The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-02-03
The aq1eha Daily Eagle: riaay zorne ebruaru g.

plalntlve music was TO them as
breath of their native air.
This is the brief and simple story of
the inception of the song which was
consistent with the life and sentiments
Of its author, who, when an attack was
made on his religious belief, thus for
chilly and modestly defended himself
and his friend:
while l claim that every mans re-
ligion is something sacred to his own
soul, and something no man has right
TO personally question, feel compelled
to say that the hope and longing of
every immortal soul, as expressed in
The Sweet BY and By, was not to Us
a painted lie but the firm conviction
and faith of both of rs, and to both
creation would have seemed farce
unless associated with belief in a
Supreme Being of infinite love, and an
immortal existence for man beyond the
grave"
DIR. Bennett in a very interesting pri-
vate letter, says:
When a boy my dream was to do
vote my life to my pen. but an educa-
ton was the first object, hard thing
for one to gain unaided- Before
knew enough to teach I began teach
ing. / was about eighteen, and sensi-
tive as girl. My book qualifications
were meager. had plenty of pupils
much older than myself I had never
looked in the algebra-to study it.
Gould teach algebra| came the ques-
ton from these. oh, yes! But let Us
wait a week before we organize a
class That night I walked eight
miles to the nearest village and bought
an algebra Thereafter four o'clock of
tho winter mornings was at the
lonely country schoolhouse studying
algebra by the light of 'tallow dip
kerosene not having then been in
vented. took my class through the
book-and they never knew the secret.
That is about the way l have worked
all my life. When was younger de.
sired to publish a volume of poems, but
never had the money to do it. Thus l
escaped the critics and probably con.
served my reputation.
"You inquire about The Sweet By
and By AS to how it was born, I
only know the externals, as given here
with. There are phases of the life of
the soul that are profoundly, sweetly
real. but unseen-like the scent of
rose. We may watch the unfolding of
a rosebud, but we cannot know-not
yet-the primal fact behind the visible
miracle nor the alchemy of God that
works in the fact / have often been
drawn from bed by dear demon who
cried: 'Writel WriteP have-on ono
occasion-written nine hymns in sin.
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-but
someway, under no circumstances that
were inappropriate. 1t oftenest gives
comfort at the grave. 1t is the funeral
hymn of free masonry-the higher
orders-in America. have received
many a letter from the mourning that
made my heart very tender and hum
BILE. Well, the universal heart of hui
mainly loves to think of and sing of
sweet, blessed reunion with those who
life-whether it can demonstrate it or
not. 1t is the atavism of the soul to the
type Of its primal innocence and COM
muuion with God.
Would you like to hear how the lit
tie hymn sounds in Chinese? A New
York journal published it in the Chi
nese characters and an interlineal
translation, which, l suppose, is
authentic. I will transcribe the first
verse:
There's a land that is fairer than day,
Joy hin gwock VOW yut jaw wah me shaw,
And by faith we can see II afar,
Vow sun dock gwa chi nong yin bong geen.
For the Father waits over the way,
Foo che yum hoy hen boon gong jib gaw.
To prepare US q dwelling place there
Gwy boi choey gin die iUck we on goey.
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
IL the sweet by and by,
Dow how 10y dock wing gong,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore
Go ehidan bit Joy chop wah me shaw"
The author of 1.-THE Sweet By and
ny pays bAi4o DCduIAANA SAAOOLC " Aio
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 ex-
preston in rhythm, IS not for him,
leastways, ] never find it. Only my
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 fours and by
eights-then all is silent, as if each
were occupying a position at the nadir
and zenith of interstellar space, and
that is solitude enough, in all con-
sciencei Yet know that al the time an
occasional glance, love lit, comes me-
ward from just across the writing ia
bic, and from the same locality there
vibrates into my being the tender mag
netism OF sympathetic heart, and
am within the area of an appreciative,
helpful intellect. She is my best
helper. because Of her sympathy
because size is my best critic
Perhaps the thousands who have
sung. prayed or chanted the melody %
the hymn-song VIII take new pleas
u-e in its sweet strains through learn
ing something of the home and life
history of its author. A copy of the
verses IN ny possession, penned for me
by the author. reveal q chirography as
dainty as the Italian hand Of a past
era, and quite consistent with the IDEAL
character OF poet-Mrs- II. l.. Rayne,
II Detroit free Press
lie Revoked.