Thou art the Queen of Paradise,
     Of heaven, of earth, of all that is;
     Thou bore in thee the King of Bliss
      Without or spot or stain;
     Thou didst put right what was amiss,
      What man had lost, re-gain.

     The gentle Dove of Noe thou art
     The Branch of Olive-tree that brought,
     In token that a peace was wrought,
      And man to God was dear: 
     Sweet Ladye, be my Fort,
      When the last fight draws near.

     Thou art the Sling, thy Son the Stone
     That David at Goliath flung;
     Eke Aaron’s rod, whence blossom sprung
      Though bare it was, and dry: 
     ’Tis known to all, who’ve looked upon
      Thy childbirth wondrous high.

     In thee has God become a Child,
     The wretched foe in thee is foiled;
     That Unicorn that was so wild
      Is thrown by woman chaste;
     Him hast thou tamed, and forced to yield,
      With milk from Virgin breast.

     Like as the sun full clear doth pass,
     Without a break, through shining glass,
     Thy Maidenhood unblemished was
       For bearing of the Lord: 
     Now, sweetest Comfort of our race,
       To sinners be thou good.

     Take, Ladye dear, this little Song
     That out of sinful heart has come;
     Against the fiend now make me strong,
       Guide well my wandering soul: 
     And though I once have done thee wrong,
       Forgive, and make me whole. 
     Wm. De Shoreham’s translation
     from the Latin, or French of
     Robt.  Grosseteste; C. 1325.

PART TWO

CHAPTER XXIII

THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts II, 3.

Holy Mother of God, Virgin ever blessed, glorious and noble, chaste and inviolate, O Mary Immaculate, chosen and beloved of God, endowed win singular sanctity, worthy of all praise, thou who art the Advocate for the sins of the whole world; O listen, listen, listen to us, O holy Mary, Pray for us.  Intercede for us.  Disdain not to help us.  For we are confident and know for certain that thou canst obtain all that thou wiliest from thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, God Almighty, the King of ages, Who liveth with the Father and the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever.

MS. Book of Cerne, belonging to Ethelwald, BP. of Sherbourne, 760.

“When the Day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place”—­I suppose the “all” will be not merely the “twelve,” but the “all” that were mentioned by S. Luke a few verses before.  He mentions the Apostles by name and then adds, “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”