English poem
The Excellent Lord Mayor
by Mrs. Turner (1775–1846)
"Oh dear papa!" cried little Joe, "How beautiful the Lord Mayor's show! In that gold coach the Lord Mayor see-- How very happy he must be!"
"My dear," the careful parent said, "Let not strange notions fill your head: 'Tis not the gold that we possess That constitutes our happiness.
"The Lord Mayor, when a little boy, His time did properly employ; And, as he grew from youth to man, To follow goodness was his plan.
"And that's the cause they love him so, And cheer him all the way they go; They love him for his smiling face More than for all his gold and lace."