Great was the singer who sang,
And greater the song that he gave;
Nobly the music outrang;
This is the truth that we have: --

Such is the soul of a king,
(Be it thy friend's or thine,)
Whose word is his sacred thing,
Accounted by him divine.

He is the king, I teach,
--Though born of the throne or the sod --
Who doth but honor his speech
As if it were said by his God.

Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward

Youth's Companion (August 31, 1893)


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