Chances vanish, and ventures cross,
Even sometimes for bards like Gosse;
Since or ever the world began.
Quarterly pay was dear to man.
But there's a something in quarterly pay
Which doesn't please all men alway!
Less than half-truth is a quarter-lie,
Bound to be found out by-and-by;
Since or ever the world began,
Quarterly pay has been strict with man.