388 CHAPTER XX. AMERICAN HYMNS. GREAT as is the past of English literature, its future is likely to be still greater, both on account of the increase of the English-speaking race, and the variety of lands in which its lot is now cast, for there will be not only a greater number of contributors to the stores of English literature, but the peoples, climate, condition, and scenery will probably give rise to new types both of thought and expression. At present America is the only English-speaking offshoot from the mother country which has existed long enough to develop a literature of its own. Australia is budding into letters, especially of the poetic kind, but, although the promise is great, the time of fruit is not yet. In the case of America, however, there has been sufficient time for the bud, the blossom, the slowlyforming fruit, and now we near the harvest, if not the full one, yet the first ingatherings of one which bids fair to rival that of the old country. My concern in the present chapter is only with one small part of this literary harvest, one which some would exclude as altogether unworthy of a place therein, and not altogether without good reason, since a very large number of the hymns of the past have been so destitute of literary grace or poetic inspiration as to be quite unworthy of a place in literature. Dr. Johnson said of Dr. Watts, "that he had succeeded in doing better than others, what no one had succeeded in doing well." There was, at that time, a measure of truth in that saying. But before Dr. Watts there had been writers who had written fine hymns, even judged from a literary standpoint, so that even then materials existed for a good, if not a large, collection of English hymns, which, from a variety of causes, had been strangely overlooked and neglected; whilst among Dr. Watts' six hundred hymns, many of which are very inferior, there are a few grand hymns; and since his time many writers have produced hymns which an unprejudiced judgment would include among the literary treasures of the English-speaking race. Amongst such, the hymns of our friends across the Atlantic hold no small or undistinguished place. Indeed, some of the finest work of this kind of recent times has had to travel across the ocean which separates us from that great country. The excellence of much American hymn-work is due to certain causes which do not prevail in England. One of these is the absence of an Established Church, with its venerable and greatly-loved Liturgy, which allows less space for hymn-singing than do the churches which rely on extemporaneous utterance in their devotional services. Of course there is an Episcopal Church in America, which, like its elder sister in this country, retains-though in an altered form-the Book of Common Prayer in its worship, but that Church is neither the dominant, nor the most influential, nor the most numerous Church of that land. The great majority of the American Churches rely, either altogether or in part, on extemporaneous utterance in their devotional services, and so leave a larger place open for the singing of hymns, than Churches whose services are wholly liturgical. Another reason for the excellence of much American hymn-writing is to be found in the custom which prevails of inviting those with poetic power to contribute verses for the great anniversaries in their history-social, national, ecclesiastical. This has drawn into the ranks of the hymnists some of the most notable writers. Scarcely an American poet of any eminence could be named who has not been led to consecrate his genius to hymn-production. Some of the finest hymns by American authors have had this origin. In England, the names of our greater poets are conspicuous by their absence from the roll of the hymnists. They have either not thought of hymns as a form for the expression of their genius, or have deemed them unworthy of their powers. And our national customs have done nothing to call out their genius in that direction, save occasionally by asking for an ode, or poem, or song, for some great celebration. What glorious additions to our hymnals might have been made if Lord Tennyson, or Robert Browning, or Lewis Morris had been asked to compose hymns for great occasions, as Oliver Wendell Holmes, John Greenleaf Whittier, and others, have been in America! It should also be noted that the American poets have been more deeply touched by religious feeling than their brothers in England, so that their poetry is more devotional in its tone. This has made it possible to extract verses from their poems, which, though not written as hymns, have been eminently suited for use in worship. All these causes combined have conspired to produce a mass of verses which are very remarkable. Hymn-writing in America began with the present century. Before that time only metrical versions of the Psalms were in use; the first collection having been the celebrated Bay Psalm Book, or New England version, published in 1640, of which it is said that no less than 70 editions were printed in Boston, London, and Edinburgh. This was revised in 1757 by Thomas Prince, but was soon superseded by Tate and Brady's version. Rather later (1750-1780) editions of Tate and Brady were issued with a supplement of hymns, chiefly from Dr. Watts. At the end of the 18th century many editions of Dr. Watts' Psalms and Hymns were published, in some of which the Psalms were amended, by Joel Barlow in 1785, and by Timothy Dwight in 1800. After this time the Metrical Psalms were issued, with hymns appended; in the Episcopal Church, the version of Tate and Brady, and in the Presbyterian and Congregational, Watts' version being used. But as time went on, the Psalms fell more and more into the background, and hymns became prominent. The hymns used in America have been chiefly drawn from English sources, hardly a tenth part being of native origin. In many collections the proportion of American hymns is much smaller-in the "Methodist Episcopal Hymn Book" of 1849, only 50 out of a total of 1,148 are American; in the "Baptist Service of Song" there are 100 out of a total of 1,129; so that though the store of American hymns is by no means small, and is constantly increasing, yet, as was to be expected from a new community, it is insignificant compared with that of England, which, through many centuries, has been gradually accumulating. But in the future America is destined, I believe, to contribute a larger proportion of hymns, and to exert an immense influence on our English Hymnody. A great number of American hymnists are quite unknown and entirely unrepresented in our English collections. My concern in the present chapter is chiefly with those whose hymns have found a place in our own hymnals, and these represent the freshest and mos vigorous writers of the new country. I will group then under the various Churches to which they belong. From the Protestant Episcopal Church, hymns by about ten writers have been included in English collections. Henry Ustic Onderdonk, D.D. (1789-1858), second Bishop of Pennsylvania, who is best known by the Lymn of Invitation, which begins, "The Spirit in our hearts." William Augustus Muhlenberg, D.D. (1796-1879), the great-grandson of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the founder of the German Lutheran Church in America, whose Baptismal hymn, "Saviour, who Thy flock art feeding," has deservedly become popular. George Washington Doane, D.D. (1799-1859), Bishop of New Jersey, was the author of the well-known hymn, "Thou art the way: to Thee alone;" and the Missionary hymn quoted below, a very striking and poetic utterance. Fling out the banner! let it float Skyward and seaward, high and wide; Fling out the banner! angels bend In anxious silence o'er the sign; And vainly seek to comprehend The wonder of the Love Divine. |