Arizona republican., 1899-06-12
PALMER Bs IMMORTAL HYMN.
Written in q Meter Little Used in
 Sacred Songs.


 Of Dr. Ray PaImer's inn nortal hymn My Faith Looks Up to Thee, Dr. Theodore L.. CuyIer once said: This 15 by far the most precious contribution which American genius nas yet made to the hymnology of the Christian church.
 This hymn is written in 9 meter which at the time Cf it's composition was little used in sacred songs. Not that 1t was entirely original with pr. Palmer, or that it was regarded as in appropriate for sacred use. Charles Wesley, CT whoever WQs the author or the staley, spiritual hymn beginning, Come. Thou Almighty King" had employed the same meter three-quar- ters of a century befsre. But even this is not the oldest lyric which we find in this meter. The English 0a- tional anthem, God Save the Queen,' which is based on an cid Latin chorus (sung in 1888, when William of Or leaRs was busy with his preparations in aid of the conspiracy against the Stuart dynasLy), IS evidently oder, >and is written in the same meter. Since the publication of Palmer's fine hymn the meter seems to have become even more popular as . patriotic tune, and Smiths America" which is claimant for adoption as our national air par excellence, is written in the same measure. IL is but fair now ever, to say thai the selection Cf this meter by Dr. Smith was due to the in fluence Of the English national anth- em, and not to the influence Of My faith looks up to Thee nCtWi-hstand- ing the popularity Of the -atter hymn. But My country, 'tis of thee," it is interesting to note, was written only about a year after My faith looks up to Thee"
 Palmer wrote his famous hymn al most immediately after graduation from Yale, when only two and twenty years old. IL was written in Decenl- Der, 1880, when the author Was in poor health, and the manuscript was put away in his memorandum book. Speaking of his feelings at the time of the composition, te says; 'I gave form to what I felt by writing, with litt.e effort, these stanZas. l rec0lect that I wrote them with very tender emotion, and ended the last line with tears. I composed them with 2 deep consciousness of my own needs, with out the slightest thought of writing for another eye, and least of all of writing a hymn for Christian wor- ship"
 The exact date of the publication of the hymn seems to Ee a matter of doubt. It appears that the author first published his lyric anonymously in some American periodical, and that 1T was afterward reprinted in some Eng fish paper, and in that country soon became quite popular. Its first appear ance in a hymn book dates from 1833. when 1t appeared in Spiritual Songs for Social Worship published by Dr. Lowell Mason and Rev. Thomas Has tings.
 One day in 1882 Dr. Mason met young Palmer on the stret in Boston and asked him f he could not fur nish a contribution to a hymn book he and Rev. Mr Hastings intended soon tO publish Palmer complied with the request and produced from his notebook the now famous hymn. ot which he made copy. entitling it ''Se!f Consecration, . and gave it to pr. Mason. Several days thereafter Dr. Mason met Palmer and remarked to him in reference to his contribu- ton:
 MT Palmer. you may live many years and do many good things, but I