DUKE LEOPOLD'S STONE
BY MARY E. BRADLEY
from the October 1879 edition of St. Nicholas, pp. 784-786
THERE was once a great Duke Leopold, Who had wit and wisdom, as well as gold, And used all three in a liberal way For the good of his people, the stories say. To see precisely what they would do, And how nearly a notion of his came true, He went from his palace one night alone-- When a brooding storm and starless skies Hid his secret from prying eyes-- And set midway in the road a stone It was not too big for a man to move-- The Duke was confident on that score; Yet the weight of the thing was enough to prove The strength of one's muscle--and something more. "Something more," laughed the Duke, as he strode Through wind and rain on his homeward road: "This time tomorrow I reckon will show If a notion of mine is correct or no."
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"THE LEGEND UPON IT HE READ ALOUD"
A little later, still watching there, He spied on their way to the village Fair, A troop of merchants, each with his pack Strapped on a well-fed animal's back. "Now let us see," with a nod of his head And a merry twinkle, His Highness said: "Perhaps this worshipful multitude Will lend a hand for the public good." But alack! the company, man and horse, Hardly paused in their onward course. Instead of cantering four abreast, Two by two they went east and west; And when they had left the stone behind-- "To think of a thing like that," said they, "Blocking the high-road for half a day!" It never reached the collective mind In the light of a matter that implied Some possible claim on the other side. So a week, and two, and three slipped past: But the stare of amazement became despair |