XII + 

Opusculum + 

For a Very Small Album + 

Fair Cousin, thy page + 

is small to encage + 

the thoughts which engage + 

the mind of a sage, + 

such as I am; + 

’Twere in teaspoon to take + 

the whole Genevese lake, + 

or a lap-dog to make + 

the white Elephant sac- + 

-red in Siam. + 

Yet inadequate though + 

to the terms strange and so- + 

-lemn that figure in po- + 

-lysyllabical row + 

in a treatise; + 

Still, true words and plain, + 

of the heart, not the brain, + 

in affectionate strain, + 

this book to contain + 

very meet is. + 

So I promise to be + 

a good Cousin to thee, + 

and to keep safe the se- + 

-cret I heard, although e- + 

-v’ry one know it; + 

With a lyrical air + 

my kind thoughts I would dare, + 

and offer whate’er + 

beseems the news, were + 

I a poet. + 