Page:Canadian poems of the great war.djvu/177

 Thomas O Hagan

To the lordly hall in the city street ; To her sons who toil in the forest deep Or bind the sheaves where the reapers reap ; To her children scattered far East and West; To her sons who joy in her Freedom Blest; Do you hear the call of our Mother?

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��I TAKE OFF MY HAT TO ALBERT

LBERT, King of Belgium, is the hero of the hour; He s the greatest king in Europe, he s a royal arch and

tower ; He is bigger in the trenches than the Kaiser on his

Throne, And the whole world loves him for the sorrows he has

known : So I take off my hat to Albert.

Defiance was his answer to the Teuton at his gate, Then he buckled on his armour and pledged his soul to

fate;

He stood between his people and the biggest Essen gun, For he feared not shot nor shrapnel as his little army

won: So I take off my hat to Albert.

King of Belgium, Duke of Brabant, Count of Flanders,

all in one Little Kingdom of the Belgae, starred with honour in

the sun ! You have won a place in history, of your deeds the world

will sing, But the glory of your nation is your dust-stained, fearless

King: So I take off my hat to Albert.

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