CCXLVII THE HOLY INNOCENTS

Oh weep not o'er thy children's tomb,

Oh Rachel, weep not so!

The bud is cropt by martyrdom,

The flower in Heaven shall blow!

Firstlings of faith! the murderer's knife

Has miss'd its deadliest aim:

The GOD for Whom they gave their life,

For them to suffer came!

Though feeble were their days and few,

Baptized in blood and pain,

He knows them, Whom they never knew,

And they shall live again.

Then weep not o'er thy children's tomb,

Oh Rachel, weep not so!

The bud is cropt by martyrdom,

The flower in Heaven shall blow!