“And pray, then, Sir John, what may an allegory be?”
“In this case, my good sir, it is a constitution.”
“And what is a constitution?”
“Why, it is sometimes as you perceive, an allegory.”
“And are we not to be mast-headed, then, according to the book?”
“Figuratively, only.”
“But there are actually such critters as the Great Sachem, and Riddles, and above all, the Bobees!—We are boney fie-diddle-di-dee elected?”
“Boney fie-diddle-di-dee.”
“And may I take the liberty of asking, what it is our duty to do?”
“We are to act practically—according to the literality of the legal, implied, figurative, allegorical significations of the Great National Compact under a legitimate construction.”