"The Lost Heir" by Thomas Hood

Abraham Lincoln is said to have liked poems by Thomas Hood, and I've found references to Lincoln reading this particular piece out loud to someone else.

"The Lost Heir" is a product of its time, of course, and Hood is trying to make the poor Irish mother out to be ridiculous - but anyone who has participated in a frantic search for a child who turns out to be perfectly all right (and in no danger at all and annoyingly oblivious to the fact that he or she has been causing heart attacks) will probably be able to identify with the mother. (Use title link.)