THE PHANTOM MOORINGS
A Legend of Lavender Bay, Sydney
On Lavender the moon broke bright—the Bay looked
sweetly pretty:
Across its bosom one might see the bosom of a city
That hid its dusty face behind a veil of snowy vapour,
Through which, all gilded by the sun, its lofty church-
spires taper.
It happened once upon a time—this story I am
telling—
Before that Bay's green slopes were hid by many a
crowded dwelling;
While yet its waters were as clear as dew-drops in
the dawning,
And yet the mackerel flashed their rainbow radiance
to the morning;
While in the Bay's long shallows, where the sweet
spring water emptied,
Beneath the moon at turn of tide the black bream
might be tempted
With cunning bait of verdant prawns or pleasant
paste of salmon—
But now, alas! the wily bream just wink and murmur
"Gammon!"
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