The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-01-16
RPS LETTER
Word For Noted Com
d 81 1ha 0ldeu Time.
learns 81 DEATH OF PROF. WINNER
WHilaM haa Great Reverence for the
Beautiful Songs and Poetical
Gems lnstined Into His Mind
IN Younger Days.


sepumus Winner Is dead. / never
heard 81 him until the other day. when
e brief notice In a New York paper at.
tracted my attention. For sixty years
nc was q musical composer and a writ
er Of songs. He was the author OF
many Of the sweetest pieces that ever
charmed our households, and yet we
never heard Of him. Fifty years ago
my wife used to play, Come listen to
the mochngbird," and l accompanied
her on the nute, and was proud of my
skill. Then there is what Is Home
Without a Mother and Whispering
Hope" and How Sweet Are the
Roses" He made over 1000 musical
compositions and published books of
destruction for every kind of musical
instrument. After the seven days
light before Richmond. Mcclellan was
removed because Of his defeat and Hal
leck was put in his place. This dis
pleased the soldiers very much, for
they were proud of Little Mac" and
loved aim, and so Winner took up
their grievance and wrote a song and
composed the music, "Giye Me Back
MY Old Commander" The air was
simple and the words pathetic, and it
soon was caught by the army of $4,000
men, and could be heard for miles
along the lines and in the camps. It
was inspiring and significant and made
stanton mad He said It was demon
alizing and an insult to General Hal
leck and must be stopped, and he is
sued an order to that effect. OF course,
boys stopped singing in the daytime or
on the march, but away in the dead Of
night a whole regiment would break
out "Oh! give us back our old com
mander" Then Stanton ordered its
publication stopped and threatened to
arrest Winner. But Winner had sold
the copyright and couldn't stop it. A
famous singer dared to sing it on the
stage in New York city, and she was
warned not to do so any more. but she
repeated it, and Stanton had to give it
up and let it wear itself out. Winner
was the winner of that fight, and Stan
ton made a fool of himself.
Stephen Collier Foster was another
composer who was very dear to us in
his day, and charmed millions with his
exquisite melody. We oldfashioned
people still call upon our children to
comfort us with "Old Folks at Home, ,"
Uncle Ned, 20, Susannah," "Old Dog
Tray Nelly Bly," and ''My Old Ken
lucky Home" The royalty on this
last piece made him a good sum of
money. What would the travelling
minstrels have done without his songs
But in his last years he aspired to a
higher plan Of composition, and wrote
such beautiful pieces as Come Where
My Love Lies Dreaming" He was a
man Of fine culture and familiar with
many foreign languages. He, too, is
dead and there has no one come to
take their places as composers of these
sWeat freside songs.
Shakespeare says, "The evil that
men do lives after them. The good
is often Inferred with their bones. "
Well, it is often but not always. Isaac
Watts has been dead one hundred and
fifty years., but his beautiful hymns
and his cradle songs are still familiar
to every Christian household. "Hush,
my dear, lieastill and slumber" has
soothed to Bleep thousands of little
children. let dogs delight to bark
and bite, IS the first little speech of
childhood and next comes "How doth
the lltfle busy bee" The hymn books
OF all Christian churches abound in his
beautiful verse, such as when 1 Can
Read My Titles Clear" There Is a
Land OF Pure Delight" and While the
Lamp Holds Out to Burn, the Vilesr
Sinner May Return" These were not
inferred with MS bones end Will live
through he ages.
Sometimes the man or woma vine
did the gooRl5 forgotfeH. but II good
remai9s--Not one church Napoa in.
thousand in this country snow
VINO wrote the Doxology that is sung
az over the world. Praise God from
all blessings flow" Thomas
has been dead two hundred years,
hose four lines will live and doubt
he is in heaven and hears more
lis own verse and music than any
around the throne of God
espeare might have said with more