SELECT POETRY. THE CHILDREN.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 225, 23 May 1872, Page 9

SELECT POETRY. THE CHILDREN.

I suppose if all the children Who have lived thro' jiges long Were collected and inspected, They would make a wondrous throng. Oh, the- babble of the Babel ! Oh, the flutter of the fuss ! To begin with Cain and Abel, And to finish up with us ! Think of all the men and women Who art now and who have been, Every nation since creation That this world of ours has seen ; --• • f •• And of all of them, not any -— "•' . But was once a baby small, And of children, oh, how many Never have grown up at all. Some have never laughed or spoken, Never used their rosy feet ; Some have even flown to heaven Ere they knew that earth was sweet ; And, indeed, I wonder whether, If we reckon every birth, And bring such a flock together. There is room for them on earth ? Who will wash their smiling faces ? ' Who their saucy ears will box ? . Who will dress them ? who caress them ? Who will darn their little socks ? Where are arms enough to hold them ? . Hands to pat each shining head ? Who will praise and who will scold them ? Who will pack them off to bed ? little happy Christian children, Little savage children too, In all stages, of all ages, That our planet ever knew ! Little princes and princesses, Little beggars wan and faint, Some in rich and handsome dresses, Naked some, bedaubed with paint? Only think of the confusion Such a motley crowd would make ! And the clatter of their chatter, And the things that they would break. <oh, the babble of the Babel ! Oh, the flutter of the fuss ! "To begin with Cain and Abel, And to finish off with us !