Then there arose Dim in the darkness The face and form Of Heinrik the Hun With hand upheld Bearing a bomb. But fear filled the heart Of Sidni the Storeman, And with force of fear Raising the Rum Jar Drave he adrad At the face of the foeman. Down sank the Slayer Smitten asunder And over his face Unloosed ran the liquor. Then Heinrik the Hun Sang he this Swan Song: "Hero, I hail thee, Godlike who givest Fire and Sweetness Born of a blow. Loki art thou, Or Wotan the one-eyed Coming to call me Away to Walhall. Happy I haste To the Hall of the Heroes; Point thou the Path! I come! I come!" But fast with the force Of the fear that was in him Fled Sidni the Storeman Back to the Britons And came by chance Straightway to his section, Bearing the Rum Jar Now lacking the liquor. Then, puffing with pride And the pace of his running, Told he a tale Of the Slaying of Seven; But little belief In the count of the killing Gat Sid from the section, Wrathy withal At the loss of the liquor. And one thing Erb, Erb that erstwhile Hight his old Pal, Had for an answer: "Bale hast thou brought And rede of bale Have I for thee." Then troth they took And oath swear betwixt them That for four years full Or the War's duration He should draw and drink Sid's ration of Rum. So doom was decreed For the loss of the liquor. But Sidni the Storeman Transferred to the Transport. * * * * * "UNION OF DEMONCRATIC CONTROL." _Leicester Daily Mercury_. Is this a misprint or a criticism? * * * * * THE WATCH DOGS. LXVIII. My Dear Charles,--I don't know that I think so much of these alliances after all, and I'll tell you why. When I first heard that my old friend Italy was in trouble I paraded my officer at once. "Stand to attention, George," I said, "and tell me what we are going to do about it." "Oh, that'll be all right," said he. "I've booked my seat in the train." I think that George, my subordinate, sometimes forgets who I am and what importance attaches to me. I feel that he ought at least to consult me formally before he decides what instructions I am going to issue to him. After all, I am only fifteen years younger than he is. "You will proceed forthwith to Italy," I said, "and will there study the local conditions on the spot. You will then take such action as the occasion seems to you to demand." George was cleaning out his pipe, so for once he didn't interrupt. "You will report progress to me in triplicate." George frowned. Having been the Supreme White Man in some African district for dozens of years before the War, all his hair seems to have got into his eyebrows, and his frown is a terrible thing to see. "At any rate," I said, "you might just drop me a post-card to tell me how you're getting on." George's eyebrows stood at ease and then stood easy.