Page:Patriotic pieces from the Great War, Jones, 1918.djvu/219

Rh An' 'ow it was we managed, well, I cannot understand,

But I never used the phrase book though I 'ad it in my 'and.

I winked at 'im to start with; 'e grinned from ear to ear;

An' 'e says "Tipperary" an' I says "Souvenir,"

'E 'ad my only Woodbine, I 'ad 'is thin cigar,

Which set the ball a'rollin', an' so—well, there you are!

I showed 'im next my wife an' kids, 'e up and showed me 'is.

Them funny little Frenchy kids with 'air all in a fizz;

"Annette," 'e says, "Louise," 'e says, an' 'is tears began to fall;

We was comrades when we parted, but we'd 'ardly spoke at all.

'E'd 'ave kissed me if I'd let 'im; we 'ad never met before,

An' I've never seen the beggar since, for that's the way o' war;

An' tho we scarcely spoke a word, I wonder just the same

If 'e'll ever see them kids of 'is—I never ast 'is name!