What does an agent want?

I have always been amused by the oft-quoted remark of Freud's: 'What does a woman want?' It has been quoted out of context, but I was reminded of it this morning after receiving a second rejection letter from an agent. It is a reply from an enquiry I sent about a month ago offering some of my work for representation.

It is quite within my ability to appreciate that an agency operates using a limited staff, and must send out these letters (photocopied by the thousand, no doubt). But it does get puzzling when they reject my work without even requesting a copy. Is it because the agency is full (a possibility), or does this agency only accept writers with a guaranteed return?

Well, such moans don't make for entertaining reading, so I'll shut up shop on this entry and turn my attention to more productive things...