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 his 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.