Doctor Birch and His Young Friends

by William Makepeace Thackeray

It is an irksome word and task;

And when he 's laughed and said his say,

He shows, as he removes the mask,

A face that's anything but gay.

One word, ere yet the evening ends,

Let's close it with a parting rhyme,

And pledge a hand to all young friends,

As fits the merry Christmas-time.

On life's wide scene you, too, have parts,

That Fate ere long shall bid you play;