Page:Carroll - Rhyme and Reason.djvu/155

Rh The last of the crew needs especial remark,
 * Though he looked an incredible dunce:

He had just one idea—but, that one being "Snark,"
 * The good Bellman engaged him at once.

He came as a Butcher: but gravely declared,
 * When the ship had been sailing a week,

He could only kill Beavers. The Bellman looked scared,
 * And was almost too frightened to speak:

But at length he explained, in a tremulous tone,
 * There was only one Beaver on board;

And that was a tame one he had of his own,
 * Whose death would be deeply deplored.

The Beaver, who happened to hear the remark,
 * Protested, with tears in its eyes,

That not even the rapture of hunting the Snark
 * Could atone for that dismal surprise!

It strongly advised that the Butcher should be
 * Conveyed in a separate ship:

But the Bellman declared that would never agree
 * With the plans he had made for the trip: