And see i’ council knave and clown.
But sic a crew
O’ rowdy, ranting, roaring fellows—
Sae scant o’ sense, sae sound o’ bellows—
I never knew.”
When, further, in applying the city’s motto of prudence and candor, one of the tailed mentors proposed special chastisement of a notable public sinner, the poet cried “Hurrah”:—
“At once there came
A whir o’ wings, a clash o’ scales,
An awesome wallopin’ o’ tails,
A flash of flame.”