English poem
A CHARADE.
by Grace Greenwood (1823–1904)
My first is often caught in church, Is dear to dog and cat, Oft shuns the couch of kings, to bless The slave upon his mat; And like the "willow," in the song, Is "all around my hat."
My second an exclamation is, A single, simple sound, That tells of fear, surprise, or joy, For friends, or treasures found; And sometimes holds a world of woe Within its little round.
My third's a lordly name, a land For which the Genoese Went forth upon his god-like quest, And ploughed through unknown seas, And gave to Europe old a world Of golden mysteries.
My whole, a mighty conqueror, Filled earth with his renown; His life-bark rode on Fortune's flood; Till the heavens began to frown, And it struck upon a rock at last, In storm and night went down.
Nap-o-leon