Appointed magistrates and duly ordered
The sacrifice to Zeus, consulted augurs,
Spoke with the couriers fast as e’er they came,
Not me alone. Oh, a rare sight he made!
A slave behind him with his ear acock,
A tablet and a stylus in his hand,
Was scribbling down—absurdly solemn owl!
Whatever crank escaped his tippler-mood.
And on the morning after, so I learnt,
He reads the contents through, his head aburst