ON me he shall ne’er put a ring,

So, mamma, ’tis in vain to take trouble—

For I was but eighteen in spring,

While his age exactly is double.

Mamma

He’s but in his thirty-sixth year,

Tall, handsome, good-natured and witty,

And should you refuse him, my dear,

May you die an old maid without pity!

Laura