The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1879-10-23

history Of the Song that Charmed
all Hearts some Twenty
Years ago..

8hout thu year 1853 there appeared !
Al. musical circles of the West a soog which
tnr twslve years, hi.. a run rarely attaiue
w. nooular melodies. The music had
Dscnpliaar charm, the lords were singula1l
touching, and their very length e-tendin
- EIGHT long verses, suggested to the leaC
or q story Lack of them. In fact, the e.
treme pathos of the words contributed q
much. perhaps, as the music to give tn
composition its wonderful success. It wa
sunG everywhere, pa, $, in conce is, OF
the street and in the camps of the contend
mo armies. La the northern ;Tmy it wa
immensely popular, and it found lis wa,
sortu. through Louisville and Cincinnai
and during the rebellion it was the only
niece sung in southern homes, and excep-
tino martial airs, a about the only one sung
i the confederate amp Everywhere was
sLorena." \ steamer on the Ohio was
named Lorena, engines on western roads
were called Lorena, and a person now
sometimes meets in society yoUog ladies
twenty wears ago. That the song had a
story nearly every one familiar without sup
nosed. and supposed col rectly, and it NAV
not be undressing at this late day to give
admirers of the famous melody the facts in
the lON IlAI
The author of the words was the Rev. Ii.
d. l.. Webste-.
1t the year 1913, being then "a years of
aee age, and full of poultry and romance,
he was enjoying his first pastoratea at Zanes-
vile. Ohio. His leading pacishloners was
q wealthy manufacturer. whose residence
was upon one of the many hills which sur
round that smoky town.
There lived in his family a younger sister
of his wife, who was the leading singer in
the choir. She was 10 years of age, small
of stature, had blue eyes and LIGHT, brown
hair. and was as fair as a lilv. She was
not only a sweet singer, but sho was as full
of poetry and romance as h pa ard
they soon become very much attached.
Their loving did not, however, prosper
well" for the family were proud and aIisto-
cratic, and had higher notions of the
girls future than to sanction her marriage |
with a poor preacher AS she was DEEPEN
dent upon them for a.home, she was forced
to yield to their counsel-Mr. Webster says
henow thinks it wise counsel-and they |
were obliged to give each other up. It
was, however, the strong will and the proud
shirt Of the sister, more than the opposi-
ton of the brother-in-law, that separated
them, or rather, kept Lorena for him.
Lorena seems to have been passive, indecis-
i've in character, and submissive in the
hands of her strong-willed sister. Mr..
Webster saw her for the last time at her
home, learned of
THE SISTERS UNCOMFORTABLE OPPOSITION,
heard his fate, and took a quiet but painful
farewell, very little being said. That night
she wrote him a last letter, in which she
used the words, so well remembered by
those familiar with the song, IF we t~v,
we may forget 1t was eight yeas a ter
that he wrote
For If we try, we may forget
We're words of thine long yearsagc.
Yes, these were words of thine, Lorena,
They burn within my memory yet,
They touch some tender, cords, LOrena,
Which thrill and tremble with regret.
There is a future. Oh. thank God,
OF life this Is so small a part.
lis dust to dust beneath the sod,
But There, up There, It's heart to heart.
The effect Of the separation was to crush
the young man. and whiting to a friend
gyeyears ago, twenty-six years after t.e oc-
%curlence, he says: Il doubt if all the
lark lines are erased from my heart yet"
lie resigned his passionate and sought an
other field, smotherng his pain by hard
study and work. And the only sign of
that pain the varjd ever saw was the heart
cry IN the 500 II "Lorena."
IL Is sd that she lost he vivacity, and
sunni! "ltching wars after they parted, aid
never regalned them: 9 I'd that she is now a
s S schly woman, past the prime of life.
cue IS tie vile of a judge, and lived or
ilany years at ~lronton, on the Ohio. When
last heard from, however, several months
ago, she was travelling in Europe. Her
proud and naughty sister has long since
Passea over the river, where tits heart to
LeoIl' instead of "dollar to dollar" Her
W s'herln-law died onlv a few weeks ago.
!; "eDstef, also past the prime of life,
,n;n maIiled' AID lives in Neenah, Wis, a
Ns'e and the editor of a local papsr.