Hillaire Belloc

hugo.cSun 19/08/07 14:13

Is anyone a fan of Hillaire Belloc's childrens's poetry? For example
Yet another great truth I record in my verse
That some vipers are venomous, some the reverse
A fact you may prove if you try
By procuring two vipers and letting them bite
With the first you are only the worse for a fright
But after the second you die
or
X (from 'A Moral Alphabet')
No reasonable child expects
A Grown up Man to make a rhyme on X
MORAL
These verses teach a clever child to find
Excuse for doing all that he's inclined.

#20720Sun 19/08/07 14:15

Not familiar with the poetry, but I'm a big fan of his writings about history and catholicism. So much of what he said and what he predicted in the early years of this century regarding the decline of the West and the rise of Islam in particular have turned out to be eerily true.

possSun 19/08/07 14:16

His cautionary tales are a joy especially the occasional footnotes :)

deleted:bellthecatSun 19/08/07 14:19

I LOVE Hillaire Berlloc and have a copy of "Cautionary Tales for Children" on my bookshelf. this is a favourite:

Henry King
The Chief Defect of Henry King
Was chewing little bits of String.
At last he swallowed some which tied
Itself in ugly Knots inside.

Physicians of the Utmost Fame
Were called at once; but when they came
They answered, as they took their Fees,
``There is no Cure for this Disease.

``Henry will very soon be dead.''
His Parents stood about his Bed
Lamenting his Untimely Death,
When Henry, with his Latest Breath,

Cried, ``Oh, my Friends, be warned by me,
That Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, and Tea
Are all the Human Frame requires...''
With that, the Wretched Child expires.

hugo.cSun 19/08/07 14:22

Young Algernon the Doctor's Son
Was playing with a loaded gun
He pointed it towars his sister
Aimed very carefully
But
Missed her!
His Father who was standing near
The Loud Explosion chanced to hear// And repremanded Algernon
For playing with a loaded gun

deleted:bellthecatSun 19/08/07 14:23

This is another favourite from the same book:

Matilda - Who Told Lies And Was Burned To Death

Matilda told such Dreadful Lies,
It made one Gasp and Stretch one's Eyes;
Her Aunt, who, from her Earliest Youth,
Had kept a Strict Regard for Truth,
Attempted to Believe Matilda://
The effort very nearly killed her,
And would have done so, had not She
Discovered this Infirmity.

For once, towards the Close of Day,
Matilda, growing tired of play,
And finding she was left alone,
Went tiptoe to the Telephone
And summoned the Immediate Aid
Of London's Noble Fire-Brigade.

Within an hour the Gallant Band
Were pouring in on every hand,
From Putney, Hackney Downs and Bow.
With Courage high and Hearts a-glow,
They galloped, roaring through the Town,
‘Matilda's House is Burning Down!'

Inspired by British Cheers and Loud
Proceeding from the Frenzied Crowd,
They ran their ladders through a score
Of windows on the Ball Room Floor;
And took Peculiar Pains to Souse
The Pictures up and down the House,
Until Matilda's Aunt succeeded
In showing them they were not needed;
And even then she had to pay
To get the men to go away!

It happened that a few Weeks later
Her Aunt was off to the Theatre
To see that Interesting Play
The Second Mrs Tanqueray.

She had refused to take her Niece
To hear this Entertaining Piece://
A Deprivation Just and Wise
To Punish her for Telling Lies.

That Night a Fire did break out -
You should have heard Matilda Shout!
You should have heard her Scream and Bawl,
And throw the window up and call
To People passing in the Street -
(The rapidly increasing Heat
Encouraging her to obtain
Their confidence) - but all in vain!

For every time She shouted ‘Fire!'
They only answered ‘Little Liar!'
And therefore when her Aunt returned,
Matilda, and the House, were Burned.

hugo.cSun 19/08/07 14:29

From 'The bad Child's Book of beasts://i The Lion, The Lion, he dwells in the waste
He has a big head and a very small waist
His shoulders are stark, but his jaws they are grim
And a good little child will not play with him.
and following on immediately from this in the same book
The Tiger, on the other hand, is kittenish and mild
He makes a pretty playfellow for any little child
And mothers of large families (who claim common sense)
Will find a Tiger well repays the trouble and expense.

paulbrettSun 19/08/07 14:29

There's a couplet that sometimes comes to mind, which I think must be Belloc, and runs something like:

"Always keep a hold of Nurse
For fear of finding something worse"

deleted:jellytussleSun 19/08/07 14:31

That's from "Jim; who was eaten by a lion," Paul.