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 LAND OF DREAMS by WILLIAM BLAKE INTERIM by CLARISSA SCOTT DELANY AN APPEAL TO CATS IN THE BUSINESS OF LOVE; SONG by THOMAS FLATMAN SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: FIDDLER JONES by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THE HOUSE OF LIFE: 4. LOVESIGHT by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI COLIN CLOUTS COME HOME AGAIN by EDMUND SPENSER |