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BAPTISMAL FONT.
CATHEDRAL AT PALERMO.
Princes and Kings upreared the mighty fane,
Through whose dim aisle a painted gleam is cast,
Rich with the purple and the violet vein,
That science through the burning furnace past—
An emblem how the soul shines forth at last,
So purified by trial on this earth,
To glory, radiant with immortal birth.
Sculptured the walls, for beauty unsurpassed.
Yet hither doth the peasant bring her child
To Him who on such offering hath smiled.
Said He not on the Mount, The child—the poor—
Are of the welcome ones at Heaven's high door?
L. E. L.
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