"T was from a "young admirer"
Who asked me would I mind Sending her "favorite poem"
"In autograph, and signed."
She craved the boon so sweetly That I had been a churl Had I repulsed the homage Of this gentle, timid girl; With bright illuminations I decked the ma.n.u.script, And in my choicest paints and inks My brush and pen I dipt.
Indeed it had been tedious But that a flattered smile Played on my rugged features And eased my toil the while.
I was a.s.sured my poem Would fill her with delight-- I fancied she was pretty-- I knew that she was bright!
And for a spell thereafter That unknown damsel"s face With its worshipful expression Pursued me every place; Meseemed to hear her whisper: "O, thank you, gifted sir, For the overwhelming honor You so graciously confer!"
But a catalogue from Benjamin"s Disproves what things meseemed-- Dispels with savage certainty The flattering dreams I dreamed; For that poor "favorite poem,"
Done and signed in autograph, Is listed in "Cheap Items"
At a dollar-and-a-half.