“Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest— Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!”
Who has not heard of this before? If not from the book I am featuring today, then you have definitely heard it from some movie or the other, or just about anything else to do with pirates too!! So, by now you must have guessed the book I am featuring today for my theme of Within Books for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge – Yes, it is Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. He has been featured earlier on this challenge too – for the letter K for Kidnapped.
And while you are here, enter the giveaway on my blog – just click on the image or on the link here – Avengers Infinity War – on the right side bar for the giveaway (a total value of over $300 hosted by the Hopping Bloggers and I joined them to give this wonderful opportunity to readers)!
My T post /days 22 23 for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge and the Ultimate Blog Challenge – April 2018. (Please read my note to my readers here )
Gatherings
A phone call
some news
that I would rather
not have heard;
emotions gather
swirling storming
then slowly simmering;
a plane ride
family gathers;
by way of science
– new and old,
by way of prayers
– of near and strangers,
Hope gathers strength
– LadyInRead(Vidya)
Day 23 and my T Post: As a child, I read so many different books – with the school library and our local library to explore, and not having too many other readers to ask recommendations from, I found myself bringing home books that I would otherwise not have discovered. I recall having some of my friends ask me how I was reading all those books and if I did not find them boring (I was reading Austen, Hardy and other classics alongside Enid Blyton and Amar Chitra Katha!) – but I never did get bored with books – no matter what they were – in fact, they are my answer to boredom, always, for myself and for others. Some of those books that I read included Robert Louis Stevenson’s books – Kidnapped, Treasure Island, Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde, The War of the Worlds (the last two in comic form) and I truly enjoyed reading them. Adventure, mystery, excitement found on every page of these books made them a memorable read and it is not surprising that those are the books I recall as I work on this challenge. So, here I go, yo-ho-ho, diving into the book for treasures to share with you!To the Hesitating Purchaser
If sailor tales to sailor tunes,
Storm and adventure, heat and cold,
If schooners, islands, and maroons,
And buccaneers, and buried gold,
And all the old romance, retold
Exactly in the ancient way,
Can please, as me they pleased of old,
The wiser youngsters of today:
–– So be it, and fall on! If not,
If studious youth no longer crave,
His ancient appetites forgot,
Kingston, or Ballantyne the brave,
Or Cooper of the wood and wave:
So be it, also! And may I
And all my pirates share the grave
Where these and their creations lie!
Preface: Robert Louis Stevenson told the story of how the ‘Treasure Island’ book came to life in an article that was first published in the August 1894 issue of The Idler. This article was used as a preface to some of the early editions of the book and is truly an interesting read by itself. A link to the preface can be found here for your reading pleasure.
Ditties:
The first appearance of this in the Gutenberg edition of the book available online appears as below:
“But one man of her crew alive, What put to sea with seventy-five.”
The next one towards the end of the book appears as below in the same edition:
With one man of her crew alive, What put to sea with seventy-five.
And this one, the most popular one, makes its appearance (either referenced, or partially or fully) six times in the book (as noted in the edition above).
“Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest—
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
Drink and the devil had done for the rest—
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!”
These lines describe the feeling well: “emotions gather
swirling storming
then slowly simmering”
Thanks! As I have mentioned before, I love to read (although I seem to have gotten off-track recently).
The classics are awesome! I remember reading Treaure Island so many years ago. I bet many people do not know that this is where the popular saying/lyrics of “Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest—
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum.”
Thanks for sharing once again!
Beautiful poetry, yours and his! And I have to confess I have never read Treasure Island, although I have heard that quote, and although it sat on a bookshelf in my home growing up. Even as a child, I was sensitive and wanted only peaceful stories.
How your books bring back memories from days long ago. I remember reading Treasure Island a way long time ago. Your blogs make me want to read these great books again.
One of the first books I remember reading was Treasure Island. My parents got me a set of children’s classics (which I still have by the way!) Good choice. My own children love pirates as well. They are great fun!
I have to get my kids to read RLS (and I think they only know of Dr.Jekyll/Mr.Hyde so far – through TV, not books)… and let them know their much loved ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ draws inspiration from Treasure Island…
and those books we have from childhood are treasures in their own right 🙂
I remember RLS fondly. And, Treasure Island was the first “big boy” book I read by myself. It came (along with two others, I seem to recall) as my first selection from the club I joined (to the consternation of my parents; the books weren’t free).
🙂 book clubs!! I joined one (to the consternation of my husband) years ago when I first arrived in the US.. and afterwards (to his relief) cancelled my subscription.. Now it is library book sales, and bookstores that sell used books for adding to my library
So many ways to gather… love it.
Thank you Bjorn!!