The Gentlemen Of Dickens

The gentlemen of Dickens     Were mostly very poor,     And innocent of grammar,     And of parentage obscure;     But rich or poor or thriving,     Of high or lowly birth,     The gentlemen of Dickens     Were the grandest on the earth.     The gentlemen of Dickens,     They wore no fancy names,     Like Reginald or Percy     Fitzgerald or FitzJames;     But names for fools to laugh at,     That sound like hob-nailed boots,     Like Newman Noggs and Knubbles,     Toodles and Mr Toots.     Theyd little save their kindness,     Their honesty and truth;     They mostly came embarrassed,     And stammering and uncouth;     But the gentlemen of Dickens,     Their women and their girls,     Could speak their minds if need be     To ladies and to earls.     But one who wore a title     A lesson, too, could teach:     Lord Feenix, Cousin Feenix     Of wandering legs and speech.     O he might teach a lesson     A gentleman could give,     Where he stands by his lovely     And accomplished relative.     The gentlemen of Dickens     Were gamblers now and then     (And looked upon the ladies,     No doubt, like other men);     And some of them were drunkards,     It cannot be denied;     But one washed all their sins away     When Sidney Carton died.     The gentlemen of Dickens     Are round us here to-day,     For their self-sacrificing     Brave spirits live for aye.     They cheer my heart and lift it,     They set my blood aglow,     For I was once a gentleman,     Though it was years ago.