Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 8, 1897.djvu/307

 Miscellanea. 283

The poor old horse he's dead and gone,

They say so, and they hope so.

And we will sing his funeral song,

Poor old horse !

His old hide good leather will make,

They say so, and they hope so. And his flesh salt horse for sailor's sake. Poor old horse 1

We will dig his grave with a silver spade.

They say so, and they hope so. And his memory shall never fade. Poor old horse I

We will lower him down with a golden chain.

They say so, and they hope so, For his like we shall never see again, Poor old horse !

After the song one of the crew, who was the auctioneer, pro- ceeded to sell the horse by auction, the passengers bidding one against the other until the sum of ;^i los. was reached. At this point we had been cautioned to stop bidding, unless we intended to pay the extra sum out of our own pockets. One lady bid a few shillings higher — the bargain was struck, and the auction over. All this had taken some time, and was made amusing by the auctioneer, who was a witty fellow. No attempt was made to present the lady with her property. A blue light was lit, and the jockey, still seated on the horse, was drawn up by a rope to the end of the yard-arm, where they dangled for some time over the dark sea. The jockey Ut another blue light and waved it aloft ; it burnt brilliantly, sending sparks flying all around into the darkness. We then all gave " three cheers for the dead horse," the jockey cut a rope, the horse fell with a splash into the sea, and was quickly left far behind ; a curious sight in mid-ocean for any other passing ship. After that, the jockey was hauled down, and the captain ordered the stewards to " serve out grog all round." The latter part of the evening was devoted to a concert and recita- tions on the main deck, together with some very clever step- dancing by the jockey. He was a small man, light and agile as a girl, and his dancing, in his rough shoes and on that uneven deck, was as pretty as any seen on a stage. Throughout the evening the moon shone as brilliantly as it only can shine out on the open sea. Those who have been lucky enough to see such