BABES OF THE EMPIRE
AN ALPHABET FOR YOUNG ENGLAND
BY
THOMAS STEVENS
PICTURES BY
A. H. COLLINS
LONDON:
WILLIAM HEINEMANN
1902
Babes of the Empire where sun never sets,
Yours is the manfullest banner unfurled!
Yours is the proudest of all alphabets,
Babes of an Empire as wide as the world!
Follow the sun from the east to the west:
Follow the birds from the north to the south;
Peace be the law where your faith is confessed,
Love be the gospel that lives in your mouth.
Babes of Great Britain from sea unto sea,
Happy the land where your monarch has sway!
King of contentment, and Lord of the Free,
Yours be an Empire that fades not away!
TO
PRUDENCE BOURCHIER
A 's an Australian, born in the bush,
An A.1. ally, when it comes to a push;
He can ride, he can shoot; and his gun and his horse
Are the flower of our Empire's irregular force.
B is a baby once known as a Boer.
He was troublesome then, but all troubles are o'er:
Now his trekking and wrecking and fighting are done.
Britain welcomes in peace her recalcitrant son!
C 's a Canadian, hardy and bold;
A warm-hearted baby who laughs at the cold.
And the fields of his harvest, so golden and free,
Find food for the Empire from sea unto sea.
D is a Dervish from sunny Soudan;
...