They threw themselves before him,
Kissed his garment's trailing hem,
And with glazed eyes, and dim,
Plead for succor—Alleluia, Amen!
Calmly he decends from off the ass,
And with uplifted hands,
He bade the tumult cease,
Kindly, for only pity for the band
Fills Jesus' heart; he lays a gentle touch
Upon the dead babe of a mother wild
With frantic grief, for even such
As these, he said in accents mild,
"Let the little ones come unto me."
Arab, Bedouin, Nubian-all these were there-
Every phrase of human life and misery;
Even the beautiful and fair
Greek maiden, who doth hope to learn
More of Jesus' wide-spread fame,
And in her youthful heart, a yearn
His love and grace to claim.
Through the groups, so base and motley,
Semitic, Hellenic and even Coptic faces,
Bethlehem shepherds and the noted pharisee,
Men of every class—all races,
Bow in homage, now his skill
To seek; yet doubt and disdain,
Stand also there, and if so, still
Why come they, if in vain?
Kissed his garment's trailing hem,
And with glazed eyes, and dim,
Plead for succor—Alleluia, Amen!
Calmly he decends from off the ass,
And with uplifted hands,
He bade the tumult cease,
Kindly, for only pity for the band
Fills Jesus' heart; he lays a gentle touch
Upon the dead babe of a mother wild
With frantic grief, for even such
As these, he said in accents mild,
"Let the little ones come unto me."
Arab, Bedouin, Nubian-all these were there-
Every phrase of human life and misery;
Even the beautiful and fair
Greek maiden, who doth hope to learn
More of Jesus' wide-spread fame,
And in her youthful heart, a yearn
His love and grace to claim.
Through the groups, so base and motley,
Semitic, Hellenic and even Coptic faces,
Bethlehem shepherds and the noted pharisee,
Men of every class—all races,
Bow in homage, now his skill
To seek; yet doubt and disdain,
Stand also there, and if so, still
Why come they, if in vain?
—13—
