He had bought a large map representing the sea,
Without the least vestige of land :
And the crew were much pleased when they found it to be
A map they could all understand.
"What's the good of Mercator's North Poles and Equators,
Tropics, Zones, and Meridian Lines?"
So [he] would cry : and the crew would reply
"They are merely conventional signs!
"Other maps are such shapes, with their islands and capes!
But we've got our brave Captain to thank :
(So the crew would protest) "that he's bought us the best--
A perfect and absolute blank!"
:
excerpt of
The Bellman's Speech
from
_The Hunting of the Snark_
by
Lewis Carroll
( 01876 )
illustration of
The Bellman's Map
by
Henry Holiday
