University of Virginia Library

And Dick, and Nick, and all the rest of them—
Miss Nelly could plague him with the best of them—
Indeed she could; and boo and hiss,
And put out her mouth like wantin' a kiss,
And dance round him, and ask him to carry her—
“Do, Tommy!” and—when was he goin' to marry her?
“When, Tommy! when la'?” just bewild'rin'—
That's when she was with the other children.
“Fiends” I called them, did I? Well,
I shouldn' then. It's hard to tell;
And it's likely God has got a plan
To put a spirit in a man
That's more than you can stow away
In the heart of a child. But he'll see the day
When he'll not have a bit too much for the work
He's got to do. And the little Turk
Is good for nothin' but shoutin' and fightin'
And carryin' on; and God delightin'
To make him strong and bold and free,
And thinkin' the man he's goin' to be—
More beef than butter, more lean than lard;
Hard, if you like; but the world is hard.
You'll see a river how it dances
From rock to rock, wherever it chances—
In and out, and here and there:
A regular young divil-may-care!
But, caught in the sluice, it's another case,
And it steadies down, and it flushes the race
Very deep and strong, but still
It's not too much to work the mill.
The same with hosses—kick and bite
And winch away—all right, all right!
Wait a bit, and give him his ground,
And he'll win his rider a thousand pound.
Aw dear! aw dear! I've had my day,
And it's a merry month is the month of May—
Little Peggies, little Annies,
Little Nellies, little Fannies—
And you with Kitty, and me with Sal,
And coortin' like the deuce and all;
And playin' weddin's, and pretendin' to go
To the Vicar for a licence, you know—
And a book, and sayin' the very words—
Bless ye! as innocent as the birds!