Ballads by William Makepeace Thackeray
page 25 of 259 (09%)
page 25 of 259 (09%)
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Tell me what find we to admire
In epaulets and scarlet coats. In men, because they load and fire, And know the art of cutting throats? . . . . . Ah, gentle, tender lady mine! The winter wind blows cold and shrill, Come, fill me one more glass of wine, And give the silly fools their will. And what care we for war and wrack, How kings and heroes rise and fall; Look yonder,* in his coffin black, There lies the greatest of them all! To pluck him down, and keep him up, Died many million human souls; 'Tis twelve o'clock, and time to sup, Bid Mary heap the fire with coals. He captured many thousand guns; He wrote "The Great" before his name; And dying, only left his sons The recollection of his shame. Though more than half the world was his, He died without a rood his own; And borrowed from his enemies |
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