Classic Poem

High noon in Acre blazed, and all the throng
Had sought the shade, when striding stern along
The burning street, and through the open square,
With feet unsandalled and dishevelled hair,
Was seen a figure strange, mysterious, tall,
With face uncovered, yet unknown to all.
Round her she gazed with wild impassioned look,
And in one hand a flaming torch she shook
High o'er her head, and in the other bore
A jar with water brimmed and running o'er,—
And with a high clear voice she cried, “Behold!
I will burn heaven up with this torch I hold,
And with this jar of water I, as well,
Will quench for ever all the fires of hell,
So that when heaven and hell alike are gone,
Man may love God, for God's own sake alone.”