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Begbie, Harold, 1871-1929

"The Bed-Book of Happiness"

C.B."
So when they got aboard of the Admiral's
He hanged fat Jack and flogged Jimmee;
But as for little Bill, he made him
The Captain of a Seventy-Three.

THE SOUTH COUNTRY
[Sidenote: _Hilaire Belloc_]
When I am living in the Midlands
That are sodden and unkind,
I light my lamp in the evening:
My work is left behind;
And the great hills of the South Country
Come back into my mind.
The great hills of the South Country,
They stand along the sea:
And it's there walking in the high woods,
That I could wish to be,
And the men that were boys when I was a boy,
Walking along with me.
The men that live in North England,
I saw them for a day:
Their hearts are set upon the waste fells,
Their skies are fast and grey;
From their castle walls a man may see
The mountains far away.
The men that live in West England
They see the Severn strong,
A-rolling on rough water brown
Light aspen leaves along.
They have the secret of the rocks,
And the oldest kind of song.
But the men that live in the South Country
Are the kindest and most wise,
They get their laughter from the loud surf,
And the faith in their happy eyes
Comes surely from our Sister the Spring,
When over the sea she flies;
The violets suddenly bloom at her feet
She blesses us with surprise.


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