Into the lowly dwellings, where mother's cheeks grew pale,
I kissed the fading forehead, and hushed the infant's wail;
The wrath of men appeasing, to weary laborers gave
A greeting smile, and told them Christ came on earth to save.
Moan not, O bells, but joyous ring out your Christian souls,
Eternity, all wondrous, brightly to them unfolds;
From death to life their changing, let glorias float afar,
Our loved, our lost, are watching, within the gates ajar.
~Transition.~
The home of my soul, worn and weary,
And pierced by the rocks of old time,
The windows grown dim and the key-boards
Were mute to the wind's whispered chime.
The pillars were trembling; the pitcher
Was full to the brim, running o'er
With burdens, hurled oft' at the fountain,
And closed were the gates evermore.
Old castle of hopes and of tempests,
I bid thee a loving adieu,
Thou sheltered me oft' from the cloud-bursts,
The winds blowing fiercely on you.
My soul now arises on pinions,
And wings through terrestial space,
By planets all gleaming with starlight,
I stand with my Lord, face to face.
O, Master, I cry, the old temple,
Thou gavest on earth passed away,
I come to thee houseless, unsheltered,
Hast room in Thy mansion to-day?
I left Mother Earth in the night-watch,
And travelled alone to thy gate,
Hast mercy for me, dearest Master,
Do I plead for thy pardon too late?
Dear Master, sore trials beset me,
My feet slipping oft' by the way,
Temptations and doubt, overwhelming,
From Thee, led me often astray.
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