 | The Girls of England |  |
1
THE GIRLS OF ENGLAND.
A BATTLE CALL.
Ye girls, ye girls of England!
Yours is a blessèd lot,
For ye may be good angels,
Fair guides, deceiving not:
As subtly as a magnet
May draw to holy things
The hearts of all around you—
Earth's angels, without wings.
Yours is a blessèd lot,
For ye may be good angels,
Fair guides, deceiving not:
As subtly as a magnet
May draw to holy things
The hearts of all around you—
Earth's angels, without wings.
If ye your power could reckon
To mould men as ye will!
They'll follow where ye beckon,
They'll wait upon you still:
And ye can give them courage
To win the dreadful fight,
And be in darkest moments
An influence of light.
To mould men as ye will!
They'll follow where ye beckon,
They'll wait upon you still:
And ye can give them courage
To win the dreadful fight,
And be in darkest moments
An influence of light.
2
Ye may command unchallenged,
If ye will only dare
Ever to use your fairness
To lure to what is fair:
So may ye be the sources
Of many a noble deed,
Streams turning in their courses
That human action feed.
If ye will only dare
Ever to use your fairness
To lure to what is fair:
So may ye be the sources
Of many a noble deed,
Streams turning in their courses
That human action feed.
But ye must have such knowledge
As life demands should be;
Weak innocence for childhood,
For women purity:
And ye must use your beauty,
And keep the weapon bright;
Abuse of it is hateful,
But use of it is right.
As life demands should be;
Weak innocence for childhood,
For women purity:
And ye must use your beauty,
And keep the weapon bright;
Abuse of it is hateful,
But use of it is right.
The world would be an Eden—
Almost a Paradise—
If women were all holy,
And women were all wise.
Men are but women's vassals,
If women only knew:
If women were all holy,
Men must be holy too.
Almost a Paradise—
If women were all holy,
And women were all wise.
Men are but women's vassals,
If women only knew:
If women were all holy,
Men must be holy too.
3
Vice is consumed by virtue,
Where women all are pure;
O girls, ye girls of England,
Be strong! be true! endure!
Let womankind united,
Stand like a wall of fire,
Till evil shall, affrighted,
Back into hell retire.
Where women all are pure;
O girls, ye girls of England,
Be strong! be true! endure!
Let womankind united,
Stand like a wall of fire,
Till evil shall, affrighted,
Back into hell retire.
But first ye need God's Spirit,
And then ye need a bond
To draw you all together,
That none may be beyond:
Then pray,—with strong reliance
That He will be your Guide,
And love,—for love's alliance
The world cannot divide.
And then ye need a bond
To draw you all together,
That none may be beyond:
Then pray,—with strong reliance
That He will be your Guide,
And love,—for love's alliance
The world cannot divide.
Ye girls, ye girls of England,
Lead, lead! point out the way!
Men look to you for guidance,
Although they do not say:
They measure by your measure
The evil and the good;
Oh! look ye, look ye to it,
Ye measure as ye should.
Lead, lead! point out the way!
Men look to you for guidance,
Although they do not say:
They measure by your measure
The evil and the good;
Oh! look ye, look ye to it,
Ye measure as ye should.
4
In fellowship let women
Of every race unite,
That none may be uncared for,
Or lonely in the fight:
So sympathy unfettered
Shall point all hearts to good,
And all the world be bettered
By banded womanhood!
Of every race unite,
That none may be uncared for,
Or lonely in the fight:
So sympathy unfettered
Shall point all hearts to good,
And all the world be bettered
By banded womanhood!
F. B. Money Coutts.
| The Girls of England | |