“To school we are trotting, through lane and through street,
Though the rain patters fast, soaking dresses and feet.”
“Little town children, your faces are thin;
Your footsteps are heavy, your blue eyes are dim.”
“Our small homes are crowded, our parents oft sad;
There is nothing to make us poor young ones feel glad.”
“Little town children, say what are your pleasures?
Tell what do you do in your holiday leisures?”
“We watch at the window, or play on the stair;
The back-yard is wanted, we cannot go there.”