a mermaid drest In long green weed and barnacles: She beached and came to rest. All the watchers of the coast Flocked to view the sight, Men and women streaming down Through the summer night, Found her standing tall and ragged Beached in the moonlight. Then one old woman looked and wept "The 'Alice Jean'? But no! The ship that took my Dick from me Sixty years ago Drifted back from the utmost west With the ocean's flow? "Caught and caged in the weedy pool Beyond the western brink, Where crewless vessels lie and rot in waters black as ink. Torn out again by a sudden storm Is it the 'Jean', you think?" A hundred women stared agape, The menfolk nudged and laughed, But none could find a likelier story For the strange craft. With fear and death and desolation Rigged fore and aft. The blind ship came forgotten home To all but one of these Of whom none dared to climb aboard her: And by and by the breeze Sprang to a storm and the "Alice Jean" Foundered in frothy seas. THE CUPBOARD. Mother What's in that cupboard, Mary? Mary Which cupboard, mother dear? Mother The cupboard of red mahogany With handles shining clear. Mary That cupboard, dearest mother, With shining crystal handles? There's nought inside but rags and jags And yellow tallow candles. Mother What's in that cupboard, Mary? Mary Which cupboard, mother mine? Mother That cupboard stands in your sunny chamber, The silver corners shine. Mary There's nothing there inside, mother, But wool and thread and flax, And bits of faded silk and velvet, And candles of white wax. Mother What's in that cupboard, Mary? And this time tell me true. Mary White clothes for an unborn baby, mother, But what's the truth to you? THE BEACON. The silent shepherdess, She of my vows, Here with me exchanging love Under dim boughs. Shines on our mysteries A sudden spark-- "Dout the candle, glow-worm, Let all be dark. "The birds have sung their last notes, The Sun's to bed, Glow-worm, dout your candle." The glow-worm said: "I also am a lover; The lamp I display Is beacon for my true love Wandering astray.