dawned, and we saw on the island
a star-bright bevy
Of naked Bacchanals stealing to watch through the whispering vines in
the purple dark!

_While earth goes round, let rum go round,
Our capstan song we sung:
Half a hundred innocent pirates
When the world was young!_

Beautiful under the sailing moon, in the tangled net, with the leopards
beside him,
Snared like a wild young red-lipped merman, wilful, petulant,
flushed he lay;
While Silver and Hook in their big sea-boots and their boat-cloaks
guarded and gleefully eyed him,
Thinking what Bacchus might do for a seaman, like standing him drinks,
as a man might say.

_While earth goes round, let rum go round,
We sailed away and sung:
Half a hundred fanciful pirates
When the world was young!_

All the grog that ever was heard of, gods, was it stowed in our
sure possession?
O, the pictures that broached the skies and poured their colours
across our dreams!
O, the thoughts that tapped the sunset, and rolled like a great
torchlight procession
Down our throats in a glory of glories, a roaring splendour
of golden streams!

_And the earth went round, and the stars went round,
As we hauled the sheets and sung:
Half a hundred infinite pirates
When the world was young!_

Beautiful, white, at the break of day, He woke and, the net in a
smoke dissolving,
He rose like a flame, with his yellow-eyed pards and his
flame-red hair like a windy dawn,
And the crew kept back, respectful like, till the leopards advanced
with their eyes revolving,
Then up the rigging went Silver and Hook, and the rest of us followed
with case-knives drawn.

_While earth goes round, let rum go round,
Our cross-tree song we sung:
Half a hundred terrified pirates
When the world was young!_

And "Take me home to my happy island!" he says. "Not I," sings Hook,
"by thunder;
We'll take you home to a happier isle, our palmy harbour of Caribbee!"
"You won't!" says Bacchus, and quick as a dream the planks of the deck just
heaved asunder,
And a mighty Vine came straggling up that grew from the depths of
the wine-dark sea.