Page:Life's Handicap - Kipling (1891).djvu/80

I up with my gun at a Burman
Who carried a bloomin' dah,
But the cartridge stuck and the bay'nit bruk,
An' all I got was the scar.

Chorus.

Ho! don't you aim at a Afghan

When you stand on the sky-line clear;
An' don't you go for a Burman
If none o' your friends is near.

I served my time for a corp'ral,
An' wetted my stripes with pop,
For I went on the bend with a intimate friend,
An' finished the night in the 'shop.'
I served my time for a sergeant;
The colonel 'e sez No!
The most you'll see is a full C.B.' ^[1]
An' . . . very next night 'twas so.

Chorus.

Ho! don't you go for a corp'ral

Unless your 'ed is clear;
But I was an ass when I was at grass,
An' that is why I'm 'ere.

1. Confined to barracks.