I never told the buried gold 1
Upon the hill－that lies－
I saw the sun－his plunder done
Crouch low to guard his prize.
He stood as near 5
As stood you here－
A pace had been between－
Did but a snake bisect the brake
My life had forfeit been.
That was a wondrous booty－ 10
I hope 'twas honest gained.
Those were the fairest ingots
That ever kissed the spade!
Whether to keep the secret－ 14
Whether to reveal－
Whether as I ponder
Kidd will sudden sail－
Could a shrewd advise me 18
We might e'en divide－
Should a shrewd betray me－
Atropos decide!
Upon the hill－that lies－
I saw the sun－his plunder done
Crouch low to guard his prize.
He stood as near 5
As stood you here－
A pace had been between－
Did but a snake bisect the brake
My life had forfeit been.
That was a wondrous booty－ 10
I hope 'twas honest gained.
Those were the fairest ingots
That ever kissed the spade!
Whether to keep the secret－ 14
Whether to reveal－
Whether as I ponder
Kidd will sudden sail－
Could a shrewd advise me 18
We might e'en divide－
Should a shrewd betray me－
Atropos decide!
(F.38/J.11)
[1] buried gold:: a buried gold-beetle, an illusion of Edgar Allan Poe's The Gold-Bug about William Kidd's buried gold.
[3] sun:: sunbittern, a bird in the heron family.
[17] Kidd:: William Kidd's gold, a legend that he left a buried treasure of gold. sail:: to depart, flee.
[21] Atropos:: the goddesses of fate and destiny in Greek mythology.
"In supposing it to be a bug of real gold." He said this with an air of profound seriousness, . . . "This bug is to make my fortune," ─ The Gold-Bug (1843)
William Kidd, who was commissioned in 1696 to go against the pirates, who then infested the seas, became a pirate, sailed to Madagascar, and ravaged the sea and the coast from the Red Sea to the coast of Malabar for nearly a year, when he returned with more valuable spoil, than perhaps ever fell to the lot of a pirate. On his way from the West Indies to Boston, he anchored in Gardiner's Bay, landed on the island, and buried a box of gold, silver and precious stones. ─ A Sketch of the First Settlement of the Several Towns on Long Island (1828)
Kolben, in another place, describes the Mantis under the name of the Gold-beetle, saying that its head and wings are of a gold color, the back green, etc. ─ Curious Facts in the History of Insects (1865)