I venture to suggest that I Am rather noticeably fit To hold the seat illumined by The names of Palmerston and Pitt. My principles are such as you Have often heard expressed before: They are, without exception, true; And who can say, with candor, more? My views concerning Church and State Are such as bishops have professed: I need not recapitulate The arguments on which they rest. Respecting Ireland, I opine That Ministers are in a mess, That Landlords rule by Right Divine, That Firmness will relieve Distress. I see with horror undisguised That freedom of debate is dead: The Liberals are organised; The Caucus rears its hideous head. Yet need'st thou, England, not despair At Chamberlain's or Gladstone's pride, While Henry Cecil Raikes is there To organise the other side. I never quit, as others do, Political intrigue to seek The dingy literary crew, Or hear the voice of science speak. But I have fostered, guided, planned Commercial enterprise: in me Some ten or twelve directors and Six worthy chairmen you may see. My academical career Was free from any sort of blot: I challenge anybody here To demonstrate that it was not. At classics, too, I worked amain, Whereby I did not only pass, But even managed to obtain A very decent second class. And since those early days, the same Success has crowned the self-same plan: Profundity I cannot claim; Respectability I can. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE WALL STREET PIT, MAY, 1901 by EDWIN MARKHAM PRESIDENT GARFIELD by GEORGE SANTAYANA ON THE COUNTESS OF PEMBROKE by WILLIAM BROWNE (1591-1643) ULTIMA THULE: THE CHAMBER OVER THE GATE by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW |