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Walpole, Hugh, Sir, 1884-1941

"The Captives"

341. 'Bathed in the blood of the
Lamb.'"
The singing of the hymn roused the excitement of the congregation to
even more than its earlier pitch. The tune was a moving one,
beginning very softly, beseeching God to listen, then, more
confident, rising to a high note of appeal:
By all Thy sores and bloody pain Come down and heal our sins again;
falling, after that, to a note of confidence and security in the
last refrain:
By the blood, by the blood, by the blood of the Lamb We beseech
Thee--
In spite of the crudity of the words and the simplicity of the tune
Maggie had tears in her eyes. The whole Chapel was singing now,
singing as though the sins of the world could be redeemed only by
the force and power of this especial moment. Maggie was caught up
with the rest. She found herself singing parts of the second verse,
then in the third she was carried away, had forgotten herself, her
surroundings, even Martin. There was something real in this,
something beyond the ugliness of the Chapel and its congregation.
She remembered what Mr. Magnus had said: "If there's something of
great value, don't think the less of it because the people,
including yourself, who admire it, aren't worth very much.


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