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"And from your talk this much I've learned, You have not seen a sign Of any foe. The French have burned No land this side the Rhine. "I think we best would save our fear Until the truth is learned, Until the Frenchmen do appear — The meeting is adjourned." Wise words! The French marauders stained With wine their oriflamme, And, drunk with pillage, never gained The goal at Amsterdam.

Oh, lawyers of the inner bar, And in the halls of state, How senseless half your wranglings are, Your pleas elaborate! And how much better would it be If some wise man should sleep, While legislators disagree In logic strained and deep; And, waking then, in judgment sane, Should render his decree, And quickly fall asleep again, In wise complacency.