Officers' Servants and Orderlies.

SCENE.--_Exterior of Battalion Headquarters Dug-out_.

_Leader of Chorus_.
Ho! friends, a stranger cometh; by his dress
Some nobleman of leisure, I should guess;
Come, let us seem to labour, lest he strafe;
A soldier ever eye-washes the Staff.

_Chorus start work, singing_.
Brighter than the queenly rose,
Brighter than the setting sun,
Brighter than old Ginger's nose
The raiment of the gilded one.

The red tab points towards each breast,
The red band binds his forehead stern;
The rainbow ribbons on his chest
Proclaim what fires within him burn.

Upon his throne amid the din
He sits serene--yet sometimes stoops
To take a kindly interest in
The trousers issued to the troops.

_Enter_ Staff Officer.

_Staff Officer_. Ho, slaves! your Colonel seeking have I come.

_L. of C._ This is his house, but he is far from home.

_Staff O._ And whither gone? Reply without delay.

_L. of C._ Ask of the Captain. See, he comes this way.

_Enter_ Captain _from dug-out_.

_Captain_. Immaculate stranger, hail! What lucky chance
Has brought you to this dirty bit of France?

_Staff O_. Not chance. A conscientious Brigadier
Has sent me hither.

_Captain_. And what seek you here?

_Staff_. I seek your Colonel.

_Captain_. He is up the line.
'Tis said the foe will soon explode a mine,
And we must be prepared should he attack.

_Staff O_. I think I will await his coming back.

_Captain_. Then chance to me at least has been most kind;
Come, let me lead you where a drink you'll find.

[_They enter dug-out and are seen relieving their thirst_.

_Chorus_.
Beyond the distant bower,
Where skirted men abide
And in an uncouth language
Their skirted children chide;
Beyond the land of sunshine,
Where never skies are blue,
There lives a silent people
Who know a thing or two.
All is not gold that glitters,
And _sirops_ are rather sad;
All is not Bass that's "bitters,"
And Gallic beer is bad;
But out of the misty regions
Where loom the mountains tall
There comes the drink of princes--
Whisky, the best of all.

_Staff O_. This is my seventh drink, and yet, alas!
The Colonel comes not.

_Captain_. Fill another glass.

_Staff O_. I will [_he does_]. The bottle's finished, I'm afraid.

_Captain_. It does not matter. I drink lemonade.

_L. of C._