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In a summer-school in Rotherhithe
Miss Branston ruled the roost,
A sixty year old spinster,
Perpetually half-juiced.

Miss Violet Helen Ponsonby,
Her second-in-command,
A schizophrenic psychopath,
Was known throughout the land.

The school was large and rambling,
As were its twin old dears,
Yet still there was a waiting list
That lengthened by the years.

They taught both French and algebra
And some domestic skills;
History from ancient Rome
To dark satanic mills.

Latin, Greek and German too
Were all within their sphere,
Their motto being, “Abandon hope
All who enter here.”

Most girls who graduated
From that torrid house of learning,
Gravitated to the horrid streets
For any earning.

But still it boasts a host of girls
Who call it 'Alma Mater',
And did produce the very first
Female Belgian dictator.