my second.
Success and power are in my name,
Men strive for me far more than fame.
One thing I am unto the wise,
But quite another in fools’ eyes,
Through me the world is rich and strong,
Yet too much love of me is wrong.
my whole.
My first and second when they meet,
As lawyers’ fees, my whole complete.
And yet my first too oft enjoyed,
Is sure to make my second void.
My whole is good and bad by turns,
As every merchant daily learns.
III.
My first the stout Hibernian wields
On banks and streets and stubborn fields,
To earn the bread that labor yields.
My second is a name for one
Whose youth and age together run,
A leader all good people shun.
My whole in summer-time is sweet,
When youths and maids together meet
Beneath some shady grove’s retreat.
(So simple is this short charade,
That I am very much afraid
You’ll guess at once, without my aid.)
IV.