Such sights should move the heart of even you.
The worthy Corporal, sage in looks and speeches,
Holds up his trousers with a trembling hand;
Lucky for him he slumbered in his breeches—
The most clothed man of all our shivering band.
The wretched gunners cluster on the gun,
Clasping the clammy breech and slippery shells;
If 'tis a joke they do not see the fun
And damn you to the worst of DANTE'S hells.
And Sub-Lieutenant Blank, that martial man,