The morning news., 1892-03-27
FAMOUS HYMNS.
MEN WHO COMPOSED TEEN TELL
HOW THE INSPIRATION CAAE.

| Sung All Over the World-"reu Ne
the Old, Ola Story" was Written on
the Top OF stage coach. and "ssss
IN Ehs Arms Of Jssus~3bn . Railroad
Train.
NEW YORK, March 25.-Everybody has
| heard that famous hymn, "ShaIl We gather
at the rivsrp 81 would rather be the au-
thor Of that hymn than the preacher OF all
the ssrmons that were ever delivered n said
DR.. Dickinson Of Richmond some years
ago, addressing great Sunday school mass
meeting.
Its author Is DR.. Robert Lowry. and If all
the hymns he has written. save that one,
were blottcd out forsves. the name OF Rob-
ert Lowry would live as the author Of that
melody.
81 cannot recall Just the circumstances
under which The Beautiful River was
written" said DIR. Lowry. "I have no
method of composition. Sometimes the
music comes first and words follow, fitted
insensibly to the melody. I watch my
moods and make note OF anything that
strikes me as being good. Ny brain is q sort
| OF spinning machine. as music Is running
through it all the time"
In appearance DR.. Robert Lowry is of
medium hight, with full beard, dark, ex-
| pressive eyes and long dark hair, combed
| carelessIy back from q low, broad fore
head. He is at present, and has been for a
number of years. pastor Of the Park Ave-
nue. Baptist church at Plainfeld, N. J. He
| Is fine conversationalist, ever willing to
| give anecdotes from his past in connection
with his work as a Sunday school writer.
His hearing Is slightly defective, and in
! talking with me be leaned slightly forward
| with hand hohfpd bfa To-
the sound of his VISITORS voice. Though
| his impaired hearing affects him unpleas-
| antly IN other affairs Of life he.fnds it no
| impediment to his work as a composer. ~
could write hymns IL i were totally deaf, -
he said, for with music running through
my brain have only to get it on paper"
| Weeping VIII Not Save Me" is his
favorite of all he regards it as the most
evangelic hymn he ever has written. A
few Of the many of his most celebrated pro-
ductions are THE Mistakes of My Life"
"Savior, Thy Dying Love-" 1--WE Are
Marching to Zion,n One More Days Work
For Jesus Need Thee Every Hour"
"Where is My Wandering Boy Tonight I"
| and hundreds more as familiar and popular
| as these.
DIR. Lowry lives in beautiful home on
Madison avenue, Pialnfeld. N. j., and pos
sesses one OF the finest musical libraries In
| the country
The most striking event In DR.. Lowry's
life in connection with his song writing oo-
CURED while he was in London some years
ago. OF this pleasing incident he says:
1T was during the Robert Raikes centen-
nial. was in London, and had gone to a
meeting in the Old Bailey to see some Of the
most famous Sunday school workers in the
world. They were present from Europe,
Asia and America. | sat In q rear seat
alone. After there had been a number of
addresses delivered in various languages
was preparing to leave, when the chairman
OF the meeting announced that the author
Of Shall We Gather at the River was pres-
ent, and was requested by name to come
forward. Men applauded and women waved
their hendkerchiefs, aud the great audience
rose as ] went to the platform. 1t wss q
tribute TO the hymn, but felt, after it was
over, that perhapsI had done some little
good in the world, and felt more than
content to die when God called"
When DR.. Lowry was asked to add more
to the story of his life he answered:
self" 11 . 1-So = : al :
HOW DIR. DoANE ooMPosEs.
The five authors whose hymns have at.
tracted world wide popularity are Robert
| Lowry, p. P. Bliss, w. H. Doaue, James
| McGranahan and Ira d. Sankey. How
| generally they are used In .civilized aud un-
| civilized countries can be more easily
understood when it is stated that letters
from the four corners of the globe have
been received by SONS of them saying how
their hymns have gone on and on in many
languages, preaching to and comforting
thousands upon thousands
DIR. w. II. Doane as q writer of sacred
music has contributed some Of the best Suns
day school hymns now in use. His home is
at Mount Auburn. Cincinnati, aud his life
1 hnr N1A T.
| phases. be is a scholarly gentleman and q
most entertaining talker. An enthusiast in
music, he is orimful Of many bright recol-
! lections of his early work as a writer. l
asked DR.. Doane which Of his songs was
best known.
That" he answered, "would be very
| difficult to say. The Old, Old Story,
Safe In the Arms of Jesus More Love to
| Thee Tell 1t With JOY Nearer the Cross ,
Come, Great Deliverer' and Though Your
Sins Be AS Scarlet have all been popular,
and are very generally used throughout the
| world. A large number have been trans
lated. Each song has an interesting history,
and oftentimes has been inspired by or
written under most peculiar circumstan ces,
| =" 1t was while on my way co New York
TO attend a Sunday school convention many
years ago that the music of Safe in the
Arms of Jesus came ringing through my
brain, and, through the noise and rush of
! the railroad train, | jotted down the hymn
which has proved one of my best efforts.
"Often, under apparently the most inaus-
| piclons circumstances. melodies come to me
which had never dreamed of before con-
tiuued DR.. Doane. Zone of these was The
Old. Old Story I was having a summer
outing in New England. and it was while
there, one hot June afternoon in the year
| 1866 or 1871 have forgotten the exact
date-while / was riding on top OF a stage
coach going from the Glen TO the Crawford
house in the White mountains, that the
hymn was written. Perhaps 1t was the
grandeur Of the rugged landscape that gave
me the inspiration in this case.
A LETTER FROM DIR. DoANE.
In regard to the hymnologY of the Sab
bath school DR.. Doane writes to me as fol-
lows: zone only hes to glance over the
hymns formerly put into Sunday sch Dol
singing books and compare them with those
In the books made to-day, to see the marked
improvements have labored long and
| diligently to improve the hymnology of the
Sunday school, and / feel sure the tendency
is for higher. purer style. OF course there
are, and always will be, authors and book
makers who have little idea of what hymn
should be. and whose efforts are more easily
satisfied with jingling rhyme than solid
good gospel or spiritual hymn that will
itself teach good sermon and leave an i'm.
preston on the mind and conscience"
MiGpANAuAxSc rOcpur conrds