WE'VE been visited by men across the seas,
And some of them could write, and some could not;
The English, French, and German—whom you please,
But Kipling was the finest of the lot.
In sooth, we're loath to lose him from our list;
Though he's not been wholly kind in all his dealings;
Indeed from first to last I must insist,
He has played the cat and banjo with our feelings.
But here's to you, Mr. Kipling, with your comments and your slurs;
You're a poor, benighted Briton, but the Prince of Raconteurs!