I've lived up 'ere for thirty year,
   An' I'm gittin' old an' gray;
Poor when I came, an' meself's to blame
   That I'm poorer still to-day.
For cash wus cheap, an' I spent a heap
   In many foolish ways;
I chucked it round -- but wot wus a pound
   To a man in the olden days?

If I'm feelin' thirst now;
Which is frequent I'll allow,
   For I've got a sort of thirst that never dies;
I sneak in all alone
An' quench it on me own --
   Take a lonely Jimmy Woodser with the flies.

It wus "Breast the bloomin' bar!"
No matter who you are;
   It wus "Fill 'em up again," an' someone pays.
"Wot's yer liquor gents?"
"'Ere's me complemnts!"
   Oh, we did it 'andsome in the olden days.

If you 'it a man to-day
In a playful kind o' way,
   You find you've made a blunder to yer sorra;
If you paint 'is optics black
'E never 'its you back,
   But a summons comes around to you to-morra.

It wus "Come along outside,
An' I'll mark yer bloomin' 'ide,"
   An' make a ring around an' watch the play;
Pay yer bloomin' debt,
Shake, an' 'ave a wet;
   For we wus men in days that's passed away.

Its Mister Black to-day,
As 'e drives apast yer dray,
   An' greets you with a condescendin' nod;
But 'e's a canny Scot,
An' they're all a savin' lot,
   An' 'ave a knack of keepin' on the plod.

But Bill wus good enough
Afore 'e made 'is stuff,
   An' 'is missis with 'er side an' stuck-up ways,
An' 'er bloomin' croquet club,
Wus cookin' at a pub,
   An' 'er Pa wus drivin' bullocks in them days.

I ain't too proud to shout for the crowd,
   But I 'aven't got the stuff.
In times that's past you needn't 'ave arst,
   I'd 'ave done it soon enough;
For cash wus cheap, an' I spent a heap
   In many foolish ways;
I chucked it round - for wot was a pound
   To a man in the olden days?

"C.J.D."
Critic, 16 April 1898, p5