Or, "Please, Brigade, this regiment wants relieving,"
And "Thank you for the bombs—but why no beer?"
And wondered always, with a hint of presage,
Since never word emerged as it was planned,
If it was Hermes, Lord of Craft,
Compiled the code, or someone daft,
So that no mortal could compose a message
Which anybody else could understand.
Too soon the Staff, to spoil our tiny slumbers,
Or, as they said, to certify our skill,