Quæ Genus.

"'Tis the first time I e'er applied

To ask your counsel for my guide:

But strange events have brought me here,

And at your desk I now appear,

But not without the means to pay,

For all you do and all you say.

And here, good Sir, there's no concealing

We must be cautious in our dealing:

I want employment that will give

Means to be honest and to live.

Such is my warm, heart-felt desire,

Such is the boon I now require,—

And if you do my wishes aid,

I tell you Sir,—you shall be paid."

Sticking his pen behind his ear

And with a keen enquiring leer,

Sharpsight the curious figure view'd,

And thus the important talk pursued.