What is Enough? An idle dream!
One cannot have enough, I swear,
Of Ices or Meringues-and-Cream,
Nougat or Chocolate Eclairs,
Of Oysters or of Caviar,
Of Prawns or Pate de Foie Grar!
Who would not willingly forsake
Kindred and Home, without a fuss,
For Icing from a Birthday Cake,
Or juicy fat Asparagus,
And journey over countless seas
For New Potatoes and Green Peas?
They say that a Contented Mind
Is a Continual Feast;— but where
The mental frame, and how to find,
Which can with Turtle Soup compare?
No mind, however full of Ease,
Could be Continual Toasted Cheese.
For dinner have a sole to eat
( Some Perrier Jouet,‘ ),
An Entree then ( and, with the meat,
A bottle of Lafitte will do ),
A quail, a glass of port ( just one ),
Liqueurs and coffee, and you've done.
Your tastes may be of simpler type;—
A homely pint of‘ half-and-half,’
An onion and a dish of tripe,
Or headpiece of the kindly calf.
( Cruel perhaps, but then, you know,
‘'Faut tout souffrir pour etre veau!’ )
‘ Tis a mistake to eat too much
Of any dishes but the best;
And you, of course, should never touch
A thing you know you can n't digest;
For instance, lobster:— if you do,
Well,— I'm amayonnaised at you!
Let this be your heraldic crest:
A bottle ( charge ) of Champagne,
A chicken ( gorged ) with salad ( dress'd ),
Below, this motto to explain —
‘ Enough is Very Good, may be;
Too Much is Good Enough for Me!’