Lord of the minstrel choir,
Oh, grant our hearts' desire,
To sing of truth invincible in might,
Of love surpassing death
That fears no fiery breath,
Of ancient inborn reverence for right,
Of that sea-woven spell
That from Trafalgar fell
And keeps the star of duty in our sight:
Oh, give the sacred fire,
And our weak lips inspire
With laurels of thy song and lightnings of thy lyre.
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Notes on the Poems
Wentworth, "Australasia": `Warragamba' -- a tributary of the Nepean,
the upper part of the Hawkesbury River, New South Wales.
Rowe, "Soul Ferry": "Founded on a note by Tzetzes upon Lycophron,
quoted in Keightley's `Mythology of Greece and Rome'." -- Author's Note.
Parkes, "The Buried Chief": Sir James Martin, born 1820,
Premier and subsequently Chief Justice of New South Wales,
died 4th November, 1886.
Gordon, "A Dedication": The first six stanzas of The Dedication of
"Bush Ballads and Galloping Rhymes" to the author of "Holmby House"
(Whyte Melville).
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