The Best School of All

It's good to see the school we knew,
    The land of youth and dream.
To greet again the rule we knew
    Before we took the stream:
Though long we've missed the sight of her,
    Our hearts may not forget;
We've lost the old delight of her,
    We keep her honour yet.

        We'll honour yet the school we knew,
            The best school of all:
        We'll honour yet the rule we knew,
            Till the last bell call.
        For working days or holidays,
            And glad or melancholy days,
    They were great days and jolly days
            At the best school of all.

The stars and sounding vanities
    That half the crowd bewitch,
What are they but inanities
    To him that treads the pitch?
And where's the welth I'm wondering,
    Could buy the cheers that roll
When the last charge goes thundering
    Towards the twilight goal?

Then men that tanned the hide of us,
    Our daily foes and friends,
They shall not lose their pride of us,
    Howe'er the journey ends.
Their voice to us who sing of it,
    No more its message bears,
But the round world shall ring of it,
    And all we are be theirs.

To speak of fame a venture is,
    There's little here can bide,
But we may face the centuries,
    And dare the deepending tide:
for though the dust that's part of us,
    To dust again be gone,
Yet here shall beat the heart of us---
    The school we handed on!

        We'll honour yet the school we knew,
            The best school of all:
        We'll honour yet the rule we knew,
            Till the last bell call.
        For working days or holidays,
            And glad or melancholy days,
        They were great days and jolly days
            At the best school of all.

Henry John Newbolt

Sir Henry John Newbolt was an English poet and author, famous for his ballads such as 'Vitaï Lampada'. He graduated from Oxford and was called to the bar, but he is better remembered for his literary contributions than his legal career. Newbolt served as a government advisor on military and naval literature during World War I. He was knighted in 1915 for his services to literature. Newbolt's work often reflected themes of patriotism and duty.

Henry John Newbolt

The Old Superb

Henry John Newbolt, Simple Poetry

Nel Mezzo Del Cammin

Henry John Newbolt, Simple Poetry

Admirals All

Henry John Newbolt, Simple Poetry

Felix Antonius

Henry John Newbolt, Simple Poetry

English

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The halls that were loud with the merry tread of young and careless feet
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Our game was his but yesteryear;
    We wished him back; we could not know
The self-same hour we missed him here
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Blood-red behind our guarded posts
    Sank as of old and dying day;
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Awake, of Muse, the echoes of a day
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The drowsy schoolboy wakened up from sleep,
First stays his system with substantial food,
Then off for school with tasks half understood,
Alas, alas, that cribs should be so cheap!

The journey down to town, 'twere long to tell
The storm and riot of the rabble rout;
The wild Walpurgis revel in and out
That made the ferry boat a floating hell.

What time the captive locusts fairly roared:
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Climbed up the seats and scared the very life
From timid folk, who near jumped overboard.

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"Let us now praise famous men",
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Took us from our mothers,
Flung us on a naked shore
(Twelve bleak houses by the shore.
Seven summers by the shore!)
'Mid two hundred brothers.

There we met with famous men
Set in office o'er us;
And they beat on us with rods,
Faithfully with many rods,
Daily beat us on with rods,
For the love they bore us!

Out of Egypt unto Troy,
Over Himalaya,
Far and sure our bands have gone,
Hy-Brazil or Babylon,
Islands of the Southern Run,
And Cities of Cathaia!

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The Echo

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Twice three hundred boys were we,
        Long ago, long ago,
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        Clifton for aye!
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Some were for profit and some for pride,
        Long ago, long ago,
Some for the flag they lived and died.
        Clifton for aye!
The work of the world must still be done,
And minds are many though truth be one.
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But a lad there was to his fellows sang,
        Long ago, long ago,
And soon the world to his music rang.
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