For we've lots o' quick promotion on ten deaths a day!
Our Colonel's white an' twitterly -- 'e gets no sleep nor food,

But mucks about in 'orspital where nothing does no good.
'E sends us 'eaps o' comforts, all bought from 'is pay --

But there aren't much comfort 'andy on ten deaths a day.
Our Chaplain's got a banjo, an' a skinny mule 'e rides,

An' the stuff 'e says an' sings us, Lord, it makes us split our sides!
With 'is black coat-tails a-bobbin' to ~Ta-ra-ra Boom-der-ay!~

'E's the proper kind o' ~padre~ for ten deaths a day.
An' Father Victor 'elps 'im with our Roman Catholicks --

He knows an 'eap of Irish songs an' rummy conjurin' tricks;
An' the two they works together when it comes to play or pray;

So we keep the ball a-rollin' on ten deaths a day.
We've got the cholerer in camp -- we've got it 'ot an' sweet;

It ain't no Christmas dinner, but it's 'elped an' we must eat.
We've gone beyond the funkin', 'cause we've found it doesn't pay,

An' we're rockin' round the Districk on ten deaths a day!
Then strike your camp an' go, the Rains are fallin',

The Bugle's callin'!
The dead are bushed an' stoned to keep 'em safe below!

An' them that do not like it they can lump it,
An' them that cannot stand it they can jump it;

We've got to die somewhere -- some way -- some'ow --
We might as well begin to do it now!

Then, Number One, let down the tent-pole slow,
Knock out the pegs an' 'old the corners -- so!

Fold in the flies, furl up the ropes, an' stow!
Oh, strike -- oh, strike your camp an' go!

(Gawd 'elp us!)
THE LADIES

I've taken my fun where I've found it;
I've rogued an' I've ranged in my time;

I've 'ad my pickin' o' sweet'earts,
An' four o' the lot was prime.

One was an 'arf-caste widow,
One was a woman at Prome,

One was the wife of a ~jemadar-sais~, [Head-groom.]
An' one is a girl at 'ome.

Now I aren't no 'and with the ladies,
For, takin' 'em all along,

You never can say till you've tried 'em,
An' then you are like to be wrong.

There's times when you'll think that you mightn't,
There's times when you'll know that you might;

But the things you will learn from the Yellow an' Brown,
They'll 'elp you a lot with the White!

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~; [Slang.]
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 the 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!

I've taken my fun where I've found it,
An' now I must pay for my fun,

For the more you 'ave known o' the others
The less will you settle to one;

An' the end of it's sittin' and thinkin',
An' dreamin' Hell-fires to see;

So be warned by my lot (which I know you will not),
An' learn about women from me!

What did the Colonel's Lady think?
Nobody never knew.

Somebody asked the Sergeant's wife,
~An'~ she told 'em true!

When you get to a man in the case,
They're like as a row of pins --

For the Colonel's Lady an' Judy O'Grady
Are sisters under their skins!

BILL 'AWKINS
"'As anybody seen Bill 'Awkins?"

"Now 'ow in the devil would I know?"
"'E's taken my girl out walkin',

An' I've got to tell 'im so --
Gawd -- bless -- 'im!

I've got to tell 'im so."
"D'yer know what 'e's like, Bill 'Awkins?"

"Now what in the devil would I care?"
"'E's the livin', breathin' image of an organ-grinder's monkey,

With a pound of grease in 'is 'air --
Gawd -- bless -- 'im!

An' a pound o' grease in 'is 'air."
"An' s'pose you met Bill 'Awkins,

Now what in the devil 'ud ye do?"
"I'd open 'is cheek to 'is chin-strap buckle,

An' bung up 'is both eyes, too --
Gawd -- bless -- 'im!

An' bung up 'is both eyes, too!"
"Look 'ere, where 'e comes, Bill 'Awkins!

Now what in the devil will you say?"
"It isn't fit an' proper to be fightin' on a Sunday,

So I'll pass 'im the time o' day --
Gawd -- bless -- 'im!

I'll pass 'im the time o' day!"
THE MOTHER-LODGE

There was Rundle, Station Master,
An' Beazeley of the Rail,

An' 'Ackman, Commissariat,
An' Donkin' o' the Jail;

An' Blake, Conductor-Sargent,
Our Master twice was 'e,

With 'im that kept the Europe-shop,
Old Framjee Eduljee.

Outside -- "Sergeant! Sir! Salute! Salaam!"
Inside -- "Brother", an' it doesn't do no 'arm.

We met upon the Level an' we parted on the Square,
An' I was Junior Deacon in my Mother-Lodge out there!

We'd Bola Nath, Accountant,
An' Saul the Aden Jew,

An' Din Mohammed, draughtsman
Of the Survey Office too;

There was Babu Chuckerbutty,
An' Amir Singh the Sikh,

An' Castro from the fittin'-sheds,
The Roman Catholick!

We 'adn't good regalia,
An' our Lodge was old an' bare,

But we knew the Ancient Landmarks,
An' we kep' 'em to a hair;

An' lookin' on it backwards
It often strikes me thus,

There ain't such things as infidels,
Excep', per'aps, it's us.

For monthly, after Labour,
We'd all sit down and smoke

(We dursn't give no banquits,
Lest a Brother's caste were broke),

An' man on man got talkin'
Religion an' the rest,

An' every man comparin'
Of the God 'e knew the best.

So man on man got talkin',
An' not a Brother stirred

Till mornin' waked the parrots
An' that dam' brain-fever-bird;

We'd say 'twas 'ighly curious,
An' we'd all ride 'ome to bed,

With Mo'ammed, God, an' Shiva
Changin' pickets in our 'ead.

Full oft on Guv'ment service
This rovin' foot 'ath pressed,

An' bore fraternal greetin's
To the Lodges east an' west,

Accordin' as commanded
From Kohat to Singapore,

But I wish that I might see them
In my Mother-Lodge once more!

I wish that I might see them,
My Brethren black an' brown,

With the trichies smellin' pleasant
An' the ~hog-darn~ passin' down; [Cigar-lighter.]

An' the old khansamah snorin' [Butler.]
On the bottle-khana floor, [Pantry.]

Like a Master in good standing
With my Mother-Lodge once more!

Outside -- "Sergeant! Sir! Salute! Salaam!"
Inside -- "Brother", an' it doesn't do no 'arm.

We met upon the Level an' we parted on the Square,
An' I was Junior Deacon in my Mother-Lodge out there!

"FOLLOW ME 'OME"
There was no one like 'im, 'Orse or Foot,

Nor any o' the Guns I knew;
An' because it was so, why, o' course 'e went an' died,

Which is just what the best men do.
So it's knock out your pipes an' follow me!

An' it's finish up your swipes an' follow me!
Oh, 'ark to the big drum callin',

Follow me -- follow me 'ome!
'Is mare she neighs the 'ole day long,

She paws the 'ole night through,
An' she won't take 'er feed 'cause o' waitin' for 'is step,

Which is just what a beast would do.
'Is girl she goes with a bombardier

Before 'er month is through;
An' the banns are up in church, for she's got the beggar hooked,

Which is just what a girl would do.

• charge [tʃɑ:dʒ] v.收费；冲锋 n.费用 (初中英语单词)
• faithful [´feiθfəl] a.忠实的；可靠的 (初中英语单词)
• junior [´dʒu:niə] a.年少的 n.年少者 (初中英语单词)
• survey [´sə:vei] vt.&n.俯瞰；审视；测量 (初中英语单词)
• beggar [´begə] n.乞丐 (初中英语单词)
• promotion [prə´məuʃən] n.促进；提升；倡仪 (高中英语单词)
• learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)
• volcano [vɔl´keinəu] n.火山 (高中英语单词)
• convent [´kɔnvənt] n.女修道院；女修道会 (高中英语单词)
• grease [gri:s] n.脂肪；油脂 vt.涂油 (高中英语单词)
• monthly [´mʌnθli] a.每月(的) n.月刊 (高中英语单词)
• victor [´viktə] n.&a.胜利者(的) (英语四级单词)
• deacon [´di:kən] n.(教会的)执事 (英语六级单词)
• fraternal [frə´tə:nəl] a.兄弟(般)的；友爱的 (英语六级单词)