Lapsus Calami (Aug 1891)/On a Parisian Boulevard

by James Kenneth Stephen

2. On a Parisian Boulevard.

 

Britannia rules the waves,
 As I have heard her say;
She frees whatever slaves
 She meets upon her way.

A teeming mother she
 Of Parliaments and Laws;
Majestic, mighty, free:
 Devoid of common flaws.

For her did Shakspere write
 His admirable plays:
For her did Nelson fight
 And Wolseley win his bays.

Her sturdy common sense
 Is based on solid grounds:
By saving numerous pence
 She spends effective pounds.

The Saxon and the Celt
 She equitably rules;
Her iron rod is felt
 By countless knaves and fools.

In fact, mankind at large,
 Black, yellow, white and red,
Is given to her in charge,
 And owns her as a head.

But every here and there—
 Deny it if you can—
She breeds a vacant stare
 Unworthy of a man:

A look of dull surprise;
 A nerveless idle hand:
An eye which never tries
 To threaten or command:

In short, a kind of man,
 If man indeed he be,
As worthy of our ban
 As any that we see:

Unspeakably obtuse,
 Abominably vain,
Of very little use,
 And execrably plain.