You “find no precedent,” you say;
Ha! then “red tape” is in the way!
No precedent! dear, honored, dame,
Your memory is here to blame;
For surely you have read the past,
When Pericles led ton and taste;
When Liberty prevailed in Greece,
And bore the palm in war and peace:
Then men of genius, honored, prized,
The noblest functions exercised;