Then the fairies sang a song, and the words of the dream song were these:--
"If thou would'st win great renown, Make thy way to London town; Fortune waits to greet thee there Even London's civic chair; Lord Mayor of London thou shalt be --The wielder of authority. And when thou rulest London town The King shall beg of thee his crown."
Shaa awoke with a start, sat up, and rubbed his eyes, telling himself that he had been dreaming--a wondrous pleasant dream,--but to his charmed ears there still came the sweet strains of the music, and the words of the fairy song:--
"If thou would'st win great renown, Make thy way to London town. London town, London town."
The lad listened awhile, then sprang to his feet with a joyful cry, and a determined look in his eyes.
"To London town," quoth he. "To London town! Thither I will go, and nought shall stop me now."
Then with a merry whistle, he made off homewards, and before the sun set, had completed his preparations for the long journey to the south.
The rest of Shaa's story reads like some romance, and yet it is true. Once settled in London, he appears to have been successful even beyond his wildest dreams. He became a member of the goldsmith's company, and rising rapidly in wealth and civic position, was ultimately appointed jeweller to King Edward IV.--and this position he continued to hold under four successive monarchs. In the year 1482 he received the dignity of Lord Mayor of London, and henceforth he became one of the most striking and interesting figures in that most dramatic period of English history. He received the honour of knighthood, and his influence was sufficiently powerful to render him one of the most prominent factors in securing the crown of England for King Richard III.
When Edward IV. died in 1483, it fell to the lot of Shaa, as Lord Mayor of London, to attend and take part in the funeral ceremonies, and to receive in great state the infant King Edward V., on his subsequent entry to the city. This occurred on May 4th, 1483, and is thus described in the old chronicle:--"When the Kynge approached nere the citie, Edmund Shaa, goldsmith, then Mayre, with William Whyte and John Matthewe, Sheriffs, and all the other Aldermene, in scarlette, with five hundred horse of the citizens in violette, received him reverentleye at Harnesey, and rydyng from thence accompanyed him into the city."