The poem
I
Behold, my child, the Nordic man, And be as like him, as you can; His legs are long, his mind is slow, His hair is lank and made of tow.
II
And here we have the Alpine Race: Oh! What a broad and foolish face! His skin is of a dirty yellow. He is a most unpleasant fellow.
III
The most degraded of them all Mediterranean we call. His hair is crisp, and even curls, And he is saucy with the girls.
Belloc's timeless attitudes on nationality and English class have a relevance
in Australia, with its 1950-70s immigration of Europeans. thus, on race :
"Behold my child the Nordic man
And be as like him as you can"
encapsulates the respect held by the earlier colonists, largely English,
though leavened by Irish peasantry of convict stock.
Progressing southwsrds, the Germans and "Balts" are dismissed as dull, and
finally
"The most degraded of them all
Mediterranean we call
His hair is dark and even curls
And he is saucy with the girls"
Veiled respect for Italian sexual prowess.