The Seven Seas

by Rudyard Kipling

Overview

The Cities are full of pride, Challenging each to each- This from her mountain-side, That from her burthened beach.
They count their ships full tale- Their corn and oil and wine, Derrick and loom and bale, And rampart's gun-flecked line; City by city they hail: "Hast aught to match with mine?"
And the men that breed from them They traffic up and down, But cling to their cities' hem As a child to the mother's gown.
When they talk with the stranger bands, Dazed and newly alone; When they walk in the stranger lands, By roaring streets unknown; Blessing her where she stands For strength above their own.
(On high to hold her fame That stands all fame beyond, By oath to back the same, Most faithful-foolish-fond; Making her mere-breathed name Their bond upon their bond.)
So thank I God my birth Fell not in isles aside- Waste headlands of the earth, Or warring tribes untried- But that she lent me worth And gave me right to pride.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534791763
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	01/01/1900
Pages:	50
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.10(d)

About the Author

Rudyard Joseph Kipling was born in the then named Bombay, India on 30th December 1865. Aged six, he was sent to England to be educated, firstly in Southsea, where he was cared for in a foster home, and later at Westward Ho, a United Services College in Devon. A life of misery at the former was described in his story 'Baa Baa Black Sheep', whilst Westward Ho was used as a basis for his questioning the public school ethic in 'Stalky and Co'. Kipling returned to India in 1882 to work as an assistant editor for the Civil and Military Gazette of Lahore. His reputation as a writer was established with stories of English life in India, published there in 1888/9. ‘The Phantom Rickshaw’, ‘Soldiers Three’ and ‘Under the Deodars’ are amongst these early works. Returning to England in 1889, Kipling settled in London and continued to earn a living as a writer. In 1892 he married Caroline Balestier, an American. They travelled extensively in the following four years, including a spell living in America, and it was in this time most of his enduring work was written, not least ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘The Second Jungle Book’. Kipling once again returned to England in 1896 and continued his writing career, although tragedy hit the family when his eldest daughter, Josephine, died in 1899. Nonetheless, in 1901 he completed ‘Kim’, often considered to be his best work. The following year, having settled in Sussex, he published ‘Just So Stories’, a book he had planned to write for Josephine. Having refused the position of Poet Laureate, which was offered in 1895, he did accept the Nobel Prize for Literature, becoming the first English author to be so honoured. By 1910, however, Kipling’s appeal was waning. His poems and stories were based on values that were perceived as outdated. There was widespread reaction against Victorian imperialism, highlighted by the incompetent management of the Boer War. When World War I came, Kipling had difficulty in adapting to the mood of the public and after his only son, John, was reported missing in action believed killed in 1915, he became very active on the War Graves Commission. After the war he became an increasingly isolated figure, although some of his best writing was to come, with ‘Debits and Credits’ in 1926 and ‘Limits and Renewals’ in 1932. Kipling died in 1936 in London and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Today, however, he is once again avidly read not just for the quality of his writing and storytelling, but through a renewed interest in the behaviour and values he represented.

Table of Contents

	Dedication to the City of Bombay	v
	A Song of the English	1
	The First Chantey	18
	The Last Chantey	21
	The Merchantmen	26
	Mc Andrew's Hymn	31
	The Miracles	46
	The Native-Born	48
	The King	54
	The Rhyme of the Three Sealers	57
	The Derelict	71
	The Song of the Banjo	74
	"The Liner She's a Lady"	80
	Mulholland's Contract	83
	Anchor Song	87
	The Sea-Wife	90
	Hymn Before Action	93
	To the True Romance	96
	The Flowers	100
	The Last Rhyme of True Thomas	104
	The Story of Ung	113
	The Three-Decker	118
	An American	123
	The Mary Gloster	126
	Sestina of the Tramp-Royal	141
	Barrack-Room Ballads
	"Back to the Army Again"	145
	"Birds of Prey" March	149
	"Soldier an' Sailor Too"	152
	Sappers	156
	That Day	160
	"The Men That Fought at Minden"	163
	Cholera Camp	167
	The Ladies	171
	Bill 'Awkins	175
	The Mother-Lodge	177
	"Follow me 'Ome"	181
	The Sergeant's Weddin'	184
	The Jacket	187
	The 'Eathen	191
	The Shut-Eye Sentry	198
	"Mary, Pity Women!"	202
	For to Admire	205
	L'Envoi	208