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 HE Surgeon-General by brevet,
 * With zeal for public service burning,

Thinks this a happy time to get
 * Another chance to show his learning;

He has in consequence collected
 * His wits, and stewed them in retorts;

By distillation thus perfected,
 * He hopes to shine, and so reports

That he has searched authorities
 * From Johnson down to Ashe and Shelley,

And finds that a militia is
 * What he is now about to tell ye:

Militia means—such citizens
 * As e’en in peace are kept campaigning—

The gallant souls that shoulder guns,
 * And, twice a year, go out a-training!

This point being fixed, we must, I think, sir,
 * Proceed unto the second part,

Entitled Grog—a kind of drink, sir,
 * Which, by its action on the heart,

Makes men so brave, they dare attack
 * A bastion at its angle salient;