Into the mist my guardian prows put forth, Behind the mist my virgin ramparts lie, The Warden of the Honour of the North, Sleepless and veiled am I! _Quebec and Montreal._ Peace is our portion. Yet a whisper rose, Foolish and causeless, half in jest, half hate. Now wake we and remember mighty blows, And, fearing no man, wait! _Victoria._ From East to West the circling word has passed, Till West is East beside our land-locked blue; From East to West the tested chain holds fast, The well-forged link rings true! _Capetown._ Hail! Snatched and bartered oft from hand to hand, I dream my dream, by rock and heath and pine, Of Empire to the northward. Ay, one land From Lion's Head to Line! _Melbourne._ Greeting! Nor fear nor favour won us place, Got between greed of gold and dread of drouth, Loud-voiced and reckless as the wild tide-race That whips our harbour-mouth! _Sydney._ Greeting! My birth-stain have I turned to good; Forcing strong wills perverse to steadfastness; The first flush of the tropics in my blood, And at my feet Success! _Brisbane._ The northern stirp beneath the southern skies-- I build a nation for an Empire's need, Suffer a little, and my land shall rise, Queen over lands indeed! _Hobart._ Man's love first found me; man's hate made me Hell; For my babes' sake I cleansed those infamies. Earnest for leave to live and labour well God flung me peace and ease. _Auckland._ Last, loneliest, loveliest, exquisite, apart-- On us, on us the unswerving season smiles, Who wonder 'mid our fern why men depart To seek the Happy Isles! England's Answer.