The Philanthropist by Georgiana
'Twas early in the morning,
When the sun was dawning,
That a group of mudlarks I sighted.

Old men, old women, and mere babes too,
Between them, they had not even one shoe.
Sifting and shifting, scavenging through the muddy rocks.

I could just make them out,
Suddenly one woman gave a triumphant shout.
Breaking the startling silence.

I pondered aloud what artefact they had uncovered.
'M'lady, it's copper nails they've discovered.'
Said Jim, 'It's coal, iron, old clothes and wood
They find, but copper nails are most prized.'

I squinted hard at the blurring scene,
With the Thames now, a dirty blue-green.
My jewels suddenly lost their splendour.

'Jim, drive on please,'I said.
I wished that the sick would be cured, the hungry fed.
I knew this would be my philanthropic duty.