THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT
Saddle the ass. We two will be
Ready by then to ride with thee.
My sweet shall take no chill with me:
My veil and cloak are warm.
Ready by then to ride with thee.
My sweet shall take no chill with me:
My veil and cloak are warm.
Come, little one, now leave behind
The town where we no roof could find
The night that Thou wast born. Unkind
The desert need not prove
The town where we no roof could find
The night that Thou wast born. Unkind
The desert need not prove
For Thee to whom the world is ill:
Yea, raveneth like a wild beast still,
My white and innocent lamb to kill,
Come, tender little dove!
[They pass out info the darkness, where Joseph
holdeth the stirrup-rein of the ass.
Yea, raveneth like a wild beast still,
My white and innocent lamb to kill,
Come, tender little dove!
[They pass out info the darkness, where Joseph
holdeth the stirrup-rein of the ass.
Scene II.—In a robber's cave in the desert. Mary laveth
the little Jesus in clear water, while by her side Leah, the
robbers wife, suckleth her babe.
the little Jesus in clear water, while by her side Leah, the
robbers wife, suckleth her babe.
Leah (singeth).
Sleep sweet, my baby,
Whiter than snows,
Rose of the desert
That in the night blows.
Round my wan rosebud
Floweth my veil,
Screening my white rose,
Tender and pale.
Whiter than snows,
Rose of the desert
That in the night blows.
Round my wan rosebud
Floweth my veil,
Screening my white rose,
Tender and pale.
194