The jolly skipper paused awhile,
And then again began;
"There is a Spectre Ship," quoth he,
"A ship of the Dead that sails the sea,
And is called the Carmilhan.
"A ghostly ship, with a ghostly crew,
In tempests she appears;
And before the gale, or against the gale,
She sails without a rag of sail,
Without a helmsman steers.
"She haunts the Atlantic north and south,
But mostly the mid-sea,
Where three great rocks rise bleak and bare
Like furnace-chimneys in the air,
And are called the Chimneys Three.
"And ill betide the luckless ship
That meets the Carmilhan;
Over her decks the seas will leap,
She must go down into the deep,
And perish mouse and man."
The captain of the Valdemar
Laughed loud with merry heart.
"I should like to see this ship," said he;
"I should like to find these Chimneys Three,
That are marked down in the chart.
"I have sailed right over the spot," he said
"With a good stiff breeze behind,
When the sea was blue, and the sky was clear,--
You can follow my course by these pinholes here,--
And never a rock could find."
And then he swore a dreadful oath,
He swore by the Kingdoms Three,
That, should he meet the Carmilhan,
He would run her down, although he ran
Right into Eternity!
All this, while passing to and fro,
The cabin-boy had heard;
He lingered at the door to hear,
And drank in all with greedy ear,
And pondered every word.
He was a simple country lad,
But of a roving mind.
"Oh, it must be like heaven," thought he,
"Those far-off foreign lands to see,
And fortune seek and find!"
But in the fo'castle, when he heard
The mariners blaspheme,
He thought of home, he thought of God,
And his mother under the churchyard sod,
And wished it were a dream.
One friend on board that ship had he;
T was the Klaboterman,
Who saw the Bible in his chest,
And made a sign upon his breast,
All evil things to ban.
Tales of a Wayside Inn 1863
- Prelude; The Wayside Inn
- The Landlord's Tale; Paul Revere's Ride
- Interlude
- The Student's Tale; The Falcon of Ser Federigo
- Interlude
- The Spanish Jew's Tale; The Legend of Rabbi Ben Levi
- Interlude
- The Sicilian's Tale; King Robert of Sicily
- Interlude
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - I. The Challenge of Thor
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - II. King Olaf's Return
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - III. Thora of Rimol
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - IV. Queen Sigrid the Haughty
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - V. The Skerry of Shrieks
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - VI. The Wraith of Odin
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - VII. Iron-Beard
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - VIII. Gudrun
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - IX. Thangbrand the Priest
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - X. Raud the Strong
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - XI. Bishop Sigurd at Salten Fiord
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - XII. King Olaf's Christmas
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - XIII. The Building of the Long Serpent
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - XIV. The Crew of the Long Serpent
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - XV. A Little Bird in the Air
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - XVI. Queen Thyri and the Angelica Stalks
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - XVII. King Svend of the Forked Beard
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - XVIII. King Olaf and Earl Sigvald
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - XIX. King Olaf's War-Horns
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - XX. Einar Tamberskelver
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - XXI. King Olaf's Death-Drink
- The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf - XXII. The Nun of Nidaros
- Interlude
- The Theologian's Tale; Torquemada
- Interlude
- The Poet's Tale; The Birds of Killingworth
- Finale
- Prelude
- The Sicilian's Tale; The Bell of Atri
- Interlude
- The Spanish Jew's Tale; Kambalu
- Interlude
- The Student's Tale; The Cobbler of Hagenau
- Interlude
- The Musician's Tale; The Ballad of Carmilhan - I.
- The Musician's Tale; The Ballad of Carmilhan - II.
- The Musician's Tale; The Ballad of Carmilhan - III.
- The Musician's Tale; The Ballad of Carmilhan - IV.
- Interlude
- The Poet's Tale; Lady Wentworth
- Interlude
- The Theologian's Tale; The Legend Beautiful
- Interlude
- The Student's Second Tale; The Baron of St. Castine
- Finale
- Prelude
- The Spanish Jew's Tale; Azrael
- Interlude
- The Poet's Tale; Charlemagne
- Interlude
- The Student's Tale; Emma and Eginhard
- Interlude
- The Theologian's Tale; Elizabeth
- Interlude
- The Sicilian's Tale; The Monk of Casal-Maggiore
- Interlude
- The Spanish Jew's Second Tale; Scanderbeg
- Interlude
- The Musician's Tale; The Mother's Ghost
- Interlude
- The Landlord's Tale; The Rhyme of Sir Christopher
- Finale