Of Hilary the Great and Good
They tell a tale at Christmas time. I"ve often thought the story would Be prettier but just as goodIf almost anybody should Translate it into rhyme；So I have done the best I can
For lack of some more learnèd man. Good King HilarySaid to his Chancellor (Proud Lord Willoughby， Lord High Chancellor) ： "Run to the wicket-gate Quickly， quickly，Run to the wicket-gate
And see who is knocking. It may be a rich man，Sea-borne from Araby， Bringing me peacocks， Emeralds， and ivory； It may be a poor man，Travel-worn and weary， Bringing me oranges
To put in my stocking. " Proud Lord Willoughby， Lord High Chancellor，Laughed both loud and free ：
"I"ve served Your Majesty， man to man， Since first Your Majesty"s reign began，And I"ve often walked， but I never， never ran， Never， never， never， " quoth he.
Good King Hilary Said to his Chancellor
(Proud Lord Willoughby， Lord High Chancellor)：
" Walk to the wicket-gate Quickly， quickly，
Walk to the wicket-gate And see who is knocking.
It may be a captain， Hawk-nosed， bearded， Bringing me gold-dust， Spices， and sandalwood； It may be a scullion， Care-free， whistling，Bringing me sugar-plums To put in my stocking. "Proud Lord Willoughby， Lord High Chancellor， Laughed both loud and free ：
"I"ve served in the Palace since I was four， And I"ll serve in the Palace a many years more， And I"ve opened a window， but never a door，Never， never， never， " quoth he.
Good King Hilary Said to his Chancellor
(Proud Lord Willoughby， Lord High Chancellor) ： " Open the window Quickly， quickly，Open the window
And see who is knocking. It may be a waiting-maid， Apple-cheeked， dimpled， Sent by her mistressTo bring me greeting； It may be children， Anxious， whispering， Bringing me cobnutsTo put in my stocking. "
Proud Lord Willoughby，
Lord High Chancellor， Laughed both loud and free ：
" I"ll serve Your Majesty till I die- As Lord High Chancellor， not as spy To peep from lattices； no， not I，Never， never， never， " quoth he.
Good King Hilary Looked at his Chancellor (Proud Lord Willoughby， Lord High Chancellor). He said no wordTo his stiff-set Chancellor， But ran to the wicket-gateTo see who was knocking.
He found no rich man Trading from Araby； He found no captainBlue-eyed， weather-tanned； He found no waiting-maid Sent by her mistress；But only a beggar-man With one red stocking.
Good King Hilary
Looked at the beggar-man，
And laughed him three times three；
And he turned that beggar-man 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 GreatOld 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. "
A.A. Milne in Now We are Six
Author.-Alan Alexander Milne， a living English writer of whimsical verses and plays for children， is a worthy successor to Edward Lear， of the limericks， and Lewis Carroll， who wrote Alice in Wonderland. Some men never grow old； they keep the freshness and sportiveness of a child till the end. Mr. Milne is one of them. His published works include various plays and essays and， among books for children， When we were very Young， Now we are Six (verse)， Winnie the Pooh， The House at Pooh Corner (prose).
General.-King Hilary (it rhymes with pillory and means " the cheerfulone ") is not recorded in sober history. Quote his three guesses. What are the usual duties of a Lord High Chancellor？ What is a wicket-gate？ a scullion？ sandalwood？ What are lattices？ Why "Araby " instead of Arabia？ Are the morals at the end just， or are they ridiculous？ Why？ Consider the rhythm. Does it vary？ Is the passage true poetry or only clever rhyme？ What makes you think so？
