Glory to Father, Son,

And Spirit-Eternal Three in One.

Lo! this the stedfast creed we bring

Drawn from high Heaven's eternal spring.

THE INNOCENTS' DAY.

AT MIDNIGHT.

Suffer little children to come unto Me; for of such is the kingdom of Heaven.-MATT. xix.

"Salvete flores martyrum."

LITTLE flowers of martyrdom,

Whom the ruthless sword hath torn,

On the threshold of the morn,

Rosebuds by the whirlwind shorn!

All regardless of their doom,

'Neath the altar where they lay,
With their palm and chaplets gay,
Little simple ones they play.

Tyrant, what avails their tomb?
He shall 'scape the bloody blade,
Which hath many childless made,
Infant born of mother-maid.

Thus the type of Him to come,

Restorer of lost Israel,

Moses 'scaped the tyrant fell,
Guarded by the Invisible.

Jesu, born of Virgin's womb,
Father, Spirit, One and Three,
Sing we glory unto Thee,
Sing we everlastingly.

AT MIDNIGHT.

They serve God day and night in His temple: they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more. The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall lead them unto living fountains of waters.-REV. vii.

"Molles in agnos ceu lupus."

As the wolf in fierceness sore

Falls on lambs o'er fold and fence,
Thus the tyrant lost to sense
Falls on harmless innocents.

And the cradles flow with gore-
God of gods shall he withstand?
One he seeks in murder'd band,
One escapes his murderous hand.

H

Mourning mothers, weep no more!
Weep no more your pledges torn,
Little troop in endless morn
They attend the Virgin-born.

Virgin-born whom we adore,
Father, Spirit, One and Three,
Sing we glory unto Thee,
Sing we everlastingly.

ON THE CIRCUMCISION.

AT THE FIRST VESPERS.

What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.-ROM. viii.

"Debilis cessent elementa legis."

YE legal elements,

Your clouds of fear remove,

That Christ may come forth to dispense

The eternal law of love.

True sun without a cloud,

O'er heav'nly heights He trod;
Now veil'd beneath a mortal shroud,
The image of our God.

Already stain'd with blood,

The signs of sin He feels,

That precious drop which now hath flow'd
For death the victim seals.