Written in a presentation copy of “My Bunkie and Other Ballads”
given to A. Van Vleck, Esq., of New York City.
Where the sails hang limp and lifeless
In the doldrums’ deadly pause,
Where the lights above the Polar capes
Spread out in a golden gauze:
Where lilac tints are listing
O’er purple tropic seas--
Where the Arctic winds are whistling
And the north-flung rivers freeze--
We’ve met the men the Maker made
To dwell ’neath fir and palm--
And, we salute thee, friend and man--
_M’sieur--le gentilhomme_.