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( 245 )
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XLIL—" BEHOLD, I STAND AT THE DOOR,
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"Who standeth at the gate ?—A Wonian old...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
( 245 )
( 245 )
Xlil—" Behold, I Stand At The Door,
XLIL— _" BEHOLD , I STAND AT THE DOOR , AND KNOCK . "
"Who Standeth At The Gate ?—A Wonian Old...
"Who standeth at the gate ?—A Wonian old ,
A Widow from the husband of her love : " Oh Lady , stay ; this wind is piercing cold ,
Oh , look at the keen frosty moon above ; I have no home , ani hungry , feeble , poor . "—
" I ' m really very sorry , but I can Do nothing for you ; there ' s the clergyman , "
The Lady said , and , shivering , closed the door . Who standeth at the gate ?—Wayworn and pale
A grey-haired Man asks charity again : " Kind LadyI have journeyed far , and fail
, Through weariness ; for I have begged in vain Some shelter , and can find no lodging-place . "—
She answered : " There ' s the workhouse very near ; Go , for they'll certainly receive you there . "
Then shut the door against his pleading face . Who standeth at the gate ?—A stunted Child ,
Her sunk eyes sharpened witli precocious care : " Oh ladysave me from a home denied
, , From shameful sights and sounds that taint the air . Take pity on me , teach me something good . "—
" For shame , why don't you work instead of cry ? I keep no young impostors here ; not I . "
She slammed the door , indignant where she stood . Who standeth at the gate , and will be heard ?
Arise , Oh woman , from thy comforts now : Go forth again to speak the careless word ,
The cruel word , unjust , with hardened brow . But Who is This , That standeth not to pray
As once , but terrible to judge thy sin ? This , Whom thou wouldst not succour , nor take in ,
_ISTor teach , but leave to perish by the way . " Thou didst it not unto the least of these ,
And in them hast not done it unto Me . Thou wast as a princess rich and at ease ,
Now sit in dust and howl for poverty . Three times I stood beseeching at thy gate ,
Three times I came to bless thy soul and save : But now I come to judge for what I gave ,
And now at length thy sorrow is too late . "
Christina Gr . Kossetti _.
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Dec. 1, 1861, page 245, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01121861/page/29/
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