England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century; Great Britain -- History -- William IV, 1830-1837
"'Ye ho!' says Ben, and he soon brought-to,
And his boatswain's whistle out he drew;
When the King turn'd round with pride and joy,
'Halloo!' says he 'what ship ahoy?'
"Now Ben, he answered with a grin,
'The _Royal Charlotte_ I've sailed in;
She was nam'd arter your royal mother,
Whose great and glorious son you are!'
The King the hand of Ben he shook,
And said, 'At that time I was a Mid;'
Then Ben lugged out his 'bacca box,
And said to the King, '_Come, take a quid_.'
"'If you won't, the Queen may like a bit,
Mayhap, like one of the Indian squaws;'
So he scrap'd up to her, and offered his box,
'No, thank ye,' says she, '_I never chaws_.'
"The King, he gave promotion to Ben,
So he thought that he'd steer back again;
But the Queen, he thought he first would tell her,
'That her husband, the King, was a d--d good fellow'!"
_Par parenthèse_, here is a story of a sailor (_Times_, August 9th)--
"Guildhall. Before Alderman Ansley.--An old tar, the very _beau
ideal_ of a 'true British sailor,' who gave his name as _Will
Robinson_, his dark visage surmounted with a quantity of black
hair, twisted and matted like so many ropes' ends, was charged
with being drunk and assaulting the patrol of Aldgate Ward.
"Bunce, the complainant, stated that between three and four
o'clock the preceding evening, he found the tar stretched keel
uppermost upon the footway in Aldersgate Street, exposed, not
altogether decently, to the gaze of a crowd of idle boys. Bunce
roused him, and advised him to move on; but, instead of obeying,
Will ordered him to sheer off, or he'd pour a broadside into him;
and, suiting the action to the word, commenced pummelling
complainant most furiously. Bunce would have had no chance
against the heavy metal of Will Robinson, but Hawkins, the
marshal-man, came up, and with his aid the tar was secured in the
Compter. While they were on the way, the tar contrived to get his
pocket-knife open in his hand, but Hawkins perceived it and took
it from him.
"'You hear what the officer says?' observed the alderman,
addressing the prisoner.
"'Yes; but it is a d--d lie,' roared out Will Robinson, enforcing
his assertion by a loud thump of his clenched fist upon the bar.
"'He says you drew a knife upon him,' said the alderman.
"'Your honour knows I can't spin a long yarn like this here
chap,' replied the old tar, 'but I never hurted man, woman, or
child in my life, barring 'twas a frog-eater; but I was a lad
then, and it was in the cause of old England; and d--e, I don't
think I'd hurt him neither, after a glass of grog or two.'
"Alderman. 'How long have you been in England?'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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