[1]
We're much obliged to 'im, I'm sure,
(Though potry ain't my fav'rit reading,)
He's civil, kind and not cock-sure;
Good sense goes sometimes with good-breeding.
So Tommy's best respects to _'im_,
At Aldershot we'd like to treat 'im.
Though if he bobs in Evelyn's swim,
He _might_ not know us _when_ we meet 'im!
But, Bill, if all this barney's _true_
Consarnin' "Our Poor Little Army,"
It must be nuts to Pollyvoo!
_He_ needn't feel a mite alarmy.
_Whose_ fault is it we cost a lot,
And, if war comes, _must_ fail, or fly it?
Well facts is facts, and bounce is rot;
But, blarm it, BILL,--_I'd like to try it!_
[Footnote 1: Mr. Kipling dedicates his "Barrack-Room Ballads"
to "TOMMY ATKINS" in these lines:--
I have made for you a song,
An' it may be right or wrong,
But only you can tell me if it's true;
I've tried for to explain.
Both your pleasure and your pain,
And, THOMAS, here's my best respects to you!
Oh, there'll surely come a day
When they'll grant you all your pay
And treat you as a Christian ought to do;
So, until that day comes round,
Heaven keep you safe and sound,
And, Thomas, here's my best respects to you!]
* * * * *
[Illustration: THE STATE OF THE MARKET.
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