INCLUSIVE EDITION, 1885-1918 503
I was a young un at 'Oogli,
Shy as a girl to begin; Aggie de Castrer she made me,
An' Aggie was clever as sin; Older than me, but my first un
More like a mother she were Showed me the way to promotion an' pay,
An' I learned about women from 'er!
Then I was ordered to Burma,
Actin' in charge o' Bazar, An' I got me a tiddy live 'eathen
Through buyin' supplies off 'er pa.- Funny an' yellow an' faithful
Doll in a teacup she were, But we lived on the square, like a true-married pair,
An' I learned about women from 'er!
Then we was shifted to Neemuch
(Or I might ha' been keepin' 'er now), An' I took with a shiny she-devil,
The wife of a nigger at Mhow; 'Taught me the gipsy-folks' bolee; 1
Kind o' volcano she were,
For she knifed me one night 'cause I wished she was white,
And I learned about women from 'er!
Then I come 'ome in a trooper,
'Long of a kid o' sixteen 'Girl from a convent at Meerut,
The straightest I ever 'ave seen. Love at first sight was 'er trouble,
She didn't know what it were; An' I wouldn't do such, 'cause I liked 'er too much,
But I learned about women from 'er!
1 Slang.