THE AUSTRALIANS AT ANZAC.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE SPECTATOR.") Sra,—The enclosed verses I received from my sister in Australia. They are from a poem which appeared in an Australian news- paper which she does not give the name of. They are addressed "To the Women they have Left," and I thought they might comfort and encourage those of your readers who have lost dear ones also in the Dardanelles :— "Why do you grieve for us who lie At our lordly ease by the Dardanelles ? We have no need for tears or sighs, We, who passed in the heat of fight Into the soft Elysian light ;
Proud of our part in the great emprise. We are content. We had our day, Brief but splendid—crowned with power And brimming with action ; every hour Shone with a glory none gainsay.
How can you grieve ? We are not lone ; There are other graves by the Dardanelles. Men whom immortal Homer sang Come to our ghostly camp-fires'.glow, Greet us as brothers and tell us 'Lo,
So to our deeds old Troy rang.'
Thus will the ages 'yond our ken Turn to our story, and having read, Will say with proudly uncovered head
And reverent breath, Oh God, they were Men.'" —I am, Sir, &c., M. PaRraNso3r.
Wateloot, Whaley Bridge, Cheshire.
lIndeed, they were Mon—as are their brothers still, Heaven be praised, militant below. Never in all history did soldiers show higher courage, steadfastness, and the power to suffer all things and endure all things, than these thrice-gallant soldiers from Australia and New Zealand. Patriotism and courage brought forth hero the reddest rose in all the world, —En. Spectator.]
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