`You see,' he said, `there came a swell
To Kensington to-day,
And if I picked the winners well,
A crown at least he'd pay.
`I picked three winners straight, I did,
I filled his purse with pelf,
And then he gave me half-a-quid,
To back one for myself.
`A half-a-quid to me he cast,
I wanted it indeed.
So help me Bob, for two days past
I haven't had a feed.
`But still I thought my luck was in,
I couldn't go astray,
I put it all on Little Min,
And lost it straightaway.
`I haven't got a bite or bed,
I'm absolutely stuck,
So keep this lesson in your head:
Don't over-trust your luck!'
The folks went homeward, near and far,
The tout, Oh! where was he?
Ask where the empty boilers are,
Beside the Circular Quay.
Song of the Federation
As the nations sat together, grimly waiting --
The fierce old nations battle-scarred --
Grown grey in their lusting and their hating,
Ever armed and ever ready keeping guard,
Through the tumult of their warlike preparation
And the half-stilled clamour of the drums
Came a voice crying, `Lo! a new-made nation,
To her place in the sisterhood she comes!'
And she came -- she was beautiful as morning,
With the bloom of the roses in her mouth,
Like a young queen lavishly adorning
Her charms with the splendours of the South.
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