The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1905-06-16
INSTITUTE FANNY CROSBY DAY
HYMN WRITER'S LIFE STILL
FULL OF LIGHT.
safe in the Arms OF Jesus and
Many Other Songs Will Never
Grow Old

Graceful and appropriate was the
plan Of setting apart Sunday, March
&c, as a day Of special services in
American churches in honor Of Fan
ny J. Crosby, the blind hymn writer
March "A marks Miss CTOsby's eighty
fifth birthday, yet still she is capable
as ever, busy writing hymns and 9TH
er poems, Iecturing and speaking
with fervid eIOquence at religious
meetings.
Sunday, March 26, has been named
Fanny Crosby day. As the sound Of
a great amen one seems to hear the
rolling music Of millions Of voices on
that day singing all over this land the
sweet hymns Of the blind woman NJ
merOus stories have come TO Miss
Crosby Of men who have been con-
verted from evil ways through hear
ing her stirring religious songs In
recognition Of her uneqUaled cOntri-
button to the music Of Christian wOr-
ship those who know and love Fanny
CrOsby's hymns are making her
eighty-fifth birthday the occasion for
presenting her with a substantial
thank offering
Miss CrOsby's home at present IS IN
Bridgeport, Conn, at 756 State street
Through bad medical treatment Of
her eyes Frances Jane Crosby became
blind at the age of six But fate has
kindly made up in every possible way
for the awful deprivation 81 sight
Intellectual gifts Of a high order We're
the little blind girls, an intuitive
sense of rythm and a musical ear so
keen and correct that a discOrd Of
sound is misery to her The horror
of disCcrI extends aI-o To- the moral
nature of the sweet sOuIed blind
woman. Quarreling is moral niScOrd
most hideous, and it skaters the
whole being Of the sightIeSs singer.
She loves children dearly, and they
say it matters not how uPTOariOus
young ones around her become so
long as it is in mirth. But let them
begin to squabble and fuss -ah, that
IS different. She is greatly distress
ed.
Fanny Crosby was bOvn in South
east, Putnam county - V She was
educated at a school for the blind
and in 1S4T began to teach at the
Institution for the Blind in New York
City She had used her school days
well, and among the branches in
which she was instructor were Greek
rhetoric and ancient and modern his
tory. Eleven years she was teach
er.
But all the years since her child
had been beating in her brain, break
ing always against the thoughts which
were sent out to other things. When
she was only eight years old she had
written:
Oh, what happy soul am,
Although I rannOt see!
I am resolved that in this world
COntented I will be,
How many blessings I enjoy
That other people don't!
To weep and sigh besause I'm
I cannot, and I won't.
At the age Of eight this remarkable
girl had learned that philosophy
which many people drag through
threescOre years and ten of bruise and
fret and torture without acquiring.
While she was a teacher Miss
Crosby continued to write poems
Many Of her early ones were set to
music and became popular songs on
both sides OF the water. For eight
years she studied English cOnstruc-
ton and metriCal composition that
no false versificatiOn might escape her
pen. In the Institution for the Blind
she wrote her girlish poems, Hazel
DELL Resale, the Prairie Flower,
There's Music in the Air and others
Root. the popular song composer
Mothers Of grown sons and daughters
yet hum those old airs, and still the
children in school sing There's Mus
ic in the Air
Miss Crosby wrote her first hymn
when she was fOrty-five years old
That first hymn began:
We are going, we are going
To a home beyond the skies.
bury. the composer For some Of
Fanny Crosby's hymns she herself has
composed the music. 1t may be in
teresting to note that the blind versi-
fer was the first woman who ever
spoke in the senate chamber atWaSh-
ington. She presented a petition in
behalf OF the blind and recited some
Of her own poems. This was in 1874
She has written the extraordinary
number Of 5000 hymns, besides can
tatas and many other poems and
songs Among the best known Of the
hymns are Pass Ne Not. 0 Gentle
Saviour" Rescue the Perishing,
safe in the Arms Of Jesus" The
Bright Forever and Like the Sound
Of Many Waters" Miss Crosby her
self tells an interesting and rather
strange story Of how safe in the
Arms OF Jesus was written One day
in 1858 ". H Doane, who had COM
posed the music for several Of her
hymns. came to her and told her he
wanted some words for a new sacred
melody and wanted them quick He
had forty minutes to wait for a train
he was to take for Cincinnati and
must have the hymn ready in that
time He went to the piano and
played the music While he did this
Fanny Crosby sat thinking deeply
as she says As he ceased playing
she rose and said, 4 think I can write
it"
In less than twenty minutes she
was back again with the stanzas Of
the thrilling revival hymn safe il
the Arms Of Jesus" ali ready, just a.
they are sung today. OF ali The
hymns Miss Crosby has written thi.
one IS her favorite. She believes
was inspired. Once she was at a mis-
sion prayer meeting when a gOuns
man rose and told the audience hov
that hymn had led him from an svi
reckless lie into the white path a