"i thank thee, friend," rejoined the youth, "but i do not mean to be a poet, nor, heaven be praised! do i think miriam ever made a varse in her life. so we need not fear thy disappointments. but, miriam," he added, with real concern, "thee knowest that the elders admit nobody that has not a gift to be useful. now, what under the sun can they do with this poor varse-maker?"