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13

BETHLEHEM GATE

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Two guard the frowning gateway: one  Is of a solemn countenance;  To him a rapid backward glance Reveals a massacre begun. The other, forward gazing, sees  The glory of the age to come,  The fruitfulness of martyrdom, Of deaths that are nativities. O weeping mothers, dry your tears!  The Mother whom this canvass shows  Nor fears, nor weeps, although she knows An anguish deeper than your fears.