Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-01-12
MEMPHIS TENN FRIDAY EVENING. JANUARY l2 1917

There Mr.. Bliss died-not a great
man, but a man whose whole life.
was devoted seriously, earnestly,
sweetly to the work of softenlng,
enriching ana ennobling the dispo-
sitions Of men. / do not think his
hymns will last as Watts's or Wes-
ley's, but they are adapted to our
time and have moved a whole gen
Grafton Of schools and churches.
/ do not think his melodies
will ever last by the side of
MozartS or Beethoyen's or a host
Of others, yet they have been adopted
in this land, and the hymns and
songs written by Mr.. Bliss have
given a silent influence gentle as
the dew in the summer, as gentle
as the rains, and have nourlshed
ten thousand times ten thousand
tender roots; have caused more
thoughts, more sacred emotions to
spring up in the souls of men, |
had almost said, than the showers
do in the summer. Here is a man
almost unknown, except as a sweet
singer in Israel. His life suddenly
ceased; a few papers note it; he
holds no place in the world as Van
dcrbllt. 1t is not right that |
should compare these men except
to say that the latter was the yaster
in the lower range Of the mind, in
strength of character, and yet it
seems to me that Mr.. Bliss has
done a far grander work-he has
opened the door through which ten
thousand souls have seen the other
life; has made q heaven not Of
brass, bat transparent; has caused
| Joy to blossom, and made the name
Of Jesus Christ to be effulgent, and
brought something of the very
spirit Of heavenly grace upon the
Garth; has made little children un-
dcrstand the glory of the Sayior's
love and service, and his whole life
has been put into the work Of sane
tifying the dispositions of men. 1t
is noble life, and it lies not within
the circuit of imitation by every
one, but all of us may do something,
each in our several spheres.
Mr.. Lyman Abbott spoke of a
conversation which he had had
with DR.. Deems, who, he said, had
told something Of the interior OF
Mr.. Vauderbslts character. 1t was
a feeling which he had, that after
all there was something more than
this worlds success, and that this
had been going on, not only in the
last months of his illness, but long
before; also of his reverence for a
Christian mother, whom he almost
worshiped, and in his liking fol
one English classic, Bunyan's "Pil-
grim's Progress that his favorite
hymns were those sung by his
Christian wife during his last sick
ness" Show pity, Lordl oh, Lord,
forgivew "Come, ye sinners, poor
and needy" and "There is rest for
the weary"
Mr.. Beecher - Yes, l am very
glad he liked those hymns, very
glad that he liked them when he
died; but if he had sung them
thirty years ago it would have made
q great difference, both to him and
to many Others. 1t is well when
Old men die--it is great comfort
that they manifest a deeper in
terest in things spiritual; but Cor
nelius Vanderbilt, as long as he
could get about, never sang any
hymns. But when he got crippled
aud could not do anything more,
then he sung hymns. 1t has been
the same thing the world over.
Men fought through bloody wars
for twoScore years, and when they
got too old to put the armor on
they went into a convent. 1t was
like an old knife, with the blade all
broken off, and we are glad to give
the Lord what is good for nothing.
We are glad SO as by fire anybody
goes to heaven, but how much bet
ter is it when a man devotes the
whole of his life to the service of
God. If our Lord deserves any
thing he deserves all. The three
hymns that he loved toward his
end, what are they to him whose
lie was one choral song from be-
ginning to end