494 RUDYARD KIPLING'S VERSE
Their choice it was plain between drownin' in 'caps an* bein'
mopped by the screw, So they stood an' was still to the Eirkenead drill, soldier an'
sailor too!
We're most of us liars, we're 'arf of us thieves, an' the rest
are as rank as can be, But once in a while we can finish in style (which I 'ope it
won't 'appen to me). But it makes you think better o' you an' your friends, an' the
work you may 'ave to do, When you think o' the sinkin' Victoriers Jollies soldier an'
sailor too! Now there isn't no room for to say ye don't know they
'ave proved it plain and true That, whether it's Widow, or whether it's ship, Victorier's
work is to do,
An' they done it, the Jollies 'Er Majesty's Jollies sol- dier an' sailor too!
SAPPERS
(Royal Engineers)
~HEN the Waters were dried an' the Earth did appeal
("It's all one," says the Sapper), The Lord He created the Engineer,
Her Majesty's Royal Engineer,
With the rank and pay of a Sapper!
When the Flood come along for an extra monsoon, 'T was Noah constructed the first pontoon
To the plans of Her Majesty's, etc.