Classic Poem

God bless you, dear old comrade,
You're my kind of gentleman!
I've known you since the " eighties, "
When our years of grief began.
I've known you and I've loved you —
I couldn't help it, see?
And I've respected you, sir,
As you've respected me!

You've never thought your duty
Lay in making others feel
That on top was your position —
Theirs the bottom of the wheel.
Yours are Nature's manners,
Yours is the tender heart;
And the part that you have chosen
Is, by God, the better part!

You've sorrowed with the weeping,
You've been merry with the glad;
You've helped to bear the burden
When it almost drove us mad!
You've wasted no time talking,
You've simply said a word,
But in that word we've fancied
A sermon we have heard!

Again I say, God bless you
Wherever you may be!
Whatever be the distance
You can't get far from me!
I've known you and I've loved you
Since our years of grief began:
Here's a brimming bumper to you —
You're my kind of gentleman!