T

STELLENBOSH

(Composite Columns)

HE General 'eard the firin' on the flank,

An' 'e sent a mounted man to bring 'im back The silly, pushin' person's name an' rank

'Oo'd dared to answer Brother Boer's attack. For there might 'ave been a serious engagement, An' 'e might 'ave wasted 'alf a dozen men; So 'e ordered 'im to stop 'is operations round the kopjes, An' 'e told 'im off before the Staff at ten!

And it all goes into the laundry,

But it never comes out in the wash,

'Ow we're sugared about by the old men

('Eavy-sterned amateur old men!)

That 'amper an' 'inder an' scold men
For fear o' Stellenbosh!

The General 'ad 'produced a great effect,'

The General 'ad the country cleared-almost;

The General''ad no reason to expect,'

And the Boers 'ad us bloomin' well on toast!

For we might 'ave crossed the drift before the twilight, Instead o' sitting down an' takin' root;

But we was not allowed, so the Boojers scooped the

crowd,

To the last survivin' bandolier an' boot.

The General saw the farm'ouse in 'is rear,
With its stoep so nicely shaded from the sun;
Sez 'e, 'I'll pitch my tabernacle 'ere,'

An' 'e kept us muckin' round till 'e 'ad done.
For 'e might 'ave caught the confluent pneumonia
From sleepin' in his gaiters in the dew;

So 'e took a book an' dozed while the other columns closed,
And-'s commando out an' trickled through!

The General saw the mountain-range ahead,
With their 'elios showin' saucy on the 'eight,
So 'e 'eld us to the level ground instead,

An' telegraphed the Boojers wouldn't fight.
For 'e might 'ave gone an' sprayed 'em with a pompom,
Or 'e might 'ave slung a squadron out to see—
But 'e wasn't takin' chances in them 'igh an' 'ostile
kranzes-

He was markin' time to earn a K. C. B.

The General got 'is decorations thick

(The men that backed 'is lies could not complain), The Staff 'ad D. S. O.'s till we was sick,

An' the soldier-'ad the work to do again!

For 'e might 'ave known the District was a 'otbed,
Instead of 'andin' over, upside-down,

To a man 'oo 'ad to fight 'alf a year to put it right,
While the General went an' slandered 'im in town!

An' it all went into the laundry,

But it never came out in the wash.
We were sugared about by the old men
(Panicky, perishin' old men)

That 'amper an' 'inder an' scold men
For fear o' Stellenbosh!

HALF-BALLAD OF WATERVAL

W

HEN by the labour of my 'ands
I've 'elped to pack a transport tight
With pr
prisoners for foreign lands,

I ain't transported with delight.
I know it's only just an' right,
But yet it somehow sickens me.
For I 'ave learned at Waterval
The meanin' of captivity.

Be'ind the pegged barb-wire strands,
Beneath the tall electric light,
We used to walk in bare-'ead bands,
Explainin' 'ow we lost our fight.
An' that is what they'll do to-night
Upon the steamer out at sea,

If I 'ave learned at Waterval

The meanin' of captivity.

They'll never know the shame that brands-
Black shame no livin' down makes white,

The mockin' from the sentry-stands,
The women's laugh, the gaoler's spite.
We are too bloomin' much polite,
But that is 'ow I'd 'ave us be

Since I 'ave learned at Waterval
The meanin' of captivity.

They'll get those draggin' days all right,
Spent as a foreigner commands,
An' 'orrors of the locked-up night,
With 'Ell's own thinkin' on their 'ands.
I'd give the gold o' twenty Rands

(If it was mine) to set 'em free
For I 'ave learned at Waterval
The meanin' of captivity!

I

PIET

(Regular of the Line)

Do not love my Empire's foes,
Nor call 'em angels; still,
What is the sense of 'atin' those

'Oom you are paid to kill?
So, barrin' all that foreign lot
Which only joined for spite,
Myself, I'd just as soon as not
Respect the man I fight.

Ah there, Piet!-'is trousies to 'is knees,

'Is coat-tails lyin' level in the bullet-sprinkled breeze;

'E does not lose 'is rifle an' 'e does not lose 'is

seat,

I've known a lot o' people ride a dam' sight worse than Piet!

I've 'eard 'im cryin' from the ground

Like Abel's blood of old,

An' skirmished out to look, an' found
The beggar nearly cold;

I've waited on till 'e was dead

(Which couldn't 'elp 'im much), But many grateful things 'e's said To me for doin' such.