Page:The Seven Seas (Kipling, 1896).djvu/195

Rh You may say we are fond of an 'arness-cut, or 'ootin' in barrick-yards,

Or startin' a Board School mutiny along o' the Onion Guards;

But once in a while we can finish in style for the ends of the earth to view,

The same as the Jollies—'Er Majesty's Jollies—soldier an' sailor too!

They come of our lot, they was brothers to us; they was beggars we'd met an' knew;

Yes, barrin' an inch in the chest an' the arm, they was doubles o' me an' you;

For they weren't no special chrysanthemums—soldier an' sailor too!

To take your chance in the thick of a rush, with firing all about,

Is nothing so bad when you've cover to 'and, an' leave an' likin' to shout;

But to stand an' be still to the Birken'ead drill is a damn tough bullet to chew,

An' they done it, the Jollies—'Er Majesty's Jollies—soldier an' sailor too!

Their work was done when it 'adn't begun; they was younger nor me an' you;