Part 18

He gave the mother--her who died-- A kiss that Christ the Crucified

Had sent to greet the weary soul When, worn and faint, it reached its goal.

He gave the infant kisses twain, One on the breast, one on the brain.

“Go forth into the world,” he said, “With blessings on your heart and head,

“For God, who ruleth righteously, Hath ordered that to such as be

“From birth deprived of mother's love, I bring His blessing from above;

“But if the mother's life He spare Then she is made God's messenger

“To kiss and pray that heart and brain May go through life without a stain.”

The infant moved towards the light, The angel spread his wings in flight.

But each man carries to his grave The kisses that in hopes to save The angel or his mother gave.

Sunrise on the Coast

Grey dawn on the sand-hills--the night wind has drifted All night from the rollers a scent of the sea; With the dawn the grey fog his battalions has lifted, At the call of the morning they scatter and flee.

Like mariners calling the roll of their number The sea-fowl put out to the infinite deep. And far over-head--sinking softly to slumber-- Worn out by their watching, the stars fall asleep.

To eastward, where resteth the dome of the skies on The sea-line, stirs softly the curtain of night; And far from behind the enshrouded horizon Comes the voice of a God saying “Let there be light.”

And lo, there is light! Evanescent and tender, It glows ruby-red where 'twas now ashen-grey; And purple and scarlet and gold in its splendour-- Behold, 'tis that marvel, the birth of a day!

The Reveille

Trumpets of the Lancer Corps, Sound a loud reveille; Sound it over Sydney shore, Send the message far and wide Down the Richmond River side-- Boot and saddle, mount and ride, Sound a loud reveille.

Whither go ye, Lancers gay, With your bold reveille? O'er the ocean far away From your sunny southern home, Over leagues of trackless foam, In a foreign land to roam With your bold reveille.

When we hear our brethren call, Sound a clear reveille. Then we answer, one and all, Answer that the world may see, “Of the English stock are we, At their side we still will be”-- That's our bold reveille.

Pocket Editions for the Trenches

Price, 4/--each (postage, per volume: within the Commonwealth, 1d.; to New Zealand, 2d.; Abroad, 5d.)

Saltbush Bill, J.P. By Major A. B. Paterson (“The Banjo”) The Moods of Ginger Mick. By C. J. Dennis The Australian, and other Verses. By Will H. Ogilvie Songs of a Sentimental Bloke. By C. J. Dennis The Man from Snowy River. By Major A. B. Paterson Rio Grande, and other Verses. By Major A. B. Paterson

Over 30,000 volumes of these Editions for the Trenches have been sold during the last five months. They are illustrated in colour by Norman Lindsay, Hal Gye and Lionel Lindsay, and are obtainable from all Booksellers, Bookstalls and Newsagents in Australia and New Zealand.

About the author:

Andrew Barton Paterson was born on 17 February 1864 at Narambla, New South Wales. He lived at Illalong station until he was ten, when he went to Sydney to attend school. He trained as a solicitor (a type of lawyer) but also contributed some verse to the Sydney “Bulletin” under the pseudonym of “The Banjo”, taken from the name of a horse. His first book, “The Man from Snowy River”, was published in 1895, and has sold more copies than any other book of Australian poetry. He later gave up law to become a journalist, and went to South Africa to report on the Boer War. When World War I broke out he sought work as a war correspondent, but failed to get it. He then went to work driving an ambulance in France, and later became a Remount Officer with the Australian forces then in Egypt. After returning to Australia in 1919 he continued as a writer, and died in Sydney on 5 February 1941.

Paterson's most famous work is “Waltzing Matilda”, written in 1895, and now an unofficial anthem of Australia. “The Man from Snowy River” has since become the inspiration for a well-known movie of the same name, and even a series on a cable television network. “Clancy of the Overflow” is similarly well known.

An incomplete Glossary of Australasian and obscure terms:

Billabong: A waterhole that dries up during the dry season.