AND blacksmiths' LORE. 323
marvel of workmanship, and entirely eclipsing the handicraft of all the others. Upon which the horseshoe, bread, shoes, trunk, meat, and comer-stone were all thrown on one side as unfit for competition. Upon this the tailor was unanimously pronounced by the good king, and the general company, the fittest to be king of the trades, and was duly installed. This decision made the blacksmith very jealous and angry, and he declared that he would do no more work whilst the tailor was King ; so he shut up his forge and ' sloped,'* no one knew whither.
" Now it came to pass that King Alfred was the first to need the services of a blacksmith, his horse having cast a shoe, but he could gain no admittance. Then came one trade, then another, in fact all the six, each having broken his tools, thereby preventing him from carrying on his business until he could get them mended. The last of the six who came to grief was the tailor, who had broken his shears and was compelled to stop working. This all happened on the 23rd November (8. Clement's day) in the same year.
" Now King Alfred and all the trades determined to break open the forge and do the work themselves. So the King began to shoe his horse. The tailor began to mend his shears, and each trade in succes- sion essayed to repair his tools, but all failed. The horse kicked the king ; the tailor bruised his fingers. The fire would not bum, and everybody got into everybody's way. The butcher began to shove t the baker, he shoved the shoemaker, who in his turn shoved the carpenter, and the latter revenged himself by shoving the mason, who passed the compliment on to the tailor, until in the general confusion the anvil was knocked over and exploded.
" At this juncture m walked S. Clement, with the blacksmith on his arm, the latter looking very angry at the wreck of his once tidy forge.
" S. Clement said nothing, but seemed to enjoy the discomfiture of the King and his company.
" At length the King, making a humble bow to S. Clement and the blacksmith, said : — ' I have made a great mistake in allowing my judgment in this important matter to be governed by the gaudy colour
- i.e. absconded or went away. t push.
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