Seven Joint Stock Companies, all their Boards played tricks;
One couldn’t pay its rent, and then there were Six!
Six Joint Stock Companies, scarcely kept alive,
One wound up amicably, and then there were Five!
Five Joint Stock Companies, dividends long o’er,
A liquidator bled one, and then there were Four!
Four Joint Stock Companies, as rotten as could be,
One ruined scores of folk, and then there were Three!
Three Joint Stock Companies, having naught to do,
A small panic killed one, and then there were Two!