The Monitor-register., 1896-07-31
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ABSOLUTELY PURE
Sankey's Most Famous Hymn.
RSSSH.UTEEX PURE

The last piece sung by Mr.. Ssnkey was
that one of all his oomr0siGions which
has perhaps brought hin ths most fame
-''The Ninety ara Nine" Before sing
ing it he gave an account OF its birth.
He was In Scotland at the time, twenty
two years ago. He wss ieavis. Glasgow
for Edinburg With Mr.. Moody, after
having conducted services for three
months in tho former city. Going to the
railroad station, he stopped At news
stand to buy paper to read on the train.
Something in copy of a religious paper
caught his eye, and he purchased it for
! penny Setting down in the car, be
glanced over the paper, snd his eye
ohanced to light upon son8 verses in the
| corner of the page. He wss pleased with
them, and he said to MI Moody. "I've
found my hymn" But his eompsn
had no ears for the hymn, then being
deeply engaged in reading letter from
home. MIR. Sankey read the vegso aloud,
but Mr.. Moody did not hear word, as
was developed afterward.
Mr.. Sankey tore off the corner of the
sheet and put the verses in a sorapboOk
in which he pasted all the verses and
sentiments and songs which struck him
as available material for his work. This
sorapbook, by the way, WAS the origina-
tion Of the Gospel hymns; but that name
was not bestowed by either Mr.. Sankey
or Mr. Moody, but by clergyman IL In the
North of England.
For several days Mr.. Sankey got no
time to make tune for the verses which
had struck him. Then, one day In Edin-
burg, there was great meeting, an
unusually impressive meeting, and the
subject was "The Good Shepherd"
When DR.. Bonner closed his talk, Mr.,
Moody beckoned to his partner, and
asked him to sing something appropriate.
Mr.. Sankey could think of nothing but
the xxiiid Psalm, and that Lad been sung
80 often that he did not like to repeat il.
And then came an inspiration, q second
thought, which was to sing the verses he
had cut from the paper. But the third
thought WAS how he could sing them
when he had no tune for them. Then a
fourth thought came, and that was to
sling the verses anyhow.
He put the verses in front of him,
toached his fingers to the organ keys,
opened his mouth-and sang. He did
not know where he WAS going to come
out, and he says that whatever there is in
the song, God gave him in that emer-
genoy. Having finished the verse amid
profound silence, he took long breath,
wondering if he could sing the second
the same way. He tried it. and accom-
plshed 1t, and after that, through the
other verses, it was essy. When he con-
cluded the meeting was all broken down,
the ministers crying-Sootch ministers at
that, Mr.. Sankey explsins-and it was
the most intense moment he had ever
known. Mr.. Moody came down to where
he sat and demanded to know whore he
got that song. Dir. SsnLsy replied that
he had read it to him on the train, but
Mr.. Moody said that he had never heard
a song like that. The song V as sung at
every meeting after that, and vas soon
going over the world. And 2sLile travel
| ling in the Highlands sb blrs time later,
Mr.. Shankey received lettsr from lady
thanking him for singing The verses
written by her sister. That slater was
Elizabeth G. Clephane He be named
| the aong ''The Lost Sheep" but Mr..
Moody insisted upon calling it Ninety
and Nine" whenever he announced the
| hymn, and ultimately Mr. Sanisey had to
adopt that name.-DenUe, Republtcan.