26.12.2010, 15:29
HEBRON.
The Prince of Wales's Visit.
Long had the Saracen with ruthless arms,
Denied all access to this place of awe ;
Next came the Christian Church, with holy psalms
Charming the gloom of hollow INIachpelah :
Anon, the votaries of Mohammed's name,
Returning, trod the desecrated floors,
And, in the gusts through those re-opening doors,
The dreary Moslem voices went and came
In Jacob's ears ! But now a step draws nigh,
A sound to reassure the patriarch's heart
With promise of the coming time, and start
The cerements from the hollow of his thigh.
As tho' the angel call'd : for lo ! they meet —
The ' Ladder' and the 'Cross,' with promise sweet !
How doth the Crescent brook this mighty change ?
Sharpening those idle horns she cannot fill,
She peers with keen regret on that old range
Of tombs, and marks them for seclusion still ;
But Niphon and Cathay are enter'd now
On their new course, and shall the Turk's proud will
Reclose our unseal'd Hebron ? and avow
Their stern monopoly of El Khalil ?
Help ! England, lend the shelter of thy love —
And let the firm stress of thy brooding wing
Be felt by those bold hands that would remove
Thy fond protective strength, which soon shall bring
These graves within the scope of Christian eyes.
And let poor Israel share the new-won prize.
And when the coveted blessing is once gain'd,
And Israel to his father's tomb shall come,
By Christian aid recover'd and maintain'd,
Oh may his heart for Christian hope find room !
And, as he leans and listens, inly thrill'd.
May that dark chasm give forth One mystic word
Oh ! may that beating heart and ear be fiU'd
With one deep whisper, ' Jesus Christ is Lord !'
And as both Jew and Christian take their turn
To gaze, with kindly interchange of place.
Led up by Love, may hood-winkt Faith return,
Clear of the l^almud, and with open face ;
For Charity shall pave the way for Grace,
The pupil of pure love is (juick to learn.
The Prince of Wales's Visit.
Long had the Saracen with ruthless arms,
Denied all access to this place of awe ;
Next came the Christian Church, with holy psalms
Charming the gloom of hollow INIachpelah :
Anon, the votaries of Mohammed's name,
Returning, trod the desecrated floors,
And, in the gusts through those re-opening doors,
The dreary Moslem voices went and came
In Jacob's ears ! But now a step draws nigh,
A sound to reassure the patriarch's heart
With promise of the coming time, and start
The cerements from the hollow of his thigh.
As tho' the angel call'd : for lo ! they meet —
The ' Ladder' and the 'Cross,' with promise sweet !
How doth the Crescent brook this mighty change ?
Sharpening those idle horns she cannot fill,
She peers with keen regret on that old range
Of tombs, and marks them for seclusion still ;
But Niphon and Cathay are enter'd now
On their new course, and shall the Turk's proud will
Reclose our unseal'd Hebron ? and avow
Their stern monopoly of El Khalil ?
Help ! England, lend the shelter of thy love —
And let the firm stress of thy brooding wing
Be felt by those bold hands that would remove
Thy fond protective strength, which soon shall bring
These graves within the scope of Christian eyes.
And let poor Israel share the new-won prize.
And when the coveted blessing is once gain'd,
And Israel to his father's tomb shall come,
By Christian aid recover'd and maintain'd,
Oh may his heart for Christian hope find room !
And, as he leans and listens, inly thrill'd.
May that dark chasm give forth One mystic word
Oh ! may that beating heart and ear be fiU'd
With one deep whisper, ' Jesus Christ is Lord !'
And as both Jew and Christian take their turn
To gaze, with kindly interchange of place.
Led up by Love, may hood-winkt Faith return,
Clear of the l^almud, and with open face ;
For Charity shall pave the way for Grace,
The pupil of pure love is (juick to learn.