The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1881-12-15
sAgisreAanv.
History Of the Song that Carried
All Hearts Twenty Years Ago.

History Of the Song that Carried
All Hearts Twenty Years Ago.
About the !, ear 1858 there appear
ed in the musical circles of the West
q song, which, for twelve years had
q run rarely attained by popular
melodies. .The music had a pecu-
liar charm, the words we're singu-
larly touching, and their length, ex-
tending to eight long verses. sugges-
ted to the reader story back OF
them. In fact, the extreme pathos
Of the words contributed as much
perhaps, as the music to give the
composition its wonderful success.
It was sung everywhere, in parlors,
in concerts, on the street. and in the
camps of the contending armies.
In the Northern army it was i'm
mensely popular. and found its way
South through Louisville and Gin
cinnati, and during the rebellion it
was the only piece sung in Southern
homes, and, excepting martial airs,
about the only one sung in the Con-
federate camp. Everywhere was
'Lorena.' A steamer ON the Ohio
was named Lorena, engines on the
Western roads were called Lorena,
and person now sometimes meets
in society young ladies named Lo-
rena. called that by mothers twenty
years ago. That the song had a
story, nearly everyone familiar with
it supposed, and supposed correct
ly, and it may not be uninteresting
at this late day, to give admirers OF
the famous melody the facts in the
love affair.
The author of the words was Rev
H. D. L. Webster. He studied in
the Columbus Academical and Col
legiate Institute, and was editor OF
the college paper. In the year lS4S,
being then twentyfour years OF age
and full of poetry and romance, he
was enjoying his first pastorate at
GAINESVILLE, Ohio. His leading par.
Usher was wealthy manufacturer,
whose residence was upon one OF
the many hills which surround that
smokey town. The house was about
half mile out, and the eminence
upon which it was seated was the
one referred to in his song:
Twas f1Owery Nav.
When up the hilly slope We climed
To watch the dying of the day,
And hear the distant church bells chimed
There lived in this family young
er sister of his wife, who was the
leading singer in the choir. She
was nineteen years of age, small of
stature, had blue eyes and light
brown hair, and was as fair as a
lily. She was not only sweet sing
er, but she was as full Of poetry and
romance as her pastor, and they
soon became very much attached.
Their loving did not, however, pros
per WE'LL for the family were proud
and aristocratic, and had higher
notions of the girls future than to
sanction her marriage with a poor
preacher AS she was dependent
upon them for home, she was
forced to yield to she;reeunsel-sMr.
Webster says he now thinks it wise
counsel-and they were obliged to
give each other up. 1t was, howev-
er, the strong will and the proud
spirit of the sister, more than the
opposition of the brother-in law,
that separated them. or rather kept
Lorena from him Lorena seems to
have been passive, indecisive in
chatacter. 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 unconquerable opposition,
heard his fate, and took quiet but
painful farewell, very little being
said. That night she wrote him a
last letter, in which she used the
words, so we'll remembered by those
familiar with the song: If we try
we may forget 1t was eight years
after that he wrote:
For "If we try We may forget"
Were words of thine long years ago.
y "
Yes, these were words of thine, Lorena,
They turn within my memory yet,
II,
Which thrill and tremble with regret.
There is future Oh thank God,
Of life this is so small part,
'Tis 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 wri-
ting to friend five years ago, TWEEN
ty-six years after the occurrence, he
says: L doubt if all dark lines are
erased from my heart yet He re-
signed his pastorate and sought an
other field, smothering his pain by
hard study and work. And the on
ly sign of that pain the world ever
saw was the heart cry in the song
of 'Lorena.' Tn 1856 he was resi-
ding in Racine, Wisconsin, where he
met J. P. Webster, the composer,
who, though of the same name, is
no relation to him. They soon be-
came very intimate. ]. P. Webster
was writing song music, and was
troubled to find appropriate words.
Rev. Mr.. Webster told him that he
would write a song, and in two days
he produced it, entitled Bertha a
mere fancy name. When the com
poser came TO set it to music he
wanted a name of three syllables,
accented on the second, and the au-
thor then made up the name of 'Lo-
rena.'
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