Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-08-08
PHGBE CARY.

n
by Horace Greeley
From the Tribune, August 81
One of her hymns-a favorite in many
Christian families and congregations
we must quote, not only for its own sake,
but because there is story connected
with it that we wish to tell.
afg NEARER HOME.
One sweetly solemn thought
Comes to me Ger and DER; Hu
I'm nearer my home to-day
Than ever have been before; ru
Nearer my Fathers house,
Where the many mansions be,
Nearer the great white throne. 70
Nearer the crystal sea;
Nearer the bound of life.
Where we lay our burdens down; ~
Nearer leaving the cross.
Nearer gaining the crown.
But the waves of that silent sea .t
Roll dark before my sight,
That brightly the other side ..uasL G
Break on a shore of light.
o, if my mortal feet
Have almost gained the brink, ..r
If il be am nearer home
Even to-day than think,
Father, perfect my trust, ..t.
Let my spirit feel in death Iifs I'D
That her feet are firmly set ,s.rg slI
On the Rock of living faith.
A gentleman in China, intrusted with
packages for q young man from his
friends in the United States, learned
that he would probably be found in a
certain gambling-house. He went
thither, but not seeing the young man,
sat down and waited in the hope that he
might come in. The place was a bedlam
Of noise, men getting angry over the
cards, and frequently coming to blows.
Near him sat two men-one young, the
other, forty years of age They were
betting and drinking in a terrible way,
the older one giving utterance continu-
ally to the foulest profanity. Two
games had been finished, the young
man losing each time. The third game,
with fresh bottles of brandy, had just
begun, and the young man sat back
lazily in his chair while the oldest
shuff1ed his cards. The man was a long
time dealing the cards, and the young
man, looking carelessly about the room,
began to hum a tune. He went on, till
at length he began to sing the hymn OF
Phoebe Cary above quoted. The words,
says the writer of the story, repeated in
such a vile place, at first made me shud-
der. A Sabbath-school hymn in gamb-
ling denl But while the young man
sang the elder stopped dealing the cards,
stared at the singer a moment, and,
throwing the cards on the floor, ex-
claimed: Harry, where did you learn
that tune?" What tune2" Why,
that one you've been singing. The
Young man said he did not know what
he had been singing, when the elder
repeated the words, with tears in his
eyes, and the young man said he had
| learned them in a Sunday school
in America. Come" said the elder,
getting up; "come, Harry, here's what
/ won from you; 20 and use 1t for some
GOOD purpose. As for me as God sees me,
/ have played my last card, and drank my
last bottle. have misled you, Harry, and
| am sorry. Give me your hand, my
boy. and say that for old America sake,
If for no other, you viii quit this infer
nal business" The gentleman who tells
the story (originally published in the
Boston Daily News), saw these two men
leave the gambling-house together and
walk away arm in arm; and he remarks'
"It must be a source of great JOY to
/ Miss Cary to know that her lines, which
have comforted so many Christian
! hearts, have been the means OF awaken.
ing in the breasts Of two tempted and
erring men on the other side Of the
globe a resolution to lead better life.
! II ras a source OF great JOY to Miss
/ Cary. as we happen to know. Before
Us lies a private letter from her to an