Code Samples from the Java Developers Almanac 2000

 // Set the desired font if different from default font.
 Font font = new Font("Serif", Font.PLAIN, 12);
 g2d.setFont(font);
     
 // Draw the string such that its base line is at x, y.
 g2d.drawString("aString", x, y);
     
 // Draw the string such that the top-left corner 
 // is at x, y.
 FontMetrics fontMetrics = g2d.getFontMetrics();
 g2d.drawString(
   "aString", x, y+fontMetrics.getAscent());