Page:Departmental Ditties and Ballads and Barrack-Room Ballads, Kipling, 1899.djvu/202

 THE BALLAD OF THE KING'S MERCY

Abdhur Rahman, the Durani Chief, of him is the story told.

His mercy fills the Khyber hills—his grace is manifold;

He has taken toll of the North and the South—his glory reacheth far,

And they tell the tale of his charity from Balkh to Kandahar.

the old Peshawur Gate, where Kurd and Kaffir meet,

The Governor of Kabul dealt the Justice of the Street,

And that was strait as running noose and swift as plunging knife,

Tho' he who held the longer purse might hold the longer life.