Hushaby, my darling boy; Hushaby, my hope and joy. You're my little ship so brave Sailing boldly o'er the wave; One that tempests doth not fear, Nor the winds that blow from high. Sleep awhile, my baby dear; Sleep, my child, and hushaby. Gold and pearls my vessel lade, Silk and cloth the cargo be, All the sails are of brocade Coming from beyond the sea; And the helm of finest gold, Made a wonder to behold. Fast awhile in slumber lie; Sleep, my child, and hushaby. After you were born full soon You were christened all aright; Godmother she was the moon, Godfather the sun so bright; All the stars in heaven told Wore their necklaces of gold. Fast awhile in slumber lie; Sleep, my child, and hushaby. Pure and balmy was the air, Lustrous all the heavens were; And the seven planets shed All their virtues on your head; And the shepherds made a feast Lasting for a week at least. Fast awhile in slumber lie; Sleep, my child, and hushaby. Nought was heard but minstrelsy, Nought but dancing met the eye, In Cassoni's vale and wood And in all the neighbourhood; Hawk and Blacklip, stanch and true, Feasted in their fashion too. Fast awhile in slumber lie; Sleep, my child, and hushaby. Older years when you attain, You will roam o'er field and plain; Meadows will with flowers be gay, And with oil the fountains play, And the salt and bitter sea Into balsam changed be. Fast awhile in slumber lie; Sleep, my child, and hushaby. And these mountains, wild and steep, Will be crowded o'er with sheep, And the wild goat and the deer Will be tame and void of fear; Vulture, fox, and beast of prey, From these bounds shall flee away. Fast awhile in slumber lie; Sleep, my child, and hushaby. You are savory, sweetly blowing, You are thyme, of incense smelling, Upon Mount Basella growing, Upon Mount Cassoni dwelling; You the hyacinth of the rocks Which is pasture for the flocks. Fast awhile in slumber lie; Sleep, my child, and hushaby. At the sight of a new-born babe the Corsican involuntarily sets to work making auguries. The mountain shepherds place great faith in divination based on the examination of the shoulder-blades of animals: according to the local tradition the famous prophecy of the greatness of Napoleon was drawn up after this method. The nomad tribes of Central Asia search the future in precisely the same way. Corsican lullabies are often prophetical. An old woman predicts a strange sort of millennium, to begin with the coming of age of her grandson: "There grew a boy in Palneca of Pumonti, and his dear grandmother was always rocking his cradle, always wishing him this destiny:-- "Sleep, O little one, thy grandmother's joy and gladness, for I have to prepare the supper for thy dear little father, and thy elder brothers, and I have to make their clothes.