The Mariner's tale, illustrated poem card

Subjects: Comics & Humor Sailing & Sailboats Ships & Boats
Card type: Lithograph
Date: c. 1915 (White Border)

Back of The Mariner's tale, illustrated poem card, Africa, USA, c. 1915 lithograph postcard — Back

About this subject

A printed card featuring a humorous poem about a mariner, with three columns of text and small illustrations of ships, women, and portraits.

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One evening as I chanced to stray Lazily down by the edge of the bay Watching the rivulets at their play All in the old primal way I spied a weatherly weatherly mariner Sitting astride of a boat and tarrying her With a kind of air as if he'd been far in her Over the dismal sea We I came to anchor under his lee And said to him friendly like and free Oh Mariner tell strange things to me Of the far isles of the dismal sea And I further added Avast! Belay; In a kind of a hoarse and nautical way It's a useful thing to say When addressing a man of the sea The Mariner heaved a very big sigh And turned on me his nautical eye Which made me sadder I can't tell why And he said says he I'm uncommonly dry For some like gin and some like rum But I never could come to like brandy and whiskey some But I'll drink all of the as they come As befits a man of the sea So I went and bought at a neighboring inn Some brandy and whiskey and rum and gin I filled that Mariner up to the chin And I said I believe we can now begin But ah he looked so dreadfully queer And said such a number of times, Oh dear; That at last I really began to fear That he didn't feel quite the thing Oh we set our sails and sailed away With the wind abaft all out of the bay We sailed away for many a day Till we came to the shores of Africa And as soon as the harbor came in view Who should I see but fair haired Lou To whom I had long since bid adieu In the usual maritime way Oh many's the tender word we said For we'd each of us thought the other dead With that idea I'd got reveered 'Twas a misfortune I sadly said The Mariner then went on to say We set our sails and sailed away Merrily sailed from Africa With a heave my mariners all Oh the wind was fair and we sailed afar From the golden shores of Africa Till at length we arrived at India There I lived the life of a jovial tar But oh; I shall never cease to rue The day that I had to bid adieu To fishy Kanee that fair Hindoo As we weighed our anchor again Oh many's the tender word we said For she was the girl to whom I was wed A vast; Haul taut; and belay; I said Do you mean to say the rest are dead That Mariner closed his starboard eye Which made me shudder I can't tell why And he said I soon to tell you a lie But this is the with me There is a dark haired Poll and fair haired Lou And gloomy Sally and merry Sue And fishy Kanee the fair Hindoo And a dozen whose names I never knew For some like the merry and some like the glum And some like the dark ones and fair ones some But I like all of them as they come As befits the man of the sea And he said that somewhere over the seas He'd contracted a kind of an odd disease That affected his eyes and voice and knees And only tobacco would give him ease I sympathized much with him, indeed So I bought him a pound and said proceed The way that Mariner used that weed Would have made me entirely unwell And then he began in a minor key The following tale of the dismal sea Still keeping his nautical eye on me As I was a listening under his lee I may be right and I may be wrong But I can't help thinking that Mariners song Was one I had listened to ever so long Ago when I was a lad Oh the anchor was up and the wind was fair And Poll was standing upon the stair She gave me a look of her coal black hair I turned my head and I dropt a tear Before you proceed any further I said Pray satisfy me on this one head Was Poll the lady to whom you were wed That Mariner said she was Her head was black and cheeks was red And she was the gal to whom I was wed Oh many's the tender word we said And we each of us wished we both were dead That Mariner's voice was hoarse with sighs And he looked so fishy about the eyes That I scorned to think he was telling lies Which might have occurred to me I got on my legs and I said good day His morals were such that I dared not stay And what became of him I can not say Perhaps as I write he is sailing away To Poll or Lou or Sally or Sue Or fishy Kanee the fair Hindoo Or the dozen whose names he never knew Over the dismal sea --- POST CARD CORRESPONDENCE HERE NAME AND ADDRESS HERE VELOX PLACE STAMP HERE VELOX

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Postcard record

Condition	Good
Place mentioned	Africa
Place mentioned	India
Notes	White border; printed text and illustrations; no publisher or series visible. No postmark. Divided-back card with VELOX stamp box (Kodak real-photo paper era, c. 1907-1914). White border around picture. Back is entirely blank — no message, address, or stamp; light foxing/toning and a smudge near the divider.

Cite this card

The Mariner's tale, illustrated poem card, postcard, c. 1915. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/the-mariners-tale-illustrated-poem-card. Accessed October 5, 2026.