Hapless Jew, haughty Northman, Roman proud, and cowering slave,
Bound together by the blood of Him who died all men to save;
One by the bond of suffering, one in the voice of prayer
That rose with solemn sweetness through the catacombs’ dull air:
“Miserere, miserere,”
Rose the sad and earnest pleading;
“In thy mercy spare us, Saviour,
Unto thee the nations leading.”
Lo! as entranced I listened, there mingled with the song
A sound as if of many steps passing the streets along,