Blair Collection > Selections from the Gaelic bards

ALEXANDER MACDONALD. 17
THE MAN WHO WAS TO WATCH THE RIGGING ORDERED OUT.
Place this shrewd man — great-fisted — there,
To watch the rigging,
Who '11 be sedate and full of care,
With huge grasp — strong-finger'd;
Who '11 haul the yard with right good will,
When the ship needs it ;
And watch the mast and tackling still,
And bind and loosen.
And he must know the winds that blow,
What course best suiting ;
And he must work in harmony
With him who holds the sheet,
And guide the tackling manfully,
So long as his stout ropes and high
Shall hold together.
THE MAN SET ASIDE FOR THE SHEET.
Let this man, with mighty shoulders,
Sit on the thwart ;
Who is so sinewy and hairy,
With his bones big —
A thick-set, broad, and craggy champion,
With fingers huge.
The sheet he must be ever guiding
With scrambling force ;
When the winds come fiercely blowing,
Pulling well in ;
But when it slacks, and lags, and flutters,
He lets free.
THE MAN ORDERED OUT FOR THE EAR-RING.
Let this man who is tight and sturdy,
Handy, nice, and fine,
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