they sang a score
To stifle the midnight sobs and sighs,
They told wild tales of the Indian Main,
To drown the far-off cries.

But when they ceased, and Captain Kidd
Came down the sands of Dead Neck Isle,
"My lady wearies," he grimly said,
"And she would rest awhile.

"I've made her a bed--'tis here, 'tis there,
And she shall wake, be it soon or long,
Where grass is green and wild birds sing
And the wind makes undersong.

"Be quick, my men, and give a hand,
She loved soft furs and silken stuff,
Jewels of gold and silver bars,
And she shall have enough.

"With silver bars and golden ore,
So fine a lady she shall be,
A many suitor shall seek her long,
As they sought Penelope.

"And if a lover would win her hand,
No lips e'er kissed a hand so white,
And if a lover would hear her sing,
She sings at owlet light.

"But if a lover would win her gold,
And his hands be strong to lift the lid,
'Tis here, 'tis there, 'tis everywhere--
In the chest," quoth Captain Kidd.

They lifted long, they lifted well,
Ingots of gold, and silver bars,
And silken plunder from wild, wild wars,
But where they laid them, no man can tell,
Though known to a thousand stars.

But the ordinary Kidd stories are very much the same, and depend a good
deal upon the character of the coast and upon the imagination of the
people who live in that region. We will give one of them as a sample,
and from this a number of very good pirate stories could be manufactured
by ingenious persons.

It was a fine summer night late in the seventeenth century. A young man
named Abner Stout, in company with his wife Mary, went out for a walk
upon the beach. They lived in a little village near the coast of New
Jersey. Abner was a good carpenter, but a poor man; but he and his wife
were very happy with each other, and as they walked toward the sea in
the light of the full moon, no young lovers could have been more gay.

When they reached a little bluff covered with low shrubbery, which was
the first spot from which they could have a full view of the ocean,
Abner suddenly stopped, and pointed out to Mary an unusual sight. There,
as plainly in view as if it had been broad daylight, was a vessel lying
at the entrance of the little bay. The sails were furled, and it was
apparently anchored.

For a mi