THE ROMANCE OF A TEACUP.

SIP THE SECOND.

Now harems being very lonely places,
Hemm'd in with bolts and bars on every side,
The fifty-two who shared Te-pott's embraces
Were glad to see a stranger, though a bride--
And so received her with their gentlest graces,
And questions--though the questions are implied,
For ladies, from Great Britain to the Tropics,
Are very orthodox in their choice of topics.

They ask'd her, who was married? who was dead?
What were the newest things in silks and ivories?
And had Y--Y--, who had eloped with Z--,
Been yet forgiven? and _had_ she seen his liveries?
And weren't they something between grey and red?
And hadn't Z's papa refused to give her his?
So Hy-son told them everything she knew
And all was very well a day or two.

But, when the Multifarious forsook
Bo-hea, Pe-koe, and Wiry-leaf'd Gun-pow-der,
To revel in the lip and sunny look
Of the young stranger; spite of all they'd vow'd her,
The ladies each with jealous anger shook,
And rail'd against the simple maid aloud--Ah!
This woman's pride is a fine thing to tell us of--
But a small matter serves her to be jealous of.