"_As the Laureate well puts it, in lines that will live for ever_;"
_i.e._, "I'm perfectly dead certain I've forgotten the third line of
the verse."
"_The clock warns me that I am trespassing too long on your
patience_;" _i.e._, "Haven't said half of what I meant to say. Why the
dickens don't they say, 'Go on!'"