The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Preface

‘The Ballad of East and West’ (1892)
And the talk slid north, and the talk slid south,
With the sliding puffs from the hookah-mouth.
Four things greater than all things are,—
Women and Horses and Power and War.
‘The Ballad of the King’s Jest’ (1892)
Foot—foot—foot—foot—sloggin’ over Africa—
(Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin’ up and down again!)
‘Boots’ (1903).
If any question why we died,
Tell them, because our fathers lied.
‘Common Form’ (1919)
We know that the tail must wag the dog, for the horse is drawn by the cart;
But the Devil whoops, as he whooped of old: ‘It’s clever, but is it Art?’
‘The Conundrum of the Workshops’ (1892)
For they’re hangin’ Danny Deever, you can hear the Dead March play,
The regiment’s in ’ollow square—they’re hangin’ him to-day;
They’ve taken of his buttons off an’ cut his stripes away,
An’ they’re hangin’ Danny Deever in the mornin’.
‘Danny Deever’ (1892)
The ’eathen in ’is blindness bows down to wood an’ stone;
‘E don’t obey no orders unless they is ’is own;
‘E keeps ’is side-arms awful: ’e leaves ’em all about,
An’ then comes up the Regiment an’ pokes the ’eathen out.
‘The ‘Eathen’ (1896).
The ’eathen in ’is blindness must end where ’e began.
But the backbone of the Army is the non-commissioned man!
‘The ‘Eathen’ (1896)
Winds of the World, give answer! They are whimpering to and fro—
And what should they know of England who only England know?—
The poor little street-bred people that vapour and fume and brag.
‘The English Flag’ (1892)
The female of the species is more deadly than the male.
‘The Female of the Species’ (1919)
There is but one task for all—
For each one life to give.
What stands if freedom fall?
Who dies if England live?
‘For All We Have and Are’ (1914) p. 2
So ’ere’s to you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your ’ome in the Soudan;