Skipper Iresons Ride

In the valuable and carefully prepared History of Marblehead, published in 1879 by Samuel Roads, Jr., it is stated that the crew of Captain Ireson, rather than himself, were responsible for the abandonment of the disabled vessel. To screen themselves they charged their captain with the crime. In view of this the writer of the ballad addressed the following letter to the historian:     OAK KNOLL, DANVERS, 5 mo. 18, 1880.     MY DEAR FRIEND: I heartily thank thee for a copy of thy History of Marblehead. I have read it with great interest and think good use has been made of the abundant material. No town in Essex County has a record more honorable than Marblehead; no one has done more to develop the industrial interests of our New England seaboard, and certainly none have given such evidence of self-sacrificing patriotism. I am glad the story of it has been at last told, and told so well. I have now no doubt that thy version of Skipper Iresons ride is the correct one. My verse was founded solely on a fragment of rhyme which I heard from one of my early schoolmates, a native of Marblehead. I supposed the story to which it referred dated back at least a century. I knew nothing of the participators, and the narrative of the ballad was pure fancy. I am glad for the sake of truth and justice that the real facts are given in thy book. I certainly would not knowingly do injustice to any one, dead or living.     I am very truly thy friend,     - JOHN G. WHITTIER.     Of all the rides since, the birth of time,     Told in story or sung in rhyme,     On Apuleiuss Golden Ass,     Or one-eyed Calendars horse of brass;     Witch astride of a human back,     Islams prophet on Al-Bork,     The strangest ride that ever was sped     Was Iresons, out from Marblehead!     Old Floyd Ireson, for his hard heart,     Tarred and feathered and carried in a cart     By the women of Marblehead!     Body of turkey, head of owl,     Wings a-droop like a rained-on fowl,     Feathered and ruffled in every part,     Skipper Ireson stood in the cart.     Scores of women, old and young,     Strong of muscle, and glib of tongue,     Pushed and pulled up the rocky lane,     Shouting and singing the shrill refrain     Heres Flud Oirson, fur his horrd horrt,     Torrd an futherrd an corrd in a corrt     By the women o Morbleead!     Wrinkled scolds with hands on hips,     Girls in bloom of cheek and lips,     Wild-eyed, free-limbed, such as chase     Bacchus round some antique vase,     Brief of skirt, with ankles bare,     Loose of kerchief and loose of hair,     With conch-shells blowing and fish-horns twang,     Over and over the Mnads sang     Heres Flud Oirson, fur his horrd horrt,     Torrd an futherrd an dorrd in a corrt     By the women o Morbleead!     Small pity for him! He sailed away     From a leaking ship, in Chaleur Bay,     Sailed away from a sinking wreck,     With his own towns-people on her deck!     Lay by! lay by! they called to him.     Back he answered, Sink or swim!     Brag of your catch of fish again!     And off he sailed through the fog and rain!     Old Floyd Ireson, for his hard heart,     Tarred and feathered and carried in a cart     By the women of Marblehead!     Fathoms deep in dark Chaleur     That wreck shall lie forevermore.     Mother and sister, wife and maid,     Looked from the rocks of Marblehead     Over the moaning and rainy sea,     Looked for the coming that might not be!     What did the winds and the sea-birds say     Of the cruel captain who sailed away?     Old Floyd Ireson, for his hard heart,     Tarred and feathered and carried in a cart     By the women of Marblehead!     Through the street, on either side,     Up flew windows, doors swung wide;     Sharp-tongued spinsters, old wives gray,     Treble lent the fish-horns bray.     Sea-worn grandsires, cripple-bound,     Hulks of old sailors run aground,     Shook head, and fist, and hat, and cane,     And cracked with curses the hoarse refrain     Heres Flud Oirson, fur his horrd horrt,     Torrd an futherrd an corrd in a corrt     By the women oMorbleead!     Sweetly along the Salem road     Bloom of orchard and lilac showed.     Little the wicked skipper knew     Of the fields so green and the sky so blue.     Riding there in his sorry trim,     Like to Indian idol glum and grim,     Scarcely he seemed the sound to hear     Of voices shouting, far and near     Heres Flud Oirson, fur his horrd horrt,     Torrd an futherrd an corrd in a corrt     By the women o Morbleead!     Hear me, neighbors! at last he cried,     What to me is this noisy ride?     What is the shame that clothes the skin     To the nameless horror that lives within?     Waking or sleeping, I see a wreck,     And hear a cry from a reeling deck!     Hate me and curse me, I only dread     The hand of God and the face of the dead!     Said old Floyd Ireson, for his hard heart,     Tarred and feathered and carried in a cart     By the women of Marblehead!     Then the wife of the skipper lost at sea     Said, God has touched him! why should we?     Said an old wife mourning her only son,     Cut the rogues tether and let him run!     So with soft relentings and rude excuse,     Half scorn, half pity, they cut him loose,     And gave him a cloak to hide him in,     And left him alone with his shame and sin.     Poor Floyd Ireson, for his hard heart,     Tarred and feathered and carried in a cart     By the women of Marblehead!