And that's how we pension our officer-foes,
For which we shall certainly pay through the nose.
The nation that prisoners so handsomely pays
The wages of postmen will probably raise,
And doubtless provide on a grand scale for all
The children and wives of our soldiers who fall.
Note again the criticisms of official reticence about individual acts of bravery in the lines "The Unmentioned Brave: Song by a Commanding Officer," early in 1855:—
Oh! no, we never mention them,
Their names must not be heard,
My hand Routine forbids to trace