The Frontier Line - Revision history

TCDE-Team at 20:23, 4 April 2026

2026-04-04T20:23:41Z

TCDE-Team at 14:42, 12 November 2025

2025-11-12T14:42:00Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:42, 12 November 2025
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	=== Original version (The Speaker) ===		=== Original version (The Speaker) ===
	~~<br />~~

	What marks the frontier line?<br />		What marks the frontier line?<br />
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	''In color the differences with the original text published in The Speaker.''		''In color the differences with the original text published in The Speaker.''


	What marks the frontier line?<br />		What marks the frontier line?<br />

TCDE-Team at 14:41, 12 November 2025

2025-11-12T14:41:28Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:41, 12 November 2025
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	''The Frontier Line'' is a poem written by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] first published in [[The Speaker\|The Speaker: The Liberal Review]] on 12 march 1892.		''The Frontier Line'' is a poem written by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] first published in [[The Speaker\|The Speaker: The Liberal Review]] on 12 march 1892.


	__TOC__		__TOC__
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	''In color the differences with the original text published in The Speaker.''		''In color the differences with the original text published in The Speaker.''


	What marks the frontier line?<br />		What marks the frontier line?<br />
Line 82:		Line 80:
	Is it the Himalayas sheer,<br />		Is it the Himalayas sheer,<br />
	The rocks and valleys of Cashmere,<br />		The rocks and valleys of Cashmere,<br />
	Or Indus as she seeks the <~~span class="~~q">south</~~span~~><br />		Or Indus as she seeks the <q>south</q><br />
	From <~~span class="~~q">Attoch</~~span~~> to <~~span class="~~q">the fivefold mouth</~~span~~>?<br />		From <q>Attoch</q> to <q>the fivefold mouth</q>?<br />
	'Not that! Not that!'<br />		'Not that! Not that!'<br />
	Then answer me, I pray!<br />		Then answer me, I pray!<br />
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	Thou man of Burmah, speak!<br />		Thou man of Burmah, speak!<br />
	Is it traced from Mandalay,<br />		Is it traced from Mandalay,<br />
	And down the <~~span class="~~q">marches</~~span~~> of Cathay<~~span class="~~q">,</~~span~~><br />		And down the <q>marches</q> of Cathay<q>,</q><br />
	From Bhamo south to Kiang-mai,<br />		From Bhamo south to Kiang-mai,<br />
	And where the buried rubies lie?<br />		And where the buried rubies lie?<br />
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	Their outlet east at Mozambique?<br />		Their outlet east at Mozambique?<br />
	'Not that! Not that!'<br />		'Not that! Not that!'<br />
	<~~span class="~~q">There is a surer way</~~span~~><br />		<q>There is a surer way</q><br />
	<~~span class="~~q">To mark</~~span~~> the frontier line.'<br />		<q>To mark</q> the frontier line.'<br />
	What marks the frontier line?<br />		What marks the frontier line?<br />
	Thou man of Egypt, tell!<br />		Thou man of Egypt, tell!<br />
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	One common sign we bear,<br />		One common sign we bear,<br />
	The tongue may change, the soil, the sky,<br />		The tongue may change, the soil, the sky,<br />
	But where your <~~span class="~~q">British</~~span~~> brothers lie,<br />		But where your <q>British</q> brothers lie,<br />
	The <~~span class="~~q">lonely cairn</~~span~~>, the nameless grave,<br />		The <q>lonely cairn</q>, the nameless grave,<br />
	Still fringe the flowing Saxon wave.<br />		Still fringe the flowing Saxon wave.<br />
	'Tis that! 'Tis where<br />		'Tis that! 'Tis where<br />
	They lie, the men who <~~span class="~~q">placed</~~span~~> it there,<br />		They lie, the men who <q>placed</q> it there,<br />
	That marks the frontier line.'		That marks the frontier line.'

TCDE-Team at 21:02, 23 February 2025

2025-02-23T21:02:36Z

New page

''The Frontier Line'' is a poem written by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] first published in [[The Speaker|The Speaker: The Liberal Review]] on 12 march 1892.

__TOC__

== Editions ==

* in ''[[The Speaker]]'' (12 march 1892 [UK])
* in ''[[The Gazette (Montreal)]]'' (2 april 1892 [CA])
* in ''[[Songs of Action]]'' (1898-1916, [[Smith, Elder & Co.]] [UK])
* in ''[[Songs of Action]]'' (august 1898, [[Charles Scribner's Sons]] [US])
* in ''[[New York Journal]]'' (14 august 1898 [US])
* in ''[[Songs of Action]]'' (september 1898, [[Doubleday & McClure Co.|Doubleday, Page & Co.]] [US])
* ''The Frontier Line'' (1901, [[J. Curwen & Sons]] ''Choruses for Equal Voices No. 577'' [UK])
* in ''[[Songs of Action]]'' (1918-1920, [[John Murray]] [UK])
* in ''[[The Poems of Arthur Conan Doyle]]'' (1922-1928, [[John Murray]] [UK])

== The Frontier Line ==
[[File:the-speaker-1892-03-12-p322-the-frontier-line.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[The Speaker]] (12 march 1892, p. 322)]]

=== Original version (The Speaker) ===
 

What marks the frontier line? 
Thou man of India, say! 
Is it the Himalayas sheer, 
The rocks and valleys of Cashmere, 
Or Indus as she seeks the sea 
From Attock south to Kurrachee? 
"Not that! Not that!" 
Then answer me, I pray, 
What marks the frontier line? 
What marks the frontier line? 
Thou man of Burmah, speak! 
Is it traced from Mandalay, 
And down the borders of Cathay? 
From Bhamo south to Kiang-mai, 
And where the buried rubies lie? 
"Not that! Not that!" 
Then tell me what I seek, 
What marks the frontier line? 
What marks the frontier line? 
Thou Africander, say! 
Is it shown by Zulu kraal, 
By Drakensberg or winding Vaal, 
Or where the Shiré waters seek 
Their outlet east at Mozambique? 
"Not that! Not that!" 
Then once again I pray 
What marks the frontier line? 
What marks the frontier line? 
Thou man of Egypt, tell! 
Is it traced on Luxor's sand, 
Where Karnak's painted pillars stand, 
Or where the river runs between 
The Ethiop and Bishareen? 
"Not that! Not that! 
By neither stream nor well 
We mark the frontier line. 
"But be it east or west 
One common sign we bear; 
The tongue may change, the soil, the sky, 
But where your English brothers lie 
The mouldered cross, the nameless grave, 
Still fringe the flowing Saxon wave, 
'Tis that! 'Tis where 
They lie, the men who traced it there, 
That marks the frontier line!"

: A. Conan Doyle

=== Collected volumes version ===

''In color the differences with the original text published in The Speaker.''

What marks the frontier line? 
Thou man of India, say! 
Is it the Himalayas sheer, 
The rocks and valleys of Cashmere, 
Or Indus as she seeks the south 
From Attoch to the fivefold mouth? 
'Not that! Not that!' 
Then answer me, I pray! 
What marks the frontier line? 
What marks the frontier line? 
Thou man of Burmah, speak! 
Is it traced from Mandalay, 
And down the marches of Cathay, 
From Bhamo south to Kiang-mai, 
And where the buried rubies lie? 
'Not that! Not that!' 
Then tell me what I seek: 
What marks the frontier line? 
What marks the frontier line? 
Thou Africander, say! 
Is it shown by Zulu kraal, 
By Drakensberg or winding Vaal, 
Or where the Shiré waters seek 
Their outlet east at Mozambique? 
'Not that! Not that!' 
There is a surer way 
To mark the frontier line.' 
What marks the frontier line? 
Thou man of Egypt, tell! 
Is it traced on Luxor's sand, 
Where Karnak's painted pillars stand, 
Or where the river runs between 
The Ethiop and Bishareen? 
'Not that! Not that!' 
By neither stream nor well 
We mark the frontier line. 
'But be it east or west, 
One common sign we bear, 
The tongue may change, the soil, the sky, 
But where your British brothers lie, 
The lonely cairn, the nameless grave, 
Still fringe the flowing Saxon wave. 
'Tis that! 'Tis where 
They lie, the men who placed it there, 
That marks the frontier line.'

----
* [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:Complete Works|Back to Complete Works]]
* [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Back to Conan Doyle]]