Jesus of Nazareth passeth by

Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. Various authors. There are three texts with this title: 1. A poem beginning ‘Watcher, who watchest by the bed of pain’ by Lydia Huntley Sigourney*. The contents suggest that it was written during, or shortly after, the illness of her son, Alexander Maximilian, who died aged 19 in 1850 (three of her five children had earlier died in infancy). It describes vividly the nurse of a sufferer, ‘Holding thy breath, lest his sleep should break’, followed by three stanzas (1) on a stranger in a foreign land, (2) on a repentant sinner, and (3) on a mourner. To all these Jesus of Nazareth passes by, his presence giving comfort and strength. The final verse describes the...