A Bard, dear Muse, who pluck would sing,
Your friendly aid beseeches.
Help me to touch the lyric string
On—brave O'Brien's breeches!
What though the splendour of my lines
To Swinburne's height ne'er reaches?
The theme, if not the thrummer, shines;
That theme's—O'Brien's breeches!
They wouldn't let O'Brien talk,
Or make "seditious" speeches.