Armory and Delamirie

Canto I
 
A chimney sweep was walking down the street
in seventeen hundred and twenty two,
when something caught his eye.  He took a seat
 
to double check and to plan what to do.
He thought he'd seen something glimmer and gleam
in the gutter. Yes!  What came into view?
 
He saw a gem set in gold - what a dream!
His problem was to transfer the jewel
from the gutter to his pocket by some scheme.
 
He rose and walked but tripped and went pell mell
into the gutter.  He got to his feet
and walked away with the treasure to sell.
 
His trip was feign'd; his fingers fast and sweet
did pluck the prize from the gutter.  A smile
appear'd on his face now he had the treat.
 
Canto II
 
He thought about the owner of this broach:
a gift for a lady, or was it earned?
He felt some pangs of guilt and self-reproach
 
but couldn't see how it could be returned.
He turned to matters of greater import:
how to convert the gem to what he yearned.
 
He saw a goldsmith so docked at that port
and asked how much cash the jewel was worth.
The jeweler said he had to resort
 
to his master's opinion to unearth
what the broach was worth, so leave it behind.
The boy like the Dane nearly lost his mirth
 
and said, 'Do you think I'm out of my mind?'
"I'm not cheating you just take this receipt
and if I steal it I can then be fined,
 
the law will protect you from my deceit."
The boy saw no choice and left with the note
but couldn't help but think the man a cheat.
 
Canto III
 
The chimney sweep had been awake all night -
he thought about the broach; its worth, his life.
If gold and jewel now became cash, might
 
his life become a place of little strife?
And would this windfall make a mockery
of struggles past?  The thought cut like a knife.
 
He walked to town and thought of roguery:
he thought of theft, on his part there was none.
What was to stop him owning but snobbery?
 
A sweep had as much right as anyone
to own a jewel.  He opened the door
and saw his own reflection looking wan.
 
A couple of breaths and he crossed the floor
and at the counter, he asked for his cash
or his broach back.  The same man he saw before
 
said that the broach, although gold, was trash.
He told the sweep that he would pay its weight
in gold.  The sweep didn't want to be rash
 
and so asked for the broach back, to go straight
to another shop for a better quote.
"And make it quick, I don't have time to wait."
 
Canto IV
 
A smirk, a pause, a blush before the broach
was handed back - which made the sweep go mad.
The jewel had a gaping gap - reproach
 
to his naivety?  Perhaps, poor lad.
He took his broach and leave without a word,
seemingly defenseless against this cad.
 
He walked and thought but he was undeterred
from trying to restore his property.
How to correct the injustice incurred?
 
[... not complete ... more to come ...]