The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-02-09
to personally question, feel compelled

and faith of both of us, and to both
erection would have seemed farce
uu:ess associated with belief in 4
supreme Being of infinite love, and an
immortal existence for man beyond Tie
grave"
Dr. Bennett, in u very interesting pri-
vatc letter, says:
when Il boy my dream was to de-
vote my life To my pen, but an educa-
ton was the first object, Il hard thing
for one to gain unaided Before /
knew enough to teach began teach
ing ! was about eighteen, and sensi-
tive rs girl. My book qualifications
were uleagcr. l had plenty of pupils
much older than myself. l had never
looked in the algcbra-to study it.
Gould teach algebra? came the qucs-
ton from these. oh, yes! But let US
wait u week before we organize a
class That night walked eight
miles to the nearest village and bought
an algebra. Thereafter four o'clock of
the winter mornings l was at the
lonely country schoolhouse studying
algebra by the light of Il 'tallow dip.'
kerosene not having then been in
vented l took my class through the
boolS-and they never knew the secret
That is about the way have worked
all my life. When | was younger de-
sired to publish Il volume OF poems, but
never had the money to do it. Thus
escaped the critics and probably con-
served my reputation.
You inquire about The Sweet Nv
and By AS to how it was born, T
only know the eXtcrnals, as given here
with. There are phases of the life of
the soul that are profoundly, swectly
real, but unseen-lilie the scent of n
rose. We may watch the unfolding of
n rosebud, but we cannot l1now-not
yet-thc primal fact behind the visible
miracle nor the alchemy of God that
works in the fact. l have often been
drawn from bed by a dear demon who
cried: Write! Writer have-on one
occaslon-written nine hymns in Il sim
gle night, but never came anything to
me just as did Sweet BY and By Yes,
l have heard it sung in many places
and under many circumstances
somcway, under no circumstances that
were inappropriate. 1t oftencst gives
comfort at the grave. 1t is the funeral
hymn of free masonry-thc higher
ordcrs-in America. l have received
many n letter from the mourning that
made my heart very tender and hum
bic. Well, the universal heart Of hui
mainly loves to think of and sing of q
sweet, blessed reunion with those who
have laid down the burden of earth
lifc-whcthcr it can demonstrate it or
not. 1t is the atavism of the soul to the
type of its primal innocence and COM
munion with God
Would You like to hear how the lit
tie hymn sounds in Chinese? A New
York journal published it in the Chi
ncsc characters and an interlineal
translation, which, 1 suppose, is
authentic. / will transcribc the first
verse:
Thcrc's land that IS faircr than day.
Joy hin gwocls vow yut jaw wah me shaw
And by faith we can see it afar,
Vow sun dock gwa chi nong yin bong pcen
For the Father waits over tho way
roo che yum hoy hen boon gong 1ib gaw, E,
To prepare us q dwelling place there
Gwy hoi chocy gin die iuclk We ON poey
"In the sweet by and by
Dow how 10y dock wing gong
We shall meet on that beautiful shore,
Go chi dan bit Joy chop wah me shaw
In the sweet by and by,
Dow how 10y dock wing gong
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.
Go chidan bit Joy chop wah me shaw"
The author of "Thc Sweet BY and
By pays this beautiful tribute to his
excellent wife:
The only home hours doctor has
are the evenings-and he is not sure of
them. The sweet silence of solitude,
when fancy or feeling would find cx-
preston in rhythm, is not for him,
leastways, | never find it. Only nv
Sweetheart knows when to be gra-
cious, and if she observes that when
am writing do not carry the lines to
the right-hand verge of the sheet and
leave lines blank by tours and by
eights-then all is silent, as if each
were occupying position at the nadir
and zenith of intcrstellar space. and
that is solitude enough, in all con-
science! Yet know that all the time an
occasional glance, love lit, comes me-
ward from just across the writing Ia
BILE, and from the same locality there
vibrates into my being the tender mar-
netism of sympathetic heart. and
am within the area of an appreciative,
helpful intellect. She is nv hest
helper, because of her sympathy-and
because she is my best critic"
Perhaps the thousands who have
sung, prayed or chanted the melody of
the hymn-song will take new pleas.
ure in its sweet strains through learn
ing something of the home and life
history of its author. A copy of the
verses in my possession, penned for me
by the author. reveal n chirography as
dainty as the Italian hand of n mast
era, and quite consistent with the ideal
character of poet-Mrs. M. l.. Rayne,
in Detroit Free Press