┌────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Obliged to be _sharper_, │ │ because _less blunt_ than usual. │ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Love should come with a │ │ _ring_, but not _without a rap_. │ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ To-day I write; │ │ To-morrow I writ. │ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Rat-a-tat! │ │ Look out for a Latitat. │ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ A little "soft solder" │ │ for a little tin. │ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ A _billet_ more than _doux_ │ │ for a _bill_ that's over-_due_. │ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Pig's _cheek_ pleases—Woman's │ │ tickles—Man's offends. │ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ I send you _an oat_ (a note), │ │ Respondez _wheat_. │ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ May we never _differ_, │ │ But always _correspond_. │ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Like a sheep I seek │ │ consolation in my _pen_. │ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ This is between you and me │ │ and the _post_. │ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Though we correspond, I │ │ trust there'll be _no words_ │ │ between us. │ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ You can't _do wrong_, │ │ If you _do write_. │ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ May the _female_ be as │ │ trustworthy as the _mail_. │ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ I write on spec: │ │ and hope it will _answer_. │ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ You know _the hand_; │ │ Become the possessor of it. │ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Though a person of extreme │ │ _diffidence_, │ │ I write this in _confidence_. │