THE OLD WOMAN AND HER WATER SUPPLY.

There was an old Woman, as I've heard say,

The frost froze her water-pipes fast one day;

The frost froze her water-pipes fast at first,

Till a thaw came at last, and the water-pipes burst.

By came the Company, greedy of gain,

And it cut her water all off at the main,

It cut her water off sharp, if you please,

Though it wasn't her fault that the pipes began to freeze.

It wasn't her fault that the water-pipes burst.

So she had no water for cleansing or thirst,

She had no water, and she began to cry,

"Oh, what a cruel buzzum has a Water Company

But I'll repair the pipes, since so it must be,

And the plumber, I'm aware, will make pickings out of me.

If there's a frost I've no water for my pail,

And if there's a thaw then the rate-collectors rail."

On Law the old Woman is entirely in the dark;

There seems no one to save her from the fresh-water shark;

The shark does what he likes, and she can only cry,

"Who'll help a poor old Woman 'gainst the Water Company?"