Exceeding tall, but built so well his height <br />Half-disappears in flow of chest and limb; <br />Moustache and whisker trooper-like in trim; <br />Frank-faced, frank-eyed, frank-hearted; always bright <br />And always punctual-morning, noon, and night; <br />Bland as a Jesuit, sober as a hymn; <br />Humorous, and yet without a touch of whim; <br />Gentle and amiable, yet full of fight. <br />His piety, though fresh and true in strain, <br />Has not yet whitewashed up his common mood <br />To the dead blank of his particular Schism. <br />Sweet, unaggressive, tolerant, most humane, <br />Wild artists like his kindly elderhood, <br />And cultivate his mild Philistinism.<br /><br />William Ernest Henley<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/house-surgeon/
