vent any body from thinking any thing naughty.
A very pleasant person, but such an enormous feeder,
That our captain began to fear she might prove a famine-breeder;
A sort of female Falstaff, fond of jokes and gay society,
Cards, claret, eau-de-vie, and a great hater of sobriety.
Her favorite game at cards she acknowledged was _ecarte_,
But like Mrs. Battle, she loved whist, and we soon made up a party.
We played from morn till night, and then from night till morning,
Although the captain, who was pious, continually gave us warning.
That time so badly spent would lead to some disaster;
At which Madame G---- would laugh, and only deal the faster.
Breakfast was served at eight, and as soon as it was ended
Round flew the cards; and the game was not suspended
Until seven-bells struck, when we stopped a while for lunch,
To allow Madame time to imbibe her allowance of punch;
This done, at work we went, with heated blood and flushed faces,
Talking of kings, queens, knaves, tricks, clubs and aces.
At six bells (three P. M.,) we threw down our cards and went to dinner,
Where Madame never missed her appetite, whether she had been a loser
or a winner;
Then up from the almonds and raisins, and down again to the
queens and aces,
We had only to remove from one end of the table to the other to
resume our places;
Another pause at six, P. M., for in spite of all our speeches,
Madame's partner would lay down his cards for the sake of pouchong
and brandy peaches;
Being French and polite, of course, she only said '_Eh bien!_' but
no doubt thought him a lubber,
For a cup of washy tea to break in upon her rubber.
At four bells (ten P. M.,) up from the cards and down again at
the table,
To drink champaigne and eat cold chicken as long as we were able:
With very slight variations this was the daily life we led,
Breakfast, whist; lunch, whist; dinner, whist; supper, whist; and
then to bed.
The sea, for aught we know, was like that which Coleridge's mariners
sailed on;
We never looked at it, nor the sky, nor the stars; and our captain
railed on,
But still we played, until one day there was a sudden dismemberment
of our party;
We had dined on soup _a la tortu_, (made of pig's feet,) of which
Madame ate uncommonly hearty;
An