I asked him
for your sake."
"I will come down in half an hour, John."
"Then I will come and help you."
And in half an hour this craver after some hope and comfort went down,
and then John renewed the conversation which was on the apparent cruelty
of children being born to live a short time and then leave Earth by the
inscrutable gate of Death.
"It seems to be so needless, so useless," said Jane.
"Not so," the curate answered. "Let me repeat two verses of an ancient
Syrian hymn, written A.D. 90, and you will learn what the earliest
Fathers of the Church thought of the death of little children.
"The Just One saw that iniquity increased on earth,
And that sin had dominion over all men,
And He sent His Messengers, and removed
A multitude of fair little ones,
And called them to the pavilion of happiness.
"Like lilies taken from the wilderness,
Children are planted in Paradise;
And like pearls in diadems,
Children are inserted in the Kingdom;
And without ceasing, shall hymn forth his praise.
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