Eh? _Vox et præterea nihil_? What matter
How close ears may seem if the hearts are apart?
Humph! Nothing go easy as cynical chatter;
Distrust's diplomatic, and satire sounds "smart."
But, as RAIKES suggests, there _is_ something in hearing
The "great human voice" o'er some three hundred miles,
In spite of the scorn that's so given to sneering,
The hate that reviles.

One wonders what TALLEYRAND, subtle old schemer!
Would think of the Telephone were _he_ alive.
Wits sniff at the _savant_, and mock at the dreamer,
Who else, though, so hard for humanity strive?
BELLONA's sworn backers are woefully numerous;
Peace, let us pray, may claim this as _her_ friend;
The "Sentiment" flouted by swashbucklers humorous
Sways, at the end.

If language was given our thoughts for concealing,
The Telephone--'tis but a travelling Voice!--
Need not be the agent of reckless revealing,
And caution must often be candour's wise choice.
Unwisdom is sure to be sometimes caught napping,
And tongues may wag foolishly e'en through the wire.
Facilities freer for summary snapping
No sage can desire.

Great diplomats, proud of their "able dispatches,"
From trusting the tube with their wisdom may shrink.
The brain that in secret shrewd policies hatches,