Now life may be a river, as Pactolus was of old,
Which brings you lots of water to a minimum of gold,
But sometimes it were better, when the water sinks so low
That it fails to turn your mill-wheel, if the river ceased to flow.
So all day long with urchins three Miss Harker toiled in chains,
And she poured the oil of learning well upon their rusty brains,
And she practised them in music, and she polished up their sense
With the adverbs and the adjectives, and verbs in mood and tense.
And they said, "She's doing nicely, we will give her something more
(Not of money, but of labour) ere we show her to the door,