Page:Now We Are Six (1955).pdf/89

  And he turned that beggarman round about:
“Your thews are strong, and your arm is stout;
  Come, throw me a Lord High Chancellor out,
  And take his place,” quoth he.

  Of Hilary the Good and Great
  Old wives at Christmas time relate
  This tale, which points, at any rate,
  Two morals on the way.
  The first: “Whatever Fortune brings,
  Don’t be afraid of doing things.”
  (Especially, of course, for Kings.)
  It also seems to say
  (But not so wisely): “He who begs
  With one red stocking on his legs
  Will be, as sure as eggs are eggs,
  A Chancellor some day.”