Madam Life\u2019s a piece in bloom,
\nDeath goes dogging everywhere:
\nShe\u2019s the tenant of the room,
\nHe\u2019s the ruffian on the stair.<\/p>\n
You shall see her as a friend,
\nYou shall bilk him once or twice;
\nBut he\u2019ll trap you in the end,
\nAnd he\u2019ll stick you for her price.<\/p>\n
With his kneebones at your chest,
\nAnd his knuckles in your throat,
\nYou would reason \u2014 plead \u2014 protest!
\nClutching at her petticoat;<\/p>\n
But she\u2019s heard it all before,
\nWell she knows you\u2019ve had your fun,
\nGingerly she gains the door,
\nAnd your little job is done.<\/p>\n
(1877)<\/p>\n
*\u00a0 *\u00a0 *\u00a0 *\u00a0 *<\/p>\n
According to Robert Louis Stevenson\u2019s letters, the idea for the character of Long John Silver was inspired by his real-life friend, W. E. Henley (1849-1903). Stevenson\u2019s stepson, Lloyd Osbourne, described Henley as \u201c\u2026 a great, glowing, massive-shouldered fellow with a big red beard and a crutch; jovial, astoundingly clever, and with a laugh that rolled like music; he had an unimaginable fire and vitality; he swept one off one\u2019s feet\u201d. In a letter to Henley after the publication of Treasure Island<\/em>, Stevenson wrote: \u201cI will now make a confession. It was the sight of your maimed strength and masterfulness that begot Long John Silver\u2026 the idea of the maimed man, ruling and dreaded by the sound, was entirely taken from you\u201d.<\/p>\n Henley was also the author of <\/em>the much-quoted Invictus <\/em>(\u2018I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.\u2019) but I think this rather piratical poem is much more interesting. Madam Life\u2019s a piece in bloom, Death goes dogging everywhere: She\u2019s the tenant of the room, He\u2019s the ruffian on the stair. You shall see her as a friend, You shall bilk him once or twice; But he\u2019ll trap you in the end, And he\u2019ll stick you for her price. With his kneebones at your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":1534,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1585","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.literaryplaces.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.literaryplaces.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.literaryplaces.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.literaryplaces.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.literaryplaces.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1585"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.literaryplaces.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1593,"href":"http:\/\/www.literaryplaces.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1585\/revisions\/1593"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.literaryplaces.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.literaryplaces.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"