He, only He, can change outright
This wretched state of sin and night
For righteousness and day;

And when He cometh,-(when He will!)
Shall scatter every cloud of ill,

And drive all shames away!

Meanwhile, it is for you, O Man,
To imitate as best you can

That universal Friend,

To right the Right, and fight the Wrong,
Assured it cannot now be long

All Thraldom has an end!

Half-a-Dozen Ballads about Australia.

PROLOGUE.

BEHOLD a miracle! When Mercy found
That still in vain across the waters wide

Famine and Plenty to each other cried,

Pleading for food or feasters all around,

God gave the word! and straight, with lumps of gold,

And brilliant specks among the rich black mould, Some angel sowed the labour-craving ground;

"ADVANCE, AUSTRALIA !"

And so the shoaling multitude went forth

Poured from this hive of nations in the North

To people our Antipodes. O Man!

When shall thy dullard soul acknowledge God,
Wondrous in perfecting, as wise in plan,—
Thus leading on Progression's eager van

By the

poor fisher's lure,- —a baited sod!

303

"ADVANCE, AUSTRALIA!"

(A BALLAD FOR A NEW NATION, EMBODYING ITS CHRISTIAN HERALDRY.)

I.

ADVANCE, AUSTRALIA! On, speed on,—
Stout old England's brave young son :
Advance! set forth that standard on high,

The bright "Southern Cross" on the southerly sky;
Push forward the banner of Freedom and Truth,
In the freshness of hope and the fervour of youth,
And gain, as prizes of zeal in the van,

The glory of God and the welfare of Man!

II.

Advance, Australia! Go straight on,-
There is wealth more worthy than gold to be won;
It is well that glittering sparks in the sand
Win thousands of sons to thy once lone land;

For thousands of souls come thus to be taught

The glories of Grace, and the wonders of Thought; And wait for refining, as gold is refin'd,

By purging the dross from the heart and the mind!

III.

Advance, Australia! Nobly go on,

While now there is time, there is work to be done:
Thy sheaf, thy ship, thine anchor, and fleece,
Are symbols of hope, wealth, plenty, and peace;
But, add to them ever the Cross on thy shield,
The holy star-blazon that quarters the field;
And see that thy Sun, in his rising above,
Is rising for Righteousness, Glory, and Love!

FAREWELL TO ENGLAND.

(A BALLAD FOR THE EMIGRANT.)

ENGLAND, farewell!—not lightly, nor gladly,
Now, at the last, do I bid thee farewell!
Hope may be smiling, but Memory sadly
Weeps for awhile in the penitent's cell:
Yet, O my country! I dare not regret thee;

Providence calls me to come from thy shore
And, though my spirit shall never forget thee,

England, farewell!-I return nevermore!

;

"Go to replenish the earth, and subdue it,-
Seek a new country,-seek a new home;"
Never shall doubtfulness make my heart rue it;
God will be with me, wherever I roam!

FAREWELL TO ENGLAND.

Duty, and zeal, and need, and ambition,

Drove and persuaded my faith to go forth,— And, if I fail in my emigrant mission,

Lo! I will fail at the ends of the earth!

England, farewell! With Goodness to guide me,
Pilgrim and stranger, I sail for the South,-
Trusting in Covenant Love to provide me
Food for the spirit, as food for the mouth:
Hope be my beacon, and Hope be my anchor,
Fixing my way-weary steps on a soil
Kind, and uncurst by poverty's canker,
Fresh to my foot, and free to my toil!

There, for the Thames is my clear Yarra-Yarra; There, in bright Melbourne my London shall be; There, far away, shall the wild Illawarra

Smile as the Devonshire valleys for me!

There shall my flocks-my flocks, not another's,—
Pasture on hills that are sprinkled with gold ;
There, among neighbours, all freemen and brothers,
May I grow better, and live to grow old!

There, in the midst of plentiful blessing,
Let me be gratefully zealous, and win
Souls to the LORD, from the lust of possessing,
Sons to be free, from the servants of sin;-
There, though I came a poor pilgrim and stranger,
Round the rich patriarch children shall dwell,-
Therefore, to poverty, trouble, and danger,

To these, as to thee, dear old England, farewell!

U

305

AUSTRALIA EMANCIPATED.

(A BALLAD FOR COLONIAL PATRIOTS.)

REJOICE, O Land! our golden Land!
Be glad, our glorious clime!

We are quit of the curse of the convict-band,
We are free from the taint of crime.

Rejoice, and be glad! for the God of all grace
Hath heard our prayers at length,—
And bids Australia run her new race,

As the Sun going forth in his strength!

No more shall the festering prison-bark
Bring hither its cargo of strife,
But every ship, as a Noah's Ark,
Shall pour forth love and life.

No longer Guilt, all greedy for gold,

Shall prosper, and range without fear,
But Virtue and Freedom shall live to grow old

In blessed abundance-here!

Old England's wisest, purest, and best,

Shall flock to this happier shore,

And the good of the world from the east to the west

Shall be ours for evermore!