Charles Augustus Fortescue
The nicest child I ever knew Was Charles Augustus Fortescue. He never lost his cap, or tore His stockings or his pinafore: In eating Bread he made no Crumbs, He was extremely fond of sums, To which, however, he preferred The Parsing of a Latin Word-- He sought, when it was within his power, For information twice an hour, And as for finding Mutton-Fat Unappatising, far from that! He often, at his Father’s Board, Would beg them, of his own accord, To give him, if they did not mind, The Greasiest Morsels they could find-- His Later Years did not belie The Promise of his Infancy. In Public Life he always tried To take a judgement Broad and Wide; In Private, none was more than he Renowned for quiet courtesy. He rose at once in his Career, And long before hus Fortieth Year Had wedded Fifi, Only Child Of Bunyan, First Lord Aberfylde. He thus became immensely Rich, And built the Splendid Mansion which Is called The Cedars, Muswell Hill, Where he resides in affluence still, To show what everybody might Become by SIMPLY DOING RIGHT.
Hilaire Belloc’s other poems:
899
