His charger raised on Christian corpses high...

His charger raised on Christian corpses high,

— O ravished bride of Christianity!—

Here struck Mahomet's hand as he rode by,

And seared the lustre of the porphyry,

And, interrupted in the sacred feast,

Hearing the advent of the conqueror surge,

Into the wall miraculous the priest

Entered, and waits the summons to emerge.

So on that high and ceremonial day

When Russian Czar and prince, and Christian lord

Throng Saint Sophia in their packed array

To see the church's heritage restored,

When from mosaics re-established saints

Look down once more upon a Christian crowd,

And Echo startles into life, and faints

With rapture at Gregorian chanting loud,

And Mass magnificently moving on

Towards its climax, brings the moment near

After the lapse of many centuries gone

For Christ in priestly hands to reappear,

When the exultant organ's chord has ceased

And every head is bowed expectantly,

— Then at the altar the Byzantine priest

Shall hold aloft the Host triumphantly!