Page:A School History of England (1911).djvu/88

At Runnymede, at Runnymede,
 Oh hear the reeds at Runnymede:—
‘You mustn’t sell, delay, deny,
A freeman’s right or liberty,
It wakes the stubborn Englishry,
 We saw ‘em roused at Runnymede!

‘When through our ranks the Barons came,
With little thought of praise or blame,
But resolute to play the game,
 They lumbered up to Runnymede;
And there they launched in solid line,
The first attack on Right Divine—
The curt, uncompromising “Sign!”
 That settled John at Runnymede.

‘At Runnymede, at Runnymede,
Your rights were won at Runnymede!
No freeman shall be fined or bound,
 Or dispossessed of freehold ground,
Except by lawful Judgement found
And passed upon him by his peers!—
Forget not, after all these years,
 The charter signed at Runnymede.

And still when mob or monarch lays
Too rude a hand on English ways,
The whisper wakes, the shudder plays,
 Across the reeds at Runnymede.
And Thames, that knows the moods of kings,
And crowds and priests and suchlike things,
Rolls deep and dreadful as he brings
 Their warning down from Runnymede!

Henry III, 1216–72.John's heir was a boy of nine years, who was to reign for fifty-six years as Henry III. A wise Regent was quickly chosen for him, William Marshall, Earl of Pem-