National Poetry Day

This poem is in a scrapbook compiled by the Shetland antiquarian and collector E.S. Reid Tait. There are lots of these scrapbooks in the archives and they are packed with newspaper cuttings and magazines articles about Shetland. ‘A Voyage in the Mexican Prince’ is in one of the books dedicated to poetry. We don’t know who wrote it, but, as every other poem in the scrapbook has something to do with Shetland, we can probably assume it’s by a Shetlander. Whoever he was, he seems to have known his way around a ship.

A Voyage in the 'Mexican Prince'

As long as I remember, – and I’m sure I won’t forget –
The twenty-eighth day of December I went to seek a ship,
I heard about an Oil-tank lying up at Smith’s pontoon,
She was wanting sailors, and would sign on very soon.

When I came on board the ship, the mate was there alone,
I asked if he had got his hands; he said he had got none,
So there and then he took my name, and asked me if I knew
Any steady chap that I could trust, I might send him over too.

By-and-by we did sign on, and we went straight to sea,
But we saw the job that we had struck before we left the quay,
Laurie Harrison was boatswain, Sinclair was our mate,
“Pinrice” was our captain, going growling round the deck.

Five-thirty every morning on deck he used to come,
Shouting out for Mr. Stanbury to get the hose along,
Then the orders were given to get the hose screwed on,
Start the donkey, man the brooms, and get the bridge washed down.

By six o’clock it must be done, and all things put away.
For I have got a week’s work to be done this very day,
Sometimes we get away and dodge, but seldom it will do,
For the second mate is on our tracks, the mate and skipper too.

Away aft in the galley, the Devil’s brother he does stand,
His face and hands have not been washed since we left the land,
For grub, she is the worst we have struck or ever hope to do,
But when we do get back again we will eat to equal two.

Our sugar had run short once before our store day,
I went to the steward to try if he would give a bit away,
“Good God!” he cried, “your sugar’s done, well, that’s all fine,
Remember there is a store day on board of the ‘Prince Line.’”

For steering, she is a daisy, she is the worst we ever knew,
To leeward she will go off a point, to leeward she’ll go two,
So the sooner we get back again, the better it will be,
And never more on the roaming main in a “Prince Liner” for me.



The Mexican Prince was built on the Tyne in 1893. She was owned by the Prince Line from 1901-1917, so that gives us some idea when the poem was written. ‘Smith’s pontoon’, the place where the poet signs on for the voyage, was in North Shields, a port Shetlanders knew well. The ship and its crew don’t sound all that great (are those another two Shetlanders in the third stanza?), but the poet could obviously look back at the trip with a humorous eye.

Related Posts

Research project commissioned to encourage locals to grow more aets!

Shetland Amenity Trust has commissioned a research project with two local straw makers to understand more about the growing of ...

Read more

‘Logical Confusion’, a retrospective exhibition of Mike McDonnell opens at the Shetland Museum

An ambitious new exhibition dedicated to the artistry of well-known local artist Mike McDonnell opened this weekend at the Shetland ...

Read more

New poetry book - ‘Love in Human Herts’

‘Love in Human Herts’, a new publication celebrating Vagaland’s finest poetry has been launched today by the Shetland Amenity ...

Read more

The funny story behind some of Lerwick's street names

In the 1880s Lerwick was changing rapidly. As the great herring fishery of that era developed, there were new streets, and potential ...

Read more

Film celebrating the achievements of Johnnie Notions launched by Shetland Museum and Archives

A new film which brings to life the incredible story of 18th century inoculation pioneer and Shetland crofter Johnnie Notions has been ...

Read more

Keep a look out for Skeklers this Halloween

We had a great time at our recent Skeklers Hat workshop with local artist Eve Eunson in preparation for Halloween.

Read more

Pre-school Activity Mornings

Bring your little explorers to the Shetland Museum & Archives for our heritage-filled fun sessions, designed especially for under 5's ...

Read more

October Holiday Workshops

Join us this October Holidays for heritage inspired workshops and some spooky Halloween fun! From witchcraft to skeklers and faas ...

Read more

Treasure Trove Comes to Shetland

Members of the public are invited to come along with their ‘treasures’ and meet experts from Scotland’s Treasure Trove Unit ...

Read more

Bold exhibition featuring photography by legendary Diane Arbus opens at Shetland Museum and Archives

A new display of powerful and iconic photographs by Diane Arbus, one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century, opened ...

Read more

Shetland Museum and Archives Launches New Online Archive Catalogue

A new online Archives catalogue has been launched today (Tuesday 8 August) at the Shetland Museum and Archives.

Read more

CLOSED: Friday 12 noon - Sunday 12 noon

Shetland Museum and Archives will be closed from 12 noon on Friday 21 July until 12 noon on Sunday 23 July, due to a private ...

Read more

A celebration of Shetland’s maritime heritage at the museum

Shetland’s maritime heritage will be at the heart of Shetland Museum and Archives’ summer programme, with a series of themed ...

Read more

Alanbrooke and the Kearton Brothers

When archivist Angus Johnson started to read through his copy of Alanbrooke's War Diaries, he did some digging in the archives to see ...

Read more

Preparing for the herring – photos from the archives

George Gen and Sarah Mackintosh, members of our Visitor Experience team have pulled together a selection of photos from our online ...

Read more