A TOO-ENGAGING MAIDEN'S REPLY.

(By Mr. Punch's kind permission.)

Yes, I read your effusion that lately got printed,

And at first never guessed there was anything meant.

But when someone suggested that something was hinted,

On your verses some time I reluctantly spent.

They are fair—and perhaps you consider them clever,

You're a poet, no doubt, of a minor degree,

But I never was startled so strangely—no, never!