Sunday, April 3, 2016

Sunday Poetry - Rudyard Kipling

I keep tripping over Rudyard Kipling at the moment. After reading some of his war stories & poems, then his autobiographical memoir, Something of Myself, & finally tracking down the story about the stinginess of Henry VII (after reading the reference to it in The Daughter of Time again) he seems to be just on the edges of my mind.
I'm reading Trollope's Doctor Thorne at the moment & there was a reference to French brandy which made me think of the line Brandy for the parson, baccy for the clerk.


Then I was reminded of another line from the same poem, Watch the wall my darling when the gentlemen go by. Then that reminded me of Jane Aiken Hodge's novel (cover photo from here) which I remember reading & loving when I was a teenager. Sometimes I'm amazed at the way my mind works!
I couldn't remember who wrote the poem or what it was called but, on looking it up, discovered that it was Kipling - I should have known! This is A Smuggler's Song.

If you wake at midnight, and hear a horse's feet,
Don't go drawing back the blind, or looking in the street,
Them that ask no questions isn't told a lie.
Watch the wall my darling while the Gentlemen go by.

Five and twenty ponies,
Trotting through the dark -
Brandy for the Parson, 'Baccy for the Clerk.
Laces for a lady; letters for a spy,
Watch the wall my darling while the Gentlemen go by!

Running round the woodlump if you chance to find
Little barrels, roped and tarred, all full of brandy-wine,
Don't you shout to come and look, nor use 'em for your play.
Put the brishwood back again - and they'll be gone next day!

If you see the stable-door setting open wide;
If you see a tired horse lying down inside;
If your mother mends a coat cut about and tore;
If the lining's wet and warm - don't you ask no more!

If you meet King George's men, dressed in blue and red,
You be careful what you say, and mindful what is said.
If they call you " pretty maid," and chuck you 'neath the chin,
Don't you tell where no one is, nor yet where no one's been!

Knocks and footsteps round the house - whistles after dark -
You've no call for running out till the house-dogs bark.
Trusty's here, and Pincher's here, and see how dumb they lie
They don't fret to follow when the Gentlemen go by!

'If You do as you've been told, 'likely there's a chance,
You'll be give a dainty doll, all the way from France,
With a cap of Valenciennes, and a velvet hood -
A present from the Gentlemen, along 'o being good!

Five and twenty ponies,
Trotting through the dark -
Brandy for the Parson, 'Baccy for the Clerk.
Them that asks no questions isn't told a lie -
Watch the wall my darling while the Gentlemen go by! 

10 comments:

  1. Brilliant choice ..I love his Plain tales from the Hills and when I was last in the UK came close to visiting Rudyard lake ..:o)
    http://www.rudyardlake.com/rudyard_in_history.htm
    It's a fascinating story
    I love this poem but never realized/remembered who wrote it !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never knew that's where his Christian name came from! Well, I've probably read it somewhere but forgotten it. It's such an unusual name. I have PTFTH but haven't read it yet. Maybe that will be my next Kipling?

      Delete
    2. Do read Plain Tales. I think it's a marvelous collection.

      Delete
    3. It's short stories so is an easy pick up and put down :o)
      I didn't know about his name either until my Sis (who lives in the county) told me !

      Delete
    4. I realised I didn't have a copy of Plain Tales (I have an anthology with a selection of them) but I've just borrowed the audio book from work read by Martin Jarvis. Should be good.

      Delete
  2. Love the poem! It is eerie, isn't it, when things you read or see or hear keep connecting to other things.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It happens to me all the time! I wish my memory was as good for day to day things as it is for scraps of poetry & books I read 20 years ago... Still, at least I'm remembering something.

      Delete
  3. I read Watch the Wall, My Darling many times as a teenager, and memorized the poem. I'm also very fond of Kipling's poetry, so really enjoyed this post. And it led to another association for me—Heyer's The Unknown Ajax.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sylvia, I'm intrigued by the Ajax reference & I just happen to have a copy on the tbr shelves so it's now on my pile of books to possibly read next. One book really does lead to another.

      Delete