Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region round about Jordan.
And were baptized of him in Jordan confessing their sins.—Matthew, iii. 5, 6.
The waters slept. Night’s silvery veil hung low
On Jordan’s bosom, and the eddies curled
Their glassy rings beneath it, like the still,
Unbroken beatings of the sleeper’s pulse.
The reeds bent down the stream: the willow leaves,
With a soft cheek upon the lulling tide,
Forgot the lifting winds; and the long stems,
Whose flowers the water, like a gentle nurse,