Thomas Humphry Ward, ed. The English Poets. 1880–1918.rnVol. V. Browning to Rupert Brooke
Andrew Lang (18441912)Advance, Australia
On the offer of help from the Australians after the fall of Khartoum
S
In sport our friendly foes for long,
Well England loves you, and we smile,
When you outmarch us many a while,
So fleet you are, so keen and strong.
Of old in their enchanted sea
Far off from men, might well forget
An elder nation’s toil and fret,
Might heed not aught but game and glee.
In lands the fathers never knew,
’Neath skies of alien sign and star
You rally to the English war;
Your hearts are English, kind and true.
The shadow of a darkening fate,
You hear the Mother ere she calls,
You leave your ocean-girdled walls,
And face her foemen in the gate.