Page:Fugitive Poetry 1600-1878.djvu/66

 How great was their surprise When they the sight beheld: An infant-lying there,— A lovely Hebrew child.

The tender infant wept, The princess felt its smart, She gently took him up, And pressed him to her heart. Unlike her noble sire, Who wickedly decreed That every male should die, Born of the Hebrew seed.

Like some kind mother, she Beheld the helpless babe, And thought within herself His life, how shall I save? I'll take him as mine own, And he my son shall be, And at my father's court He there shall dwell with me.

In all the arts and skill Of Egypt's sacred lore, I'll fitly train him up, Its mysteries to explore; His name I'll Moses call, To signify and show, That from the rippling wave His tender form I drew.

And while she mused thus, Young Miriam forward came, And seemed as if she would Some information gain; And with a modest look She to the princess said, "Shall I a woman seek To nurse the tender babe?"

"Yes, little maiden, go, A Hebrew woman bring But least did she suspect That Miriam knew the thing. With eager haste she ran The joyful news to tell, That for the lovely babe All things were working well.