In the Days When the World Was Wide, and Other Verses

The Free-Selector's Daughter

 I met her on the Lachlan Side —
  A darling girl I thought her,
 And ere I left I swore I'd win
  The free-selector's daughter.

 I milked her father's cows a month,
  I brought the wood and water,
 I mended all the broken fence,
  Before I won the daughter.

 I listened to her father's yarns,
  I did just what I 'oughter',
 And what you'll have to do to win
  A free-selector's daughter.

 I broke my pipe and burnt my twist,
  And washed my mouth with water;
 I had a shave before I kissed
  The free-selector's daughter.

 Then, rising in the frosty morn,
  I brought the cows for Mary,
 And when I'd milked a bucketful
  I took it to the dairy.

 I poured the milk into the dish
  While Mary held the strainer,
 I summoned heart to speak my wish,
  And, oh! her blush grew plainer.

 I told her I must leave the place,
  I said that I would miss her;
 At first she turned away her face,
  And then she let me kiss her.

 I put the bucket on the ground,
  And in my arms I caught her:
 I'd give the world to hold again
  That free-selector's daughter!