Just a word of explanation, it may save us from a quarrel,
I have really no intention--'twould be shameful if I had,
Of preaching you a blatant, democratic kind of moral;
For the "swell, you know," the D'Arcy, fought as bravely as the
"cad!"
Yet I own that sometimes thinking how a courteous decoration
May be won by shabby service or disreputable dodge,
I regard with more than pleasure--with a sense of consolation--
The Victoria Cross "For Valour" on the breast of Sammy Hodge!