Дувер был капитан заводной:
(Врач махнул на него уж рукой!)
Слыша бой барабана,
С клизмой, вместо нагана,
Дувер, стул оседлав, рвался в бой.
Оригинал:
There was an old captain of Dover,
Whom all the physicians gave over;
At the sound of the drum
And "The enemy's come"
Up jump'd the bold captain of Dover,
____«Anecdotes and Adventures of Fifteen Gentlemen».
This is the second earliest known book of the verses now known as limericks. It was published in 1821. Its author seems to have been Richard Scrafton Sharpe.