Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1898-07-23
THERE IS no UN5ELtEF."
The Story M a beautiful Poem and Iu
Origin.

The Story "f beautiful Poem and it,
Origin.
How tho well known poem, There
Is No Unbclief,' came to DO written
is told in Current Literature This
story, says tho writer, has never DO
fore been told in print, although tho
author, Lizzie York Case, when cs'
tablishing her claim, has stated that
it was written Is years ago for tho
Detroit FREQ Press. InaSmuch, now.
as the poem is again gong tho
rounds of the papers, accredited, as
of old, both to Mrs. Browning and
Bulwer Lytton, tho facts Of its orr
gin are now published for the first
time. In answer to the question FROM
Il young orthodox clergyman rs to
her religious belief, Mrs. Case told
him, in the presence of half IA dozen
PERSONS that it was the inherited
faith of her fathcrs-that Of the
Friends. "Then,' said the young
LCulot, ypu lI u ttAi 'ii'cSiAS'>'N ''''''
you will be damned"
"Ncvcr,' she answered. IF tree
were no trUc God to trust in, | should
still believe in the gods of the woods
and of the.treaniS. In fact, | believe
in evcryth ng-in God, man, l"luro
There is 10 unbelief, she continu
ed, with rising enthusiasm. At fro
qucnt intervals that night, Mrs
Case related recently, tossing in
restless wakcfulness, she reflected
upon the preachers words and l.an.
ner, and, wincing under the memory
of his sUpclcllious summary Of her
religious opiriOnS, some of the verse,
took shape in her mind.
At that time she was contributes"
a weekly letter to Tho Free Pres,
but the next morning, lnsteaa G
preparing her weekly stipulatio;,
she wrote rapidly the poem. Upon
it's publication tho author received
letters from widely separated parts
of tho country containing earnest
thanks for the verses and many as.
surances of consolation induced by
them. The author-a stranger in
three different cities-has also heard
sympathetic sermons delivered on
the poem.
"Thero Is No Unbelief' should
not be COMPOUNDED with "Thcre Is
No Death" j. l.. McCreery's famous
poem, about which there was once
80 much controversy. The yaSarlns
OF its various credits may probably
account for the two illustrions
names saddled on to Mrs. Cases.
poem. "There Is No Doath, 'as was
definitely proved, first appeared ii
Arthur's Homo Magazine, July,
1863, signed j L. McCrecry. Oao
4. Bulmer, an IllinoisanL with ten
taoular enterprise, copied the poem,
annexed his own name ana sent it,
as his own, to Tho Farmers Advo.
cato, Chicago. A Wisconsin paper,
copying it, changed tho namo to
Bulwer, supposing that Bnlmcr WIS
q misprint. Consequently, until six
or seven years ;go, when its true au-
thorship was decisively settled, the
poem was variously credited to Bul,
mer, Bulwer Lytton, McCreery and
to ono Robert Shaw. But Dotwith.
standing the fact that Mrs. Cases
poem is totally different, save for the
three words in the title and for the
religious spirit FORWARDING tho piece,
many editors have manifestly con.
fused the two poems. In the west
Mrs. Case has been prominently be.
fore the public as al educational
teacher and lecturer, and wherever
the Detroit Free Press oirculates her
uamo is known as a writer of tender
verses and strong dialect stories,
She has also seen great deal of tho
United States and has contributed
to many papers large share Of her
observations and experiences.