—Whittier
The Royal Navy of England hath ever been its greatest defence and ornament; it is its ancient and natural strength—the floating bulwark of our Island.—Blackstone's Commentaries
It is the land that freemen till,
That sober-suited Freedom chose.
The land, where girt with friends or foes
A man may speak the thing he will;
A land of settled government,
A land of just and old renown,
Where Freedom slowly broadens down
From precedent to precedent.
—Tennyson
O triune kingdom of the brave,
O sea-girt island of the free,
O empire of the land and wave
Our hearts, our hands, are all for thee.
Stand, Canadians, firmly stand,
Round the flag of our Fatherland.
—Laclede
Sharers of our glorious past,
Brothers, must we part at last?
Shall we not thro' good and ill
Cleave to one another still?
Britain's myriad voices call,
"Sons, be welded each and all
Into one Imperial whole,
One with Britain, heart and soul!
One life, one flag, one fleet, one Throne!"
Britons, hold your own!
"England! What thou wert, thou art!"
Gird thee with thine ancient might.
Forth! and God defend the Right.
—Newbolt