Page:Rudyard Kipling - A diversity of creatures.djvu/249

 'Blessed be the English and all their ways and works. Cursed be the Infidels, Hereticks, and Turks!' 'Amen,' quo' Jobson, 'but where I used to lie Was neither Candle, Bell nor Book to curse my brethren by:

'But a palm-tree in full bearing, bowing down, bowing down, To a surf that drove unsparing at the brown-walled town— Conches in a temple, oil-lamps in a dome— And a low moon out of Africa said: "This way home!

'Blessed be the English and all that they profess. Cursed be the Savages that prance in nakedness!' 'Amen,' quo' Jobson, 'but where I used to lie Was neither shirt nor pantaloons to catch my brethren by:

'But a well-wheel slowly creaking, going round, going round, By a water-channel leaking over drowned, warm ground— Parrots very busy in the trellised pepper-vine— And a high sun over Asia shouting: "Rise and shine!