This holy Book I'd rather own
Than all the gold and gems
That e'er in monarch's coffers shone –
Than all their diadems.

Nay; were the seas one chrysolite,
The earth one golden ball,
And diamonds all the stars of night –
This Book were worth them all.

For here a blessed balm appears,
To heal the deepest woe;
And those who read this Book in tears –
Their tears shall cease to flow.

From the fly-leaf of an old copy of the New Testament