I soon was left deserted and forlorn;

A porters' bench was raised beneath my nose.

And I became the object of their scorn:

I've heard the rascals, with a vacant stare,

Ask, just like you, what business I had there?

Few years have passed, since I, by parish sages,

Was called a monstrous nuisance to the street,

And, though I'd borne the brunt of varying ages,

Was doomed for pavement 'neath the horses' feet,

Until a Maiden,[7] near to Sherborne Lane,