The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-08-10
ballad of erasmus Mute.

There once was Il Quaker, erasmus Mute.
With physog as sriif as a coWhide boot,
And he skippared 0 ship from Georgetown
Maine,
In the way back days of the pirates reign.
And the story | tell 1t has to do
With erasmus Mute and a black nag crew;
The tale OF the upright course he Went,
In the face of certain predlcament.
For erasmus Mute WAS a godly man
And he faithfully followed the Quaker plan
OF love for all and peaceful ne .,ea
And Il horror Of warfare and bloody strlie.
While above the honors OF sea and fleets.
He priced his place on 1.-THE facing seats.
All, erasmus Mute,
erasmus Mute,
He never disgraced his plain drab suit.
Now often he sailed for spice and teas
way off some place through the Barbary
seas;
And once for venture his good ship bore
Some unhung grindstones, a score or more.
Now, never iii all of his trips till then
Had he spoken those goddess pirate men.
But 1t CHANGED one day near Il foreign shore
The sail of a strange craft toward him bore;
And as soon as the rig was clearly seen
The mate allowed twas black ateen.
Now black latecn, as all men kneW,
Was the badge of a bold, bad pirate crew.
SO the mate he crammed to its rusty. neck
a. grim Long Tom" on che quarter ,a t. de, deck
And waited to hear what the skipper would
say.
For erasmus Mute,
erasmus Mute
Had stepped below to change his suit.
He asked, as he came on deck again,
Does thee really think those are pirate
menu
"Yea. verify" answered the Quaker mate,
"And they come at most unseemly gait =
erasmus Mute looked over the rail
At the bullying sweep of the huge, black
sail;
path,
And I'm sorry to harm those men Of wrath;
Yet. brother perchance we are justified
In letting Thomas rebuke their pride.
Wen simply give EN- dash Of fright.
So be sure, MY friend, thee have aimed
just right
He squinted his eye along the rust,
Now shoot" said he, III thee thinks thee
must"
Ker-boolno. the old Long Thomas roared,
And the big lateen Topped overheard.
And erasmus Mute,
erasmus Mute
Seemed puzzled to find that he could shoot.
'Now what are those sinful men aboutf"
He asked, as he heard a hoarse, long shout.
And the Quaker mate he answered, ''Lo!
They've out with their oars and here they
row."
Now, what In the name of William Penn"
Cried erasmus Mute, IN all those men?
Perchanee they are after our load Of stones,
VIII thee roll them up here, Brother Jones!
Wen save them all of the work we can .,
AS a Quaker should do for his fellow man. "
SO as soon as the fierce black pirate drew
Up 'longside, that Quaker crew
Rolled those grindstones down peil,mell, =,
And every stone smashed through the shell
OF the pirate zebec, and down 1t went,
And all of the rascals to doom We're sent,
While erasmus Mute leaned over the side.
mo thanks, thee'rt welcome, my friends
he cried
1t Glanced one wretch from the sunken
craft
Made a clutch at a rope that was trailing
aft,
And up he was swarming with frantic hope,
When erasmus cried, Does thee want
that rope"
So he cut 1t away with one swift hack
With Il smile for the pirate as he dropped
back.
And the Quaker skipper surveyed the sea-
God loveth the generous man. quoth he.
Then erasmus Mute,
erasmus Mute
Went down and resumed his Quaker suit
Holman L. Day, in Ainslee's Magazine