I.

"If thou be surety for thy friend, thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,"--PROVERBS vi. _v._ 1, 2.

Think well, my son, before you lend Your name as bond for any friend; Or, when the day of reckoning comes, Come broken hearts and blighted homes. Think well, my son, before you give Your trusty word, that knaves may live: Be not for such the stepping-stone, But strive to earn and keep thine own.