Page:The Yellow Book - 05.djvu/346

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314
Fleet Street Eclogue
Within our hands we holdThe world's fate.
Menzies.We hold the world's fate?The cry seems out of date.
Basil.Not while a single EnglishmanCan work with English brains and bones!Awaiting us since time began,The swamps of ice, the wastes of flameIn Boreal and Austral zonesTook life and meaning when we came.The Sphinx that watches by the NileHas seen great empires pass away:The mightiest lasted but a while;Yet ours shall not decay.Because, although red blood may flow,And ocean shake with shot,Not England's sword but England's WordUndoes the Gordian Knot.Bold tongue, stout heart, strong hand, brave browThe world's four quarters win;And patiently with axe and ploughWe bring the deserts in.
Menzies.Whence comes this patriotic craze?Spare us at least the hackneyed bragAbout the famous English flag.

Basil.

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