Matin Bells and Scarlet and Gold By "F. Harald Williams"[i.e. F. W. O. Ward]. First Edition |
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MADCAP NED. |
 | Matin Bells and Scarlet and Gold |  |
MADCAP NED.
There was never a boy in the City of London
Quite a match for its Ned
With such hands and such head
And for doing rash things that were better left undone;
He was clever at all,
At upsetting a stall
Or a gentleman proudly pursuing his travels
Unprepared for a fall
And a study of mire and the nature of gravels—
Ned was ever at home with the rackets and ravels;
But his bosom could feel
And was steady as steel,
Madcap Ned,
And he carried a kingdom of cares on his head.
Quite a match for its Ned
With such hands and such head
And for doing rash things that were better left undone;
He was clever at all,
At upsetting a stall
Or a gentleman proudly pursuing his travels
Unprepared for a fall
And a study of mire and the nature of gravels—
Ned was ever at home with the rackets and ravels;
But his bosom could feel
471
Madcap Ned,
And he carried a kingdom of cares on his head.
For he had a poor brother at home, a dear cripple,
And so life for our Ned
Was not all gingerbread,
And he never could gorge and he never would tipple;
For that suffering lot
Kept him true to the spot,
And he picked up odd halfpence and toiled at chance labours
For the boiling the pot;
While relieving at times his more fortunate neighbours
Of surperfluous wealth they would waste upon tabors
And the dance and the song,
Which he thought clearly wrong,
Naughty Ned,
Who was glad of the crumbs of their gilt gingerbread.
And so life for our Ned
Was not all gingerbread,
And he never could gorge and he never would tipple;
For that suffering lot
Kept him true to the spot,
And he picked up odd halfpence and toiled at chance labours
For the boiling the pot;
While relieving at times his more fortunate neighbours
Of surperfluous wealth they would waste upon tabors
And the dance and the song,
Which he thought clearly wrong,
Naughty Ned,
Who was glad of the crumbs of their gilt gingerbread.
He could fight like the devil and did with all comers,
But they could not beat Ned
Though more furnished and fed,
And his body was small and had seen but twelve summers;
For he loved a good fight
Whether foolish or right,
And he hit out so straight and so hard from the shoulder
With an Irish delight,
While he liked a big target however much older,
And the heaviest punishment made him the bolder;
He was tough as Tom Sayers
If he did not say prayers,
Stocky Ned
Not half clothed, not half grown, and not properly fed.
But they could not beat Ned
Though more furnished and fed,
And his body was small and had seen but twelve summers;
For he loved a good fight
Whether foolish or right,
And he hit out so straight and so hard from the shoulder
With an Irish delight,
While he liked a big target however much older,
And the heaviest punishment made him the bolder;
He was tough as Tom Sayers
If he did not say prayers,
Stocky Ned
Not half clothed, not half grown, and not properly fed.
But believe me, my friend, in a brawl or tight corner,
I would rather have Ned
With no weakness like dread
By my side than your sabretached swaggering scorner;
And no white kid gloved swell
With his lavender smell
Would have bottom like his and his cut-and-thrust motion,
Or bear buffets as well;
His the muscular piety, dog-like devotion,
And a workman-like style with no cant or commotion;
To the last he is game,
Always there and the same
Honest Ned,
With no trouble of conscience or shadow of dread.
I would rather have Ned
With no weakness like dread
472
And no white kid gloved swell
With his lavender smell
Would have bottom like his and his cut-and-thrust motion,
Or bear buffets as well;
His the muscular piety, dog-like devotion,
And a workman-like style with no cant or commotion;
To the last he is game,
Always there and the same
Honest Ned,
With no trouble of conscience or shadow of dread.
| Matin Bells and Scarlet and Gold | |