The gentle heart that hated wrong,
The courage that all ills withsood,
The seeing eye, the mighty song
That stirred us into Nationhood,
Have passed. What garlands can be spread?
The Prince of Courtesy is dead.
The power that touched all human chords
With wit that lightened thro' the years
Without a sting, whose tender words
Unsealed the fountain of our tears -
Ah! bow the heart and bend the head -
The Prince of Courtesy is dead.
Great Singer of the South, who set
Thy face to Duty as a star,
Though, in hushed skies of violet,
Thy throne of kingship gleamed afar,
Shall not the toil of common days
And nobler lustre to thy days!
O Mighty Voice, whose words shall stand -
When all our songs have ceased to be -
Steadfast, the watchwords of our land,
The guide and torch of Liberty!
The Master-Poet called afar,
And thou at last hast found thy star!
First published in The Secret Key and Other Verses by George Essex Evans, 1906
