The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1907-03-21
1zz ills, eoT7AGE @ WITH TEE cJzzADoW OF THE e1rRcH

at the time / was preparing the opera
of Clair for Mr.. Kemble. Bishop hap
pened to know the air perfectly well,
and adapted the music to the words"
The success of this song is known
in every nation 1t has had more
universal circulation than any other in
the world. In less than a year after
1t appeared the London publishers
sold more than 100000 copies. Never
theless ii is a curious fact that Payne
never was given credit for it nor
royalty upon it. He never even re-
ceived presentation copy of the song.
| In 1912 he was appointed consul to
Tunis, and the same year was made
colonel on the staff of Maj. Gen. Aaron
Ward, of the Fourth division of in
fantry of the militia of the state of
New York. In February of the fol-
lowing year he left for Africa.
His career in Tunis was as unique
as the rest of his life. He became the
! intimate and personal friend of Ahmed
Pasha Bey, the king of Tunis, and was
adored by the natives of the city.
! He was recalled in 1S45, but re-
turned to Africa in 1851. And when
| they told the hey that he had reached
Tunis he "cried out joyfully and said
LET him be made welcomed" Flags
were hung from every window, and
the people filled the streets with fes-
tivities in his honor.
And there in Tunis he died, cared
for by a Greek priest, two French Sis
ters of Mercy ana some native Moors
who lovea him. Tunis wept when his
eyes closed at last, and the hey was in
consolable.
| He was buried in a plot of ground
overlooking the purple water and the
splendid ruins of old Carthage. Our
government erected there a marble
slab bearing Chilton's lines:
Sure when thy gentle spirit fled
To realms beyond the azure dome,
With arms outstretched Gods angels
saidS
Welcome to Heavens Home, Sweet
Home"
Gabriel Harrison says of the poet in
connection with the Easthampton cot
tage, of which he often spoke
One who has studied the character
of John Howard Payne cannot fail to
discover in his picture of the old home.
stead deep, unsubsiding love for the
old place, as if the spirit of his boy
hood had come back to awaken mem.
ories of a delightful past; indeed, il
was here where his earliest inspira.
tions were winged, where his eyes
were first opened to the beauties OF
the world, where he first took breath
of the broad green fields; where the
waves of the sea shore, as they broke
their white crests at his young feet
whispered to him strange stories OF
the deep; where he first tried to count
the stars, and where, each early
morning as he awoke, hope painted
new pictures of his imagined future.
Indeed, if he was thinking of any one
place on earth when he wrote his song
of Home. Sweet Home it was of the
lowly cottage at Easthampton.'
And it is this cottage which has
come into the possession of the Epis
copal church of East Hampton, and
because of the necessity for more
room, for the present building is not
adequate for the needs of the congre
cation, especially in summer when the
town is filled with visitors, it has beer
the plan to demolish the cottage SC
as to secure the building space needed
for larger church and parish house
and rectory adjoining.
Several plans have been put for
ward for the preservation of the cot
tage. One is that il be remodeled anC
used as a rectory; one resident of tn,
town offers land on which to place the
building; the editor of a boys maga
zine in the west urges his young read
ers to support it as a historical mu
! scum, and still others have othe
plans. Just what will be the ultimat,
outcome of the agitation is uncertain
but 1t surely will be unfortunate if tn,
place is lost to the country and futur,
generations who will continue to sins
the song of Home Sweet Home"