BETHLEHEM GATE.

Of old through gates that closed on them

Two exiles went with eyes downcast;

The Present now retrieves the Past,

God's Eden is in Bethlehem.

An Eden that no walls enclose

By Mary's arms encompassèd,

A living shrine, a‘ house of bread,’

A very haven of repose.

Behold the Prince of Peace! around

His cradle angry tempests rage;

He needs must go on pilgrimage,

An exile, homeless and discrowned.

And yet, His Rank to designate,

The unquenched Star of Bethlehem

Shines forth, a radiant diadem;

While Angels on His footsteps wait.

E'en now the Father's Face they see,

A triumph-song e'en now they sing,

And, wondering and worshipping,

Attend His Pilgrim-Family.

Two guard the frowning gateway: one

Is of a solemn countenance;

To him a rapid backward glance

Reveals a massacre begun.

The other, forward gazing, sees

The glory of the age to come,

The fruitfulness of martyrdom,

Of deaths that are nativities.

O weeping mothers, dry your tears!

The Mother whom this canvass shows

Nor fears, nor weeps, although she knows

An anguish deeper than your fears.

She knows a comfort deeper still

For all who fare on pilgrimage;

By suffering from age to age

God seals the vassals of His Will.

Her Burden is upholding her;

And, guided by the Holy Dove,

She sees the victory of Love

Beyond the Cross and Sepulchre.

To shield her, Joseph stands: his care

The shadow of God's Providence.

How fragrant is the frankincense

Of their uninterrupted prayer!

Through ever-open gates they press,

A new and living way they tread,

So gain they the true‘ House of Bread,’

A garden for a wilderness.

A flight it seems to us; to them

It is a going forth to win

The world from Satan and from sin,

And build the New Jerusalem.

Lord Christ! for every seeking soul

Thou art Thyself the Door, the Way;

All, all shall find one coming day

Thy Heart their everlasting goal!