Devouring, for hours, every word that you spoke;
Now, what is the reason of that?”
“Whenever I speak,” William Ewart replied,
“I never am acting a part;
But I say what I feel, and each sentence comes straight
From the depths of an Englishman’s heart!”
“You are old, William Ewart,” the young man cried.
“And honours are surely your due;
Then prithee explain why a title or cross
Has ne’er been accepted by you?”