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^ HISTORICAL SKETCHES
'?:•>':-. 1
HYMNS,
^i ' THEIR WEITERS, AND THEIR. INFLUENCK
Ik
W.i' '■ ■■' *r . ■ ►
I" " ' ■ ■
• JOSEPH BELCHER, D.D.
. M
ktrmm or owiuiam cimn: a iioautn^JifinMS<^wTirau: a nonu>ti*
SiV'
L»IIARY ^1
PHILADELPHIA:
LINDSAY & BLAKISTON.
inW TOHK: 6BXUiOS k COMPACT.
1859.
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PREFACE.
' »
That the •abje.ct of this Tolame ia of great interest
no reader will' deny. That more than one writer
has published important matters relating to it is
well known ; but assuredly comparatively little truly
interesting to the mass of Christian readers has yet
been collected. ~ Ko one ia more aware of the diffi-
culties of the task than the author of the present
small work, for which he has been collecting- mate-
rials for many years. Importunity of friends may
truly be pleaded in this instance ; and he has at least
the confidence that he has done what he could, and
will rejoice if bis work shall provoke a wiser man
to produce a better.
To the casual reader it may appear that a small
degree of labor, given now and then in moments of
leisure, would soon produce a volume like that now
in his hand. It would, however, convince such a
one of his mistake were he to Attempt the task. lie
would soon find that ,the mest attractive volume
mpst often be laid aside, that " No" must be given
({ilh
V ' PSBFACB.
to the kindoit inyitatton to the tempting locial
purty, Mid that even the meetings of the moat de-
lightfhl revival of religion recorded in history most
be saorificed, to complete what years and disease toll
him may not otherwise be accomplished before do&tli
summons him from earth.* To verify a fiftct, to con-
firm a date, or to answer what some might consider
an unimportant quer}', has ofton demanded hours
which inclination or tiie gratification of friendship
would have otherwise claimed.
The author feels a pleasing confidet^ that his
labors will tend to increase an interest in the great
duty and privilege of praiae, and do somewhat to
advance a spirit of union with those, not a few of
whom are now in a better world, who have so greatly
uded ojir worship on earth. As such, he commends
his feeble effort to the ftivor of his adorable Master
and to the kindness of his readers.
J.B.
frntLAtMhTMU, July, IBM.
* Tlia R«T. Dr. Bcleher Mcmi to hvrt •ntloipsted • rMolt wUeh
ku duM Ukcn pUe«. He dep*rted thU life on fiund*; morning,
July lOtk, 1869, not nuny houn after hi! Ubora had oeaied on
tU* TOlOB*.
CONTENTS.
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
DwtxiTtoH of • Hjinn — Charaeter wad Inflaenoe, by Henry
WaM B««ehar— Mnueal lateUUhmevt of Dkrid— Extraet
ttom-Dr. Lyman Coleman — Singing of the Early Cbria-
. tian Chnrch — Hymns of the Early Fathers — Chrytoetom
— AugnatiBe— Singing and Death of William the Con*
qneror — ^Latin Singiif^now praotiied in Winohester Col-
' lege — ^The Ooapel perpetuated by Old Hymna — Singing in
the Dark Agea— Revised at the Beformation — Congreg»>
tional Singing in England — Divisions in Churches on
the Sulgect — Influence of Calvin — Luther — Royalists and '
Roundheads at Tork Minster— Maoe— Baxter— Pilgrim^
Fathers — Symmea— Cotton Mather — Decline in Singing-
Its Revival — Curious Facts — Singing in the Revival of
1735— Early Printing of Hymns and Muaio — Remarkable
FOetioal Compositions — Dr. Lowell Mason — Amusing
Facta — Singing in the Methodist Church— Wesley —
Whitefleld — Tme Use of Musio — Instruments in Churchea
—Singing in Braiil — Alterations in Hymns — Real Im-
provements — Importance of Chanting — Length of Chureh
Serviees — Hints on Oood Singing .'. 19
■ T ■
0OMTIIMT8.
AUTHORS AND OUQIN OF HYMNS.
Sarah V.JLdMM Tf
JoMph AddiMm ...„ J73
Chriatopher Angolas »V. 74 ■
It«T. Junes Allen i la
Mrs. G. W. Aiidorson '. , 76
IUt. Lsonud Baoon, D.D ' 70
Rev. John BiAsweU 77
B«T. ThouM Baldwin. D.D....^ „ 78
Mrs. Anna L. Barbanld.. » 79
Bernard Baiion .' 70
Ber. Christopher Batty .;. > 81 *
Rer. Richard Baxter 82
Rer. Bei\)ainin Beddome > ^../.....\ 83
Rer. Charles Beeeher .' 86
Bernard 86
Rer. John Berriilge 1 87
Rer. G. W. Bethone; D.D /. 90
Rer. Thomas Blacldook, D.D 91
Rer. James Boden 92
Rer. Horatins Bonar, D.D 93
Re<. T. K. Bond. M.D. 94
John Bowdlerl.... ; i 99
John Bowring, LL.D 95
Frederika Bremer ; «
Rer. Jehoiada Brewer , ^...,.'.
B«T. John Jf. Bro%n, D.D 97
Phoebe H. Brown 97
Rer. Smaa Browne 98
Elisabeth Barrett Browning. .-i 100
John H. Bryant 101
William Cnllen Bryant „ 102
William Buddm 108
Rev. W. M. Bunting 103
Rev. John Banyan 104
CV■■^W^
OOMTMTC. 9
I^T. (MIrge Biirder....T...: ;............. IM
Bishop BurgM*. D.D 105
RcT. Kiohkfd Burnham. ....'...( 1<M
BobertBHrna 106
ThoiMt CampMl 107
ReT. Jfolm Cawood 108
IUt. Richiud Ceeil 108
TbonuM Von CaUno 109
Rev. John Cenniok ,a » Ill
B«v. E. U. ChApiB, D.D .....?. lia
Charlanutgne » ^ 118
Rer. iBgrim Cobbin...; 114
IUt. W. B. CoUyw, D.D., lUD 11«
Joaiah Condwr 110
Rer. Thonsa Cotterill .>. 116
NkthMUMl Cotton, M.D „ 117
WilliunCowper US
ReT. A. C. Coxe, D.D ; ISO
ReT. W. Cwawell, D.D 198
Robert Cruttenden ;. , 127
R«T. J. W. Cnnningham. 138
R«T. S. 8. Catting. ,,.'. ISO
ReT. ThomaaDale .> 129
ReT. Preaident Dariea 130
ReT. EUel D»tU 130
ReT. David Denhani< ; 131
ReT. David Diokaon 182
SiahopDoane 184
Rer.Phyip Dodd#ge,D.D 134
JohnDir^den.....'«f.. 141
ReT. George Dufiald, Jr Itf
ReT. Timothy ,Eb|^&t, D.D.. 148
ReT. Sidney Dj* 144
ReT. J. W. Eaatbnrae 144
Charlotte ElUott... '. 144
Rot. R. Elliott 145
Jamea Edmeeton 146
» ^
ooNniin.
Bot. WiUi«u Bnfiald. LL.D 14B
Bar. Jonsthan Kvaiis. 140
R«T. John FftWMtt, D.D 147
JohnFelloira 160
Eliia Lee Follen ..^ 151
Rev. Benjamin Frmaoia .*. ,.... lAl
Rev. Richard Furmaa, D.D 153
Rmr. W. U. FurneM, D.D, 153
Thonaa H. QalUodat. LL.D.... 154
-Rer. John Oambold..... 154
Bar. Paul Gerhard 156
R«T. Tbomaa Oibboni, D.D. „ 157
Ann Gilbert .". ;. , 157
RiBV. Thomas Oiibome a 158
LordOIenelg 158
John Maaon Good. M.D...., ,, 159
Hannah F. OooU „ 159
Jamea Grantr...^ 160
Thomas Greene..^ .;..;. 101
Rev. Joseph Grigg i ^. 161
Madame Ouion , 161
Rer. William Uammond ,... 163
Rer. Joaeph Hart. .' i...uM^64
ReT. Thomas Hawna, LL.B. wd >LD. .^65
Bishop Heber , 167
Rev. George Herbert 168
Rot. Jamee Herrey ,. 171
ReT. Rowland Hill 172
Bishop Home 173
Rer. Joaeph Hamphriea „... 174
B«. O, B. Ide, D.D ,. 174
Brr. William Jay 17»
Bar. Edmund Jones... 175
Rev. Adoniram Judson, D.D 176
Rer. Thomas Kelly 177
Bishop Ken ~.. 179
John Kant..... 182
■ '■'■'''''-■.*{"'' '• " ■*-%"' :-.\ ■' *^'"'' ''I'
■.'■-• ■ .. ' _ ■ '^ .- -n
OORTMn. 11
MM
franeuS. Key ISli
. lUr. William Kingibory IM
IUt. Andrew Kippia, D.D. It5
Re?. Mr.Kirkliam.. 1*6
' Ker. John Langfotd m... 186
Rev. John Leiand UT
Rat. Jdin LoRan 187
Uenry W. Longfellow 188
Ann Lutton .„....» 180
Rot. Uenry Francia Lyte.... , IM
Mie. Maokay 190
Rer. Martin Madan 191
Rer. Raul Manly, Jr. 19»
IUt. John Maaon .\ 198
BeT. Samael Medley ^. IM
Rot. Henry H. Milman , 196
John Milton 196
James Montgomery , 197
Thomaa Moore .«... SOS
ReT. Thomaa MoreU ^. 204' .
Rar. William A. Mohlenberg, D.D. S04
Bar, John Needham ..>. 906
R«r. Jamea Newton 206
Rer. John Newton 206
Hon. and Rot. Baptist Noel...i 210 .
Andrews Norton 211
Rer. John F. Oberlin 211
Bar. Samaon Oocnm ~ 218
Rer. Thomaa OliTers 214
Krishna Pal 215
Mrs. Palmer 216
ReT. Ray Palmer, D.D. .» 217
" Rar. A. P. Peabody, D.D 217
Rer. Samnel Pearoe 218
Rer. Edward Perronet 219
Alexander Pope 225
Rot. Thomaa Bafflea, D.D.. LLJ)„.... 226
-:.:-yM
II ooinrniT%
RtT. Aadnw lUad. D.D. m........ S
IUt. B«))«rt Bobiuon S89
lUnr. lohn Rylrnod. D.D .'. SSI
Hon. ud IUt. Walter Shirlay ^ SS4
LjdU nantlej Sigooniey » 2S$
IUt. 8. F. Smith, D.D. -, 23«
Ann* StaeU : 2S7
IUt. Suaud StMinMt, DJ) , 3S9
Re*. AmM Sutton. D.D 240
Sternhold aitd Ilopkini 241
IUt. Joaeph Swum. 2tt
WmUm B. T«pp«n ,,. 244'
T»t« and Bndj 24S
O.TentMgMi. S46
Rer. Angoataa M. foplady „.. M7
MiMTuok. >W
R«T. Duiial Toner. ,. SSO-
IUt. Be^junin Wallin 261
Rw. W. Ward 268
ReT. Ralph Wardlaw. D.D , 263
ReT. Hehrj Ware, D.D.. 26S
H. a Waehbttm. „ 264
Rer. Imm Watta, D.D ;..... ».. 264
TheWealeya. ^ ~ „. 26S
Henry Klrke White 201
John O. Whittier „ 292
Rer. William Willlama 2n
Nathanael P.Willii 294
William Wordiworth...... 296
Vranoia Xaner 297
ooMTBinri. It
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE INFLUENCE OF HYMNS ON
PERSONAL AND SOCIAL HAFPLNESS.
INDIVIDDAL PIK80!(8.
A UniTeraity Student 301
An Englith Aotrew ^ 802
An Irish PenMutor 304
A Young Man 305
An Unhappy Mother. „. 806
An English Nobleman 309
An Irish Sunday-Scholar 313
QoTemor Hill y 315
Campbell, the Poet ft 315
A Taunting LoTer 316
A Dying Jewels 317
A Chimney-Sweeperk .- 319
A Suffering Mother ^ 319
Robert Hall 320
A Vermont Clergyman 821
A Sick ChUd ; 322
An Aged Lady... 322
A Young Man in Virginia...., 323
A Dying Paator 324
A Military Ofleer 326
The Blind Psalmirt. 326
THB DOHKSnO OIKCLX.
Two Siitera in New York State ; 328
The Young Captive and her Mother 329
A Family in Louisiana , ,, 332
The Brothers and Sister 333
I •
H OOMTBMn.
mm
Two Toang Women ..••.» 384
<)iun«liome Naighbon 335
Klopatook <uid hi* Wife ; 83«
MIHIITKM AMD CONOUOATIOIft.
B«T. SwBuel Bradbora 337
IUt. Dr. E. D. Qrifio :. 338
JUf. Robert II«U ^ 839
IUt. Dr. Stillman ....« 339
Bat. Dr. Browldu*..n , 340
ThonghtlvM Clergymen 340
A Tory Minister .yl 342
Dr. Mmod .yf. % 343
Mr. DawMn .jC.. 345
FMltFoond ..jf.. '845
A Clergyawn in^eorgik...... 346
A Deaoon inyDilSculty U. 347
BegoUtiona of Singing 348
Importance of Right Feeling* 349
An Old Parody 351
Singular Muiio 351
Ilymni of the Old Style 852
Singing at Bangor „ 353
Bedstone Presbytery „ 85A
Boston Congregations .". 357
Coincidence t 358
China 358
' ReT. Dr. Enunon* 360
English Clerks 361
Facta about Anthems 364
Congregational Singing 370
Sacramental Singing 373
Collegiate Dinner at AndoTer > 373
Singing on board the North Carolina. 373
Churches in Scotland 374
An ImpressiTe Scene S7S
OONTINTC.' I&
A B««l Amaiidment , 370
MiaeeUMWiu Facto „ 978
oninAl. ■ociRT.
A Prirato Circle. 379
A VMt Crowd 380
ABBWertuy at Andover 381
The MiMionary'i Landing 383^
Ofloenofthe British Nary.... 385
New York Merehanto 38«
Hincelkneoua » „....m ,^. 388
-r^
M
HISTORICAL SKETCHES
CHURCH MUSIC AND Oj^OIRS.
4
LIBRARY
HisTORicAi: Sketches.
BiroKK entering on the^rinoipal design of this to-
Inme, it may be proper veiy briefly to glance at the
character of hymns, and the opinions entertained of
them by Christians in successive ages.
A writer in the " Pretbifterian Quarterlif Review," not
long ago, says of a good hymn, " It forms wordl that
thrill tj^oosands of all classes and characters, and thrill
them all at once. Words that will do this most be at
the same time simple and dramatic, understood in a
n^oment, and y^t carrying profound feeling, — ^those uni-
versal things that are < borne inward unto souls afkr.' "
As to the character and influence of hymns on the
hearts of Christians, our views are so well delineated by
the graphic pen of Henry Ward Beeoher, that we shall
borrow his language, as iiir more conducive to the benefit
of the reader than our own : — " Hymns are the expo-
nents of the inmost piety of the Church. They are the
crystalline tears, or blossoms of joy, or holy prayers, or
incarnated raptures. They are the jewels which the
Church has worn, — the pearls, the diamonds, and precious
stones, formed into amulets more potent against sorrow
and sadness than the most famous charms of wizard or
<i-
' •ft.'^"'^' V *" ■ '■■■•• *■*'■», ^' ■",.■ *" , •■ ' ■ ■; ■ *"■' -.■'^'r>''
so HinoaiCAi. ■kmchm.
^•' nagioiMi. And he who knowi the way th»t hymna
^"^ flowed, knowi where the blood of piety nn, and can
tnMM it* veina and arteriea to the very heart.
" No other oompoaition ia like an experimental hymn.
It ia not a mere poetic impalae. It ia not a thoaght, a
flinoy, a feeling threaded npon worda. It ia the voice
of ezperienoe apeakihg from the aonl a few worda that
oondenae and often represent a whole life. It ia the life,
% too, not of the natural feelinga, growing wild, ^bat of .
^ regen^ted feeling, inspired by Ood to a heavenly de»-
I , tiny, .and making ita way throngh troablea and bin-
.1^^ deranoea, throngh joya and victoriea, dark or light, aad
'^^^or aerene, yet alwaya atmggling forward. Forty yean
^^^the heart may have been in battle, and one verae ahali
r azpnaa the fruit of the whole. One great hope may
i:< ' come to fruit only at the end of many yeara, and aa the
** ripening of many experienoea. Aa there be flowera
I ' that drink up the dewa of apring and summer, and feed
npon all the raina, and only jnat before winter burst
forth into bloom, ao ia it with rame of the noblest bloa-
aoms of the aoul. The bolt that prostrated Saul gave
him the exceeding brightness of Christ; and ao aome
^ hymna could never have been written, but for a heart-
<v i, atroke that wellnigh crushed out the life. It is defl in
^' twQ by bereavement, and out of the rift comes forth, as
by resurrection, the form and voice that shall never die
out of the world. Angels sat at the grave's mouth ; and
■ao hymna ar^ the angels that rise up out of our griefe,
and darkness, and dismay. ^
NMTOEioJU. nnvuKt. SI
' '* Thus born, ft hjnnii u one of those ulent minitten
which Qo4 Mpde to tboee who are to be heirt of mIts-
tion. It enterl into the tender iniagin«tion of childhood, ' ,
ftnd oasts down upon the chambers of its thought a holy
radiance which shall never quite depart. It goes with
the (Thristian, singing to him all the way, as if it were
the airy voice of some guardian spirit. When darkneM
of trouble, settling flist, is shutting out every star, a
hymn bursts through and brings light like a torch. It
abides by oar side in sickness^ It goes forth with Joy to
■ylUble that joy.
" And thus, after a time, we clothe a hymn with the
memories and associations of our own life. It is gar-
landed with flowjua which grew in oar hearts. Bom o(
the experience of one mind, it becomes .tin nnoonscioos
record of many minds. We sang it, perhaps, the morn-
ing that oar child died. We sang this one on that Sab-
bath evening when, after ten years, the ftmily were once
more all together. There be hymns that were sang while
the mother Uy a-dying ; that were sang when the child,
jast converted, was filling the flunily with the joy of
Christ new-bom, and laid, not now in a manger, bat io
a heart. And thus, q>rang from a wondrous life, they
lead a life yet more wonderftiL When they first come
to as, they are like the dngie strokes of a bell ringing ,
down to OS from above; bat st length » single hymn be-
oomee a whole chime of bells, mingling and discoursing
to as the harmonies of a life's Christian experience."
Ifr. Beecher elsewhere says, with great tratb, that
32 VinoHO^WBTCHEa.
"when the Chnrch is oola and drad, th«M hymns which
wsre written by Ood's nints |n moments of npton
Mem ezti|ftirag»nt, and we walk over them on dainty
fbotstepe of taste ; bat let Ood's Spirit oome down npon
our hearts, and they are as sweetness to our tongaes ;
nay, ril too poor and meagre for our emotions; for feel-
ing is always tropical, and seeks the most intense and
fervid expression."
In glancing at the history of praise and its varioos
modes of expression, we may remark that nothing in
the whole reoords>of history can be found to compare
with the splendid mnsical establishments of David, at
once the king of Israel and the psalmist of the Lord.
From the narrative given ns in the twenty-third chapter
of the First Book of the Chronicles, we most infor that
both music and poetry werA then in a highly-flourishing
iftUa. No less than four thousand singers or musicians
I Wi ^ l 'itip ointed from among the Levitee, under two hun-
dred and eighty-eight principal singers or leaders of the
band, and distributed into twenty-four companies, who
offlciated weekly by rotation in the temple, and whose
ivhole business it was to perform the sacred hymns
One portion of them chanted or sung, and the other
played on different instruments. The chief of these
wte* Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthtm, irtu> irtn alto oom-
pijdnb tihykaa. USLtaia himself mtist have admitted
^t th^ c^dr wias worthy in its kmpUtude of those fre-
quent son|it tlmni^hont the law and the prophets whi6h
itk held "inc<naparftbt6," not in "their dlviai Mrgoment
■UTOMOAL ■KROBM. tl
•lone, but in thd Twy critical art of ooii»p<Mition, OT«r
•11 the klnda of lyric "poetry"
Dr. Lyman Coleman, in bia " ApottoUecd and Primitivt
Churdi," very properly tell* lu that the aiuging of aonga
oonatituted a great part of tbe religioua worabip of ail
•Adent nationa. In all tbeir religiooa feativala, and in
their templea, tbe pagan nationa rang to the praise of
tbeir idol godi. Tbe worship of the Jews, alike in tbe
temple, their synagogues, and their private dwellings,
waa celebrated with sacred hymns to God. Christ him-
■elf, in bia inal interview with his disciples before his
omotfixion, sang with them the castomary paschal songs
at the institution of the Sapper, and by bis example
■anctifled tbe use of sacred songs in tbe Christian' Church.
In the opinion of the n>ost eminent writers, the gift of
the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was accom-
panied by poetic inspiration, to which the disciples giiva
utterance in spiritual songs. Panl and Silas, lacerated
by the cruel scourging which they had received, and in
close confinement in "the inner prison," prayed and
sang praises to 6od at midnight. The use of " psalms,
and hymns, and spiritual songs" waa enjoined upon tbe
churches at Colosse and Ephesus. Many evidencas are
fhmisbed us, tooi^ that in private, aa well as in public,
the first Christiana were warmly attached to singing
the praises of God.
Indeed, it appears that this practice of uniting to
sing the high praises of Christ was one of the chargea
broDgbt against tbe first Christians by tbeir enemiea.
M HIMTUUCAI. uuncHu.
H«noe Pliny wrut« in the commencement of the Moond
century to Trajan, the Itoman emperor, that they were
aooiuiomed to meet before day, to offer praiae to Christ
•a a Ood ; and Joatin Martyr mentions the longs and
hymna of the Euieaian Chriatiana : — " We manifest our
gratitude to him by worahipping him in apiritoal •onga'
and hyofna, praiaing him for our birth, for oar health,
for the viciaaitudea of the seaaona, and for the hopea of
itaunortolity." Not very long after thia, we have a clear
intimation of the eziatenoe of a hymn-book.
The great topic of the ancient pealnu and hymna waa
Chriat, the only-begotten of the Father. The doctrine
waa ^aet forth of his being the incarnate Word of God,
fiod and man. Hia mediatorial character waa the joy
of the primitive ohnrchea, and this sacred theme in-
apired their earliest anthema. The manner of their aing-.
ing most have been very simple, conBisting of a few
eaay aira, which could be readily learned and by fire-
quent repetition become fkmiliar to all. Ambrose says
that the injunction of the apostle, forbidding women
to apeak in public, relates not to sipging, " for this is
delightfy in every age and suited to every sex ;" and
Chrysostom says, " It waa the ancient custom, as it still
is with na, for all to come together and unitedly to join
in singing. The young and the old, nch and poor, male
and female, bond and f^ee, all join in one song. ... AH
worldly distractions here cease, and the whole congre-
gation form one general choroa."
We may add a few linea more on thia interesting topic.
"IPS'
mumtuoAu mmoam: M
ii0Tenil of the Fathcn loaght to td&fy their flooln by
•applying tham with devotional poetry ; »nd inetancea
«re reArrad to by EuMbiu in hie " Ecdenattieal HiMor^f'
of private individuala oompoaing hymns. Speaking of
the mode of administering the Lord's flapper, Tertollian
remariu, in his "Apology," "After the water is bjooght '
for the hands, and lights, we are invited to sing to God,
according as each one can propose a aabject fVom the
Uoly Bcriptares or of his own composing." Hilary of V,
Foietiers, in the fourth centary, presented his ohurob
with a ooUeotion of hymns; and the Milanese Christians,
abont the same period, wore accnstomed to assemUe at
night, to chant those composed by Ambrose, their bisfiSop.
This practice began in Milan abont the time the empe-
ror perseonted Ambrose. The pious people watched ia
the church, prepared to die with the pastor. Aognstine
says, " There my mother sustained an eminent part in
watching and praying. Then hymns and psalms, aftar
the manner of the East, were sung, with the view of
/0 preserving the people from weariness ; and thence the
custom has spread through Christian churches." When
Chiysostom occupied the episcopal throne of Constan-
tinople, the Arians were accustomed to parade the
streets of the city, singing hymns strongly tinctured
with the peculiarities of their creed; on which the
bishop, fearing the propagation of the heresy, i\imiBhed
bis choristers, with some of his own compoeitions in
accordance with the opinions of the orthodox.
Assuredly this holy duty of .singing was not confined
;■ 4
■inouoAi. Muvmut-
to tb^ pahUo MMmUiM. JeroiM mj^^Qo ifkn*
JOB will, th« {tlonghiiun ut hit ploagh ■toga hk Jojrfy
luiUeli4«lM, th* buy nwwer /«g»tM kimMlf witk bki
p«lais, Mid tb« Tine^rMwr id sioging oof of the Mtigt
of DsTkL" Fearien of nproMh, of porMoution, mmI
ef imih, thity oontfaoH ia tho ikoo of their onomiM, to
•iag their Mored Mmgi in the atreeta and maritet-plMea,
Md At the nuurtyf'a atake. ■ Boaeblia decleree himaelf
•n, ef •■witntfaa to the fkot that, vndpr their peraecutiooa
ia TheUOa, "thej oontinoed to their lateat breath to,
aiag peelnu and hymna, and thankagiviaga to the Qod I
of hearaii." Speaking of the earlieat hymna of the
J«tlB Charah, Herder aaka, " Who can deny their p6Ver
and iaiaenee over the aoal f They go with the aoVtaty
into lUa cell, and attend the afflicted in dlatreaa, in want,
. and to the grave. Wbi^e ainging theee, one forgete' hia
toil, and hia Ikinting, aorrowfkl apirit aoara in hei^
Tenly joya to another woikL Baok to earth he ooaaa
to labor, to toil, to aoffar in aUeaoe, and to oonqner.
How rieh the boon, how great the power, of tiuae
hymna r
Nor onght we to fiMiget here the aceoant which An-
gnatine givcii ns of the power of thia holy mnaio over
hia heart on occasion of hia baptism. He aaya, "Ob,
how freely waa I made to weep by theae hymna and
apiritnal aonga, transported by tiie Toioes of the oongi^
gation aweetly ainging 1 The melody of their voioea
filled my eai^ and divine truth waa ponred into my
heart Then homed the lOMsred flame of devotion in
' 'X
V mj Mwl, »iul gwhiBg Uui fewad from ny e7•l^-HMl
. w«U th«y might."
W« may remark, here, t^i ■• early aa the fbarth
oeDtory the appointmeDt of nngers aa a distinct daas
crept into the Church, and other etrib alao, which looa
tended to impair the parity and leaaen the ei^joymenta
of Chriatian worahippere.
Time haa been, even in England, when singing tha
high praiaes of Ood was deemed a flt employment in a
palaee. Aa long ago aa 1087, William the Conqueror
lay on his death-4>ed. His oloaing hours Ibtmed a ni^t
of half sleep, half stupor, the struggling expiriag body*
-teidag a daUfpainAil, anreatftil reat before ita laat long
aartUy rspoee; but aa the son was just ifKng abore
tba horiaoB, shedding brightness on the walls of the
apartment, William waa aroused by the t<^ng of the
great oathedral bell, and inquired what the sonad meant
<* It is the hour of praiae," was the answer <tf bis attend-
ants. Then were the priesthood in ftall choir welcoming
. with voices of gladneea the renewed gift of another day,
in the worda oommon to all the Westwn liturgies, b^n<
ning,~
<• Jem Ind* «(• Bid**,"
• translation of the whole of which will be acceptable
to our readers : —
" N«w tlwt lb* aaa ia flMmliig bright,
Ib^oi« wt, bending low,
ThU H«, th« iiMT««t«l Light,
MV goUs lU M w« go.
■ . : a'
"tk ri«M wmi, ar 4Md of wroag,
Hor Ihougfali that idl/ rovar J
; But ■impla Iruih, be on our (oogat^ /
AmI Is oar hMrU b* 1ot«. ^y
" Aad whiU Um kovn in oniar low,
•J O Chrlat, aaouraljf "•<>«•
Oar loua balaagoarad by Ua Im,
Tha goU of avorj aaoaa,
"Aod grMrt tkat to thiaa honor, Lord,
Our daOy toil may tand ;
TkU wa bogia it at thy word,
A«d la tkvfkTar airf."
Bat the dfty of labor and struggle, tin and repent-
aaee, waa already paat; and before the close of the
hymn William lifted up his lu^ds in prayer and ex-
' * - »
JNTSO.
In one congregation alone in England is this bean-
tiftil Latin hymn now song. When the sohoian of Win-
cheater College annually aepatate for the Whitsun vaea.
ti<m, they sing it in the original Latin. Snrriy it ought,
at least in the translation, to be fkr better known ; and,
so thinking, we hare ventured so far to depart iVom the
general pUtn of our Tolnme as to extend its knowledge
as for as we can.
As we are speaking of the customs of England in
reference to the old Latin hyqins, we may here say that
to the present day the choristers and lay clerks of Mag-
dalene College, Oxford, annuaUJI- asoettd the outside of
the top of the tower of the building at five o'clock in
the morning of the first of May, where thqr sing the
Te Datm before a vast crowd of spectators.
UOTOaUAI.
It hu b*Mi w«U wid Uwt in many omm^^m •anient
h jauw w«f« th* only oonMrrotivM of gatptri tnith wmh,
heterodoxy grew end flooriahed bene»(|i pepel influence.
They were themaelvee too pore to be defiled by Bomiah
oontaminatioBe i and although hymn after hymn wm
added to ewall the aggregate by thoee whoee fiiitb aao-
onmbed t«^their auperatitionfyet tbeae haTe^come down
to oa in all their flnt purity. So fkr from rejecting
them, we ought rather tajovc thim the more, becanae
tkay flowed with dear and living atream through the
barren waatea of error, aatil at length popery gathered
up her atrength in a naeleaa eiTort to taint them. Aa the
Qomiah Church added dogma aiter dogma to her creed,
the Inatre fkded ftom her hymnal, ontil at but all that
bar TOtariea ooald prodooe were AiLiome Uadatiooa of
the aainta and idolatrooa iuTocationa of Mary. But the
two claaaea of hymna mnat ever be kept diatinct: it ia.
eaay at once to peroeive the difference between the ut-
terance of a Cauiatjian aoul and the panegyrica of fiUae
dogmaa and imagined demigoda.
We are told that Augustine waa aonly perplexed
by hia love of mnaio, fearing to indulge in ornamental
paalmody for ita own sake, yet oonaciona that hia devo-
tional feelinga had often been powerfViUy excited by the
influence of religions aong. He aaya, " When I re-
member the teara I abed at the paalmody of the .Church,
in the beginning of my recovered faith, and how at this
time I am moved, not with the singing, but with the
thinga sung, when they are sung with a dear voice and
Jjpy^
80 BitroucAL wiroBM.
modnlation nuwt wiiuble, Lfoknowladgs th« gn»t bm
of tUa inaUtotioii. Thiu/l floctoate between peril of
ploHore ftod approTed wholeeomeneM, — indined the t*-
ther, though not m pronuunclo(( an irrevocable opinion,
to approve/^ the tue of singing in the church, that eo
by the delight <^tha ean the weaker minda may. riee to
the fiielipige of devotion." ' --^ "
During the diaaatronn period emphatically termed " the
dark agee," when ignorance and soperetition almoet ■
■Bireraaliy prevailed in the west of Earope, tinging the
praiiet of God wae a part of divine wonhip from which
the people were debarred. Not only ^rere the words
rang in a, language unknown to the great body of the
people, bat the mwie wae eo complex that none oonid
bear a part In It nnleea they had stndied it icientifically.
Bat when the Befbrmation dawned, it wh no difllcult
task to induce the people of England to prefer plain
pealfflody, in which they could easily join, to the' intri-
cate mnslo which was too refined and scientific' for their
comprehension; and congregational singing gradually
found its way into the parish churches, in pursuance of
a statute of Edward YI., " to use openly any pealm or
prayer taken out of the Bible, at any due time, not let-
ting or omitting thereby the service, or any part thereof"
It Is certain that gradually AiU pcrmiBaion or connivance
introduced metrical psalmody into the Church of Eng-
land ; for Strype states that in the month of September,
1669, << began the new morning prayer at St Antholin's,
London, the bell beginning to ring at flvei when a psalm
■MToaioAL^UToan. tl
WM aong Mftar tho G«n«Tm flubion, all the eoHfnfmtm,
wuH, women, and boye, tinging together."
Tho Uto J<MUh Couder, in his Kditainibie ** View «f aU
JUIigiont," teiUfiM to- tKS gr«*t influenoe of congrega-
tional tinging in £ngiand at an early period of the Re-
formation. Bishop Jewel aayt, " A change now a|^>e*ra
▼iaible among the people, whieh nothing promotes mora
thaii inviting them to ting psalms. This wm Bkgnn in
one ohnroh in London, and did qoicklj spread itself, not
only through the city, bat in neighboring places. .S0m«-
times at Paul's Cross there will be six Uioosand singing
together." By the Act of Uniformity, passtdMn 1M8,
the practice of uling any psalm openly " in churches,
chapels, oratorios, and other places" was «uthorixed.
At length, after being popular for a while in France and
Germany, among both Itoman Catholics and Protestants,
as psalmody came to be discountenanced by the f<^er
as an open declaration of Lutheranism, so in England
psalmminging was soon abandoned to tho Puritans, and
became almost a peculiarity of Nonconformity.
In the reign of Henry YIII., the Common Prayer
Book, and the singing of psalms as found in the Bible,
were generally used as a teat for all to sing who loved
the Reformation ; and in the Confession of the Puritans,
published in 1571,. they say, " We allow the people to
join in one voice in a psalm-tune, but not in tossing the
psalm iW>m one side to the other, with intermingling of
organs."
Wo cannot forbear to remark here that some of the
bwt kjmmt w«t« ooBpoMd in " Um dark agM." Tkvf
w«f«, M ProfeMor Bdwards mx*> '/ ■ombre »od aMDOto-
Dou, bat simpis aod lablim*, and never to fltda till that
laat day whieh they ao often celebrate." Am hi elaa-
wkert aaya, " The atady of centoriaa only eorroboratea
the wuTeraal Toioe. The reaaon of thia ia perfectly
obriooa. The road ia not beaten. Thora ii a dewy
ifeshneaa on them, sooh aa Adam aaw in Eden. The
a(tiat«an.woA onraatrainad by artiflcdal ntlea."
It ia remarkable that the Baptiata, after the Beforma-
tion, were very generally oppo(iad to tinging ia their
aongregationa. They bad aaen so many evila eneoa-«
Sagad by thoaa if ho praotiaed it, that they peraoaded
themaelvea it was bat a haman ordinance. The Bev.
Benjamin Eeach, in 1601, pabliahed " I7te BneuA Be-
faired » CM» Worthy ; or,'P»alm$ and Hpnnafroted to
U a Molg Ordinance qf iUtu$ ChriM." He firat labored
•ameatly, with great prudence, to prevail on hia people
to aing at the oloae of the Lord's Supper; he then, aix
years afterward, persoaded them to aing on thanks-
giving-days, and, at the end of fourteen years, to sing in
each service at the dose of the last prayer, that ao those
who olyected to it might retire. In all thia he waa
atrenaoosly (^poaed by Mr. Isaac Marlowe, who deaig-
Mktad the practice aa " error, apostasy, homan tradition,
"pra-limited forms, misohievoos errw, and carnal wo»-
ahip." In 1882 the General Assembly orged both paitiea
to cease fW>m their disputes, and their recommendation
tended to peace. StiU, however, there was difficulty;
■inOSICAL •RCTCOU. Jt
Mn4 nhikm^toly « diviaioa took pUoe, and the seoeden
orgMiiMd a'new chnrdh in Mam, Pond, South wark, •
-" where it was twenty yean longer before singing the
praises of God coold be endured." At length, the oon-
gregations, being left to their own calm reflection, gT»-
dnally introduood psalmody into their worship.
While popery never favored congregational singing,
and among themselves Jesuits were never heard to chani^
' the praise of Immanqpl, the Boformers at once saw its
influence on the great work before them. Calvin in-
troduced into his congregation at Goiittva the elegant
version of the psalms into French rhyme whidi had
been made by Clement Marot, valet of the bedq^amber
to Fr&nois I.' This man, having Ekppily become tired of
the vaniti^ of profiuie poetry, and anxious to raise the
' toneofpnblio taste and -feeling, aided by Theodore, Beaa
•nd encouraged by the ProfiMSor of Hebrew in the ITni-
versify of j*aris, published the Psalms in metre;' and, as
the translation did not aim at any innovation in publio
worship, it received the sanction of the Sorbonne. T^is
version soon eclipsed the madrigals and sonnets ot it*
author; and suddenly, in the festive and splendid court
ot Francis I., nothing was heard but the psalms of
Clement Marot, the royal flunily and principal nobility
choosing and adapting them to popular ballafi-tunea.
Under the direction of Calvin, these compositions were
adapted to plain and easy melodies, and became a cha-
racteristic of the newly-established worship. Germany '
next caught the sacred ardor, and the cluval mode of
N BinOEIOAI. aKKTODM.
Mirioe yielded to the attractive and popular character
of a devotional melody in which all might join without
distinction of rank or character.
Especially was the practice of congregational singing
greatly revived, and became almost nniversal, in Ger-
many, where, emphaticiM)7> the people are all singers.
From that time to the present it has been rarely the
jkot that any one is found in a German church who does
not sing. They abound in hymn and tune books; and
even to this bonr,.as we leant from Dr. Lyman Ckileman,
an eye-witness, one-half of the time occupied in public
worship is taken np in singing.
Martin Luther well understood this method of propa-
gating truth and refuting error, and employed it with a
•kiUtal hand. His own poetical talents and love of mnsio
were veiy great. jSe learned the science with the first
mdlmenta of his native language ; and wheif as a wAto-
dering minstrel, he earned his daily bread by exercising
his musical powers in singing before the doors of the
rich in the streets of Magdeburg and Eisenach, he was
at truly preparing for the f\itnre reformer as when, »
retired monk in the cloister of Britart, he was storing
his mind with the truths of revelation, with which to
reftato the errors of popeiy. One of his eariiesfr efforts
»t reform was the publication of a psalm-book, in 1524,
composed and set to music chiefly by himself. One of
his earliest hymns was consecrated to the memoiy of the
martyrs of Brussels ; and the whole Beibrmed Churdi
felt the mighty influence of his song. - A few sentoncea
BIBTOUOAL BKITCHBa. 8(
which Lather wrote when he versified Bomo of the
Psalms and appended them to a oollectioh of hymna
which be published in 1524, all of which were set to
music in four parts, cannot be unacoeptable. He tells
ns this bad been done " for no other reason than because
of my desire that the young, who ought to be educated
in music as well as in othe»good arts, might hare some*
thing to take the place of worldly and amorous songs,
and so learn something usefbl and practise something
virtuous, as becometh the young. I would bo glad to
see all arte, and especially music, employed in tfa« ser-
vice of 'Him who created them."
In the preparation of this music, Walther, • distin-
guished musician of that day, lent his aasistaace. He
■ays, "I have spent, many a happy hour in singing
with him, and have often seen the dear man so happy
•nd joyfbl in qtirit while singing that he could.. neithw
tirr nor be satisfied. He conversed splendidly upon
Basic. He also composed mumc or tunes for the
I^istles and Gospels, particularly for the words of
Christ at the insUtation of the Supper, and sang them
to me and asked my opinion, of them. He kept me
three weeks writing the notes for a few Ciospds and
Epistles, till the first German mass was sung in the
parish ohureh, and' f was obliged to stay and hear it
and take a copy of it to Torgna." '
In the writings of this distinguished Beformer we
find several good paragraphs on music and singing,
witii which the reader will be ha|^y to renew bis ao-
86 ^UTOKICAL aKtTCHXS.
qoaintonce. He says, " Maaic is one of the ftirest and
most glorions gifts of God, to which Satan is a bitter
enenCy; for it removes fVom the heart the weight of
sorrows and the fkscination of evil thoaghts. Musio is
a kind and gentle sort of discipline; it refines the pas-
sions and improves the nnderstanding. Even the disso-
nance of onskilftal fiddlers serves to set off the charms
of tme melody, — as white is made more oonspicuoos by
the opposition of black. Those who love mnsio are
gentle and honest in their temper. I always loved
music, and would not, for a great matter, be Without
the little skill which I possess in the art.
" Music is one of the best arts : the notes give life to
the text : it expels melancholy, as wo see in king Saul.
Kings and princes ought to maintain music, for great
potentates and rulers should protect good and liberal
arts and laws : though private people have desire there-
unto and iove it-, yet their ability is not adequate. We
read in the Bible that the good and godly kings main-
tained and paid singers. Husic is the best solace for the
sad and Borrowfbl mind : by it the heart is refreshed and
settled again in peace. We must teach music in schools :
a schoolmaster ought to have skiU in music, or I would
not regard him. Neither should we ordain young men
•s preachers unless they bd well exercised in music.
Singers are merry and free from sorrows and cares."
None of oar readers will be displeased with a glance at
the pnblie singing in England in the year 1644. At that
time, when the Boyaliats and the Bonndheads were in
BUTOklCAL BKITCHE8. 87
inoesBMit colliuon, both m to political and religiooB mat-'
ten, and when no small qonteit was carried on between
choirs and organs on the one hand and plain congrega-
tional singing on the other, Master Mace, in his " Mutk^s
MoHunuKt," describes, in the raptnrons language we now
transcribe, the singular compromise between the parties
at York Minster: — "The psalm-singing was the most
excellent that has been known or remembered any-
where in these latter days. Most certain I am that to
myself it was the very best harmonical music that ever
I heard, — yea, excelling all other, either private or public,
cathedral ^usic, and infinitely beyond all verbal exprea-
sion or conceiving. Now, here yon must take notice
that they had there a custom in that church which I
hear not of in any other cathedral, which was this:
always before sermon the whole congregation sung a
psalm together with the choir and the organ. Yon must
also know that there was then there a most excellent, ,
large, plump, lusty, Ml-speaking organ, which cost," as I
am credibly informed, a thousand pounds. This organ,
I say, when the psalm was set, before the sermon, being
let out unto all its fhlnees of stops, together with the
ehoir, began the psalm. Now, when the vast concord
and anity of the whole congregational choir came, as I
may say, thundering on, even so as to make the very
ground shake under ns, — ah ! the unutterable ravishing
soiil's delight I — ^I was so transported and rapt up with
high contemplation, that there was no room left in my
body and spirit for any thing below divine and heavenly
" \ ■ ■ ■ • ♦
tt HI8TORI0AL 8KKTCHES.
« •
nptnres. The abundAnce of people of all ranks, beside
the soldiers, crowded the chnrch. Oh, how unutterably
ravishing, soul-delighting I"
DolightAilIy are we reminded, hy this description, of
the animated language of the holy Baxter : — " Methinks,
' when we are singing or speaking God's praise in the
great assemblies, with joyftil and fervent souls, I have
the liveliest foretaste of Jieaven on earth. I could almost
wish that our voices were loud enough to reach through
idl the world, and unto heaven itself; nor could I ever
be offended, as many art, at the organs and other con-
venient music, soberly and seai|onably used, which ex-
cite and help to tune my soul in so holy a work, in
which no true assistance is to be despised."
We joyfully come now to our own happy land ; and
though it was long before our fathers made much pro-
gress in the Kienee either of singing or of hymn-writing,
we are glad to see them cultivating the spirit of praise.
^ Gould says, " Here let us pause for a moment and
imagine ourselves specBktors of the scene when our fbre-
ikthers mounted the Plymouth Book, and listening to
the first song of praise to Almighty God proceeding
from strong lungs and pure hearts. There they stood,
and, with the women and children, burst forth, and with
united voice* rehearsed some tune and words that they
perhapa had before prepared and had been anxiously
waiting and longing for an appropriate time to sing.
That time had come; and think you there would not
have been a diffsrenoe between the eflRtct of their sing-
BisToaioAi. aunoou. 80
ing and that which we so often hear, ' where not the
heart is found' f"
As we have already seen, before the Pilgrim Fathers
came to thjs country there had been in England, espe-
cially among the Baptists, much controversy on the sub-
ject of singing, and not a few churches divided on th6
subject of its introduction. We believe, however, that,
whatever differences existed in this country on thd
matters of singing by notes, " lining out the hyrons,"
or instrumental music, all approved of singing itself,
^nd pretty generally acted on the exhortation of Wil-
liam Billing : —
" Oh, pniat the Lord with one ootuont,
And in this grand design
Let Britain and the Colonies
Unanimously join."
The Bev. Mr. Sjrmmes, speaking of the first settlers
of New England, tells us that from the first founding '
of the first college singing was a regular study, and
adds, "There are many persons of credit now living,
children and grandchildren of the first settlers, who
can very well remember that tboir ancestors sung 6y
note, and they learned so to sing of them." Dr. Cotton
Mather, in his " CJiurch DiacipUne," tells us that, be|bre
1720, «Th0 former and laiger prayer of the pastor
bung finished, a psalm usually succeeds. In some
[places], the assembly being Aimished with psalm-
books, they sing without the stop of reading between
every line. But ordinarily the psalm is read line after -
49 HiaroBioAL bi^rohib.
line by him whom the pastor desirea to do that serrice ;
and the people generally sing in sach gn^e tnnea aa
are most usnal in the churches of oar nation."
After a while, as every one knows, the Colonies began
to be disturbed by contention and party strife ; religious
errors also crept in; and the few music-books which
had been imported were rapidly decreasing: so that at
the commencement of the eighteenth century scarcely
any of the congregations could sing more than three or
four tunes. The knowledge and use of notes had be-
come neglected, until no two persons sung them alike.
Every melody was " tortured and twisted as every un-
skilful throat saw fit." The Bev. Ur. Walker says of
their singing, that it sounded "like Ave hundred dif-
ferent tunes roared out at the same time, so hideously
and disorderly as is bad Ixtyond expression. I myself
have twice in one note paused to take breath." Hr.
Symmes fbrther testifies, "It is with great difficulty,
that this part of worship is performed, and with great
indecency in some congregations, for want of skill. It
Is to be feared singing iTiust be wholly omitted in some
places, for want of skill, if this art is not revived."
Befbrm, however, was on the way, though attended
in the outset with no small confhsion. September 16,
1728, the '*New England CouranC contained this para-
graph ^— «< Last week a council of churches was held at
the south part of Braintree, to regulate the disorders
occasioned by reguku* singing in that place, — Mr. Niles,
the minister, having sospended seven or eight of the
BUTOUOAL SKKTOHU. 41
choroh ibr persUting in their singing by rule, oontnuy,
M he apprehended, to the result of a former council ;
but the suspended brethren are restored to communion,
their suspension declared unjust, and the congregation
ordered to sing by note and by rule, alternately, for the
satisfaction of both parties."
December 9, 1728.^ — " We have advice from the south
part of Braintree, that on Sunday, the first instant, Mr.
Niles, the minister of that place, performed the duties
of the day at his dwelling-house, among those of the
congregation who are opposefs of regular singing. The
regular singers met together at the meeting-house, and
sent for Mr. Niles, who reAised to come unless they
would, first promise not to sing regularly; whereupon
they conclAded to edify themselves by the assistance of
one of the deacons, who, at their desire, prayed with
them, read a sermon, etc."
About 1720, singing by note was introduced into Bos-
ton, in Pr. Coleman's meeting-house, and singing-schools
were introduced, both there and in other parts of New
England. The most influential of the clergy encouraged
the cultivation of music ; and the study of it, during the
controversy, revived in the college. In 1746, the first
organ was bnilt in this country, by Edward Bromfield,
Jr., of Boston ; and though this instrument v^ greatly
opposed, it soon made its way. Choirs soon followed,
nd the "JReeords of the Church at Top^d4," the "Hit-
tory of Ipswich," and other documents, show the ani-
mated character of this controversy. Two short par»>
4«
' 'm
41 BinOUCAL 8Kn«HK8.
gnphfl from the "History of Worcester" will give the
•reader a ftir specimen of the proceedings of those
" The final blow was stmck to the old system by the
resolution of the town, August 6th, 1779 : — ' Voted, that
the singers sit in the front seats of the front gallery, and
that those gentlemen who have hitherto sat in the ftvnt
seats of said gallery have a right to sit in the front and
second seat below, and that said singers have said seats
appropriated to said use. Toted, that said singers be
requested to take said seats, and carry on the singing in
public worship.' The Sabbath succeeding the adoption
of these votes, after the hymn had been read by the
minister, the aged and venerable Deacon ChamberhUn,
nnwilling to desert the custom of his fiithers, rose and
read the first line, according to the usual practice. The
singers, prepared to carry tho alteration into efifect, pro-
oeededt without pausing at the conclusion. The white-
haii«d ofBoar of the church, with the fhU power of his
v(rioe, read on, until the louder notes of the collected
body overpowered the attempt to resist the progress of
, improvement, iipd the deacon, deeply mortified at the
triumph of musiord reformation, took his hat and retired
ftt>m the meeting-hbiHe in tears. His conduct was cen-
sured by the church, and he was for a time deprived of
its communion, fbr absenting himself trom the public
services of the Sabbath."
This was by no means the only instance in which an
pffended deacon showed his displeasure. Another Uaa-
HIBTOBIOAL SKnCBKS. il
■kohuBetts brother in ofBoe, determined to take rerenge
on a choir who had led off the singing without giving
him time to read, patiently waited tilt they had con-
elnded, and then, gravely patting on his epectacles,
opened hia book and said, " Now let the people of God
sing;" and, Mta. respect and pity for the good old man,
they joined with him in his psalm. Nay, even ministers
did not formeriy restrain their feelings on the subject
When Dr. Joseph Bellamy once heard his choir sii^g in
sad style, he read another psalm, and said, " Yon most
try again; for it is impossible to preach after inch
singing."
Some of our yonng readers will be pleased to have
before them a few lines more as to the manner and
trouble of forming choirs, and the way of choosing a
leading singer. We give, therefore, a few extaraets ftnom
the "History of RowUy:"—-
1762.— "The parish voted that those who had learned
the art of singing may have liberty to sit in the fW>nt
gallery. They did not take the liberty;" probably be-
cause they would not sing after the clerk's reading.
1780. — " The parish requested Jonathan Chaplin, Jr.,
and Lieutenant Spafford to assist Deacon Daniel Spaf-
ford in raiting the tune in the meeting-house."
1786. — " The parish desire the singers, both male and
ftmale, to sit in the gallery, and will allow them to sing
once on each Lord's day without reading by the deacon."
About 1790, the limng out the psalm or hymn by the
deacons was wholly discontinued.
•■'"fm
44 UMOUOAL UnOHIf .
A few lines from the " Topsfidd Church Becords" will
oonfirm the general views of the subject : —
"1764, Jane 5. — Voted that the pfastor be desired,
Sabbath preceding the next lecture, in the name of the
church, to desire the congregation, after the lecture
is over, to tarry and consult with th« church about
choosing some person or persons to set the psalm
when Captain Averill is absent."
" 1764, March 18.— Mr. Moses Perkins and Mr. Jacob
Kimball were, by the brethren of the church, and also
by the congregation, chosen to set the psalm.
" Voted that the said Perkins and Kimball sit in the
elders' seat."
In the year 1756, the congregation of the first church
in Kittery, Mass., who had the Bev. Benjamin Stevens
for their pastor, " voted that the petitioners for a sing-
ing-pew have liberty to sit in the hind seat bat one, and
to move the hind seat three inches, at their own cost."
This was probably an incipient step to the formation of
a choir. The next year the church " voted that Tata
and Brady's version of the Psalms, with the addition of
Soriptoral Hymns, collected from Dr. Watts, etc., be sang
in this choroh."
It seems that human nature makes similar manifbsta^
tions of pride in all ages. Dr. Sprague, in his admirable
"Amialt <4 ihit Ameriean Pulpit," tells us that oti one
oooation the Bev. Samuel Moody, a well-known, eccen-
tric minister in Maine in the first half of the last cen-
tury, bad a lecture in a private house, and there was no
BimmiOAL BKROHIf. 45
one present competent to conduct the singing except
his own hired msn. So Mr. Moody called on John to
tune the psalm while the line was given out in detail.
John obeyed; and after they had got through, Mr.
Moody said to him, "John, you never shall set the
psalm again ; fbr you are aoady to burst with pride."
It is pleasant to turn fW>m these fkcts to observe the
influence of singing in the great revival which took
place in our land, under Edwards, Whitefiold, and
others, from 1785 and onwards. Jonathan Edwards
will not be accused of rashness or of j^vercoloring the
fkcts of the case ; and he says, " Our public praises were
then greatly enlivened. God was then served in our
psalmody, in some measure, in the beauty of holiness.
It has been observable that there has been scarce any
part of divine worship wherein good men among us
have bad grace so drawn forth and their hearts so lifted
vp in the ways of God, as in singinV his praises. Our
congregation excelled all that I ever lunew before in the
external part of the duty, — ^the men generally carrying
well and regularly three parts of the music, and the
women a part by themselves; but now they were evi-
dmtly wont to sing with unusual elevation of heart and
Toioe, which made the duty pleasant indeed."
To an American Christian it is pleasant to know that
the very first book printed here was a portion of the in-
spired volume " done into metre." The first press was
"put up" at Cambridge, in 1689, by Stephen Day. His
first book was " ITu Aa/su m Metre, faithiUly translated,
46 BI8TOU0AL BKXTOBn.
for the use, edification, and comfort of the saints, in
public and private, etpeeiatty in New England, printed at
Cambridge in 1640." The version was made by Thomas
Welde, of Boxbury, Richard Mather, of Dorchester, and
John Eliot, the Apostle of the Indians. Speaking of
their work, they say, " We have respected rather a plain
translation, than to smootho oar verses with the sweet-
ness of any paraphrase, and so have attended to con-
science rather than elegance, and fidelity rather than
poetry, in translating Hebrew words into English Ian-
guage, and David's poetry into English metre." Bleaa-
ings on the Pilgrim Fathers, that we find oA their re-
cords, " Stephen Day, being the first that set np print-
ing, is granted three hundred acres of land, where it
may be convenient without projudioe to any town."
We are told that when Eliot translated the Bible into
the now entirely-forgotten Nipmuck language, which
was printed at Cambridge in 1668, the whole of the
type being set up by an Indian, the Psalms were " done"
into that form of verse which in our hymn-books is
called « common metre;" and nothing could be more
olunUy and uncouth than the structure of the rhymes.
Even Stemhold and Hopkins may be read with ex-
quisite pleasure after looking over a few stanzas like
the following from the nineteenth Psalm : —
, ■ ** 1. Karak kokootumuihteaamoo
Qod wunohnuDoonk
MawUiekakMuk wtuiulitnkkon
WaUaskMiMoak.
mi'
HI8T0BICAI. 8KETCBI8. 47
"2. KohMko«h kemkodluh
Katt«o WMwUmonk -
Kah hodickoe nukonuh
Kcketokon wahtMoonk."
A somewhat remarkable book was issued in 1718, hj
Dr. Cotton Mather, called "PsaUerium Americanum : the
Book of Psalms in a translation exactly conformed unto
the original, but all in blank verse, fitted nnto the tunes
commonly used in our churches. Which pure; offering is
accompanied with illustrations of digging for hidden
treasures in it, and rules to employ according to the
glorious and various intentions of it. Whereunto aro
added some portions of the Sacred ScripturA, to enrich
the Gantional. Boston, in N. E."
In this singular production, which is a close transla-
tion from the Hebrew, Dr. Mather has not only disre-
garded the modem practice of breaking the lines, whe-
ther rhymed or no^, but he has "run out," to use a
printer's phrase, the whole matter; so that, while each
psalm looks exactly like prose, and may bo read as such,
it is in fkot modulated so that it may be sung as lyric
verse. In an "Admonition concerning the Tuna" Dr.
Mather states that " The director of the psalmody need
only say, ' Slug with the black letter,' or, < Sing without
the black letter,' and the tune will be sufficiently di-
rected." The following extract from the twenty-third
Psalm will give the reader some idea of this extraor-
dinary translation : —
48 HUTOUOAL aUCIOBXS.
"PSALM xxin.
"A PMUm </ DtnU.
<• 1. My Shepherd ii th' muAt Qod, 1 1 ihkU
not be in [*«]] want:
"2. In ptatorea of • tender gnu g He [titi] mkkei
me to lie dovn : | To w»ten of tmaquiUitie* | H«
gently ewries me [«lM|].
" 8. My fetbU and my tcamderinf soul || He [kfnbl|]
doea fetch back again ; g In the plain patha of
righteonaneaa g He doea lead [nfe pAU] me
along : | Beeanaa of the regard he haa [lilt]
unto Bia gltrioui Name." |
We hope to be forgiven if wo oconpy another page or
two with matter relating to books of hymns and tones.
The first book containing miuio printed in America,
as we learn ftt>m the " American Mutieal Almana^' for
1852, was issued in 1690. It was a venifioation of the
Psalms, with a collection of tnnos, in two parts only, at
the end. In 1712, another work was issued, entitled " A
vetyplaifi and easy Introductum to the Art of Singing Paalm
Tuneai with the Oantaa or lyeblM of Twenty-Bight Plulm
Tunet, contrived in euch a mantur aa that the Ifamer may
aUain the ikiU oj singing them with the greatest ease ima-
gin<U>le. By the Biv. Mb. Johk Turb. Price, dd. 6».
the dox." In 1761, a woric called " Urania, or a Chaiee
Ottttt^ion of Psalm IStnes, Anthems, and Hymns, by Jamh
Ltoms, AJL," price, lfi«., was published at Philadelphia.
Tradition says that it ruined its publisher, — ^whioh w«
can imagine to be very probable. In 1770, Hr. William
Billings published his "New England Psalm-Singer, or
American Chorister," containing one hundred and twenty
W'\
Uino&ICAL BKBTCBU. 49
tones. In the introduction to this work its author boldly
doclkred his independence of all the roles of harmony, —
a declaration which he Ailly acted out in this apd all his
fhtare works. We may add here that, in 1754, a book-
seller in Philadelphia advertised, ^i just published, « The
Yovth't Entertaining Amusement; or, <a Plain Ouide to
Ptalmody : being a choice Collection of Tunes sung in the
English Protestant Congregation in Philadelphia; with
, Rules for Learning. Bt^ William Dawson." This title,
probably unintentionally, expresses with great simpli-
, city a fkct, — ^that young persons, and many of their
friends too, often resort to the practice of psalmody
— which should be a holy exercise— for mere amuse-
ment.
Let not the young author who is conscious of the
possession of talent be discouraged by difficulties at the
outset of his career, but go on till he achieves snccees.
This, no doubt, would be the counsel of the eminent
singer, Dr. Lowell ICason : at all events, this was his
own early conduct.
In early lifb, while engaged in conducting the choir
of a church in Savannah, Croorgia, he felt the want
of p collection of churoh-mnsio even tolerably adapted
to the wants of choirs, and was thus led to compile
Buoh a woric himself, more with a view of preparing
a book for his own choir than with any expectation
of producing a work which should be generally used.
Having finished his manuscript, our young author ob-
tained leave of absence from the bank in which he was
•
50 UI8TOU0AL BKETCHM.
then a clerk, siid directed his steps northward in search
of a publisher. Arriving at Philadelphia, he offered to
give the copjright to any hoase which wofild publish
the work and give him a few copies for his own use ; bat
in the estimation of the booksellers and mnsic-mer-
chants it was too hazardous an enterprise for wise men
to engage in. Failing in Philadelphia, he went to Boston,
and made the same offer to tiie publishers of that city.
But the shrewd Yankee publishers laughed at him, and
intimated that their forecast and prudence were not to
be so easily thrown off their balance.
Finding that every one looked at his book so coldly,
our young author put his manuscript crotchets and qna-
vers into his pocket, and was about returning to Savan-
nah, when he accidentally met a gentleman of consi-
derable knowledge of music, who wished to examine the
volume. Having done this, he expressed his satisfaction,
and asked Mason what he intended to do with it. " Take
it home with me," was the reply. The gentleman pro-
p<^sed to show it to the Handel and Haydn Society, who
at once published the book, giving its author a share in
the copyright. His remarkable success as a teacher
ia well known.
One or two amusing matters may here be added, which
nay at least provoke a harmless smile.
One of oar most popular monthly periodicals for 1858
tells OS that, not long since, the chorister of a choir in
Vermont wrote to a publisher in Boston fbr a copy of
that popular ainging-book, " Hu Ancient Ltfre." Hia
eg- •
HIBTOBICAL KKETCIIES. ' ' 61
commanication ran, « Pleaso send me tho Ancient Liar,
wdl bound." The publishor replied, " My dear Sir : — I
do not doubt that the devil has been and still is in
Boston; bat it will be difficult to comply with your
request, for the reason that Boston influence is so strong
in his fkvor, it will bo impossible to bind him."
A Boston astrologer long ago predicted that an extni'
ordinary literary work would bo produced in New Eng-
land about the middle of the nineteenth century. Ac-
cording to " Oleason'a Pictorial Drawing-Boom Compa-
nion," the prediction was fulfilled in 1863, to tho letter.
A Boston publishing-house "got up" a Quaker bymn-
book, having heard that no work of the kind existed.
At first it appeared to be " a pretty good opening;" but
one unlucky circumstance was soon discovered': the
Quakeri never sing.
The " Bay-State Collection of Sacred MusUf' includes a
tune called " California," with the words, —
■• My tout lieB clMTing to the dust."
A correspondent of the "Newark (N.J.) Advertiser,"
writing from Bramfield, Connecticut, says, " By the way,
a good Qtory may be toU^^r chorister's attempt at
improving the psalmody^P^ well as the music of oar
church. He set some mnsio of his own to the ninety-,
second Psalm of Watts, in which occur the lines,—
< Oh, may my bmrt in tnne be foand.
,' Like DsTid'B harp of solemn sound !'
. ~ « Calling on his pastor, he asked his approbation of a
v-^
H iniTOUOAL IKROBU.
Dew Tenion of these lines, which would render them
more readily adflpMQ to the mosio he had composed.
^ He suggested that they should read, —
< Ob, maj my hwii be tuned within,
' Uke David's Mored TioUn !'
" The good pastor had somewhat of an inclination to
laugh in the singing-man's fiice; but, maintaining his
gravity as he best could, he thought he could suggest a
ibrther improvement of the version, admirable as it was.
The highly-delighted chorister begged him to do so;
and the minister wrote before his parishioner, —
■ Oh, may 07 heart go diddle, diddle,
Lilte Cnele DaTid'i wored fiddle !'
"The poor man, after a vain attempt to jnstiQr his
own parody, retired to sing the psalm as it stands."
It sometimes happens that preachers and choristers
are not entirely united in their views, even in the church
itself. Some years since, a Millerite preacher in Vermont
declared, during the delivery of a sermon, that he did not
expect to die, but anticipated being alive when Christ
came, and hoped to dwell with him on this earth for-
ever. The chorister took quite a different view of the
matter, and selected, as the dosing piece for the choir, —
•■ I would not live almj ; I a«k not to itay
Where itorm after itorm riaee dark o'er the way."
A minister can reprove as readily as a chorister can.
At a church in New England, a stranger was called to
officiate in the absence of the pastor, and, not being
:-;'";.-yf|
snroBioAi. uutxcBM. 68
ftmiliar with some rules of the choir, bo much oflbnded
thorn that they would not sing. After several efforts,
the preacher determined not to bo discomfited, and read
the Terse, —
" Iwt thoM reftiM to ling
Who narer knew our Ood ;
But okildren of the hMTsnly King
Mtjr «p«i>k their Joyt abroad."
This roused tho whole choir and congregation, who at
once joined in with the minister, and the service passed
off very pleasantly.
Not many years since, a minister in New Hampshire
fell, as will sometimes happen, into a difficulty with his
choir, which for some time prevented their accustomed
■ervioea. At length the choir relented, and appeared, as
heretofore, at the usual time of service. The minister
most unexpectedly saw them in their places, and in
due time, looking very significantly, rose an^ read the
hymn, —
" And an je wretehei yet alivs,
And do ye yet rebel ?"
All parties were pleased when the affair was ended.
The Uetbodist body, founded by the Bev. John Wesley,
have always been a singing commiinity. The two brothers
Wesley published, during their lives, not less than forty-
eight books and tracts of hymns, for the nse of their
people. " Some of these," says John Wesley, " had such
• sale as I never thong^ of." Nothing, indeed, has con-
tribated more to their extension than the almost ani-
J ^
M BiarouoAL sKironfes.
▼erml discharge of thia important part of wunhip ; and
eap«cially was this true before the modem introduction
of ohoira. As early as 1762, Mr. Wesley nublished a
collection of tones for the nse of his followm ; and in
1761 he published "Select Hymu, with Ttmes annexed,
designed chiefly for the ute of Vu People called Method-
itta," — in the prefkce to which he says, "I want the
people called Methodists to sing true the tunes which
are in common nse among them. At the same time, I
want them to have in one volume the best bymns we
have printed, and that in a small and portable volime,
and one of an easy price. I have been en deavoring for
more than twenty years to procure each a book as this,
bat in vain. Masters of mnsio were above followipg
any direction but their own; and I was determined
whoever compiled this should follow my direction,—^
not mending oar tunes, but setting them down neither
better nor worse than they were. At length I have
prevailed."
So intent was John Wesley on this part of his work
that, in travelling throngh England, he often stood in
the palpit ftmiliarly directing this part of worship,
calling in torn on the men and the women to take theii
parts in the holy song. One of the happy effects of
Methodist singing, which is observed alike in the great
congregation, the social prayer-meeting, and the family
circle, is that we have known more than one congrega-
tion, where there has been very unaco^ptkble preaching,
kept together by animated singing.
w
mi"
HiarOKIOAL skitchAi. U
The B«T. G. W. Hervey, in a rooent interesting article
in the " Chru/Han Review," tells ns that this eminent man
was tally persuaded of the necessity of a musical re-
Tival, which shoald give utterance to the new expe-
riences of his converts. Happening one day to hear a
sailor singing in the street, it struck him that the melody
ho was pouring forth would, above all others, suit the
words of some of his hymns, and greatly delight and
edify the people. Knowing how to write music, he
wrote down the notes on the spot, introduced them into
his meetings, and always declared that it was the most
solemn and appropriate of all the tunes which wore
sung by his followers.
Nor was the eminent George Whitefield less interested
in lively, simple congregational singing. He was most
decidedly averse to the cathedral-music of his day, and to
" the linked sweetness long drawn put" of the parochial
psalmody of England. He would not suffer a bar of it to
be warbled in his houses of worship. He also thought
that the lively ballad-airs of secular origin wore more
suitable to the joy and gladness of the new-bom soul.
He declared that it was shamef\il to praise God in the
drawling strains of the Church, and downright sacrilege
to allow the devil the monopoly of all the jubilant music.
Every oue, too, knows that the great awakening in
the days of oar own Jonathan Edwards was attended by
general song. He defended the practice in a masterly
manner, and showed that to complain of it was to re-
semble the Pharisees, who wore disgusted with the mul-
N BiaTOUCAL SERCHBa.
titnd« of the diMiples when with loud voices they praiied
Qod and shouted "Hosanna" aa Christ entered Jem-
•alem.
The Bev. Charles Wosloy has a boautiftil hymn on
" The True Uu of Music," founded on 1 Cor. xiv. 16, "JL
will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the under-
standing also." Well does he say of this charming
science, —
'• UaUd into tha esuM of lin, ..•
Why ihould > good be ctU T
lluiio, alM ! too long haa b««n
PrMMd to obey the deTlI."
In the hymn now before us he says, —
'•Still let na on oar gawd b« foand.
And watoh againat the power of aooad
With aacred jealouay :
Leat, haply, aenae ihould damp our teal, ' ;
■ And muaio'a eharma bewitch and ateal
Oar haarta away fk«m thee." ■■ •
The venerable John Wesley, who was both a poet and
a warm lover of music, when asked his opinion of the pro-
priety of the introduction of instrnmental music into the
worship of the Methodists, said, in his own terse manner,
**! have no o^eotion to instruments of music in our cha-
pels, provided they are neither hxard nor bikn."
The late Dr. Adam Clarke wrote, " Music, aa a science,
I love and admire; but instruments of music in the
house of God I abominate and abhor. This is the abuse
of mono; and I here register my protest against all
■IBTOaiOAL SKROHia. .„ 67
mioh oorrnptiona in the worship of the Author of Chri».
tlwiity."
Certain it ia that this " delight of the ears" hae done
very mnch, in modem tiraeB, to increase attendance on
pnblic worship. One denomination among us, at least,
has done as much by its singing as by its preaching to
attract vast crowds. Nor is this peculiar to Protestants.
Sonthey tells us, in his^ History of Brazil, that, finding the
Tupis passionately fond of music, the Jesuit suited him-
self to their taste, until he began to hope that the fikble
of Orpheus was a type of his mission, and that by songs
he was to convert the Bnuilian pagans. He nsually
took with him four or five choristers on his preach-
ing expeditions. When they approached an inhabited
place, one carried the ornciflx before them, and the rest
began singing the litany. The savages, like snakes,
were won by the" voice of the oharmor, and eveiywbera
received him joyfhlly.
We are tempted, in this place, to qiake a few remarks
on the almost intolerable evil of making alterations in
good old-fashioned psalms and hymns, which is generally
done by persons of great affectation or great conceit, or
for the sake of a closer (^nformity to their " new and
superior music." For some of our hints we own our-
selves indebted to the « Preabyterian."
We have elsewhere referred to a most popular and
Qseftal hymn by Gregg. He wrote the first verse, —
" Jmu* I and iball it •Tw b« ?
A mortol nun Mhamed of thw I
It HinOUOAL •KITOBU.
Aahuitd of lhe«, whom angela prala*,
WboM glory ihioM Ibroagh MidlaM dkyil"
See how miserably the last two lines are converted
into bathoa in a popular hymn-book : —
•• Jmoi I knd ilukU it arer b«T
A mortal m»n uhamod of thoe t
Beonudbt tkttAmifkt bf/rkkamdfixyr;
Ok, mag I ttom it mart ntd m»r* I"
Ferfiapa the same thinker and would-be " improven"
■nbatitated for the following line of Watts,-^
<• Whan God, the mighty Makar, died,"
the softened language, —
•• Whan ChriiL tha mighty SaTienr, died."
We cannot doubt thift both these alterations were in*
tended to modify the aMriptions of Deity to the Lord
JeniB, and are thereforeS,nnpardonable, at least with
those who love the old scriptural doctrine conveyed in
language which long sinoe ^|>eeame endeared to their
hearta. H;
Here is another exquisite verse f^m the same an-
thor: —
" My wnUng loul would at«y
In (uoh k frame aa thia,
And ait and ling herself away
To aTorlaating bliii."
There is both beauty and poetry in the idea of the
soul " singing herself away ;" but the " improvers" make
Hi«ad,— '
V
HlvrOKIOAL BKBTCnU. 60
•• TOI MU«d to riM ud Mw twtj
To eTorlMting hUm."
Ckn tny one give us the reason for the change of •
single word in the last yerse of Watts's seventeenth
Psaimr—
" Than bunt tho olMiaf ;ir{tli (wmI lurpriM."
Why most it be so altered as to read —
" Thou bant, tho oholna with fUJ furprlM t"—
which assuredly destroys the author's idea.
The poet Cowper wrote in one of his hymns, —
" Whot poMoftel hoon I oneo cqjoyod I
How iweet thoir maraory ttill I
Bat thojr hoTo loft an oohing Toid
Tha world can noTer fill."
Could words be chosen more precise and expressive?
What then must be the effect of such an "improve-
ment" in the third liito ? —
" Bat now I/wi an meimg Toid,"—
as though the victim had a sudden sense of gonenoB, or
an attack of the colic. ^
Another of Ck>wper's most precious Lymns has saf-
ftred even more cruelly than this, the alteration being
at once barbarous and unpoetical, though made to render
it more readily adapted to the music : —
" Than, is a nobler, awaatar long,
I'll ling thy powar to aare,
Whan thii poor liiping, atammaring tongna
Uaa ailant in tha grtTO."
•• BUTOaiOAL •KROHW. ■
Th« but two lines, ilightly altered, have been placed
flnt, and the .irbole vene ia thna presented :'—
" WhM thU poor lisping, ftUwiag tongM
liiM tUwit in th» gniT*,
tktn, ia • nobler, fWMtor ooag
I'll ling tkj powor to mvo."
We cannot be surprised that Dr. Bethane, himself a
poet of no mean order, should have once indignantly
said from the pulpit, " I should like to know who h««
had the presumption to alter Cowper's poetry."
A recent number of the " PretbjfteriaH Quarterly Beoiew,"
when speaking of Charles Wesley's admirable hymn^-^
••noa Ood of glorioiu n^Joity'"'
saya, with great propriety, "Our menders of sacred
lyrics have violated all decency in their transformation
of the original, and have really altered, not the phrase-
ology merely, but the sense :" —
"Lei oa • BMTow noek of land,
Twixt two nnboondod mm I lUad,
5k«r«,iDNnaibl«!" ,
The poet represents, in this triplet, a half-awakened
sinner, not wholly alive to his position, just beginning
to discern, but not ffally to apprehend, his danger, — " «»•
cure, insensible," until clearer light fiills from the Bpiiii
of God upon his soul : then, indeed, he sees tibe yawning
gulf beneath him, on either fdde, and cries out, —
"A point of timo — n aopont'g ipnoo - . .
Bmmtm BO to Ihu konTcnly yiaoi^
Orthntsmoapinkdll"
5it-
BIROBIOAL BKBTCnW. 61
How mitermbly (arae und moaningleu, compared with
the original, ifi the " improved" rendering 1 —
" Tt iow iiueniibU 1"
If we needed additional proof that onr compilers
failed to appreciate the living, homing thonght of the
poet, wo have it in the next stanca, —
\
" Ood, mj Inmott loal flonvcrt,
And deeply on my tkotightt4m hMii."
The poet wrote " thoughtful heart :" his genina had
called into being a tinner who had been insensible, — who
had imagined himself secure on the narrow promontory
of probationary life, but whose eyes are now open to
his danger. He begins to think. No longer thought-
lessly secure, he is now thonght-/«{, and beseeches Ood
that eternal things may be impressed more deeply on
his mind.
But, as though this amount of alteration were not
sufficient to satisfy us, the author is made to My,-<-
^^ •• OItc me to feel Uieir lolemii weight.
And fare me ere it be too Ute."(l)
We suppose that if Ctod saves at all, it will be " ere
it be too la^."
Who can forgive this literary theft of one of the finest
and boldest lines ever penned by poet 1 —
" And trtmitt M tks trimk of fmte."
Thifris true poetry; and the strong expression at the end
of the line, which onr compilers seem to have shunned, so
'm RinoBiOAi. lEnoBia.
tkr from being anwamnUbly bold, is appropriate and
effeotiTe, and iU use is soatainod by nameroua Mriptand
examples.
While wo are on this sabjoct^ of " emendation" of
hymns, and especially of the " improved" versions of
those composed by the Wesleys, wo cannot forbear to
quote the words uf John Wesley, in which he " sharply"
rebukes some of the trespassers on his domain, in
language like this .■ — " Many gentlemen have done my
brother and me, though without naming as, the honor
to reprint many of our hymns. Now, they are perfectly
welcome so to do, provided they print them just as they
are. But I desire they wonld not attempt to mend
them ; for they really are not able. None of them is
able to mend either the sense or the verso. Therefore
I most beg of them one of these two fkvors : either to
let them stand just as they are, — to take them for bettor
or for worse, — or to add the tme meaning at the bottom
of the page, that we may be no longer acoonntable for
the nonsense or for the doggerel of other men."
After all, however, altorations are sometimes needfhl,
and occasionally are groat improvements: as, for in<
stance, John Wesley's own "improvement" of Watts'
hundredth Psalm. The author wroto ito first two lines, —
" Nation*, attend bcfor* hit thro^
With •olenm fear, witli lacrwl Joy." ,
Weale;|r changed it to, —
•' Bsfor* JahoTah'i awAil throna,
Te aaUaoa, bow with wenad jay."
■tirouoAL ■Knout. M
^Anothwr diaUDgniahAd hymn of W»tU," myu th»
anknown Kothor flrom whom w« are quoting, "wm
alUred hy the nme band, in it* flrat atanu, and th«
change haa become olaaaic. No one would propoae to
print the fbllowing vene aa Watta wrote it : —
•B« 41m! dk« bMvmly tonr dlwt
Hm Udlagi ttrilM • doMkil Moad
Oa taj poor )iMrt-i<rin|a. Deep h« Uta
la Um mM MTorai of th» fronatL*
Wealej'a tranaformed stansa is almost infinitely pr»>
ferable :—
•Ha dlwl til* Pitead of linaon die* I
Iio I fclt w 'i dsngkton WMp wovad ;
A irtMBB da^MM voila tko skiM,
A raddoa tranbUng shake* the groaad.* "
Nor can it be denied that oar more recent editors do,
oGoaaionally, give na an emendation ; but we trust that
in their fbtore acta of this clutracter they will remember
their vast responsibility, and ftorther, thati, of every ban-
dred of the changes they make, at least ninety and nine
•re for the worse.
It baa long been to us a maUer of snrprise that onr
eongregationa do not acquire a habit of chanting, — •
practice at once both easy and deligbtfU. To use the cor-
rect language of Pr. Whitidcer, in his " Ltfe <ff St. Nmt,"
"The chant not merely aasiata the voice and givas it •
larger volume of sound for an extensive church, but,
what is of much more consequence, angmentq its de-
Toutnaaa by the modulation of its tones, — by the rapid
flow at (me time, by the solemn slowness at another,—
64 BIROUCAL SRITOBU.
hj the riae, th« ikll, «nd th« swell, maoh more itrongly
mukti ttutn any of theae can be in reading,— maoh
-|iiore «rpreMive of devoqtneas in the ofBoiating clergy-
Qman, and much more impressive of devontness upon the
vttehding congregation. A chanted prayer is thns the
poetry of devotion, while a prayer read ^s merely the
proae of it. 60, at least, thought the wisest and the best
of oar ancestors, — men peculiarly qaalifiod j^ Judge, be-
cause their intellects were exalted and their spirits de-
vout, — who therefore carried the chanted prayer from
our churches into their closets."
May we be allowed here to touch on a subject of sonm
delicacy f We refer to the complaint often made as to
the congregational services in our churches being too
long, and as to the part to be abbreviated. We^re not
«
aware of any oases in which a Christian would abridge
the duty of adoration and prayer: so that the real
question is, which shall be shortened, the singing or the
preaching f Our answer may be given in m few words.
If the hymn selected be one containitig little that is de-
▼otional, and only intended to gratify the intellect, or
if it be chiefly employed to call out the taste and the
science of the choir and to claim the admiration of the
unconverted listeners, by all means abbreviate the sing-
ing; bat if the> psalmody be strictly what it professes
to ber-devotional and heavenly, — if many hearts of the
traly devout are engaged in it, and if it produces a
soul-flubdaing influence, raising the heart to Oodk^and
heaven, by no means shorten that portion of the wor
BHTOHICAL BKBTOBU. 06
■hip. There can be no diiBcalty on the part of the
preacher, with proper labor and thought, condonting
the matter of hia termofi^Bd aa to make it five minutea
ahorter; and it will often prove beneficial to the
preacher'a intellect and he>u^ that hia performanoea
ahonld pasa through inch an ordeal. In aach mattera,
after all, << wisdom ia profitable to direct."
At the risk of being, charged with prolixity in thoise
fnisfiellaneous introductory pages, we will refer, in closing,
to a few general facts, which we hope will not be with-
out thoir use to at least some of our IVionds.
Bishop Ilome, in his admirable sermon on Church-
Haaic, quoten from C!ollier, the ecclesiastical historian,
aa Raying, "Beligious harmony must bo moving, but
noble withal, grave, solemn, aAd seraphic, fit for a mar-
tyr to play and an angel to hear." Sad havoc has been
committed, in modem times, by the introduction into
many of our churchea of vulgar and light prodnctiooa,
devoid of the slightest protcnHions to taste, and fiill of
the grossest ofienccs against the laws of musical com-
position. Solos, and every attempt at Aigue, and the
like, should be most rigidly excluded. We are quite
aware that a very great number of persons prefer vul-
gar an.d trashy compositions to sound classical music,
and argue that because a melody happens to please
them, it must necessarily be good. This is just as absurd
as though an educated man weiv to maintain that some
vulgar ballad, fliU it offences against syntax and pro-
•• ■ ■
6tt niSTOlllCAI. 8KET0RK8.
aody, wM Ruperior poetiy. Music has its grammar M
well as language.
We have noticed, of lato, an increasing love of old con-
gregational tnoes ; and perhaps few persons are aware of
the antiquity of some of >these. One ««lled "York' has
been ascribed to no less a personage than Milton the
poet; but it was really composed by his father. The his-
tory of " Old Hundred" is the subject of a volume re-
cently published by an English clorg}'man. Martin
Luther was long considehad to be its author; but it
has now been discovered that it was originated in the
sixteenth century, by William FranCj, a German, though
it has been considerably changed fVom the original,— ^n
part, probably, by Luther himself.
To advance the favorable reception of the old tunes,
it should be remembered that they were formerly sung
much faster than we sing them, and by a fkr, larger
number of voices. Our forefathers in the Church were
cheerful Christians, and a psalm of twelve verses was
but short to them. Old Hundred is sung as a dirge
now ; but then it was a joyous canticle : —
" All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to ttit Lord tcith chttr/ul voiet."
I
York, too, now often placed among the dull and obsolete,
was originally the most lively and popular of tunes.
Whatever may be the quality of our hymns and tunes,
we are assuredly fitr beyond all former years in the
^piantity we nse. Man^ years ago it was announced that
■o^m
• BI8TOU0A.L SKXTOHU. 87
more than aixty thoiuand copies of the " Methoditt HymA-
BooK' were Bold annuaUy in London ; and in the United.
S^tea the number must be mnch larger. And, as we
write, an advertisement tells us that "Hallelujah," a
volume of devotional tunes published in London, con-
tains compositions in one hundred and thirty-six dif-
ferent metres.
' A few linee, written some years since by Dr. Joshua
Leavitt, may be here introduced with advantage. He
says, " In revivals of religion a species of musio is sought
entirely different firom that which is ordinarily used. The
state of feeling is stfch then that it swells beyond the
shackles of musical authority, and the music is sought
for and employed which is known to produce effects. A
class of tunes which has long been under the sentence
of banishmClftt fW>m our music-books and singing-schools
is then sought for. The squeamish affectation of not
using, in the service of God, music of known power to
move because it has been already proved in the service
of the world or of Satan is abandoned. Singing assumes
a new character, and the rejoicing people of God are
amazed at its powers. I wish the musicians should ex-
plain, especially those of them who love revivals. And
I desire that ministers should ask how they can excus»
themselves if they thus allow a powerful means of grace-
to be neutralised by submitting all their music to the
control of a scientific theory.
" It is not unfreqaently found that persons who have
not what is called a musical oar are yet keenly sascepti-
'■s§
n niOTOBIOAI. BKKTCHX8. ^ ^
ble to the practical inflnence of mnBical Bounds. ThOM
•who are awakened or enlightened by the singing that
takes place in a revival will not, by any means, be con-
fined to the singers. Many Christians have seen this,
and have felt the want of a reform in our musical sys-
tem. A great deal of that which is found usoAil in re-
vivals is passed along by tradition and learned by rote.
Many congregations where revivals are known are desti-
tute of such music ; but, where they have a knowled^
of it, the denunciations of the music-master and the
organist are disregarded. People will sing music that
means something and that meets their feelings more
than ordinary psalm-tunes. It is astonishing to learn
ibf rich variety of such music which is thus preserved
by tnulition, and preserved thus because it is excluded
fW>m books. All musical writers denounce these tunes
and proscribe them fh>m their pages, and yet they are
preserved. There are tun6s now sung in prayer-meet-
ings which have, in this way, outlived whole generation*
of what is called scientific music. Is it not time that
we should act a little Arom Acts and experience, and
leave musical theories to their proper sphere, — in the
speculations of writers whose professed object is some-
thing aside fVom the salvation of souls f"
In entire accordance .with these remarks are some
thus expressed by the venerated theologian, Andrew
Fuller : — " The criterion of a good tune is not its pleasing
a scientific ear, but its being quickly caught by a congre-
gation! It is, I think, by Binging as it is by preaching; :
HISTORICAL BKCTCHES.
w
• fine judge of oompoeition will admire a Bermon which
yet mokes no manner of impression ;apon the pnblio
mind, and therefore cannot be a good one. That is the
best sermon which is adapted to produce the best ef'
fects ; and the same may be said of a tune. If it cor-
responds with the feelings of a pious heart and aids him ■
, i* realixing the sentiments, it will be quickly learnt, and
be sung with avidity. Where this effect is not produced,
were I a composer, I would throw away my performance
and tiy again."
;
AUTHORS
AID
ORIGIN OF HYMNS.
Authors and Origin of Hymns.
- SARAH F. ADAMS.
The ftdminble bymna published with this signfttor*
irere written hy « lady eminent for her mnsioal talents.
She wrote, besides hjrmns and criticisms, several worka
collected under the title of " Adoration, AtpiratioH, and
Belief." She died in 1848.
Joseph addison.
Addison, who flourished in the latter part of the
seventeenth and the early portion of the eighteenth
centuries, commands the respect of all who value re-
ligion and morals. Though in the early part of his lift
be devoted himself to political affairs, he soon abandoned
them, as also an eariier design of taking orders in the
English Church, and gave his days and nights to liter*-
tors, in which, contrary to the migority of writers, he
was snoceasAiL lispecially did he advance literature
and fine taste by the publication of the " Spectator" the
happy results of which are still felt in literary circle* in
r r<
74 AUTUOU AMD OBIOIN UF HIMNH.
England. Hit hymns, originall}- printed in the " Spec-
tator," are still increasingly admired, and are extending
in their nsefulness. In 1716 he was married, to the
Conntess Dowager of Warwick, whose son, it will bo re-
membered, he sent for on his death-bed, in 1729, to see
in what peace a Christian conld die. It has been very
truly Hiiid that ho has divested vice of its meretricious
ornamrnts, und painted religion and virtue iu the modest
and graccAil attire which charms and elevates the heart.
In addition to his hymns, he wrote a part of a version
of the Psalms, which was never completed.
CHRISTOPHER ANGELUS.
Tnis eminent person, who died in the seventeenth
century, was the author of the beautiful hymn, recently
introduced into one or two of our books, —
„ "LoTiog Shepherd, kind Slid tme."
His origin was Greek ; and, being driven fVom Pelopon-
nesus by the Turks, he went to England, and stndied
at the Cambridge University, under the patronage of the
Bishop of Norwich. He afterward studied at Baliol
College, Oxford, where he proved very asei\il in in-
structing the students in Greek. His most valuable
woric waa an account of hi* sufferings, printed in 1716,
in Greek and English. The hymn to which we have
reftrred is beautiftil alike for its simplicity and its evao-
g«Ucal nnotipn.
■■i:i^(
BET. JAMS* Aixn. 76
REV. JAMES ALLEN.
** Sinntn, will 700 fcorn the metng* ?"
WM written by James Allen, who was bom in Vnrk-
•hire, England, in 1734, and died in his native village,
in 1804. His father, intending hiin for the ministry in
the Established Church, placed him nndcr the care of a
clergj'man, whose immoral conduct, and that of his fol-
lowers, so disgusted young Allen that he at ouco dia-
■entcd fVom a Church that could tolerate such men.
Converted%nder the ministry of Mr. Ingham, the leader
of a small sect of the Methodists, Allen joined bis con-
nection, among whom ho was a popular minister for
nine years. )Io then built a house of worsliip for him-
self, in which be succcssftilly labored till his death.
Before Mr. Allen fully entered on his ministry, he
■pent a few months in the University of Cambridge,
where he became acquainted with a gentleman named
Ashton, who settled in Westmoreland. Mr. Allen, many
years afterward, was preaching near Kendal, where a
mob was raised and the preacher made a prisoner. It
providentially happened that Mr. Ashton was present :
he rushed through the crowd, took the dissenting minis-
ter by the hand, expressed bis great pleasure at seeing
him, reminded him of the happy days they had spent
together at college, and arm in arm walked with him to
the village. The mob were vexed when they found the
preacher to be a friend of their squire, and the cloi|Qr-
79 ADTBOM AJfD OKIOIN OF HTMMS.
man regretted tb«t ao worthy » man had left the Esta-
blUhed Charoh.
MRS. G. W. ANDERSON. ,
This Mtimable lady, the author of the truly beaotiftii
hymn, —
" Out eountrj'i Toic« i« plMMiing,"
to, we believe, of English birth, though she came to this
eonntry in very early life, and has for sorao years been
the wife of Professor G. W. Anderson, for some time
engaged in the University at Lewisburg, Pa.. We be-
Heve that Mrs. A. has written nothing but a few hyuns,
with a small volume or two for children, and some arti-
cles in newspapers and magazines, which have afforded
much interest and profit to children. We hope she may
yet contribute largely to our bymnology.
REV. LEONARD BACON, D.D.
Thi hymns of this gentleman, while they aid our devo-
tion, also command our esteem for their sound judgment,
correct imagery, and scriptural theology. He was the son
of a missionary to the Indians, and was bom at Detroit
in 1802, entered Tale College in his sixteenth year, gra-
duated in 1820, studied theology at Andover, and was
ordained pastor of the First Congregational Church at
KV. JOHN BAKKWKLL. - 77
Kew Haven, in 1825, when he was twenty-three yean
of age. Pulpit labors and literatnre have well occnpied
bis days and nights. His love of controversy is well
known ; but generally he has been found on the side of^
scriptural truth. Some years ago ho travelled in £u-
rope and A»ia, and C8ea[>ed death at the hands of the
Koords, in Nestoria, in a very extraordinary manner,
by the influence of woman, — the Agha's wife. His na-
tural resolution and steadiness of purpose were, under
God, of no smaU value in the dangerous circumstances
in which be was placed.
REV. JOHN BAKEWELL.
In reference to the authorship of the beautifnl hymn,—
<■ HkU ! thou onoe despitcd Jctu* !"
or, as in some books, —
<• PMchkl Lamb, bjr Qod appointed,"
there has been some difference of opinion. It has been
Mid by some to have been written by Madan ; and cer-
tainly he published it in a collection as early as 1760.
But preponderating evidence will show it to have been
the production of John Bakewell, of Greenwich, Eng-
land, who was bom in 1721. He was one of the earliest
Methodist local preachers under the Weolcys, having
commenced his ministry in 1749. He wrote many
hymns, and in his own family circle this was regarded
11 ACTHOM AND OftiaiN OF HTMIff.
M one of the number. It is • fine production, and is
Terj properly introduced into most of our collections.
Mr. Bakewell died in 1819, aged ninety-eight yean,
and waa interred in the City-Boad burying-ground, Lon-
don. He had been a preacher more than eeventy years.
REV. THOMAS BALDWIN, D.D.
With what delightAil and tearfhl interest have we
stood, at tho close of a meeting of days, surrounded by
'a group of Christians, and sung what is called " the union
AyiNM, —
" Prom whcno* doM this union viw) ?"
Its author was bom in Bocrah, Conn., in 1758, and in
▼erjr early life, though amidst many discouragements,
his original thinking powers were greatly improved by
reading. He married while yet young, and before he
was thirty waa sent as a representative to the Legislature
of his native State. In 1780 he became a decided Chris-
tian, and shortly afterward was baptised. He had enter-
tained thoughts of the law, but was gradually led into the
office of the ministry, to which he was ordained in 1788.
In 1700 he became the pastor of the Second Baptist
Church in Boston, a position which he occupied with
aver-growing success till his sudden decease when on
a journey from home in 1825. He was very amiable in
Us vpirit and deportment, and greatly beloved by a
▼cry large circle of friends.
ANRA LCTITIA BABBAtLD. TV
ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD.
Or this Udy, the author of Mveral of oar hymns, in-
clnding, —
•• Wlitii, M rttarni thii •olemp day,"
we have bat little to write. She wss one of the most dis-
tinguished female writers of her day within the British
dominions. Theologically she belongwl to the more evan-
gelical class of English Unitarians, oilen in her views
approaching what are considered the orthodox body of
Christians. She waq the daughter of the Rev. John
Aikin, and at 1774, at the age of thirty-one, was mar-
ried to the Bev. B. Barbaald, after which she wrote her
" Early Leaaotu," " Hymhafor Children," and many other
works. She died in 1826, in her eighty-second year, her
hasband having died three years before her. It is said
that, in her early years, Mrs. Barbaald was favored with
many of the instraotions of Dr. Doddridge, and that
her later yean werp given to the instruction of yoang
ladiea.
BERNARD BARTON.
This " Quaker poet," as he is usaally called, trom the
fiftct that both bis parents and himself lived and died
among that people, was bom in London, in 1784, and
■pent the ftr larger portion of his years as clerk in a
bank in Suffolk, having in very early life bnried his
■.ssS^-t
80 ACTHOM AND ORIOlN Or HYMNS.
yoang and only wife. His literary' character ban been
well described l)r his daughter, who was also bis bio-
grapher : — " He was not learned, — in language, science,
or philosophy. Nor did he care for the loftiest kind of
poetry, ^he heroics,' as ho called it. His favorite au-
thors were those who dealt most in humor, good sense,
domestic feeling, and pastoral feeling." The hymn,—
' " Th« Wktera of B«tiiMda't pool^"
was originally written for a fViend greatly oppressed
with sorrow.
We are tempted here to quote firom one of Barton's
own letters a scene which occurred at the Aineral of a
young lady which he attended in 1841. ' "When/ the
usual service was ended, the clergyman stated that it
was the wish of the deceased, or rather of her relatives,
that a little hymn which had ever been a great ikvor-
ite of hers should be sung on this occasion, and he had
much pleasure in complying with the request. After a
few minutes, way was made for the children of the
village school, which this estimable girl had almost
made and managed, to come up to the graveside, —
about twenty or twenty-five little things, with eyes
and cheeks red with crying. I thought they could
never have found tongues, poor things! but, once set
off, they sung like a little band of cherubs. What
added to the effect of it, to me, was that it was a little
almost-forgotten hymn of my own, written yean ago,
which no one present, but myself, was at all aware of"
KIT. OIIKIROPHKB •ATTT. 81
Vr. Barton died in 1849. One of the English peri-
odioalB has said, "Mr. Barton's style i*>well suited to
devotional poetry. It has great swectncsa and pathos,
accompanied with no small degree of power, which well
qnalify it for the expression of the higher and purer
feelings of the heart."
' REV. CHRISTOPHER BAVtY.
"SwiKT the momenli, riek in bleuing,"
was written by the Rev. Christopher Batty, a minister
among the Inghamites, a small sect of the early Method-
ists. He was a sealons, laborious, and disinterested
Christian, and was so much esteemed by a family
named Green, in the city of York, England, that Mr.
Green told him that, as he had, under God, led his
daughter to Christ, and as she had been removed firom
earth, he intended to leave him the whole of his pro-
perty ; but Mr. Batty positively reftised to accept of it.
While an itinerating minister, Mr. Batty, his two bro-
thers, — who were also ministers, — and their friends were
exposed to much persecution. At Gisbum, in Yorkshire,
they were interrupted in their religious meeting by the
onrate of the parish, heading a large mob, entering the
place whei« they were assembled for worship; but.
amidst all opposition, there and elsewhere the word of
the Lord had free course and was glorified. Dr. Stevens
tells OB that Mr. Batty often accompanied the- Weeleyp
tt AOTHOSa AMD OUOIN Or BTMRS.
i
.. . ,: J
io their tours fbr preaching, and stood with them like
" » ^ood Boldier of Jesas Christ."
REV. RICHARD BAXTER.
Or this eminent minister of Christ we need not say
mnch, as the man must indeed be ignorant who knows
not the author of " The Sainfa Sett," and his other
works, which could not be printed in less than sixty
octavo volumes. lie made no pretensions to poetical
talent; but we should pity the want of taste on the
part of the reader who did not highly appreciate the
hymn, in the Rev. Hemrt Ward Bucbir'b "Plymouth
CoUectim,"—
"Chriit Ic«da me through no darker rooms,"
and several others to bo found scattered through his pon*
derous and invaluable volumes. He was born in 1616,
was ejected from the Church of England by the Act of -i.
Uniformity, in 1662, and, ailer enduring great persecu-
tion, died " in great peace and joy" in 1691. When Or.
Samuel Johnson was asked by Boswell which of Baz-
ter's works he should read, ho wisely replied, "Bead
them all : they are all good."
Ifontgomery gives us a somewhat glowing de8crip>
tion of Baxter's hymns and poetry, and tells us that he
also left, fliUy prepared for the press, an entire poetical
version of the Psalms of David, with other hymns,
which were published in 1692 By hia Mend Matthew
•t
i'4.-'x^A
■^^l- ■■■ ■■';. '• '■';•"■■.;' ■?-• ■•■■■ ;•■ '■■-' ■'.■•'■; /■ ■ . ', - ■"->?
ftlV. BKMJAMIN BKDMMB. 88
Sylrester. Hin pootioal works hav« been most cherished
by those who have read them with most attention.
REV. BENJAMIN BEDDOME.
Most of our hymn-books contain a large number of
compositions by the Bev. Benjamin Beddome, a man
of considerable talents and high attainments, but who
spent the far greater portion of a long life in the seel a-
■ion of a small country village. He was the son of a
Baptist minister, was called by divine grace at the age
of twenty, and baptized by the Bev. Samuel Wilson, of
London, about two years afterward. He visited Bour-
ton-on-the-Water in 1748, and was prevailed on to ac-
cept a call to the pastorate, three years afterward. In
1749 he suffered a very severe illness, and on his re-
covery wrote a hymn which he afterward replaced by
one commencing, —
" If I muit die, oh, let me di*
Truating in Jeiut' blood,—
That blood which hath atoDemeBt mad*
And reconcile! to Ood." -
Not long after his recovery he was earnestly entreated
to succeed Mr. Wilson, his pastor in London. So deter-
mined were this church to obtain him that, after sending
call aftel^ call in vain, they deputed one of their number
to urge the matter with him. This was discovered by
a poor man, a member of his church, to whom the care
of the gentleman's horse bad been intrusted; and hav-
l''M
M ADTBOU AMD OUOIM Of HTMIII.
ing, with excited feelings, breaglit the hone to Mr. fied-
dome'a door, the poor man said to the Londoner, " Bob-
bers of oharches are the worst of robbers," and at once
•et the horse fVee to take his own coarse. Mr. Bed-
dome's final reply was, " I would raUier honor God in
a station eren mnoh inferior to that in which he haa
placed me, than intrude myself into a higher without
his direction," and remained in his pastorate at fiourton
till his death.
That Mr. Beddome's attachment to Bonrton was eariy
as well as deep, may be seen fVom some lines he wrota
about 1742, entitled " The Wish :—
" LoTd, in my Mul impUat thy few : .
IM tiAth, tad hop*, and lor* ba lh«r*.
Ptmctt* me from prerkiling tIm
When 8«Ub UmpU or lull entiM.
Of frieDdship'e tweeU may I parUke,
Nor be forsaken, or fonake.
Let moderate plenty crown my board, «
And Ood for all be itUI adored.
Let the oompanion of my yoath
Be one of tnnooenee and truth :
Let modeat ehami adon her Am*,
And five her thy Mperlor graee :
By heaTenly ait trit make her thine.
Then make her willing to be mine.
My dwelUng-plaee let Bootton be,
Aad let me Ute, and Ut* to thee."
It waa not, however, till 1749 that he entered tha
marriage^tate, which was to an excellent young lady,
daughter of one of his deacons, who was for thirty4bar
years his beloyed companion.
UV. BUMAmM BBDDOMB. H
Mr. B«ddome't miniatrationa rvUioed to lh« very but
•11 their livelineu and attractions, improved by the in-
eieaaed lolemiiity and wisdom of age. His earnest
desire that ho might not be long laid aside from his
beloved employment was ftiUy gratified ; for, having da-
ring his infirmities been carried to the honse of God, he
preached sitting, and wm only confined to his house
one Lord's day. Only an hour biofore hyi death he was
foond composing a hymn, of whicli he wrote, —
" Ood of my Ufe and of my oboiw,
Bhmll I BO longer hear thjr toIo* ?
Oh, lot the Source of Joy dWine
With rapture flU thia heart of mine.
" Thou openedat Jonah'a priaon-doora,—
Be pleaaed, Lord, to open oura :
, Then will we to the world proclaim
The varioua honora of thy name."
This excellent man fell asleep in Jeans, September 8,
1795, in the seventy-ninth year of hia age, having labored
at Bourton fifty-two years. In the year 1818 a volum^
of hia hymna waa published, with a abort bat beantiftil
preface by the late eloquent Bobert Hall, who saya,
" The man of taate will be gratified with the beaatifhl
and original thonghta which many of them exhibit,
. while the experimental Christian will often perceive the
most sweet movements of his soul strikingly delineated,
and sentiments portrayed which will find their echo in
every heart."
\
.11 ^UTBOM AMD OaiOlM Off ■TIIMS.
REV. CHARLES BEECHER.
Tail gentlenuui ia on« of the thirteen children of the
▼enermble Dr. Ljrman Beecher, and ia klao the brother
of Dr. Edward and Ilenry Ward Baeoher, and of Hra.
Beecher Stowe. No member of that fkmilj can bo with-
out talent. We beliere that Mr. Beecher ranki with the
Ciongregationaliats ; bat his pabllcations would indicate
that he is a verj bold and independent thinker.
BERNARD.
Taia name ia nanally printed with the prefix St., t»
having been given him by the Bomiah Church. He
lived in the tenth century, and waa the author of a
Latin hymn conaiating of nearly two hundred linea.
Part* of it have been tranalated and form at least
three hymns in our hooka. One of theee begina, —
>• Jawu, th« Ttrjr thoaght (tf UiM."
The late Dr. Bjrrom^ of Haneheater, translated another
portion ; and it has been aaid that John Newton'a beauti-
fiU hjrmn, —
•• H«w awMt tk« MUM ef Jmm wMiBdi t"
waa alao founded on that of Bernard. Nor can it aoaroely
bf doubted that, before Dr. Doddridge wrote, —
" Jwna, I loT« thj ekarmiag MBw,"
he bad read Uie oompoaitio& of Bernard.
UT. JOBS BIBKIOeB. 17
OiM of the most bMotiAil hymns of GerhanI wm
clearly raggeated alao by Bernard'* " Hymm to CKriit m
tA« Crott," a translation of which may be found in a
recent English publication, " The Voice of Chrutian Lift
in 8tmg." We refer to the hymn translated by Wesley
and found in the old Methodist hymn4x>oks as well aa
the one published by the Moravian Brethren : —
"0 hMd M ftiU of bruitM."
REV. JOHN BERRIDGE.
Thibi are few old Christians who are unacquainted
with the name of the Bev. John Berridge, one of the
most sncoessfU preachenteonnected with the reTival of
religion oommenoed by. t^ie Bev. Messrs. Whitefield and
Wesley, and author of soTeral hymns in our books in-
tended for the service of the sanctuary. He was a man
of great learning and wit, but still more eminent as an
earnest and successAil minister of Christ. Some of the
most important events of his history may be learned
fVom his epitaph, written, with the exception of the laat
date, by himself: — « Here lie the remains of John Ber-
ridge, the Vicar of Bverton, and an itinerant servant of
Jesus Christ, who loved his Master and his work j and,
after running on his errands for many years, was caught
up to wait on him above. Beader, art thou bom again ?
No salvation without a new birth. I was bom in sin
February, 1716, remained ignorant of my fhllen stat«
%fm
ADTHOM AND OEIOm OV BTMNI.
' till 1780, lived proudly on fiiith and works for talTfttion
till 1754, waa admitted to Everton vicarage 1755, fled to
Jesu for reAige 1755, fell asleep in Jesus January 22,
11798."
When this eminent clergyman had become ftilly ao-
qnainted with the value of immortal souls and with the
importance of salvation by the work of the Lord Jesus,
he felt the vast import of his ordination-charge, "6o
and seek Christ's sheep wherever thou canst find them ;"
and, taking a circuit of five or six counties, he preached
upon an average ten or twelve sermoni* and fVeqaently
rode a hundred miles a week. In this course he per-
severed for more than twenty years. Many eztraor.
dinaiy anecdotes are told of his success, which was
very great. A very Urge man once went to hear him,
and placed himself immediately before the pulpit with
the All! design of interrupting him, and for that purpose
made various strange gestioulationa and used many
contemptuous expressions. Not at all intimidated, the
preacher addressed him personally in so powerftal a
manner that he fell down in the pew in a most violent
perspiration. Ailer the service had dosed, he said, " I
came to conftise this good man ; bat he has convinced me
that I am indeed a lost sinner." This man lived an or-
nament to the gospel and died happy in Jesus. . At
another time, while he was standing npon a table and
preaching in the open air to a great mnltitude, two men
got under the table with the design of o\'ertaming it;
bat the word of Ood so powerftally impressed their
UV. JOBil BBUUNU. 89
be«rta that they oonld not acoompliah their pnrpoM,
' and, after hie sermon was ended, they confessed, with
strong feelings of shame, what they had intended to
do. Yeiy many &ots might be told of the same general
character.
Other anecdotes, of an essentially different kind, are
also related concerning him. Soon after he had com-
menced his annual visits to London, a lady travelled fW>m
that city to Everton to solicit his hand in marriage, as-
soring him that the Lord had revealed it to her that she
was to become his wife. He was not a little surprised at
' her application and for such a purpose. He paused for
a few moments, and then replied, " Madam, if the Lord
had revealed it to yon that yon are to be my wife, surely
he would also have revealed it to me that I was designed
to be your husband; but, as no such revelation has been
made to me, I cannot comply with your wishes." Of
coarse the wealthy lady went away greatly disappointed.
Berridge never married.
The following lines were written by this worthy man
and posted on his clock : —
•• Han ray nHter bids ma tUad
Aad mark th* Ub* wiUt ttithtai hud :
WbM is hU will i* my delight,—
To UH the honn hj dajr and Bi|)kt.
Muter, b* wIm, and Itarn of a*
To Mrr* Uiy Ood aa I lanra tbaa."
When age and its infirmities came on, he met them
with unabated oheerftilnees. He wrote, "My ears ars
AVTBOU AITD OBiaiR OF BTMn.
now lo dall they are not fit ibr converMtion, and mj
eyes are so weak I can read but little and write loM.
Old Adam, who ia the devil's darling, sometimes whia-
pers in my ears, < What will yon do if yon become deaf
and blind?' I tell him I mutt think the more and pray
the more, yea, and thank the Lord for eyes and ears
ei^oyed till I was seventy, and for the prospect of •
better pair of eyes and ears when these are gone." In
his seventy-sixth year he was seen to be near his end,
and his curate said to him, " JesifB will soon call yon up
higher." His reply was, "Ay, ay, ay; higher, higher,
higher I" His hymn-book " ZUm't Songt" was published
in the year 1785.
REV. G. W. BETHUNE, D.D.
Ahthn contained in the "Piarith Plalnu and ffj/mnt,"
and which we think is destined to be much more widely
known than it is at present, had a pleasant origin. It
begins,— •
" Oh, fbr the htppy hour,"
and its subject is that of prayer for a revival of religion.
Its author, the Rev. Dr. Bethone, of New York, went
to his church a few minutes before the time of a devo-
tional meeting, and while waiting for the arrival of his
people, with a heart Aiil of his subject, he took hia
pencil and on a loose scrap of pnper poured out feel-
ings which must meet a response in every Christian
heart, and which will doubtless guide the prayen and
mtV. THOMAI aLACKLbCK, ».». •!
pnitM of Tery many long after their writer haa Joined
the worship of the Jerusalem above.
To this gentleman the Baptists are indebted for one
of the very best of their denominational hymns,—
" W* eooM t« tb« fonnUin, w* lUad bj lb* Wftv*,"
which was written at the special request of the Ber. J.
8. Holme, editor of the " Baptist Hymn and Tune Book."
We may add here that Dr. Bethune was bom in 1805,
and that his ministry seems to hare received its cha-
racter fh>m the dying words of his fkther, addressed to
him and his brother-in-law, also in the ministry, " My
•ens, preach the gospel. Tell dying sinners of a Sa-
viour. All the rest is but folly."
REV. THOMAS BLACKLOCK, D.D.
This reroaricable man, author of the well-known and
truly grand hymn, —
" Com*, my loul, in taorad Isyt,"
WW the child of English parents, but bom at Annan, ia
Scotland, in 1721. When only six months old, he lost
his sight by smallpox, and suffered total blindness
during his life of seventy years, dying in 1791. Not-
withstanding this deprivation, he acquired a rei^otable
knowledge of Greek, Latin, French, Italian, and theo-
logy, and became a considerable author. He was li-
eensed to preach in the Church of Scotland, and created
N I AUTnoM AND oaioiif or htmns.
D.D. by th« Univertitjr of Ab«rd«eii in 1756. In 1781
h* married » lady adminblj adapted to promote hia
happineea. One of bia fMeoda lay*, " I bare known bim
to dictate from thirty to forty Tereea aa fkat aa I coald
write them ; bat, the moment bo was at a loas for verae
I or a rhyme to hia liking, be stopped altogether, anjji
ooald very seldom be induced to flnisb what he had
began with so much ardor." The Rev. Joseph Spence,
Profesaor of Poetry at the University of Oxford, saya,
*'He never ooold dictate till be stood up; and, aa bia
blindness made walking abont without assistance incon-
venient or dangerous to him, be fell insensibly into a
vibratory sort of motion with his body, which inoreased
as bo warmed with bis snbject and was pleased with the
conception of bis mind." And Burke says, in his " St^
lime and Beautiful," " Few men blessed with the most
perfect sight can describe visual objecta with more spirit
and juatneaa than this blind man."
REV. JAMES BODEN.
This ezoellent Congregational minister, the anthor of
the well-known hymn, —
"T* dylag SMW of »••."
was bom in the city of Chester, Enghuid, in 1757, ia
the vary house in which the eminent commentator MaU
thaw Heni7 once resided. In the garden io which Jamaa
\
■H'>!
alT. ■OKATtVI MHAl, D.D. N
Boden flnt engsgvd in ohildiih iporte wm an alcoTe or
Munm«r-hoaM, in whioh it !• Mid a Urg« part of Henry's
bMatiAil Commantary waa written; and it was thonglit
by hii fVienda that the aaaociation had no small influence
on the mind of young Boden, who at the age of lixteen
profeMed fkith in Chriat Having panned the naaal
preparatory atadies for the minietry at Homerton Col-
lege, in 1796, after laboring elsewhere, he settled in the
popoloos town of Bbeffleld, where he preached three
times on every Sabbath till nearly seventy years of age.
In 1889 he resigned his charge, and in 1841 was removed
flrom earth, in his eighty-fifth ynr, having been sikty-
nloe years a member of the Cbarch on earth.
The state of bis mind in his last iUneas was thatb of
sweet serenity and peaoe. A fliend remarking that the
■nil shone very beantiAilly, he replied, with delightftal
emphasis, —
"H« ia mj Sub, though h* AtrbMr to ihia* t
I dwoH fgnrer ao hi* hosrt, fororw ho ob ■IMi'*
REV. HORATIUS BONAR, D.D. .
Or this gentleman, several of whose beaattflil compo-
iritions ars gradnally coming into oar books, we do not
know very maoh. He is a native of Scotland, and was
bom aboat the year 1810. He is a prominent clergy-
man of the Free Church of his native land, and has
•Irsady pablished several beaatifttl theological volumes,
94 AonoH AMD ouaiH or BTiiiit.
which KN iooreMing in their luwftilnsM and popoUritj.
We hope that many yew* of niooeM swait hin.
We believe that the wife of Dr. Bonar ii aiater to the
late very exoellent Mary JLnindie DaaoaQ,
REV. T. E. BOND, M.D.
Tu beantifU hymn of two rtnta, — '
•< PMhw of ipirUi, h««r our pr«ytr,"
""N^aa
t" ■ -Ofeti
written by Dr. Thomaa B. Bond, an exoellent
hodiit Bpiaoopal clergyman of oar own country.
I The hymn ia aimply an extract from a long poem pre-
pared by ita author aome yean ago for a periodical
I' pobliahed in Baltimore.
i [ ,. Thia worthy man, having paaaod the age of three-aoore
I, and ten, died io March, 1856. Many of hia latter years
I''. were devoted to the aerviee of hia denomination by the
I < ' . agency of the preaa, being an editor of one of their newa-
I ; ptp"*- -^n intimate friend aaya oft him, " A warmer
& heart we never knew, nor one more finely tnned to aym^
W^ paihy, — more abounding in that charity which never
li^^' . fcUetli. With calm oompoaure, when hia work waa
done ai(d the time of hia departure waa at hand, ha
awaited hia call, and haa left ua the aatisfhctory aa-
•aranoe that, although we have one Iom with whom to
^{ take aweet oounael on earth; we have one more friend ia
heaven." ' '
JOHN BOWDLER.
Th« hjnnn, —
* "CUldrra of Qod, who, fklBt ud ilov,"
and one or two others OBod in our chnrchea, were writ*
t«n by K young Englisli barriator, who published two
octavo volumes in prose and verse, in 1818, and died in
early life, leaving behind him a fragrant reputation. In
many respects he bore a resemblance to the amiable
Henry Kirke White.
JOHN BOWRINO, LL.D.
m
Thm gentleman, most remarkably distinguished for
the acquirement of languages, is an Englishman, bom in
1792. He baa been eminent as a philologist, as a politi-
cal writer, for the occupancy of various political offloes,
and aa a poet. He is a member of the Unitarian body,
— though this would not be inferred ilrom some of hia
hymns, especially the one, —
•• U Ui* «raM of Chtitt 1 ibHry."
FREDERIKA BREMER.
Mms BuMn, as is well known, is a foreigner, and has
never produced any work in the English language. Her
'•»
06 ADTBOBS AND OBIUIM Of UTHMS.
prodaotionB »re ohlefly novela and Ules, — though the hM
written a very readable narrative of her visit to thia
ooantry. Her hjmna are few in number, but pleasing
io their character.
REV.JEHOIADA BREWER.
Wi have, in several of our books, a hymn,—
" Bail I MTerdiB lore, whioh llrtl began,"
which ii a favorite in many of our prayer-meetings. It
was almost the only hymn written by the late Bev.
Jehoiada Brewer, who was bom in Wales in 1762,
and died as a Congregational minister in Birmingham
in 1817. He was a profound theologian, a popular
preacher, and an earnest man. He expressed an ardent
wish, in his dying hours, that no memoir of him should*
be published: but this wish was not regarded; for ia
the tdUowing year the editors of a new London period*
ical met a general demand by printing a very able ar>-
tide concerning him. The original of the hynm to
whioh we- have referred contains nine vemes. We re-
member his person and character with great interest,
and can never forget the impressive manner in which
he read hymns ftt>m the pulpit, or the tone and manner
in whioh he would quote the remark of Dr. John Owen,
"A man is before Ood what he is in the closet, and no
morer
^m:
raon h. b»owr. 9t
REV. JOHN NEWTON BROWN, D.D.
A TUT few of the hyuBs written by tbie gentleam
•re to be fowid in ow booki. Ue ia Attaohed to the
Baptist body, wm bom in New London, Conn., in 180t,
nnd gradoated at Hadiaoa Univereity, at tb^ age of
twenty yeart. He baa had charge of two or three
flharches; bnt ill health liaa long einoe compelled him to
give «p the paatorata. Dr. Brows baa for many yean
paat been devoted to Chrietian literature, edUing, among
other valnable worke, " The Snc^dopedia of Bdigifu
Knowledge."
PHCEBE H. BJIOWN.
Thi writer of the beantiAil hymn in moat of ow re>
oent coUeotions beginning, — ^
" I loTt to ttMU a wUl* •wv."
wai • Christian female obliged to struggle hard to sq^
port a large &mUy. She was in the habit, after the to&s
of the day were over, of retiring to » q[aiet and ahady
retreat,—
" Whan MB« bat CM WH BMr,"
for prayer. Her regular visits to this ppot draw the
attention of a neigbboring la47 "^ wealth apd inflaence,
who, in the preeenoe (tfiothen, oensQred her, intimating
that, instead of rambUng o«t in the eveniog, she bad
batter be at homa with her children. Grieved thikt bsr
.;; ni •
A'
ft
AUTQOR8 AND ORIQIN OF HTMNg.
honr** commimion with Gkxl afler tbo exhantiting labon
of the day shonld be constmed into the neglect of her
fkmily, she sat down that evening with a babe in her
arma, arid wrote her " Apology for her Midnight Ramhka."
When Dr. Nettleton waa preparing hia collection of
hymns, a friend, looking over her maniucripts, found
this gem, and obtained its insertion.
We believe that the Bev. S. R Brown, the first Ameri>
can missionary to Japan, is a son of the lady of whom
we have been writing. He is connected with the Dutch
Beformed Church, and has already spent some yean in
missionary labors.
REV. SIMON BROWNE.
*
Th« well-known hymn, —
" Come, grsoioua Spirit, hMTenly Dove,"
was written by the Bev. Simon Browne, who was bom in
1680, began to preach before he was twenty, was soon
after settled over a large congregation in Portsmouth,
and in 1716 removed to the Independent Church in the
Old Jewry, London.
When Mr. Brown had been in London about seven
years, he waa attacked by a very singular malady, which
n never left him through lifb. He imagined that Ood,
\tj a singular instance of his power, had/ in a gradual
mAnner, annihilated his thinking powers, and utteriy
dlirwrted him of conadonsnoas. Nothing grieved him
EKV. UMOIf BKOWNE. W
more th»a that ho could not persuade others to think
of him as he thought of himself. Several causes haye
been assigned as the origin of his diseas^— one of which
was, that once, when on a journey with a fHend, thej
were attacked by a highwayman with loaded pistols.
Mr. Browne, being a strong man, disarmed him, seized
him by the collar, and they both fell to the ground. Mr.
Browne was uppermost, and kept the man down while
bis fHend ran for assistance. When that assistance ai^
rived, the man was dead. From that sad hour Mr.
Browne became a prey to the awful imagination which
ever after haunted him. At the beginning of the disease
be had Avqnent propensities to destroy himself; but
later in life ho became more calm. ]^en while in this
state of mind ho wrote an able Defence of Christianity,
and several other books, yet still maintained that he had
no power to think. He died, very greatly respected, at
the close of 1782.
,,We may add to this sketch the fkct that the Dedica-
tion to Browne's " Defence 0/ Christianity" is to be fonnd,
as a most remarkable curiosity, nnder his name, in " 7^
Encydopedia Britannica." In some respects his mental
delusion was more extraordinary than that of Cowper ;
.yet, singular as the fkct may seem, in none of his pro-
ductions can there be found any thing exceptionable;
so that Toplady very properly said of him that, " In-
stead of having no soul, he wrote, and reasoned, and
prayed as if he had two."
Since writing the above, we have read Mr. Milner's
ttOi AUTBOU AXD OKiaiX or BTMNB.
very able volnme of " TV Life, Timet, and Oomtpond-
enee of Dr. Watts," from which we learn that, in a paper
yet existing in the handwriting of that eminent man, it
ia stated that, after Browne became thus lamentably
diseased, he not only wrote the production to which wa
have already referred, in opposition to tDoUins and Wool-
ston, bnV«lso published a work on the Trinity, compiled
a Dictionary, and prepared the Expositibn on the First
Epistle to the Corinthians in the continoation of Mat-
thew Henry's great work.
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING.
This lady, who haa several hymns in our books, d»>
servedly occupies a high place in English poetical litera-
tim. Her first publication was issued in her maideit
name of Barrett, in 1838, being " The Seraphim, and other
Poemt." Several other BngUsh works have ainoe pro-
ceeded from her pen, as well as one or two claatieal
translations. What Dr. G. W. Bethane aaya of her
poetry in general appears to us to apply especially to
her hymu.: — <'Mn. Browning is singularly bold and
adventurous. Her wing oairiea her, without fldtering
at their obscurity, into the cloud and the mist, where
not seldom we &tl to follow her, bnt are tempted, while
we admire the honesty of her enthusiasm, to believe that
she nttera what she herself has bnt dimly perceived. If udt
Of this, however, arises from her disdain of careftalneas."
TOHM H. BKTAMT. It^l
In euiy lif* MIm Barrett was afflicted with the rap-
tore of a blood-Teasel on the Innga, and the oonaequenoea
fbr several years were threatening. Partially recover-
ing her health, in 1847 she was married to Mr. Brown-
ing, and still pnrsaes the study and translation of Greek
works and the production of beaatiibl poetry.
JOHN H. BRYANT.
This gentleman, a native of Cummington, Mass., and
brother of William C. Biyant, was bom in 1807. At
nineteen he wrote a poem, "My Natmi Village" which
was published in the " United States Review and Literary
Oazette," of which his brother was then one of the
editors. He removed, some years since, to cultivate the
■oil of Illinois. His poetical productions fW>m time to
time continue to grace our periodicals. We are not
aware of the existence of many of his hymns ; but one
or two on Liberty as a Birthright of Man are to be
found in some of our books. The late Dr. BuAis W.
Oriswold says of him, " He is a lover of nature, and
describes minutely and effectively. To him the wind and
the streams are ever musical, and the forests and the
prairies clothed with beauty. His versification is easy
and correct; and his writings show him to be a man of
refined taste and kindly feelings, and to have a min4
stored with the best learning."
lot AUTHOU AMD OUQIM Or HTMMB.
WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. , )
Tan gentlenua has Aurnished Mvenl bymiia to MMn*
of our books; nor can this be matter of Borprise, aa be
in one of tbe most eminent of our poets, tbougb in oar
Judgment be does not excel in lyrical compoaition. He
was bom at Cammington, Haas., in 1707, gradnated at
Williama College in 1812, and engaged in tbe profession
of tbe law. In 1827 be entered on bis duties as editor
of tbe New York Evening Poet, — an office be bas ever
•inoe filled.
Several years ago a beantifbl sketcb of bis genina ap-
peared in one of oar periodicals ; and, tboagh we fear
tbe eeloring of its religiouM obaraoter is too bigb, we will
copy a abort extract : — « No otber living poet bas balf
bis imagination or balf bis compressed energy of con-
ception and execution. And over all and tbroagb all
bis poetry, its lift and soal, glows and livaa a spirit of
meditation and reflection, tbe very incarnation of trutb
and goodness. Religion, pare and ondefiled, ia the ele-
ment of bis genias and tbe lift of bis poetry."
WILLIAM BUDDEN.
TMa bymn, —
"CMM,ltt«WT«i*wJ«lB,'* '
was wrfttap Ij |Cr. William Bodden, and was firat
pabli^ie^, irlth tbp sigpntfffv of W. B., in tbe London
■i
EIT. W. M. BUMTINa. lOS
"Eeangelieal Magazine" for 1796, entitled "A Ufwun
compoted for the Uie of the Ckmgregation and Sundajf-
School Children Monging to the Sev. Mr. AMumer'a
Meeting, Took, Doreet."
REV. W. M. BUNTING.
This gentltiakii, the anthor of the hymn, —
•• My Sablwtk lou may all haT« Mt,"
and MTeral others, ia the eldest son of the late eminent
Dr. Jabei Banting, one of the moat distinguished of the
Wesleyan Methodist preachers in England. The son is
qnite as remarkable as his fttber for independence of
mind, for a dear exhibition of scriptoral troth, and for
• benevolent expenditnre of the ample wealth which -
Ood has pUced in his hands. He is tall and thin, of
delicate, almost sickly appearance, and flu- firom having
a robost constitution. He has a fine, benevolent coun-
tenance, a noble, commanding forehead, bare of hair
to a considerable elevation, and is apparently quite unable
to endure the fatigues of his calling. He is, moreover,
a man of fine catholic spirit, and, as we know from ex-
perience, warm in hia friendships. He has not w|itten
mnch beside hymns, — and many of these have been pub-
lished anonymously ; but nearly all of them are perfect '
gems, and are entirely f^ from the spirit of secta*
rianism.
>fj«
104 ^ AUTBOM AND OUOIN OF HTUMS.
A
REV. JOHN BUNYAN.
" 6u>Mova John," it moat be oonfesaed, had few talenU
of an eminent hymn-writer, though we aoapect he had
more than he has Uioaliy received credit for. Hia com>
poaitiona of thia order, we admit, are not to be foand
" in the booka." There ia, however, a abort compoaition
in the aecond part of hia immortal " Progret^' which hiM
very long been tiaed in aome of the Baptiat chorches in
England at the admiaaion of mcmbora, aolnetimea with
very happy effect. If the reader baa not the volume at ,
hand, he will be ploaaed to aeo it tranacribed : —
"L«t tk« Ifort BlMMd b* mj guid*.
If it't hia bleiMd will,
Up to hit (Ate, into hii fold.
Up to hia holj hUL
. •' Aadhthlai Barer anffor IM -
To fwarra or ton aaido
From hia fro* graoo and holy waja,
Whato'ar ahall me botide.
' " Aad let him gmther those of mine
' That I haTO left behind :
Iiord, make them prsy th«7 may be tUae,
mth aU their heart and mUd."
REV. GEORGE BURDER.
Thx well-known hymn,—
" Lord, diamiaa ua with thy bleaaiai,"
waa written by the Bev. George Border, who waa bom
in Ijondon in 1752, and die<l paator of a Congregational
Manor bveoim. 105
Chnrch in thftt city in 1882. He wm appilnticed to
an engravor, bat, having a literary taste, he learned
abort-hand, and so reported the last sermons delivered
in London by the Bev. George Whitefield. He was on>
dained at twenty-five, and was pastor successively in
Lancaster, Coventry, and London. He was among the
ibanders of the Beligioas Tract Society and the London
Missionary Society, to the latter of which he was for
many years the grataitoos secretary. He was also for
many years the editor of the " Evangelical Magazine," as
well as the pastor of a church. The hymn to which we
have referred was first issued in a supplement to Dr.
Watts's Psalms and Hymns, which Mr. Burder published
about the commencement of this century.
BISHOP BURGESS.
This eminent scholar, the author of several of our
most evangelical hymns, was bom at Providence, R.I.,
in 1809, and graduated at Brown University ; and, after
being some time a tutor in that university, he went to
Europe, and studied at Gdttingen, Bonn, and Berlin.
After holding the rectorship of Christ Ghnroh, Hartford,
Conn., for thirteen j lars, he was in 1847 consecrated
Bishop of Maine, and Boctor of Gardiner, in that State.
. Among his principal works are " Uu Book of Ptalms in
Bn^ish Vene," and " Paget from the EeeUsiastical J9t»-
torif of New England."
109 AUTH<»a AMD OBIQIM Of HTMNS. ;^'
REV. RICHARD BURNHAM.
This gentleman, the author of a hjmn uied in man/
of oar conference and prayer meetings, —
*' Jwoa, thoa art tli« iinn«r'i fHand,"
waa bom in 1749, and in 1780 he became paator of •
Baptist church in London, and ultimately settled with
another church, of the sam^denomination, in Orafton
Street in that city, where, after about thirty years' labor,
he died in 1810. His life was a checkered scene of popu-
larity and. trials; but his biographer telk us he "died in
peace."
In the preface to his hymn-book, Mr. Bumham says
to the members of his church, "Tour pastor is willing
to o^n that he is the unworthieet of the unworthy;
yet, unworthy as he is, he humbly trusts, through rich
grace, he has in some measure found that the dear
bosom of the atoning Lamb is the abiding-place of his
immortal souL"
ROBERT BURNS.
Wk b*ve a very few hymns from the pen of this gifted
man in some of our books;'and bat very few did he writ*
suitable for the holy purpose of praising God. We have
no disposition to depreciate his extraordinary talents,
bat he never even laid claim to a single moral qualifica-
tion for a poet of Ood's sanctuary. We most love the
THOMAS CAMPBELL. . 107
hjiniM with the tpirita of #h6*e anthon we can hold
fellowship M we sing the oTeiflowing* of their aouli.
Chamben, in his "Life of Burnt," says, "It is a re-
markable fhot that the mass of the poetry which has
given this extraordinary man his principal ikme burst
from him in a oompanftively small space of time,— cer-
tainly not exceeding fifteen months. It began to flow
of a sadden, and it ran in one impetnoas, brilliant stream,
till it seemed to have become, comparatively speaking,
exhansted."
Alas that of this man his first biographer and most
charitable iHend was compelled to write, « Only a few
months from his death he would proceed from a sick-
room to dine at a tavern, return home about three
o'clock in a vtiiy cold morning, benumbed and intoxi-
cated, and by that process he hastened or developed the
disease which laid him in his grave." He knew only the
poetry of religion.
THOMAS CAMPBELL,
Tpi author of two or three hymns, including, —
'• Wkw Jordan kmh«d hii waton itUl,"
''^•mta the son of a merchant in Glasgow, where he was
bom in 1777. In 1798 he published his " PUasura of
Bopti' for the oopyrigfat of which he reoeived twenty
pounds; bat when the woric aoquired popularity his
publisher generously paid him fifty pounds on each edi-
108 AtlTBOM AMD (HUQIN Of BTHM.
tion. ' Hia " Gertmde of Wyoming," " Speeiment of Brituh
Poet$," and Mveral prose worka, followed eKoh other
in due coarse, and commanded high respect for their
correctness and beaaty. Mr. Campbell was often called
on by visitors from the United States, who admired his
exact and beantiiU description of oar own Wyoming
Valley. He died at Boalogne in 1844. Mr. Campbell
did not, we believe, profess evangelical religion.
REV. JOHN CAWOOD.
This evangelical cLsigjrman of the Church of England
was educated at St John's Hall, in the University 'of Ox-
ford, after which he became Perpetual Curate at Bewdley.
Besides his hymns, ho has published " On tkt Diaaentinij
Oontroverty," and three volumes of sermons, which Biok-
enteth describes as "forcible, impressive, and evan-
gelical"
REV. RICHARD CECIL.
Wi have in some of our books a short hymn begin-
ning,—
. "CMMh«NlM|«rto<M«iam«,"
which was written by the Bev. Biohard Cecil, once en-
nte to the Bev. John Newton, of London, and after-
ward the predecessor of Dr. Wilson, the late Bishop of
TBOIUI VOM OKLAHO. 100
CaloBtU, M minitter of St. John's Chapel, Bedford Bow,
aleo in London. The whole hymn, extending to seven
or eight renes, wm written on the death of an influt at
thd dawn of the day, the motto being the language of
the angel wrestling with Jaoob, "Let me go, for the day
breaketii."
Mr. Cecil was bom in London in 1748, and died in
1810. He was a highly-respectable anthor, bat shone
most brightly in the palpit. His style of preaching
partook largely of originality and pious feeling. His
, ideas, like the rays of the son, carried their own light
with them. Images and illastrations were at his com-
mand, and rendered his discourses not only instruotire
bat fiuwinating. They were living pictures.
THOMAS VON CELANO.
Tu celebrated Latin hymn " Dia Iraf' was written
in the thirteenth century by Thomas Yon Celano, a
Minorite. It has very often been translated into the
Boglish language, first by the old poet Crasbaw soon
after his secession firom the Protestant Choroh, and since
then by not lees than seventy others,- some of whose
▼ersioas are notieed at great length by Dr. W. R Wil-
liams in his valiable volame of " Miteellanm."' We are
not aware, however, of any version of this hymn in
oar oommonly-uaed hymn-books except the greatly^xtn-
densed one by Sir Walter Scott, —
IS
119 ADTBOBB AlTD OEIOIR OF HTMNB.
<• Tluit lUjr of wnth, (hat dfMMlAU day," tto.,
which his son-in-Uw and biographer, Mr. Lookhart, says
Was oft«n on his lipis daring his last sickness.
Tholuckf the distinguished German preacher, bad once
preached in the XTniversity choroh on the repentance
and pardon of the thief on the cross ; and of that oo-
oasion, in a note to his printed sermon, the preacher
says, "This is the second time that this hymn of the
University church-service has been sung to the very
ezoeUent tone composed by the music-director, Mr. Naa*.
The impression, especially that which was made by the
lust words as sung by the University choir alone, will
be forgotten by no one." Lord Boscommon, it is said,
died while repeating with great energy and devotion
two lines of his own translation of this remarkable
hymn, —
" Uf Qoi, mj Fftthar and my Frimd,
I Do Bot fonoko bo in my OMd."
AndfDr. Park, of Andover, tells ns of a clergyman of
oar own country who could not hear it song in his own
ohoroh without tears.
Sir Walter Scott, writing to a brother poet, Crabbe,
says of this majestic hymn, "To my Gothic ear, the
Stabat Mater, the Dies Irm, and some other of the hymns
of the Catholic Choroh, are more solemn and afGacting
than the'flne, olsssioal poetry of Boohanao. The one
has the gloomy dignity of the Gothic Charoh, and r»-
mtnds us constantly of the worship to which it is dedi-
cated ; the other is more like a pMgan temple, recalling
' UV. JOHM OIMMIOK. Ill
to oar memoiy the oUtaaioal and fiibolous deities." It is
said that Dr. Samuel Johnson could never, on aoooont of
his tears, repeat this composition in the original. And
we soarcelj need to add that upon the Dia Ira Mozart
founded his celebrated Beqniem, — in the composition of
which his excitement became so great as to hasten his
death. Many of the most eminent musical celebritiea
have " sought to many its poetry to immortal melody."
It is said that the original draft of the Dies Irce was
fbund in a box belonging to Celano after his death. H«
died in 1253.
Since writing the preceding paragraphs, we have ob-
served in one or two of our hymn-books a very greatly-
oondcjpsed translation of the Dia Ira, in four verses, by
•n anonymous hand. It begins,-^
« On ttot gTMt, UuU ftwAd dfty."
It is beautiAiUy and effectively executed.
REV. JOHN CENNICK.
" jMm, thy blood >ad rightoonnuM,"
has long been a fkvorite hymn among all classes of
evangelical Christians; and probably this is one reason
why its authorship has been disputed. In many of our
books it is attributed to Charles Wesley. Mr. Creamer
contends that it is a translation from a German hymn
' of twenty verses, written by Count Zintondorf, and
118 AUTHOH AMD (MUaiN OP HTMNB.
tniuUted by John Wealey; tmt it hu b«en more com>
monlj regarded m the composition of John Cennick, hy
tarns s follower of Wesley, then of Whitefield, and finally
dying in Iho fellowship and ministry of the Moravians.
It has been very much abridged.
This hymn was a great favorite with the lato Bev.
Bowland Hill; and perhaps the histoiy of (he Chorch
presents few scenes of deeper interest than the Au!t that,
when the corpse of that extraordinary clergyman was
being lowered into its final resting-pla<ie, ander his own
palpit, in the presence of assembled thousands bathed
In tears, the second verse of this hymn was song, in slow
and solemn tones : —
" When from th* duat of dMtli I riM
To oUim my BMwion ia the ikiM,
E'en then iball tUi be kU my plea,—
J«nu IwU UTed ud dM for bsl"
Cennick wrote also the hymns, —
** Jmu^^ ny all, t« hetTea i« (OM,**
••CUldm of th« hMTenly Kiag."
and several others.
REV. E. H. CHAPIN, D.D.
Tan well-known writer of several popular hymns is
a celebrated XTniversalist clergyman. He was bom in
the State of New Toric in 1814, and,'after having studied
ft>r the law, entered the ministiy, and has oflioiited
OHABUCHAaNI. 118
M pMtor of UntTerMlist societies at Biohmond, Va.,
Charlestown, Haas., Boston, and New York. In addi-
tion to a collection of hymns, he has pablished several
volomes in prose, and is well known as a distinguiahed
and popolar lecturer.
, CHARLEMAGNE.
This great man is usually supposed to be the auuior
of the " Veni Creator," the translation of which, —
"Oretior Spirit, by whoM aid,"
can scarcely be unknown to the reader. The fact of
Charlemagne being its author has, however, been doubted
by Hohnike, who says the emperor could not have had
sufficient acquaintance with the Latin tongue to write
BO classical a composition. But he who was the patron
of Latin letters and the friend of Alcuin, and who par-
doMd Paulus Diaconus for his conspiracy to murder
him because he would not out off one wbo^ wrote so ele-
gantly, may ikirly be supposed capable of dictating a
Latin hymn, — though he was probably indebted to soma
better scribe than himself to write it down.
While we thus write, it is but justice to say that Hoh-
nike's opinion is never to be treated with lightness. He
believes the hymn to have been written by Gregory the
Great, Bishop of Borne, a.d. 690, who is described by
Neander as the last of the classical doctors of the
Church. He was a man of great piety and learning,
10*
K^'
114 AVTHOU AND OEIQIN Of BTMMI.
though of ooone led Away by WHne of th« erron whioh
bud already flooded the Chnrch.
/
REV. INGRAM COBBIN.
Oum hymn-booki contain a very few of the cotepoai-
tioDB of our old penonid friend, to whose memory the
pen of biography is hu^ly indebted. He was bom of
humble and pious parentage in the city of London in
1777, and in early lift was attracted by the charms both
of religion and of learning. Some verses which he then
composed gained the attention of the Bev. Matthew
Wilks, who introduced him to the Congregational Col-
lege then at Hozton. In 1802 he was ordained to the
ministry, and, though in feeble health, he laborionaly and
usefVUly exerted himself as a pastor. After some years, t
however, he relinquished permanently, aa was supposed,
the ministry, through the fhilure of his health; but
after a time hope of useiUness in this department of
holy labor returned, and he accepted a call ftoih a church
at Crediton, where he was instaUed, but could not
deliver a single sermon after that apparently joyous
•vent. Belinquishing his foAd labors, he became the
founder and for many years the secretary of the [Lon-
don] Home Missionaiy Society ; but sickness compelled
him to relinquish this also in 1828. His mental energies
being yet nnippaired, he devoted himself to the com-
pilation of a number of invaluable biblical works, in-
D.0., UUD. 115
eluding hia " Domettie BiUe," well known and Mteemed .
among as. He died in his Beyenty-lbiirth year, in 1861.
REV. W. B. COLLYER, D.D., LL.D.
Thi hymn,
" Batorn, O w«ndar«r, retnra,"
and many others in our hymn-books, are the compo-
sitions of the Bev. W. B. Ck>llyer, D.D., LL.D., who died
in 1854, and who for more than half a centnry was by
fiur the most popular Nonconformist minister in Eng-
land. He was almost the only dissenting minister heard
by royalty, — to whom, as to all others, he preached in
the most faithfbl nunner the doctrines of the cross, in a
style combining simple elegance, fervent feeling, and an
indomitable adherence to " the truth as in Jesus."
Among the many volumes which in the ear{y and
middle stages of his life proceeded iVom Dr. Collyer's
pen, was a volume of hymns selected and arranged for
public worship, containing not a few of great beauty
written by himself. In addition to these, he wrote very
many which were never printed. Nearly to the clQfM
of his ministry, after his Sunday morning sermons, in
imitation of the excellent I^. Doddridge, he always
read a hymn written during the preceding week founded
on his text, whidK was sung by his congregation, and by
many of them copied as he read two lines at a time to
enable them to sing. Not a few of these he gave at
116 Anmoaa amd obioin ot btmmi.
diflbrent time^, firom fselings of wMrm Aiandship, to th«
writer of this volame, which in vftriooa periodioala wer*
giyen to the pnblio. May peace reet on hia happy
memory I
JOSIAH CONDER.
Thib excellent writer of hymns and editor of the Eng-
liah Ck>ngregational Hymn-Book was a member ef the
Congregational body, and waa diatinguishei^ throngh a
long life for soond learning, fine taste, earnest piety, and
nntiring indostiy. He was bom in 1790, tad died in
London in 1855. For many yean he waa the editor of
the "JBcltctie Beview," and waa thiu associated with
Bobert Hall, John Foster, Balph Wardlaw, and other
distinguished men of that day. Over the grave of
this worthy man we drop a grateftal tear, remembering
him aa a good occasional preacher, a sweet poet, and
a cordial friend. The Christian and literary friends of
Mr. Conder have recently erected a monnment to hia
memory, at an expense of more than five hundred dolkrs.
REV. THOMAS COTTERILL,
Tbi author of the well-known mistuonary hymn, —
" O'er til* tmUiu of pftgMi darknew,"
and of one or two others used among us^was an excel*
:'-'W^'^
HATHAMIBb OOITOII, M.O. 117
lent mio{«t«r of the BpiMopal Chnnh, lettlwl in Shef*
£M, where aloo resided his intimate penonal friend,
Juraea Montgomery, who Mjrs of him, " Good Mr. Cot-
terill >nd I bestowed » great deal of care and labor in
the compilation of ' 7^ Sheffield HytiM-Book,' clipping,
interlining, and remodelling hTmns of all sdrta as we
thought we could correct the sentiment or improve the
expression. We so altered some of Cowper's that the
poet would hardly know them." Every one knows that
Montgomery lived to complain sadly of this conduct in
reference to some of his own hymns, calling it "the
cross by which eveiy author of a hymn may expect to
be tested, at the pleasure of any Christian brother, how-
ever incompetent"
NATHANIEL COTTON, M.D,
This gmtleman is supposed to be the author ttf the
traly experimental hymn^^
" AtfletioB ia » ttomy ^Uap."
He was an English physician, bom in 1707, and died
in 1788. He was remarkably sncoessflil in the treatment
of insanity, keeping a private asylum for such patients
at St. Alban's, having, among many others, the amia-
ble poet Cowper, nh} says of him, " He is truly a phi-
losopher, according to my jadgmont of the character,
eveiy tittle of his knowledge in natural subjects being
connected in his mind with the firm belief in an omni-
Ill AOmOU AND OUOIM Ot ■TMMB.
pot4i)t agent" Hk works in proM and tum wm«
pHatod in two dnod«oimo volaniM in 1791.
WILLIAM COWPER.
Turn fiwU of Cowp«r'i history an too well known to
render it neceaaary that we shonld here detail them.
He was the wn of an Bngliah clergyman, who was a
chaplain to George the Second and rector of Berldiamp*
stead, where William was bom in 1781. He grew
vp so timid and nervous that he was never able to en-
gage in any profession, became deranged, and was con-
fined in an asylom for many months. He was an ex-
quisite poet; and poetry became his almost constant oo-
onpation till his death in 1800. '
The favorite reaidences of tlte poet at Olney and
Weston, the booses in which his chief labors were per-
fonned, are still objects of interest, not only to Bnglish-
men, bnt to Americans visiting that land. The one at
Olney still stands in the lame minoaa state in which he
so hnmoronsly described it; and the parlor is now occu-
pied by a girls' school. The summer-house in the garden,
in which he used to sit conning his verses, also remains, '
the wails being covered with the names of visitors. His
residence in the neighboring village of Weston has been
mndi altered, but is still beantiftd, with a profhsion of
rosea around it.
it- wiLUAM oowna. . 119
Where ia the ChrisUmn who haa not rewl wid mng
with holy profit and delight Gowpar'i hymn, —
" 0«d BOTM la • ayiUrioiu my" t
lU original title— «X^M Shining otrt qf DarkneuT'—
had reference to ita remarkable origin. When under
the inflaence of the fita of mental derangement to whioh
he waa aabjeot, he moat unhappily but firmly believed
that the divine win waa that he ahoold drown himaelf
in a partioolar part of the river Ooae, aome two or three
milea from hia reaidenoe at Olney. He one evening
called for a poat-chaiae ftom one of the hotela in the
town, and ordered the driver to take him to that apo^
whioh he readily undertook to do, aa he wall knew it
' On thia oocaaion, however, aeveral honra were oonanmed
in aeeking it, and utterly in vain. The man waa at
length moat rdaetaotly compelled to admit that he
had entirely loat hia road. The anare waa thoa broken :
Cowper eaoaped the temptation: he retomed to hia
home, and immediately sat down and wrote a hymn
which haa miniatered comfort to thooaanda, Md will
probably yet afford conaolation to thonaanda of othora,
even for generationa to come.
Mr. Montgomery aaya of thia hymn that it "ia a
lyric of high tone and character, and rendered awiUly
intereating by the circomatancea under whioh it
written, — in the twilight of departing reaaon."
Bvery on* knowa that the admirable hymn^—
"Ok Ibr a eloMT mlk wHk Ood,"
UO AOTBOM AND OUaiN OV HTHNI.
WM alM written by the amiable Cowp«r, when under
mnoh daikneM of eovl, ia one of the intermb between
hie Mneone of deep meUnoholjr. Every Christian who
has made even bat little progress in the divine life can
teeUQr to the oorreotaeaa of ita experimental theology;
and we would hope that few penons are diqwaed to
imitate Dr. Soathey, who intimates that the composition
of the **ObuyHfmn»" in connection with his iViend the
Bev. John Newton, tended to bring back the renewal of
his insanity in 1778. Kay, after blaming Newton for
what he regarded as his injndicioos condaot in having en-
gaged Gowper in such a deeply-interesting employment,
he qaotea two versea of this hymn as a proof of hia
eappoeed 4anger of a return to insanity ^— ^
•• W1i«r« U the bleMcdncm I knaw
When int I Mw Uie LoH ?
Where U tk« Mol-rtfteiliisg ?l«v
or Jwoa ud Ut word T
" Whst p — ei ftj iMMm I one* MOojtd I
How (WMt thair mtmory «UU !
Bat tkay hATt loft as aeUag void
'' ->. n* world oea botw ilL"
Truly has the apostle said, « The natural man reoeiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are fooliah-
neu unto him ; neither can he know them, because they
are [only] spiritually discerned." '
The beautiAil hyqin of Cowper, —
<<Bmr UHt Ihr erwtar* k, QodI"
is said by his biograpfaera to have been the very first ho
-fwiixiAif oownt. ttl
wrote on his rooorary at St. Alban'i from bis BMond at*
tMkV inMwity. He entitled it the "ITa/py CKoji/*;"
■ad no one can read it^ with its origin in view, withoat
being struck with its Wantj.
Bat the second strain in whioh be poured forth the
gratelU fheUngs of his heart, —
•• rw tnm tU worU, O Urd, I *—,"
to perhaps sweeter still. Indeed, as Dr. Cheerer remarks,
*< H is beyond oomparison oiore perfeot, — it is exquisitely,
aaoredly, devoutly beautifbl."
Br. Cheever throws additional beauty on thto oompo-
■ition by describing to us the location in which it was
written. He had gone from St Albaa's to Hunting-
don, passing his whole time on the way in dlent com-
munion with God. He says, <'It is impossible to tell
with how delightAil a sense of his protection and fh-
therly care of me it pleased the Almighty to fliTor me
during the whole of nty Journey." Left alone by his
brother for the first time among strangers, his heart
began to sink within him, and he wandered forth into
the fields, melancholy and desponding, at the olose of
the day, but, like Isaac at erimtide, found his heart so
powerfhlly drawn to God that, having found a secluded
spot beneath a bank of shrubbery and verdure, he
kneeled down and poured forth his whole soul in prayer
and praise. It pleased the Bavioor to hear him, and to
grant him at once a renewed souse of his presence, do-
liv«ranoe ttom his foars, and a sweet assnattoe that,
Tfy.'
m ADTBOM Ain> OWaiN OV HTMKII.
whervTer hia lot migbt b« caat, the Ood of «U ooiuoii^
tioD would ttill be with liim.
The next day waa the Sabbath, and he attended
church fbr the fint time aince hia recovery, — that ia, for
nearly two yeara, — and fonnd the hooM of Ood to be the
Terr gate to heaven. He could acaroely reatndn hia
eittotiona during the aervice, to Ailly did he aee the
beauty of the glory of the Lord. A person with whom
he afterward became aoqn»inted aat near him, devoutly
engaged in worship; and Cow]>er loved him for the ear>
nestness of hia manner. He says, " While he was aing.
ing the paalms I looked at him ; and, obaerving him intent
«pon hia holy employment, I could not help saying in
my heart, with much emotion, ' The Lord bless you for
praising Him whom my soul loveth t' "
After phurch he immediately haatened to the solitary
place where he had found such sacred enjoyment in
prayer the day before. " How," he ezohdma, " shall I
express what the Lord did for me, except by saying that
he made all his goodness to pass before me f I seemed
to speak to him Snot to ftoe, as a man converseth with
his fWend, except that my speech was only in tears of
joy, and groaninga which cannot be uttered. I could
■ay indeed, with Jacob, not how dreadfvl, but how lovely
la thia place 1 — this is none other than the house of Ood."
GniMe, in this sacred spot and in tbe deep bUaa of such
•xperienoe, is the very locality and atmosphere of that
perftetly beautifiil hymn. There waa the " calm retreat,"
then tiM VBwitMiMd pmiae, there the holy oomnw.
)fe:, ,;■
m
wiuiAii oo«m. - Hi
uioB with ths Savioar by which lie prepared hit lorTMit
to poor forth the gratitude of ■ redeemed spirit in etraiDa
which will i>e eang by the Church on earth till the whole
Church sing in heaven.
We may add here that probably the happiest period
of Gowptr'a whole lift was from 1766, the time of his
first recovery fW>ra insanity, till 1778, tbo time of its
recurrence. During this period he composed his portion
of the « (Xttey Hymns." Dr. Cheever well says, " If
Cowper had never given to the Chorcb on earth bat a
single score of those exquisite breathings of a pious
heart and creations of his own genius, it had been a
bequest worth a life of suffering to accomplish. The
dates, or neariy such, of some of those pieces, were
preserved, so that we are enabled to trace them to the
fVames and circumstances of the writer's mind and heart.
Mid to see in them an exact reflection of his own expe-
rience."
We have, in many of our oolleotlons, hymns by Cow-
per beginning, —
"Ok, BUMt dcUffaUUl hour by BUB,"
« H« Utm who Utw to Q«<l sloB*,"
and others which had their origin in a way alike com-
plimentary to Qowper and useAil to many. The power
•ad charm of his good sense and simplicity, as well aa
the tenderness of his poetry, were acknowledged when
John Cox, the clerk of All Saints' parish in Northamp-
ton, a few miles from Weston, came to him with •
Moond application for some mortuary verses to be
114 AtrnoM AjiB ouaiR o« bjuwm.
priatod with his muimI Christmaa " biU of morUUty."
Oowptr told him tlMf* luwt be j/Avaty ot po«to at North-
ampton, and refwred him particularly to hia namiwalra,
Mr. Cox, the statuary, aa a suocesaftU wooer of the muse.
The elei^ made answer that all this waa very true, and
he had already borrowed help flrom him, adding, " Bat
Idas, sir, Mr. Cox ia a gentleman of much reading, and
the people of onr town do not well nnderatand him. He
has written tor me, b«t nine in tea of ua were stone-
Uiad to his meaning." Oowper Mt all the finoe of thia
equivocal compliment : his mortified vanity came near re-
Aiaing, if the merit of his own verses waa considtinxl by
the tnuUlntn c/t his reading; hot, finding that the pow
elerk had walked over to Weston on purpose to implore
his assistance, and was in considerable distress, he good-
natoredly consented, and supplied the clerk's mortaiity-
bUl with his beautifhl vanwa Ibr sererai years.
Pertiaps the beaaUAU compoeition by Oowper,— >
•• Re toiqtar I foUew • Mwid,"
ia to be found in more of the English hymn-booka
than oar own. Its origin shows how the amiable poet
loved, even in his hours of social amusement, to dwell
on tender devotion and pathetic solemnity. Bis cooain.
Lady Austen, was fond of playing on the harpsichord ;
and, to suit several of her Akvorite airs, he wrote Chria>
tian hymns. The air "My fond $hq)herds of UOtf' waa
in oar own eariy days a special favorite in many partiea,
and Cowper's lines were considered remarkably well
adiqpted to it '"^
WiLUAM oowMa. U6
Cowptr*! owB aooovnt, in • Icttmr to hia Mtad Jomfk
HIU, Biq., In 1780, of ths origin of hia ba*«tiAil Snndaj-
wbool hjmn, —
" Kmr, Imd, Um Mag of prmia* mi4 ynytr,"
will be read with pleasure : — " My (Viend tha vicar of the
next pariah [OInoy] engaged me, the day before yeater-
day,' to fUmiah him by next Sunday with a hymn to ba
aung on oooaaion of hia preaching to the children of the
Bonday-aehool,— of which hymn I have not yat produced
• aylbdria."
Tba well-known aad muoh-admired hymn of Cowpery
"Te J«MM, the ftewa •# Mj hope,"
is not to be found in the " Oln^ Sjfmiu," aa it waa not
writtm till after the early oditiona of that work ha4
been pnbliahed. There can be no doubt of ita being tba
production of hia pen, or that it waa the laat hymn ba
•rer wrote.
To Tery many of our readers it will he pleaaant to
read a line or two relating to Cowper from the pen of
the worid-renowned theologian, Andrew Fuller: — '<At
Olaey he continued for a number of yeara in the tmioj'
nent of religiona pleaanrea to a degree seldom known (
•Biting in aooial prayer-meetinga with Mr. Newton and
Ma fHends, to the wonder and admiration of all that
kaard him. I knaw a peraon who heanjl him pray ft«*
qnently at these meetings, and have heard him say, ' Of
•n the men that I ever heard pray, no one equalled Mr.
Oowper."'
Ill Avtmou AMD outtiM or mrun.
TU rMMlar who rngoambcn tlwt ib« " Obuf HftuM,"
41m Jotat eompoaiUoM of Newton Mid Cowptr, w«i«
written for these very prayer-meetinga, will aee the ooa*
section of thieextrMt with the deei^ of oar Tolune.
REV. A. C. COXE, D.D.
Tut gentlemnn, who hM ikTored n* with Mveml
original hymne, beaidee others translated fW>m the Oer-
■Mn, was bom in Mendham, New Jersey, 1818, and gr»>
dnated at the University of New York. He has aeqnired
great repntation for classical and poetical talents, and
has already published many valuable woi^ especially
of a poetical character. Dr. Coze >• connected with tb«
l^iisoopal Choreh.
HEV. W. CROSSWELL, D.D.
Sivnui. beautiftil hymns have been given ns from tho
psa of this szoellent clergyman of the ^iscopal Church.
Ha was bom in 1804, and was rector of Christ's Church,
BoatOB, 8t Peter's Church, Auburn, in the StAte of New
Task, and afUrward beoame rector of the Charch of tha
Advaatia Boston, whera he died in 1861. Hewasascholar,
Md poMsssid a line taste in literature. Among his poems
an saveral of remarkable graeefUness and sweetness.
The death of {hr. OoaaireU was solemn and affBOting.
•oBur oKcrrmpiii. HT
While engmg«d in tb« pablio Sabb»th-«ft«nioon wrrio*,
■I the otmoloaioii of the Uat collect, inatemd of rinng
from hia knees, he Mtnk npon the floor, whence he wm
removed to hie own honae, where he eoon after ceued
to breathe. His memoir and remains were pabliahed,
after his decease, in New Toik.
Among the compositions of Dr. Croaswell was the
beantiftil hymo, — '
i." <' Lord, Uad Um wty tk* 8«Tiovr wtat,"
which was written for an anniversary of the Howard
Benevolent Society in the city of Boston.
ROBERT CRUTTENDEN,
Thi author of the hymn, — .
•' Ut oUiwa boMt tk«ir kaeiaat Ua«,"
and several others in onr older books, was a oorrespond-
ent and friend of the Ber. Dr. Doddridge, the Ber.
James Hervey, and Lady Hontingdon. He resided in
London, and his great intelligence and generons hospi«
tality rendered his house the freqaent resort of many
«f the literati of that day. One of his grandsons was,
a few yearn since, Archdeacon of London.
TLoue^ Mr. Crvttenden was educated for the minis>
tiy, and often in early life preached for his uncle, tha
Bey. Bobert Bragge, of Lime St., London, he renounced
that profession, conscious of his entire destitution of
\;-v^
12S AUTHOM AMD OaiOIR Off ITMN*.
f^enoine pi*ty. Indeed, the happy event of hii oonrer-
■ion did not take plaoe till hia flftj-aocond year, ander
the powerAd miniitry of the diitinguished John Cen-
niok, — the account of which he aderward paUished,
with a preikoe by Whitefield. He died in 1768, aged
Mventy-threo. When writing to Mr. Keen, Whitefield
■aya, " Mr. Cmttenden, I find, i> gone. God be praiaed
that he went off so comfortably ! May oar expiring
boor be like hia!"
REV. J. W. CUNNINGHAM.
This truly Tenerable clergyman of the Church of Eng- *
land waa the author of the hymn, —
" Dmt it th« hallowed mora to at*,"
which haa elevated the devotion of thousanda on tha
Lord'* day morning. Like the rest of his hymns, it is
highly evangelical. We remember, some forty years ago,
when he did not cherish the soripturally affectionate feel-
ings toward hia dissenting brethren which now glow in
hia soul, but when oontroveraial publications indicated hia
diapIeaauT)* that they forsook his church and cherished
" the reli^on of bams." Nearness to Christ has brought
him nearer to his brethren ; and often since that period
haa he cooperated in the common cause of Christ with
all who love Him. For many years Mr. Cunningbaia
was engaged as Head Master of Harrow School, fn pre-
paring young men for college ; and, when he shall be
jj^i./. .,f. .r- (. ■.■.4 ,■ ■.■■t. j-> .'. • . .,. ; - • ■. ..-■>",••,. --■ -s' ';vtyr'?^J
UT. TROMAa DAU. IM
MtUed *ynj ftt>m oarth, hnndrads of th«M ■h«ll unit* in
•hedding m t«ar of grateAil lore over hit dnit, wiU> not
• ftw who have commanod with hi* apirit m thej have
rang his hymns.
^y> S. S. CUTTING.
Tdib gentleman, now a professor in the University of
Bocbester, has long been a marked man as a preacher,
an author, and a jonmsligt among the Baptists. His
hymns, which are not numerous, are good, and lead as
to wish that we had more of them. As Professor Cut'
ting has not yet advanced beyond the meridian of lift,
we may cherish the hope of our wish being gratiftsd.
REV. THOMAS DALE.
OtTB books contain a very few hymns from the pen
of this clergyman of the Church of England, the son
of a respectable bookseller in London, who removed with
the other members of his &mily to this coantiy, leaving
Thomas under the care of his maternal uncles. He
received a fine education in Christ's Hospital, London,
and went to the University at Cambridge in 1818,
taking his bachelor's degree in 1828. Here he devoted
himself to general literature, and publish^ his first
poem, " l%e Widow of Nain" in 1819. His inteilect.is
<-^i»-
*1
180 AUTHOK8 AMD OUOIM' Or HTMN8.
of a high order, his theology entirely evaDgelicul, and
his pastoral assiduity beyond all praise. °
The poetry of Mr. Dale is elegant. While it has no«
majestic flow, it resetebles a beautiful rivulet in a delight-
ihl landscape : it runs smooth, is always clear, and some-
times sparkles in the sunlight. We never think of Mr.
Dale or his compositions without pleasure.
REV. PRESIDENT DAVIES.
Thi well-known admirable preacher, Samuel Dtivies,
a native of Newcastle, Delaware, who succeeded Presi-
dent Edwards at Princeton in 1759, wrote several excel-
lent hymns, one of which, —
"'Qreat God of wondera, all thy w»y«," •
was long extensively used both in this country and in -
Europe. It is true that he was more remarkable as a-
preacher than a poet ; but we cannot forbear an expres-
sion of regret that this truly evangelical hymn has given
place to some very far inferior. He ended a life of great
usefulness in 1761, at the early age of thirty-six years.
REV. ELIEL DAVIS.
About the year 1824 we became acquainted with this
young man, the son of a gentleman who held in the
BIT. DAVID <DKIIBAM. Ill
ebnrch we served the office of deacon, and who was also
the aohoolmaeter of John B. Gongh, the popular lecturer
on temperance. Soon after that period we commenced,
for the young people of our congregation, a monthly
magazine in manascript, prepared chiefly hy the young
people themselves. While studying for the ministry,
Eliel Davis often wrote for the " Mutual Inttructnr," and
among other papers was the hymn,^
" From eTei7 Murthly plewnire."
The editor of a poptdar London magazine paying us a
visit, we showed it to him, and he was so well pleased
with it that he copied it for his own periodical; and,
having thnrt attracted' the attention of hymn-collectors,
a part of- the eomposition has appeared in hymn-books
both in Europe and America. Certainly neither^ its
writer nor first editor imagined the honor to which it
was destined. We are sorry to say that in early life ooi*
talented firiend was suddenly called from his labors to
his eternal rest, — ^not, however, without several years'
sacoessful labor in the ministry of Divine truth.
REV. DAVID DENHAM.
•Thx well-known hymn called " Sweet Home," and be-
ginning,—
" Mid Maaw of ooafkisiaa aad o w t ni e eonpUiiila,"
written by the Bev. David Denham, an English
18S AUTBOM AMD OUOIH Off nTMMI.
fi«ptiat miniBt«r, who died • veiy few yean ago. He
WM originally connected with the congregation of the
Ber. Dr. Hawker, and, having become a Baptiat, entered
the ministry, and labored in Margate, London, and Chel-
tenham. He edited a hymn-book bearing hia own name,
bat wrote moat of hia poetry, like " Sweet Home," for
some of the religions magaxines of England.
REV. DAVID DICKSON.
OiTKN has the qaestion been asked. Who wrote the
well-known quaint bat beaatifbl hymn, —
•' Jcmmlem, my h^ppT borne,"
which James Montgomery has spoken of as one of the
finest in onr language ? It is a great ikvorite, and de-
servedly so, for it is really a very beantifbl composition.
It probably appeared for the first time in a collection
of hymns published by Montgomery himself; and, in
spite of all that he says to the contrary, we have heard
it strenuously though strangely maintained that he
was its author. It appears, with remaikable varia-
tions, in a volume published in 169S, by Burkitt, the
Expositor of the New Testament; but the &ct that
David Dickaon, of Edinburgh, who died in 1662, had lomg
before printed it, as containing 248 lines, makef it im-
possible that it should be BoiMtt's, and much leas Mont-
gomoy's. A maw— cript of aboat half of ity wi^h qoa-
.•; ■"■',..""■■ ■• ^ ' ■ .■
BIT. OAVIO DI0K8OM. 18S
•idenble Tariations, m, "^ Bimg made »y F. B. P.,—
to tKe Tune Diana," provea that it did not origiDate
with Oickaon. The fkot it that, like Mreral other ad-
mirable hyioM, it may be traced to some of the Latin
oompodtions of the middle or earlier agea, — ^thoa ritow-
Ing how even the darkest time* maj oontribate to the
worship of the Church in all ftitnre agoa.
It is worthy of remark, after all this, that onr modem
hymns, thoagh like the old ones in spirit, ibeling, and
manner, have scarcely a line in common with them.
We are reminded here of the flust that in Scotland
this hymn, in the version of Dickson, is known in nearly
every honse and sang in almost every fitmily; noi;ia
this without good results. A few years ago, a Presby-
terian minister in New Orieans was sent for to attend
the death-bed of a young man. On his arrival, he found
that the dying man was a native of North Britain, as
wril as himself; but he endeavored to introduce religions
eonversation with him without success; and, the more
he endeavored to accomplish his object, the more deter-
mined appeared the dying man 2ot to converse with
him. After many attempts, the clergyman, almost ia
despair, left the bedside, walked toward the window,
and half unconsciously began to sing, — ,
" JcmMlwn, njr k»p|i7 hoBW."
Tbia effectually attracted the attention of the dying
youth, who at once called out, " My dear mother used
to sing that hymn," and, bursting into tears, acknow-
U
m AUTHOM Ain> OBIOIN OV HTMHI.
ledged hia ainfblneM, and inqnired the mj of MdTation,
— ^whioh it WM hoped he indeed finind. Some yean h«d
paaeed mmy ainoe he heud that hymn rang; bat it*
words recalled all the scenes and feelings of home, and
produced results tirhioh, it is probable, that mother IumI
nerer thought of. '
BISHOP DOANE.
This gentleman, the Protestant Bishop of New Jer-
sey, who has oontribnt^,*-
' Thoo tat tk« Wfty, to tkM almu,"
and two or three other hymns for the use of Christian
worshippers, was bom in Trenion, New Jersey, in 1799.
He graduated at Union College, Schenectady, when
nineteen years old, and immediately afterward conv-
menoed the study of theology. He was consecrated
Bishop of his natire SUte in 1882, founded St Mar/a
Hall in 1827, and Burlington College in 1846. He
published a volume of poems entitled "8ong» by the
Wajf" vnd many sermons and tracts. He died in 1869.
REV. PHILIP DODDRIDGE, D.D.
Wbo has not been charmed with the devotional hymns
<rf this excellent Protestant Diaswating minister, so many
Bxv. rmair doddusob, dj>. Ui
of which are foand in onr beit booka? Dr. Stonglitoii
hM well described them-M "relics choicely transparent
and truly rich." These valued productions were not
published by himself, but edited, with notes explaining
what were then considered " hard words/' by the Bev.
Job Orton, who was also one of his students and his ear-
liest biographer. To this gentleman the amiable widow
of Doddridge wrote, on May 4th, 1756, "I have the
pleasure to find, so fi^ as this boqk |ias yet been known,
it has met with pretty general acceptance. Many of my
best Mends consider it as a valuable supplement to Dr.
Watts's, and, as such, are solicitous to introduce it into
their respective congregations along with his. I think
I can truly say I more wish this may be generally done
fron^ the hope I ba^e they may do something to revive
religion in the world than iVom any personal advantage."
The preparation of his hymns ikmished a fine illustra-
^'^n of Doddridge's versatility of powers. When he had
' finished the preparation of a discourse, and while hia
heart was still warm with the subject, it was his custom
to throw the leading thoughts into a few simple stan-
■M. These were 8u||; at the close of the sermon, and
•applied his hearen^ith a oompend of his instructions,
which might greatly aid their memories and their devo-
tion. Thus, a sermon on " the rest which remains for
the people of (Sod" was fbllowed by the hymn, —
" L«rd of tb* gsbbeUi, kasr our tows."
In like manner a sermon on 1 Pet. ii. 7 was condensed
into the poetical epitome, —
in AUTHORS AND OUCIIII OF BTMNa.
<• Jmiw, I loT* iky •karmiag BMM."
The Ber. Dr. James Hamilton, in the " North BritiA
Bmie»" speaking of these and his other hymns, beanti-
lUly sajTS, " If amber is the gum of fossil trees, fetched
ap and floated off by the ocean, hymns like these are a
spiritual amber. Host of the sermons to which they
originally pertained have disappeared forever; but, at
once beaatiM and buoyant, these sacred strains are
destined to carry the devont emotions of Doddridge to
every shove where his Master is loved and whore his
mother-tongue is spoken."
The well-known hymn, —
•• O a«d of JMob, bj vhoM hand,"
often attributed to Logan, proceeded from the pen of
Doddridgo years before Logan was bom.
Li 1886 a very interesting manuscript volume was in
the hands of the Bey. W. Booker, of Tavistock, Devon-
shire, England, which belonged to Dr. Doddridge. It
contained one hundred hymns in the handwriting of
that excellent man, numbered in Boman figures: to
each was prefixed a text of Scripture, and at the close
of many of them were added the dates, and sometimes
the places, of their composition. A few ikcts from this
volume may not be without interest to our readers.
The greater part of these compositions were afterward
printed, under the direction of the Bev. Job Orton ; and
to these only do the flwts we now give relate.
The Iqma « On the death of a minister,"—
■-^■^^
Bsy. nam DOsuuiKn, o.i>. IIT
<■ Mew let our ■HHmiag heeita revlTe," tUc.,
he tolli ns wu "compoaed Kt Kettering, AnguBt 22,
178e."
"Lei Zion'i watehmea all awake,"
WM written flrom home, — ^bat the n»me of the plmce can-
not be deciphered,— on the occasion of an ordination,
October 21, 1786.
The hymn,—
<• My Oed, thy eerriee well demanib,"
bearing for its title, in Orton's volume, "On recoyery
from sickness, daring which much of the divine fkvor
had been experienced," has, in the manuscript, this
note : — " Particularly intended for the use of a friend^
Hiss Nancy Bliss, who had been iii%o extremest danger
by the bursting of an artery in her stomach, November
14, 1787."
The second verse, as printed by Orton, stands, —
■ t • - •
" TUne arma of cTerlamiBg love
Did thii weak frame Mutaia
Wken life wae hoTering o'er the graTe
And nature aunk with pain."
The closing couplet of this verse in the original is fkr
more poetical, and has a distinct reference to the painfU
accident which led to its composition :—
" When life in parple torrenta flowed
From every linking vein."
"Shepherd of larael, bend thine ear,"
was composed " at a meeting of ministers at Bed worth,
daring their long vacancy [recess], April 10, 1785."
^ '■-.'■ •^."2 Slim
33
1S8 ADTBOU AMD OBiaill OT BTMllt.
«Aad will tk« grMt atonal Ood," ate.,
** On opening a new place of worship," wM'headed, «0n
the opening of a now meeting-place at Oakham, from
Psalm Ixfzrii. 4." No date is given.
"Graat Qod of haaTcn orid Mlnra, riaa," ate.,
is entitled, in the mannacript, " A hymn for the ^nt-
day, January 9, 178d-40."
A few additional lines relating to Dr. Doddridge will
be pardoned. He poHeaaed a very remarkable talent for
Wtire, which he could condense into a short epigram.
One of hi* pnptls, a weak young man, thought he bad'
invented a machine on which be could fly to the moon.
The doctor wrote, —
" And will Volalio laava this world ao aoon,
To dj to hii own nMira aeat, the moon?
^ 'Twill stand, bowoTer, in lome little stead
That he seta out with auek an eifiptj head."
One of his lovely daughters — the same who said she
was loved by every one, because she loved everybody —
wounded her foot by running a thorn into it; where-
npon her ikther addressed to her the lines,—
" Oft I haTC heard the ancient sages aajr
The path of ylrtue was a thorny way :
If ao, dear Cella, we may know
Which path it ia yoo tread, which way it is yoa go."
Well as it is known, we will ask permission to add his
•Ingram on his fkmily motto, which Dr. Samuel Johnson,
who has himself l^n called " the old king of critics,"
UV. YBIUr OODOKIOOI, DJ>. 188
hM warmly enlogixed M one of the finest in the EngUah
kngnege : — ~
V « Ut* wU1« you lire, th« epieara would My,
And mIm tha pI«MarM-of th* prcMDt day :
LiT* while yon lire, the nored preacher eriM,
And glT* to Qod each moment as it fllea.
Lofd, in my life let both united be :
I Ure in plaMun while I Uva to thee."
The beaatiftil hymn, thoagh lees known than it shonld
•• Aiwake, my lonl, to meet the day,"
WM written by Dr. Doddridge, who roee every morn-
ing thronghont the year at five o'clock. It originally
oonaisted of leven Tenes, and was constantly nsed by
him a* an act of devotion, on which aooonnt he en-
titled it «A Morning Hymn, to bo song at awaking
and rising." We are told that, as the beginning of the
sixth verse—*' As rising now"— was yet on his lips, he
qprang oat of bed. Tlie r e a de r will remember that to
this habit of early rising we owe his admirable " Family
Expositor of the New Testament."
In eveiy view of the subject, it would be improper not
to reftr, in this coiyieotion, to " Doddridge'* /Vinc^pte </
the Chrutian Jidigion, i» Plain and Ea»if Vene." Very
few productions, for many yearn, did more to diifkise
evangelical religion among the young people of England,
from the palace to the cottage, than did this unpretend-
ing little woric. Writing to his wife, who was then dis-
tant fh>ni him, he thus speaks : — " I have been amusing
nyself with making some little verses for the children.
140 AUTHOM AMV OUdlH Of BTMIIB.
It ia • work Mr. Clark, of St. Alban'a, propoiwd to m*,—
tbmt I should draw ap a little Bammaiy of religion in
Terse for the use of little children, pretty much in sense
the same with Dr. Watts's Second Catechism, which is
the best short compendiom I ever saw for matter and
method. I have insensibly crept on for about a third
part of the whole, and hope to end in a fortnight more."
In a later letter to the same lady, he says, " I am not
ashamed of those little services ; for I had rather feed
the lambs of Christ than mle a kingdom."
Those of oar readers who have read the life of this
excellent man will remember the details of a remarkable
dream which he had after spending an evening with Dr.
Samuel Clark, conversing with him on the happiness of
Christians when separated fW>m the body. Betiring to
aleep, he imagined himself leaving earth and conducted
by an angelic being to a part of heaven resembling a
palace, where he was fkvored with an interview with his
glorified Lord and Master, who expressed His approval
of his labors and promised the eternal reward of His
fikvor. After this he saw in the room where he had been
placed, in pictures, a representation of the principal
scenes of his life. This remarkable dream gave rise to
the beautifbl h3rmn, —
" WhUe oa Uit Twrge of Ufi I itMMl."
w?^
torn vrnnwK. 141
JOHN DRYDEN.
BoABOUT any hymn; in our language is better known
thany^
<* CrMtor Spirit, by whoM •id,"
- which is a paraphrase by tho poet Drydon of the Latin
hymn " Veni Creator Spiritv^' of Ambrose, Bishop of
Milan in the foorth century. The Ber. J. Chandler,
of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, England, who trans-
lated and published, in 1887, a collection of " Mymnt of
the Primitive Chwrch," says that, in the primitiTe times,
each day, or twenty-four hours, was « parcelled out" into
eight services, — there being a service at the end of eveiy
three hours. At nine o'clock every morning a hymn
was sung to the Holy Spirit,— that being the hour in
which, on the day of Pentecost, he descended on the
apostles. This seems to have been observed ftvm veiy
early times; so that Mr. Chandler adds, "Most likely
the Veni Creixtor of St. Ambrose was merely a new
hymn written by him on a subject already fiimiliar to
the Church from tho apostles downward."
By a reference to tho article CaABLiHAora, in this
volume, the reader will see that other claims have been
set up for the authorship of this fine hymn.
Dfyden wrote also a paraphrase of " Te Deum La*-
danauf but it is far inferior to the one by Charles
Wesley 5-
<• laiaiu Ood, to Uim wa niM," ate.
■ . ■ ■ ■ V-
14S * AUTHOBf AMD OUOUl OV BTMIIS.
REV. GEORGE DUFFIELD, JR.
Thi " Sabbath Hymn-Boolf' conUini two hymn* frote
the pen of this gentleman which are not anonjmoo*,
•ad other booka have aome others which are. All of
them show that he poBsesaes several very important
qualifications of a good hymn-writer. One of the two
hymns to which we have referred, —
•<Bl«tMd 8«Tioar, UtM Hot*,"
was written at Bloomfield, New Jersey, when the church
of which its author was then pastor was in the midst of
a very pleasant revival; and the other, —
•• flUnd up t lUad ap for JM«f I"
was composed to be sung after a sermon delivered by
its writer the Sabbath following the moumfhlly sudden "
death of the Bev. Dudley A. Tyng, who was callsd fW>m
earth in 1858, and whose dying counsel to his brethren
in the ministry was, " Stand up for Jesus."
Mr. Duffield, a son of the Bev. Dr. DuAeld, a Presby-
terian clergyman of Detroit, was bom at Carlisle, in II
Pennsylvania, in 1818, graduated at Tale College in 1887,
was ordained in 1840, and removed to Philadelphia in
1852. His ministerial career has been mariced by much ' ^
Christian activity and aucoeas ; and he has already given
several proofii, besides his hymns, of his talents for an- ,
tbonUp. \ 1
mcv. TIMOTBT DWtOHT, S.D. 14S
REV. TIMOTHY DWIGHT, D.D.
Wi DeT«r read Dr. Dwight't beaatifU hymn, —
" I loT« U17 CliuTeli, O Ood,"
without an eamett wish thftt he h»d written many
more like it. And yet, when we remember how maoh
labor he performed, notwithstanding the defect of his
eight, we are lorprifled that he accomplished so much.
It is well known that the excellent doctor was re-
quested by the Congregationalist ministers of Conneo-
ticut to revise Dr. Watts's version of the Psalms, and
" to versify the Psalms omitted by Watts," which had
been previously done, but very imperfectly, by Joel
Barlow. He aooomplished his task to the satiiriiMtion
of the parties by whom he was employed, adding up-
ward of twenty compositions to the volume ; but very
ftw of them are now used. ^
Few men ever employed an amanuensis to so great an
•xtent as this worthy President of Yale College. His
« Traveli," " Syttm of TKeology" and probably his " Ser-
wuma," were all written in this way. Thus by the aid
of his students— for the work was generally done by
them, and gratuitousltf — his name and influence will be
perpetuated through many generations.
Dr. Dwight was bom in Northampton, Mass., in 1752,
and died in 1817. In 1786, he published his first poem,
" 7%e OoHquat of Canaan," in 12mo, a copy of which
we saw sold in England for more than five dollars.
'^MV%
Mi AUTBOU AMO OKI0M Of BTlfllg.
REV. SIDNEY DYER.
Tci hymn, —
" 0«, pTMdl th« UMi MlTkUOB,"
WM the production of this lealoas and nseM Baptist
minister, who is also the author of several Tolnmes of
religious poetiy. He was formerly a missionary laborer
among the Indians, and has been many years a laborious
servant of Christ in the Great West. He wM bom in
the State of Kew York, in the year 1814.
REV. J. W. EASTBURNE.
Wi have, in one or more of our hymn-books, a remark-
able composition fbr its evangelical and pofiUoal spirit,
beginning, —
"Oboly, holy, kol7l.ordl" t
Irritten by this exoellent young man, who died in New
York, the city of his birth, in the year 1810, at the age
of twenty-two years. He was associated in literary en-
gagements with Bobert 0. Sands.
CHARLOTTE ELLIOTT.
On <tf the most p<^mhir hymns we have oommenees,—
•■ Jast M I MB, wiUlMlt OM pi**."
It has been thought by many persooi not unlikely to
■;^^^^^:^^';; •^?'V^'5f<5-'r:y>';:',>:;.^'-'.C ;-^- '■• •'.;«-■ '-f^lfr^t^i.yj^Ti.f^^m
■>▼. ». Btxiorr. M(
know, that loarody any other hymn in onr Ungoags
haa b««n so usefbl alike to the unoon^erted and to the
Christian. Its author, Misa Elliott, ia a somewhat elderly
lady of fortune residing at Torquay, in Devonshire, Eng-
land, a neighborhood which has been fkvored with her
beneficence fbr many years. Some years since, she
•pent many months in the vicinityof Geneva, where she
formed warm friendship* with Dr«. Malan, Merle d'An-
bigni6, and other gentlemen of the same evangelical
■ohool. She is said to have poblished several small vo-
lames of devotional poetry, and seldom, even now, ap-
pears at the breakftat-table without more or less of
Christian poetical composition in mannacript.
REV. R. ELLIOTT.
Tn hymn now becoming pretty well known among
" Prapwa oi, grMtoa* Ood,"
iuaally aaoribed to Tofdady, who first published it, and
that ia an altered form, in 1766, waa written by BUiott
In 1761. Ita author was bom at Ejngsbridge, Devon*
•hire, was admitted to Cambridge UniversiQr in 1746,
for a while associated with the Methodists, and ultl-
mately settled as a Dissenting minister in London. He
wrote aeveral theological works, including "Sin De-
atrojftd and the Sinner Saved; or, Juitifloation by ImpuUd
SigtUeouineu a Doctrine Superior to all (Men for Av-
meting SoUnem m Z\fe." He died in 1788.
•.■..- ' ,'•.'■■ ■ ■ ■' -• ■' ■■ "'":;^
146 ADTB(«S AND OUOIN Of HTMXa.
JAMES EDMESTON.
Thm g«ntlein«n, who has contribnted u'^feral aco«p(-
■bl« bymnt to oar collections, wu a layman, connected
with a Congregational charoh in London. He published
several small yolnmos of devotional poetry, one called
" The Cottage ^instrel," hymns for village prayer-meet-
ings, and a large namber of hymns in various magacinet.
He died, at an advanced age, a few years ago.
REV. WILLIAM ENFIELD, LL.D.
This gentleman, the author of, —
'* Behold whan, ia a mortal form,"
was fbr many yean an Arian minister, first at Liverpool
and afterward in Norwich, both in England, and died in
the latter city, 1797, at the age of fifty-six. For several
years he was a professor of belles-lettres at the Unitarian
Academy at Warrington, and was the author of several
popular volumes. His life was publi^ed, in conneQtion
with three volumes of his sermons, by Dr. Aikin. i
REV. JONATHAN EVANS.
Thi wellteown ikvorite hymn, —
"■aAl the vilN «f Irre si4 awvr.
i ■ ■■' ■■ ■■■ ■■ ■ - '':■•■
BtV. JOHN FAWOBTT, D.O. 147
maoh longer than it is now generally printed, wu the
compoeition of the Bev. Jonathan EvanB, of Folesbill,
England, He wrote a volume of Bimilar compoMtiona,
tKe maniucript of which ia said yet to be in existence.
Though originally in a very different profeaaioD, and
nnbleat by the privilegea of a collegiate edncation, Mr.
Evana wis, for about thirty years, a plain, earnest, and
snccessAil preacher of the gospel, chiefly in the villages
of Warwickshire and among a congregation raised by
his own labors at Folesbill. He was a man of sense,
piety, activity, and fortitude,— a Arm and gcneroaa
friend, and a kind benefactor to the poor, both by ren-
dering medical aasiatance and in ministerial labors. He
died in August, 1809, aged aixty years.
REV. JOHN FAWCETT, D.D.
TmADiTtoN in England givoa a very pleasing account
of the origin of the well-known hymn, —
" Blwt b« til* tU that bind*."
It was written by the late dignified and gentlemanly
Bev. John Fawcett,D.D., who died in 18^7, in the aeventy*
seventh year of his age, nearly sixty yean of which
were devoted to the Christian ministry. As early as
1782 he published a small volume of h3rmns fbr publio
and private worship, — a new edition of which waa issued
in the year of his death.
Afker he had been a few yean in the ministry, ^hia
•"'VtJ
W^iP-
148 AUTBOM AND OKIOIM OF BTMIfS.
fktnily inerMMing tkr mora rapidly than bis income, be
tbonght it WM bis dntj to accept s osU to settle ss
pastor of a Baptist charcb in London, to snoceed tbe
celebrated Dr. Gill, wbiob he did. He prescbed bis fkre-
well sermon to his cborch in Yoriishire, and loaded six
or seyen wagops with bis flimitora, boolu, etc., to be
carried to his new residence. All this time tbe memben
of bis poor chnreb were almost broken-hearted: fer-
Tsntlj did they pray that ev\a now he might not leave
thsm ; and, as the time for his departure arrived, men,
women, and obildnn dang aroand bim and bis flimily
in perfect agony of soul. The last wagon was being
loaded, when the good man and bis wife sat down on
one of the packing-cases to weep. Looking into Us
taarfbl fkoe, while tean like rain fell down her own
cheeks, his devoted wife said, " Oh, John, John, J cannot
bear this I I know not how to go!" "Nor I, either,"
said the good man; "nor will we go. Unload the
wagons and pat every thing in tbe place whera it was
befbra." Tbe people cried for joy. A letter was sent
to tbe chnrob in London to tell them that his coming to
them was impossible ; and the good man hackled on his
■armor for ranewed labon on a salary of less than two
hundred dollan a year.
It is said that tbe hymn to which we bavis alraady
referred was written to commemorate his continaance
with bis people. It was not only nsefVil then, bat hss
been sang by tens of thoosands since, and no doubt will
b« fbr generations yet to oome.
•^ Sr^j:'^;^-*'7;i.5.'<r'f\- r"J^'^ tr-^'
-^-i.wlp,
UV. JOIM rAWORT, B.B. 140
Dr. FawMtt wm the author of aererml other works b«
■idM hit hymn-book. Oat of thtme—" An JEtsay on Anger"
— WMa fkTorite book with Oeorge III., who offered ita aa-
tbor any benefit he ooukl confer. The good man subatan-
tially replied that he lived among hiM own poople,i— that he
oi\ioyed their love, — that Ood blessed his labors among
them, — and that he needed nothing which even a king
could bestow. Some time afterward, however, a yoong
man, the eon of a dear firiend, was sentenced to death
for the crime of forgery. Fawcett interposed in his
ikTor, and, i^r much labor, obtained iVom his sovereign
a pardon. The young man afterward becaipe an emi-
nent Christian, and on the Sabbatha of many years read
Aie hymns in a church in Liverpool.
Fawcett was exceedingly fond of psalmody, and often
■aid, "If the Lord has given to man the ability to raise
mioh melodious sounds and voices on earth, what de-
IJghtfol harmony will there be in heaven !"
Let us take our last look at this excellent minister df
Jeaus Christ. He has ascended the pulpit at an Associa-
tion in Yorkshire. A thousand eyes are fixed on him
in love and admiration, and all present express their con-
viction, by nods and smiles, that a spiritual feast has been
provided for them. As a good soldier of Christ, he haa
endured hardness for fkr more than half a century.
His praise has been in all the chorchea ; bia ministiy
has been greatly priced through the whole of that popu-
lous district; and his usefolness has been honored at
home and abroad, in the cottage and in the palace itself.
>7^i'J
UO AUTIOW AMU OWUIM Of HVMHB.
He hM now coqi* to bou* hit dying tMtimony to the
dodtrinet of the croee, and to bid farewell to the mini^
Un and fH^nda with whom he haa been ao long aaio-
eiated. Hany of them have a atrong presentiment that
they aball aee hii face no more, and are prepared to re-
oeive hie meeaage aa IW>m the lipa of a man who baa
flaiahed hia ooane aud now stands at the entrance of
heaven. Aa he rises in the pulpit, a deathlike silence
OTcrspreads the crowded congregation, and all ears are
opened to oato^ the words of inspiration. With a tra-
molons voice, and with deep emotion, he reads the text,
" I am this day going the way of all the earth," Joah.
xxiii. 14 ; and, long before he finishes his discourse^ the
place becomes a Boekim, — the boose of God,— the gate
of heaven. The sermon, which waa committed to the
press by the agency of its hearers, yet exista as a monu-
mtnt to hia love of tmth, his holy affection, and his aeal
fi>r the eztenaion of the dootrinea of aovereign mercy.
* JOHN FELLOWS.
Sktibai. hymns on baptism, which appear la some
of oar books, were written by John Fellows, a poor
ahoemaker of that denomination, of Birmingham, Bng-
laad, in the latter part of the laat centoiy. He wrote
■averal works of a poetical character, including <' THe
pkUry of the Bibk." He was contemporary with Gill
f nd Toplady, on whose decease he wrote elegies. The
KIT. MUMAHIM nAMOll. Ut
ftmrth edition of hia hymn* wM^blishad in 1777. Al-
Ubon«, in hii very Mn " Critical Dictionary of Englith
lAUratwre," improperly Bpeaks of him m a Methodiit.
ELIZA LEE FOLLEN.
Wi have met, in,,oar booka, with two or three veiy
pleasing bymna fh>m the pen of this lady, who is, we
believe, connected with the Unitarian body. She haa
pnbliahed aeveral volnmea of prose, which hare been
well received by the public, especially in New England,
to the manners of which portion of our land she appears
to be very warmly attached.
This lady, formerly Miss Cabot, a native of Boston,
was married in 1828 to Proi(Msor Charles Follen, who
perished in the conflagration of the steamboat Lexing.
ton, in 1840. She has since pnblished the life of her
biisband.
REV. BENJAMIN FRANCIS.
Tn Bev. Benjamin Francis, whose hymn
" My graeiouf SadMmw I 1ot«"
li an ornament to many of onr books, was a native of
Wales, and was bom in 17S4. At fifteen he nnited with
a. Baptist chnrch,and began to preach at nineteen, when
he was sent to Bristol College, where he remained for
■%.■-,■»'■'"(
IM
AUTHOU AMD OKIQi;) Of HTMMl.
three yean. When he went to college he did not know
enough of the English langnage to ask in it a bleaaing
on hit food ; bat in a short time he became an excellent
English scholar. At twenty^fonr he was ordained, at
Shortwood, in Gloacestershire, where he remained till
his death in 1709. Daring his ministry the hoase of
wonhip was three times enlarged, and a new edifice
was erected three miles Arom it for evening services. One
of his hymns, —
'* OtmU King of 1I017, coma,"
was written for the re-dedication of his church.«diflce
after one of its enlargements. He was strongly invited
to settle with a charch in London ; but, though he had a
large and afflicted fiimily, and a small income, he posi-
tively refhsed. He is said to have enjoyed through life a
very heavenly state of mind, and, thoagh fVequently in
great trouble, was generally happy. As he approached
the end of his liiSs, he would often weep over the remem-
brance of his early friends, nearly all of whom had been
removed by death. He had used to speak of heaven aa
the residence of the larger number of his companions.
He died happy in Christ, saying, a few days before his
death, " If I could mention nothing of former experiences,
I ten, I can, at this moment go to Jesus, as a poor sinner,
longing for salvation in his own sovereign way."
' The late eminent preacher, the Rev. Thomas Flint,
was the son-in-law and successor of this excellent man.
BIT. w. a. roBiiiM, d.d. lU
REV. RICHARD FURMAN, D.D.
Tbi name of this traly-excellent man ia not nnknown
to our hymn-booka, though it ia readily conceded that
poetiy waa by no meana the leading charaoteriatio of hia
mind. Few miniBtera of the Baptiat body, in thia or any
other land, have been more distinguished for sound Judg-
ment, correct theology, eminent spirituality, or aucceaa-
ftal labor than waa Dr. Furman ; and whatever tends to
perpetuate his memory will be valued by all who know
him. He waa bom in the State of New York in 1766,
commenced the woi% of the ministry at about eighteen
yeara of age, and settled at Oharleatoii, S.C., in 1787,
where he labored with great success till his deoeaae in
in 1826. He filled in his own denomination many of
ita most important officea; and the influence he ex*
arted ia atill powerfhl for good.
"^REV. W. H. FURNESS, D.D.
This gentleman, author of several very fine hymna in
onr collections, has since 1828 been the Unitarian clergy-
man ci Philadelphia. He graduated at Harvard Col-
lege in 1820, and then panned his theological stndiea till
hia ordination. He ia the author of several religioua
works, is a poet ot fine taate, and has published many
hymns, tranalationa, and fhgitive pieoea. He haa lately
devoted himaelf to the reform-movementaof the day, anch
5!|5^3f'is^;';ip*»jrft,r>;::Ti'''^!5^^ '^V •'i'''*-'v-»q'.'J!ry*-!i ,, <• * *J',-f»flf)i' - •*!
IM ~ AumoM AiiD (Nuam or ■»!(•.
M aDti-aUvery, temperance, and, we believe, womao'a
rfghU. He is also very warmly attached to the flue arta. 1
Dr. FameM waa bom at Boston in 1802.
THOMAS H. GALLAUDET, LL.D.
Wk know of very ftw hymna written by thia truly
diatingi Jahed man ; bnt if he had written no other than, —
!• Jamu, in liekBMt Md in pain,"
ha would be ftilly ^ntiUed to a place in our volume. He
waa bora in Philadielphia in 1807, and died at Hartford,
Connecticut, in 1851. He graduated at Yale College in
1806, being then but eighteen yoara of ag«, after which
he lufTered for several yean fVom ill health. In 1814 he
waa licensed to preach, but soon after devoted hiinaelf to
the deaf and dumb institution in Hartford, in which
great worlc he waa the pionedr and moat distinguished
of aU teachers. He waa also the moat eminent and
popular writer of juvenile -literature of hia day. The
continued buoyancy and vigor of his ntind, and the
amount of hia aohievementa, were truly wonderflil ; and
hia memory will ever remain Aragrant in the land which
he served and adorned.
■ REV. JOHN GAMBOLD.
. '%■ have yet, in aom4 of our hooka, a in* old hymn
KacbniAg,—
.' ' • . '
UT. Joan aAMWI.9. IM
••Ok, ton M M mm of thb warM'i T*la iter*."
It WM written by the Rer. John Gamboid, a natire of
Baverfordwest, who took his degree of M.A. at Oxford
TTniTeraity in 1784. After being, on the preaentation of
Archblahop Secker^vioar of Stanton Harofiirt, in Ox-
fordshire, till 1748, he joined the United Brethren, among
whom be was ordained biebop in 1764^ He establiBhed
• oongr^^tion at CoothiU, in Ireland, and died in his
native town in 1771. He pablished several works, be-
sides a poem on the martyrdom of Ignatius, and was
vniversally esteemed for his extensive learning and i^iof-
ftasive mannen.
Ths hynn to which we have referred was a great fk-
T<nite with the eminent Bowland Hill, who published it
la his own hymn-book, and daring many of the last
years of his lift probably repeated some of its lineis
thousands of times, feeling intense interest in them even
when he was beyond the power of uttering a single
word: —
" And wb«B I'm to dia, rMeir* ma, I'll arjr,
For Jmm hatb lorod mo, I oaaitot toll wky ;
Alt tUo I do flad,— wo two sro to joiaod.
Boll not Uto ia (lat7 Mtd loaro mo boUad."
It baa been well said that it is impossible to read
Oambold'fe works without being convinced that he en-
J(kyed much communion with' God and was greatly con-
Tenant with hMvenly things, and that hence he had
imbibed much of the spirit and caught much of the tone
of tb* glorifled Church above. The late Judge Story,
IM AOTMU AMD OUaiN Off aTHM.
writing to the B«t. John Bnuwr, mjs, « The ipeoiniena'
yon hftT* pr«a«nt«d of hi> writinga gir* m« » high opi>
nion of hi> genias, and th«re are oooMion«l fUshee in hia
poetry of great brilliancy and power. The < Mj/itery qf
Liji oontaioa tome ezqniiite tonohea, and cannot bat
neall to erery man, who haa indulged in moaing* beyond
thit tablanary scene, aome of thoae thoii|^ta whioh have
pawed before him in an nnearthly form aa he haa com-
maned with hia own aooL"
REV. PAUL GERHARD.
Tna German divine, lometimea called Oerhardt, waa
bom in 1606 and died in 1876. Hii hymna, or rather
translations of them, are becoming inoreaaingly popnlar,
and very deaerredly ao, for we know of none more acrip-
taral in sentiment or devotional in apirit He waa tha
author of the hymn first translated by the BeT. John
Wesley,—
"OIt« to th« wiad* U17 tan."
which in some Bngliah hymn-booka haa baen erroneooaly
aacribed to Martin Lather. Oar more modem hooka
are giving as others of hia tmly ezcelleot prodactiona;
ao that ha may beoome in this ooantiy what ha haa long
bean in Oarmany^ — tha fltvorite poet among orthodox
fl^riatiana.
W9
■W'
an oiunT. UT
REV. THOMAS GIBBONS, D.O.
Ov% book* oonUin a hTmn,— #
•• WUb Jww dw«U ia aorUl eUj,"
and one or two othert, writton hy Dr. Gibbona, an Inda-
pandant or Congregational miniitar, ilrat in Silver Street
•ad afterward in Haberdaahera' Hall, both in the city
ot London. He waa the intimate flriend of Whitefield,
who tella an amoting anecdote of his once aaffering aea-
aiokneaa for an hour and thua having hia aTnpathy for
aailora greatlj increaaed. He waa alio intimate with
Dr. Watta, whoae life he wrote. He pabliahed « Memoin
ti SmintHt Women," "Rhetoric" etc. In 1786, when
■istj-flTe yeara of age, he waa taken anddenly in a lit,
and remained ipeechleea for Ave days, at the end of
which he died. He waa held in very high eateem.
Dr. Cotton liather, when apeaking of Dr. Gibbona'a
volume « The Chritian Minitler" aays, " Here you have
a thousand hints respecting the reading of the best.an-
thora, the composing of sermons, etc."
ANN GILBERT.
Two or three hymns to be found in some of oar booka
wow written by thia lady, who waa one of the Taylor
flunUy of Ongar, and who felt a speciAl interest in by mna
fbr the young, and for Sabbath-schools. She waa one of
14
IM AUTHOW AMD OKiaiN or BTMNI.
tb« Mthen of "Hymmifor Infant Mindt." Her iktb«r,
tM ia well known, WM the Ber- Imum Taylor, mi exoelleat
CongregsUoiud minitter of Englsnd, and her hubend
WM for aome jesra a profesaor of claaaica in a Diaaenting
oolite, and for many yean a Congregational miniater
at Nottingfaam. ' ■
REV. THOMAS GISBORNE.
Tm gentlenian, wboee hymna, we beliere, mf not
namerooa, waa bom in England in 1768, and died in
1846. In 1826 he waa appointed aa the Prebendary of
Porfaam, an oiBee which he filled till hia death. He
pabUahed five yolnmea fit aermooa, and many other
woAm, which were well received : aome of thorn were
bi|[hly commended by the diatingniahed Bobert HaU.
LORD GLENELG.
Tbm Britiah nobleman waa the author of the well-
Icnown hymn^ —
<• WkM girtktfliig aloMta^lgwuid I flew."
Hia original name and atyle wM Sir Bobert Orant,
by which name and title he waa well knows aa a fldth-
ital aerraot of hia aoT««ign in a high office in India,
where alao he waa » warm friend of eyangelical mi8^<M»-
■AMIIAB r OOULO. IM
tim of •very mme. On hia raiarn iW>m the Biwt h«
WM tltraUd to the p««r»g«, which h« haa eminantly
•domed.
JOHN MASON GOOD, M.D.
A* elegtotlj-written hymn, —
" Not worMa m worlda la pkaUu dMpI"
and • Teiy tew other*, were written by thia eminent
philoaopher and phyaloian, a native of Epping, in Eng-
land, in 1764. In addition to aeveral highly-important
medical worka, and editing, in connection with Dr. Olin-
thoa Gregory and Newton Bosworth, £aq., a valuable
Cydopedi/oalled " The Pantalogia," he pnbliriied a new
tranaUtion of Solomon'a Bong and Job, aa well aa other
worica written in Oriental langaagea. Dr. Good waa the
aoB of a Diiaenting miniater, and, in early life, advocated
TJnitarianiam in ita loweat form. In hia later yeara ha
became aealoualy attached to evangelical truth, in the
triampha of which he died, January 2d, 1827. Mr. AlU-
bone truly aaya, " There are few namea that caat greater
loatre upon the archive* of Britiah medical acienoe and
philological learning than that of John Maaon Good."
HANNAH F. GOULD.
Taia lady, the author of two or three hymna in oar
popular collection*, ii an extenaive miscellaneona writer
100 AUTHOM ARO OftiaiN OF UTMNS. •
of oar o«n Iftnd. Sho ia » native of LanoMtar, Vt,
bat remoTod in early life to Nowburyport, in Haaaachu-
Botta. Mra. Ualo, in her " Woman's Record," taya, " In
truth, the great power of her poetry ia ita moral appli.
cation. Thia hallowa every object' aho looka npon and
ennobioa every incident ahe celebratoa. She takoa lowly
and hamblo themes, bat ahe turns them to the light of
heaven, and they are beaatiAil, and refined, and ele-
vated." •
JAMES GRANT.
Tbi well-known hymn, —
" O 2ioB ! UHeUd witli tr»Tt npea vsTt,"
waa written by James Grant, a magistrate at Edinburgh,
in Scotland. Ho waa highly esteemed for hia piety and
hia love of Chriatians. Having an oar for moaic, he waa
much pleased with the old Scottish nielodies, bat dis-
liked the worda to which many of them were sung. He
therefore wrote some plaintive experimental hymna
adapted to them, most of which are now forgotten ; but
tlio one to which we have referred will be popular, in
Europe at least, for generations to come. It waa written
to the air of the " Yellow-Haired Laddie;" bat modern
"improvements" have prepared other tunes for it. Hr.
Grant first published his hymns in 1784, with the title,
" Original Hymnt and Poems, Written by a Private Chrit-
tit»M to Own Ute."
,*i^t ■■■'.: , • ! , ■
■'* - , " • /.'-■
NAIMja OlIOM. Ifl
THOMAS GREENE.
Tata gentleman was the anthor of the hymn^
"It U the Lord raUironed in ifght."
He reaided at Ware, in Hertford«hire, England, and
pnblished a small volume of hymns in 1780. He was not
a minister.
REV. JOSEPH GRIGG.
About half a century ago, wo saw a small pamphlet
containing nineteen hymns, written by a young man
named Grigg, when he was a laboring mechanic. Among
the rest wore the well-known
•' Jons, wd iIulU it wrer bat"
tod,
" Behold ft ttnopr st the door."
He afterward entered the ministry, preached in Silver
Street, London, married a widow lady of considerable
property, and died at Walthamstow, near London, in
1768.
'"WW
MADAME GUION.
Aic extract from a letter written in 1782 by the esti-
mable Cowper to the^Rev. William Unwin, in reference
to this eminent woman, will be far more acceptable to
the reader than any thing we could ourselves write »—
14*
,"-■■■ "^1
162 AUTHORS AND OBiaiN or HTMN8. ^it;
"Mr. Bull, a Dissen^ng [Congregational] minister of
Newport [Pagnell,] «i learned, ingenious, good-natured, ^;|
pious friend of ours, who sometimes visits us, and whom ,
we visited last week, put into my hands three volumes '-.^
of French poetry, composed by Madame Gnion. 'A
qnietist,' say you, ' and a fanatic : I will have nothing to
do with her !' It is very well : you are welcome to have
nothingtodo with her; but, in the mean time, her verse is ^^!
the only French verse I ever read that I found agreeable :
there is a neatness in it equal to that which we applaud,
with so much reason, in the compositions of Prior. I .
have translated several of them, and shall proceed in my
translations till I have filled a lilipntian paper-book I •;
happen to have by me, which, when filled, I shall pre- V^
sent to Mr. fiull. Bb is her passionate admirer, — rode ;;:
twenty miles to see her picture in the house of a stranger, ■■ %
which strauger politely insisted on his acceptance of it, ^
and it now hangi over his chimney. It is a striking ^
portrait, — too characteristic not to be a strong resem- >U
blance, and, v.ere it encompassed with a glory instead .rl
of being dressed in a nun's hood, might paM for the fac« .;»^
of an angel." V S
Many of Madame's religious views were so erroneous "
as to lead pne of her most devoted admirers, the dis-
tinguished John Wesley, to say, " nay, such as are daii-
gerously fklse." And yet the same writer says, "I J
believe she was not only a good woman, but good in ;|
an eminent degree,— deeply devoted to God, and often |
fkvored with uncommon communications of his Spirit." ^|
^^^,1
EIT. WILUAM UAHMOND. 168
•11
After being vehemently opposed by the leading men
«f the Bomish Charch, Madame Gaion spent ten yean
tn prison, daring which time' she composed many hymns
and poems on sacred subjects, filling five octavo volumes.
Speaking of her imprisonment at Vincennes, she says,
" I passed my time in great peace, content to spend the
rest of my Ufe there, if such were the will of God. I
sang songs of joy, which the maid who served me learned
by heart as fast as I made them ; and we sang together
thy praises, O my God ! The stones of my prison looked
in my eyes like rubies. I esteemed them more than all
the gaudy brilliants of a vain world."
After her long imprisonment, Madame Guion lived a
retired life for more than seven years at Blois, where she
died, June, 1717, in the seventieth year of her ago. It
has been truly said that she sang her sweetest hymns in
the Bastille.
REV. WILLIAM HAMMOND.
Tai well-known, animating hymns, —
" Lord, w« come before thoo now,"
" Would you win • «oul to God ?"
and
" Awake, «nd sing the Mng,"
with a few others, were written by the Bev. William
Hammond, " late of St. John's College, Cambridge," by
whom was published, in 1745, a volume of original
"P»alnu, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs," in which these
1<4 AUTBORS AND OHIOIM Ot BYMIII.
oompoaitions fint appeared before the world. Long aa
they have served the chnrchos, we can easily believe
they have comparatively but just entered on their career
of useAilness.
Mr. Hammond was one of the early Calvinistio
Methodist preachers. He afterward, with his iHend
Cenniok, joined the Moravian Brethren, and was interred
in their bnr}ring-groand at Chelsea, London, 1788. Be-
sides his hymns, he wrote a volnme entitled " The Mar-
rwo ef the Qotpel," and left in manascript an aatobio-
graphy written in Greek.
REV. JOSEPH HART.
BvxsT reader will remember that many hymns in
almost every book bear the name of this excellent man.
He was bom about the yea^ 1712, and ih eariy life r»>
oeived an exodlent education, which prepared him for a
classical teacher, a profession he adorned for many year*,
not entering on the ministry till about forty-eight yean
of age. He settled in 1760 as pastor of the Lidepeudent
Church in Jewin Street, London, where his ministry waa
abundantly blessed to a very large church and congrega-
tion. Here, t^hile suffering great aiBlctions, he labored
till his death. May 24th, 1768, aged fifty-aiz years. Hia
brother-in-law, the Rev. Mr. Hughes, addressing the
church in his ftineral sermon, said, "He was like the
laborious ox that di(M with the yoke on his neck : so
, ,,
SET. TBOJUt HAWXU, IXJI., M.O. 105
died b« with the yokeof Chrint on hii neck; neither
woald he anffer it, to be taken off; for ye are his wit-
nesses that he preached Christ to yoa with the arrows
of death sticking in him." He was buried in Banhili
Fields, London, where his tombstone may yet be seen.
It was said that bis Aineral was more hirgely attended
than that of any other person, there bepig more than
twenty thousand spectators present. It may be remarked
here that Dr. Samuel Johnson records a characteristic
flKst : — " I went to church, — I gave a shilling ; and, seeing
a poor giri at the sacrament in a bod-gown, I gave her
privately half a crown, [sixty cents,] though I saw Hart's
hymns in her hand."
REV. THOMAS HAWEIS, LL.B., M.D.
ThM gentieman, bom about 1782, was educated in the
University of Oxford, England, but Was expelled, because
he professed to be a Calvinist, and irregularly preaahed
to large congregations. The chapel at Broadway, West-
minster, was presented to him ; but the Dean of West-
minster refVised him a license, beeauM he had been ex-
pelled fix>m Oxford. Some time afterward, ha became
rector of AldwinUe, in Northamptonshire, which poet he
held for fifty-six years. Lady Huntingdon appointed
him one of her chaplains, and for many years he itine-
rated throughout her connection. For several years ha
resided at Bath, where he died in 1820, being then the
<ddeat " evangelical" clergyman in the Church of Eag-
'J-; .*-■''. ■ . " '* ' ' \ ^ •-'
lt§ AVTB<m% AKD OBiaill OT HTMll*.
laad. He wu the author of the well-known beftntifld
hymn, —
"0 tbon from whom til goodaeM flowi,"
' M aleo of the "Life of Jtomaine," » " Oiurck Hiitory,"
and " A View of the PretaU Sate 0/ BvangtUeal Behgion
throughout the World." Dr. Haweis waa one of the
founders of the London MiMionary Society ; and by hia
inflnence the miMioni to the Soath-Sea islands wer* '
first entered upon.
The excellent Bev. John Newton says of this good
nikn, " The preaching of Br. Haweis, which had, like
the report of a cannon, sounded through the country,
iattraoted vast congregations to Aldwinkle." Some of
the most profligate persons in the neighborhood were
brought to repentance and "the acknowledgment of the
! ^ truth" under his heart-searching addr e ss e s. Among his
converts was an old tavern-keeper, who, having been a
good customer to his own beer-barrel, had carbuncled
bis noM into the sign of his calling. He was ftom na-
ture and interest averse to evangelical truth, and oould
not see what all the world had to run after at Aldwinkle
XThuroh. Being fond of music, however, and hearing tb^
^ging highly praised, he contrived to go six miles, avoid
a drinking-party, and sqneeae himself into a pew some-
what too narrow for his portly person, where he listened
with delight to the hymns, but stopped his ears to the
. fmyers. Heated and fkUgued, ho closed his eyes also,
' till, a fly stinging his nose, he took one of his hands
ftom the side of his head to drive awi^ the intruder.
MBHOP BBBU. 167
Jnt Bt th«t moment, the preacher, in a voice that
Bounded like thunder, read his text: — "Ho that hath
•an to hear, let him hear 1" The impreMion waa irre-
•ietible : his hands no longer covered his ears : a new
sense was awakened within : it was the beginning of
days to him. No more swearing, no more drunkenness,
bat prayer and hearing the word of God occupied hia
time ; and, after walking with God for eighteen years,
he died rejoicing in hope and blessing God for the minis-
ter of his oonTorsion.
BISHOP HEBER.
Who among our readers can be ignorant of Bish<^
Haber's missionary hymn, —
*< From OrMaUnd'i ley mouBUiiu"T
Its amiable author was bom in England in 1788, and
was educated at the University of Oxford, where he
took his degree of M.A. in 1808, and waa soon after
preifwnted.to the ihmily living at Hodnet, in Shropshire.
Here he discharged his parochial dutiM till he waa offered
the bishoprlb of Calcutta, as successor to Bishop Middle-
ton, to which see he went in June, 1828. In 1820 he
travelled in the discharge <^ his duties, and, while
bathing, was seised with apoplexy, and suddenly died.
Tb» hymn which may be regarded as his best monu-
ment was written at Hodnet, to be snng in connection
with a sermon which appealed to the people of hia
:?37' ^
198 AUTHOM AMD OBtOIH Or HTllllt.
charge, in 1820, on b«h«lf of miMions. He had not Un
slightost ides that what was written only for a imall vil-
lage congregation would become popular, as it has done,
in at least three-qnarters of the globe.
The original mannscript of this admirable hjmn ia
jet, with a tbonsand others of like character, in the pos-
session of the Bev. Pr. Baffles, of Liverpool ; and from
this it is seen that the line
•<Th* hMtliMi in U« blindacw"
tua first written, — ^
" Tke pagui ia hi* bUndneu."
REV. GEORGE HERBERT.
DxvonoNAi. feeling and good taste hare transferred a
vmy few of the fine hymns of this good old poet to oar
books. From the pen of a grandson of the venerated
Andrew Fuller, we chiefly transcribe a very few lines of
this scholar, poet, and saint, who died of consumption in
the trying times of the seventeenth century.
In the year 1080, George Herbert went, according to
a custom in those days, to toll the church-bell at the
quiet village of Bemerton, about one mile fh>m the city
of Salisbory, on his introduction to the living. He
stayed mnoh longer than usual after the bell had osaiad
to toll ; and one of his ftiends, alarmed at his abaenoa,
looked in at the window and found him prostrate at the
'aj^ff- ..
BIT. OftOKOI BIkBUT. IM
Blt4r in pmyer. On this same night, According to hii
biographer, Ixaak Walton, he declared that " the virtnou
life of m olergjmuui was the most powerftil eloquence to
persoade all that see it to reverence and love, and at
least to live like him; and this will I do, because I know
we live in an age that hath more need of good exampU$
than precepts." ^ '
Well indeed did Herbert work oat his holy rtaoln-
tions. For two or three yean the village of Bemerton
was bleB(ted with a ministry so self-denying, and with
an example so pore and gentle in its manifestation of
the Christian graces, that the memory of it "is as oint-
ment poured forth." Twice every day, he, with his wife
and child, led the villagers to prayer, and every Sabbath
afternoon questioned them on the verities of the Christian
' frith. There was not a cottage in the village or neigh-
borhood, where want and sorrow had found a home, that
was not cheered by the visits of this holy man. He was
passionately fond of music; «nd even when at college
this was his chief recreation. Twice every week he was
accustomed to walk fVom Bemerton to Salisbury for the
sole purpose of hearing the organ, and on his retura his
•onl seemed thrilled with ecstasy. He once met an old
man, who, with his horse, had fallen on the road and
were unable to get on their feet again. Taking off hia
ooat, Herbert set manfUIy to work and soon put them
all right. He was, however, plastered with mud, and
arrived in Salisbury with a most uncanonical appearance.
On his friends noticing his plight and asking for an •»•
176 AVTBOU Ain> OBIOIN Of BTMHf. N
pUnktion, he told them the story, adding that the thought
of what he had done would prove " mnaic to him at mid-
night."
No one can regret that Qeorge Herbert waa caUed
'away in the very midst of his holy life, before the time
of those terrible strife* in which he would have been so
ill af ^ase. His death was truly calm and beautiAU.
The Sabbath preceding it, he took his well-tuned lute
and proceeded to play and sing, —
"ll7 0od,B7aod,
Hj mnaie thkll tni tbM, - .
Aad nmj string
\ Shall haT* hia attribute aad ling."
On the day of his death he decUred, " I am sorri^ I,
have nothing to present to God bat sin and misery; but
the first is pardoned, and a few hours shall pat a period
to the second." How beaatifUlly does old laaak Walton
aay, " I wish, if God be so pleased, I may die like him"!
Perhaps no poet has ever put more strong ttvff into a
flingle verse, or sometimes line or half a line, than Geoi^
Herbert. It is not the music of the riiythm, or the even
flow<«f the words, that generally charms, but „that each
sentence seems like a sharp thrust, which pierces the
inmost recesses of the moral and spiritual life; and very
often the gleam on the weapon is nuMt golden. Onr
««aden may rest assured that whenever they tarn to
"HmiET's TempUf' they will find, if not hymns fi>r
ihe "haart aw.' toios/' yat always hymns tat the heart
'•vW'i" rrJ^^Jy^lT^
UT. JAnn anTiT. 171
REV. JAMES HEUVEY.
This eminently pious clergyman, and, for the day in
which he lived, elegant writer, is not generally known
as a writer of hymns ; but one composition of his bcipg
inserted in several of oar books claims that his name be -
included in our volume. We refer to the hymn begin-
ning,—
" Bine* all the Tsrjring iMaM of time."
Mr. Hervey was boi-n in 1714, was educated at the
University of Oxford, ordained in the Church of England,
and died of consumption at forty*foar, in 17«'i8. He waa
a fine scholar and eminently pious and benevolent. His
heart was so set oti the relief of the poor that,' in con-
formity with his wish to die " even with the world," his
inoome, and the profits derived fVom his popular and use-
All works, were all devoted to them. He wrote several
worin, which long had an extensive circulation, such as
"Meditatwnt among the Tombs," "Befiectiotu in a Flower-
Oarden" and a doctrinal work called " Theron and A»-
patio." These were all published, in seven octavo volnmet,
iS 1796.
Hervey was an ardent firiend of Dr. Doddridge and •
ftrvtBt admirer of George Whitefield. He was a tall and
spectral-looking man, and finr several years before his
decease was dying daily. He had a very graceibl elo-
cution, and was listened to every Sabbath by crowded
congregatioBi.
. It is pleasant oooasionally to maet with a man wko
- ,, j<"ijr.i,'-'yTpr'
17t ADTHOBS AND OBIOIN Or BTMlia.
eM> form a comet Mtimate of hia own Ulenta ; and this
WH the case with Hervey. Speaking of himaelf to hia
biographer, the senior John Ryland, he said, "My ftiend,
I hare not a strong mind ; I have not powers fitted for
ardent researches; but I think I have a power of writing
in somewhat of a striking manner, so fkr as to please
mankind and recommend my dear Bedeemer."
REV. ROWLAND HILL.
Tbib distinguished minister of Christ had but a small
portion of poetical talent: he was, however, fond of
writing hymns. Some of oar older collections contain
the truly pious composition, —
f Dear Friend of friradlM* linawt, hMu>,"
which ha wrote for the members of his church when on
• aiok-bed, and which, it is said, was profitably used by
many of them in their dying hours. Multitudes have
passed away fVom singing of "the promised rest" on
•arth to its enjoyment in heaven. His beet biographir
says, "No one acquainted with Mr. Hill can read
this hymn without seeing before him the image of the
writer in his happiest moments, when his mind was
sweetly and graciously subdued by the power of the
Divine Spirit If I were asked for a description of Mr.
Hill when <it was well with him,' I should just read
tUs short compoaitioB. It possss s ss the pathos of the
''■«K^''v ■*'v.»^j'-. ■' 1' ;• * - ■: , : -^"' t • . :;i\ ■ ■ ■ ; ■■ .-' >^; '*;.r > ''0''^7"'!i^
•iiBor notiii. 178
exoeHent man when h« left the footatool of merey and
hnmedifttely asoended the sacred denk."
Bat Mr. Hill's greatest pleasure of this kind waa in
aonnection with his large Sunday-schools. He always
had an annual assemblage of the children and their
teachers on Easter Monday and Tuesday, when he com-
posed a hymn to be sung, which he printed and gratui-
tously distributed. These little compositions were much
valued by the young people, who were addressed ik>m
the text of Scripture printed at the head of the hymn.
Mr. Weight tells us, in his ftaneral service ibr the vene-
rable man, that, on the Easter Tuesday only two days
preceding his death, he deeply regretted his inability to
engage in his osnal services. "He stood at his drawing-
room window and saw the dear little children thronging
the chapel-yard, and spoke with much delight of by-gon«
days, when he had met them and preached to thorn the
Lord Jesus Christ."
Mr. Hill, in 1798,— two years before the death of
Cowper, — published a small volume of "Divine Hymn* for
ChUdren," which the poet kindly revised, and concerning
which a letter distinguished by his oharacteristio humor
la atUl in ezictMoe.
BISHOP HORNE.
This valued prelate, who died in 1792, aged sixty-two
years, wrote a very few good hymns, one of whiol),
greatly abridged fVoro the original, begins, —
li*
174 Anni(Aa and obioim or htmns.
" 8m tht Imtm urvnad lu doling. "
It hM, howcTer, been property said that the purity of
Ui tMte wu lomewhat warped by the age in which ho
lived. The bishop shines most eminently in his work
OB the Psahns, in writing which he took his highest
'pleasure, and said that, if it pleased God, he would rejoice
to die in meditating on this portion of his word.
REV. JOSEPH HUMPHRIES
WAS one of the early Calvinistic Methodist preachers of
the last centnry. He wrote the hymn, —
•' BlMMd W* tll« MU of Ood,"
and a few others, which were published at the end of
Cenniok's hymns in 1748. He died in London, and waa
b«ri«d in the Moravian cemetery at Chelsea.
REV. G. B. IDE, D.D.
This popaUr Baptist minister, authov of several hymns
bearing his name, most of which are printed in " Tht
Baptiit Harp," a selection of hymns edited by himself, is
a native of Vermont, and has labored in the ministry for
away years at Albany, Boston, Philadelphia, and Spring
fldd in Massachusetts, in which places he has been
favored with much raccess.
BIT. iDHinrD /ONii. 176
REV. WILLIAM JAY.
•* Com, Uioa loal-truuronBiog Spirit,"
ia one of aboat twenty aimilar compositions from the pen
of this late eminent preaoher, who was born of veiy
hambje paranta in 1770, and died at Bath, in England,
after a ministiy in one edifice of sixty-three yean, in
1854, aged eighty-four years. Few men were more dia-
tingnished for a catholic spirit and constant pulpit-labor.
He never forgot, when he ascended bis "thrc(^o," — as he
regarded it,>— that he had men, womon, and children hang-
ing npon his lips; and, instead of discoursing 6e/ore them,
he addressed himaelf to them. Whatever might be hia
theme, he intermixed statements and illustrations which
at once explained the subject, touched the springs of
hnman R3anpathy, and coni|«yed important suggestions
for the conduct of life.
REV. EDMUND JONES.
SivxEAL of our hymn-books contain a universal
ikvorite, beginning, as published by its author, —
"CoBu, hniaU* liuMr, in whoM br— i t ."
Tltis hymn was written, with one or two others of like
oharaotar, by the Bev. Edmund Jones, a highly-popular
,Welsh Baptist preacher of the last century. He was
•minent for his piety and a remarkably amiable temper;
'"['■'■-f^^f.':^
■■■■■*
I7t AOTHOM AMD OmiOlM Of BTMill.
and hit death, though at a very advanced age, waa a
aoorce of very extenaive grief We believe that the only
prodnctiona of his pen, in addition to the bjmnB to which
,we have referred, were contained in a pamphlet of ninety
pages, a copy of which may bo found in th^ library of
the American Baptist Publication Society in PHiladeU'
phia, the whole title of which we will transcribe: —
"Samson't Hair, an EminetU Bepretentation of the Church
of Ood. In two parti. To which u [are] added Two Ser-
mont : First, showing the Evil Nature and Hurtful Effects
of UrMUf', Second, On God^s Subduing and Keeping
under the Strong Corruptions of his People, and Healing
Them. By Edmund Jones, Minister of the Chspel. — Trevecka:
printed in the year MDC'CLXXVII."
The two sermons on Samson's hair were preceded by
warm recommendations from the pens of two very r»-
(Qiectable ministers, as well as a prefkoe from the author,
enforcing the importance of his subject. The sermona
ftumish fUr specimens of the spiritoalixing tendency of
that age, and suggest the propriety of combining the
piety of the paat with the inteUe«taal strength of the
present
REV. ADONIEAM JUDSON, D.D.
TaovoB we have two hymns written by this excellent
Ohristian miaaionary, both of them on baptism, we can
•carcely claim for him the honors of a poet His glory
^'!^;^'~yv:r •'■■''' f ■ :•■-''' '■ • - "•* ■■ ■ . ■ ,. yw^^.-. f^-j
KIT. TBOMAS KBU.T. 177
WM of a flur higher character. He waa the son of aa
excellent Congregational minister in Maasachosetta, and
graduated at Brown Univenity, intending to panue the
profeiiaion of the Uw. Converted by the grace of Ood,
he changed his design, and went to study theology- at
Andover. While here, the missionary spirit was excited,
and aevoral of the stndcnts offered themMlves for labor
in foreign lands; and the Board of CoromiMionera for
Foreign Missions sent Judson and several others to India.
On their way, Mr. Judson, Mr. Ilice, and their wivA be-
came Baptists. His life was devoted to preaching in
Bnrmah, and the translation of the Scriptures, in which
he spent nearly forty years. He had in his compositioii
all the elements of a hero; and he who would look for a
rare specimen of a life consecrated to noble aims, in-
spired with an elevated self-devotion, and exercising an
energy seldom witnessed among men, must contemplate
the lion-hoarted missionary of Burmah. Dr. Judson died
at sea, when bound to the isUnd of Bourbon for his
health, in 1850.
REV. THOMAS KELLY.
Tns gentleman, one of the most prolific and popular
hymn-writOTB of the last and present genisrations, was
the son of Judge Kelly, of Ireland. From a very early
age he had powerAU impressions of eternal realities, and
waa regarded as a very religions young man. His father
178 ADTBOU AMD OUQIK Or BTMMI.
IhmI intended him ibr the h«r, bat hie own heart we*
fixed on the pulpit. Having, in 1798, been ordained in
the Krtablished Chnrch, he oonunonoed preaching ia
Dvblin, and met with great opposition ttom his flunilj
for preaching the doctrine of justification by fkith; w
that he often nid that to have gone to the stake woold
have been a leas trial to him than to have set hima^
against those he dearly loved.
Crowds of persons from Sabbath to Sabbath listened
to the fervent appeals which Mr. Kelly made to their '
consciences; bnt before long he was mnch opposed bj
his snperiora in the Church, and compelled to leave the
Bstablishment, though he never dissenud from its doo-
trines. He continued to labor in Bnblin for more than
sixty yean, during whioh time it was testified by many
that he never seemed to waste an hour. His talenta
were of ajiigh order, and his attainment* very consider-
able. Mnaio was with him not merely a recreation, but,
like his other talents, was consecrated to the glory <d
God. A volume of airs which he composed to some of
his hymns were remarkable for much simplicity and
>sweetnefla. Aa a Christian he was distinguished for hi*
Svmiltty, and used to rejoice that the Israelitea who
stood the farthest from the brazen serpent might look
at it with the same benefil as those who were near. He
lived almoet oonstantly in prayer.
While preaching to his own congregation, in October,
1M4, Mr. Kelly waa seised with a slight stroke of para*
lyaia, whioh gradually lessened his strength till he died.
■:■■ ■■ '. ■■■■■. , „.■■•■ • ■ • ■ ., -'- : -*-■•■■: ... • «■ ,..,.>J.'',i^
iUyHUW^agtdalglitj-dzTMn. On hi* dMrtk-lMd*
V^WM^ JW — Uy MtmpoMd; ud, vhan the word* of tb«
SMlakkww* TCpMtod to Um, ^'Tb* Lonl to myShep.
hmdi I duJl not wut," Iw npUed, «TIm Jjotd to my
murjf tMng."
It to Mid of Kr. K«lly tlwt h» allowMl no epportanity
ibr doing good to pua naimprovad, bat am vlMa it
^roold h*T* bmn. inezpediwt to attompt mon ho would
drop ft g<(ntU hint H*h«dftnftdmirftble taetinftdftpt-
ing bto moda of ftddraM to the pwrtiM ha indaantftily
•poka to. Lord Flnnk^ ao wall known -for bto pmt,
waa ft aohoolfallow with Mr. Kelly, and their ooeaaional
raoognition of each other oontinoad tbrongb lift. Hto
kidahip, Wm meeting Mr. Kelly, told him be thoagfat
be woald liva to a great age. Ha replied, **! am oonfi-
dent I ahftU, fta I ezpeot never to die." The noUeman
aaid, " Ob, I aee what yoa mean."
Mr. Kelly'a bymna arc well known, and ao mneh^ ea-
teemed that no reader would wiah to loae.them.
BISHOP KEN.
Thb poet Montgomery baa vary properly remarked
that whftt to oaoally called the long metre dozology, —
••PniM 0«d, fto« when an blMttop tew," alo.,
baa probftUy been more naed than any other oompoaition
intheworid,tbeLord'8prftyerexoeptad. It waa written
by Biabop Ken, ft very hi^ Ohnrobman— freqnmtly fto-
v^ .'
IM AVnOMM AMD OUOUt Off RTMini.
ooMd of Bonuuiinn — of tho MT«iite«nth oantoiy. Tho
bishop wroU thrM hymiM of the lam* metre Jbr morn-
ings erening, and midnight, each of wbioh wh eloeed
with the doxologj. The hymna ere Mldom ro«d ; but
the dozology, wliich Ium appeared to the moet rigid
eritioa almost perftet in it* oharaoter, will probably be
need till the end of time.
Biahop Ken waa bom in 1687 and died in 1710. Abonk
l70B he waa appointed chaplain to the Princeia of
Orange, and went to Holland, where she then resided.
Here Ken compelled a ikrorite oonrtier to fUfll a ooi^
tract of marriage with a yonng lady of her train whom
he had aadaced. Hia seal in this matter gave soeh
oihnce to the prince, afterward William HL, that he
threatened to torn him out of the aerrice,— on whidi
Ken begged the princess to .allow him t6 resign; nor
would he consent to return till entreated by the prinoa
todoao.
In ^1684 Ken waa appointed chaplain to King Charlea
IL, and on the removal of the court to Winoheater to
paaa the auamar, Ken'aihouse was fixed upon aa the
reaidenoe of the celebrated Nell Owynae, Charlea'a mifr
trass; but the inflexihie clergyman positiTely reflised her
admittance; thia, instead of oflteding that profligata
monaroh, led him, aoon after, to appoint him Biahop of
Bath and Wella.
I In 1681^ Jamea n. asesoded the Huvut, and Ken b«>
aaaoMhiachaplaiaalaow One day the Uag waa abasnt,
and .the anemiea of the biahop complained to tha-Uiif
T<g^^i?w-j- S?6,>>
BIUHMP MMM. 181
«f hii Mrmon. The praUU rrauurked th»t « if hia m»-
Jesty had not neglected hia own duty of being preaent,
hia enemiea would have miaaed tbia opportunity of ao-
ouaing bim." When the king ordered the well-known
Declaration of Indnlgenoe to be read, Ken and six other
biahopa refuaed to comply, and were aent to the Tower;
but on trial the jury acquitted them. When Jamea abdi-
cated tbo tbrpne and the Prince of Orange went to Eng-
land aa William III., Ken vacated hia biaboprio rather
than awear allegiance to hia new aovereign, aa he did
not believe that he could flree bimaelf from the alle-
giance be had aworn to Jamea while be waa yet living.
: He lived in comparative retirement till hia death.
The volume which contained the hymna to which the
. doxology waa appended waa entitled "A Manual of
Prayer for the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College,"—
of which Whitefield apeaka aa having been very naefU
to him in the early period of hia college life.
Some of our reader* at leaat will thank ua for giving
ftt length Hontgomery'a remarka on " The Doxology," of
which he aaya, it " ia a maaterpieoe at once of amplifica-
tion and oompreaaion. Of amplifteation, on the burden °
' Praite €hd,' repeated in each line ; compremon, exhibit-
ing God aa the object of praiae in every view in which
we can imagine praiae due to him, — ^for all his blesainga,
yea, for all bleaainga, none coming from any other aouroe :
praiae by every creature, apecifically invoked here below
•nd in heaven ' above :' praiae to him in each of the cha-
' factera wherein he baa revealed bimaelf in hia word,-^
M
182 AUTBOU AND OMQIR Of HTMMI.
* Father, Son, and Holy Ohotf.* T«t this oomprehenahr*
▼ene it aufflcientlj simple that, by it, ' ont of the months
of bsbea and snoklings,' God may 'perfect praise;' and
it appears so easy that one, is tempted to think hun-
dreds of the sort might be made without trouble. The
reader baa only to try, and he will be quickly nnde-
oeiyed: the longer he tries, the more^ difficult he will
find the task to be." ^
It has been said that Bishop Ken was aoonatomed to
remark that it would enhance his joy in heayen to listen
to his morning and evening hymns as sung by the fldth-
All on earth.
JOHN KENT. y
Tn author 6f the hymn,—
' " Wksn tw« or tkrM togaUwr BM«t,
waa an humble man, of very bumble origin. He was
bom in Kdefbrd, England, 1766, and died in 1848. Ha
never aspired to a pulpit, and only ocenpied a position
as a shipwright. His life was marked by much afflio- '
tion, and at sixty he became blind. He published •
hymn-book in 1808) in which he proved that tl^e great
mystery of redeeming love through the atoning Baoriflce
of the Lord Jesus was the joy qf bis soul. In his last
hour he extended his band, cold with death, and es«
oUimed, " I rejoice in hope! — I am accepted, — accepted f*
gathered up his "eet, and Ml asleep in Jesus, at the aga
of seventy-seven year*.
.S"if<!».
nuMou ■. ur. Itt
FRANCIS S. KEY.
In one or two of the ProteaUnt Epiaoopal oolleotions
of bjmns may b« foand on« beginning,^
"If lif«'«,plMfarM eharin lh««,
OiT* them not thj heart,
L«at the (id enenan the* '"
From thy Ood to part.
Hii fsTor ieck,
Hii preiiee ipeak.
Fix here thy hope'i fonadatioii ;
Serre Rim, and Be
WlU*T«rb«
The Rock of thy ealraiion." /
rof toe
It came ftt>m the pen of the auU^or of toe well-knowa
" Star-SpangUd Banner }" and, if the last-named compO>
dtion ahowa the graoeiVil patriot, the hjrmn oortainly
displays the spirit of the Christian. This was still far-
ther manifested in a scene aboat the year 1885, as thus
described by the clergyman officially engaged. H*
■ays, " I stood within the railing, at the side of the com-
aonion-table, and had administered the sacred elements
to all, it seemed, who desired to partake of them. Just
then, however, as though preriously restrained by pro-
fcnnd homility, a stranger a^roaohed the altar, knelt
all alone, and so received the Itoly memorials of oar Sa-
Tioor's safferiog and death. I trust the service was one
of true &ith, and that the resolt was one of great peace
'and comfort. That last communicant was the same
person, — the distinguished poet, the accomplished lawyer
•ad orator, the modest Christian, Francis S. Key."
^
?* ' * * ^' ' \
184 AOTHOM Ain> MUQM Off ■TMIH.
REV. WILLIAM KINGSBURY.
Tbk beaatiftal cbsnoter of the hymna, —
•• Let tti tw^k* our Joyt,"
and
"Qi-Mt Ood of M thjr okurehM, h»0t,"
make OS deeply regret that we have no other* from the
pen of their ezeellent author. We believe we are cor-
rect in gpeaking of them as fVom the Rev. William Kings-
iwry, for forty-live yeart the paator of the church at
Southampton, to which the diatinguiahed Dr. Watts and
bis honored parents had formerly belonged. Mr. Kings-
bury was bom in London in 1744, entered on his studies
for the ministry at Homerton College before he was truly
a Christian, was brought to the cross of Christ by moat
remarkably being led to read the works of John Banyan,
was ordained at the age of twenty-one years, and died
in 1818, at the age of seventy-four, baving spent the
whole forty-live years of his pastoral life in one pnlpit
Mr. Kingsbury had the honor of being one of the found-
ers of the London Missionary Society in 179&, being oliair-
' man of its first meeting. His biographer tells us that " he
was confined to hisbed fo^ one day only before his dis-
solution. He suffored no acute pain. On the Sunday
before he died, when one of his sons said, ' How do you
do, sirT he replied, 'Well; for I have peace with Ck>d.'
Be exproflsed an earnest wish to obtain bis dismission,
•nd firequentiy was heard to say, ' When will he oome V
One of bis attendants, supposing him to inquire after
' .1- ; I f r •?<»^»w>
OB« of Ilif tOM who WM hbnrij expwted fW>m London,
■ftid, ' W* look for him •▼ery minute.' He ihook hit
bend, nying, < No, no : when will mt BmUiYtD oota V "
Hie MMea remained to the hut moment of life. He
kiaaed the hand of hi* affectionate and only remaining
daoghter, and made a aign that hia aon Walter ahoold
oAnr prayer. While thia waa being done, the happy
man, hia handa and eyec lifted np in the attitode of de-
TOtion, dr«|w a long breath, and, without a groan or oon-
Tulaion, expired.
REV. ANDREW KIPPIS, D.D.
ITbi hymn, —
'• OrMt Ood, iB Tkia BU't Mn«v view,"
•nd one or two othera need in our evangelical ohnrchea,
were ih>m the pen of thia gentleman. He waa bom at
Nottingham, England, in 1725, and atndied for the
miniatiy under Dr. Doddridge. In 1768 he was ordained
over da Arian congregation in Weatminater, which he
relinqniahed for acholaatic dutiea ten yeara after. He
wrote many miaoellanMoa booka, and the liTea of Dod-
dridge, Lardner, Priuf^, and Cook, and conducted the
Are Tolnmte which were pabliahed of the " Biognpkia
Britantuca." Though the writer of a fow reapectable
hymna, he waa no poet. '^ . '
llB AUTWMui AWB MiaiM or mnn.
REV. MR. KIRKHAM.
Of thii gentienuui we know nothing mora tlutn Uwt
he WH the anthor of the hymn, —
• How im » foimdation, /• mIbU of lk« Lord,"
wMofa WM Unt printed in "Bippon't Selection" in 1787.
Thongh we have no certain evidence of the ftct, we
believe that Mr. Kiridbam was a fellowwitadent with the
MeMra. John and Charles Wealej, George Whitefield, and
Mr. Morgan, and one of the first of << the ^ple called
Methodists."
REV. JOHN LANGFORD.
Tu anthorship of the fkvorite hymn, —
" Now bogia tko hMvoaly Uimm,"
has been nsnaUy claimed for this writer, thongh we have
more than once found it attributed to Madan. Langfbrd
was connected with the early Methodists, but afterward
aaited with the Baptist Church in Eagle (now Kings-
gate) Street, London, onder the pastorate of Dr. Andrew
Oifford. He was for many years pastor of sevend
oborohes in London, and died about 1790. He preached
■ad printed a sermon on the death of Whitefield. He
was long remembered as a nun of great spiritoality and
Christian meekness.
BIT. 'Oail UMUM. It?
REV. JOHN LELANp.
Tboo of our reader* who are toqiuiBted with Baptist
hiitory have read of the fieT. John Leland, an eminent
minister of that body, who Ubored sacoessfhlljr for
manj years, and died in the year 1841. On a tour
among the charohea of the Soath in 1779, he had occa-
sion to baptize a number of disciples. It was winter,
and a liquid grave had to be out in the ioe. A brother
in the ministry prealohed for him. During the sermon,
Leland wrote the first three verses of a hymn, that was
afterward extended to six, still well known among
some of the Baptist ohnrohes. Approaching the water
at the head of a number of oandidatos, Leland read bis
hymn, beginnbg, —
"Ckristtaaa, if your b««iU urt wsna,
Im sad now out do bo hum:
If hj Jetiu yon are prised.
Now sriM Md b* bapUiad," •!«.
He stmck np a fluniliar tone, and, as the good old
people used to say, " lined oat the hymn ;" and it was sang
then, as it has often been since, with no small degree of
Mmeatneas.
REV. JOHN LOGAN,
THisnthor ofthehymn, —
" Wh«r« high (h« h««T«ii1)r ImipU Kandi^"
• ■
in AOTHOH AHD OBIOIM Of RTMIia.
ud MTeral others, wu a iwtiye of Mid-Lotbian, in Soot-
Und, WH edao«t«d at Bdiabori^, beoiune miniater at
Sototh Leith in 1770, and died in 1788, aged about fi>r^:
jraan. He waa distinguished aa a general irriter, and
waa a reapectabie poet. Ue waa also the author of two
Tolomea of aermona, still held in reputation.
HENRY W. LONGFELLOW.
- Tmm Pttdm of Lif^' of thia author,—
" T«U m« not, la aMwriiftil nosbcrs,'^
and some other produotiona of hia elegant pen, ara
to be found in aeveral of our hooka, and on many ao-
eonnts greatly pleaae na, — though we think that, like the
reat of hia Unitarian brethren, he ia aadly Ucking in tha
noble, gttoaroua, hi|^ s^rit of evangelical truth. Tha
son of the Hon. Stephen Longfellow, of PorUand, Maiii^
Henry waa K^m in that city in 1807. Of rery high eda-
oatioa himaelf, hia life in Tarioua waya faaa been devoted .
to the advanoement ot that grwt cause. Hia poetical
woriu have been qumerona and beantiftil; and of them
the editor of the "Jtfen of the Time" truly aaya, "Long,
fellow'a poema have, together with great picturesque an^
iteamatic beauty, a aimpUci^ and truth to nature whiok
o(Hnmend them alike to the mdest and to the moat eal-
tivated. The tendemeaa and melancholy pleaanre with
whieb, in many of hia woriu, he dwella upon a poetical
■m.
AMU LviTOir. IM
Mpiitktion or mn hiitorical incident, have, how«rer,
prored % itambling-blook to many of his ooantiymen,
who demand more Are«hne«a, and an onward direction
of the poet's eye."
ANN LUTTON.
Wb oonfeH to ftteling something of a personal interest
in the beastiibl and popular hymn, —
" WWa ton ia tka boMM by lorrow or cm*."
For ten years— 1882 to 1841— we had the pleasure of
oondacting in London a small monthly magasine called
« The Btvivalitt." In 1834, at the request of several
honored friends, we began to give a number of new
hymna adapted to popular— but, as they were generally
employed, utdat — airs. In this we were aided by several
of oar correspondents, among whom was a sew one,
whom to this day we have never seen, — Misi Ann Lutton,
of Irehmd. She wrote for us the beanti/tal hymn on
prayer to which we have referred, adapted to the air
ot "Sweet Some."
There is something impressive in the thought that,
when we commit to paper what we may consider a mere
trifle, wo know not the extent of its diffusion or its ef-
fects. Who shall calculate the uiwftilness of the hun-
dreds of thousands of copies of this hymn now before
the public, to say nothing of millions yet to be puh-
Uahedf
'■' ■■ . ■ ;-. .< ■ _ ■ ■ . ;■/ ^ '•■;?
lit ADTBOM AND OMQIM OF aTMIIt
REV. HENRY FRANCIS LYTE.
Wi lwT« Jut turned to three lepankte hymn-booka in
reftrenoe to the bTmn, —
•• Jmmm^I My onti-ka** Ukw,"
nnd And it attribnted reepectively to Montgomery, to
the Hon. Miaa Grant, and to her brother, Lord Glenelg. .
In eaoh of theae caaea the reference ia wrong. It waa
pabliahed by ita author, already named, in 188S, in a to- ,
Inme of " Poenu, CMe^y Rdigunu" at much greater length
than it4a usually given. Ita author waa a young man of
feeble health, but of high promiae. He waa bom at Kelao,
in Scotland, in 1798, and in 1812 entared Trini^ Col-
lege, Dublin. Having been ordained in the EatabUabed
Church, he aettled aa curate in Devonahire, but waa corn*
peUad to apend the larger portion of hia fliture lifli ia °
traTeUing for hia health. Ha died in 1847, and waa
bwied in the Bngliah Cemetery at Nice. He publiahed
a metrical yeraion of the Paalma, and a somber of !>••••
tifU hymns.
MRS. MACKAY.
Tbi aweet and conaoUtory hymn,—
" AdMp ia J«nM 1 bltM«d tlMp !"
ia from the pen of Mra. Maokay, a C^riatian lady of
Scotland, aathoreaa of aereral vwy plaaaing Tolnmaa of
UV. MABnM MAOAII. Itl
• nligiou chanoUr. It originated in a Tiait to a^barjr-
iBf-groond in tk* west of England, an account of which
*tha raadar will b« pleaaed to see from the antboreia'a
own pen: —
"'BLBZPiiia iM Jnva.'
" This simple inscription is carved on a tombstone in
the retired rnral buying-groand of Pennyoross Chapel,
in Devonshire. Distant only a few miies from a bustling
and crowded seaport town/reaohed through a succession
of those lovely green lanes for which Devonshire is so
rsmarkable, the quiet aapect of Pennycross comes sooth-
ingly over the mind. ' Sleeping in Jesus' seems in keep-
ing with all around.
" Here was no elaborate ornament, no unsightly decsy.
The trim gravel walk led to the house of prayer, itself
boasting of no architectural embellishment to distinguish
it; and a few trees were planted irregularly to mark
■ome fkvored spots."
REV. MARTIN MADAN.
Tns gentleman, who was l>om in 1726, was eminent
fai his day both as a preacher and a writer of hymns.
lika many othor Christians, his conversion took |daoe
in • remaritaMa manner. The preaching of the first
Methodists, as is well known, excited almost nniversal
attention. ICadan was then a gay young mat) ; and,
baing in company one evening, in a ooftee-honse, with
... -r , ■* ■ ''■ 'v-
IM AUTBOU AND (MUdlM OF BTMMa.
■oin* of bia ooiniNinion% h« wu rcqnMt«d to go and
hear Hr. John WmIoj praaoh, that he might exhibit hie
aennon and manner for their amtuomont. Be went
with that intention ; but jnet aa he entered the place Mr.
Wesley readaa bia text the words, "Prepare to meet
thy God," with « aolemnity which greatly atmck him
and inapired a aerioosneiHi which increased as the aer-
moD proceeded. lie returned to bia companiona; and .
when they aaked him, " Have yon taken the old Method-
iUoltV' bia reply waa, " No, gentlemen } bnt he baa taken .
me off." He immediately withdrew ftvm their aociety,
And Maociated only with the followers of Christ.
Mr. Hadan waa a gentleman of independent fortuM,
and aoon reaolved to enter the ministry in connection with
the Eatabliahed Chnreb. His brother was at that time
the Bishop of Petorborongh ; bnt Madau would accept of
no honors in the Church. Owing to his decided eran^
gelioal doctrines, he found some difBculty in obtaining
ordination, bnt at length succeeded through the influence
of the Countees of Huntingdon. He was aoon after ap-
pointed chaplain of the Lock Hoapital, near Byde Park
Comer, in London, an institution for the restoration of
unhappy females ; and before the erection of a church
edifice he preached to its inmates flrom a desk in the
parior, wheiy he waa frequently assisted by Mr. Bomaine
and Dr. Haweis.
Mr. Madan, in the peculiar situation he occupied, saw
■o nooh of the evils of prostitution that be was unhap-
pily led to write a volume in fkvor of polygamy, and
. "^ifW^' ■ ' ■::■. ■■■•■,. ■ '. -. . .
RBV. JOBN KABOlf. US
from that time he lost hii fliend* ; m th«t we sflerward
hear bat little of him. Ue died in 1700. We yet aiaf
Mveral of his hymns.
REV. BASIL MANLY, JR.
This gentleman, in connection with his excellent fk-
ther, is editor of « TTu Baptist Ptalmody," an admirable
•election of hymns recently published by the Sonthern
Baptist Publication Society in Charleston, S.C., and
already introduced into many of the Baptist churches in
that region, ^me of the hymns in the yolnme are
fW>m the pen of the junior editor, and are distinguished
for sound doctrine, earnestness, and devotion. In addi>
tion to the services which Mr. Manly has thus rendered
to the churches, he has most hiboriously devoted himselt
to the pulpit and to the cause of Christian education.
REV. JOHN MASON,
Or whose good old hymns we are yet favored with a
(bw, including, —
<< Coma, dasiwt Lord, and f««d thy ihe*|»,"
Ml
"Now, from Ui« liiu of our hMrt*,"
was for twenty years rector of Water^tratford, Bngi.
land, where he died in 1694. Not a few of the linea of
IT
194 ACTHOB8 AND OUOIN Of UYMNB.
Dr. Wiitto were borrowed from him. ^e himself pub-
lished %Jhvmn-book ia 1686, entitled "Spir^ual Songs."
ThMni-known verse, —
"Mercy, good Lord, m«roy I Mk,"
usually sang in England years ago at the execution of
criminals, and equally appropriate for sinners of every
class, proceeded from his pen.
REV. SAMUEL MEDLEY.
' Wi have in most of our books two hymns beginning
with, —
" Mortal*, awake ! with angels join,"
and
" Awake, my soul, in joyful lays,
and one or two others, written by the Bev. Samuel Med-
ley, twenty-seven years pastor of the First Baptist
Church at Liverpool, England, and daring about the
same period a regular annual supply at Whitefield's
Tabernacle and Tottenhi^ Court Boad Chapel, in Lon-
don. In early life Mr. Medley was very gay and pro-
&ne. He was engaged in the British navy, where he was
severely wounded in one of the several actions in which
he fbught. Betuming to his pious grandfather's house
for the sake of surgical attendance, he was brought
under the preaching of the excellent Whitefield and Dr.
Giflford, and was soon led to the Saviour whose name he
bad ao often blasphemed. He died, after a ve^y success-
RXV. BKNBT H. MILMAN. 106
All ministry, in 1790, aged 6izty-one years. In the year
following his death, a volume of origiilal hymns from
his pen was issued, very few of which are now valued.
Ue also published two or «three sermons, and several
humorous papers. lie was eccentric in his manners,
but had a pious soul and a noble heart.
A deceased critic once remarked to us that were the
hymn we have first referred to deprived of its title, .
" TTie Incarnation of Christ," a stranger might be ready
to inquire, " To what subject does it relate ?"
REV. HENRY H. MILMAN.
That the Dean of St. Paul's, London, is a poet, none of
his readers will doubt. A clergyman of the English Esta-
blished Church,a dramatist, historian. Professor of Poetry
in the University of Oxford, and holding several other
important preferments, his reputation is high, and in
eome departments will no doubt be enduring. What a
writer in the " Quarterly Jteview" says of one of his
works will probably apply to all: — "Every page ex-
hibits some beautiful expression, some pathetic turn,
aome original thonght, or some striking imago." We
confess, however, that his hymns want more simplicity,
more of penitence and faith, and more of devotion, to
•ccord with onr taste. We respect the venerable gentl«>
man, bom in London in 1791, and should be happy to see,
before he is called fVom eatth, a few hymns from his pea
I
IM AUTHOM AND OBIOIN OF BTMMS.
which would go down to poflterity with thoao of Watti
and Doddridge, Cowper and Hontgomeiy.
JOHN MILTON.
Wkbk there more love of real poetiy in the chnrdiea
of Christ than we have at present, we ehoald hear more
of Milton's hymns song. We are truly glad to nieet
with his
•• They pM« refreth«d th* thinty vale,"
and hope that those who fashionably praise his "Para-
dise Losl^' will study and sing his hymns, which we are
gratified to know are remembered in our land, though
they are forgotten in hia own. But be it remembered
that the said "Paradise Zosf' usually accompanied the
Bible into the log house* of the eariy settlements of our
eonntry, and them commonly had, too, the minor poetiy
of the same author. '
It has been said that, from the seventeenth year of
Ifllton's age to the thirty-fburth, Milton's chief exercises
were in poetry, that daring the next twenty yean he
wrote scarcely any thing in verse except a few sonnets,
but that in old age he renewed his allegiance to the
muse, writing bis great worics "Paradise Lost," "Panir
diss Regained," and "Samson Agoniate^' after he waa old
and blind, and that he intended these productions to
be more especially his bequests to the literature of
England.
9AUU MORTOOMUT. Wt
We iliftU gratifjr oar ifeaden by Adding '« ihort p«i«-
graph M to " hia manner of life," which hae been thna
given tu: — " He riaea early; baa a chapter in the Hebrew
Bible read to him ; then meditatea till aeven ; till twelve
he liatena to reading, in which he employ a hia danghtera;
then takea exerciae, and aometimea awinga in hia little
garden. After a ftngal dinner, ho enjoya aome moaical
recreation ; at hx he welcomea fVienda ; takea anpper at
eight; atid then, having amokod a pipe and drank a '
glaaa of water, be retiree to repoae. That repoae ia aome>
timea broken hy poetic moainga, and he rooaea np hia
daaghter that he may dictate to her aome linea before
tbey are loat."
JAMES MONTGOMERY.
Sc^accLT any man who haa but recently left oar world
haa done'more for the paalmody of the Church than thia
excellent layman. He was borh in 1771, and waa the
eon of an excellent Moravian minister, in whose coinma-
nion be died, thoagh for aome yeara he held fellowahip
with the Wealeyan Methodiata. The ikota of hia long
and naef\d life are too well known to make it neoceaary
that we ahoold repeat them here. More than half a
centaiy of hia years were apent fn Sheffield, England,
where be devoted hia labora to the Chriatian pr^aa, by
which he made a mark on the age that can never be
enued. No man ever aecared greater induence oa
• 1T»
IM ACTBOM AKD OUOIN Or HTMNB.
■odety, or employed it more entirely for Um honor of
Chriat He died in 1854.
By a singular mistake of one of his fViends, ^r. Mont>
vomery's death was reported in this country a year or .
two before it really took place, and several of our
periodioala paid cordial tribotes to his memory. When
these papers fell under his eye, he smiled at the blunder,
but wept tears of grateAil joy that brethren at so great
a distance should pay him what he considered tokena
of regard beyond all he had deserved.
We think we shall be more than forgiven if we add a
few lines descriptive of a scene which took place at the
Wesleyan Methodist Conference at ShefSeld about two
years before Mr. Montgomery's death. The Bev. Dr.
Hannah, the president of the Conference, introduced the
venerable poet in ftill session of the body, and, after
klluding to the services which he had rendered to tha
saose of religious truth and moral purity, and to the de-
light which his poetry had ministered to so many, said^ •
" We feel under great obligation to yourself and to tha
religions body to which yon belong, and beg to aaswa
yon of the kindest affection of the Conference."
The aged poet's reply was beantiftiliy characteristic:—
" My Christian friends, father, and brethren in the Lord,
I dare not waste one moment of your time, and I have
v«^ little to say; bnt that little will be of the greateal
import. It is this : — < The Lord bless you and keep
you ! The Lord make bis face to shine upon you, and
be graoioaa unto you I The Lord lift up his eoantenanc*
,:ffr^/-; - -—' ■ - - * . '---'■.■ ■ ■ ■ . .*
■' I'- ' ' ' ' *■
JAMU MOHraOMUIT. 1W
«pon yon, and give yon p«Me I' in the name of Jeau.
Amen."
A aeriet of abort but intoroating speeohea followed in
the aame apirit. What a contrast between the latter
yeara of Montgomery and thoae of Byron and Moore !
A brief narrative connected with one class of Mont-
gomeiy'a hymna may be added to this article with ad"
vantage. It has long been cnstomary in Sheffield, tho
town of Montgomery's residence, on eVery Whit-Monday,
for the different Sanday-schools to meet at eight o'clock
in the morning at their respective charches, and thence
proceed, under the escort of their teachers, to some pnblio
square, there to exchange fintomal greetings, and engage
in a united service, previously arranged, of which sing-
ing the hymns provioudy written and set to mnsio
for the occasion forms a considerable part Our poet
for very many years was a regular contributor to these
jubilant occasions, and for him was always reserved tho
first hymn on the list. We are not aware that any col-
lection of them has been made; but such a volume would
be a truly noble one.
On the occasion of the Sunday-school jubilee, Sep-
tember 14, 1881, there mnat have been collected in
one place, in' the poet's town, not lees than twenty thon-
■and Sabbath-soholars ; and throughout the kingdom, in
like proportion, the variona Sanday-achools met in their
own towns and villages, to celebrate that joyfbl day.
What a chaplet of undying green did those congregated
Koats of " little children" wreathe for tho brow of Mont-
^f ;..
AVTHOBS AMD OEIfllN Of HTMNB.
gomerj, m with iVee and gladsome voice they sung one
of hia jubilee hymngl —
" The flowtn of fifty •ummert gone,
The learee that (hen were green,
IIsTe nothing left to look npon.
To tell that thejr hare been."
It has been said that Mr. Montgomery's laat composi-
tion was a hymn for a Snnday -school Union, the laat
verse of which is both characteristic and truly sublime, —
'* Learn we now that wondrous itrain,
In our eohooli, our homea, our hearts,
• Worthy is the Lamb onoe slatn !'
In all languages, all parts ;
Then the eountless chorus swell.
Round his throne, with glad aoeord,
Never more to say ' Farewell!'
But, • ForeTer with the Lord !' "
The beanti^l hymn, —
'* Spirit, leave thy house of clay,"
waa written by Montgomery during his political perse-
cation in York Castle. It originally contained seven
eight-line verses, and was occasioned by the death of
one of his fellow-prisoners, Joseph Browne, a Quaker,
who, with seven others, of the same religious community,
had suffered the loss of all his worldly goods for con-
science' sake.
As one object of our volume is to give ihcta as to the
habits of our hymn-writers, it will give no offence to our
readers to refer to one or two mentioned by Mr. Everett,
one of the intimate irionds of Montgomery. Mr. Everett
TAMU MoirrooiniT. 201
one day romarked to his companion that tho beantiftil
village of Matlock would be a fine Bitnation for the per-
manent residence of a poet, as thoJboautj of the scenery,
according to the current opinion,^oald induce sublime
thoughts. He partly objected to tho notion, observing
that ho should have to lament for his own situation if it
were so. " From the room in which I sit to write," said
Montgomery, " and where some of my happiest pieces
have been" produced, — those, I moan, which are most
popular, — all the prospect I have is a confined yard,
where there are some miserable old walb, and Uie back
of houses, which present to the eye neither beauty,
variety, nor any thing else calculated to inspire a single
thought except concerning tho rough surface of the
bricks, tho comers of which have either been chopped
off by violence or fVetted away by th^ weather. No :
aa a general rule, whatever of poetiy is to be derived
ftom sceneiy must be secured before we sit down to
compose : the impressions must be made already, and '
the mind must be abstracted iVom surrounding objects.
It will not do to be expatiating abroad in observations
when we should be at home in concentration of thought."
We may add here that the beautiftal hymii(—
•< Bmmat of Ood, wtU don* I"
which in the original extended to fbrty-eight lines, was
written by Montgomery on the occasion of the decease
of the Rev. Thomas JdJ^lor, a venerable and beloved
Christian minister, an adherent of tho Messrs. Wesley.
;ts^17,i
ADTBOaa AMD OKIQIN Of HTWNt.
He Ubored under many trmls and dioconnigementa, but
ultimately met with great succeaa at Glasgow. Ue had
to perform all the singing at pablio worship himself, bat
first spent nearly the whole of what ho hud in hiring a
man, at eight cents a service, to be his precentor, after
the Kirk custom, and to " lead the psalms." Necessity
compelled him to dismiss both his precentor and the
Scotch psalms, and to use the Methodist melodies, " the
people," he says, " liking them right well." For fifty-
five years he labored with the Wesleyans, though he was
offered a very handsome salary to settle with a new
church in Glasgow. He waa nearly eighty years old
when he died, honored and beloved as a noble veteran
by all who knew him. In a sermon a short time before
his decease he raised his venerable form in the pulpit
and said, with groat emphasis, « I should like to die like
an old soldier, sword in hand." He was soon after .
found dead in his chamber.
The beautiful hymn by thia writer, —
"Oo to the gntTt in all thy glorlou* prim*,"
was written to commemorate the decease of the BeV.
John Owen, one of the first secretaries of the British
and Foreign Bible Society, a gentleman distinguished
for learning and holy eloquence. The hymn originally
consisted of six verses.
TBOHAB MOORB. M
thoMas WOORE.
Wl never think of the author of the coni{>08ition, —
"Come, ye dieoomoUU, where'er ye lenguUh," .
or half a doxon other hymns fWiin the pen of Mooro
which are to be found in our books, without thinking
alao of the exclamation, " Is Saul also among the pr(»-
phetsf" Would to God Thomas M«ore had been a
Christian ! for no man of his day possessed in a higher
degree the qualities which constitute the lyric poet, —
qualities which captivate the oar as well as the mind by
the harmony of sound married with immortal verse. As
a writer of songs, no man of his day equalled Mr. Moore.
Alas that thousands are now mourning over the delu- '
sions thrown by his early productions over the ways of
sin, — delusions which have fascinated multitudes to tbeir
eternal ruin ! In the review of Moore and his influence
over the public mind, we have again and again ex-
claimed, " Oh, the solemn responsibilities of authorship !"
Moore was of humble origin : he was born in Dublin,
Ireland, in the year 1700, was educated at Trinity
College, in that city, and then went to London to study
law; but, mingling with the great and fascinating there,
be gave himself to poetry and singing, married an actress,
devoted his dajrs and nights to vanity, and lived a man
of the world. He died in 1862. His memoirs and let-
ten were edited by Lord John Russell.
AUTHou A«D cMuani or BrM|it>
REV. THOMAS MORELL.
Feom tho pen of this able and amiable minister of Jefoa
Christ we have several valuable hjmns, inclnding,—
<• Qo, and the SaTiour's grM* proclaim t"
Their writer was an English Congregational minister^
dying, before old age overtook him, bat a few years ago.
For many yean he discharged the duties of a succossfol
pastorate, after which he became the President of Cow*
ard College, once under the control of the excellent Dr.
Doddridge, but which has since merged in the new col-
lege of St. John's Wood, London.
• REV. WM. A. MUHLENBERG, D.D.
Tm well-koowh hymn generally beginning in our
books, —
•• I would Mt Ut« s1w»7,— I uk aot to ito/,"
has a history worth telling. In the year 1824 appeared,
in the " Epiteopal Recorder" of Philadelphia, an ad-
mirable composition of forty-eight lines, of which the
hymn now so commonly used forms a part. It was
written by the Rev. Dr. Muhlenberg, without the most
remote idea of any portion of it being used in the devo-
tions of public worship. A committee of the General
Convention of the Episcopal Church was appointed to
prepare a new hymn-book; and the Bight Bev. Bishop
M:-
>.f»^»T?,'>>;;
EST. JOHN MWnmAM. 106
Onderdonk, the rector of St. Ann's Chnrch, Brooklyn,
offered the venes, seleoted from the whole article, m a
jMurt of the book. The said hymn wbb »t first rejected
by the committee, of which the uiknown author was a
member; and, when a satirical criticism was offered
upon it, he earnestly voted against its adoption. Dr.
Onderdonk importunately urged its admission ; and after
a while the secret oosed out that Dr. Muhlenberg, one
of their own nnpnber, was its author. Many years af-
terward, wJMD he was the editor of the "Evangdjcal
Catholic,"JDt. M. ojtplained the whole matter.
REV. JOHN NEEDHAM.
Or this gentleman, the author of the hymn,^
" Holy aad Nraraad ia th« luune,"
and several others, we have been able to obtain but very
little information. He was for some years pastor of
the Baptist church at Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England,
whence he removed to become oo-pastor with the Bat.
John Beddome, of Bristol, about the year 1747. Five
years afterward he transferred his labors to another
church in that city, whore he died about 1768, in which
year the volume of his hymns was printed.
u
Nt . AUTBOM AMD OBIQIM Of HVMN8.
REV. JAMES NEWTON.
This author of « well-known hymn on baptism was
for twenty yeara daring the last century classical pro-
fessor in the Baptist College at Bristol, England, and •
colleague in jthe ministry with the Bev. John Tommas
of the same city. The duties of both these stations he
filled with high reputation to himself and distingnuhed
advantage to others. He died in 1790, in the fifty-
seventh year of his ago. Mr. Newton left in manuscript
a volume of original hymns, which the writer of this
work deposited in the library of the institution now
called the Begent's Park College, in London.
REV, JOHN NEWTON.
Or tills excellent preacher and experimental hymn-
writer, whoso history is so well known, our readers will
not expect us to speak in detail. All of them know
that, though the son of a pious mother, he ran in hit
early life " to great excess of riot ;" went to sea, engaged
in the slave-trade, and, but tlmt God placed restraints
upon him, he must again and again have died. "Pre-
served in Christ Jesus," he was "called" by the graoe
of God, "counted fitithAil, and put into the ministry,"
first at Warwick, whence he removed to Olney, where
he became associated wiMi the amiable Cowper in
'^^r^^'fr^i^'^i^^r^Ji'^
sy-_T;;.^v' ^'- ,'.*-, ." ■..';: .-'j-.f .[A ^*rTf r ■.
K';' •■
KIV. JOBir MCWTON. MT
writing and pnblialiing tlie volnme of " Olney Hymns,"
•nd nitimAtoly to the rectory of St. Haiy Woolnoth, and
St. Mary Wool-Church Haw, in the English metropolis,
where we will, as somewhat aided by a writer in the
" North Brituh Review," briefly sketch his sayings and
doings.
Sixty years ago he might have been seen in the pulpit
of St. Mary Woolnoth, within a stone's throw of the
mansion-house of the lord mayor, surrounded by a
congregation both numerous and wealthy. His sermon
is to a great degree trite and commonplace, and you
begin to wonder why he attracts so much attention,
when he most unexpectedly utters some bright fancy or
expresses some earnest feeling, while a somewhat stiff
animation overruns his seamy countenance, and yon
wonder that a man of seventy-three can show you such
kind and beaming eyes. The ardent affection with
which he is eami>r.tly looked at by his hearers proves to
yon that the preacher himself is invested with interest
M well as his sermon.
If you will go to tea at his house, No. 8 in Coleman
Street Buildings, some two or three hundred yards from
his church, on next Friday evening, in a dusky parior
with some twenty of his ohoioest friends, the mystery
will be, at least in part, explained. He has doffed the
cassock, and in a sailor's blue jacket, on a three-legged
stool, the preacher sits at ease at his own little table.
The frugal meal is finished, the ever-present pipe ia
•moked, and the Bible is placed where the tea-tray
m AUTBOSS A»D OUOIII Of UYUn.
stood some half An hour ago. Th« gvesUi draw nearer
to their venerable Aiend, and the feast of wiadom and
the flow of eonl begin. He inquires if any ono has a
qaestion to ask ; for t&ese re-unions are for business as
well as for fHendship. Two or three are come tMy
prepared for this call. A retired old lady asks " how'
flu* a Christian may lawfblly conform to the world."
And the old sailor says many good things to guide her
■cmpulous conscience, — unless, indeed, she made the
inquiry for the sake of the yoang gentleman with the
blue coat and fViUed wristbands across the table. " When
» Christian goes into the world because he sees it is his
call, yet while he feels it also his eroM, it will not hurt
him." Then, guiding his discourse toward some of bis
city friends, he says, " A Christian in the worid is like
a man transacting business in the rain: he will not
suddenly leave his client because it rains, but the mo-
ment the business is done he is gone, — as it is said
in the Acts, < Being let go, they went to their own com-
pany.' " This brings up Hannah More and her book on
« Ute Matmen of the Great ;" and the minister expresses
his high opinion of her. Some of the party do not
know who she is; and he tells them that she is a giiled
lady who used to be the intimate friend of Johnson,
Horace Walpole, and Sir Joshua Reynolds, the idol of
the West-Bnd grandees, and a writer of plays for Dmiy-
Lane Theatre. He repeats his admiration and his hope
for the accomplished authoress.
Having answered the inquiries which have been made,
.^fM
*
kar. JOHM mnrroM. 200
Newton opens hie Bible, «nd, after tinging one of tbe
" Obuy Mymnt" ho reads the eighteenth chapter of the \
Acts. " Yoa see that Apollos tiet with two candid peo-
ple in the Charoh : they neithet ran away becaose he
WM Itgal, nor were carried away because he was do-
queKt." And, after a short but fervent prayer,— catholic,
comprehensive, and experimental, and taming into devo-
tion the substance of their colloquy, — it is as late as nine
o'dooW, and the little party begins to separate. In leave-
taking, the host has a kind word for every one, and has
a great deal to say to one who is but a visitor. " I was
a wild beast on the coast of Africa ; but the Lord caught
me and tamed mo, and now you come to see me as
people go to look at the lions in the Tower." And
never was transformation more complete. Except the
blue jacket at the fireside, and a few sea-fkring habits,—
except the lion's hide, nothing survived of the African
lion. The Puritans would have said that the lion was
slain and that honey was found in its carcass.
All about Newton's writings is truly delightAil and
perfectly natural. Uis hymns are sweet ; but his " Let-
Urt" make him eminent. Our theology supplies nothing
like them. They are all " cahoipbomia,— <A« %Moraw»
9$ tht heart." Except his own friend Cowper, who was
not a professed divine, no letters of that stiff century <
read so fl-ee, and none have so well preserved thefr
writer's heart. *
Newton was bom in 1725, and died in 1807.
We have already referred to the " (Xney Hymns ;" and
18»
■•\ii'ir?i y. *T**"'i ''W-b^vJ''^
no AOTHOM AND OBIOIR Of HTMIII.
It ia • fkct worthy of remmric that them oompoaitions
wera ft few years ago translated into the Sherbro lan-
guage by a colored man named Caaiker, and are now
sung in the very regions whose inhabitants Newton
onoe assisted to carry men and women fVom liberty t«
slaveiy.
HON. AND REV. BAPTIST NOEL.
This gentleman, who has contribnted to onr hymn-
books several beantiful compositions, including, —
"If hutaa fcindawi n mU rvtnra,"
is a branch of a noble fkmily ia England and a brother
of the £arl of C^ainsboroogh. Mr. Noel was born at
/* Leithmont, near Loith, in the year 1799, and, after at-
taining a high reputation in various departments of
learning, was ordained in the Chnroh of England, and
was appointed by her mi^esty Queen Tiotoria one of
her chaplains. A fbw years ago, changing his opinion
as to the propriety of a union between Church and State,
and embracing the views of truth ganerally bald by the
Baptists, Mr. Noel left the Episcopal Church and united
with that body, among whom ho labors with much suo>
cess, near his old church edifice, in the English metro-
polls, e^'oying the Aill confidence and love of his chordi
and congregation.
■ ' f^"'" "^ ' • - ■'-■- ■ -'■-' '... ' ---■•.' , ' , '. "^:*- *.;'i^ ' -') ,rv« t!. -^Ivfi
^BM f. OUUJH. til
ANDREWS NORTON.
This gentleman, the Author of several beaotiihl bymna,
including, —
"Uf Ood, I thkBk thMl nAj no ihonght,"
wM an eminent aoholar and profeiaor connected with
the Unitarians. He was bom at Hingham, Mass., in
1786, and graduated at Harvard College when but
dghteen years of age. He never settled as a pastor,
but ooonpied several important professorships, including
that of Sacred Literature at Harvard. He died in 1868,
aged sixty-seven years.
JOHN F. OBERLIN.
Wi are sorry for the man who is ignorant of the bean-
tifbl hymn, —
" Lord, thy hMToaly graeo impart,"
or of its lovely author, the Rov. John F. Oberlin, the
eminently distinguiithed pastor of Waldbach, in the Ban
de la Boche. He was bom at Strasbourg in 1740, of
truly remarkable parents, who were soon rewarded
by the extraordinary indications of piety and talents
given in his eariiest years. Especially was his mother
distinguished for her Christian excellencies. She was
in the habit of assembling her children together eveiy,
•vening,and of reading aloud fVom some instructive book,
Its AUTBOM AKD OUdlK QV HTMIfl.
while they sat around the table copying pictures which
their father h*<l drawn for them ; and scarcely a night
pamod but, when on the point of separating, there waa '-,[
a general request for " one boantiflil hymn IVom dear ■' ^
mamma," — with which she always complied.' The hymn '^'
was followed by a prayer; and thus their iniknt stops
were conducted to Him who has said, "Suffer little
children to come unto me."
In very early life John Frederick became a Christian.
He says, "During my infkncy and youth God often
voncliBafed to touch my heart and to draw mo to him-
self. He bore with me in my repeated backslidings,
with a kindness and indulgence hardly to be expressed."
He entered the ministry, and in due time settled in one •
of the most difficult parishes in the world, where he
accomplished what may be almost regarded as minolos of
usefulnesa. Gladly would we dwell on scenes which can
Bcarcoly be thought of without rapture. His self-denial, ^
his labors, his piety, and his success were alike admirable
and animating.
This extraordinary man, who died in 1826, in the
eighty-sixth year of his age, does not appear to have
been remarkable for poetical talents. The hymn to •;
a translation of which we have referred is the one beat ;-
known, — ^w^oh it well deserves to be. For it we are in- <
debted to the Diary of the excellent Dr. Steinkopff, who
heard it sung under the direction of its author on a very .
interesting occasion.
)vi^ >: ^ V / ■ .■■-'■•" ". ',-■, ■ „■ • .■ ^_ ■ ^- . ■ ''*"■<
BIT. ■AMMll OOOQM. Sit
REV. SAMSON OCCUM.
Orm readen h&ve all heard of Banuon Oconm, a re-
' mariuble Indian preacher in thia country, who died in
1702. He waa conrerted about 1740, under the labon of
Whitefleld, Gilbert Tennent, and their companioM. In
1706 he visited England, in company with the Bev. Mr.
Whitaker, to adTOcate the cauae of Dr. Wheeler's Indian
school, which waa afterward merged in Dartmouth
College. He there preached from throe to four hundred
sermons ; and, as no North American Indian had ever
been seen in an English pulpit before, his ministry waa
popuUr, and his pecuniary bucccsh bo groat, that he re-
turned to thia country with more than forty-five thou-
sand dollars.
Occum was one of the many writers who produced
one good hymn : it begins, —
'< Amkad bj Slnai'i awAil louad," ete.
It originally contained seven verses; a portion of the
whole is to be found in many of our books, and is still
eminently usefbl. In 1800 it became generally known
in England, and in 1814 was transbited into Welsh by
* the late Bev. Thomas Thomas, of Peckham, London.
In the Welsh revivals of religion it is still very commonly
sung; and no doubt can be entertained of its having led -
many hundred sinners to the cross of Christ
IK
i ■ n ; •(,'
IM AUTHOH AMD OU«UI or RTMHI.
REV. THOMAS OLIVERS.
Almobt every one knows the besatiAil hjmn, —
" Tb« Ood of Abrahui prmiM," cte..
whieli WM some yean »go pronounced, in " BlackwootTs
Magazine," " one of the noblest odes in the English
language." We suspect, however, that the eulogist did
not know that its author was originally a shoemaker
and one of the earliest Methodist preachers. This ad-
. mirable hymn, the whole of which has been seldom
printed, was written to a celebrated air sung by Leoni
in the Jews' Synagogue. This hymn and tune reached
the thirtieth edition as early as 1779. He also wrote
the hymn beginning,—
." Lo, he eom«a, with oloudi d«M«adi]ig," nU.,
and prepared the music to which it was long sung, and
which also reached its twentieth edition in the year just
named. The Bev. John Wesley printed both hymns and
tune in his "Sacred HarnufHy." Olivets was bom in
Wales in 1725, and died suddenlyiin London in 1700.
Mr.JOliv^rs was distinguished/in early life for great
^ immorality of conduct. His attention to religion was
arrested by the preaching of George Whitefield, and his
subsequent life vras markc^/by a very energetic and
suocessAil ministry. The Rev. John Fletcher said
of him, " This author was, twenty-five years ago, a
mechanic, and, like Peter, a fishennan, and Saul, or Paul,
' -"'■■, ■'• '■ ■'•■, '■ •.-■. ' ,".•;■■'' .!-. „.-'''-^
•' . ' 1 - ►
UUMKA PAL Slft^ '
• t«nt-in»ker, hH had the honor of being promoted to
the dignity of » praftcher of the gospel ; wid his talents
aa a writer, a logician, a poat, and a composer of sacred
ansio are known to those who have looked into his
poblications." The Conferenoe, also, after his death,
said, " In his younger days he was a sealoos, able, and
useftal travelling preacher. His talents were very con-
siderable." ' ^
John Wesley, speaking of his oompeers, thns refers to
Olivers.—
^ " I've Thtma* OKvtn the eobUar, r
(No it>U in Eoglmnd holib a nobler,)
A wight of ulent univenal,
Whenof III (ire • briof nhMTMl :
B« wltk on* bnadiah of hii qniU
Wm knock down Toplkdy ud UUl."
The celebrated Mrs. Carter hoard Olivers's hymn, —
•• Lo, ko eomet, with oloudi detcending,"
song at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, as an advont-
anthem, in 1758, and gives it at Aill length in her Letters.
KRISHNA PAL.
On one of the closing days of the last century, was
baptised in the river Ganges, before the gate of the
missionary premises at Serampore, Krishna Pal, the
first Hindoo who trampled on the caste for Christ's
r V
116 AUmOKfl AMP OEIOIN OF BTMNa.
Hke Mid Joined tbe ■UiuUrd of the eroMi. Thia i
then at the prime of life, being thirty-flve yean of i
becMM an eminent Chrietinn, engaged in the miniatry,
which he panned (br many yean, baptised many han-
drede of converted idolaten, and then died triumphant
in the Lord Jeau. JoyAUly did he bear teatimony that
the aerrioe of Chriat « waa the work of love," and that
in it << he got nothing but Joy and comfort." He, wrote
two or three hymna, one of which oontinoes to be aung
in India in the Bengalee Ungnage, in which it waa
oompoaed; and a part of it, tnnaUted into Engliab, ia
printed in moat of onr hooka : —
" tboa, ajr muI, forgtt ao boiw."
We think no one can read thia hymn, remembering
ita author aa a converted idoUter and that he died
oanying oat ita almoat prediction, without having hia
intereat in the oompoaition greatly increaaed : —
'• Ak, ao I ttn Uf* iladf dapwt,
HU BaaM ihaU eketr tmA mtm mj k«eit|
Aad. UapiBi lUi, tnm Mitk I'U tiae,
And Join th« ohonia of lk« tkiat."
MRS. PALMER.
Th« hymn, —
•• To tkM, thon Uch ud lofty Om,"
waa written by Mn- Palmer, and sang at the dedio^on
of the Methodiat chatch in Mulberry Street, New York.
,:..:y
'^^.~t »^ °
kHr. A. r. nusoDT, n.n. UY
REV. RAY PALMER, D.D.
I'iHocaH we believe Dr. Palmer, «n eminent Congre-
gKtional milliliter of thia country, hms wtitten m*ny
hymna, he has published very few. We have one, how-
ever, which CAB never be worn out, boginning, —
, "Uj (Utk looks ap to TkM."
Thii hymn, we are toU, bad in oonnection with its firat
publication an interesting incident. Dr. Lowell Maaon,
a musical composer, who was a personal fKend of Dr. P.,
one day asked him to Airoiah him with a hymn which
he might aet to music. The excellent doctor told him
he thought he had in hia veat-pooket a worn-out, ooaraa
piece of paper^ on which, some weeks before, he had
written a few lines which might anit hla parpoae, and,
after aome little trouble, found the almoat illegilMi mano-
script, the words and music of which were shortly after
published, and which now minister to the edification of
very many devout worshippers.
REV. A. P. PEABODY, D.D.
Tbb well-known funeral hyntu,~
•< Bshold Iho wMtota STnisg Ucht,"
•ad several others, irere written by Dr. Psabody, a
iMurncM Unitarian preacher, and professor in the Cam-
is
tit AVmOM AMD OKfaiN OF RTllllS.
bridgs Univenitjr. He hat also published a great ▼•-
riety of sermons and other works, and produces one
or more article* for almost ei^eiy number of " The North
AmericaH Review." Dr. P. was bom at Beyeriy, Maaa.,
in 1811, graduated at Harvard College in 1826, and waa
ordained at Portsmouth, N.H., in 1888.
REV. SAMUEL PEARCE.
PiftBAPa the later editions of << Rippon't Selection of
Hytiuul' may be the latest volume of hymns which con-
tains two sweet compoeiUons, —
••U U« flood* of tribulaaoii,"
. , "TlMrkbrie-or MtnNiifair."
The last waa written when its author was confined by
sickness to his chamber, where he died of consumption, a
few weeks after writing it, in 1790, aged thirty-seven
jaan. It contains fifteen verses, every one of them
breathing the feelings of his " seraphic" son]. We make
no small sacrifice in omitting the whole hymn. Tha
raader will thank us for the closing lines : — ,
"Tksre BiTrUds ud myrUdi ilwll DMt,
In oar SsTlour'i high praiici to joia ;
'< WUlo tnMportod «■ f«ll kt hU fnt
Aad Mtel kU rsdwaptioa dlTlao.
" lawull, tb«a : my hawrt thtll do more
or It* proMDt b«r««Tomcii(i eonplaia ;
Hboo cto long I to heaT«n ih»Il ton
And essislsss tm^ajmni* oMaia."
SBV. IDWAID PUKORKT. tit
Oft«n hkve we looked on tlie beaatiftil autogrsph of
ihii hymn with the pleasing thought th*t the hand which
■o beaatiflilly wrote it, though now duat, shall, never-
theleaa, eternally b« employed in ita Savioor'a servjbe.
REV. EDWARD PERRONET.
Fob many yeara past moi>t of our hymn-books have
attributed t^e hymn, —
'^ All iisil Iha power of Jmui' dsbm!"
to the pea of Duncan, who, however, has no other claim
to it than what may arise IVom some of the alterationa
which have been made in it. It first appeared, without
• signatnre, in the " Qo»pel Magazine," issued in London
in 1780, and in 1785 waa published by Perronet himself
in a volume of " Occasional Veraes, Moral and Sacred,"
of which, though issued anonymously, a copy yet in ex-
istence waa given by Perronet to a iViond as his own, cer-
tified by his autograph. In 1787 Dr. Rippon published
the first edition of his selection of hymns, in which it
also appeared anonymously. It is only comparative!]^-
of late that it has been claimed for Dnncan.
Edward Perronet was the son of an excellent clergy-
man of the Established Church of England, and the
brother of Charles Perronet, who, as well as himself,
was for a short time associated in the mini^l^with the
excellent Messrs. Wesley. Edward, however, becoming
Calviniatio in his theological views, was employed by
"1
SSO AUTHOU AMD (HUOIN Of aTMRI.
* i
the waU-known CoantMS of Huntingdon, and labored at
Cantcrbary, Norwich, and oth«r placet, with eooaidar-
able MicccM. Though the aon of oiie of ita clergymeh,
he is laid to have been very decidedly oppoeed to the
Church of England and to have Bomctimue employed
hie pen in aatirixing it. Ho waa the author of an anony-
moua poem called " Tht Mitre," which ia generally lup-
poaed to have been one of the keenest aatires on the
national Eatablishment ever written. It waa printed;
but the publication of it waa auppreeMd, by the influence
and request, it is said, of John Wesley. His opposition
to the EpiHCopal Church so grieved Lady Huntingdon
that he left her connection and preached to a i^ail cod-
gregation of Ois«(enters till hie death.
About the year 180^ the hymn "All hail," etc., waa
printed at Canterbury', on a card, for the utte of a Sun-
day-school, to which is appended the following notice
of the author:— "The Bev. Bdward Perronet died at
Canterbury, January 2, 1792. His dying words were,
'Glory to God in the height of his divinity! Gk>ry
to God in the depth of his humanity ! Glory to God in
hia all-sufficiency! and into his hands I commend my
spirit.'" •i^
The well-known tune which has been for more than
half a century identified with the hymn of which we
are writing was composed by a Mr. Shrubsole, an inti-
mate personal- fViend of Perronet, who was organist at
8pa-Fielda Chapel, London, fW>m 1784 till his death in
1806.
tan. iDWAftD nuovn. SSI
W« are tMnpUd, before diamiMiag tkie article, eo hr
to depart fVom the plan of onr work aa to transeriba
ttom Perronet'e volame of 1786 the original and nbat
tared fitvorite hymn, leaving the reader to form hie own
opinion aa to the character of the alterations eince
made :—
" All hail th« power 6t Jmui' Dam* !
^ i?i' .jV li«l mgeli prpitniW Ml ; *
'^^ ' '^ Bring forth Iha royal dikdaai,
To erowa Ub Ijord of all t .
" Let hi^-bora nraphi tuaa tht lyra,
And, aa thtj tuo* It, (kll
Bafor* hia IkM who tuBw thair ohoir, i
' . Aad erowa hln Lord of aOJ
"Crowa Urn, y morning atan of light,
"^^ Who flied thii floating hall ; '
Mow hail Iha Strangth of laraal'a might,
Aad erowa hia Lord of all!
"Crown him, ye martyra of your Ood,
Who from hi* altar call ;
Ixtol the ptam of Jeatie'a rod, .
And erown him Lord of all ! .
** Ta aaad of Iirael'a ohoien race,
Ta ranaomed of tha fall,
Hail him who aavaa you
And erown him Lord
rail, f^
I by hia giae^
of aUt ^
•• HaU Ub, ya haira of Dnvid'a Uaa,
Whom Darid Lord did call,
- Tha Ood ineamata, man dirlna;
And erown him Ltwd vt all I
" Sinnera, whoaa lore can ne'er forget
The wormwood and the gall,
Oo, apraad your trophlea at hi* feet,
And erown him Lord uf all !
'r-«|
nZ AUTHOW AND (MUUIH Ut ■TMRg.
*' L*t ttwjr trilw awl •Tvrjr tMii** '
Tlutl bound crMUion'i e>ll
Hew thMil, in ubItotmI »<>■(,
Tn oaowaiD Lob^ or au."
An knecdote connected with this hymn cannot b*
nnacceptable. The late William Bawton, a v«i<jf plain
man, but a highly popnUr local preacher among the
Waaleyan Methodiata of England, waa, aome yean since,
preaching in London on the offlcea of Christ. After
jw a t inting him as the groat Teacher and Priest, who
■ade himself an offering for sin, the preacher intro-
dnoad him aa the King of saints. Having shown that
ba was king in his own right, he proceeded to the coro-
nation. Borrowing his ideas fW>m scenes fkmiliar to his
aodienoe, he marshalled the immcnHo procession moving
toward the grand temple to place the insignia of royalty
upon the King of the nniverso.
So vividly did the preacher describe the scene, that
his hearers almost thooght they were gasing upon that
long line of patriarchs and kings, prophets and apoatlai^
martyrs and confessors, of every age and clime, nntil at
length the great temple was filled, and th« solemn and
imposing ceremony of coronation was about to take
plaat. The audience by this time were wrought up to
the highest pitch of excitement ; and, while momentarily
expecting to hear the anthem peal ont> fVom tlie vaat
assemblage, the preacher commenced singing,—
•• All hsH tkc ^w«r of J«nu' assMl
JM angel* proetnrt* Ml," •(«.
'■ «.
BSV. KDWAKO KUONKT. ttB
The eflbot wm «l«vtriaU. Tbe aadience nUrted to their
feet aod Mng the hymn with each spirit and feeling m
perhape it wm never rang before Or unce, Right loyally
did that great congregation pay homage to the Saviour
aa their Sovereign that Sabbath morning.
We add here another anecdote ; and, thoogh it does
not directly bear on Perronet'a hymn, it dooa on his
character, as on that of the eminent preacher to whom
it likewiae relates.
Mr. Wesley had long been desirous of hearing Edward
Perronet preach ; and Mr. Perronot, aware of it, was as
resolutely determined he should not, and therefore stu-
died to avoid every occasion that would lead to it. Mr.
Wesley was preaching in London one evening, and, see-
ing Hr. Perronet in the chapel, published, without asking
bis consent, that he would preach there the next morn-
ing at five o'clock. Mr. Perronet had too much respect
fbr tbe congregation to disturb their peace by a public
remonstrance, and too much regard for Mr. Wesley en-
tirely to resist his bidding. The night passed over. Mr.
Perronet ascended the pulpit under the impression that
Mr. Wesley would be secreted itf some comer of the
cbapel, if he did not show himself publicly, and, after
singing and prayer, informed the congregation that be
appeared before them contrary to his own wish ; that
be bad never been onoe asked, much less his consent
gained, to preach; that he had done violence to his
feelings to show his respect for Mr. Wesley ; and, now
that he had been compelled to occupy the place in which
284 ADTBiMU AMD OKiaiR Of HTHNI-
he atood, weiik and inadequate as he was for the work
assigned him, he would pledge himself to Airnish them
with the best B((hnon that ever had been delivered.
Openi|ig the Bible, he proceeded to read our Lord's Ser-
mon on the Mount, which ho concluded without a single
word of his own by way of note or comment. He closed
the service with singing and prayer. No imitator had
been able tcr produce equal eflfect.
Another fact does boar on the hymn. In 1795 the late
Bev. Dr. Bogue preached one of the first sermons before
the London Missionary Society. One of Bowland Hill's
biographers tells us, " Mr. Bogno, in the course of his
sermon, said, ' We are called this evening to the i^ineral
of Bigotry ; and I hope it will be buried so deep as never
to rise again.' The whole vast body of people mani-
fested their concurrence, and could scarcely refrain from
one general shout of joy. Such a scene perhaps was
never beheld in our world, and afforded a glorious ear-
nest of that nobler assembly whore we shall meet all
the redeemed, and before the throne of the Lamb shall
aing, as in the last hymn of the service, —
'Crown him, erowa him, orawn Um Lord of sU t' "
Mr. Jones adds, "^here is reason to fear that there
has been a resurrection of this enemy of the Church ;
but till the close of life Mr. Hill often repeated the re-
mark of a favorite author s—-' Mr. Bigotry fell down
and broke his leg. Would that he had broken his neck!' "
ALIXAMOEB POP*. 226
ALEXANDER POPE.
Tbm singuUr and orratio geniuH, who was born in
London in 1689 and died in 1744, waa the author of a
well-known ode, formerly exceedingly popular with our
village choini, and Rtill retained in some of our books: —
" Vital iptrk of hesTcnly flame."
It was written at the request of Steele, to whom Pope
aays) " You have it, as Cowley calls it, just warm from
the brain. It came to mo the first moment I waked
this morning: yet you'll see it was not absolutely in>
spiration, but that I had in my head, not only the verses
of Hadrian, but the fine iVagment of Happho." Warton
says ho had in his head also the verses of Thomas
Fhitman, an obscuro rhymer of Cbaries the Second's
day:—
" When on my sick-bad I Uoguiah,
Full of loiTow, ftitl of anguidi,
Fainting, gasping, trembling, crying.
Panting, groaning, spiritleM. dying,
Methinks I hear lome gentle apirit lajr,
' B« not fearful, oome away,' " —
which oertainly bear a strong reaemblvioe to some of
the Jineaof Pope.
The excellent John Wesley, in giving an account of
a visit he made to Bolton, in Lancashire, in the summer
of 1787, tells us that, in the evening of a Sabbath on
which he had addressed eight hundred Sabbath-school
226 AUTH0R8 AND OBIQIN OF BTMN8.
children, he desired forty or fifty of them to sing Pope's
ode, —
*■ Vital spark of heavenly flame;"
and he adds, " Althongh some of them were silent, not
being able to sing for tears, yet the harmony was such
as I believe could not be equalled in the King's Chapel."
REV. THOMAS RAFFLES, D.D., LL.D. • .
Perhaps no man in England who has never been in
the United States has been so frequently seen by
Americans in the pulpit as Dr. Raffles. Uo is a native
of London, born about 1788, and was first-cousin to the
late Sir Stamford Baffles, Grovepor of Ceylon. Con-
verted in early life, he became a student for the ministry
at Homerton College, and was ordained pastor of the
Congregational Church at Hammersmith, near London,
in 1809. We have already spoken of Dr. Collyer; and a
short passage contained in the charge given by him to
Dr. Raffles at his ordination, when Dr. C. was himself
but twenty-seven years of age, will show the intimacy
between these two eminent men when yet in their
youth : — "The circumstances under which I am address-
ing you, my brother and friend, are not without interest.
We have long known and loved each other; we have
shared our pleasures and anxieties mutually and for
some years; we have formed as clear conceptions and
obtaine<l as perfect a knowledge of each other's character
■^ k'.-:',"-'.:^*^:,' ■:.
R<T. THOMAS RAFPLRfl, D.D., lUD. » 227
u it is possible to possess in the present state. In what-
ever points this charge jnny be deficient, I am sure it
will not be in afTcction."
In Aogost, 1811, an event occarred at Liverpool which
spread consternation through what has been called the
religious world. The Bev. Thomas Sponcor, — who, long
before he had reached the age of twenty years, had at-
tained popularity as a preacher to which none at so early
an age had ever risen, excepting perhaps the late Bov.
William Jay, of Bath, — while a new largo church edifice
was being built for him in Liverpool, was drowned while
bathing in the river Mersey; and the pulpit he would
have occupied a mysterious Providence thus reserved
for Dr. BafSes; and, as the pastor of this church, now
worshipping in a still larger edifice, ho has ever since
most eflSiciently labored.
Dr. Baffles out of the pulpit is one of the most affable,
unaffected, and delightful of companions : good nature
sparkles in his clear, large blue eye, plays about his
nrauth, and is imprint«d in eveiy line of his countenance.
But in the pulpit, solemnity banishes every other feel-
ing, and he is evidently impressed with a consciousness
of his momentous mission as the servant of God. When
he enters the sacred desk, he evidently leaves behind
him all that is earthly, and stands only as the minister
of mercy between a holy God and sinM man.
No man can hear Dr. Baffles even read a hymn with-
out seeing and feeling him to be a poet ; and the few
hymns of his which we have in our books will most cer-
< ■ ■■ ^-^ ■■ - -• ' V ■■• >4
228 AUTUoati and oeiuim or UTMiia.
tsinly oonflrm the impreBsion. Am, for ins^Doo, Iha -
one, —
" Blat hour, when mortal aua ratirei,"
attracts as sweetly from earth and brin^ us into de-
lightful communion with Deity. ' In using his hymus,
there is nothing to lessen our confidence in the piety and
eminent uscAilness of their author, but every thing to
increase the Christian love and sympathy we must de-
sire to cherish.
For a I6ng series of years Dr. Baffles has prepared
and circulated among his people^ on every 1st of Janu-
ary, a pastoral hymn adapted to that special season,
which, regularly as it is published, appears in the
columns of the "New York Observer." Cordially do we , "'
unite in saying, with the editors of that paper, in giving
the hymn "No Night in Heaven," (Rev. xxii. 5,) "For the
Early Prayer-Meeting, New Year's morning, 1858," "We
trust the venerable and accomplished pastor may be
■flared to Amish many another spiritual song for his
hearers and our readers."
REV. ANDREW REED, D.D.
Skvkrai. popular and excellent hymns are to be found
in our books iVom the pen of this now venerable Con-
gregational clergyman, who for a very long series of
years has been eminently snccessiU in London. In
1884-85, Dr. Heed, in company with the late B«v. Dr.
BKT. EOBUIT BOBIIIION. 220
llaiheBon, visited this conntry as a depuUtion to iU
charches fVom the Congregmtional Ui|^ion <^ England And
Wales: they were received with much cordiality, and
their minititerial labors were highly acceptable. Dr.
Boed has published a number of useful works, including
"l%e Hymn-Book," consisting of original and selected
compositions, used by many of the churches of his order
in Great Britain.
»
REV. ROBERT ROBINSON. .
BoBKRT B0BIN8ON, the author of two hymns in our
ooUeotions, —
"Cqib*, thou FouDt of eTcry UMiiiig,"
and
" Might/ Ood, while angeb bleta thee,"
was in his day a very extraordinary man. While a
Tory poor lad, and an apprentice to a barber in Norwich,
England, he was brought under deep religious feeling
by the preaching of the distinguished George White-
field, and soon after began to preach at the Tabernacle
in Whitefield's connection in that city. At twenty-five
he was called to the pastorate of the Baptist Church at
Cambridge, where — and indeed wherever ho was known —
lie attained great popularity. He was eccentric both in
his religioni views and his social habits. A few words
in reference to each of the hymns we have spoken of
may not be without their use.
■ *
"'^JS^l^S?;?
fSO AVTSOM AND OUOIM OF ITMNS.
The former one, —
"Com*, tbou Fount of erery bltning,"
was written in early life, and was first pnblished, in a some-
what different form fVom what we hare it at present,
*in the collections of Mr. Whitefield and the Ber. Dr. C-
Evans. From a descendant of one of the parties referred
to in the narrative, we received, some twenty years since,
the affecting statement we now nvake. In the latter part
of his life, when Mr. Bobinson seemed to have lost mncfa
of his devotional feeling, and when he indulged in habits
of levity, he was travelling in a stage-coach with a lady,
who soon perceived that he was well acquainted with
religion. She had just before been reading the hymn of
which we are writing, and asked his opinion of it, — as
she might properly do, since neither of them knew who
the other was. He waived the subject, and turned her
attention to some other topic ; but, after a short period,
she contrived to return to it, and described the benefits
she had oft«n derived fVom the hyran, and her strong
admiration of its sentiments. She observed that the
gentleman was strongly agitated, but, as he was dressed
in colored clothes, did not suspect the cause. This garb
Bobinson was compelled to assume in travelling, as
wherever he was known he was pressed to stay to
preach. At length, entirely overcome by the power of
- his feelings, he burst into tears, and said, " Madam, I am
the poor, unhappy man who composed that hymn many
years *go ; and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had
them, to oi\joy the feelings I then had." An anecdote
«j f miT. JOHM mYUMD, D.D. ttl
" timilar to this was often told by the late Bev. Thomas
Morgan, of Birming[ham, of almost the same langnags
being nsed by Mr. Kobinson to one of the most eminent
ministers of his own denomination.
The other hymn to which we have referred, —
•• Mighty Ood, whiUuigeU bl«n lliM,"
tbe second line of which was written by Mr. Robinscm
" May on in/anl llip thy name,"
. was composed for the use of the late excellent Benjamin
Williams, Esq., for many years senior deacon of the
First Baptist Church at Beading, England, — a man of
great influence and usefblnoss. When a little boy, Ben*
jamin sat on Bobinson's knee while he wrote this hymn,
who, after having read it to him, placed it in his hand.
Well do we remember the deep feeling with which th«
venerable man described to us the scene as we sat
with him at his own fireside.
REV. JOHN RYLAND, D.D.
Vkrt few Baptists, probably, can be found who have
not heard the name of Byland, borne by two eminent
ministers of that body in England. The, younger one,
Dr. John Byland, is the hymn-writer of whom we now
speak. He was bom in 1753, and even in childhood
began to write hymns, some of which were printed kk ■•
•T" ^rTi" "-ft i-y'fn, if^
OT AOTHOM ARD OKtOlN OF HTMN8.
the old ntftgasines of that dajr, with the signature of J. R,
Jnnr. Before he had attained the ago of five years, he
was able to read the Twenty-Third Psalm in Uebrew, and
at nine years could read the entire Now Testament in
Greek. At fourteen he was baptized by bis father, and
at eighteen preached his first sermon. After assisting
his Ikthor for several years, he became his successor in
1786. In 1792, Brown University, in Rhode Island, con-
ferred on him the degree of D.O.; and in the year follow-
ing he became the President of the Baptist College in
Bristol, — a position he occupied, in connection with tho
pastorate of a large church, till hit decease, in 1825. He
was one of tho founders of the English Baptist Missionaiy
Society, and after the death of the Bov. Andrew Fuller,
in 1815, was elected one of ita secretaries, — an office he
filled for two or three years. He waa regarded by the
eicellent Dr. John Pye Smith as the moat eminent
theologian of his day, as he certainly waa among tlia
most distinguished Hebrew scholars. Bobert Hall
preached his fbneral sermon, and became bis successor
as the pastor of Broadmead Church in Bristol.
Most of onr hymn-books contain the hymn,—
"la tU my Lord's appolntAd wayi;"
but probably it is not generally known that it is really
but the smaller portion of a hymn written in the latter
part of the last century by Dr. Byland, then of North-
ampton, — the whole of which has never, we believe, been
printed, except in Dr. Bippon's Selection of Hymns for
^ BBV. JOaW ETLAMD, D.D. 288
Bmpiiat c-hnrches, formerly extensively naed in this
oonntry. Its origin wm rather singular. Several stage-
coaches daily passed through the town; and, as the good
pastor lived af no great distance iVom the inn where
they exchanged horses, he generally contrived to meet
every evangelical minister who travelled through the
town, and not nnitequently almost compelled them to
■tay a day on the road, that they might give his people
a sermon in the evening. On one occasion he had thus
treated a brother in the ministry, who most reluctantly
yielded and appeared in the pulpit with the text,
" Hinder me not," (Gen. xxiv. 56.) Dr. Ryland, as is still
customary in England, sat in the desk below the pulpit
to read the hymns; and, as his brother proceeded, every
" head of discourse" was " turned into poetry," which at
the end of the sermon was duly read and a portion of it
•nng. It begins, in the original hymn, —
" Wbtn Abnbam'i MTTUit, to procur*
A wife for Iumc, Irent"
The whole consisted of nine verses, of which the last
four only are now used.
Many of our collections, espejoially those intended for
young people, contain a hymn beginning, —
" Lord, tMteh • little oliild to pray ;
' Tlijr gnee bctinee impart ;"
which had an interesting origin. The late Rev. and ex-
oellent Andrew Fuller, of Kettering, England, lost a
iUnghter in IIW, who died ver^' yonni;, hut not without
f
114 AUTBOBa AND OKiaiN or BYMNB.
first giring good OTideuco of poRscaaing experimental
piety. While ebe lay tick, — which she did fbr aome
Diontha, — Dr. Rylaod, of Bristol, at the request of her
fltther, ^in?ote this little hymn for her special nse. Speak-
ing of her and the hymn, Mr. Fuller says, " She had some
▼erses composed for her by our dear friend Mr. Ryland.
These, when wo rode out for the air, she often requested
me to say over to her. She several times requested me
to pray with her. I asked her again if she tried to pray
herself: I found by her answer that she did, and was
accustomed to pray over the hymn composed for her."
After the death of little Sarah, Mr. Fuller printed a
large number of copies of the hymn on small slips of
paper, and distributed them among the shop-keepers of
the town', requesting them to wrap up the thread used
by very many children in that neighborhood for making
the lace then only wrought on pillows; so that when a
little giri purchased a pennyworth or two of thread she
obtained also a hymn. By this means thousands were
circulated over the land, and soon got into several
books, by which we trust its usefulness will long be per^
petuated.
W" :
HOR. AND EKV. WALTIR SHtELKT. 286
HON. AND REV. WALTEk SHIRLEY.
SoHB of our colloctions contain hTmns beginning, —
"From he*Ten tlie loud, th« kogclio ung began,"
•' Hark ! ia tlu'wildcracM a cry,"
** Flow Ikat my toara, thy cause U great,"
" Sweet aa the ahephcrd'a tuneAil reed,"
" Source of light and power dlTlne," >
»nd a few others which were written in the last contary
hy the Honorable and Reverend Walter Shirley, the
friend of Whitefield and Wesley and the personal iViend
but doctrinal opponent of the well-|cnown Bev. John
Fletcher: ho was also a relative and valned fHend of the
excellent Countess of Huntingdon, the pulpits of whose
obapels he iVoquontly supplied. Ho was eminently suo-
cesaAtl as an Episcopal minister at Ijoiighrca, in Ireland,
to the inhabitants of which place ho dedicated a volume
of excellent sermons. Mr. Shirley composed some very
animated lines on the departure in 1772, two years after
the death of Whitefield, of several missionaries iVom
Lady Huntingdon's college to this country. He died in
bit sixty-flrat year, in 1786, of a very painftil disease; but
mch was the extent of his holy seat that, though for
■ome time before his death he was nnablo to lie down in
bed, he sat in his chair and iVeqnontly preached to great
nnmbers, who crowded the drawing-rooms, the lobbies, and
the staircase as far as his voice could be hoard; and the
testimony of God to his ministry was truly remarkable.
286 AUTBORH AMD OKIUIN OF HYMNS.
LYDIA HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY.
Whibb is the modem American hymn-book which
does not rejoice in some of the compositions of Mrs.
Sigonmey? and whose hymns are more beantiful, more
evangelical, or more generally acceptable J She was a
native of Norwich, Connecticut, and at throe years of
age might be seen reading her Bible. Iter early geniua
was happily fostered, and at the age of eight years she
knew how to express her thoughts in writing with ease
and beauty.
In }819 Miss Huntley was married to Charles Sigoumey,
Esq., of Hartford, iVom whom a year or two since slie
Iras separated by the hand of death; but she is still blest
with an amiable daughter. Her life has been distinguished
by almost incessant activity in the duties of female edu-
cation, and in writing an ample variety of volumes and
essays both in prose and verse, all of which are beautif\il
and useAil ; nor will she, as we believe, regret on a dying
pillow the production of any one of them. Many years
•go we published in England a selection of her poetry,
collected by ourselves, under the title of "Layt from the
Wat;" and most of her productions since that time have
been republished in that land. It has been well said
that "her position as first in purity and talent ambng
the htdy writers of America has never been disputed by
• perwrn worthy the name of critic."
'.i'yi
I
Atmrn iTuu. 817
REV. S. F. SMITH, D.D.
Thu excellent Baptist minister of Now England
is well known aa s gentleman of literary taste, and
the aathor of many highly acceptable hymns, in-
clnding, —
" Softljr fsdef the twilight nj,"
" Tm, my B»tiTe <uh1|I loTe thee."
He was also one of the editors of the hyron-bouk used
by his own denomination, called " The Psalmist." He
needs no farther praise, nor need his character be more
Ailly described.
ANNE STEELE.
Thu lady, usually in England called Mrs. Steele,
having become advanced in years, unmarried, was the
writer of many of our fkvorite hymns. She was the
eldest daughter of the Bev. William Steele, pastor of
the Baptist church at Bronghton, in Hampshire, Eng-
bnd, and was bom in 1716. Very little is known of her,
even though Dr. Caleb Evans, of Bristol, published a
memoir of one whom he highly esteemed, living, and
whose three volume* of poetrj', under the name of " Theo-
iotia" he greatly aaaiated to publish. At fourteen she
was baptised and united with the church under the pas-
torate of her ikther, snsti^ining that connection till her
■'Q!i
• ''v?.\7 ■ -u'" " '• '^/iyrf-Zi^^i^'.- "^''^r':^^^
288 AUTBOBli AND OUOIlf Or BrMNM.
de»th in 1778, in the aixtj-Bocond yeftrof her age. Even
in early life she was exceedingly fond of poetry, but
waa always unwillig^ that what she wrote shonld be
made public ; and, though ahe at length yielded to the
iroportunitiea of her fVienda, ahe alwaya.«withheld her
name. In early life, ahe conaented to give her hand to
a worthy young man named Elacourt, and the day for
the wedding waa fixed; but a few houra before the in-
tended event he went into the river to bathe, incau-
tiously paaaed beyond hia depth, and waa drowned.
Never again did her heart warm with human love.
The remaining part of Mial Bteele'a life waa apent '
in retirement, manifeating, as Dr. Evana saya, "unaf?
fected humility, warm benevolence, aincore Ariendahip,
and genuine devotion." Her capacious mind was clothed
with a, weak and languid body; and the death of her
&ther, to whom ahe waa most ardently attached, gave
such a shock to her frame that, though she survived him
fbr some years, she nevei* recovered from it. Though
fW>m the period of her flither'a decease she was confined
to her chamber, she looked with sweet resignation to
the time of her removal from earth ; and, when it hap-
pily arrived, ahe was, amidst great pain, full of peace
and joy. She took the moat affectionate leave of her
friends who atood weeping aroand her, ottered the tri-
umphant words, "I know that my Redeemer liveth,"
closed hor eyes, and fell asleep in Jeaus. A very appro-
priate inscription, written by one of her niecea, waa
inscribed on her tombstone :— ^
UV. BAMUBL BTKNimr, O.D. 8t9
" gnrat tha lyre, and dumb the tunahil tongu*.
That lung on earth her great Redeemer'* praiie ;
But now in heaTcn she joint the angelic nng
In more exalted, more barmonioui lays."
Mrs. Steele's hymns, as the reader well knows, are
highly esteemed in all oar churches: they are the
breathings of a living sonl, and have alike drawn forth
the sympathising tear, the rapturous song, and the pre-
vailing prayer. Long will she continue to sing on earth
and to educate saints for heaven.
REV. SAMUEL STENNETT, D.D.
Tbc fkmily of the Stennetts flimishM successive
ministers to the Baptist denomination for more than a
century, when the name became entirely extinct. The
most eminent of the family was Samuel, the son of Jo-
seph Stennett, pastor of the Baptist church at Exeter,
England. Samuel was bom in 1727 and died in 1795.
Hisfather moved to Little Wild Street, London, in 1737,
and in early life his son became first his assistant and
afterward his tttcoesaor. Ho was an eminent scholar,
and was honored with a degree of D.D. by the King's
College at Aberdeen, and was a personal friend of his
•overeign, George III., for whom it was said he read
books, criticisms on which the king used to retail as
his own. Hi* literary stylo had all the elegant sim-
plicity of Addison combined with more strength than
'w%^7^P^jy'''fi'''''-?T'^i^^^
240 AUTHORS AND OKIOIN OF UVUHB. <
that eminont writer. So particular was Dr. Stennott in
his eztompore delivery, that he often made long paases
in the pulpit to select the best word ho could find to ex-
press his ideas. He was offered high proferment in the
Church of England, but his answer was, " I dwell among
mine own people," and he resolutely declined. His
hymns are extensively known and are highly valued.
As Dr. Stennett approached old age, the death of
his wife greatly aflSicted hiih, but was sanctified so as
to raise him above "this present evil world," and he
gave f\iU evidence that he had no desire to remain longer
on earth. When almost confined to his bod, he prayed
earnestly in his &mily"that God would give him an
easy passage out of life ;" " and God granted him that
which he requested." Some vinegar combined with
other ingredients being given him as a gargle for his
throat, he said, with great emotion, " < And in hit thirst
they gave him vinegar to drink.' Oh, when I reflflot
upon the sufferings of Christ, I am ready to ask. What
have I been thinking of all my life f What he did and
suffered are now my only support." Beferring to the
tenets of Unitarianism, he said, " What should I do now
if I had only such opinions- to support mef"
,, .• ; ... ■■ ....■■, ■--':§
KBV. AM08 SUTTON, D.D, . 241
REV. AMOS SUTTON, D.D.
Thi well-known hymn, —
"HkU, iwectMt, deanat tie thai biadal"
WM written hy the trnly excellent and learned Dr. Sut-
ton, who died after many years of snccessfnl missionary
labor at Orissa, India. lie was of very hamble origin, .
And in early life was distinguished for ignorance and
pro&nity. Changed by. the grace of God, he attached
himself to a General Baptist Church in London, and,
after due preparation, engaged in missionary labors,
fie more than once visited this country, and deeply in-
terested the Free- Will Baptists in the cause to which be
had devoted his life. For his second wife he married to
American lady. However beantiM the hymn to which
we have alluded, its fhll excellence could only be realized
by those who heard it read and sung by its author, who
not unfirequently closed the public meetings he attended
by leading in its use. At one of these meetings, at the
dose of an ordination in which we were engaged with
him, in 1884, in the Bnglish metropolis, we heard it
for the first time; nor do we expect, if by sovereign
mercy we reach the heavenly world, to lose the still
cherished feelings which it then excited.
Ml AUTBOBS AMU OUOIIT Of HTMNS.
STERNHOLET AND HOPKINS.
Thesk gentlemen, with H. Wisdome and others, who
assiated them in what is called " The Vernon of the
Ptalms," claim a niche in our volume, were it only, «■
old Thomas Fuller says, that they were " men whose
piety was better than their poetry, and they had drank
more of Jordan than of Helicon." Of the design of
their work he says, " It was to make them more portable
in people's memories, verses being twice as light as the
selfsame bulk in prose;" and he adds that although
"many have since refined these translations, yet their
labors therein were never generally received in the
Church, principally because un-book-leamed people have
conned by heart many psalms of the one translation,
which would be wholly disinherited of their patrimony if
a new edition were set forth."
Stenihold was indeed a singular man. He was groom
Cif the bedchamber to Henry YIII. and to Edward YI.,
and impropriator of the buildings and lands of the priory
of Bodmin, as well as versifier of the book of Psalms.
Bishops Beveridge and Horsl^ strenuously defended
the fiiithftilness of the old version as a just, accurst*,
and dignified rendering of the Psalms;' while Collier
calls this " old version" a popular innovation during the
first years of the Beformation.
It is said of the celebrated Scaliger that he was so
■TtR5B0U> AMD HOPKINB. t4t
delighted with the ikmona stanu of Stemhold and Hop-
kin* in the eighteenth Psalm, —
"On oberub uid on cherubim ;
Fall royally b« rode.
And on the wlngi of mighty wiada
Cuna flying nil nbrond,"
that he naed to profess that he had rather be the author
of it than to have governed the kingdom of Aragon.
The well-known psalm, —
•• All people thnt on enrth do dwell,"
waa the old &vorite version of the one-hqndredth Psalm,
and was the first English composition to which the tune
of the " Old Hundredth" was applied by our English fore-
fikthers. It has, therefbre, great historical value and a
ipecial adaptation to one of the noblest tones in the
" aervice of song."
*' It is amusing," as the Bev. Heniy Fish has remarked,
" to look back and contemplate the strong feeling which
existed at one period among a certain class of clergy-
men, and some of those enlightened ones, against any
innovations npon Stemhold and Hopkins." Even the
celebrated Romaine, on one occasion at least, argued aa
if the words of Stemhold and Hopkins, which were sung
in the churches, were the words of the Holy Ghost.
I ' ■ ■■
t44 AUTROU AMD MIOIR or BTMRB.
REV. JOSEPH SWAINE.
. " CoMi, jt MuIi by sin •flUeUd,"
'and leveral other sweetly melting hymns by this writer
to be found in onr collections, were derived fVom «
small volnme which he himself published. Mr. Swaine
was of the humblest origin, and was bom at Birming-
ham, England, in 1761. In early life he devoted him-
self to sinAil gayety ; but, becoming partially enlightened
as to the truths of the gospel, and while struggling for
dearer views of Christianity, he began to write hymns.
He was one day overheard by a neighbor singing one
of them, who, hearing it was his own, invited him to
go to a house of worship with him; and he said to his
friend, " I am sure what the preacher said is true; for he
has described my feelings better than I can myself." In
1791 he began to preach at Walworth, London, and
organiaed a Baptist church, where ho labored with great
souoesa for five years, the house within that period being
three times enlarged. Bui at the age of thirty-five he
was removed by death, leaving behindKhim a reputation
■tiU fVagrant and precious.
Mr. Swaine always regarded the seraphic Samuel
Pearce, of Bii-mingham, as his spiritual fkther; and to him
he inscribed a long poem, in which he gave a highly-in-
teresting narrative of his conversion.
' ' " • . '?■ ' ' . -
%nUAV a. TAtTAM. MS
WILLIAM B. TAPPAN.
TaoDOB thia gentleman, who suddenly died in New
England in 1849, wm not poMessed of the very highest
order of talent, — nor did he ever do justice to himself, for
want of care and pains, — he wrote several hymns for
which he will long be remembered. If bis heart had
not been a well-apriug of poetry, he could not have
written, — " '
<• 'TU midaight, — uid on OlWc'i brow
Th« ■tw ia dimmod Uwt Uulj phon*,"
" Holy be thli u wm tho plaee
To Urn of PmUo-wmb known ;"
nor can Christians oeaae to love him when, assembled to
pray for the coming of Christ's kingdom, they raise the
triomphant anthem, —
" Wsko, iilM of tho South I your rodomption it new,"
or when, in the midst of storms and trials, they seiae the
lay of comfort and hope, —
« ■ -
"There U «n hour of hallowed petes,"
or rise eznltingly toward i!hat worid
•• Where purity with love eppeere.
And bUia without elloy, •
And they who oft have town in tean
Shall reap tftia in Joy."
Mr. Tappan was especially interested in the caase of
II*
';:-M'---M
■WwiTS
M6 AUTUOU AHO OMOIN or HYMNM.
San(Uy-«cbools, And not uufVeqaently sccepUbly ooca*
pied the pnlpits of hie brethron^ — which he did on almoat
the iMt dayofhielife.
TATE AND BRADY.
Wi have oluaed these anthora together becaoae thej
were assooiated in the pablication, in the early part of
the eighteenth century, of the "New Version of the Ptalmi^'
for nse in the Church of England, — ^now, however, rapidly
diiappearing fW>m our midst. A few — and but few — bf
them are truly valuable, and will continue to be uaed for
yean to come. Nahnm Tate was bom in Dublin in the
year 1652 and died in 1715 ; and Nicholas Brady, •
clergyman of the Church of England, who published
many sermons, was bom at Brandon, in Ireland, in 1669,
and died in 1726. It has been remarked as a curious
oironmstance that both of the writers of the new version
ot the Psalms inteiided for the special nse of Englishmen
were natives of the Emerald Isle.
It is somewhat singular that neither the Old Tersion
nor the New ever possessed the direct authority of Con-
vocation, though the former so laid hold of the popular
mind that not even the translation of King James I.
could disturb it. The New Version only rests upon an
allowance "by the Court at Kensington," in 1696, "for
snch congregations as shall think fit to receive it"
', -Mi
-m'i'
a. twumtaxn. 247
G. TERSTEEGAN.
TaANRLATioxa of Mveral of the hymnB of this excellent
Oemuui appear in our booki. Perhaps the best-known
of them is the one, —
" Tboa hMdw 1ot« of Ood, whoM liti|bt,"
and another, —
"Though kll til* world mjr oboioe derida."
Be lived, in the beginning of the eighteenth century, a^
life of deep, still communion with God, choosing the
occupation of a ribbon-weaver because of its tranquillity;
and from his humble home he shed a blessed influence
ovt^ large numbers who sonAt his counsel. His light
seems to have shone and to have been diflbsed not so
much by direct effort as because he himself dwelt so
much in th6 light. His piety was the fountain of his
poetiy; and the beauty of his heavenly thoughts glows
through the rudeness of the earthen vessel which holds
them. He died at Mftilheim, on the BQhr, in the year
1799, »t the age of seventy-six. ,
v'. Vj^
Tr.»fw"^;'M*P3!TO'!^
t48 AOTBOM AMD OKIOIM OF BTMXt.
REV. AUGUSTUS M. TOPLADY.
This eminent man wm the son of a military oiBcer,
who died' soon after his birth. When abont the age of
•izteen, he was brought to the knowledge of Christ by
the preaching of a layman in a bam in Ireland. Top-
lady was even then a scholar, and the preacher conld
scarcely spell his own name. In 1762 he was ordained
in the ministry of the Church of England, and was
at length settled at Broad Hembury, in Devonshire,
where, and in London, he remained till his death in
1778, occasioned by consumption. The well-known beau-
tiftil hjrmn, —
" Book of sgM, okfl for BS,"
together with several others, proceeded ttom his pen,
and will long minister to the edification of the Choroh
of Christ As a preacher, he united many qualifications
which captivated his hearera. He was remaricably dig-
nified and serious, yet pleasing, in his appearance, had a
melodious voice, gracefbl action, and much fluency of
speech. Hor did he fail to impress the hearts of many,
whose tears frequently flowed with his own. His an-
flinching fidelity may be seen ttonx the &ct that, when
onoe solicited to preach for a public charity, he saw
present a noble lord accustomed to the sports of the field,
and introduced a paragraph flrom a newspaper in which
he was described as heating hin opponent by "jostling"
'mm!"
■ST. Aoauanw m. TorLAor. ti»
bit hone into a ditch, and pablioly cautioned hia lordship
iMt he nbould be " jottied" into bell. Heeing Bome of his
«ongregmUon amile, he aolemnly exclaimed, "It ia no
Uughing-matter, gentlemen, to be^oatled into hell !"
The death of Toplady was indeed that of the Chris-
tian. A short time before his deoeaiie, at his own re-
9iiest, his physician felt his palse, and was asked what
he thqnght of it. His reply was that " the heart and
arteries boat weaker and weaker;" the reply of the
dying saint, as the sweetest of smiles sat on his counte-
nance, was, " Why, that is a good sign that my death is
flwt approaching ; and, blessed be God, I can add that my
heart beats every day stronger and stronger for glory."
Still nearer to his end he said, " Ob, my dear sir, it is im-
poasible to describe how good God is to me! Since I
have been sitting in this chair this afternoon — glory be
io his name! — I have enjoyed such a season, such sweet
wmmnnion with God, and such delightftil manifestations
of his presence and love to my soul, that it is impossible
ibr any language to express them. I have had peace
and joy unutterable; and 1 fear not that God's consol*.
tiona and support will oonUnue." But, immediately
rscolleoting himself, he continued, " What have I said ?
God may, to-be-sure, as a Sovereign, hide his fkce and
his smiles flrom me. However, I believe he will notj
and if he should, yet still will I trust in him. I know I
am safe; for his love and his covenant are everUsting."
Within an hour of his death he said, " It will not be
long before Crod takes me ; for no mortal man can
• ' ■ j
m AumoM AMD ouaiH or rriixs.
liT*"--bnnting, while he iftid it, into team of Joy— « after J
the glories which Ood has ouuiiAieted to mj soal."
Before we lay down onr pen, we are diepoied to refiw
to a flust related by Dr. Pomeroy, in connection with a . ^
Tiait he made a few years ago to an Armenian church
at Ck>nttantinopIe. He Mya that he was greatly pleased 1
with their singing, though he could not understand the
words. They all sung the same part, and while singing ^
the hymn their eyes were closed, and, as they sung, the
tears trickled down many cheeks. On inquiiy what the
hymn was, one of the missionaries told him it was, —
" Rook of agas, eltft for BS." «•. i
The good doctor observes, with somewhat of deserved
aererity, that '< most members of our American o6nrche«
take precious good care that the singing shall have no
such effect on them." ■ . J
MISS TUCK.
A BBAunm. hymn on heaven, beginning, —
" Tkart ii • rsgioa IotoUv fcr,"
and one or two others of a similarly sweet spirit, adorn
some of onr books. They were written by a Baptist
lady at Frome, Somersetshire, England, whose pen has
long Airnished articles for some of the English maga-
siiies.
BBV. BAMIIL rVEIfBK. 261
• « ,
REV. DANIEL TURNER.
Hon of our hymn-booka oonUin a hymn beginning,—
"BijMd tkk gUtUriag, ■twij ikyt"
«iid w* lukva Men ■ome three or four namea attAched (o
it at iU anthor. The hymn, which may be aeen at full
length in the " Baptitt MtmoriaF' for 1840, and which
oontaina twenty-eight venea, waa the Joint production
of two Engliah Baptiat miniatera of the laat century.
Thia qaeation ia forever aet at reat in a note addreaaed
. by the Bev. Daniel Turner, of Abingdon, to the Ber.
Dr. Bippon, of London, who publiabed it in the " Bap-
tilt Begider," of which he waa the editor. The note,
4ated Febmary 22, 1701, ran tbaa^-^<Aa to your in-
quiry concerning the hymn, < Jenu teen of Angeli,' it ia
tme, aa yon were told by our good brother Medley,
that one part of it waa made by my dear friend the
Ber. Jamaa Fanch, of Bomaey, and the other part by
Mr. Toraer wrote alao the hymn, —
> " JaiM, AiU of aU eompMidaa,"
•ad OB* or two othera in commoa nae.
He waa bom in 1710 and died in 1708. He waa ori-
ginally a achoolmaater, but in 1748 became paator of the
Baptiat Choroh at Abingdon, Berkahire, EngUnd, — an
ofloe he ilUed for ifty year*. He publiabed a work on
Pr-'
Ml Atrraon and owaia or btmim.
tbc ■objeot of Ml Chriatian oommonion Among th«
ehurchoa of hit own denominAtion, And An oxoeUent
Tolome entitled " A Compendium of Social Religion."
REV. BENJAMIN WALLIN.
Thu gentlenuui, the Author of the hjrmn,—
" B*U, mighty Jmw ! how dlvin
b thy TietorioM fwordl"
WA* tK^ son of the Bev. EdwArd WaIHu, pAStor of the
BAptiat Charch, IIaaa Pond, London, where he was bom
in 1711. Though edocated by hia fkther^ BenJAmin aaya,
"Under hiajudicioiu and affeotionat« inRtructiona, both
A* A pArent And a minister, I continued a long time A
meUncholy inatAnce of the inaulBoiency of the beat of
BMAna without a apeciAl bleaalng ; but, I truat, before
bia remoTAl it pleAaed God, who ia rich in mercy, to
open the eyea of my underatAnding And to ohAaga what
WAa before only the form to the power of godlineaa."
He waa educated under the Bev. John Needham and
the Bev. Dr. Stennett ; but, hAving no thoughta of the
miniatiy, he entered into buaineaa; and aereral Attempta
were mAde to induce him to preAch before he oonaented.
Three times did the church At MAse Pond invite hie aer-
▼ieea in thia WAy, And he replied, " When I oonaider th«
dedgn of each a oall to be employed more or leaa is
preaching the gospel, the very thought atrikea me with
BIT. W. WAID. SU
terror. It b • work of an awAil nature/' In July,
1740, b« oonaentcd to preach for the first time ; and in
Oetolwr, 1741, he waa ordained aa sqcoeMor to hia ikther.
He occupied thie poeition more than forty years, dying
in February, 1782.
REV. W. WARD.
Tbi well^nown miMionary hjrmn, —
••OrMt Odd, the nktion* of th* Mrth,"
waa written by the Bev. William Ward on hia voyage to
Bengal, in company with the late Ber. Dr. Marshman,
to Join the immortal Carey in the great work of ersB^
geliaing the heathen, in which labor they all spent their
Uvea, with reaulta that will extend throughout eternity.
The manner in which Dr. Ward — for such he really
became, though hia modeaty led him to disown the title
— became connected with the mimion should not be for-
gotten. A short time before Carey went to India^ he waa
walking in one of the streets of Hull, and was introduced
to a youth who had just made a profession of religion
and waa then working with a printer in that town.
" We shall, by-and^by," said Carey, " want some one to
print our translations of the Scriptures : hold yourself
in readiness by the time yon are needed." The circum-
stance deeply affected Ward's mind; and a few years
afterward he went out to do that very work, as well aa
to ba a pastor and an itinerant.
"v<l
VU AUTBOM Aim OUaW or HTMMt.
Mr. Ward wm bora at Derby, in BngUuul, in 1760,
•ad di«d in India in 18X1. He paid two abort vitita to
thii ooontiy, where, aa in his voyage to England, he did
BBOh to extend the ipirit of miMion#, and oolleoted oon-
■iderable idois to advance the college at Serampore,
whioh had been originated by binuelf and his brethren.
REV. RALPH WARDLAW, D.D.,
Thi author of several beantifU hymns, including the
sacramental one, —
"IteaMmtartkMl IUmbWCMmI".
was one of the earliest Congregational ministers in Scot-
land, where he very sucoessflilly labored in the mioistry
for fifty years. He was bom in 1779^ sent to the Uni-
versity of Glasgow before he was twelve years of age,
and ordained in that city in 1808. He published, besides
his hymn-book, a very large number of admirable works,
and left others in manuscript. He died in 1868, aged
aeveikty-fonr years. Few men of his day rendered mora
service to Christ and his Church.
HEV. HENRY WARE, D.D.*^
This gentleman, whose talents and learning were very
eminent, was a member of a &mUy devoted to the minis-
try among the Unitarians, while both his &ther and
BSr. ItAAO WAtn, D.D. 2ft6
himwif wen profMson in Harvard Univertity. H»
waa bom In MaaaaohaMtU in 1704, graduated at Ear-
▼ard in 1812, and ordained in Boston in 1817. He waa
eminently devoted -to hit duties, and, as the result of
ezoeasive labors, suffered greatly for several yean in
health. He died in 1848. His hymns, few in number,
are lovely in their spirit, but seem to us defective as to
the great doctrines of evangelical religion.
H. S. WASHBURN.
This gentleman, the author of several hjnnns, in-
olnding a patriotic one in several of our books,—
" Ut aTSry kMTt r(^iM Md liiig,".
is a Christian merchant, connected with a Baptist church
in New England. He has rendered important literary
and other services to the cause of our common Chris-
tianity, the happy results of which we hope he may
long live to witness.
REV. ISAAC WATTS, D.D.
It has been well remarked, by the anonjrmons ant^or
of " T%e Voiot of CSmttian Lift in Song," that with thtf
eighteenth century the history of Bnglish hymn-books be-
gtna. The two earltMitBames on the long list of that ceu"
tary link the story of the fkith in England, in an intereat-
S60 AUTBOU AMD OmiOIII OT BTMm.
ing way, with thAt of the p«n«cated Protfistanta on thfl
CoDtioent. Dr. Watta, born in 1674, was descended,
through his mother, ftx>iii a Huguenot family driven
from France by the peraecntions in the early part of
Queen Elisabeth's reign. And Dr. Doddridge doubtless,
in bis childhood, when his mother had finished the fiible-
"leason flrom the piotored Dutch tiles, would often ask for
the story of her father Dr. John Baumann's flight from
Bohemia, with his little store of money bound up in bis
girdle, and Lntber'a German Bible, for all his heritage.
Traditions of other ancestral wrongs and fkithAilness
deepened the early piety of the two great Nonconfbrmist
bymn-writen, — the pathetic stoi^ of those patient suf-
ferings fbr conscience' aake which, next to the martyr-
doms of Mary's time, form the most thrilling chapter in
the history of English Protestantism, — stories not then
oondensed into national history, but which the sufTerers
yet lived to tell; for Dr. Watta's mother also had her
talea of her son's own inflmoy, when his flither lay in
priaon for bis convictions and she had sat on the stonea
of his prison-door with her first-bom in her arms.
• It has been well said that Isaac Watts was bom a poet.
His flither was a deacon of the Independent or Congre-
gational Church at Southampton, where Isaac was bom
in 1674. His ancestors had been musical : his father
was not only a nutn of taste and intelligence, bnt was
given to "versing;" and his mother nsed to offer in
their boarding-school prises of fkrthings for the best poet-
ic sflluions. When Isaac was soma seven yean old,
;^;;wj7f; •■
*KV. ISAAO WATn, I>J>. MT
his mother'a copper medal wm gsiii«d by a lomewhAt
' trnaof oouplet produced by her son :—
•• I wriu not for jour ftfthlag, but to try
. How I joUt fluiliiiig-writ«rs ota outtrU."
Three ye«ra did Watta pumue his studies for the Dis-
senting ministry, under the superintendence of the Rev.
Mr. Bowe, at Newington, now absorbfid in London, and
at little more than eighteen returned to his fltther'8%onse
' to devote himself to more private reading and study in
preparation for the sacred office. With the chnrch in
which his father held office ho worshipped. At that
period there were congregations which eschewed all
psalmody, and in whose worship there was to be heard
as little of the voice of melody as in a meeting-house of
" Friends." But this wa9 not the case in the congrega-
tion of the Bev. Nathaniel IV>bin8on. They sang; and
some have said it was f^om Sternhold and Hopkins, or
'from Barton's books; but, unless oar memory greatly
'- deceives us, we saw some half-century ago a volume'of
hymns published by one Brown, then sung at Soitth*
• ampton. Some of these were mere) doggerel ; but, if we
remember rightly, some of Watts's own book only pre-
sented a revised form of what were written by his prede-
ceMor. At all events, Isaac, at about eighteen, greatly
oomplained of the entire want^ttaste in the hymns
generally used, and in return w^^Mlenged to produce
something better. Conscious ofm^wwers, be upder.
, took to do so, and very shortly afterward the service of
, • ■ B '■'■■■.:-•
SS8 AUTB0B8 AND OBIQIN Of HTMHfl. ^ <
<he d*y was closed hj the beaotifU compoeition which
begins his first book : —
•' Behold the glories of the liamb."
• This attempt was an innpvation, and the poet was a
• prophet of their own conntiy ; bat to the devotional in-
stincts of the worshippers so welcome was this " new
song" that they entreated the author to repeat the se^;-
vico, till, the series extending Sunday after Sunday, a
■nfficient number had been contributed to form the basis
of a book. Such was the commencement of a work
which has aided millions in their devotions, and which
will, probably, be useful to the Church of Christ till the
end of time.
This volume, however, was not published till the year
1707, when he issued the " Hymns and Spiritual Songi."
For the copyright, Mr. Lawrence, the publisher, gave
him ten pounds; and in less th&n ten years six editions
had been sold. Twelve years afterward he published
what he regarded his greatest work, " The Psalms of
• David imitated in the Language of the New Testament."
In reference to this latter work, the American reader
will assuredly examine with interest a letter written by
its author to the Bev. Dr. Cotton Mather. Its date was
London, March 17, 1717-18.'
" To my honored and dear friend,
Dr. Cotton Mather gf New England.
"Bit. and Dkah Sib: — I may persuade myself of a
hearty acceptance of this little present I make you.
UT. ISAAC WATTS, D.D. * 2fi0
They are the fruits of sotne easy hours this last year,
wherein I have not sought poetical flourish, but simpli-
city of style and verse for the use of vulgar [common]
Christians.
" 'Tis not a translation of David that I pretend, but
•n imitation of him so nearly in Christian hymns 1 hat
the Jewish psalmist may plainly appear yet leave Ji ida-
ism behind. My little essay that attends this manu-
script will render some of my reasons for this way of
introducing the ancient Psalms in the worship of the
New Testament.
" The notes I have frequently inserted at the end are
chiefly to render the world a reason for the particular
liberties I assumed in each Psalm.
" If I may be so happy as to have your free censure
and judgment of 'em, it will help me in correcting others
by them. I entreat yon, sir, that none of them may
steal out into public. If God all6w me one year more,
even under my present weakness, I hope he will enable
me to finish my design. To him be all the glory.
Amen. Your most affectionate lover and obliged friend,
"I. Watts."
Hr. Montgomery — and few men were more capable
of forming a correct jadgment — says that " Dr. Watts
may almost be called the inventor of hymns in oar lan-
guage ; for he so far departed from all precedent that
few of his compositions resemble those of his forerun-
ners ; while he so far established a precedent to all his
successors, that none have departed ftt>m it, otherwise
"Jf?
260 ACTH0B8 AMD OBiaiN Off BTMRS.
than M aooording to thd peculiar tarn of mind in iha
writer and the style of expressing Christian truths em-
ployed by the denomination to which he belonged."
Equally true and beaatiftil are the same aothor'a re-
marks on Watts's "Divine Songtfor CSuldrm." Ae says,
" These form so small a portion of bis multiform kbon,
that were they expunged the eye could scarcely perceive
the bulk of one of the volumes diminished. Yet who
can calculate the innocent pleasure and the abiding profit
which those few leaves have afforded to myriads of
minds through the lapse of a century? And, much
more, Who can estimate the treasure of instruction and
delight which would thereby be It^t to millions hereafter
through ages untold V
It has been well said, by another writer, " It may ap*
pear at the last day that this little work was the most
useftal of all his publications. He has done very much
by it to Christianize more than one-quarter of the worid."
We think it is Cecil who says that nothing about I^.
Watts surprised him so much as that he should have de>
Mended from writing his " Logic" to compose his beaati-
f\il " Divine Songs for Children." To this we are disposed
to reply that his severer exercises of mind most ad-
mirably prepared him for the clear and simple compo-
sitions in which he afterward engaged. These beaa<
tifol " Songi^' carry about them evident indications of
fine mental training and sweet condescension of spirit
and manners, which will be admired in many of these
compoaiticma till the end of time.
UT. IIAAO VATTB, D-D!- ' 201
We m»y mention here a tradition still proTslent in
the county of Eaaex. Cutle Uedingham, in that coanty, .
WM sitoAted not very &r fW>m London, wherb the doctor
then resided. At the castle, fW>m which the village
took its name, lived an excellent family, named Ashhurs^,
who were frequently visited by Dr. Watts and other
London ministers. In the beautifhl and secluded grounds
of that lovely spot, tradition tells us, the pious poet com-
posed many of his " Divine Songt." We can easily be-
lieve the statement, as also that the delightAil scenery
■nggested some of the finest thoughts.
The remark often made that the interest we take in a
hymn is greatly augmented when we know its history,
has seldom been more strikingly illostratod than in the
composition of Watts beginning, —
" How Tain sn all tUagi here below I'-
It is well known that the worthy doiQtor lived and
died a bachelor. The cause of this seems to have been ;
that in early life he met with a severe disappointment.
Attracted alike by the penK>nal,'the intellectual, and the'
q>iritual loveliness of Miss Elisabeth ^nger, afterward
the well-known Mrs. Bowe, Isaac Watts tendered to h«r
his heart and his hand, and wiis unhappily repulsed,—
the kdy telling him that, though she loved the jewel,*
■be could not adigire the casket which contained it.
Thos was poor Watts treated, as were others, by this
•zooUeot hot surely somewhat capricious lady, whom
' ''l^>C7f;s'-' ™ •-■ v?3' i=w^^
282 AVTBOKfl AMD ORIOIIf OF BTMNS.
Mrs. Barbaold in Bome degree tanntod when she uid to
her, in the langnage of high compliment/—
'* Thjrnne, Cartarct, BUokmore, Orrcrj kpproTsd,
And Prior praiMd, and noble Hertford lored :
Seraphio Ken >nd tuneful Wstta were thine,
And Virtue'! nobleet oliunpiona filled the line."
Thoagh disappointed and grieved, the pions poet sub-
mitted to w^t he considered an arrangement of Divine
Providence, and then wrote the hymn to which we have
referred, the beaaty of which both the Christian and
Ihe poet will admire. Happ^the man who coold at
rach a time pray,
" Dew BnTioor, letiithy beaatici be
My loura eternal food.
And grace command my heart away
From all defeated good I"
It was some time since observed, by a writer in the
"Presbyterian Quarterly Jteview," that in the hymn of
Watts beginning, "There is a land of pore delight,"
''every image is soriptarsl, every suggestion appro-
priate, every association holy;" and he adds, " we doobt
whether any uninspired production has oflener softened '
the heart or moistened the eyelids."
We learn from an American writer, who obtained his
information on the spot, that its author wrote this hymn
at Southampton, his native town, while sitting at the
window of a parlor which overlooked the river Itchen,
and in Aill view of the Isle of Wight, "the swelling
flood" celebrated in it, " beyond" which is seen "the land
of pure delight,"
BBV. »AAO WATTB, D.D. ^ 268
" Whar* •T«rUsting ipring abidw
* 'And naTer-witharing flowan."
Bo, at leMt, it might seem. It is indeed a fair and beau-
tiibl type of that paradise of which the poet sung. It
rises ftvm the margin of the flood and swells into bound-
less prospect, all mantled in the richest verdnre of sum-
mer, checkered with forest-growth, and iVnitfhl fields
nndek- the highest cultivation, and gardens, and villas,
and every adornment which the hand of man, in a series
of ages, could create on such susceptible grounds. As
the poet looked upon the waters then before him, he
thought of the final passage of the Christian : —
<• Da»th, Uka • najTow la*, diridas
This haaTanly Und from onn."
The hymn written by Dr. Watts, —
■• Am I a soldiar of tha croaa r"
was first published by its author at the end of his thirty-
first sermon, entitled " Holy Fortitude, or Remediea against
F»arf' the text, 1 Cor. xvi. 13:— "Stand fkst in the
fldth ; quit you Uke men ; be strong." The hymn itself is
• fine apostrophe for the use of the Christian soldier,
who is represented in a review of his character, and du-
ties, and with an earnest desire to engage in the conflict
in which he is sore of victory by fiuth in Him who
has already conquered an his foes. It breathes the true
q[>irit of a soldier of the cross of Christ. He would
wear no laurel that* he does not gain under the banner
of the Great Captain of his salvation. He disdains to b«
■■??' $^- ■>-%"; ■'?^'»V^^
M4 ADTOOM AMD OUOtM Of BTMIII.
««arri«<ltoth*tUi4i
On flowery bada of mM,
WliUo others fought to win the prlio
And lailed through bloody teu,"
and boldly asks for the foes he h'as to face. After ex*
pressing his resolve to fight his way to heaven, and an-^
ticipating the bliss he shall ei\joy, he ascribes all tha
glory to Him who hath porchased it with his blood.
Let every Christian soldier enter 'the warfkre and con-
tinue in it with the spirit of this hymn.
We have elsewhere spoken of the cordial fKendship
which existed between Dr. Doddridge and Dr. Watts;
and certainly the reader will be gratified by a short ex-
tract from a letter of the former excellent man to the""
latter, relative to that exquisitely beautiM hymn, — -
•• OWe me the wings of ttiih, to riM."
Dr. Doddridge thus affectionately speaks to his friend :—
<*0n Wednesday last I was preaching in a bom to a
pretty large assembly of plain country-people in a village
a few miles off. Afler a sermon from Heb. vi. 12, we
sung lone of your hymns, (which, if I remember ri|^t,'
was the one hupdred and fortieth of the second book ;)
and in that part of the worship I had the satisflKition to
observe tears in the eyes of several of the auditory; and,
after the service was over, some of them told me that
they were not able to sing, so deeply were their minds
affected with it; and the clerk, in particular, told me he
could hwrdly utter the words of it. These were most of
them poor people, who work for their living."
'•sV-
BSV. mAAC WATTII, D.^. 265
While writing this article, we learn firom the Eitglish
newspapers that in the now park just formed in Sonth-
•mpton, the town in which Dr. Watts was bom, arrange-
uents are in progress for the erection of a statue to his
memory, to be paid for by penny subscriptions of Sunday-
schocil children.
We know not that wo can better close this article
than by a short extract fW>m Mrs. S. G. Ilall's " Baidetux
tf Dr. laaae Watta," now, alas I "among the things that
were." She says, "We followed our conductor to the
top of the house, where, in a turret upon the roof, many
of Dr. Watts's literary and religious works wore composed.
We sat upon the seamed bench, rough and worn, the
very bench upon which ho sat by daylight and moon-
light, — ^poet, logician, and Christian teacher. We were
in some degree elevated above the dense and heavy fog,
for the heavens were clear and blue; but all beneath us
waa shrouded in a sea of mist, that would sometimes
dear away and then press its yellow folds more closely
round every object of interest. This was very provoking,
as we desired to see what he had seen ; but we remem-
bered how out of this good man's naturally irritable
temperament he had become gentle, modest, and patient.
We could almost fkncy the measured tones of his sweet,
eloquent voice reproving our unthankAiIness for what
we had already enjoyed. . . . The chamber upon whose
walls hung the parting breath of this benevolent man
might well be an object of the deepest interest to all
who follow, however humbly, the faith of Jesus. W«
266 AUTHOB8 AND ORIQIN Or HYMM8.
were told of a little child who, knowing every hymn he
had written, was taken into hiH room, having tome vagne
bat happy idea that she Hhoald meet him there. Learn-
ing, ao she eagerly looked round, that the author of
'. Watts'g JTymM* was dead, she bant into bitter tears,
which did not cease while she remained in the house."
Perhaps, however, the moat striking commendation of
these compositions was <Vom the pen of the energetic and
accomplished William Wilberforoe. With special refer-
ence to the beantiAil " Summer Evening" of its author, —
" How fine haa the day been! how bright wm the ninl"
he says, " It is not for children in years alone, but for
the children of God and the heirs ,of glory. And when
we compare it, either in point of good sense or imagina-
tion, or its sterling value in sustaining hope, with the
oonsideratiQns and objects which feed the fancy or exer-
cise the understanding or affections of the most celebrated
men who have engaged the attention or called forth the
eulogiums of the literati of the last century, wo are
irresistibly forced to exclaim, < Oh, happy hymnist I Oh,
nnhappy bards I' "
Before we close this article, we may refer to two or
three compliments paid to the poetical writings of
Watts, very different in character, but equally illus-
trative of their influence. A copy of his Psalms and
Hymns was taken into Central Africa by Mr. Anderson,
the brother-in-law and fellow traveller of the celebrated
bat unfortunate Mungo Park, which the Landors, many
R:^.
BIV. ISAAC WATW, D.D. 207
yeftn afterward, foand hang up in the rcHidonco of a
chieftain as tfetUlu, to be worshipped as sncrcd.
Another is presoutod in a letter from the Kev. Dr.
Colman, of Boston, undoc date of August 20, 1739: —
" This last year, at my motion, two of our booksellers
reprinted }'our < Songs for Children,'^4fn edition of two
ur .three thoi{8and, I think; and your Hymns are just
DOW out of the pre^MM^'our Treatise of Prayer in it.
I know not wlu^^QP|nWkon our editions here any
thing; but i^f^^^
Wo may add yet another fact of interest,— 'that the
Hymns of Dr. Watts were first published in this countr}',
by Dr. Franklin, in 1741, and his Psalms the same year
in Boston ; but neither the Psalms nor the Hymns were
generally used in worship by our fathers till after the
BevoIutioD.
Our readers will be gratified if wo give tho opinion writ-
ten by bur countryman William Wirt, Attorney-(ieneral of
the United States. " I bought the other day," ho says, i n a
letter to his wife, "a copy of Watts's Psalms and Hymns.
Do you know that I never think of this man without
•uch emotions as no other human being ever inspires
me with? There is a loftiness in his devotion, and an
indifference, approaching to contempt, for the praise or
censure of the beings of this nether world, which is
heroic and sublime. It is so awftilly great that oven old,
■arly, growling Johnson, with all his High-Church pride
»nd arrogance, felt its influence, and scarcely dared to
whisper a criticism in his life of Dr. Watts, — which ia a
268 AUTBOBII AND OBIUIH ok BTMHI.
rurioHity in this particular. What a aool of celestial fire,
and, at the same time, of dissolving tondemeits, wax that!
How troly did ho devote all the faculties of that soul to
the contemplation of the glory of God and of the Saviour!
He was, indeed, 'ever jonmeying homo to God,' and
seems to have stopped half-way between earth and
heaven to compose this excellent book. His was a rapt
soul ; and I never fisel my own worthlessncss so forcibly
as when I read his compositions and compare my spirit
with his."
It has sometimes oooorred to us that the cultivation of
the art of poetry has a very happy influence on the temper.
So it seems to have been with Dr. Watts; for we are
told that he was of so extremely mild a disposition that,
when a fViond once blamed him for not having severely
reprimanded a man who had done him a serious injury,
he replied, " I wish, my dear sir, yon would do it for me."
THE WESLEYS.
In the early yqara of the eighteenth century, while
Dr. Doddridge, during his solitary childhood, was learn-
ing fVom his mother's lips, in their house in liondon, how
the God who led Israel through the wildernem rescued
his exiled grandfather fVom Bohemia, — while the flrst
edition of Dr. Watts's hymn-book was being eagerly
bought up in a single year, — John i^nd Charles Wesley
were spending their childhood in the country parsonage
. •: ' :?^^
THE wnuTi. 208
at Bpworth, in LinoolnKhire, John having been born in
1T08, and Charles in JTOQ. The old PuriUn blood ran
in their veins : their father'9 grandfather and father had
both been ejected fVom th# Established ('hnnth in 1G62,
and the younger of thiese had often been in prioon for his
Nonconformity. Their mother's father, the Rev. Dr.
Annesiey, was also one of the early Nonconformists, — a
man of whom his daughter said that for forty years his
deep sense of peace with God through Christ had never
been broken, and who died whispering, " When I awake
np in thy likeness, I shall be satisfied, — Mti»fied.'\
None of our readers need to bo told that amidst perse-
cution and contumely John and Charles Wesley preached
the gospel of Christ throughout their long lives: the
hearts of thousands were awakened, and the morning
hymn of rejoicing multitudes wont up to that Sun of
Bt|t^teonsnesa which had arisen with healing in his
wingfe. In one place, where an enraged crowd had
rushed into the house where John Wesley was resting,
he addressed them with such affectionate faithfiilness,
appealing to the " thirst" which lay deep in their hearts
bdow their opposition, that the disorderly mob became
a peaceable congregation and tears of penitence streamed
down the fkoes of the ringleaders. At another time the
magistrate who came to prevent Charles Wesley iVom
; liVeaoliing was himself arrested by the preacher's words,
listened to the end, and went away with a softened and
hunibled hearts In almost every place wherp they were
th^f t|88a%id^ iocieties of true converts sprang up out of
ttQ AUTHOKH AND OKKIIN OF BYMHI. t
the very r«nkB of the peraecutora. It wa« oat of Ihta
raoh M these that the Wesloyan hymns were dutilled.
Aa the reader has already seeiii one hymn was composed
after a wonderflil escape from an inAiriated mob, another
•fter deliverance horn a storm at sea, and all in the in-
tervals of a life of almost inoessant toil. The pressure
of trial and the power of fkith drew mjtny a vigorous
hymn fW>m John Wesley; but it was Charles Wesley
who — in his prime, da his preaching-tours, by the road;
side, amidst hostile mobs or devout congregations, and
in his old age, in his quiet journey ings from friend to
A-iend — poured forth the great mass of the Wesleyan
hymns. Those hymns are now sang in collieries and
oopper-mines, in our dense forests and on the battle-fields
of other lands, in the cradle and on the death-bod. How
many has their heavenly music strengthened in the hour
of sorrow, and given courage to strong men and patience
to suffering women I They have been a liturgy engraved
on the hearts <^ thousands of the poor, and have aided
In bearing the name of Jesus far and wide, writing it
deep on countless hearts. Truly has it been said that
the service he rendered to Methodism — and, we will add,
to evangelical religion — by his hymns did as much as
John Wesley's rules to bind together the rough material
of eariy. Methodism. They express even now every
Sabbath the religions emotions of tens of thousands of
worshippers; and during their whole history they have
comforted the souls and fluttered on the dying lips of
myriads now before the throne.
THE Wt8I.IT8. 271
There is aomothing to remarkably intereatipg in Mr.
Moore'i doHcription of CharloB Wesley when nearly
eighty years old, that wo are snre our readers will thank
us for transcribing it: — "He rode every day— clothed
for winter even in summer — a little horse, gray with
age. When he mounted, if a subject struck him, he
proceeded to expand and put it in order. He would
write a hymn, thus given him, on a card kept for that
purpose, with his pencil, in short-hand. Not unfl-e-
qaently he has come to the hoQse in the City Road,
and, having left the pony in the garden in fVont, he
would enter, crying out, 'Pen and ink! pen and ink I'
These being supplied, he wrote the hymn he bad been
composing. When this was done, he would look round
on those present and salute them with much kindness,
and thus put all in mind of eternity. He was fond on
these opcasions of the linos, —
■ There all the ihlp'i company meet
Who wiled with the Sariour beneath ;
With ■honting eaeh other the/ greet.
And triumph o'er eorrpw and death
The voyage of life'i at an end,
The mortal aflltetion is paat ;
The age tliat in hearen they spend
For erer and erer ehaU last.' "
The hymn,—
"Coma, Desire of naUons, eome,"
was written by the Bev. Charles Wesley, and formed
part of a tract consisting of nineteen " Hymns Occa-
ttotud bjf iKe EaHhquake, March 8, 1750." This tract
272 AOTHORS AMD OEiaiN OF nTMNS.
wu intended to give « right direction to the eztrtordi-
nary consteroation and excitement which prevailed in
London and its neighborhood, occasioned by shook*
which moved the earth, about London and Westminster,
westward, then to the east, and then westward again,
attended with a rumbling noise lilce that of thunder.
Many houses were shaken and several chimneys thrown
down ; but it was believed that no lives were lost.
Thousands left their houses and encamped for some
days in the fields. A soldier added to the alarm by pr^
tending that he had a "revelation" that on a certain
midnight a great part of London would be Swallowed
np. Not a few really supposed that the day of judg-
ment was about to commence; many churches were
thrown open, and Bomaine and others preached to the
crowds there, while Whitefield and Wesley preached in
Hyde Park and elsewhere, at midnight, to many thou-
sands. Forms of prayer were appointed " by authority"
to be read in the churches, prayers were composed for
the use of fkmilies, sermons and letters were printed
on the subject, and the results of the whole matter were
very great. Nor was the tract to which we have re-
ferred without its use. Its publication was a happy
thought. In addition to the hymn we have mentioned
as thus called forth, was also another which yet live*
among us, —
•' How weak lh« thoughts tad yaln," ate.
In 1780, the Bev. Charles Wesley published, in pamph-
TBS wiaurs. ST8
let form, '* Hymnt Written in the Times of the TunndtB,
June, 1780." These awful mob riots, so celebrated in
the annals of England, took place in London as the
result of the imprudent anti-popish violence of an inflitn-
ated peer, Lord George Gordon, a man clearly insane,
who collected many thousands of persons to destroy the
chapels and the persons of the Roman Catholics. The
cowardly fears of the London magistrates and the malice
of the mob were severely lashed in a satirical poem fh)m
the pen of Charles Wesley, in which he speaks thus of the
charge that the Methodists had aided the Roman Ca-
tholics : —
"Old Weilay, too, to papiit* kind.
Who wrote againit them for • blind,
HlmMlf > papiit still in honrt,
He »nd his followers shall smart ;
Not one of his Aratemity
We here beneslh our standard see."
In 1782, Charles Wesley also issued a tract of forty-
seven pages, entitled " Hymns for the Nation," having a spe-
cial reference to the fact that England was at war with
her " robeHious" transatlantic colonics. One verse iVom
these hyinn^, Which still remains in most of theMethodist
hymn-books, will be road by our fHends with a smile : —
"Sariour, whom our hearts adore,
^ '. To bless our earth again,
Now assume thy roffol power
And o'er the nations reign."
The exquisitely-beautiAil hymn, —
"Come, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
To whom we for our ehlMren eiy,"
274^ AUTBOH8 AND OBIOIN Or QTMIffl.
wu written by Charles Wesle}', and sang " at the open-
ing of a school at Kingswood" for preachers' sons. Mr.
Creamer says, " It has been brought as a charge, in effect,
against Mr. John Wesley, that he preferred genaine
piety, even when associated with ignorance, to irre-
ligion, though adorned with learning and the iulvonti-
tious importance which wealth alone too often confen.
To assert this, however, is only saying that he had, in
spirit, sat at the Saviour's feet, heard his word, and
learned of him. But he saw no necessity for either;
and therefore he prayed himself, and, by patting the
words into his hymn-book, instructed his societies and
followers to pray, —
* Unit* the pair lo long disjoined, —
Knowledge and viul piety :
Lekming and holineu combined.
And truth and lore, let all men ■««
In thoee whom up lo thee we gire, —
Thine, wholly thine, to die and live.' "
We are glad of an opportunity of saying somewhat
of the truly-grand hymn written by Charles Wesley, —
*■ Thou Qod of gloriou* mi^eity."
It contains, aa oar readers all know, a traly-aublima
verse: —
" Lo ! on a narrow neok of land,
'Twilt two unbounded ieae I stand.
Secure, inienaiblel
A point of time — a momenl'i ipaee —
KemoTes me to that hesTenl; place
Or thuta me op in hell !"
This fine composition was written on the promontory
TUB WUUET*. f7S
known in England as "Land's End," on the const of
Cornwall. It is really " a narrow neck of laud" jutting .
out into the Atlantic. To pass over this neck for the
purpoBO of reaching the ontraost point of English land
is somewhat dangerous. With scarcely foot-room be-
neath yon, you have on cither side a precipice, with the
■oa washing its base; and, whether you turn to the
right hand or the left, your eye meets a vast expanse of
ocean.
Mr. Montgomery, in his " Chriaian Psalmig(," says of
this hymn, " It is a sublime contemplation, — solemn, col-
lected, nnimpassioned thought, but thought occupied with
that which is of everlasting Import to a dying man
standing on the lapse of a moment between two eter-
nities."
We shall add to these remark^ an extract iVom
Br. Adam Clarke, under date of October 11, 1819: —
"I write this on the last projecting point of rock of
the Land's End, upward of two hundred feet perpen-
dicular above the sea, which is raging and roaring tre-
mendously, threatening destruction to myself and the
narrow point of rock on which I am sitting. On my
right hand is the Bristol CSiannel, and before me the
vast Atlantio Ocean. There is not one inch of land
ftom the place on which my feet rest to the American
continent. This is the place where CluU4ea Wesley
composed those fine lines, —
\
■ Lo ! on a aurow nwk of Und,
'Twitt two nnbounded mm I itend.'
2*^6 AUTBOM AND ORIOIN OF OTMNI.
Charles Wesley's hymn, —
'• auad, the onmipotMl d«er««,"
WM written and published in 17&6, with special reference
to the oarthqoake which destroyed the city of Lisbon in
that year. Montgomery says, " The hymn on the day
of judgment, — 'Stand, the omnipotent decree,' — begins
with a note, abrupt and awakening, like the sound of
the last trumpet. This is altogether one of the moat
daring and victorious flights of oar author."
"Oir* m« the enlarged dMir*"
was Written by Charles Wesley, and was a favorite hymn
with the seraphic John Fletcher of Madely, of whom
Southoy speaks as " a man of rare talents and rarer vir^
tne. No age or country has ever produced a man of more
ibrvent piety or more perfect charity; no church has
over possessed a more apostolic minister." Mr. Fletcher
was, as is well known, at one time the President, and
Mr. Benson, his intimate friend, the Head-Master, oi
Lady HonUngdon's odlego at Trevecoa for the education
of young ministers. Speaking of Mr. Fletcher's devo-
tional habits, Mr. Benson says, "My heart kindles
while I write. Here it was that I saw, — shall I say
an angel in human flesh f I should not fkr exceed the
truth if I said so. . . . AAer speaking a while in the
school-room, he used frequently to say, ' As many of yon
as are athirst for this fhlness of the Spirit, follow me
into my room.' On this, many of as have instantly fol-
lowed him, and there continued for two or three hours,
■if^iif. •^w""" -■;•-• • •- •■ '■'■'■ ■:■■ ' ' . ;'■- "":!>5i^..^
m WMunri. 177
wrestling Hko Jacob for the blessing, praying one after
another till wo could bear to knoel no longer. This wan*'
not done once or twice, but many times. And I have
sometimes seen him on these occasions, once in par>>
ticnlar, so filled with tbo love of God that he could con-
tain no more, but cried out, < O my God, withhold thy
hand, or the vessel will burst.' But he afterward told
me he was afraid he had grieved the Spirit of God, and
that he ought rather to have prayed that the Lord would
have enlarged the vessel, or have sufTerod it to break,
that the soul might have had no Airthor bar or interrup-
tion to the enjoyment of the Supreme God. For, as
Mr. Wesley has observed, the proper prayer on such an
occasion would have been, —
OIt* IB* Ui« milkrgtd deair*,
And open, Loid, mj loiil,
Thjr own (VilBew to requirw
V Aod oompraheod the whoU:
Strctob my faith's rapaciljr
Wider end yet wider etill ;
Then with ell that ie in thee
My rsTiehed epiril All.'"
The well-known hymns, —
*' Woe to the men on earth who dwell,"
" By fkith we And the pleee aboTe,"
were written by Charles Wesley, and were first printed
by him in a tract about 1756. They were parts of a long
hymn he wrote on the then recent destruction of Lisbon;
•nd, read with this fact in view, their interest is greatly
■■^K/7'f -r-^-.y- !,:■;•-.->■ :•/■•■:.- .'rr.r •:^p}^ii^^i:^
S78 AOTBOM AND OKIOIN Of BYMHC
increMed. He wrote abont that period many hyniw
mach adapted, alike by their sontimenta and beauty, to
impress the public miad fVom the passing events of that
important period.
The very excellent and graphic hymn,—
■Olory to Oo<l, whote (OTervign graM,"
was written by diaries Wesley "for the Kingswood
colliers ;" bat we arc sorry to see that Wesley's last two
verses have been omitted fVom our modern books : —
" SaBoa that for the mmod paat
HoU't horrid lu>giiBg« fiUod our toaguM,
Wo all thy wordi bohlnd u out,
Aad lewdly tang the druakard'i longs.
But— oh, the power of grace diTine I —
In hjrmni we now our voioea raiie.
Loudly in strange hoeannas Join,
And blaaphemie* are turned to praiae."
These Verses, as well aa such words aa « senseless
atories," « reprobates," and "outcasts," will be better
understood when it is remembered that the tract oi
vonntty called King&wood, consisting of from three to
four thousand acres, formerly a royal chase, and lying
near Bristol, England, supplies to that city the greater '
part of its fhel. It was in the days of the Wesleys and
Whitefield inhabited by a fltr more brutal and lawless
race than any of their fkthers, in the persons of th«
colliers, differing as much from the people of the suw
rounding country in dialect as in appearance. Of thes*
people many of the Christians of Bristol said to Qeorg*
M
m wMura. 270
WbiUileld, when he was preparing to embark for
Oeorgw to preach to the IndianB, " What need of going
•broad for thin? Have we not Indiana enough at home f
If you have a mind to convert Indiann, there are coUiert
enough in Kingawood." Hero, under an old aycamoro-
tree on Hanham Mount, that great man preached his
first aermon in the open air to about a hundred collien.
This number rapidly increased, till thoy BOmetimea
•mounted to nearly twenty thousand persons. He says,
<* The first discovery of their being affected was in the
white gutters made by their tears, which plentiAiUy fell
down their black cheeks, as they came up out of their
coal-pits. Hundreds and hundreds of them wore soon
brought under deep convictions, which happily ended in
•ound and thorough conversion."
Compelled to embark for America, Whitcfield pre-
vailed on John Wesley to succeed him in this interesting
charge; and we scarcely need to remark that Kingswood
has ever since been regarded as a sacred spot in eccle-
aiastical history. Here houses of prayer for Wcsleyan^
Methodists and Independents were soon erected, and in
them thousaiids have been converted to God. Here was
placed the first school for the sons of Methodist preachers;
•nd on Hanham Mount, besides the voice of Whitcfield,
have been heard those of the Wealeys, Coke, and Mather;
•nd here Pawson and Benson and Bradbum accom-
plished some of the mightiest effects which followed
their powerful preaching.
%■•
- 1 '• ■ ■ ' ' A
280 ADTBORS AND OBIOIN Or HTMIIt.
It hM been anpposed that the two hymni of Chariei
Weeley,—
" Oft have we paised th« guilty night,"
•ad
" HmtImd to tlie solaniB Toie«,"
were the firet two hymns composed by this author for
watch-night services. Dr. Soathoy terms these watch-
nights " another of Wesley's objectionable institutions ;"
and yet they. bad a very lovely origin. They began
among the converted colliers of Kingswood, who, having
in the days of their folly given their Saturday nights to
drinking in the ale-house, after their hearts had been
changed gave these same hours to worship God in thfl^
school-house, continuing their hymns and prayers late
into the Sabbath morning. Those services contributed
greatly to their spiritual advantage ; and John Wesley
determined to introduce them into all his societies. la
1742 — the date of the first publication of these two
hymns — ^he appointed a monthly watch-night daring the
Ml moon : this service is still twntinned at the close of
. every year, and has in later years been imitated by many
congregations of other detiominations
" Wonbip, Md thsnkt, ud blaMiag,"
was a "blast," as Mr. Creamer says, written by Charlea
Wesley " after deliverance in a tumult," and was often
lounded on similar occasions. We have no certain in->
formation as to its precise date. One account of <' a mob >
at Devises," written by the author, as occurring in 1747,
and ooi^ed from Jackson's Life «f Charles Wesley, close*
in K) interesting a manner that the reader will be glad
to refresh his memory with it : —
'^ After riding two or three hundred yards, I looked
bade and uw Mr. Morton on the ground, in the midst
of the mob, and two boll-dogs upon him. One was first
let loose, which leaped at the horse's nose; but the
horse with his foot beat him down. The other fkstened
on his nose and hnng there, till Mr. Merton, with the
batt.«nd of his whip, felled, him to the ground. Then
the first dog, reoovering, flew at the horse's breast and
ftatened there. The beaat reared up, and Mr. Merton
dUd gently off. Tbe dog kept his hold till the flesh tore
off. Then some of the men took off the dogs ; others
cried, ' Let them alone.' But neither beast nor man had
any ibrthor commission to hurt. I stopped the horse
and delivered him to my fliend. He remounted with
great composure, and wo rode on li^isurely, as before,
till out of sight. Then we mended our pace, and in an
hour came to Soend, having rode three miles about, and
by seven to Wraxall. Tbe news of our danger was got
there before as; but we brought the welcome tidings of
our deliverance. Now we saw the band of Providence
in suffering them to turn out our hones ; that is, to
•end them to us against [by the time] we wanted them.
Again, how plainly were we overruled to send our horses
down the town, — which blinded the rioters without our
designing it, and drew off their engines and them, luaving
us a free passage at the other end of the town ! We joined
in heuiy praises to our Deliverer, singing the hymn, —
I4»
SM Acmou A«D OMaiM or BTMiia.
• Woraip, m4 Uiuka, ud MaMdag.'"
Men who oonld thaa saffbr and aing would, nndw
(rimilar circumatancea, be aa ready aa Daniel to be oaat
into the liona' den, or to enter, like the three Hebrew
children, the fiery flimace, even though it were heated
aeven timea hotter than aaaal.
The hymn,—
••Oh for • tboiuuul tongaM, to liag,"
ia aaid to have been written by Cbarlea Wealey on the
ilrat anniTeravy of the oonvenion of himaelf and hit
brother John. It originally contained eighteen veraea,
and waa entitled "/br the Anniversary of On^B Convet'
lim." It waa first publiahed in the year 1780.
The hymn,—
" Com*, UioD •ll-Tiotorioiu Lord,"
waa also written by Charles Wesley " before preaching
at Portland," a peninaolar parish of England, oppoaite
Weymouth, in the county of Doraet It ia remailcabia
for ita stone-qoarriea, iW>m which an abundant anpply k
■ent to different parta of England and elaewhere and
where very many of ita inbabitanta are engaged in thia
kind of labor. These fitcta probably auggeated two
linea in the firat verae: —
"Strike with the kammtr of thy word,
f And break thee* hewta of ffone."
The well-known animated and emphatic hymn, —
" 8m tiew gnat a !•■• MpifM,"
Tiic wnuTt. M
WM oompoMd by Charleii Wwl«y « ailor preaching t6
the NswoMtIo coUiera" on the Joyflil ocoaaion of ita
Mthor's ministerial RuciceM, and that of his fellow-
laborera, among that rongh and hardy people. Mr.
Jaokaon, Mr. Wenley'a biographer, sayB, " Perhaps the
imagery waa soggeated by the large Area, which illami-
nXte th^ whole part of that country in the darkest
nighU."
The hymn, —
"Jmiu, from thy hMTWil; pUM,"
waa .written by Charlea, and in the English Methodist
hymn-bbok has the line, —
•' Our My** ptooUar ttmmut prav*."
Dr. Floy, in the "MelkodM Episcopal Quarterly Beview"
for 1844, says, "Father HUt, to suit it to republican
America, altered the word ; and we now pray that ' piety
aiaoere' may prove the peculiar treasure of our laitd, and
that it may be inspired with humble love.' "
The hymn written by Charles Wesley,-!-
" Long hava I MoiMd to wrro ihM, Lord,?
waa written under peculiar circumstances. In the year
1740, oonsideraMe disputes originated in some of th«
Methodist societies and rent some of them in pieces.
They were occasioned by a man named Holther, who
bad been a Moravian, and who introduced what waa
called the doetrine of ttiUnest, denying that divine grace
or the influence of the Holy Spirit is transmitted in the
Me of means, especially through the ordinance of the
" .'■,'.,■' ■ i . ■ ' ' ' >■ ' ■■-., ,'■**>
S84 ADmoM AKD (Muai* or nrMna.
Lord's Soppfir. Mr. Jackton, the biogr»pb«r of Wnriajr/
wall Mj*, "This Una hymn gnarda againat axtremaa,
both OD the right hand and on the l«ft, and ombodiaa
those jnat viewa on the subject which the brotbera
steadily maintained to the end of their lives. Charles
Wesley osed to call \m the right-minded people in bis
oongregation at the Foondery, London, to nnite with
him in singing it; and it is diflScolt to conceive bow any
enlightened Christian oonld reflise to join in the holy
exercise. Its efl^t at the time most have been very
powerful." The i^hote hynji contained twenty-three
verses.
Every one knows that the beaatifbl hymn, —
••CwMb Itt ■• Jatai sor frUads sbaTS,"
was written by Charles Wesley. Some years after his
death, and not long before bis own decease, the Rev.
John Wesley, being in London, officiated in bia own
diapel in City Boad. After the morning prayers bad '
been read, be ascended the pulpit; but, instead of im-
mediately announcing the hymn to be sung, to the great
aorprise of the congregation, be stood silent, with his
9f9» closed fbr, it baa been said, at least ten minutes,
wrapt in intense thought. Having done this, with a
fe^ng which at once told where his spirit had been
eommnning, be solemnly read this hymn. We ean easily
imagine the aifeet this produc^ on the minds of those
penona who well knew both the men.
We may add here that the Rev. Thomas Spencer, •
^Tf^-.:^' .;■'■--■■■;•■
nn wwum. Mi
rmy popalar Oongregatioiwliat minister, who died, while
bftthing, in hie twenty-fint year, at Liverpool, England,
in 1811, had thii hymn almoat constantly on his mind
for sereral weeks before his lamentable decease. He
was often hoard privately to sing it, and more than once
conversed on its subject with his fHends, — little thinking,
however, how soon he shonid join his fHendi who had
" oroseed the flood."
In speaking of the hymn,—
"Qod U la tkia sad ararj plMC,"
Mr. Creamer, in his " Mdkoditt Hymnology," says on th«
lines, —
" And hsT* I ■•Mond half ay dsyw.
And half my Joaraay nm T"
" Tt ia a ooincidenco worthy of notice in this connection,
that when Mr. Charles Wcsloy composed this hymn he
was abont forty yean old : be died aged eighty ; hence ho
had just, in his own beautiful language, —
■ meuured half Ait dayi,
Aad half ku journey rva.' "
Charlea Wesley's hymn, —
" Th« grtat arehwgel'i tramf thall Mnnd,"
was written " after a deliveranoe fVom death by the fall
of a horae." It originally oonnated of twelve verses :
two of thoae-now omitted referred thus to the accident :—
" How blMMd whom Jmui ealU hii owa !
How (|niot sad Meura trmtk bsnu t
mm AVTBOU AMD OMQIM OW BTMNS.
TIm wlT«r«H7 MMl W d«WB,— * .,
TIm Bavioar aaogfat nt in kb anu.
" 'Twu Jmiu ehaekwi Us itnUlaatd «kala
And eurhad Iha malioa of our fo« :
Allowed lo toDok our leah with pala.
Mo fUrthar epuld the nnrdarar go."
The be«atiAil ftinQnl hymn, —
" ShrinUag fron tha MM huid »t imth,"
wu fW>iQ the pen of Charles Wesley, of irhoM penonsl
habits in old age we have already spoken j and connected
with the third verse of this hymn Mr. Moore records a
pleasing anecdote of John Wesley : — " When his increasing
infirmitioa were perhaps more apparent to others than
himself, he would omit none of his religions duties or
labors. Herein be would listen to no advice. His almost
continoal prayer was, 'Lord, let me not live to be use-
less r At every place, a(ter giving to the society what
he desired them to consider as his last advice, — ' To love
as brethren, fear God, and honor the king,' — he invariably
concluded with the verse, —
• Ok ikat witkont a Uagariag gntaa
'' I may tka waloome word re«aiT«,
Ily bod/ wltb mj vkarge lay dowa,
I at oooa lo work and lira I"*
2-"
Another of Charles Wesley's fbneral hymns begins, —
" Again we lift our Toioe."
i was composed " On the death of Samuel Hitohens,"
one of Mr. Wesley's first preachers, who died in the
{*py~-
THB wnuiTi. 297
1747, after itiiMrating two y^»n. From the ftilh
we le«m that he wm very young : —
••Tboo, la thy yoDiV^ priaa.
Halt iMpcd tlu boohdi of tiiM ;
• TSuddanl/ from earth rcleaawl,
Lo I we now njoiee for thMi
Taken to an eafly reet, ^
Cansht into eternity."
The betutiflil hymn by Charles Wesley, —
<• Inflnlto Ood 1 to thee we ralae,"
fai an elegant paraphrase of the " Te i>eviK Laudamui"
Mr. Beiyamin Love, in his « Beeords of We$lej/an Life,"
■ays, " It is questionable whether there is any produc-
tion merely hiunan worthy of being considered a rival
to the Te Deum; and that person must be dead indeed
to eveiy spiritual feeling and emotion who can utter
with his lips its touching sentences and remain In heart
nnaflSacted and unimpressed. Whti can repeat the solemn
tmth, < We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge,'
and not be unmoved f " Or who can sing, in the strain
of the Methodist poet, —
"And thou, with Judpnent elad, ihalt oene^
To teal onr eTerlaating doom^"
without a fervent prayer to find mercy in that day f
"Thou hidden love of Ood, whoie height,"
is a translation by the pen of John Wesley fW>m the
Cterman of Gerhard Tersteegan- In his <' Plain Account
r
•\f';
M AOTHOKtl AND OBIQIN Of DYIIIII.
<tf Pafeetion," Mr. Wesley tells as he wrote this hymn \
at SaTMiiuih, €}eorgia, in 1786, and qnotes the following
lines to show what his religions fbelings then wore : —
<■ It Umn • thing beoMth th« fail
That itriTMi'wUh thM mjr hMil to ilwrv t
Ah, tMT it tkMM, uul raigM alone,
Tht Lord of orory mation thw* !"
t
Dr. Sonthey, in his Life of Wesley^ connects those lines
with the love-affair with which Mr. Wesley was cou.
nectod in this country, and which ended in disappoint-
ment, and thinks they were written on that occasion ;
nor are we aware of any objeotion to this theory of the .
mfttter.
Ttehymn,— . * .
"How bappy ia the pilgrim'i lott"
was the production of Mr. John Wesley, and, as Mr.
Creamer has very justly said, has attracted as much
attention as any other in the Methodist hymn-book.
We cannot speak of this hymn better than in the words
of the gentleman to whom wo have referred: — <<This
hymn has been admired by thousands not known by the
name of Methodists, with whom it has always been a
great fkvorite, as well on account of the remarkable
character of its sentiments as the elegant simplicity of
its diction. Throughout the composition the author haa
made personal reference-to himself. His opinions upon
the subject of matrimony at one time of life are well
known to all acquainted with his history ; and this hymn
^^';^,-*''^>,,iS*'S'r' ,i">Jl .
-■■■v^:ff-,.-'~T- ,,.■., c ■•. »-' , • • .
■•■/■■■'' '■"■■•, ■ ■ , ' ' ' ■ ■. '■ ,
THE WKBUTt. 289
WM published about five yoara before lua unhappy union
with bia wife, at a period when he had probably no in-
tmtion o^ever entering the marriage-state, and breathea
only the language of one who had devoted to God, as
he had done, his ease, his time, his life, his reputation.
. There are traits about it which cannot be mistaken ;
see, for instance, versea four, five, and aix : but there is
another verse, which has been omitted fVom onr [the
Methodist] hymn-book, that is still more characteristio
of the author's sentiments at the time of life when it
was written. It runs thus: —
• I htT« DO charer of m/ hMri,
To rob mj SaTiour of a part
And dMccrata tho whole :
Only bolrotheii to Chriit am I,
And wait hta coming from the akjr.
To wed mjr happ7 loal.' "
" Some of the expressions in this stanza," Mr. Creamer
adds, "are very similar to many found in Moravis*
hymns, and may have resnltefl iVom his intimate
intercourse with those people in the eariy part of hit
miuistry."
" Behold the Sarioor of maaUiid"
was written by the Bev. Samuel Wesley, the flilher of
the Rev. Messrs. John and Charles Wesley, and is said
to have been preserved in a very singular manner when
its author's parsonage was consumed by fire, the second
time, August 24, 1709, when John, his son, was saved
froiD death almost by miracle. "Among other memento*
29U AUTHOB8 AND OBIOIN OF HTMNS.
of this calamity," saya the editor of "Dr. Adam Clarke' t
Wesley Family," " four leaves of mnsio may be noticed,
the edges of which bear the marks of the fire and may
be h'anded down to posterity as a curiosity. Charles
Wesley, Jr., has written on one of the leaves, <Tho
words by my grandfather, the Bev. Samuel Wesley.
Probably the music was adapted by Henry Purcell, or
Dr. Blow.' " These remarks are followed by V A Hymn
on the Passion : the words by the Bev. Mr. Samuel
Wesley, Bector of Epworth, in the diocese of Lincoln."
That hymn, however, contains two versos which are now
geherally omitted. They were the second and sixth : —
*' Though fkr unequal our low praise
To thy TMt luffeiinga proTe,
O Uunb of Qod, thus all our days.
Thus will we grieve and lore!
" Thy loss our ruin did repair ;
Death by thy death is slain :
Thou wilt at length exalt us where
. Tbott d«Bt in glory reign."
Samuel Wesley, Jr., was the elder brother of John
and Charles Wesley: he manifested a poetical taste
even in childhood, and produced a few of the finest
hvnns in Methodist psalmody, including,—
■•The Lord of Sabaoth let us praise," "'
" Hail, Fathef, whose creating call,"
' " Hail, Ood the Son, in glory crowned,"
and
" The morning flowers display their swee(«."
The last-named hymn was written on the death of •
HENBY KISKE WHITE. -^^.291
young hdj, and is foanded on leaiab xl. 6, 8. : — " All flesh
is grass, and all the goodliness thereof as the flower of
\b.o field. . . . The grass wither^th, the flower fadeth ;
bnt the word of onr God endnroth forever." Mr.
Creamer very trolj says, " The author has completed his
task in a most interesting and pleasing manner. The
imagery is touching; and, although ^he subject is of a
melancholy character, he has thrown light among the
shadows and intermingled beauty with the gloom. The
hymn cannot be read without emotion."
HENRY KIRKE WHITE.
This lovely youth, who died of excessive study at the
age of twenty-one, has ihmished several compositions to
our hymnology, including the beautiflil hymn, —
" When manhslled on the nightly plain."
He was the son of a butcher, and was bom at Notting-
ham, !EngIand, in 1785. On account of the delicacy of
his constitution, be was taught the trade of a stocking-
weaver; but his attachment to learning became so well
known that he was soon taken into the office of an
attorney, where his marvellous love of Latin and Oreek,
in connection with his piety and his ambition fbr the
clerical office, induced Messrs. WUberforoe and Simeon
to send him to the University at Cambridge. At eighteen
he published a poem; and after his death his "Poems,"
208 AUTH0B8 AND OBiOIR OF HYMK8.
"Letten and FrtigmenU!' wero edited by Dr. Soathey in
two ocUto volumes. He lived greatly beloved and
died much lamented. He was buried in the chancel
of All-Saints' Cliurch, Cambridge, where a few years
afterward an American gentleman named Boott erected
% handsome tablet to his memory, executed in bas-
relief by Chantroy, on which are engraved the follow-
ing beautiful lines from the pen of Professor Smyth: —
" Wum with fond hope and learning's sacred flame.
To Oranla's bowers the jrouthful poet came :
Vneonquered powers the immortal mind displayed,
But, worn with anxious thought, the frame decayed.
Pale o'er his lamp, and in his cell retired.
The martyr-student faded and expired.
Ob, genius, taste, and piety sincere.
Too early lost 'midst studies too severe I
Foremost to mourn was generous Southey seen :
Be told the tale, and showed what White had been.
Nor told in rain ; for o'er the Atlantic wave
A wanderer came, and sought the poet's grave ;
On yon low stone he saw his lonely name,
Aitd raised this fond memorial to his fame."
JOHN G. WHITTIER.
How this Quaker poet — nay, even, this hymn-writer —
would have fkred among his own people some two
oentoriefi ago, it is now di£Scolt to aay; for assuredly
tbey would have utterly opposed such doings, and would
probably have " put him out of meeting." We, however,
oordia% thank him for the pleasure which bis hymns
»KV. WILLIAM WILLI ASI8. XW
b«ve afforded ur. Mr. Whittier was borlli in 1808, and
haa devoted the greater portion of his life to iiteratare.
And yet, after all, while we think Mr. Whittier a
poet, — the poet of humanity, — the Ebonczer Elliott of the
United States, — wo have no expectation that any of the
hymns he haa written will be sang in the worshipping
assemblies of coming generations. They want the glow-
ing ardor and the evangelical unction which only can
make hymns popular with Christian masses. We should
delight to see the honest Quaker possessing the piety of
onr old Friend Joseph John Gumey : he might then
write hymns oh "Christ and his Cross" which might
live till the death of time.
REV. WILLIAM WILLIAMS.
This distinguished Welsh poet was born in 1717, in
Caermarthcnshire, and was originally educated for the
medical profession. His biographer tells us that "his
religious feelings were at first paini^l. His convictions
of sin were deep and alarming, but bis sabseqnent joy
proportionably high." He was ordained a curate in the
English Church, but, after thus laboring for three years,
was encouraged by Whitefield and the Countess of
Huntingdon to become an itinerant minister among the
Calvinistio Methodists. His Ubors were incessant and
greatly blessed. He is said to have travelled on an
294 AUTBOB8 AND OKIQIN OF BTMN8.
arenige two thoasand two hundred a|id thirty milei a
jMr for forty-thre« yean, when there were no nilroada
and bat few atage^ioachefl. Hia laat illnetu waa ooca-
doned by intonse atody in writing a book called " A
View of the Kingdom of Chritt," and in his laat hours his
speech failed him; but he waa evidently very happy.
He died in 1701. He published several hymn-books in
his own language, which are still much used, such as
"The Sea of GUus," "Hotanna to the Son of David," etc.
His hjrmAs, —
•• 0'«r til* gloomjr hUU of dtrkneM,"
'• Ooid* me, thou Or«iU JehoTah,"
and several others, are equally known and esteemed.
His Memoir waa published by a brother Welshman a
few years ago.
NATHANIEL P. WILLIS.
The beautiM hj'mn so often sung at the dedication
of churches, and which has already appeared in several
of our hymn-books, was written by its author for the
dedication of a Unitarian house of worship in the city
ofNewYoikinl845.
Mr. Willis was bom at Portland, in Maine, in 1807,
and at fifteen entered Yale Ck>llege. His first work, we
believe, was "Scripture Sketches," which drew him into
the literary circle, since which h« has written little of a
WILLUM WOBDSWOtTB. 296
religiooa oharsctor. He haa been the poet of society,
but not of the auictuaiy. Hia writings are distingnishcd
for finish and melody. Would that they were fine gold
which would pass current with heaven 1
Perhaps the sweetest thought which Mr. Willis ever
penned grew out of a reverence of his pious mother's
prayers for him. Tossed by the waves in a vessel which
was bearing him homeward, he wrote,—
" Sleep Mfe, were- warn mariner,
Nor fewr to-night nor itomi nor sen :
The ear of HeeTen bendi low to her :
He oomet to ihore who lails with me."
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.
Thk late poet-laureate of England has contributed one
-or two hymns to the service of the Chrihtian sanctuary,
and therefore we contribute a few lines to him. He
was bom in 1770, and educated for the Church of England
at the University of Cambridge. Throughout life he
employed his leisure hours in writing poetiy , — though he
never rose very high in the estimation of the publio till
he attained gray hairs, when, on the death of Southey,
he was appointed poet-laureate. He died in 1850, in
his eighty-first year. None of his hymns will be valued
by posterity.
The following extract of a letter written by Words-
worth to one of his correspondents In thin country will
■ ■' ""'Bt''^ "."'""
IM AUTBoi* AND ORtOtN Or HTMNf.
be read with intorest by at least some of oar fViends: —
" I took the journey to London solely to pay my respects
to the qncon on my appointment to the laureateahip
on the decease of my iKend Mr. Southey. The weather
was very cold, and I caught an inflarontation in one of my
eyes, which rendered my stay in the South very uncom-
fortable. I nevertheless did, in respect to the object of
my journey, all that was required. The reception given
me by the queen at her ball was most gracious. Mrs.
Everett, the wife of your minister, among many others,
was a witness to it, without knowing who I was. It
moved her to the shedding of tears. This effect was in
part produced, I suppose, by American habits of feeling,
as pertaining to a republican government. To see a
gray-haired man of seventy-five years of age kneeling
down in a large aasembiy to kiss the hand of a young
woman, is a sight for which institutions essentially
democratic do not prepare a spectator of cither sex, and
must naturally place the opinions upon which a repnblio
is founded, and the sentiments which support it, in strong
contrast with a government based and upheld as ours is.
I am not, therefore, surprised that Mrs. Everett was
moved, as she herself described to persons of my ac-
quaintance, — among others, to Mr. Rogers the poet." ~
nUMCM XATIKB. 297
FRANCIS XAVIER.
0»i, at least, of our popular hymn-books contains
the hymn of this ej(traordinary Boman Catholic mis-
sionary, —
" Tbon, O my J«at», thou didit m« ,
Upon the Croat embrace."
This " apostle of the Indies" was bom at Navarre in
1506, and died, when about to land in China, in 1552.
Of this distinguished missionary it has been well said
that, weak and Anil as he was, from the days of Paul of
Tarsus to our own, the annals of mankind exhibit no
other example of a soul borne upward so triumphantly
through distress and danger in all their most appalling
aspects. He battled with hunger, and thirst, and naked-
ness, and assassination, and pursued his message of love
with ever-increasing ardor amidst the wildest war of the
contending elements. When, on one occasion, reminded
of the perils to which he was about to expose himself by
a mission to the barbarous islands of the Eastern Archi-
pelago, he replied, " If these lands had scented woods
and mines of gold, Christians would find courage to go
there; nor would all the perils of the world prevent them.
They ar« dastardly and alarmed because there is nothing
to be gained bnt the souls of men ; and shall love be
less hardy and less generous than avarice? They will
destroy me, yon say, by poison. It is an honor to which
•nch a sinner as I am may not aspire; bnt this I dare
""?-,'y<"-.'Vv?''V^- :. -r i',; :,_■,( ■"'■ ■i'.\ ■■■■::.'.;#v"'^7-' r. ■'■•■ ' ,
298 AUTHOM AND OUQIN Of UYMNB.
to Bay that, whatever form of torture or of death awaits
me, I am ready to anffer it ten thonsand times for the
■alvation of a single aoal." Well has John AngoU James
said, "This is a anblime heroism. Wondrons Xayierl
whatever were thy errors, it would be the dregs of
bigotry not to admire thy martjrr-zeal."
ILLUSTRATIONS
INFLUENCE OF HYMNS
PERSONAL AND SOCIAL HAPPINESS.
; ■'■.'/■;4
11
yf- -
' " "^ . •
'• V,u:v,,. .
•"'■.■■V'--
♦ ■,
_,-^^y::r<i--^:-r:- :,u
INFLUENCE OF HYMNS
OH
PERSONAL AND SOCIAL HAPPINESS.
A UifivxBBiTT Studknt. — A highly-intelligent yoang
man itMiding at his father's door was offered by a gen-
tleman a slip of paper on which was printed the hymn
written by John Newton, —
"Stop, poor linner, itop and tfaink."
This hymn he read, was much affected by it, and care-
ftally committed it to memoiy. Five years afterward,
while studying at Brown Univorsity, a spirit of unusual
attention to religion was awakened in that institution, and
this same young man entered a meeting for devotional
exercises just as they were commencing the hymn, —
"Slop, pooif riniMr, itop %nA think."
Sa eariy impressions were instantly revived: he saw
himself mined by sin, that eternal woe was befo>e him,
and that peace of conscience and with God could only
be obtained by the blood of the cross of Christ. The
Hdy Spirit enabled him to rest his soul on the atoning
M 301
:.^^
■—/•-'
Ml iifrtCKiioi or HTMiit on
Bsorifice of Christ; and this young man became an emi-
nenUy pioas and active physician.
An Enoush Aotrus. — The fact we are about to
relate has been told in several ways; but we are inclined
to think that the version given in the " Sunday-School
Journal" is the correct one. The hymn referred to was
IVom the pen of Charles Wesley.
An actress in one of the English provincial or country
theatres was one day passing through the streets of the
town in which she resided, when her attention was
attracted by the sound of voices in a poor cottage
before her. Curiosity prompted her to look in at
the open door, — when she saw a few poor people sit-
ting together, one of whom, at the moment of her ob-
servation, was giving out the hymn, which the others
joined in singing : — . .- *-
" Depth of many t mb thcr* b« /
Mercy tUU merred for m» T"
The tune was sweet and simple; but she heeded it not
The words had riveted her attention, and she stood
motionless, untU she was invited to enter by the woman
of the house, who had observed her standing at the door.,.
8hs remained during a prayer which was offered up bjc
one of the little company ; and, uncouth as the ezpre*>
sions sounded, perhi^M, to her ears, they carried witii
them a conviction of nnoerity on the part of the persm
engaged. She quitted the cottage; but the word*
rataOMAL AMD ■OaAI. HAm5US. SOS
of th* hymn followed her, and at last she resolved to
procure the book which contained it. She did so; and
the more she read it, the more decided her serioos im-
pressions became. She attended >^the ministry of the
gospel, read her hitherto neglected and despised Bible,
and bowed herself in humility and contrition of heart
before Him whose mercy she now felt she needed, whose
sacrifices are those of a broken heart and a contrite
spirit, and who has declared that with such sacrifices
he is well pleased.
Her profession she determined at once to renounce,
and for some time excused herself from appearing on
the stage, without, however, making known her resolu-
tion finally to leave it.
The manager of the theatre called upon her one
morning and requested her to sustain the principal
character in a new play which was to be performed the
next week. She had frequently performed this cliaracter
to general admiration ; but she now, hcj^wever, told him
her resolution never to appear as an actress again, at the
same time giving her reasons. At first ho attempted to
overcome her scruples by ridicule; but this was unavail-
ing : he then represented the loss he would incur by her
refVisal, and oonclnded by promising that if, to oblige
him, she would act on this occasion, it would be the last
request of the kind he would ever make. Unable to
resist his solicitations, she promised to appear, and on
the appointed evening went to the theatre. The character
which she assumed required her, on her first entrance.
MM INPLUKNCI or BTMNIt ON ,
to ting % song; and, when the curtain drew op, the
orchestra immediately began the accompaniment. But
she stood as if lost in thought, and as one forgetting all
around her and her own situation. The music ceased,
but she did not sing; and, supposing her to bo over-
come by embarrassment, the band again commenced.
A second time they paused for her to begin ; and still
she did hot open her lips. A third time th«. air was
played; and then, with clasped hands and eyes suffused
with tears, she sang, — not the words of the song, but, —
_ " Depth of mercy ! oui there be
Mercy itill reaerred for me ?"
It is almost needless to add that the performance
was suddenly eiuied. Many ridiculed, though some wei;e
induced fh>m tout memorable night to " consider their
wtfys," and to reflect on the wonderflil power of the
religion which could influence the heart and change the
life of one hitherto so vain and so evidently pursuing
the road which leadeth to destruction.
It will be satisfactoiy to the reader to know that the
change in Miss was as permanent as it was singular:
she walked consistently with her profession of religion
for many years, and at length became the wife of a
minister of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Cbiist.
Am laisB PiBSiouTOB. — The singing of the Wesleyan
Methodists has often been shown to possess great influ-
ence especially in the early history of that body. Cht^lea
BSMMAX. AND lOCLU. RAPPIHBU. 806
WMley*! hymni, with simple but eifeotiTe tunes, sprMd
. eveiywhere among the looietiei; and hundreds of bearers
who cared not for the preaching were attracted to
their assemblies by the singing. Eq>eciall7 among the
Irish did it secure them much success. At Wexford the
society was persecuted by the Catholics, and met there-
fore in a closed bam. One violent oppoeer agreed to
conceal himself in the bam before the worship began,
that alb a siitable time be might open the door to his
comrades; and for that purpose he crept into a sack near
the door. When the singing commenced, the Hibernian
was so impressed with the music that he thought he would
hear it through before be began the disturbance. The
singing so much gratified him that he thought he would
also hear the prayer; and such was the effect of the
prayer that he was seized with remorse and trembling,
so that he roared with fright, — which led the people to
remove the sack, whereupon the Irishman was disclosed,
praying with all his might as a penitent. Southey says,
" This is the most comical case of instantaneoOs conver-
sion that ever was recorded ; and yet the man is said to
have been thoroughly converted."
A T(9uiio Man. — ^The narrative we now give is fVom
the pen of the Bov. J. Parker.
In the village of was a boarding-house kept by
Mrs. F — ->, at whose house I was a lodger. Of the fifteen
or twenty guests about the table was a young gentleman
of about twenty-four years of age. He was flill of ani
jy*^' -v_;i;- •'
HfrLVBMOB or HTMlia ON
mation, and hit viyacity or«at«<l the imprauion that,
whoever else might be affected by the Bolemnitiea of the
time, he waa not.
Oh a Sunday morning the htte Bev. Dr> Perrine
preached a peculiarly effective sermon on the oonse-
qnences of a life of sin. There waa a singnlar unction
and tendemcBS in the discourse, and its vivid pictures
of hell's torments produced a most solemn and subduing
effect
As we were sitting at the dinner-table, and remarks
were passing iVeely in regard to the morning service, the
young man above mentioned expressed in strong terms
his disapprobation of the sermon, and added, "Such
preaching only hardens mo and makes mo worse;" I
replied, " It is possible that you think it makes you
worse, when it only makes you conscious of sin that was
before slumbering in your heart." " No," said he : " it
hardens me. I am at this moment less susceptible to any
thing like oonviotion for hearing that discourse. I feel
more indined to resist every thing like goodlnipreaaiona
than usual.'* "Yet," I rejoined, "good imprestiont are
those which are best adapted to secure the desired end ;
and I am greatly mistaken if an increase of the effect
which you feel would not be greatly usefU to you. I^
for instance, you should read now Watts's version of th«
Fifty-First Psalm, beginning, —
'Show pity, Lord; Lord, forgW*,'
it would take a deep hold on your heart."
"iXm
t
IVOMAh AHb MOIAb HATPIMIM. 807
"Not the leMt," aaid he: "I could read it withoat
moving » moaole. I wish I h«d the book: I would read
it to you."
" We have one," said Mrs. F ', who was Ailly aware
of the excitement under which he was laboring; and the
book was handed him, opened at the place. He com-
menced to read, with compressed lips and a Arm voice : —
" Show pity. Lord ; Lord, forglre ;
Lot » repealing sinner lire: « '
An not thy mereiei Itrge and free t
Hay not a sinner trust in thee ?"
Toward the last part of the stanza a little tremulons-
ness of voice was plainly discernible. He rallied again,
however, and commenced the second verse with more
tirmneH: —
"Oh, wash my soul from erery sin.
And make my guilty oonaoienee clean :
Here on my heart the burden lies,
And past offences pain mine eyes."
At the last part of this stansa his voice faltered more
manifestly. He commenced upon the third with great
energy, and read in a loud, sonorous voice, — the whole
company looking on in breathless silence : —
*' My Upa with shame my sins oonfess."
As he read the second line, —
" Against thy law, against Ihy grace,"
his lips quivered, and his utterance became difficult. Ha
.:.:.:M
108 iMrLDtMoi or uyuhm on
pauted a little, and entered upon the third line with an
apparently new determination : —
" Lord, ihould thy Judgmciii grow ••▼«•."
Tet before he came to the end his voice was almoat
totally choked; and when he began upon the fourth
line, —
. ** I MB cond«iiiii«d, but thou art oleu,"
an aspect of utter discouragement marked his counte-
nance, and he cbold only bring out, in broken sobs, " I
am condemned," — when his utterance changed to such a
heart-broken cry of grief, rising at the same time and
rushing from the room, as I bad never witnessed in a
convicted sinner.
The dinner was interrupted; but that was the begin-
ning of a change, leading on to a new life, in Mr. H. ; and
probably every person in that room retained the im-
pression that a view of the awM justice of Qod, in con-
nection with the grace that saves from it, is oilen effective
in subduing those who say, " Prophesy onto lu smooth
things," and that sinners afe nqt always good judges
in respect to what produces the best effioot upon them-
selves.
Am Unhappy Moraut. — We have known very many
instances of good resulting from the knowledge of
hymns in early youth. They fasten themselves on the
memory and remain there throngb life. A poor,
FnsOMAL AMD lOOIAL RAmNIU. 809
wretched female, religionaly educated, bat afterward
abandoned to sin and misery, was atruok with horror at
hearing her own child repeat, as soon as she ooald well
speak, some of the profane langaago which she had
learned from herself. She trembled at the thought that
she was not only herself travelling to eternal perdition,
but was also leading hor child there. She instantly re-
solved that with the first sixpence she could procure
she would obtain a copy of Dr. Watts's " Divine Songs
for Children," of which she had some recollection fVom
the days when she visited the Sunday-school, and would
teach them to her infant daughter. She soon bought
them; and on opening the book her eye Caught the
striking verse, —
" Jutt M Iha ti-M cut down, thkl fell
To north or Bouthmrd, there it liei,
So m«n depurti to heaven or hell,
Fixed in the state wherein he lies."
She read on: the Spirit of God impressed the words
on her heart; the event led to her entire conversion,
and she lived and died a consistent professor of the re-
li^n of Christ. *
An Bnoubh NobIiSMAn. — One of the most interesting
anecdotes illustrating the power of hymns in the family-
circle we have ever met with was related in a social
circle in England a few yean ago by a clergyman well
•oquainted with the fitcts.
Lord , a nobleman of great wealth, was a man
tlO inrLUKMOi or btmni or
of the worid : hia plearare* wen drawn from hit rielMw,
his honon, and hit friends. His daughter was the idol
of his heart Much had been expended io her educa-
tion ; and well did she repaj, in her inteileetnal endow-
ments, the solicitude of her parents. She was highly
accomplished, amiable in her disposition, and win:fting
in her mannora; bat, alas I the whole fkmily were
Mrarigers to Ood. By a series of remarkable oircnm-
•tances, the Hon. Mias. was led withi^ the walls
of a Methodist church in London and oonreiied to the
Lord Jesus. Henceforth she delighted hi the service
of the sanctuary and in social religious meetings. To
her the charms of Christianity were overpowering, and
the society of those who loved Jesus Christ a heaven
upon earth.
The change was seen by her devoted fltther with deep
solicitude. To see his lovely daughter thus in&tuated
was to him the occasion of intense grief; and lib resolved
to correct her erroneous views on the real pleiMliires and
punuits of life. He placed at her disposal pljll^ soma
of money, hoping she would be induced tolMirsBe tha
fashions and extravagance of others in her own rank of
life, and to forsake the Methodist meetings; but she
maintained her integrity. He took her on frequent and
long journeys, hoping thus to divert her mind from re-
ligion ; but she still delighted in the Saviour. After failing
in all his other projects, he determined to introduce her
into company under circumstances that would compel h«r
to join in the amusements of the party or give high of-
:•• ■ ''i
nuONAL AND lOOIAL BAPPIRIsa. 811 V
- X '^)>=
^ '*^ IS
fence. ItwM arranged that on a feetive occasion aereni ''■ji>'"f
TOqng ladiea should each accompany a perfonnanee ofr ' f}ii
the piano-fbrte with a song. The hoar arrived; the <«u
party assembled ; several had delighted all with their M.
performanoea; and all were in high spirits. The Hon- ,1
Mias was caUed on for her song ; and ourny hearta jjj
beat high in hope of victory. The crisis was come. I
Should she decline, she would be disgraced as insulting
her friends; and should she comply, their triumph would } '■■Ij
be complete. With entire self-possession, she took her ^^
saat at the instmment, ran her Angers over its keys, and (ii
oommenced playing, singing in a sweet air the words of f^
Charles Wesley,— 1
<' No room for mirth or trifling bar*, |^
For worldly hope or worldly fear, . ci
If lifo lo loon U gone, — _^ J ^
^ " If BOW tho Judge U 1 the door, vf ■ .^
And all mankind mast aund b«for« -^^
Tha inexorable throne. " -^
-• ' .^
" No matter whloh my thought! emplojr, * '"'
A moment'! miaery or Joy ;
But, oh ! when both ahall end,
Whara ahall I tnd my dealined plaea?
: Shall I my ererlasting dayi
With flanda or aageb apaadr"
Mm rose flrom her seat. The whole party were sub-
daed. Not a word was spoken. Her father wept aloud. ./^
One by one the visitors left the boose. Lord — — never . ^
rested till he became a Christian. He lived and died
consistently with his profession as a servant of Christ,
tit INrtUINCf or HTMMS ON
hkTing, daring hii nnion with the p«ople of God, con-
tribnted to the oanie of benevolence b»]£ m nullion of
d^llan.
Since writing the above, we have met with a veiy
■imilap narrative of fkcti in connection with a young
Udy of thia oonntry, converted in the early days of
Methodism, nnder the labors of the excellent Bishop
Asbary.
Aif I«iBH Sqndat-Soholab. — We have not uniVe-
qnently heard singers eminent for "science," "taste,"
and words of similar import, ridicule a certain class
of hymns and tunes, altogether forgetting that these
very compositions may exert on other minds a holy
and happy influence. Let as illustrate what lve mean
by a condensed narrative. iVom the pen of a living
clergyman^. Ho says, "One day, as I was busily en-
gaged in ny study, a roan about half drunk very on-
ceremoniously entered and handed me a note from
tbefleaoher of the infant class of our Sabbath-school,
infoinoing me that the bearer was the father of one of
her scholars, that the child had met with an accident,
and that they lived in such a place : she could not visit
them, and ahe wished me to see to it.
" I looked at the man : he was Irish, very repulaiva
in his appearance, and he answered my questions with
a rough brogue.
" < What is your name, rir, and where do yon live V
^ <My nama i» Pater X : I live on an cold canal-
namoHAL and mocial baitinim. S18
boat at tho fbt of IlarriaoD Street. I wint there wliin
I wan burnt out; aud nobody at all at all hM driv ib«
oat of it.'
"' And what is tho matter with yoar child V
" <Ooh ! and la it Kilty, my own little darling Kitty, tho
only child I've lift of the six that has been bom til ine?
Och I Kitty I she was playing about on a ship where I
was til wark, and she fell down the hatchway und broke
her leg, (saving your priscnco,) and poor Kitty's leg is
not set right, your riverence, for I have no money til
pay a docther. Och! poor Kitty 1 and I've nothing to
give her to ate, your riveronoo.'
" ' Well, Peter, J will come down, and see j-our Kitty,
sod see what can bo done for you.'
" I did so, and fbund a wretched state of tuings. The
poor little suffering child was overjoyed to see me. I re-
membered her countenance, — a sweet, mild little girl, not
yet five years of age. She lay upon tho ' locker' or side-
seat of an old canal-boat which had boon laid up for the
winter. There was no fire, though it was a bitter-cold
day,— no chair, no bed, no food, scarcely an article of ftir-
nitnre or any comfort whatever. I did what I could to
relieve the wants of the little sufferer. Nothing could
be done for tho parents : they were both confirmed in-
ebriates; and I found they had both been drunk the night
previous, and in a quarrel had unintentionally knocked
tho child off tho seat and broken the limb again after it
had boon set. I obtained the services of a surgeon and
had the limb set again, and then sat down on the locker
S7
814 iNn.otKCK or iiVMiia oM
to talk to little Kitty, and AhI her with noinc noariRhfng
food which I had brought. I asked iter if i»he ronid
rend. No, «he could nut read a word ; * but I can King,'
Mid ithe. ' What can you iingT' ' Romcthing I Icarnod
at Sabbath-Dchool.' 'Well, what in it you can ning,
Kitty V In a moment her sweet little voice broke out, —
' Tbera i» • bappjr land.
Far, far away,
Whnt iainU in (lorjr aiaad.
Bright, bright aa liaj.'
" ' Well, Kitty, that is sweet. Where do you think tbe
land of Canaan is, Kitty 7' ' Oh, I suppose it is np in
the sky, where God lives and whore the angels live.'
' Do you think you will ever go there, Kitty f Mf I'm
~ good and love Gody I think I shall.'
" ' Now, Kitty, is there any thing else you can sing for
me before I go ?' ' Oh, yes, sir: I can sing a little piece
of another.' < Well, what is that ?'
• All who loTa the Lord below
Whan they die, to heaTen will go,
And aing with aainta abora.
Ok! that will bajoyftalt
JoylVil, joyful!
Oh! thatwiUbaJoyfbl,
Whan wa meat to part no qiore!'
" Poor Kitty could not road, nor could either of her
parents read. She knew nothing about heaven and
divine things except what sho had been taught at the
Sabbath-aohool ; and most of what she remembered waa
•auciated with aach despised words and aentimenta aa
P»»OMAL AND MtCtAl. IIAPriNIBS- 31^
tre have quoted. Eternity nlone will nnftild the powor
of tqch simple troth, ftiiJ simple yet sweet tunes, iipcm
infant minda." \
OovuNoa HiLL.^ — We confoiM to a love of hymn-kinf{-
ing under almost all circumstances. The family, the
aocial circle, nay, in many instances the sick-bod itself, ^
may profit bj- it. But wo huve n beautiful illustmtion
now before us of the uidvantagcs of Hinprinj; in apparent
■olitnde. In Qovemor Hill's account of his stage-ride
over the Alleghany Mountains, in a dark ni^it, shut up
with strangers, he tells us that, to get rid of the fear
of robbers, he began to sing one of Dr. Wolts's hymns,
certainly lupposing that as u Christian ho was alone.
To his great delight, however, another pious New Eng-
lander responded in another hyntn ; and he was followed
by another, who broke out in a |)opular camp-meetiiig
air. The Governor was delighted to ascertain that three
of the travellers out of the six proved to bo New Eng-
land Puritans. Ho threw his fears to the winds, and the
morning found them safe beyond the dreaded haunts of
the highway-robbera.
Campbem. TBI PoiT. — The influence which devotional
singing sometimes produces on others may be inferred
iVom a reminiscence of James Grahame, author of " The
SaU>ath," written by the poet Thomas Campbell, with
whom ho was intimate when both as young men resided in
Edinburgh ; — " One of the moat endearing cironmstancea
.yyif^
, A1A i!in.iJExc« or HTM^rt ON
which I rctnemb«rof (jnihame wua hin ainging. I iihall
never furgcl one aammor evening that we agreed to «!t
up all night and go together to Arthur's Scat to nee tha
Hiin rise. Wo aat ai-cordingiy all night in hi* delighti\il
jtarior, — the seat of ho many hnppy reincmbranccM. We
then wont and aaw a boautit\il euimito. I rrtunusl
home with him, for I was living in his hoano at the time.
He was nnresen-od in all his dovoutest fvcliiigii before me;
and, iVom the U'anty of the monung scener}- and the re^
cent death of his sister, our convcrsatioD took a serioua
tnm on the proofs of infinite benovolcnoo in the cn>ati<Mt
and the goodness of (Jod. Am I retired to mj- own b«><l/^
I ovorheani hin devotions, — not his pmyer, but a h^nin
which he sung, and with a power and iuHpiratitm l>eyond
himself and beyomi any thing else. At that time ho
was a strong-voiced and commanding-looking man. The
remembrance of his large, expressive features when he
climbed the hill, and of his organ-like voice in praaing
God, is yet fresh and ever pleasing in my mind." ^
A Taowtiko Lqvkk. — ^A young gentleman, tenderly
attached to a young lady, was obliged to take a journey. -
During his absence she became a follower of Jesus. He
heard of the change, and wrote her a letter Aill of
invectives against religion and its gloomy profossora.
Having a good voice, and playing well on the piano-
forte, she had been accustomed to entertain him with
her moaic, especially in performing one song, of which he '
waa very fond, tlite burden of which was, " Ah, never ! ah,
raWONAL AND lOCIAL HAPMNBM. 817
BO 1" At their flnt intcrriew after hia retam, he t«ant>
ingly laid, " I snppoMs you oanDOt sing mo a Kong now V
" Oh, yee," was her reply, " but I will ;" and, proceeding
to her piano, she eung a hymn ahe had composed to his
fliTorite tone :—
' •• As I gUd bid adku t - Iht world'i (kncM piMMira, i .
Yso pity my wwIuim^: sIm! did you know
Tka Joyi of rtUgioa, th*t best hidden tr«Mur*,
Would jou bid me rtiipi them r Ah, aerer! ah, no!
" Tou will luralj ntJoioe when I say I've reeeired
The 00I7 Inu pleaiure attained below.
I kaow 1^ axperienee ia whoa I've beliered :
Bkall' I giT* up tUa treasure T Ah, never 1 ah, ao ! .
" In the gay toeaea of life I waa bappinen wooing ;
But ah ! In her stead I enoounlered a woe,
And found I was only a phantom pursuing :
Merer onee did I Sad her. Ah, noTer! ah, no!
** Bat ia these bright palbi which you call melsneholy
I've found those delights which (he world docs not linow.
Oh, did you partake them, you'd then see your folly.
Nor again bid me fly thom ! Ah, nerer! ah, no!"
It pleased Ood that by hearing these lines sung his
prejudices were shaken, and within a short time he em-
braced the Christian principles he had hitherto so
strongly opposed, and they became, as the reader has
perhaps anticipated, a truly-happy pair.
A DriNQ Jewess. — A colporteur employed not long
since by a Bible Society in London was offering Bibles
for sale in that metropolis, when he was told that if any
of the Jew]^^aald purchase his books, and become
BW^^^>al
^
'V'"---'^-^^
818 iNri.iiKNrB or hvmnb on
ChriatianM, they would certainly return to their Ibrmer
belief, "for," tuiid the wotnai), "thoy moat die in th«
fliitb of Abraham."
To this he replied, " It certainly ia not alwaya to ; for I
myaolf have seen a JeweM die who did not forsake her
fkith in the Bedeemer. I waa at that time a city mis-
sionary, and was desired to call apon hor by those who
well knew her previous history. This visit ha|[>pened to
take place on the day of hor death.
" She bad been brought from affluence to abject poverty
for the fkith of Christ. She had at oho time kept her
own carriage. One day she cast her eye on the leaf of
a hymn-book which had come into the house covering
some batter, and she read upon it those words : —
< Not aU the blood of httMa
On Jowith alUn (lain
Conkl gWe tho suilty ooueitDce p«M«
Or wsah awsy Ihe itaiD.'
"The verae haunted her. She ooold not dismiss it
nor fbrget it ; and after a time she went to a box where
she remembered she had a Bible, and, induced by th«t
Terse, began to read, and read on till she found Christ
Jesus, < the Lamb slain fVom tho foundation of the world.'
" She became openly a convert to Christianity. This
caused her husband to divoroo her. He went to India,
where he married again and died. She lived in much
poverty with two of hor nation, Jewish sisters, who
had also become Christians. All this I knew ; and it is
now fbnr years since I stood by the side of that doath-
PKBMNAL AND'iOOUI. UAPPINKM. 810
bed. Rhe did not renonm-e lior faith id tho erucifled
Lord, but diod triumphing in him sa her Rock, her
B|ih>UI, and her exceeding great lleward, quoting and
Applying to him the Psalma of David, nnd passing with
- him, without a fear, through the dark valley, num1>ered
among the Jews who, an we are told by the Apoatle
John, ' went aw«y, and believed on Jeaas.' "
A Chiunit-8wbbp. — The late Bev. Joseph Slatterie,
of Chatham, in England, whom we knew many years
ago, was once walking in that town, when his attention
was arrested by a youttiAil voice singing, —
" The MMrrowf of the mind
Be banUhed from thii piece :
Rellfion noTer wee deeigneil
To.meke our pleeeuret leae."
Pleased alike with the sweetness of the voice and
the cheerfiil tones in which the verso was sung, our
iViond looked around to see whence tho singing pro-
ceeded; but for some time he looked in vain. At
length he saw a little sweep with his bead popping out
of a chimney and waving with a sort of triumph his
brash over his head. " Oh," said the venerable minister
to oa, " it made me weep in gratitude to think how sing-
ing the praises of God contributes to make even a poor
chimney-sweep happy."
A Sunmuna MoTHU. — Hymns have often adminis-
tered comfort in the severest trials. A lady who was
culled to endure ipach anxious suffering became greatly
A.
820 iNrLDKNCE or rtmnb on
perplexed u to the duty which dovolvc<] npon her, aiMt
retired to her room to consider the muttcra which cMwd
her agitation. Being sorely grieved in spirit, she hUd
her head on the table and wept bitterly. Ho intense
was her grief that she scarcely perceived her little
daughter, who quietly sat in a comer of the room. Un-
able longer to bear the sight of her mother's distress, this
sweet girl stole softly to her side, and, taking her band
in both of her own, she said, " Mamma, you once taught
me a pretty hymn :-r- ' '
•If a'tr you meet with trUU
Or IroublM on (ha. way,
Then omt your care on Jeiiui,
"* And don't forget to pray.' "
The counsel of the little monitor was taken, and reliof
came. The mother was repaid for rightly training her
child by receiving fVom her in happy season the lesson
she had herself given.
BoBUT Hau..— 'The distinguished Bobert Hall, who
was remarkable fbr his attachment to congregational
singing, gives us an anecdote which the reader willbe
glad to see in his own words : — " I once hf ard a blunder-
ing, roaring preacher at Margate, who had all the rough-
ness of the wind without any of its power; and, after
being tortured for a whole hour, I was fully compen-
sated by the delight I enjoyed at the close of the ser-
mon. An old man, whose .gray locks wore hanging
profusely on his shoulders, and whose countenance ex-
; .,'*'.
•<W.
PKMONAI. AMD BOCIAI. IIAPPINU8. 821
much Himplicity and pioty, gavo ont with great
baling, in the recitative atylc, —
'* < Let the oM hsstben tune their ■ong'<^
■-■**' Of great Diana and of Jotc ; ^
■r__- But the iweet theme that movei mj Mag
, U my Redeemer and hie loTe.'
" This BO charmed me that I could at any time endure
to bear Huch a preacher if I were sure it would be fol-
lowed with fluch a delightful after-piece."
A Vermont Clkroyman. — Mr. Gould mentions the
influence of itinging on the mind of a miniHter in Ver-
mont. Ue was a stranger called to officiate for a Sabbath
in a cold and dreary church. When he entered it, the
wind howled, and loose clupbourdit and windows clat-
tered. T|io pulpit stood high above the fint floor : there
was no stove, but a few persons in the church, and
those few beating their hands and feet to keep them
flrom freoEtng. Uo asked himself, "Can I preach? Of
what use can it be? What shall I do? Can these two or
three singers in the gallery sing the words if I read a
hymn?- I concluded to make a trial, and read,-^
'Jesua, loTer of my soul.'
"They commenced; and the sound of a single femde
voice has followed mo with an indescribable pleasing
sensation ever since, and probably will while I live. The
voice, intonation, articulation, and expression seemed to
ine perfect. I was warmed inside and ont, and for the tim*
8i2 ' iNrtvENce uf mTMNS on
WM lost ill rapture. I had heard of tho individaal and
voice before; but hearing it in this dreary situation
,^ado it doublj' grateful. Never did I preach with more
satisfaction to myself. And from this incident I learned
a lesson, — never to bo discouraged from unfavorable ap-
pcai'ancos, but, where duty calls, go to work cheerftilly,
without wavering." • ^
A Sick Child. — Why cannot the whole of our families
iniitato the members of tho Moravian Church, who all
sing? We are sure that when religion flourishes as it
should do this will be the case. Nor have we any special^
objection that singing, especially in the social circle,
should be. accompanied with an instrument. We have
long thought that a suflScicnt knowledge of music for
family devotion should form a part of everj' child's edu-
cation, — whether boy or girl. Ilalf the time and labor
often spent in teaching a girl to play a number of tunes -^
with only tolerable skill on the piano would teach hor
to perform a smaller number exceedingly well on tho
melodeon, and add much refinement and delight to her
family and fHonds. AH this will at once appear evident
to a mind disposed to reflect oh the subject.
We have before us an interesting account of a little
girl, seven years old, who was recovering from sick-
ness; and as -her strength increased she inquired,
"Father, won't you attend familj' worship up here?"
The request could not bo denied. " Won't you sing, —
• Vm, my native liind, I lore thee '? "
"si- 53
PEREOKAL AND tiUCIAh lIArFINEKS. 82!)
It was indeed beautiful to soo the feeble ehilil, as she
Bat in her bed supported by pillows, with her little
hymn-book before her, exerting her almost exhausted
powers in singing all the verses of a h^'mn which im-
plies entire consecration ^ the missionur^' work.
An Aqed Lady. — An old lady of nearly fourscore
years writes in reference to "Dr. Watts's Divine and
Mora^ Songs for Chil<iren" as follows; and we can endorse
almost overj- word of her testimony from our own cx-
perionco:— '
" Now, when arrived to the age of seventy -nine ycara,
I may with truth say that I would not relinquish for
any pecuniary consideration the usefulness and comfort
of my recollection of ' Watts's Divine Songs.' When I
c«nnot 8leop.in the night, I often repeat all I can recol-
lect at tJhe time, — not orally, but in my thoughts. If
every mother in our land would teach her children these
beautiful hymns, we should see a train of blessings on
the Church and our country. My excellent mother
taught them to me when a child ; and I taught them to
my children. And I have the comfort of seeing my
children teaching them to their children."
A TouNQ Man in Yiboinia. — A fine, intelligent Vir-
ginian young man, while residing in the West, became
an infidel and a blasphemer of the name of God. From
this state he wae delivered by reading the work of
Boame Jenyns; but, while he acquiesced in the truth of
824 iNrLtJKNt-K or HVMMf on
revelation, he yot did not foel its power. He wm
attacked by a lingering and fatal diaease, which led
him to reflection and pfrayor bat often made it difficult
ibr him to converse. Three Christian iViends sometimea
visited him^ to bognilo the t«dion8 honrs by singing.
They one day entered his room, and, almost without any
previous remarks, began the hymn, —
" Then U a fountkin, filled with blood,"
and then, — , '
" The Toiee of free gntce criei, Eicmpe to the mountain."
He then said to them, "There is nothing I so much de-
light to hoar as the first hymn yon ever sung to mo :— >
' JeiuR, Inrer of my loul.' "
Wo began to siug it to the tune Martyn, f^nd found the
solemnity which had reigned in the little circle while
singing the two former hymns began to be changed to
weeping. We struck thb touching strains of the second
stanza, and tlio weeping became loud : the heart of him
who had reviled Christ broke; and we feared that to
sing the remaining stanza would be more than ho could
boar. When singing in his room a fbw days after this,
he said, "I don't think I shall ever hear 'Jesus, lover
of my soul' sung again : it so excites mo that my poor
body cannot bear it."
A Dtinq Pastok. — How delightfhlly useAil very often
are hymns on a dying bed I Once, visiting a d^nng pastor.
PER80NAI. AND SOCIAL BArPIME88. 825
h« said to n», "1 have oflon wondered why when I
viaited many of my people in their last hours I foand
them BO constantly using hymns as expressing their
feelings, and sometimes half smiled that so many of
them used the very same hymns; but I understand it
all now. The people of Jesus think and feel alike as
they get near to his throne; and the smoothness of a
hymn conveys the idea they need without the effort of
thinking. How sweet to me now is the ten-thousandth-
time-repeated verse, — :
' Jetus otn make • dying bed
Feel aoTi, u downy pillows are,
While on hie breaat I lean my head
And breathe my life out sweetly there' I"
Hr. Pearson has very truly said that as the mental
powers grow •feeble tliere would seem to be a soothing
and consoling influence in devotional poetry which
speaks peace to the soul of the departing Christian.
How often do we find the loithicd scholar, the profound
theologian, or the keen controversialist, seeking spiritual
comforts in his last hours fVom simple hymns! Stiich
was PrudentiuB, the advocate, soldier, and courtier
of the fourth century, who, as Isaak Walton relates,
"not many days before his death charged his soul to
present to his God each morning and evening a new and
spiritual song." Such were the accomplished Walter
Baleigh, the scholar and diplomatist Wootton, Dr. Donne,
George Herbert, and the erratic but pious Edward
28
■ "^^^WT^W-
(26 iiirLiiiNcs or nvMNs oh ,
Irving, who died while singing the Hebrew of the
Twenty-Third Psalm. Southey has truly said of the
hymns of the Wesleys, "Perhaps no poems have ever
been so devoutly committed to memory, or quoted so
often on a death-bed."
A MiLiTART OrncKR. — A few years ago an interesting
incident occurred at the Amend of a pious military
officer at Montreal. Several officers and other Christian
fHends were sitting round a fire singing to an old minor
tune the hymn, —
" Not »U the blood of b«Mti,"
when Captain L said to his fHend Captain Hammond,
" I have a curious fancy concerning that hymn. I should
,like it sung by six young men aq they lower me into the
grave." But a short time elapsed before Captain L
was removed from earth; and his request was carried
into execution. We can scarcely imagine any thing more
impressive than such a scene in the presence of his
military friends at such a time and under such cinmm-
stances. A short time afterwards Captain Hammond .
followed his friend to the world of spirits.
Tbi Bund Psalhibt. — We do not dread giving offence
to our readers by here quoting some beautiAiI lines from
the pen of Mrs. £. C. Kinney, written on hearing a blind
clergyman, aged eighty-six, sing hymns, accompanying
himself on the bass-viol : —
PIMONAI. AND SOCIAL HAPPINKSH. 327
" He Mng the >in oY olden timet
Id soft, low tODM, to imored rhyme*,
DcTotional but quaint ;
Hie fingen touched the tIoI'i tlringe,
And, kt their gentle Tibrstingi,
The glory of an angel's wingi
Hung o'er that aged laint. ,
•• Hi* thin, white lock*. like lilTcr thread*
On which the lun its radiance ihed*, —
Or like the moonlit snow, —
Seemed with a luitr* half diTine
Around hi* *aintly brow to ihine.
Till CTery scar or time-worn line
Was gilded with it* glow.
" Hi* sightless eyes to hearen upraised.
As through the spirit's lens he gaxed
On things intisible.
Reflecting some celestial light,
Were like a tranquil lake at night
On which two mirrored planets bright
The ooncaTe's glory tell.
, " Thus, while the patriarchal saint
DsToutly sang to music quaint,
I saw old HoMKR rise,
With buried centuries, from the dead,
The laurel green upon his head,
, A* when the choir of bard* he led
With rapt, but blindtd, eye*.
" And Scio'i isle again looked green
A* when the poet there wa* seen
And Oreeoe waa in her prime ;
While Poesy with epic fire
Did onoe again the bard inspire,
As when he swept his mighty lyre
To vibrate through all time.
<■ The Tision changed to Albion's shore :
I taw a sightless bard onoe more
828 mrLUENCB or btmni on .
From dast of agM riM :
I heard th« harp and dcatblcM lOBg
Of glorious MiLToa flu»t along,
Like warblings from the bird* that throng
' His muse's paradise.
" And is it thus when bUnintu brings
A Tcil before all outer things,
Thitt Tisusl spirits see
A world within, than this more bright.
Peopled will liTing forms of light.
And strewed with gems, as stars of night
Strew diamonds o'er the sea ?
*' Then, rererend saint, though old and blind,
Thoo with the quenchless orbs of minid
Canst natural sight o'erreach, —
Upborne on Faith's triumphant wings,
Canst see nnutterable things.
Which only through th; viol's strings
And in thy songs And speech."
Two SuTBBS IN Nkw YoftK Statb. — To the compara-
tively few poraona among our readers who know the
truly-excellent Bov. Dr. Nottleton, it will be pleasant to
be reminded of him. Daring one of his tonrs which
were so remarkably blessed to the salvation of men, he
stopped at a house in the region of (he Catskill Mount-
ains. While conversing with the older members of the
family, he heard two young, sweet, and clear voices in a
room above warbling the ezquisitely-beantiftil air of
" Bonnie Boon." " Ask them," said he to their parents,
" to come down and sing it to me ; for I am ardently de-
voted to music." The request was complied with, and
he listened with delightml attention till the clbse of the
PKftMNAL AND SOCIAL BAPPINI88. 829
■ong, when, kindly turning to the young ladies, he uid,
" I think I can teach yon some far better words to that
tnne/' and then sang to them that almost matchless
hymn, —
" When nanhalled on the mighty plain,"
I
and proceeded so touchingly and tenderly to call their
attention to the beauty of its sentiments, that tears soon
flowed fh>m their eyes ; and these two young girls were
among the first subjects of a revival which was the
blessed fVuit of his labors.
Thk Youno Captivi and bu Mother. — The following
narrative of facts, which will show how a hymn may be
vseflil in a very unexpected manner, was written by
Pastor Bone, formerly of Elsinoro : —
Many years ago, several German families came over
and settled in this country, among whom was a man
flrom Wurtomberg, who with his wife and a large family
Mtablished himself in Pennsylvania. There were no
chorvhos or schools in the neighborhood, and he was
compelled to keep the iSabbath at home with his family,
instmoting them himself to read the Bible, and praying
to God. He used very often to read the Scriptures to
them, and always used first to say, " Now, my children,
be still, and listen to what I am going to read ; for it is
God who speaks to us in this book."
In the year 1754 a dreadf\il war broke out in Canada
between the Erench and the English. The Indians took
28*
SiPJ-^v'-^--
880 INFLUINCB or nVMNg ON
part with the French, And made excnraiona an far as
Pennsylvania, where they plundered and burned the
honaos they came to and murdered the people. In
1755 they readied the dwelling of the poor family fVom
Wurtemborg, while the wife and one of the sons were
gone to a mill four miles distant to get some corn
ground. The husband, eldest son, and two little girls,
named Barbara and Rogina, were at homo. The father
and his son were instantly killed by the sftvagcs; but
they carried the two little girls away into captivity,
with a great many other children who had been taken in
the same manner. They were led many miles through
woods and thorny bushes, that nobody might follow
them. In this condition they were brought to the habi>
tations of the Indians, who divided among themselves
all tl)e children whom they had taken captive.
Barbara was at this time ten years old and Regina
nine. It was never known what became of Barbara ;
but Regina and a little girl two years old, whom she
had never seen before, were given to an old widow, who
treated them very cruelly. Her only son lived with
her and maintained her; but he was sometimes fVom
homo for weeks together, and then these poor children
were forced to go into the forest to gather roots and
other provisions for the old woman ; and when they did
not bring her enough to oat she would beat tbein in so
crael a manner that they were nearly killed. The little
girl always kept close to Rogina; and, when she knelt
down under a tree and repeated the prayers to the Lord
PKBSOHAIi AMD. SOCIAL HAFPINEBg. 881
JesuB and tho hymns which hor father had taaght hor,
tho little girl prayed with her and learned tho hymns
•nd prayers by heart. Id this melancholy state these
children remained nine long years, till Begina reached
the age of nineteen and her little companion was eleven
years old. While captives, their hearts seem to have been
drawn toward what was good. Regina continually re-
peated the verses from the Bible and the hymns which
she had learned at home, and taught them to the
Kttle girl. They often cheered each other with one
hymn from the hymn-book used at Halle, In Ger-
many : —
" Alona, 7«t not alone, am I,
^ Though in thii solitude lo drear."
They constantly hoped that the Lord Jesus would
aome time bring them back to their Christian fKends.
In 1764 the hope of these children was realised. The
mercii\ii providence of Qod brought the English Colonel
Boquet to the place whore they were in captivity. He
conquered the Indians and forced them to ask for peace.
Tho first condition he made was that they should restore
all the prisoners they had taken. Thus the two poor
girls were released. More than four hundred captives
were brought to Colonel Boquet. It was an affecting
■ight to see so many young people wretched and dis-
tressed. The colonel and his soldiers gave them food
and clothing, took them to Carlisle, and published in the
newspapers that all parents who had lost their children
might come and seek them, and they should be restored.
882 INtLVKMCK OP HYMNS ON
Aioong other 4ereaved parontj^, poor Regina's mother
came; but, alasli^or child had become a stranger to
her. Begina had 'acquired the appearance and manners
of the natives, and by no means could the mother dis-
cover her daughter. Seeing her weep in bitter disap-
pointment, the colonel asked her if she could recollect
nothing by which her poor girl could bo known. She
at length thought of, and began to sing, the hymn, —
*' Alone, y«t not i^lonc, am I,
Though in thU loUtqde so dre«r :
I FmI my SkTioiur alir*;i nigh, —
He eomea the wttrj hour* to cheer.
I am with him, and he with me ;
Even here alone I cannot be."
Scarcely had the mother sung two lines of it when
Begina mshcd from the crowd, began to sing it also,
and threw herself into her mother's arms. They both
wept for joy; and with her young companion, whoso
fiiends had not sought her, she went to her mother's
house. Happily for herself, though Begina had not seen
a book for nine years, she at once remembered how to
read the Bible. ''
A Family in Louisiana. — The late Bev. James Haxley,
about the year 1806, was sent by a Methodist Conference
to itinerate as a missionary in Louisiana, then chiefly
inhabited by French Catholics. Jimmy, as he waa
familiarly called, had small expectation of comfort with-
out payment ; and ho seldom possessed any money. lie
ptKsoHAL AND 8O0IAI. Bxtnvua. 88S
WM one evening reduced to the very verge of sUrvation :
lie had spent the preceding night in a swampf and had
taken no food for thirty-six hours,— when he reached a
plantation. Ho entered the house and asked for food
and lodging- The mistress of the house, a widow, with
several daughters, and several negro children playing
about, recognised his calling, and insultingly rofbsed his
request. He obtained, however, permission to warm
himself for a few minutes before the fire. As ho sat
thus, ho felt the demands of hunger and sleep, and
looked forward to another night in the swamp. Feel-
ing this might prove his last night on earth, he thought
sweetly of the celestial city to which ho folt he was
travelling; his heart swelled with gladness, and ho
cheerfully sung one of his favorite hymns :-r-
" PcMC, my loul I thoa needit not fear:
Tb« QreU ProTider ttill is new."
He sang the whole hymn; and when he looked around
him the mother, daughters, and negroes were all in tears.
"Here, Sally," said the mother; "got the preacher a
good supper. Peter, put up his horse : he shall stay a
week, if he pleases." Has hymn-singing no inflaence f
Thb BaoTHEss AND SiSTER. — Uoro than thirty years
ago, a pious yoaiig lady in ill health was resting on her
couch, and by her side sat a beloved brother, himself
scarcely well, and utterly without a feeling of love to
God His sister,' as descriptive of the emotions of her
tS4 iNrLOKNOK or htmnb 6k
■oul, repeated to him, with remarkable emphasis, the
lines, —
" Oh, what hath Jeaui bouj^ht for me !
Before my raviahed eyea
RiTera of life dirine I ie«
And treea of paradiae !
' I tee a world of spirits bright,
Who taste the pleasures there :
They are all robed in spotless white,
And oonqueriog palms they bear."
Scarcely had she uttered those woiids before he began to
think seriously on the state of his soul, and asked him-
self, " Has he bought nothing for mo V Hia dear sister
had soon tho happiness of having him as a companion
in her Christian course; and both brother and sister,
with another brother, not long after departed for mis-
sionary fields in the island of Ceylon.
Two TouNO WoMKN. — When tho late Bev. Sylvester
Hutchinson was stationed on Salem Circuit, New Jersey,
his first station, and while he was yet a boy, he was
Bitting in his temporary boarding-hotise waiting for the
hour of preaching, when two young women cai<te in to
have some sport with the boy-preacher. Thoy began to
ridicule his %ite and his insignificant appearance, when,
suddenly lifting up his head fVom a reclining posture, he
repeated, in slow and solemn tones, —
•■ My thoiights on awfUl subjects roll, —
Damnation and the dead.
What horrors seiie the guilty soul
Upon a dying bed 1"
PIRSONAI. AND SOCIAL HAPPINESS. 835
His voice, liis conntenance, his manner, were all
adapted to make thorn feel that
i
ii not the whole of life lo lire,
Nor all of death to die."
The wordtf of the preacher wore " like nails fastened
in a sure place by the Master of assemblies." Tears
rolled down their cheeks : they left the room, and rested
not till they found a refuge in the Son of God. Not
long after, they each said to the Church, " Thy people
Ifhall be my people, and thy God my God."
QvABBELSOHB NEionBORs. — Three mon became liope-
iblly pious about the same time. They were neighbors,
heads of families, and singers. For a season they lived
in love and exhibited in their lives the graces of the
Holy Spirit. Baring this period they often united in
sweetly singing the praises of God. But, as one of them
was once passing tho house of another, he heard loud
words and found his friends in angry dispute. He went
int5 the house, and began by saying, " Come, neighbors,
lot us sing one of our favorite hymns : —
'How pleaaant 'lie to Bee
Kindred end friends agree !' "
They became silent, looked first at him and then at
eachi other, and then one joined the singing. The other
very soon followed his example, and the three neighbors
sang harmoniously together as usual, till all their angry
passions were lulled to sleep. They parted in peace,
■'i"-,r •.,.:"* ■ •■\\- V"r'*r""^'Kf£>'i-'V'. '
t86 IMfLUINCK or HTMMB ON
snd.ever afterward lived in harmony. In this iuHtanco,
at least, a h^nnn was better than an exhortation.
Klopstock and iiiB Win. — Frederick Klopatock, who
died at the ago of eighty, at Uambarg, in 1808, in the
presence of fifty thousand people, and who is still ro-
momborcd as " the Milton of Ucrinuny," was a poet
before ho had over seen a verso written, and commenced
his " Messiah" knowing nothing of his subject or of the
style in which it was written but what ho learned flx)m
a large collection of Bibles in his ikther's library, bat
which contained " not a single production of any muse."
Beautifully did he write, " How happy shall I be if by
the completion of the ' Messiah' I may contribute some-
what to the glory of our great and divine religion I
How sweet and transporting isvthis idea to my mind 1
That is my great reward."
In early life Klopstock knew a lady worthy of himBolf.
They loved and breathed poetry together. At the end
of four years she wrote concerning him, " If you knew
his poem, I could describe him very briefly in saying he
is in all respects what he is as a poet." But, alas 1 soon
. after this he wrote thus to a fliend, seven days after
' her removal ftx>m earth : — " I supported first myself, and
then her, by repeating that without our Father's will
not a hair in her head could fiill ; and more than once I
repeated to her the following lines from my last Ode.
Onoe I waa so much affected as to be compelled to atop
at every line : —
m\:
' / / ■ ...
namovAh and iocial HArpiNESR. 8S7
■Though unaeen hy human ay*,
ilfj Redeemer'! h*nd is nigh :
He hai poured lalTktion'i light
Fur within the Tsle of nlglit ;
' There will Qod my steps oontrol,
There his presence bless mj aoul.
. Lord, whate'er raj sorrows b«,
Teach me to look up to the*.' "
This trnly-great man was buried under a weeping-
willow, with a single line on his tomb : —
" Shd sown bt God to ripen roR iiabvebt."
Rev. Samuel Bradbvrn. — Few things are of more
importance than a good enunciation of hymns; yet
perhaps in nothing more than in this do our clergymen
fiiil. Let us illustrate its importance.
William Dawson, — a late very eminent local preacher
in England, — before he began to preach, having heard of
the fame of the Bev. Samuel Bradbum es an orator,
went to Leeds, in the year 1798, to hear him in the Bev.
Edward Parsons's church. His commanding figara,
powdered hair, and advanced age fixed Dawson's eye
and attracted his admiration. The subject of his sermon
was the kingly office of Christ: it was a masterly per-
formance; and Dawson was filled with admiration.
On reading the last hymn, Kr. Bradbum inclined his
person over the front of the pulpit, and, looking to the
precentor, or clerk, as though somewhat displeased with
him, — or rather preferring, Qke his .Methodist brethren in
SS8 ' iNrLUKNCi or nvMNS on
general, to read t^ie hymnn to be oung. — lie said, " I will
givn out the last two verses myself:" —
"The gOTernmtnt of earth (nd sew
Upon hii ihouideri •fatll be laid,
Hi* wide domiDlon shall increase.
And honors to his nam* be paid.
" Jesus, th* holy obild, shall sit
High on his father Darid's Ihroae,
Shall crush his foe* beneath hi* f*«t.
And reign to ages yet unknown."
Hr. Dawton had never heard these words before; bat
Bradbum's manner of repeating them was sneh that he
•ver after remembered them.
Rkv. Dk. £. D. GmrriN.— Of the late Rev. Dr. E.
GrifBn it has been aaid thaf^ while in reading the Scrip-
tares he Meroed to evolve a meaning and richness never
thought of before, in reading hymns be gave more furc-e
of expression, and often more impressiveness to their
sentiments, than coald be given by the singing of even
a good choir. Indeed, the great masters of sacred musio
are not more carefhl to bring the force of their art to
bear on each note than was the excellent doctor to
bring the resoarces of eloquence to bear upon eveiy
syllable of the hymn which he read. He read slowly,
and ga^e himself time to throw the right and AiU ex-
pression and inflection on each word. Moreover, be
influed bis whole pathos into the reading, as mnoh aa if
the linea were a fVeah and original utterance of hia owb
PBaaONAL AND SOCIAL UAPPINXM. 839
feelings. It hu been often said that by the eimple
reading of the hymn, —
" Mighljr Ood, while kngeli ble«i tfae«,
M>jr »n iufknt bleu thjr name,"
he would produce as much imprestiion upon an audience
as would ordinarily be effected bj an eloquent sermon.
The late extraordinary man, Robert Hull, of Englami,
eminently excelled in reading hynins. No one who over
heard him at his social prayer-meeting can forjj;et the
intense dignity trad feeling with which ho would enun>
date the words at Dr. Doddridge, —
" The uplendid orown which Moeei souf ht
Still bests* arouod hii brow,
Though looti great Phar^h'i iccotred pride
Wa» taught bjr death to bow." \
Bbv. Db. Btillman. — Few men could read a hyma
with more effect than the Rev. Dr. Samuel Stillman, of
Boston, who died in 1^07. None who ever heard him
will forget the verse of Watts, as it was enunciated by
him iVom the pulpit : —
** Well, the Redeemer*! gone.
To appear before oar Ood, —
To iprinklc o'er the flaming throne
With hia atoning blood."
Some cold-blooded critic, who probably never read
Numbers xxv. 2, has censured this verse; but I think
he would have been disarmed had be heard Dr. Still*
man read it His voice had a beaatifol circumflex to it :
• '^ WM
340 INVLVENCI or HTMMH OH '
h« throw bis eiuphiutis on the wpnl " well," then a pn^M,
— end the re^t of the vonw was pmnounced in that cheer-
ful and animating tone which 8eenic<i to rend the veil and
tranitport the hearer into the nnBocn world. The most
Bkiiful actor never made a more suddon and happy
transition. There was no apparent art in his style or
delivery. It was all earnest simplicity.
Rkv. Dk. BaoADDUs.^The Rev. Dr. J. L. Dagg give*
an interesting account of the manner in which the late
Bflv. Dr. A. Broaddus, a Southern Baptist miniHter, con-
ducted public worship. The manner in wliich he read
his hymns may furnish an important hint to ministers.
Dr. J) says, " He read the hymn of Dr. Watts, which
begins, — '
'Lord, we are blind, w« mortals blind;
We can't behold (by bright abode :
Oh, 'til beyond a creature mind
To glance a thought half-way lo Ood.'
His manner of reading was to me new and attractive ;
and before he had finished this first stansa my attention
was riveted. He read through the hymn; and the im-
pression produced on my mind forty years have not
erased. From that time I have regarded this hymn-
perhaps on account of the impression then made — as one
of the most beautiful that Dr. Watts ever composed."
TBOt;oBn.x8s Clirotmxn. — We really do wish that
our ministera were idwaya oareftil in the selection at
nMOMAI. AMD lOOIAI. aAPPIHXM. Ml
their hymns, that they may be appropriate and season*
able. We have beard a hymn written to describe winter
and to draw from it appropriate lessons read to be sung
in the sultry heats of July or August; and some time
ago a somewhat aged minister, in a large, intelligent, and
pious congregation, announced, on a bright Sabbath
morning, the beaatii\il evening hymn written by
Edmeston, —
. '^ "Sftriour, breathe mn evening bleuing,
£V< rtpoii our tpiriti seal."
What a lamentable indication of bad taste !
A still more ludicrous scene, arising from a similar
cause, has been described to ija by a Methodist clergy-
man, in one of the papers of that body of Christiana.
He says : —
" I had preached my last sermon at a favoi;fte appoint-
ment on my first circuit. The people had been kind
and generous, and I loved them dearly. The house was
ftill ; it WAS my final appeal to the flock beloved ; and,
though almost overcome with emotion, I had got through,
somehow, with the ' farewell sermon,' — my first and last
I knew that, either from sympathy or sorrow, the con-
gregation was sharing largely in my feelings, — that I
was not alone 'in the melting mood.' As I sat down,
overwhelmed with grief at the sore parting, a local
preacher, whom I had invited to close the service, rose,
and, opening the book at random, read, in aolemn tones,
the hymn commencing, —
2»»
'.^■^-. --^
us ixnuKNCi or afstsn on
* Jm|i«, wa lift our louli to tliM :
Thy Holy Spirit brmth*,
And let IkU UllU it\fml h*
Baptutd mio (Ay dtMh. '
The effect of this huUapropot selection yon may possibly
imagine, bat I cannot describe."
Another illustration of inappropriate hymns arises
fW>m the custom, allowed by some ministers, of permit-
ting the choirs to sing voluntaries at all times and
snder all circumstances. We have heard a doctrinal
•ermen directly opposed by the " voluntary" sung after
it ; and we have just read of the choir of a very large
congregation in Massachusetts, who sang at the Aineral
of a oian of distinction, with great unction,—?
'* Mioring we r^oie*
. . To we the eune remoTe."
A Tort Minibtkr. — It is of no small importance that
the clergy should be acquainted with hymns and psalms
before they read them with a view to their being sung
by congregations. Some years ago, a somewhat idle
Tory Congregational mtnister in England announced
Dr. Watts's version of the Seventy-Fifth Psalm, "To
thee, most holy and most high," etc. When he had
reached the seoond verse, " Britain was doomed to be a
■lave," etc., he became alarmed, and fled to the sixth
verse, which, to his sad amazement, flatly denied the
divine right of kings: —
?ff*:'
PdbONAL AND MOCIAL UAPPINEU. 848
" No Tain pr«i«ne« to royal birth
8hkU Ax • tyrsnt on the Ihrona:
Ood, (he great SoTereign of the earth,
Will rise and make hUjuitiee known."
Hia confbsion became apparent; but, happily for
him, the people sopposed he might have a reference to
the King of Uanover, then very unpopular among the
Britiah people, but who, on the first acce88ion of Queen
Victoria, antl before she had a family, was heir-pre-
sumptive to the throne. : ^
Doctor Mabon. — Doctor Lowell Maaon haa given na
a very striking narrative illustrating the importance ot
oareMly examining a hymn before even abridging it.
Some years ago, when that gentleman was organist and
the conductor of the singing at the Bowdoin Street
Church, Boston, a visiting clergyman conducted the
aervice. Dr. Mason says, "The whole hymn was first
read by the minister, and then, just before the singing-
exorcise commenced, the direction was given, ' Omit the
second stanza.' The following are the first three stanzas,
and the connection between the first and third stanzas
will be seen at a glance : —
* Whan thou, my rlghteoui Jodge, ihalt come
To take thy ranaomed people home,
Shall I among them stand T
Shall raoh a worthleaa worm as I,
Who lometimea am aflraid to die.
Be found at thy right hand T
* I lore to meet thy people now.
Before thy feet with them to bow, ' ^
.844 liirLuCNc'K ur HruNs on
Though TilMt of them all ;
But— aaa I baur Um piaroing thooght—
Wh«t if ay urn* (houid b« Uft out
Whw thou for them ibklt mU t
■0 Lord, prcTcnt it by thy gne<:
Be thou my only hiding-plMe
In thin the accepted day ;
Thy pankwing voice, oh, let ma heur,
To (till my unbelicTing fear,
Nor let me fall, I pray.'
<< The organist did not perceive the fearfol connection
between tho first and third stanzaa until a moment be*
fore it was time to commence the latter, when, startled
and terrified, he cried oat, ' Sing the second stanaa !' jast
in time to avoid the utterance of tho frightf\il petition."
Dr. Mason properly adds, '<It is unquestionably the
duty of the choir to follow implicitly the directions of
the minister in all that appertains to the singing in
public worship ; and the habit which prevails in some
places of inattention to the directions given from the
pulpit in relation to the abridgment of the hymn is
wholly unjustifiable; but there seem to be exceptions
to almost all rules, and here was an occasion when di*-
obedience to the oral rubric seemed to be positively re-
quired : indeed, it was a case of life or death, and it
was impossible to follow it. Warm wore the thanks
expressed by members of the congregation after the
service for their delivera4ice ih>m the terrible moral col-
lision with which they were threatened."
^ PnUOXAL AN^ SOCIAL HAPPINUS. . 846
He. Bawbon. — We havo aometimes, when conducting
the worship of God, felt strongly diapofwd to interrupt
the choir for the sake of » striking remark on what is
too often thoughtlessly sung. We hove before us an
instance in which the monotony was broken with good
effect. Mr. Dawson, an eminent English Weslcyan local
preacher, had once preached a very impressive sermon,,
and at its close read Charles Wesley's beautiAiI hymn, —
"O love dlTine, how iwMt thou art !"
When the choir were singing the third verse, —
" Ood oDljr knows the love of Clod,"
he stopped them and said, " Stop, fViends t If angels,
the first-born sons of tight, cannot understand the height,
the breadth, the depth, the length, of the love of God*
how can we expect to fathom it while here below V Ho
then repeated, with profound feeling, thrilling his largo
•nditory,—
" 'Ood only know* the tore of God.'
Let US sing it again, friends ; for we shall have to sing
it in heaven : —
•aod only knows the loTc of Ood.'."
Fault Found. — It is usually true that the members
of every denomination praise their poets and their
hymns ; but we have before us a remarkable fact of an
opposite character. The Rev. Samuel Bradbury, a man
of fine talents, and of wit as well as piety, and an emi*
- ♦
844 iNrLDiNOi ov htmns on
Dent preacher among the finglish Wesloyan Methodiats,
waa once engaged to preach, and read the hymn v^ritten
by CharloB Wealoy contains this verse :—
«U,AJ^loTaty «pp«Mr«nee of death I
Wh«t light upon earth ii so fair?
Not all the gay pageanta that breath*
Can with a dead bodj compare."
He broke out : — " What business has this hymn in onr
booli, containing as it does a sentiment so false, — ' Ah,
lovely appearance of death 1' — when there is nothing
lovely about it. Why did Abraham's beloved and bean-
tifiil Sarah, when she died, become so unlovely that he
expressed his wish, ' Bury my dead out of my sight' 1* "
It is right to say that the Methodists of this countiy
have omitted this hymn fh>m their book.
' ■■ :
A Clxsotman in Gcoruia. — A few years ago, an aged
minister was oflSciating for the first time in a Methodist
church in Georgia, whore they keep up the old custom
of having the hymns " lined," that the whole congre-
gation may, according to the wise discipline of that
Church, join in the singing, whether they have hymn-
books or not. The venerable man could not see dis-
tinctly, and intended to omit singing during that service.
To announce his purpose, he arose and said, —
"My eyea are dim : I cannot lee"
and immediately the chorister commenced singing it to
the tone of " (Hd Sundred." Surprise and mortification
VBBMNAL AND MCUL BAPPINBM. 847
auule the clergyman almoMt «peec)iIcM; bat ho •Ummofcd
0ut| — - ,
< " I meant but >d ■pology."
This line was immediately rang by the congregation,
and the minister, now quite excited, exclaimed,—
" ForbMT, I pny : my light ii dim"
bat the singing proceeded, and the couplet was finished
by his troubled and beseeching explanation, —
" I do not maan to read a hymn."
Strange as it may seem, this was also sung with much
energy, while the worthy old gentleman sat down in
actual despair of accomplishing his puq)0se to do without
•ingiiog.
A DiACON IN A DirnccLTT. — Deacons, as well as
ministers, have sometimes been placed in an awkward
predicament. On one occasion, in New England, a gen-
tleman of this order had been called on to deacon the
hymns, — that is, to read them line by lino. He looked at
his book for some time, endeavoring to spell out the
words; but, having unfbrtunately left his spectacles at
home, he was compelled to make known his difficulty,
Md said, —
" Uj tjm, iaidMd, Mrs rnj VOad."
The choir, who had been impatiently waiting for a line,
■apposing this to be the first of a common-metre hymn,
' ..-w,
^
848 iMnuBNcn ot htmm o«
immediately ung it. Tbe good deacon exclaimed, with
emphaaiH, —
'• I euuiot iM I
I at »U." \
ing, when cfefo a
This, of course, they also sung, when fno astonished
pillar of the choroh cried oat, — ^
••I rtkUj tklttk you arc bewltohed I"
which the choir at onco repeated in full tone; and the
deacon added,—
'Tbe mUofaleft in jron all)"
r^"i
when the choir finished the verse by echoing the last line,
and the deacon sat down in despair.
fiiouLATioMs or SiMOiNO. — The History of the Pre**
byterian Church at Bockaway, New Jersey, tells us,
" That part of divine service pertaining to the singing
of psalms, and what version of psalms should be nsod
in worship, having made groat uneasiness and inquietude,
in April, 1780, it was voted to appoint four choristers to
set the tunes; that Benjamin Jackson, Francis M'Carty,
and Jacob Lyon be appointed choristers ; that they sing
in the afternoon without reading the psalm lime by line;
and David Beeman to sing the forepart of the day, un-
less otherwise agreed on by Mr. Beeman and the other*
choristers ; and that they sing any tunes that are sung
by the neighboring ohnroheiL as they shall judge proper."
. . . April, 1749, some Airther difBcalty having arisen
respecting the singing in the church, " It was voted at a
■"■^'^
prntoMAL Aifo SOCIAL HAPPiiiiaa. . 849
{Mkriah mMiing to h«re the pMinu road line bf line, or
by two lines, in singing, in Aitnro, except on particular
oocaaiona." ... At a parifeh meeting May 14, 1792,
"The mode of tinging was again adjusted by the ap-
pointment of Benjamin Johnson, Russel Davis, and
Daniel Uurd as ohoriBtors, and that tiioy act diitcretion-
ary when to sing u>itkt>ut reading the linet."
Imfortanci or Rioht Fkxunob.— In "Hood's Hidory
of Music in New England," it is said that when, in 1640,
the unhappy Charles I. fled from Oxford, he threw him-
self apon the army of his coantr>'men, then encamped
before Newark. Here, instead of being befriended, he
'was reproached and insaltod to his fMse. Upon one
occasion during public service, one of the chaplains, afl«r
having used harsh langnage, directed the Fifty-Second
Psalm to be sung, beginning, —
"yf)tj doat thou, lyfMt, boMt thynlf
Thy wieked deedi to pndnt"
As soon as they had sung it, the king rose and re-
quested the soldiers to sing the Psalm, —
" GtoTo maroy on me. Lord, I pnji;
For men would m* doTour."
This was accordingly sung in compassion for his dis-
tress, which saw no relief till he reached the scaffold
ordered by the High Court of Justice.
The history of our country relates a not dissimilar
anecdote of the visit in 1686 of Sir Edmund Andross to
JO
INVLinWOB or STMNt OH
Xew H«T«n in March of Ooffe, one of the regicidei, who,
really wM preient at the church when Sir Edmund waa
there. The clerk felt it hia doty to aelect a paalm not in-
capable of a double application, and which accordingly
hit Sir Edmund in a tender part : —
'• Why dort thoa, tjmnt, boMt thyMlf,
•thj wiokad dMdi to pralM T" ^><«f
All hia attempta to diaoover " hia man" utterly fkiled. '
A complete history of hymns would develop ikcts both
pleasing and painfiil aa to the state of religion in dif-
ftrent places and at different periods. The Bev. John
Adams, of Darham, New Hampshire, graduated at
Harvard College in 1745, and was ordained in 1748.
After thirty years' residence at Durham, difficulties arose
with his people, and he was dismissed. We fear that
Christian feeling did not abound even in his heart; for at
the close of bis fkrewell sermon he requested his people
to "sing to the praise and glory of God, and to their
own edification," the first thiree verses of the One Hun-
dredth and Twentieth PsaJm of Dr. Watts,—
•• Thou Qod of lore, thou crer bint.
Pity my fuffering state :
Whan wilt thou Mt my loal st rttt
From Up« which lore deceit ?
*< Hard lot of mine I ay d»yi sre OMt
Among the toni of (trife,
..... Whoee ner e r e eeil n g brawUiigs waste
MygoldeakotinefUfe.
nSaONAL AND MOUL HAmNKM. 861
** Oh, aiilht I Ijr to ehsng* 07 pUoc,
IIow would I chooM to dwell
In (OB* wild, loBtaoa* wildonaw,
Aad lMT« tliM* gktM of b«U I"
Am Old Pabodt. —
"Com*, thott Almighty King,"
it ft parody on the old English national anthem, " Ood
save the King," and first appeared in that country some
nineteen yean after " God aavo the King" had been first
printed in the " QentUtnan'a Magazine," which was in
1745, where it was simply called " A song for two voices."
It ia now common among us under the disguise of
" America." The first appearance of the hymn was in
1764, in a collection of Psalms and Hymns, extracted
flrom various authors, by the Rev. Spencer Hadan.
From this ikct it is often attributed to Madan's own
pen; but of this there is no evidence: all believe the real
author to be as much unknown as that of which it is a
parody. It has ever since retained its place in most of
our collections, with remarkable integrity and freedom
from "emendations," and will probably do so till the
Church loses its militant character.
Sinqclar Music. — One of the most singolar curiosities
of musical literature with which we are acquainted
relates to a fbgue tune to which is sung a version of the
One Hundred and Thirty>Third Psalm, in the prodigious
effort of the performance of which the ear-splitting com-
862 iNrLUEHcs or utmms on
bination of tho several voices scarcely bears a resemblance
to that oily current poured on AUron's head, which
•* Ru down hit beard aiid o'«r hi* head —
Rut down hii beard ^
his rob«s
And o'ar hU robe*
Ban down hi* beard nn down hi* — —
o'er hi* robe*
|li* robe*, hi* robe*, ran down hi* beard
Han doirn hi*
— — o'er hi* robe*
Ban down hi* beard
h-i-» b^e-ard
It* coatly moiat
Ban down hi* beupd
ure — beiml — hi* — beard — hi* — ihed
— ran down hi* beard — hi* — down
h|* robe* — it* oo*tI]r moiat — hi* beard
ureahed — lil* — eo*t — hi* robe* — robe* — or* *hed
1-t-* «-o-*-t-l-ie moiit — ure e-h-e-d."
Pishop Seabury, on one of his visitations, was asked
his opinion of this composition; and his reply was that
he had paid no attention to the mosic, but that his
sympathies were so much excited for poor Aaron that
he was aAraid he would not have a hair leil.
I. • , ■
Hth58 or Tns Old Sttle. — It may be of some interest
to the reader to have before him two or three verses of
the hymns in use before the days of Dr. Watts, which
gradually gave way, as the taste for harmony and beauty
increased in our churches, to the hymns now in use. To
PBKilONAL AND l|H>GIAL HAPPINEVH. 868
nnd^nUnd the trao character of these venen, tbey ■hontd
b« " deaconed off," and aung one line at a time.
" 'TU like th« prceiout oinUnnit
Down Aaron'i baard did go ;
Down Aaron'i board it downward went,
Hii garment-ikirtt unto."
Here is aiiother specimen; and though oar readers
may smile at it, their fathers did not : —
\
" To monatera of the bubbling doep.
Your Maker'a praisei ipout ;
Up tVom th« land*, jo oodlingt, poop,
And wag your taili about."
^e following specimen, and onr last, contains truth,
whatever may be said of its poetry : —
" The raoa ii not foroTor got
By him who faitest nini ;
Nor th« battle by thoie peopla
* Who ahoot the longcit gooa."
SiNoiNQ AT BANOOB.-^It IB bofh interesting and pro-
fitable to understand the manner in which our fathers
conducted their worship. A concert by the Billings and
Holden Society of Bangor, Maine, composed of elderly
ladies and gentlemen, was held ii) that city in 1848.
They were " singers of the olden time," veritable anti-
quarian musicians, worshippers of th? majestic melodies
of Luther, Pleyel, Tansur, Holyoke, itnd the rich fugues
of Billings, Holden, Edson, and Bead, of by-gone days.
The enraptured wri,ter of the description of this meeting
8ft4 INVLUENCK UP UVMN8 ON
exciaimsy " Oh, could you have been there ! It was a
gloriouH sight aa well as Bound. Those old gentlemen
took n8 back again to thirty or forty years ago 1 fiat
let me give you a description of them.
" The number of singers, I should judge, was nearly a
hundred : at any rate, they filled the singing-gallery and
part of the side galleries of the First Baptist Church.
Among them were at least four deacons, four colonels,
several captains, judge8,'doctor8, lawyers, esquires of the
old school, and, last, though not least, the chief members
of the fiangor Antiquarian Society. All classes were
represented. An ancient colonel led off the singing,
with a white wand and blue ribbon. Ho is a stout man,
between fifty and sixty years of ago, with gray hair, of
considerable vigor, with a voice commanding and pre-
cisely adapted to the music sung that evening. On his
right was an elderly tenor deacon, who at times was
evidently as near heaven as ho could be and still bo on
earth. Ho is a tall man ; and not unfrequcntly, during
the performance of some unique passage, you might
have heard the whisper, < See him go up !' as, while boat-
ing time, he would draw up his tttll form to its i\ill height
and elevate his face toward the ceiling. On the left of
the leader was an ancient tenor judge, who prides him-
self on being able to sing all the 'old tunes' without
looking at a note. He stood erect, looking straight for-
ward, preserving an astonishing equanimity during the
whole evening, although he beat time — as did all the
Other singers— quite emphatically. At the extreme right
PKR80NA1. AND MOCIAL HAPPINESS. 855
of the choir were the ladifes, — matronly peraonsfjw in
oapa, with strong voices and peculiar intonations. In.
deed, the stylo of singing was quite different fVom that
of the present day throughout ; and I was happy to find
that the rich nasal sound of forty years ago is not yet
forgotten, and that the practice of beating time with the
hand still exists.
" The number of tunes sung was about thirty. Some
were repeated. Among the tunes were Bridgowater,
Element, Tilden, Bristol, Portland, Buckingham, Lynn-
fiold, Montague, Kainbow, Sherborne, Victory, Ode on
Science, Heavenly Vision, Calvary, Invitation, etc. Invi-
tation was encored. It was Ang in magnificent style.
When the part beginning
■ Fljr like a youthful hart or roe'
was repeated, one could hardly help imagining himself
among a flock of young deer, scampering
' Orer the hilla where spice* grow,'
so swiftly did the chorister lead off and the singers
follow.
« The singing commenced at seven, and continued with-
out cessation, except during a recess of a few minutes to
get breath, until nine o'/ilock. The audience were de-
lighted not only with the mnsic, but vnth the high enjoy-
ment manifested by the venerable musicians."
.*«
856 ' INrLUENCK UF HYMNS ON
Reostonk Presbytery. — In tho lattor part of the
eighteenth century considerable disenssion took place
in the Old fiedstone Presbytery in reference to the in-
troduction of Dr. Watts's Psalms and Hymns, most of
the older people being in favor of the older version. In
some places a compromise was adopted. They would
begin with an old psalm and conclude with a psalm
or hymn from Watts. Though Dr. Power used Watts
in his own family, he yielded to the preferences of his
people in the use of Rouse in public worship. The lines
were "given out" by a precentor, or clerk, as he was
called. Dr. Power's clerk used to give out one line at a
time, and always, in doing so, sounded the last i^yllable
on a dead level with the first note of that part of the
tune, prolonging the sound a little, so as to slide grace-
fhlly and imperceptibly into the singing. To a stranger
the effect was rather ludicrous; but he was considered a
great master of his business^ especially by the older
people.
At Buffalo and Cross Creek, Watts's Psalms and Hymna
were used at the prayer-meeting, though Mr. Porter
scarcely approved of it. On one occasion, however, hia
people sang with great animation the lines, —
" Let tboM refUM to ling
I Who never knew our Qod," . '-
when the old gentleman was constrained to join in the
service, saying afterward, " If my conscience won't let
me sing, I'll wring its neck."
FKBBONAt. AND SOCIAL HAPPINK88. 857
Boston CoNaHKOATioNS. — ^A beaatifUl fact in connec-
tion with singing is told of the excellent George White-
field. Daring tlie delivery of a sermon in Boston on
the wonders of creation, providence, and redemption,
a violent tempest of thunder and lightning came on,
which so alarmed the congregation that they sat in
breathless awe. The preacher closed bis note-book, and,
stepping into one of the wings of the desk, fell on his
knees, and, with much feeling and fine tasto^ repeated
from Dr. Watts,—
*• Hark I tbi Etbmi ai. rends the sky I
A mighty voice before him goes, —
A Toioe of mtule to his fHends,
But tlkreatening thunder to liis foes.
" Come, children, to jour Fsther's arms t
Hide in the chambers of my grace
Till the fleree storm be overblown
And my revenging fury oeasot"
" Let US devoutly sing to the praise and glory of God
this hymn : — Old Hundred."
The whole congregation instantly rose and ponrcd
forth the sacred song. By the time the hymn was
finished, the storm was hushed, and the sun, bursting
forth, showed the magnificent arch of peace. Besuming
the desk, the preacher quoted, with admirable tact,
"Look upon the rainbow: praise Him that made it.
Very beautiful is it in the brightness thereof! It com-
passeth the heaven about with a glorious circle; and
the hand* of the Most High have bended it." The epi-
■ode added intense interest to the service.
368 INFLUKNOK OF HTii^B ON
CqlNCiDKNOE. — One of the Boston papers, a few years
ago, related a very beautiful ooincidetice. Daring the
morning service at Christ's Church, Salem Street, an
incident occurred which would have been interpreted by
some of the ancients as a signal of divine approbation.
The Bov. Mr. Marcus, of Nantucket, the officiating
minister, read, in order to be sung, the Eighty-Fourth
Psalm, in which may bo found the verse, —
" The bir<I«, more htppier far than I,
Around thy temple throng : >
Securely there they build, and there
Securely hatch their young."
While he was reading this psalm, a dove flew in at one
of the windows and alighted on the capital of one of
the piUsters near the altar, and almost over the head
of the reader. A note of the psalm and hymn to be
sung had been previously given, as is customary', to the
choir, or it might have been supposed that there was
design in the selection; for the second hymn com-
menced, —
"Come, Holy Spirit, HeaTenly Dore,
With all thy quickening powers t
Kindle a flame of eacred lore
In these cold heart! of our* !"
The preacher was unconscious of the presence of the
bird until the close of the services, when the innocent
visitor was suffered to depart in peace.
" China." — Say what we will, and whatever may be
the taste of different persons as to tunee ancient and
PKB80NAL AND SOCIAL HAZINESS. 859
modern, it is certain that wo all enjoy the occasional
treat of an old tune. A congregation in Boston, a few
years ago, who seldom heard old-fashioned music, were
one day surprised and delighted when the choir sung
the tune of " China," as set to the well-known words of
Dr. Watts,—
" Why do we mourn departing friends,
Or ihske at death's alarms ?"
The incident led one of the hearers to express his
V feelings in some lines which may gratify the reader : —
'' " The preacher had bis sermon preached,
And prayer befitting marked its course,
When, lingering yet where prayer was mada^
The preacher and the people rose.
They sung a hymn : the hymn was old.
The lines were like familkar things ;
But, bursting as from harps of gold,
The music swept a thousand strings,
While, with a low and reverend air,
The people bowed and worshipped there.
•
' The young man paused, and wondered why
He had not heard such strains before ;
Th* old man wept, and seemed again
To live his Very childhood o'er,
As quickly fhim the treasured past
Came visions of the olden time,
When his dear fkther worshipped flod
While swaying to the music's charm,
And by his side they sat who shared
The sunshine of his early days :
What other could he do than weep
To hear onoe more those good old lays T
'bh, art may charm, and newer strains
May better pleas* the youthful breast;
860 iNfLuxNOK or htmnb on
But niiio him whoic Io«ki ut gray
The oMmt muaio ii the be»t.
And so methought, u died kway
ThoM itnins within thst pi»ee of prtyer,
Th«t hearen to some will iweeter be
If " CUho" it remembered there."
Bev. Dr. Emmons. — The lato diatinguiHhed Dr. Em-
mons was a great lover of sweet sounds, — that is, the
sound of the human voice; — and religiously excluded
fW>m his meeting-house all instrumental music except a
little mahogany-colored wooden pitch-pipe, about five
inches by three. A member of bis choir had learned to
play the bass-viol, and, anxious to exhibit his skill,
early one Sunday morning most unadvisedly introduced
his big fiddle into the singing-gallery. After the first
prayer was ended and the doctor began to handle his
" Wattt," the " bass-violer" lifted up his profanation,
and, trying hir strings, instantly attracted the doctor's
attention. He paused, laid down his hymn-book, took
his sermon ftom the cushion, and proceeded with his
discourse as if singing was no part of public worship,
and finally dismissed the congregation "without note
or comment." The whole choir were indignant. They'
stayed after " meeting," and all the girls and young men
resolved not to go into " the singing-seats" at all in the
afternoon; and the elders who did go there bore the
visages of men " whose minds were made up."
Services in the afternoon began as usual. The doctor
took his psalm-book in his hand, looked over his spec-
tacles at the galleiy, and saw only a few there, bat,
!5?;r
PUaONAL AND SOCIAL HAPPIMiaS. 861
nothing daunted, read a psalm and sat down. No Bound
followed ; no one stirred ; and the " leader" looked up
in utter unconsciousness. After a long and most nneasjr
silence, the good man, his face somewhat over-flushed,
his manner rather stem, read the psalm again, paused,
then re-read the first verse, and, pushing up his spec-
tacles, looked interrogatively into the gallery. The
leader could bear it no longer, and, half rising, said,
decidedly, " IherQ won't be any singing here this after-
noon." ,
Quick as thought the doctor replied, " Then there
won't be any preaching;" and, taking his cocked hat
from its peg, he marched down the pulpit-stairs, through
the broad aisle, and out of the house, leaving his congre-
gation utterly astounded. We need not inform our
readers that " the big fiddle" did not appear in " the
singing-seats" afterward.
Enoush Clerks. — It is well known that in most of
the~ congregations of England the hymns are "given
out" by a clerk, who occupies a seat below the pulpit.
These gentlemen are not always remarkable either for
their intelligence or their humility; and if the minister
leaves the ohotce of the hymns to them they will some-
times select anoh as may reprove him or some other per-
sons for. what they may consider errors or fkults; or
sometimes they will make alterations of even a ludicrous
character in the hymns or psalms. We remember once
to have hefird nn occasional sermon, which was a some-
si
®P?v'
862 iNnciifoi or bi
what singular one, from a ningulannan. Hih text wan,
"Every man that liath this hope in liini piiriticth liim-
seif, even as he is pure," (I John iii. 3,) — the common
nndorstanding of which is that the Christian aims to
imitate the purity of Christ ; but worthy Pastor Renals
treated the text so as to make the Christian the source
of his own purity. In this view of the matter, Brothor
Beal, as we think, properly differed from him, — though
no one expected a public reproof administered by him to
the minister. No one who was present will ever forget
how the said clerk rose, with majestic mien and power- '
fUl voice, to " give out" the hymn Dr. Watts founded on
the text, or with what emphasis he read the last two
lines of the verse, —
" A hop« BO muoh diTins
May trials w«U endure, —
Jfay purge our touts from lenu and tin.
At Chiitt tht Lord itpurt."
The clerk evidently exulted, the congregation smiled;
but the poor preacher looked unutterable things, and,
the hymn having been sung, he omitted the last prayer
and pronounced the benediction. He could never be pre-
vailed on to preach in that pulpit again.
In the days of our youth we remember to have
preached a sermon which gave offence to one of these
gentlemen, — ^he having, contrary to oar own view of the
matter, an insurmoantable objection to unregenerated Hin-
sart being exhorted to pray or to do any other spiritoal
■%
^r '
PU80NAL AMD SOCIAL BAIPPIMEU. 86]t
act. At tho close of tho sermon he led us to sing, with
what of good feeling we might, tho lines of Wutts, —
" Th« men who few thy word
Grotc mter than their ttaeheri art
'■• And bttttr know tht Lord."
In a note in the fourth volume of his " Jfitory of
the Baptists" Mr. Ivimey tells us that ho one uvcuing
stcppeu into a meeting-house in London, wln-i-e one of
these hyper-Calvinirtie genllcmco was •• tlie clork," and
hoard him perpetrate a somewhat rcmarkuble change
in some lines of Watts. Tho good doctor, speaking of
the kindness of God to his people, wrote, —
" And fixed my standing more seeur*
Than 'twu before I fell."
The very lound clerk, however, changed it to, —
"^nd fixed my itanding mo4t leeun
In Chriit btfort IftlV
Possibly some of the congregation regarded this change
as an improvement ; but Mr. Ivimey asks, with some-
thing like common sense, " If the good man was mado
BO secure htfon he fell, how came he to fall at all V
The late eminent Robert Hall used to tell an amusing
anecdote of a clerk of his chnr«h in Leicester. It appears
that an unpleasant feeling had for some time existed
between the said clerk and the choir. The dispute waa
864 iNrLUENCB or hyhnh on
referred to Mr. Hall, and the clerk was diBmiaaed. Sach,
however, was the grief of the worthy official on the loss
of his dignity that he wau soon after reinstated in office.
On the following Sabbath morning the honest precentor
ex;torted an almost general smile by commencing the
service with Dr. Watts's version of the Twenty-Seventh
Psalm, reading with much emphasis the lines, —
" Now A»\l my hMd be Un«d high
Abort my foe* aroudd.
And longs of joy and Tiotory
Wilhhi thy temple sound."
Facts about AicTHEM8.-^While speaking of hymns, a
few interesting facts relating to anthems will be perhaps
acceptable. In the last century, the noble Couiit S ,
of Hungary, had lost, under the most distressing circum-
stances, bis only child, a beautiful girl, who was on the
eve of marriage. Although two years had elapsed since
this bereavement, the unhappy father remained in the
most melancholy condition. From the hour when he
had taken his last look at the dead body of his child, he
had remained in the same room, shedding no tears
and uttering no complaints, but remaining in a speech-
less state of despair. The most celebrated physicians
had been consulted, and ever}' moans which could be
thought of used to rouse the count iVom his lethargy of
grief; but all in vain, and his physician became hope-
less of his recovery.
Under these circnmatances, a member of his fkmHj
nUONAL AMD SOCIAL HAPnHMS. 886
r«nicmbered to have heard the distingnished Elizabeth
Mara, for ten jears the first singer at the Prassian court,
sing some exquisitely beautiful sacred pieces, and became
impressed with the thought that, if any sound on earth
could reach the heart which was already buried iu liiR
daughter's grave, her voice, which seemed to be that of
an augel rather than of a human being, would have tliut
power. Arrangements we:^ at length made for the trial ;
and, to give every possible efibct to the powem of tho
singer, an ante-room, opening into thut where the
count sat, was prepared. Mara stood alone in the fore-
ground, yet in such a position that she could LOt be seen
in the nekt room, which was hung with black, and a
faint, shadowy twilight only admitted, except a few
golden rays from a small lamp which burned in a niobe
before a beautif\il Madonna. Suddenly upon the soli-
tude and silence of that sick-room there broke a won-
derful harmony. Elizabeth had chosen Handel's " Me$-
tiah," and took her place, deeply moved by the singular
circumstances under which she was called to exert her
talents.
At first the music and that heavenly voice all seemed
to be unheeded; bat by degrees the desolate parent
raised himself on his couch and glanced with earnest
longing toward the spot whence those soul-moving
sounds proceeded. At length, when Mara sung the
words, "Look and see if there be any sorrow like to
my sorrow," she appeared inspired by tho sympathy she
hit ; and the relatives of tho ooont, who listened with
IMrLUINCK OV UTMN8 ON
bMting hearts, could not restrain their tears. Nor did
these alone bear witness to the singer's power : heavy
sighs escaped firom the sufferer; large tears stood in
those eyes which the very extremity of grief itself had
long forbidden to weep. Crossing the room with feeble
stepfr, he pros'trated himself before the image of that
Heavenly One who " bore all our griefs ;" and, when the
ftall choir joined in the Hallelujah Chorus, his voice of
praise and thanksgiving mingled with those strains.
The recovery was complete and lasting, and was the
marvel of all Germany.
A lady had been in deep despondency for many months.
Her sins appeared so numerous and aggravated that she
dared not trust in the promises of the gospel. These
promises seemed very precious for others, but could not
avail for her. Conversations with her minister and with
Christian fKends added to her gloom, instead of dis-
sipating it. She attended with great eagerness the
means of grace, read her Bible almost incessantly at
home, and withdrew herself Ax>m all gay companions,
and even fVom the most innocent social enjoyments.
Her health began to suffer from extreme depression of
spirits, and her iViends were apprehensive of an early
death.
When she heard that Jenny Lind was to visit the city
near which she resided, her curiosity was excited to hear
her. She consulted her minister; and he advised her to
/
PKK80NAL AND BOOIAL HAfMNIM. 867
go on the evening when *' The Messiah" was to be sang.
The rendering of those 8ublim« passages, " I know that
mj Redeemer livoth^" and "Come unto me, all ye that
labor and are heavy laden," by the Swedish songstress,
quite overwhelmed her. She was spell-bound. The
words seemed clothed with a iVilness of meaning she
had never before discovered. The fitness of Jesus to
save sinners, and his infinite condescension and pity,
molted her heart. She wondered that she had over dis-
trusted him, and with a childlike faith threw herself on
the promises, knowing that in her case they would not
fail of f\ilfilment. From that hour her gloom vanished,
and she went forward in the path of Christian duty with
a joyous and obedient heart.
We transcribe another fact fW>m a letter of Dr. Seattle
to Dr. Laing, in 1780: — "When Handel's 'Messiah' was
first performed, the audience were exceedingly struck
and affected by the music in general; but when the
chorus struck up, 'For the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth,' they were so transported t^Yt^ they all, to-
gether with the king, [George III.,] who happened to be
present, started up, and remained standing till the chorus
ended ; and hence it became the fashion in England for
the audience to stand up while that part of the music is
performing. Some days after the first exhibition of the
same divine oratorio, Mr. Handel came to pay his re-
spects to Lord Einnoul, with whom he was particularly
acquainted. His lordship, as was natural, paid him some
compliments on the noble entertainment which he had
868 iNrLuaMci or htmns on
lately given the town. <My lord,' said Handel, <I
■hoald be sorry if I only entertained them : I wished to
make them better.' "
It is a somewhat purioos fact that on the first per-
formance of " The Messiah" in London, in 1741, it
excited a very small degree of attention, but soon ailer-
wtd in Dublin it called forth every proof of the highest
admiration. This fact led to a powerAil and pathetic
passage in •' Pope's Dunciad."
This will not be considered an inappropriate place
to add a few lines on the feelings and habits of this,
one of the greatest of human' composers. Being once
inquired ,of as to his ideas and emotions when writing
the "ff(Ulelujah Chorus," he replied, in the best English
he could command, " I did think I did see heaven all
before me, and the great God himself." It is said that a
friend called upon him when he was setting to music the
pathetic words, " He was despised and rejected of men,"
and found him actually sobbing. And Shield tells us
that when Handel's servant used to bring him in his
chocolate in the morning he often stood in silent astonish-
ment to see his master's tears mingling with his ink as
be wrote his masterly works. Indeed, it appears to
have been usually the case that during his compositions
his face would be bathed in tears.
PERSONAL AND SOCIAL UAPPINK88. 809
Another statement has been given, which may properly
■uggoat the importance of cultivating right feelings alike
in the composition and the performance of sacred music.
Ilandel was once asked by a fKend why his cburch-musio
was always so cheerful. His admirable reply was, "I
cannot make it otherwise: I write according to the
thoughts I feel. When I think on God, my heart is M
fkiU of joy that the notes dance and leap, as it were,
fix>m my pen ; and, since God has given me a cheeiful
heart, it will be pardoned mo that 1 ser\'e him with a
cheerAil and devout spirit."
Handel's habit of composition was exceedingly rapid ;
but still the motion of his pen could not keep up with
the rapidity of his conceptions. The mechanical power
of his hand was not sufficient for the volcanic torrent of
the brain. Novello, his learned publisher, who seems
to have well studied the manuscripts at the Fitzwilliam
Museum, in London, seeing a page on which the sand is
still upon the ink at the top as well as at the bottom of
the page, left in the book the remark, "Observe the
speed with which Handel wrote. The whole of this
page is spotted with sand, and, consequently, must hsve
been all wet at the same time."
Another fact or two on this subject will be permitted.
A pious old deacon, who died at Bradford, in Now Hamp-
shire, in 1825, some years before his decease attended a
meeting of the Musical Society of that State. A very
large company were assembled to rehearse the anthem
" O Lord God of Israel" when he entered the hall. The
870 iMrLuiNci or htmmi on
sudden opening of the door and the burst of sound that
mot his ear nearly paralysed his whole frame; his
whole man trembled, his limbs refused to aut, and he
4ippeared almost intoxicated. A gentleman, who had
witnessed the powerful effect of good singing upon him
many years before, obtained him a seat; and, when the
venerable saint collected power to speak, he broke
silence with the remark, "If I cannot bear the com-
bined voices of a hundred singers here on earth, am I
prepared, and can I bear the sound of an innumerable
multitude of voices in heaven, where I soon hope to be ?"
One fact more, and we will close. The late Rev.
Roger Harrison, who died in Connecticut, in 1858, at
the ago of eighty-four, once Bp«nt a night at tho house
of the Rev. Dr. Cooley, of Granville, and at family wor-
ship sang the Judgment Anthom with such thrilling
effect that one of the doctor's students sprang from hia
chair, rushed at the singer, and was entirely bewildered
for several hours.
CoNQBEOATioNAi. SiNOiNQ. — It would be almost an act
of injnstice wet% we to omit a reference to the general
excellence of the AfVican oar for singing, which is sO com-
monly showQ in many of the ordinary occurrences of
life as to be a frequent subject of remark in every part
of our country. Indeed, it has been stated, apparently
on sufficient grounds, that much of our popular muitio
can be traced to negro origin.
Bat moat of all do we love to hear the hjrmn-ainging
PKR80NAL AND SOCIAL HArPIMKM. 871
of the African race, and entirely ^yrapathiso with the
Bev. Mr. Kirkland, who writes, "You know how sweetly
a congregation of plantation-negroes can sing the songs
of Zion. Tell me not of city cbioira. I would rather
hear <I am passing away,' or 'Give me Jesus,' sung as
we sometimes hear them, ont of Aill hearts, by hundreds
of these poor people, than their best performances. It
is spirit-stirring: there are life and soul in it."
Lady Mary W. Montague, in a letter to Dr. Bchttio,
thus gives her opininn of the influence of plain congre-
gational singing on a worshipping assembly : — " I think
psalms written with great and noble simplicity, and sung
in the same manner, friendly to devotion ; and it is
almost an offence to call in the aid of insensible and in-
animate things to praise the Giver of life and reason.
A psalm decently sung by the congregation always ex-
cites my devotion more than the organ. I would em-
ploy musical Instruments in a pagan temple, but only
the voice of man in a Christian church."
We can easily imagine the scene presented at the
Husio Hall in Surrey Gardens, London, at one of the
assemblies of from eight to ten thousand people, wor-
shipping under the guidance of the popular Charles H.
SpXirgeon, as described by one of our countrj'mon : —
" The prayer concluded, ..Mr. Spurgeon announced the
well-known Psalm beginning, —
' B«for« JehoTsli's a^rftal tbron*.'
He read it tbrongh, having first annonnced that tb«
wiPfr-,-. • ■ ■ • • '. >:. ;. ,. :, '■■>;!. :i:;i-^';'<*i?r5
372 iMnuBNGS or hvmnb on '
tane would be the ' Old Hundredth,' and then read each
▼erae separately before it was sung. It is scarcely po^
■ible to give any idea of the sublime eflfect produced by
those ten thousand voices as they swelled the massive
harmonies of that grand tune with a Ailness of sound
rarely heard. Afler singing the second verse, Mr. Spur-
goon said, ' I will read the third verse, and youwill sing
the fourth ; and let the uplifting of your voices be as
th'. sound of many waters.' His auditory responded to
his wish. The words were, —
' We'll crowd thjr gates with thankful longs.
High as the heaTena oar Toioei raise,
And earth, with her ten thousand tongue*.
Shall fill thy courts with sounding praise.'
Most magnificent was the shout of praise that now went
op. Not a voice was mute, save where occasionally,
some one's nerves were overpowered by the massive
rolling chorus that rose on every side. Never did we
before so realise what congregational singing might be*
come. It was an uplifting of voice and heart such as
one can hope to hear only a few times in the course of a
life. Much of this grand effect w*as no doubt owing to
the majesty of the tune itself, — much to the &ct that all
the congregation knew it, — an4 perhaps not a little to
the practice of reading each verse before it was sung,
a practice we have always thought a very reasonable
one, and commonly adopted in England, especially among
the poor and those who cannot read."
Though this is a striking instance of the grandeur of eon-
PERSONAL AND SOCIAL HAPPINI88. 878 ,
ytegntional singiDg, it was by no means singular. Gould
very properly asks, "Who has ever attended a meet-'
ing of several charches, or some religious anniversary,
where there were a multitude of professors of religion,
agreat proportioiCof whom are always found able to join .
in singing, when theysrise and sing a hymn at the cele-
bration of the Lord's Supper, and. has not felt the power
of sacred music sung with both the spirit and understand-
ing? How many who have boon spectators only at tho
time have felt its power and been led to decide that it was
something to them who were passing by, and fVom that
time realized that unless they repented they never oould
join the angelic host, either on earth or in heaven !"
Even on occasions less solemn than these have vast
effects been produced by singing. Was it not an im-
pressive scene when, at the collegiate dinner-table at
Andover, in 1858, upon an unexpected communication'
being made of the successful laying of the totbgraphic
cable, a thousand gentlemen spontaneously rose and, in
the majestic sounds of " Qld Hundred," sang the fine
words of Bishop Ken ? —
"Pruu Ood, from whom all bletaings flow t"
And, on a smaller scale, intense must have been the
feeling among a number of converted sailors on board
the North Carolina in the revival of 1858-59. Ifaey were
speaking of the different countries in which they were
bom ; and it was found that they represented ten dif-
ferent nations, the last man having said that he was
33
874 mnoBNOi ov hymns on
born in OrMnlond. Unable to contain thstiiselTes longer,
one oommenoed, and the other* followed, in the hymn, —
\ •■ From QrMBlABd'i iojr inonnUiiu,"
whi6h waa aong with delightfhl eameatneaa.
Cburchm nf Scotland.— We have met with aome
beaatiftil incidents of singing in the Scottish ohorches.
They tue a metrical version of " 71^ Paahiu if David,"
adopted in 1660, and " ITu Poraphratea," which are Are*
renderings of Tarions parts of Scriptnre, adopted in the
present form in 1781. T^e tones in use are nearly all
the old and fkmiliar ones snng by the Beformers and the
persecnted Covenanters, and associated in the Scottish
mind with ao much that is tender and solemn in the
past «So averse," says Dr. Jameson, « ore the people
generally to innovations in these melodies, that when,
early in the present oentmy, a ftw tunes were intro-
daced in which one and another of the lines in a stansa
were song twice over, numbers of the old people reftised
to join in the praise, left the place of worship."
The Scottish children are taught to oommit to memory
many of the psalms and paraphrases. Eveiy one can
aing the Twenty-Third Psalm. On a dark Sabbath after-
noon, more than twenty years ago, the service in the
Bev. Dr. Gordon's ohnrch, in Edinburgh, was drawing .
to a dose at near fbur o'clock, and the gas had been
lighted ; but, by some accident, the light had become very
fteUe. The mtnbter could not see to read the hyom.
rWUOVAh AND SOOIAIi HAPPINKBS. 875
with which he had intended to close and simpljr said, "Let
as sing the Twenty-Third Psalm." The whole congrega-
tion, old and young, a thousand voices, united, amid the
flickering lights, in that beautiful composition.
An Imprkssive Sokne. — It will scarcely be believed in
coming generations that many Christians in the United
States, in the middle of the nineteenth century, trans-
ferred much of the public singing of the praises of God
Ja their houses of worship to choirs, while the members
of churches sat quietly in their pews, or, as a good old
' man in Boston expressed it, thanking God that they
could hear singing, though public opinion prohibited
their joining in it. Some few congregations in large
cities went even beyond this, and, at an expense which
exceeded the combined average salary of four pastors,
employed/our persons in their singing-gallery — generally
performers at the opera-houses — to praise God for them.
We attended, in 1855, the dedication of a house of
worship in one of our largest cities, when one of these
" Quartet^' entered on their so-called duties. A pro-
gramme had been published, and the flrsi hymn was
duly "performed in fine style;" but, most unfortunately,
the excellent preacher required tlut the second hymn
should be laid aside and that an old favorite of his
shonld be substituted, beginning, —
" There is > fountein filled with blood."
The " Quartet" got through the first verse very grace-
ftilly ; but, when the second was begun, —
870 INFLCKNCI or UTMN8 ON
" The ilying Ihief r<|}aioe<l to m«
That fountain in bit day,"
a Toico was board here nnd there in the congrogntion
"spoiling tho'muaio" by Joining in the singing; and,
when the third line commenced, all bounds were broken,
and, in a voice "like many waters," the vast mass of
people, rising iVom their scats, burst forth, —
" Ob, may I there, though rile at he,
Waah all my tina away !"
No language can describe the scone or the feelings which
it inspired. Some scientific gentlemen spoke of it as the
grandest thing they had ever witnessed..
A 'RftA.i Amendment. — The scene was a small prayer-
meeting of a rural village chtirch. Very few were pre-
sent; for it was a time of much coldness and great
apparent decline. But a few Christian hearts even there
had deep feeling. Their strong emotions and prayers
were nnconfessed to each other,but the object of their
worship had observed them all. The prayer-meeting was
going on as usual, though the pastor was absent and
his place was occupied by one of the deacons. This
worthy man was plain in hia^inanners, a true son of the
soil, with a bronzed countenance, hard hands, and wear-
ing his working-dress. But with all the earnestness of
his soul he had for months past been mourning in secret
over the desolation of the church. The h^nnn he se-
lected with which to commence the service was the one
often sung by our fathers : —
rataONAL AND BOCIAL HAPPIICKM. 877
, " Hoar, grfteioui SoTeretgn, from thy thron*, -
And send thy TKrioui bleuings down." <
Two or thi;ee veneB were sung to an old tune, tiU the
good deacon came to the last, which thus reads. The
reader will observe especially the last two lines : —
" Id anawer to onr ferrent criM,
OWc ui to IM thy church aril* ;
Or, if that bleiaing leem too graat,
Give ut to mourn it« low estate."
While reading this verse, the good man paused : it evi-
dently did. not exactly accord with the feelings of his
soul : it was not the expression of his prayer. Ue in-
dulged a moment's thought, — swifl and excellent: an
alteration suggested itself, — his eye sparkled with joy,—
and out it came : —
" In answer to oor ferrent cries,
OiTe ns to see thy church arise :
Tkat blfring, iMri, it not too great,
Theufk now »i mourn iU U»e alale."
Every heart was arrested, and sudden emotion so over-
powered all in the little assembly that they could scarcely
sing the words ; but each in silence gave to the sentiment
his own earnest amen. They happily proved it to be
tme. From that evening a revival began : the church
arose fh>m its slumber to new ihith and works; and
very soon the windows of heaven were opened and a
plenitude of blessings was showered down, which con-
tinned for several years.
32»
/
H78 nrtuKNCB or hvmni'On
HiBccLLANEOi'B FacT8. — An agcd ulerg}'mun in Umm-
chusctts v,'a», some year§ srncc, prcttohiiig from the text,
" I Bp«ak as to wiuo men : judge ye what I any," (1 Cor.
X. 15,) when, having advanced an far as " thirdly," he
obiiervcd that many of his hearers, overcome by the
heat of the day, had fallen asleep. Stopping in his dis-
course and wiping the perspiration from his forehead,
he exclaimed, " My <Hends, as the day is oppressively
hot, I will stop a while and request the choir to sing the
tune • Coronation' to the words, — '
"My drowi; powen, why ileep 7« mT'"
The effect was electrical, bringing the audience to their
feet. They sang the hymn : sleep was entirely driven
away, and the preacher resumed his discourse at
"thirdly."
A TKRT trivial affair led to the dismission of a clergy-
man. At one of the meetings of the congregation the
pastor read the hymn, —
" I love to atml a while awt;,"
and the chorister commenced singing, but, forgetting
the taoe, could proceed no further than " I love to steal,"
which he did several times, — when the clergyman, some-
what smilingly, relieved him from the dilemma by say-
ingi "It is very much to be regretted," and adding,
" Let as pray."
';i
'■:-t.'.^
nUMONAL AUl> HOOIAL HAPPlMXaa. 879
It ia said that ia 1785 th« veitry of Christ Chuah,
PbiliiddpLia, gravely det«n<iined "that the clerks be
required to siog such tunes only as are plain and familiar
to the congregation, and that the singing of other tunes,
and the iVequent changing of tunes, are deemed dis-
agreeable and inconvenient."
' It may at least excite a harmless smile to be told
that a good old lady, a member of Dr. Jolin Oill's church
in London, onco waited on her venerable pastor to
oomphiin abou^ " the new-fangled notions" which had
got among the congregation about singing. The good
doctor was anxious, if posHible, to calm her agitated
spir^, — which he found was no easy matter. At length
he aaked her what tunes she would wish to have sung,
and the venerable lady repli^, with avidity, " I want Da-
vid's tunes sung, sir." " So do I," said the worthy pastor,
"but most unfortunately they have been lost; but I will
give you my promise that, as soon as they can be found
again, we will sing David's tunes and no others." The
good lady, it is said, went away considerably relieved by
her pastor's promise.
A PRITATK CiBcuc — Charles Botler, in his very, io^
tdresting letter on ancient and modern music, intrtnlnces
the following anecdote, relating to Mara, an Italian
vocalist: —
" Once, in a private society, in consequence of some-
thing that fell in conversation, she sang, without any
•coompaniment, the simple air, in Marcello's Psalms, 'In
t -^•5^,■W-^*^•rfT:;..■:|^l.;.-J^^•T.^7J^%^■_,<■;^ ?--*'>1pJS -^ i^^?/?f^.^'i*^",^-^.^
880 nfrLDKNoi or btmnh on
my diatroM I called upon Jehorah, and he did hoar me,'
with BDch exquisite taate and pathos that she entranced
every hearer. To our infinite gratification, she repeated
it half a doien times, and every time more beautifully and
impressively than before. A person, observing that there
was a violoncello in the room, requested that she would
permit the late Mr. Pazton, who was present, to accom-
pany her. This was done. It was fine, — very fine; but the
charm was lost. This little circumstance," says Butler,
"may be thought to strengthen Koussoan's hypothesis,—
'that harmony is unnatural, and rather weakens than in-
creases the effect of simple melody.' Mara was particularly
distinguished by the manner in which she sung, ' I know
that, my Redeemer liveth.' It was beyOnd singing: it
was eloquence. She opened it with great solemnity;
hope was discernible, — ^but it was only the dawn of hope.
As she proceeded, it brightened and expanded; but
when she came to the last repetition of the sentence, the
firm and animated confidence with which she uttered
the words ' I know,' and the jubilation of soul with which
she pronounced the words 'and in my flesh I shall see
God,' no language can adequately tell. The audience
thought not of the air, or of the band, or even of the
singer : they only felt the sentiment; and they felt it in
all ita sublimity." ,
A Vast Ckowd. — Few events in English history will
ever be invested with a more touching interest than the
(kct that at the inauguration of a beautiful park and
rtMaOKAL AND SOCIAL BAPPINMB. 881
pnblio hall Becnred for tbe use of the working-classes of
BlnniDghain,iii the year \Bb8,forti/-8even tliouaand Sunday-
tchool children sang a hymn in the presence of her majesty
Queen Victoria. The account given by a public reporter
may be read with more than common pleasure. We give a
short extract : — " Each section had its musical conductor,
armed with a long white wand by way of baton, and
■assisted by a drummer and two comets, — the first to give
the little singers the signal to begin, and the latter to
play over the simple music of this wonderftit child-con-
cert. An her majesty passed, they sang, in n low, gentle
manner, — almost seraphic, — a hymn, which moved the
royal lady and thousands of others even to tears."
Ammivxesast at Andotxb. — Perhaps one of the most
interesting and touching incidents connected with the
history of singing occurred, at the separation ftoxa each
ipthor of thirty students, at the Andover Theological
Seminary in 1882. A question was proposed by a single
finely-toned voice from the orchestra, and a response
was made iVom the stage on which the graduated class
stood, — first by the Foreign Missionaries, then by the
Domestic Missionaries, and finally by the HorM Preachers:
then followed the chorus fVom the whole. The reader
will be gratified to have the whole hymn before him: —
Question. — " And I heard the voice of the Lord, say-
ing. Whom shall I send, and who will go for as?" —
Isa.vi. 8.
882 INrtOKIfOB or HTMNV ON
FoEUaif MlUIONABIU.
From dur N«w Englind't bsppy abort,
Wher* all our kindred dwell,
We (o,— on pagani light to pouf:
Our nMW« land, farewell I
Quetlion. — "And I heard the voice of the Lord, Mjing,
Whom shftU I send, nnd who will go for ua 7"
.POMKSTIO MiMIONABUU.
' We go where leldom on the ear <
Salvatioa'a Udingi iwell :
We go to dry the moumer'f tear;
Our pleaaant home, fkrewell.
QuatioH. — "And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying.
Whom shall I send, and who will go for us V
HoMi PaKAOHxas.
Where all our earthly Mendehipa blend,
or Jeena' love we'll tell.
And in the work our Uvea will ipend: >
Brethren, a abort farewell.
CHonu.
From all theie eherUbed icenee we go,—
'- The home of praiae and prayer, —
To meet earth'i gladneat or eanh'a woe.
And many a toil to bear.
Farewell, ye fHendf who fhared onr joy,
Te in whoae hearts we dwell : ,
A noble work ehall now employ .
Our energiea. Farewell t
, rSMOMAL AND MOCIAL UAlPriNUa. 888
Bratlmn, we pr«n the parting hand :
Our longi of parting tell :
Then, till we reach heaven'* holy land,
A iweet but brief farewell)
The whole presented an extraordinary scene.
The audience felt that it was not a mere show, — not
an exhibition of musical skill. The tones in which the
hymn was sUng were those of deep emotion ; and many
hearts were melted os these young servants of Christ-
poured forth their impassioned farowell,-HK>mo of them
to the scene of their sacred studies, others to the pleasant
hills and valleys and churches of New England, and
others to all the endearments of their native land.
Tbk Uissionabt'b Landinq. — ^Deeply do we sympa-
thise with an honored missionary who writes a narra-
tive now before us of his first arrival, with fifteen other
missionaries and their wivee> on a foreign shore, where
the best years of his life were devoted to labors for the
conversion of the heathen; and most heartily do we pity
the reader who can suppose that singing such a hymn
under such circumstances produced no happy or lasting
effect, or who can even read the fact without emotion.
Our friend says, —
" To prepare for landing was all our care. Soon we
were delighted to see some of the ' Mission Family,' aa
we found the whole of the Baptist missionary brother-
hood wore termed. But our first tidings were sad. One
dear brother had just been laid in his grave. To some
^v ;:.*.■:*
S64 ' mrLUKNOK or htmnb on
of us how appropriate a memento was tbbl In little
more than half a year (uw of our affectionate party were
also in their graves.
" We landed, singing Addison's h3rmn, —
* How ar* thy Mrrtntj bleat, O I<ord,'
every word of which went to our hearts and seemed
ftoxa thence to arise to God. With many tears that
hymn was sung ; and well did the last verse bring us to
the shore :-—
■Oar life, whilil thoa prescrr'it that life.
Thy saorifloe shall be,
And death, when death ihall bo our lot,
Shall join our Boula to thee.'
" With most hearty greetings were we welcomed to
that shore. Every one present seemed to vJe with every
other in expressing. gladness and gratitude and praise
to OUT God. What eagerness was there to get one grasp
of the hand and to spealc or to hear but one word with
the < n«io moMat' and the ' n«to ladies 'I "
Such is the account given by the Bev. P. H. Comford,
an English Baptist missionary, of the landing of him-
self and a missionary party on the island of Jamaica
in JanoAry, 1841.
From another sooroe we learn that the missionaries
and their fricQds did not monopolize the whole of the
singing. Hr. Hinton tells as, " As soon as their voices
had ceased, their AiHcan brethren and sisters struck np
■ -' A
ntmoxsL AMD ttuciAL iiArriNKss. 88ft
a rcupoDHO, singing s t^w vontcit of aflectionato welcome
Mrhic'h hud boon written tor the oc-CKsion."
OrricEBs oi th* Bbitmb Navy.— That singing the
liigh praises of God has sometimos a salutary influonoe
on uncoHverte<l men was clearly proved during the War
of 1812, in the case of the lute eminently worthy Deacon
Epa Norris, who lived and died in the Northern Neck, —
the peninsula formed by the C'hesai>eako Bay and the
Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers in Virginia. During
the war between the United States and Gret^ Britain,
this excellent mun was taken prisoner, harried on board,
and required to give information as to the strength and
position of the American forces. He told his inqoirera
that he did not read the papers and had very little
knowledge of national affairs, but that if ho had the
knowledge they desired he would suffer death before he
would commnnicat« it to them. By degrees the officers
became convinced that he Was an honest and unsophisti-
cated man, atad admired bis patriotism and heroic firm-
ness. The commandant of the ship gave a dinner to the
officers of the fleet, and did Mr. Norris the honor to
select him from the American prisoners of war to be a
guest. The deacon, in his homespun attire, took his seat
at the table with the aristocracy of the British navy.
The company sat long at the feast: they drank toaata,
told stories, laughed and sang songs. At length Mr.
Norris was called on for a song. He desired to excuse
himself, but in vain : he must sing. He possossod a fine,
n
MH/
880 iNrLVENCE or iiymnh on
•irong, inuBical voico, which had been improved by sing-
ing simplo And plain tunes. In on appropriate and
beautiful air, ho commenced singing the JiTincty-Second
Psalm of Watts :—
" Sweet is the vork, my Ood, my King,
To pnise th^ name, gire thank*, and siog." ,
Thoughts of home and of his lost religious privileges,
and of bis captivity, imparted an unusual patlios und
power to his singing. One stanza of the excellent psalm
must have jsecmed peculiarly pertinent to the occasion : —
^ "Fools aeTer raise their thoughts so Itigb :
Like brutes they live, like brutes they die;
, Like grSKi they flourish, till thy breath
Blast them in eTerlasting death." '
. When tho singing ceased, a solemn silence ensued. At
length the comniundutit broke it by saying, "Mr. Nurris,
you are a good man, und shall return immediately to
your family." The commodore kept his word; for in a few
days Mr. Xbrris was sent ashore in a barge, with a hand-
tome present uf suit, — rthen more valuable in the country
than gold.
Nkw York Merchants. — Xot long since, a newsboy
in New York waa heard crying, " ' Bank-Note Reporter,' ■'
•ir? Thre« more banks down!" The little fellow hud
not known half a score years, but his eyes were bright,-
his tongue fluent, and his manners attractive. Stepping g^'
intp • counting-house, with his bundle of papers under
PEBSONAL AND SOCIAL IIAPPINK88. 887
his arm, he saw two gentlemen sitting in front of a Arc,
engaged in trifling conversation, and proposed to one of
them his inquiry, " Bank-Note Eeporter, sir?"
" So," replied one of the gentlemen : " we don't want
any. fiut stop ! if you will sing us a song we will buy
one of your Reporters."
The boy agreed to the terms, and (he gentlemen, with
'an air which showed that they anticipated 8])ort, placed
the little fellow on a high stool and told him to proceed to
sing. They evidently expected to hear sonic jovial song,
—when, to their astonishment, he begun the beautiful
hymn,—
"I think, when I read that sweet Rlory of old, >
When Jesui was here among nien.
How he called little children the lambs of hig Told,
I should like to have been wiih tliem then."
The effect upon his listeners was at once perceptible,
and before he had sung through the four verses they
wore both in tears. When he had finished, one of the
gentlemen inquired, " Where did you learn that hymn ?"
"At Sabbath-school," replied the boy.
The reader will, of course, expect to hear that the
gentlemen purchased the " Reporter " and will not bo
sorry to learn that, in addition to this, they presented
him with a sum of money^and after they had obtained
his name and iririit1riiiri\(TOiynllii 1 him to go on his
way. Is there nothing wraove and improve the heart
even in the singing of a child f
■'"• ;";*^/?:'''-3
S88 I.NrLb'GNCE or HYM.N8 ON
3ii8CKi.LANX0UB. — Two ot' our modern po«t8 have made
an admirable use of tjie story of Damocles, as told by
Cicero. Damocles was one of the flatterers of Dionysias,
the monarch of Sicily, who died three hundred and sixty-
eight years before the Christian era. He admired the
wealth and grandeur of that sovereign and pronounced
him the happiest man on earth. Dionysius, wishing to
con-ect his views, prevailed on him to undertake for a
time the charge and the duties of royalty. Damocles
consented; and, having ascended the throne, he gazed
with delight on the splendor and luxury by which he was
surrounded. But be soon perceived a sword suspended
by a horse-hair directly over his head. This spoiled all
his enjoyment; and ho speedily begged permission to
relinquish so dangerous a jwsition.
The Bev. Joseph Stennett, in his paraphrase of Proverb*
xiv. 9, thus alludes to the fact : —
" Who Uughs at sin Uughi at his Maker's fWiwns,
Laughs at tkt nrord of tmgeanee o'er kit head." '
And Charles Wesley, in one of his hymns, says, —
*' Show me the. oaked sword
Impending o'er my head."
The celebrated William Byrd, the author of "Non nobis
Domine," gave the following very forcible reasons for
learning to sing, in a scarce work published in 1598,
entitled " Ptalm», Sonnets, and Songs of Sadness and
Pietie.
/
pkhsomal and ttocuL iiappinebs. 389
"Firat, It ia a knowledge eoxiliu tauglit and quicklj
learned, when there w a good ma«tor and an apt
scholar.
"Secondly, The exercise of singing is delightful to
nature and good~to preserve the health oil man.
" Thirdly, It doth strengthen S^\ parts of the heart, and
doth open the pipes.
»
"Fourthly, It is a lingular good rcmedie for a stuttering
and stammering in the speech.
" Fifthly, It is the best means to preserve a perfect pro-
nunciation and to make a go<)d orator.
"Sixthly, It is the only way to know when Nature hath
bestowed a good voice,-^which gift is so rare that there
is not one amongst a thousand that hath it; and in many
that excellent gift is lost because they want an art to ex-
press nature.
"I^venthly, There is not any music of instruments
whatsoever comparable to that which is made of men's
voices when the voices are good and the same well
sorted and ordered.
" Eighthly, The better the voice is, the raeeter it is to
honor and serve God therewith ; and the voice of man is
chiefly to be employed to that end."
/
:. .,» , . . ,'.... „*t.a
FIRST LINES OF HYMNS REFERRED TO IN THIS VOLUME.
Afliction is a Hlormy drrp 117
Again we lift our voice 286
Ah! loTely •ppeannce of <l«atli 846
AU h«U th« power of Jeiiu'iiame 210, 221, 222, 224
All people that on earth do dwell 66, 248
Alone, yet not alone, am I 831, 882
Am I • soldier of the cross i268
And are yo wretches yet alive 68
And will the great eternal God 188
As I glad bid adieu to the world's fancied pleasure 817
Asleep in Jesns! blessed sleep 190
Awake, and sing the song 168
Awaked by Sinai's awfbl sound 218
Awake, my soul, injoyftil lays... 194
Awake, my soul, to meet the day 189
Before JehoTsh's awfUI throne 62, 871
Behold a stranger at the door 161
Behold the glories of the Lamb 268
Behold the Saviour of mankind 289
Behold the western evening light , , 217
Behold wherein amortal form 146
Beyond the glittering, starry sky „ 261
Blessed are the sons of Qod 174
Blessed Saviour, thee I love 142
Bleat be the tie that binds m 147
Blest hour, when mortal man retires 228
By faith we find the pinoe above :.... 277
3»l
392 rift8T UNEii or UrMNH.
C«Me here longer todeUinme 108
Children of Ood, who faint ud dow ,.... 95
Children of the he«Tenly King. 112
Chriit letda me throagh no darker rooms 82
Chrietiani, if your hearts are warm 187
Come, dearest Lord, and feed thy sheep .. 198
Come, Desire of nations, oome 271
Come, Father, Son, and Holy Qhost. 278
Ci^ gracious Spirit, heaTeniy Dore 98
Come, Holy Spirit, heaTeniy Dove , 858
Coihe, humble sinner, in whose breast. 176
Come, let onr Toioes Join „. ., 102
Come, let us join onr Arieods abore..... 284
Come, Omysonl, injoyfillays 91
Come, thon all-Tiotorions Lord 282 .<
Come, thou Almighty King , 861
Come, thou Fount of erery blessing ......' 229
Come, thou soul-transforming Spirit 176
Come, ye disconsolate, where'er ye languish.. '. 208
Come, ye souls by sin afflicted 244
Creator Spirit, by whose aid 118, 141
Dear Friend of friendless sinners, hear 172
Dear is the hallowed mom to me 128
Depth of merey ! ean there be 802
Far firom the worl^ Lord, I flee 121
Father of spirits, hear our prayer 94
Flow fast, my tears, thy cause is gTeat....v 286
From dear New England's happy shore „ 882
From STery earthly pleasure 181
From Oreenlaod's icy mountidns 107, 874
From heaven alomd the angelie song began ...._ 286
From whence does this'nnion arise 78
Qiveme the enlarged desire 276
Qive me th^ Wings of faith, to rise 204
Olve to the winds tby fears .160
Olory to Qod, whose sovereign grnce 278
nB8T LINKS UF HYMNS. 393
nam
Ood and the Skviour's grace proclaim 204
Qod is io thii and erery place 285
Ood moves in a myatcrious way , 119
Qod of my life, and of my choice 86
Oo, preach the bleat aaWation 144
Qo to the grare in all thy gloriooa prime 202
Oreat Qod, in rain man's narrow view 186
Qreat Qod of all thy chnrches, hear 184
Qreat Qod of heaven and nature, rise 188
Oreat Qod of wonders, all thy ways ISO
Qreat Qod, the nations of the earth 268
Qreat King of glory, come 162
Oaide me, O thou Qreat Jehovah 294
Hail, Father, whose creating call 290
Hail, Qod the Son, in glory crowned 290
Hail, mighty Jesus, how divine 262
Hail, sovereign love, which first began 90
Hail, sweetest, dearest tie that binds 241
Hail, thou once-despised Jeaus 77
Hark, in the wilderness a cry...... 286
Hark, the Eternal rends the i<ky 367
Hark, the voice of love and mercy 146
Have mercy on me. Lord, I pray < 849
Hear, graciooa Sovereign, from thy throne j877
Hearken to the solemii voice 280
Hear, Lord, the song of praise and prayer 126
He dies, the Friend of sinners dies 68
He lives who lives to Qod alone 128
Holy and reverend is the name 206
Holy be this as was the place 246
How are thy servants blest, O Lord 884
How blest thy creature is, O Qod 120
How fine has the day been, how bright was the sun 266'
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord 180
How happy is the pilgrim's lot .' 288
How pleasant 'tis to see 886
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds 86
394 riBST UNE8 or hymns.
(
MM .
How tun are all things here below a , 201. >
How weak the thoughts, and vain 272
If e'er you meet with trials „ 820
If human kindneti meets return 210
If I must die, oh, let me die 88
If life's pleasures charm thee 188
I lore thy church, Qod 148
I loTe to steal a while away 67, 878
In all my Lord's appointed ways »... 282
Infinite O'od, to- thee we raise , 141,287
Id the orosa of Christ I glory , 06 (. >
In the floods of tribulation 218
I think, when I read that sweet story of old > 887
It is the I<OTd, enthroned In light 161
I would not lire alway, I ask not to suy 62, 204
Jerululem, my happy home , 182, 188
Jesus, and shall it eter be ^ •• ^7, 161
Jesus can make a dying bed 825
Jesus, fW>m thy heaTcnly place >.., 288 ^
Jesus, ftall of all oompassion ., 261
Jesus, I loTe thy charming name 80, 186
Jesus, I my cross hare taken 190
Jesus, in sickness and in pain 164
Jesus, loTer of my soul 821, 824
Jesus, my all, toheaTen is gone „ 112
Jesus, the Tery thought of thee 80
Jesus, thou art the sinner's fHend , „ .....;..... 100 .
Jesus, thy blood and righteousness r. , HI
Jesus, we lift our souls to thee ; > 342
Just as I am, without one plea 144
Learn we now that wondrous strain , 200
Let erery heart r^oioe and sing 266
Let others boast their ancient line 127 <
Let the Most Blessed be my guid« .,„. 104
Let the old heathen tune their songs 821
Let us awake our joys 184 «
rmsT UNE8 or iiymxs. 395
TAOK
Let Zion'a watchmen all awake 187
Long liaTe I seemed to aerre thee, Lord tlKi
Lo, he comcB, with clouds descending 214, 215
Lor<l, dismiss us with thy blessing '. .-. 104
Lord, lead the way the Saviour went 127
Lord of the Sabbath, hear our Towi , 135
Lord, teach a little child to pray 2:i3
Lord, we are blind, we mortals blind , 840
Lord, we come before thee now 108
Loring Shepherd, kind and true 74
Mercy, good Lord, mercy I ask ., 194
Mid scenes of confusion and creature complaints...... ,.— 18]
Mighty God, while angels bless thee ;... 229, 281, 88'.)
Mortals, awake, with angels join , 104
My drowsy powers, why sleep ye so 878
My faith lojks up to thee 217
My Ood, I thank thee: may no thought 211
My Ood, thy service well demands l^iy
My gracious Redeemer I love ISfl
My Sabbath suns may all hare set Iflv
My thoughts on awfkil subjects roll 884
No longer I follow a sound , 124
No room for mirth or trifling here„ 811
Not all the blood of beasts .'. 818, 826
Not worlds on worlds in phalanx deep ing
Now begin the heavenly theme 186
Now from the altar of our hearts 103
Now let our mourning hearts revive 187
Now that thcf sun is gleaming bright 27
O'er the gloomy hills of darkness 294
O'er the realms of pagan darkness 116
on have we passed the guilty night. 280
Oh for a closer walk with God , 119
Oh for a thousand tonguei to ting 282
Oh for the happy hour 90
holy, h^yr, holy Lord , 144
,'^
300 riB8T LINEii or UYM.\8.
OGodof JMob, bjr whoM h>nd». 186
O head no tall of bruise* , 87
Oh, whu b*th Jetuiboaght for me „.... 884
O Lord, thy hMvenly grace impart 211
O loTe divine, how sweet thou art 84A
Oh, most delightful hour by man..... 123
Oh, tell me no more of this world's vain stprc -..^ 16fi
On that great, that awftil day .0^. Ill
Our country's Toice is pleading > 7(1
O thou from whom all goodness ftows 166
thou, my soul, forget no tuotjt 21tt
O Zion, afflicted with wave upon ware 160
Paschal Lamb, by God appointed , 77
Peace, my soul, thou needst not fear 888
Praise God, (him whom all blessings flow, 170, 878
Prepare us, gracious God 146
Remember thee, remember Christ 264
Return, wanderer, return , 115
Rock of ages, cleft for me 2^8, 260
Savior, breathe an evening blessing 841
See how great a flame aspires 282
See the leaves around us falling 174
Servant of God, well done 201
Shepherd of Israel, bend thine ear 187
Show pity. Lord, Lord, fbrgive 807
Shrinking ftrom the cold hand of deati 286
Since all the varying scenes of time 171
Sinners, will you scorn the message 76
Sleep safe, wave-worn mariner 296
Softly fades the twilight ray 287
Source of light and power divine 286
Spirit, leave thy bouse of clay 900
Stand, the omnipotent decree...^ 276
Stand up, stand up for Jesus .....> i 142
Stop, poor sinner, stop and think .'.' „.«..>.. Ml
Sweet as the shepherd's tunenil reed 286
riBST UNR8 or HYMNB. 807
r*M
Sweat U the work, my Qod, my King , 88*1
Sweet the momenta, rioh in blening > 81
Tell me not, in mournful nnmben , 188
ThatcUy of wrath, that dreadful day 110
The fabric of nature ii fair ~ 218
Theflowen of fifty lummera gone .' 201
The Qod of Abraham praise 214
The great archangel's trump (hall sound 286
The Lord of Sabbath let us praise 290
The morning flowers display their sweets 290
There is a Fountain filled with blood 824
There is a happy land 814
There is a land of pure delight 2U2
There is an hour of hallowed peace 245
There is a region loTelier far i60
The sorrows of the mind 819
The Toice of flree grace cries. Escape to llie mountain 824
The waters of Bethesda's pool ^ ......;.., 80
They pass ref^shed the thirsty rale 19S
Thou art the Way, to thee alone 184
Though all the world my choice deride i 247
Thou Ood of glorious miyesty GO, 274
Thou God of loTe, thou ever-blest..... , 860
Thou hidden loTe of Ood, whose height 247,' 287
Thou, O my Josus, thou didst me 297
'Tis midnight, and on Olive's brow 246
, To ^esus, the crown of my hope 126
To thee, thon high and lofty One 216
Vital spark of heavenly flame 2Uu, 22G
Wake, Islee of the South, your redemption is near 246
We come to the Fountain, we stand ly the wave 91
Well, the Redeemer's gone 889
When Abraham's servant, to procure , 288
When, as returns this solemn day 79
When gathering clouds around I view 1C8
When Jesus dwelt in mortal clay 157
.34 «,
808 FIRST UNE8 OF IIYMN8.
Wbcn Jordan hnshed hii wntert itill » 107.
When, marshalled on the nightly plain i , 201, 820
When on my lick-bed I languish ■ 226
When thou, m;x righteous Judge, sbalt come 848
When torn is the bosom by sorrow or care 180
Where high the hearenly temple stands.< 187
Where two or three together meet 182
While on the Terge of life I stand 140
Why dost thou, tyrant, boast thyself 849, 360
Why do we mourn departing fHends » 869
Woe to the men on earth who dwell 277
Worship, and thanks, and blessing 280, 282
Would you win a soul to God 168
Te dying eons of men 02
Yes, my natire land, 1 Ioto thee....„ 287, 822
J^
7K'-' ::■'
\ '
INDEX.
AcTRCss, an English, 302.
Adams, Kev. John : anecdote of, 350.
Adams, Sarah F. : hymns and other writings by, 73.
Addison, Joseph : slcetch of his life, worlis, and hymns, 78 ; death
and character, 74.
Alien, Rer. James : hymn by, early life, persecution, 7G.
Alterations of hymns censured, 67 ; sometimes valuable, 62.
Amendment, a real, 870.
Ancient hymns the oonsenraliTes of truth, 29.
Ancient Lyre, order for, 60.
Anderson, Mrs. 0. W, : sketch of and hymns by, 70.
Angelus, Christopher : origin, studies, and hymn, 74.
Anniversary at Andovcr, 881.
Anthems, facts about, 804.
Augustine : influence of singing on his heart, 26.
Bacoh, Bev. L., D.D. : character of his hymns, sketch of his life, and
remarkable escape of, 70.
Bakewell, Rev. John : hymn by, sketch of, and his long life, 77.
Baldwin, Bev. T., D.D. : union hymn by, life and character of, 78.
Baptist General Assembly of 1602: their counsel on singing, 82.
Uarbauld, Anna L. : connected with the Knglish Unitarians, decease,
early instructed by Doddridge, 79.
Barton^ Bernard: early bereavement of, Character of his poetry,
extract fh>m one of hlHatters, 70.
Batty, Kev. Christopher : byX by, his great disinterestedness, con-
nection with the WpKleys, 81.
S89 .
A
' >IC(0 IN0EX.
Baxter, ReT. Richard : his delight in singing, 88 ; Toluminputnen of
his writings, hymns by, chamcler as a poet, 82.
' Bcddnme, Rer. Bei^jamin: sketch of his life, invited to London,
attachment to Bourtoo, 83; his marriage, 84; sickness and
death commended by Robert Hall, 85.
Beecher, ReT. Charles: family of, character of hU publications, 86.
Beecher, Rer. H. W. : extract from, on the character and influence
of hymns, 19.
--Bellamy, Rer. Dr., on singing, 4S.
Bernard, St. : his Latin hymn, translation of its parts, 86.
Berridge, ReT. John, his singular charaeteristics, 87; his extraor-
dinary seal and success, 88 : anecdotes relating to, 89 ; his
prospect in death, 90.
Bethune, Rot. U. W., D.D. : his reproof of a hymn-"t'm/>rov«r," 60;
pleasant origin of one of his hymns, 90 ; hymns on baptism,
his entrance on the ministry, 91.
Beia, Theodore : bis encouragement of singing, 33.
Billing, W., on the dnty of singing, 89; his N. England Psalm-Singer,
48.
' BlaeUock, Rot. Thomas, D.D. : born in Scotland, early blindness, 01 ;
marriage, habits of composition, 92 ; testimonies of Spencer
and E. Burke, 92.
Boden, ReT. James : his birth, early residence, 92 ; entrance on the
ministry, his happy decease, 93.
Bonar, Rot. Horatius, D.D. : a native of Scotland, his fkmily con-
nections, 98.
Bond, Rot. T. E., M.D. : short popular hymn by, 94 ; sketch of his
life and character, testimony of an intimate friend, 94. ' '
Boston congregations, 857.
Boston, singing at, 41.
Bowdler, John : his early character and decease, 95.
Bowring, John, LL.D. : remarkable for bis attainments, connected
with the Unitarians, 96.
Bradbum, ReT. Samuel, 837.
Braintree, council at in 1723, 40; singing at, 41.
Bremer, Frederika : a foreigner, character of her hymns, 00.
Brewer, Rer. Jehoiada: character of his hymns, sketch as a theo-
logian, 06.
Broaddus, ReT. Dr., 840.
INUXX. 401
BromiSeld, &dw., Jr. : builder of the first orgttn in Boston, 41.
Brother, the, ind sister, 883.
Brown, Rev. John N., D.D. : attsched to the Baptists, decline of hU
liealth, deTotedness to literature, 07. <
Brown, Mrs. Pbuebe 11. : her religious cbaravter misapprehended, 97 ;
her defence, her hymn first printed, niiusion of her sou, U8.
Browne, Rev. Simon: origin of bis miniatry, singular nialndjr, 08;
its origin, Toplady's opinion of him, 09; Ur. Walls's testi-
mony to, 100.
•Browning, Elisabeth Barrett : her first publication, Dr. Bethune's esti-
mate of her talents, 100 ; her early afilictions and recovery,
101.
Bryant, John II. : native of New England, removed to Illinois, his
mental character, 101.
Bryant, William C. ; birth and eilucation, engagements and ge-
nius, 102.
Budden, William : hymn by, 102.
Bunting, Rev. W. : his character, allainmenis and spirit of, lOiS.
Bnnyan, Rev. John : oharaotet as a hymn-writer, hymn by, 104.
Burder, Rev. George: hymn by, sketch of, 104; usefulness of, 106.
Burgess, Bishop : early studies of, consecrated bishop, works, 105.
Burke, Hon. E. : his testimony to Dr. Blacklook, 92.
Bumham, Rev. Richard : pastor of Baptist churches, his life a check-
ered one, 106.
Bums, Robert: destitute of piety, 100; peculiar talents, immo-
rality, 107.
.CALiroBNiA: tune so called, 61.
Calvin, John : his introduction of singing, 83.
Cambridge : psalms first printed at, 46.
Campbell, Thomas : origin, early work, 107 ; respect of AmericaM
for, decease, 108 ; anecdote of, 816.
Captive, the young and her father : 829.
Cawood, Rev. John: his education and works, 108.'
Cecil, Rev. Richard : beautifkil hymn by, 108 ; his history and cha-
racter, 109. ''
Celano, Thomas Von : his celebrated Latin hymn, versions of, 109 ;
extraordinary effects of, opinions of by Scott, Johnson, and
others, 110; curiouH fnol » of, 1 1 1 .'"
102 IRDU.
CMniek, R«T. John; fsTorite hymn by, diipiite mIo iU aulbor, 111 ;
aneodote of, other hymnH bjr Cennick, 112. ;
ChUting: Dr. WhitUker on its usefuIneH, 68.
Chapin, ReT. E. II., U.D. : hid birth, 112; charges and publica-
tions, 113.
Chwlamagne: hii authonhip,of Vent Crmtor, dispute respecting,
cbaraoter of, 118.
ChUd, a sick, 822.
Ohimney-Sweeper, a, 819. .n
China, 868.
Choir: (Ully established at Worcester, 42; reproved by • minis-
ter, 62, 68.
Chorister, a, administers reproof to a ministerv 62.
Christians : the early subjects of their singing, 24.
Churches In Scotland, 874.
Circle, a prirate, 879. ,
Clarke, BeT. Dr. A. : his dislike to instrumenlal music in worship, 60.
Clergyman, a Vermont, 821.
Clergymen in Qeorgia, 846.
Clergymen, thoughtless, 840.
Cobbin, ReT. Ingram : 1>irth and parentage of, failure of his health,
his devotedness to Christian litoratnre, 114.
Coincidence, 868.
Coleman, Dr. L. : his testimony as to the singing of the ancient
pagans, 28 ; of the early Christians, 24 ; Oermans, 34.
Collier, the historian, on church-music, C6. -s
Collegiate dinner at AndoTer, 873.
'Collyer, Rev. Dr. W. B. : his distinguished popularity, his numerous
hymns, 116; interrtew with Dr. Raffles, 226.
Common Prayer Book : its use as a text, 81.
Conder, Josiah: birth and education, extent of poetical and other
writings, 116; his testimony as to singing at the Reforma-
tion, 81.
Convrecational serrices, length of, 64.
Congregational singing, 870.
Cotterill, Rot. Thomas: fi'iend of James Montgomery, author of
MTeral hymns, 116; hisalteralion of Ihehymnsof others, 117.
Cotton, Nathaniel, H.D. : success among the insane, Cowper's esti-
.m*te of him, 117.
INDEX. 408
Cowper, William : tv\j history, his faTor{t« retidenoM itlU obJeoU
■ of attraction, 118; his beautiful hymns, "Light ihimnf out of
Varhwt," "Oh for a closer iralk with Ood," 110; Dr.
Southey's mistake respecting him, " How blest thy ereatuire
is, O God," 120 ; " Far Arom the world, Lord, X flee," 121 ;
Cowper's Irefleetion in church, 122 ; Cowper's share in the
•• OIneif Ifymiu," hU contribuUon to the ■• BilU of MortaUty,"
128 ; " No longer I follow a sound," 124 ; •• Hear, Lord, the
iong of praise and prayer," Andrew Fuller's testimony to
Cowper's piety, 126.
Coze, RcT. A. C, D.D., his high reputation, connected with the Epis-
copal Church, 126.
CrossweU, Rev. W.,,D.D. : author of several beautiful hymns, 120;
his death sudden and affecting, 127. ,
Crowd, a vast, 880.
Cruttendea, Bobert : an eminent Londoner in the eighteenth century,
an occasional preacher, 127 ; his conversion and happy dcatl^
128.
Cunningham, Rer. J. W. : eminent for sweetness of Christian spirit.
Head Master of Harrow School, 128.
Cutting, Rev. S. 8. : his life •marked by activity and usefkilness, yet
promises much good for the Church, 120.
Daoo, Rev. Dr. J. L. : interesting anecdote by, 840.
Dale, Rev. Thomas : his early history, eminent success in his literary
and poetical efforts, 120.
Dark ages : state of singing in the, 80.
David : his musical establishments, 22.
Davies, tlev. : President at Princeton, author of several excellent
hymns, his eminence as a preacher, 180.
Davies, Rev. Eliel: his Atther schoolmaster of John B. Qough,
" From every earthly pleasure," early decease, 181. .
Dawson, W. : his " Toutk^ Kntertammg AmutemenI," 40.
Dawson, W. : anecdotes of, 222, 345.
Day, Stephen : his book of psalms Itrst printed, 45,
Deacon in a difficulty, 847.
Denham, Rev. David : his early history, and places of ministry, 181.
Dickson, Rev. David : favorite hymn by, authorship disputed, 182 ;
affecting anecdote of its influence, 188.
404 INDEX.
\
Doane, Bishop : his early history, and worlts, 184.
Doddridge, Rev. Phiiip, D.D., 134; Dr. SUnghton's testimony, sac-
oessof bis hymns, his Tersatility, mode of composing, 186 ; Dr.
James Hamilton's beautiful tribute, 130 ; origin of the hymns
" Now let our mourning hearts reTire," " Let Zion's watchmen
all awake," " My Qod, thy service well demands," " Shepherd
of Israel, bend thine ear," 187, "And will the great eternal
' Qod," *' Oreat Ood of heaven and nature, rise," his talent for
satire, epigrams, 138; his early rising, and use of the hymn
" Awalce, my soul, to meet the day,'.' Terses for children, their
popularity and usefuliiess, 130 ; remarkable dream, 140.
Dryden, John : author of paraphrase of " Vent Crealpr Spirilut," also
of " Te Dtum Laudamut," 141.
DitfSeld, ReT. Qeorge, Jr.: <' Stand up! stand up for JesosI" its
solemn origin, his early history and Christian usefulness, 142.
Dwight, Rev. Timothy, D.D. : valuable character of his works, " Th*
Conqutit of Canaan," 143.
Dyer, Rev. Sidney : sketch of, and hymns by, 144.
Eastbvrnr, Rev. J. W. : valuable character of hymn by, 144.
Edmeston, James : sketch of, various works, 146.
Edward VI. : state of singing in his day, SO.
Edwards, Rev. Jonathan : his testimony on the character of the old
hymns, 82 ; his testimony on singing, 46 ; eigoined the duty, 65.
Eliot, John : his translation of the psalms, 46.
Elliott, Charlotte: eminent usefulness of hymn by, 144; sketch of
her life, 145.
Elliott, Rev. R. : author of well-known hymn, sketch of life, 146.
Emmons, Rev. Dr., 86^^
Enfield, Rev. William,^k<.D. : ministry and professorship in Eng-
land, his life andsermons published by Dr. Aikin, 146.
English clerks, 861.
Eusebius, his testimony as to the singing of the primitive Christians,
25.
Evans, Rev. Joiiathan: sketch of life and character, 146; bis dis-
tinguished and prolonged usefulness, 147.
Facts, miscellaneous, 378.
Family, a, in Louisinna, 832.
INUKX. , 405
Fanoh, ReT. Jamev: Joint •ullior of a bymu with Rev. Daniel
Turner, 261.
Fault found, 846.
FawOKtt, Uer. Jolin, D.D. : long and deTote<l ministry, hia earl/
hymns, "Bleat be the tie that binds," 147; its popularity,
14H ; " £uag on Anger," and anecdote oonoeming it, his fond-
ness for psalmody, 149; a closing scene, 160.
Fellowes, John : character of his writings, contemporary with Qill and
Toplady, 160; mistake corrected, 161.
Fletcher, Rer. John: testimony U> Rev. Thomas Oliver, 214; hia
faTorite hymn, Mr. Southey and Mr. Benson's high estiniat*
of bis character, 276.
Follen, Eliia Lee: hymns by, success of her writings, her bereaTe-
ment, 161.
Francis, Rev. Bei^amin : early usefulness, 161 ; ignorance of the
English language, his distinguished success, his piety, happy
decease, 162.
Furman, Rer. Ribhard, D.D. : his character and successful labors,
his influential position, 168.
Fumess, Rct. W. H., D.D. : hymns by, character of his writings ;
identified with numerous reform-morements, 163; fondness
for the fine arts, 164.
Qallaodit, Thomas H., LL.D.: interest in the deaf and dumb,
character of his mind and writings, 164.
Qambold, Rev. John: hymn by, 164; a favorite of Rowland Hill, hia
early history, his eminent piety as displayed in his writings,
testimony of Judge Story, 165.
Gerhard, Rev. Paul : popularity and character of his hymnsj a fa-
vorite Qerman poet, 166; his " Hymn to Christ," 87.
Germany : universal singing in, 84.
Gibbons, Rev. Thomas, D.D. : intimate witli Whitefleld and Dr. WaUs,
Dr. Cotton Hfither's testimony, 167.
Gilbert, Ann : her family connections, 167 ; character of her writings,
158. N
Qisborne, Rev. Thomas: his official position, high character and
popularity of his writings, 158.
Qlenelge, Lord: warm friend of missions, 158; elevation to th*
peerage, 169.
406 INDKX.
Qood, John MasoD, M.D. : hiii verastility, change of faith ; tribute of
Mr. AUibone, luU.
OqUM : his dcacriptton of singing at Plymouth Rock, 38.
Qoultl, Hannah F: her earljr history, derating character of her
poetry, 180.
Qraot, John: hia position and character, ada'^tation of secular
melodies, 100.
Greene, Thomaa: favorite byma by, 101.
Griffin, ReT. Dr. E. D., 838.
Grigg, Rev. Joseph : his early history, hymns by, 101.
Griswold, Dr. R. W. : testimony of to J. U. Bryant, 101.
Guion, Madame : sketch of by William Cowper, 101 ; her religious
Tiewf, 102; employment while in prison, happy submission
,to her lot, 103. „
Hall, Robert, 820, 830.
Hammond, Rer. Wm. : increasing usefulness of his compositions, 103 ;
his change of fpith, other works by, 104.
Hart, Rev. Joseph : his faithfulness through affliction, testimony of
Iter. Mr. Hughes, 104; funeral of, Dr. Samuel Johnson,
/ 106.
Hawes, Rct. Thomaa, LL.B., M.D. : expelled from Oxford Cniver-
sity, its consequence. Lady Huntingdon's chaplain, 106; his
writings, interest in missions, testimony of, and anecdote by.
Rot. John Newton, 100.
Heber, Bishop: his history and sudden death, "From Greenland's
icy mountains," its origin,' 107; alteration thereof, 1G8.
Herbert, ReT. George: his exemplary life, fondness for music, a
wayside incident, 109; his peaceful death, the forcible cha-
racter of his hymns, 170.
Herrey, Rct. G. W. : his remarks on John Wesley, CG.
Henrey, Rev. Janias: his charity, writings, appearance, and elo-
queqoe, 171 ; his estimate of himself, 172. '
Hill, QOTemor, 816. ^ '
Hill, Rev. Rowland: his lack of poetical talent, usefulness of his
hymns, 172 ; his delight in Sunday-schools, hymns revised by
Cowper, 173.
Home, Bishop: character of his hymns, 173; bin fondness for th*
Psalms, 174.
INDEX. 407
Hamphri«a, Rev. Joseph: icteral hymni by, 174.
H/mn, chtrtcter of •, 10.
Hymn, influence of • good, 21.
Hjrmn, origin of a, i!0.
Hjrmna, aiilhora of the early, 24.
Hymns, improper stltetstions in, 57.
Hymns of the old style, 862.
IDC, Rev. Q. B., D.D. : slcetch of life, hymns by, 174.
lastnunentAl masio in worship: John Wesley's dislike to, I)r. A.
Clarke's disapprotal of, 50.
Jat, Rot. William : hymns by, his prolonged and successful ministry,
his manner of preaching, 175.
Jerome : testimony to the early singing, 20.
Jesuits : their opposition to singing, 83 ; practised it in Braiil, 57.
Jewess, a dyin^, 817.
Jones, Rev. Edward: eminent piety of, 175; character of his
writings, 170.
Jndson, Rst. Adoniram: hymns by, 176; early hbstory of, 177;
hia derotion to Christian misaions, 177.
KbacbI Rer. B. : hia work on sin)(ing, 82.
Kelly, ReT. Thoma«: early history, 177; eloquence of, humility of, '
178; meeting wjfh Lord Plunket, happy death, 179.
Ken, Bishop: his hymns and Doxology, 170; his early history, in-
stances of Christian fortitude, 180 ; Montgomery's testimony,
181.
Kent, John: humble origin of, sketch of his life and death, 182.
Key/if rancis 8. : hymn by, scene at the communion-table, 188.
Kingsbury, Rer. William: two beautiful hymns by, his remarkable
eonTersioD, hU long pastorate, his connection with the London
Missionary Society, his peaceful death, 184.
Kippii, ReT. Andrew, D.D. : his early life, character of his writings,
186.
Kirkham, Rer. John: hymn by, beliered to have been a fellow-
student of the Wesleys and Whitefield, 180.
Klopstoek and his wife, 380. .
408 1H0BX.
Ladt, an aged, 322.'
Landfonl, Rot. Johu: iketoh of hii life, hii pielj, 186.
Lcaritt, Dr. Joshua : on linging in seaioni of reriTal, 67.
Laland, Rev. Jolin : origin of the hymn, " Chriatiani, if your heart*
are warm," 187.
Logan, ReT. John : sketeh of hi* life, 187 ; character of hia writing*,
188.
Longfellow, Henry W. : farorite hymns by, character of his poems,
188.
Lover, a taunting, 810.
Lutlier, Martin : his lore and pradtioe of singing, 84 ; assisted by
WaUher,8&.
Lutton, Ann : a oorres|>ondent of the " RevivlUl," her hymn adapted
to " Swtel Uomt," iU useftilness, 180.
Lyons, Mr. : his " Urania," 48.
Lyte, ReT. Henry Francis: author of a hymn attributed to wrong
authors, sketch of his life, character of his writings, 190.
Mam, Master: hU "Munc'i M<mummt," 87.
Maekay, Mn. : "Asleep ia Jesus, blessed sleep," 190; •neodote of
its origin, 191.
Madan, Rot. Martin : remarkable conTersion of, 191 ; sketch of his
life and writings, 192
Han, a young, 805.
Man, a young, In Virginia, 828.
Manly, Rer. Basil; Jr. : one of the editors of " JTu Baptist Pnlmotlf,"
character of his hymns, his laborious life, 198.
Marlowe, Mr. J. : his work on singing, 82.
Marot, Clement : his Tersion of the Psalms, 83.
Mason, ReT. John : number and character of his hymns, 193.
Mason, Dr. Lowell : his early literary history, 49 ; anecdote by, 248.
Mather, Dr. C, on the serTioes of the Pilgrim churches, 89; his
translation of the Psalms, 47.
Mate Pond, London : origin of the church in, 88,
Medley, Rot. Samuel : his early life and conTersion, his subsequent
suooeasfUl ministry, 194; bis hymns and other Writingf, 196.
MiUerite preacher reproTed, 62.
Milman, ReT. Henry H. : character of bis Tarioos writings, what
his hymns lack, 196.
#
INDEX. 409
Stilton, John: hit Tiew of DaTld'i lingers, 22; hymns bjr, their
besuty, 100; sketch of "hit manner of fife," 107.
Minister, a Tory, 842.
Minister : reproof giren by one to a chorister, 6Z
Miscellaneous, 888.
Miscellaneaus facts, 378.
Missionaries' landing, the, 888.
Montgomery, James : his testimony on the I)osology, 181 ; deToted
labors for the Christian press, its influenoe, 197 ; premature
report of liii death, soene at the Wesleyan Methodist Con-
ference at ShefBeld, 108 ; his regular contribution to the Sun-
day-school Jubilees, 109 ; his last hymn for a Sunday-school
Union, hymn written in York Castle, 200 ; his ideas and
manner of composition, "Berrantof Ood, well done!" 201 ;
"Oo to the grare in all thy glorious prime," occasion of their .
composition, 202.
Moody, Rot. S. : his reproof of his precentor, 4S.
Moore, Thomas : high character of his poeUo qualities, influence of
hi* early poems, sketch of his life, 208; his description of
Charles Wedey, 271.
More, Hannah : Her. John Newton's admiration of( 208.
Morell, ReT. Thomas : sereral Taluable hymns by, sketch of his Uf^
204.
Mother, an unhappy, 808.
Mother, a suffering, 819.
Muhlenberg, Rev. Wm. A., D.D. : fltTorite hymn by, its history, 204.
Moaie: Hot. Charles Wesley on the proper use of instrumental,
John Wesley and Dr. A. Clarke opposed to, 66.
Music, singular, 8S1. ,
■MiaDHAii, ReT. John : hymns by, sketch of his life, 20S.
Neighbors, quarrelsome, 886.
"Jfew England Courane' on the Braintree Council, 40.
Newton, ReT. James : high reputation and usef^ilness of, author of a
Tolame of original hymns, 206.
Newton, Rot. John : his early life and eouTersion, associated with
Cowper, 206 ; his style and manner of preaching, his popu-
larity, 207 ; his admiration of Hannah More, 208 ; deligbtfU
oharaeter of his writings, 209; « singular faet, 210. ~
3A • . ■ ■ ■
W-^"y
410 iMDi^:
Maw Tor)^ merohtnls, 880.
Mobltmu, >n Engllth, 309. '
.. Noel, Hon. and Rer. BaptUt : bymni by, Mrljr biitory, ehiDge of
opiDion, 210.
Norton, Andrawi: bymns by, sketch of hit life, 211.
Obibliii, John F. : hymn by, hti mother's early teachings, 211 ; Us
' early piety and distinguished success, 212.
Oeoum, Rev. Samson : his visit to England, hymn by, its usefblness, 218.
Ofloer, a miliUry, 826.
OiBoers of the British naTy,«386^
•< Old Buiulred," origin of the tune, 60.
OUTers,'ReT. Thomas: noble character of hymns by, sketch of his
life, testimony of ReT, John Fletcher, 214; John Wesley's
reference to him, 21&.
Oxford, Te Oeum annually sung in the Unirersity of, 28.
Pal, Krishna: first Ilindoo oonTert, 216; his suecessftil ministry,
hymns by, 216.
Palmer, Mrs. : hymn by, 216.
Palmer, BeT. Ray, D.D. : origin of a faTorite hymn by, 217
Parker, B«t. J. : anecdote by, 805.
Parody, an old, 851.
Pastor, a dying, 824.
,, Peabody, Ber. A. P., D.D. : character of his works, 217.
Pearoe, ReT. Samuel: the beauty of his hymns, his early death,
218.
Persecutor, an Irish, 804.
Perronett, ReT. Edward: " AU hail the power of Jesus' name!" ita
history, sketch of his Ufe, 219.
Pilgrim Fathers: thoir delight in singing, 88.
Plymouth Bock : lirst song of praise at, 88.
Pope, Alexander ode by, ita origin, John Wesley's lulmiratian of it,''
226.
" Prethj/terian Quarterly StvUte :" extract from on the character of a
hymn, 19.
Psalmist, the blind, 826.
QoAU« byia»-book : one published, 61. '
■w.
IMDXX. 411
lUrriM, R«T. Thonua, D.D., LL.D. : intimkoy witb Dr. Collytr, Tin;
■uddcn death of Rct. Thoma* Hpenecr, ■ueceeded m pnaior
b)r Dr. R., iketoh ofbii cbaracter, 227; putoral bjrmniby, 228.
Redstone Presbytery, 856.
Reed, Rev. Andrew, D.D. : serenl hymns and other works by, 228;
his visit to the Qpited Slates, 220.
Reformation : sti^te of singing at the lime of, 80.
ReWrals : character of mnsic in, 67.
Right fttelings : importance of, 349. '
Robinson, Rer. Robert: hymns by, sketch of his life, 229; "Couw, .
thou Fount of every blessing," anecdote regarding it, 280;
faTorite hymn, origin of, 281.
Rowley : extracts from the history of. on singing, 48.
Royalists and Roundheads : the collisions of, 86.
Ryland, Rev. John, D.D. : his early history, 281 ; succeeds his father
as pastor. Dr. John Pye Smith's estimate of him, " Id all my
Lord's appointed ways," its origin, 282 ; •' Lord, teach a Utile
child to pray," its interesting origin, and mode of circulating
the hymn, 288.
BaO*AMIXTAL SlKOIRO, 878.
Scene, an impressire, 875.
Shirley, Hon. and Rer. Walter: hymns by, his holy leal and auccess-
fui ministry, 286.
Sigoumey, Lydia Huntley: beauty of her compositions, her early
history, her position as a writer, 236.
Singing at Bangor, 858.
Singing on board the North Carolina, 373.
Singing, regulations of, 848.
Singing: the primiliTe, unirersally practised, 25.
SisUrs : two in New York Slate, 828.
Smith, Rot. S. F., D.D. : hymns by, one of the editors of " ilu Pulmi-
ut," 287.
Spenoe, Rct. Joseph: testimony of to Dr. BlacUbok, 92.
Spencer, Rev. Thomas : sudden death of, 227.
Sprague, Rer. Dr. : extract f^m his " .^sMriean AnnaU," 44.
Steele, Anne: her early history, 287 ; testimony of Dr. Caleb Erana,
her peaceful death, 238; appropriate epitaph, powerful in-
fluence of her hymns, 289. '^
.,' :;t-;^^:\*''.V; '^'.f^'!y-^'%'--i : ^
413 WDix. '
BtMBCtt, R«T. Samuel, D.D. : panonal friend of Qm. III., 280 ; f
Aitea high prafermenl, his bappjr dM«M«, 240.
Stomhold and Hopliini : ThomM Fuller*! opinion of their pMlmi,
lingular charaoUr of Blemhold, Soaliger'i delight in the
Eighteenth Pialm ai rendered by Stemhold, 242; the popu-
larity of their Tereioni, 248.
BtereM, Rot. B. : pastor at Kittery, 44.
StiUman, ReT. Dr., 889.
Strype : testimony of as to singing In 1660, 80. .
Sunday-school, an Irish, 812.
Sutton, RcT. Amos, P.D. : hymn by, its beauty, skeioh of his life,
241.
Swaine, R«t. Joseph : hymns by, siceteh of his life, early death, 244.
Symmes, Rot, Mr., on the singing of the New England settlers, 89.
Tappak, Wm. B. : hymns by, his interest in Sabbat h-achools, 246.
Tate and Brady : their " New Vfrtion of Ike realm;" ilietch of their
history, 240.
Taylor, Rot. Thomas : hymn written by James Montgomery to oom-
meiDorsta the death of, 201.
Tersteegan, O. : hymns by, his humble and pionv life, the Taloable
influence it exerted, beauty of his poetry, 247.
Toplady, Rot. Augiutus M. : his early history, his power as a
preacher, 248 ; his blissftil anticipations of death, 249 ; anec-
dote by Dr. Pomeroy, 260.
TopsAeld : extract flrom Church Records of on singing, 44.
Tnck, Miss : hymns by, and other worlts, 260. ^
Tufts, Mr. : his introduction to singing, 48.
Tunes : character of the old, 66 ; character of good, Andrew Fuller
on, 68.
Turner, Rst. Daniel : hymns by, . sketch of his life and writings,
261.
Tupis: their love of music, 67. ' :. ...
Wainm, Rer. Mr., on the singing of the old New Ebgland churches,
40.
WaUin, ReT. Bei^amin : hymn by, his early history, 262 ; sueeeeds
bis father as pastor of, Mate Pond Baptist Church, 268.
Walther: assistance rendered by him .to Luther, 86.
r
iMoiz. 418
Wud, R«T. W. : minioaftry hymn by, aaaedst* of Wm. C>r«jr, 268 ;
■ketch of bit life and Ubara, 264.
WudUw, R«T. Ralph : bymiia bj, riMteh of hli life, uid eb«raot«r
of hi* writiogt, 264.
Win, B«t. Hrary, D.D. : «k«t«h of hb Ufc, 264; «harMt«r of hit
hymiM, 266.
Wichbom, H. 8. : b/miu bjr, hU IraporUnl Mrtlc«i, 266.
WktU, BcT. Imum, D.D. : Mm* of hU bymni improTcd by John
WMley, 62; ouriooa p«rodjr of one of hii psalmi, 61 4 hU
Hngnenot deaoent, hie parenU tuffer for conscience' (kke, bU
early hi«(ory, 266 ; cbaraeter of the by mm in use hefori hU
time, hie flret attempt to improre them, 267 ; his first hymn-
book, latter to Dr. Cotton Mather, 268; Mr, Montgomery'!
leetimony to the Talue of his hymns, 269; his " Ditint S»iig§
for CUUrm," 260; " How rain are all things here below," lis
history, 261 ; *• There is a land of pure delight," tribute to it*
beauty, scene of ila origin, 202; "Am 1 a soldier of the cross t"
nobl* character of this hymn, 2U8; his friendship with Dr.
Doddridge, "Oire me the wings of faith, to rise," its powerful
effect, 264 ; Mrs. 8. C. Hall's Tisit to his home, 266 ; testi-
mony of William Wilberforoe, his psalms and hymns in Afjrioa,
2(t6 ; testimony of WiUiam Wirt, 207.
Wealeys: the alteration of hymns censured by John W., 62: hii
eonstaat attention to singing, 64; bis knowledge of minlcal
notes, 66 ; publication of tbeir hymn-books, 68 ; their early
history and descent, 268; the power of their preaching, 269;
.the wonderful influence of their hymns, 270 ; Moore's descrip-
tion of Charles Wesley, "Come, Desire of Nations, come,"
971; "How weak the thoughts and Tain," history of their
origin, 272; "Itfrntu vritten in Iht Ttmrs of thi TumuUi,"
June, 1780, by C. W., their history, quotation from satirical
poem, " BynuufoT the Nation," occasion of their composition,
"Come, Father, 8on, and Holy Ohost," its origin, 278; Mr.
Creamer's defence of John Wesley, "Thou Ood of glorioua
B^iesty," where it was compoaed, 274; Mr. Montgomery**
tribute to its beauty. Dr. Adam Clarke risits the scene of it*
oompoaition, 276 ; " Stand ! the omnipotent decree," its special
reference, "OIto me the enlarged desire," a fkrorite hymn of
John Fletcher, 276; "Woe to the men on earth who dweU,'"
'>■ ■rT- ••■• "' ,"^*jS,!"i^; '• f, '' 'i-y;'
414 IKDBX.
" By bUh w« ind the pUo« aboT*," their orifiii, 277 : " Ololjr
to Ood, whoM BOTercigQ graee," iU intermtiog origin, 278 ;
Whitafiold'i tnt Mrmon in tha open air, h«pp; results, 279 ;
"Oft have wa pastad tha guilty night," "Haariten to tha
■olsmn Totca," their origin, " Worahip, and Ihanka, and blaas-
ing," vrittan after deliTeranea in a tuttiult, 280; "Oh for a
thouaand toiiguaa to liiig," written on tha anniraraary of their
oonTarsion, "Coma, O thou aU-rietoriooa Lord," irhara it
waa wriUen, "Bm how great a flame aaplraa," 282; Joyftil
oooasion on whieh it waa written, " Jesua, from thy heavenly
plaoe," "Long hare I seemed to aerra thee. Lord," peculiar
eireumilanees of its eompoaltion, 288; "Come, let us Join
our friends abore," anecdote of John Wealey and ReT. Thomas
Spencer, 284 ; " Qod is in this and every plaoe," coincidence
. connected with it, " The great Archangel's trump shall sound,"
its origin, 285 ; " Shrinking rh>m the cold Jiand of death,"
' aneodoie concerning it, "Agsiii we lift our Toiee," occasion
of its composition, 28ti : ■■Infinite Ood, io thee we raise,"
ibi Lore's testimony to its besuiy. *■ Thou' hidden Lore of
Ood, whose height," 2fi> : ■■ How happy is the pilgrim's lot,"
Mr. C(«Bmer's aeeount of its personal reference to its author,
288; "Behold the Sariour of mankind," its singular pra-
aarration and history, 289,
Waaky, Samuel, Jr. : rariona hymiu by, spacial beauty of one of
them, 290.
Wealsrn liturgies : charaoiar of them, 27.
White, Henry Kirke : his early history, his works edited by Dr.
Soutbey, 291 ; tablet erected to his memory, beautiftd Una*
Inscribed ifpon it by Professor Smyths, 292.
Whiteileld on chanting, 68.
Whitafleld, Rer. O. ; his attention to singing, &fi ; his flrst sermon
in the open air, 278.
Whittier, John O. : a Quaker poet, )aek of unction in his hymns, 298.
.. ITilliam the Conqueror : influence of singing in his dying hour, 27.
Tfilliams, Rer. William: his early history and arduous labors, 298;
ebaraeter of his writings, 294.
WUUs, Nathaniel P.: hymn by, eharaetar of his writings, 294; a
sweet thought, 296.
Wiaehettcr Collage, Latin hymn aaanally sung in, 28.
INDEX. 416
Wirt, 'WnUftm : hii opinion of Wslli'i ilymnt, 267. ,
Woman, two jroung, 8.14.
Woreeiler: choir mlabliihed »t, 43.
Wordawortb, William: ■kcioh of his history, IntereaUng extntot
ft-om one of his Iff I en, 205.
Xatiir, FrincU; lijrinn by, his missionary ardor, a lofty sentiment,
'M7; lesliniony of John .^ngelJames, 2<J8.
Yofk Minster: psalm-singing in, 87.
TBE KND.
aisaaorrno st l. joanos • ce.
raiussLrau.
--I