Has failed to penetrate the coat
That shields the vaunting foe.
But though the pliant steel may cost
Our bravest and our best,
Be sure the sword most yielding there
Has passed the strictest test.
Punch. April 30, 1887.
Another parody, entitled “The Sapper’s Beer,” a recollection of the Crystal Palace, occurs on p. 383 of The Month, by Albert Smith. 1851.
There are parodies of several other songs in the same volume, but they are all quite out of date.