After Emily Eden
And who could tire
of the pineapples,
and strawberries,
ices and sculptures,
the temporary rooms
and magnificent
embroidered hangings,
the incredible abundance
of beautiful flowers
at Mrs Baring’s?
Oh Birds of Paradise,
I wish I were married
to a dusty old banker!
But Harriet is tired,
and that is why she
continually invites
brilliant men to dine.
William Thackeray
is such a darling!
And John Stuart Mill
is jolly clever, if far
too much in earnest.
Look, here is Thomas
Carlyle come calling,
her best, her dearest
friend she calls him –
he says poor Jane is sick
but we all know she is sulking.