Taking Medicine

What have I got in this blue cup? 'Tis senna-tea: come, drink it up. Now come, my little Harry, haste; What! say he does not like the taste? These raisins, with a crust of bread, Will make a pleasant taste instead, There! now 'tis gone,—both taste and smell; My little boy has managed well; Mamma shall know her darling can Drink senna-tea, just like a man: For, tho' it is not nice to take, Med'cine oft cures both pain and ache. Some naughty children will not try To drink their senna-tea, but cry; Then worse and worse they grow, instead, And often lie for weeks in bed, When early care, without delay, Might send their poorliness away. When nurses have a sickly charge, Their stock of patience should be large; Their kindness and obliging care, Should teach them peevishness to bear; But then, in what is needful,—right, Their hold should be both firm and tight; Then love and confidence would still Meet in obedience to their will, And children would not dare to be Unruly with their senna-tea.