Muscovite loquitur:—
"Won't you help me bind the Dragon?" says the Briton to the Russ.
Oho! ingenuous JOHNNY! I'm opposed to needless fuss,
And have other fish to fry—say near the Oxus! Not a hang
Do I care for what may happen on the great Yang-tse-Kiang.
I approve Non-intervention. 'Tis your favourite doctrine, JOHN,
And you stick to it so closely, and that's just why you get on.
If you think that Dragon's dangerous—I hold 'tis but his play!—
There's but one thing you've got to do—clear out of the brute's way.
I am sure he doesn't want you where you've stayed a deal too long;