,illustration3 uncaptioned              
,famous ,hymns of the ,world ,series    
,lead ,kindly ,light                    
,,its ,,origin ,,and ,,its ,,romance    
,,by                                    
,,allan ,,sutherland                    
,,with ,,an ,,introduction              
,,by                          ,,the     
,,rev4 ,,henry ,c4 ,mc,c,o,o,k          
,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d41 ,sc4,d4               
,illustrated        ,illustration3      
,decorative glyph                       
,,new ,,york                            
,,frederick ,a4 ,,stokes ,,company      
,,publishers                            
,copyright1 #aije                   ,by 
,the ,butterick ,publishing ,co41 ,ltd4 
,copyright1 #aijf                       
,by ,frederick ,a4 ,stokes ,company     
,illustration3 uncaptioned              
,,introductory                          
,,by ,,the                ,,rev4 ,,henry
 ,c4 ,mc,c,o,o,k1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d41     
,sc4,d4#a    ,from the earliest eras of 
history1 religion has been wedded to    

song4  ,in every stage of civilisation  
and in well-nigh every form of worship  
this has been true4 ,from the rude      
ululations of savage medicine-men1  with
 the monotonous beat of tum-tums1 to the
 splendid ,levitical choir of  the      
,hebrew temple that rendered the psalms 
to the accompaniment of  stringed and   
brazen instruments1 the record does not 
vary4    ,how rhythm and melody react   
upon the religious sentiment1 and why   
religious experience naturally flows in 
rhythmic utterance1 one need not  here  
inquire4 ,such inquiries belong to the  
natural history of sacred  psalmody4    
,but there are our sacred books to      
attest the facts4 ,a large  part of them
 are poems4 ,the poets of ancient       
,israel were true prophets4  ,the core  
of the ,hebrew religion and worship lay 
within its religious  songs2 and these  
are the portions of its ritual that have
 lived2 and one  may safely predict that
 they shall run the whole cycle of being
 with our  race4    ,as far back as the 

days of ,moses1 we read of ,miriam under
 a prophetic  impulse breaking forth    
into song to commemorate the deliverance
 of  ,israel from the ,egyptians on the 
peninsular shore of the ,red ,sea4 ,a   
refrain of that hymn has come down to   
us3      8,sing unto the ,lord for ,he  
hath triumphed gloriously2    ,the horse
 and his rider ,he hath whelmed within  
the sea40    ,that such religious songs 
were not rare and that their musical    
utterance  was even then organized as a 
part of worship1 appears from the fact  
that  ,miriam's countrywomen accompanied
 her with their guitars1 and joined in  
the chorus4    ,the ,songs of ,deborah  
illumined the period of the ,judges4    
,they have been  given a place by       
competent critics among the noblest     
lyrics of  antiquity4 ,one of these1    
,heinrich ,ewald1 speaks of them as so  
artistic1  with all their antique       
simplicity1 that they show to what      
8refined art  poetry early aspired1 and 
what a delicate perception of beauty    

breathed  already beneath its stiff and 
cumbrous soul40    ,the ,gospel era     
dawned in the midst of holy songs1      
hymned by angels1 by  holy men and      
women1 and by the ,mother of our ,lord4 
,from that day on the  ,church of ,jesus
 has been vocal with psalmody4 ,the     
primitive ,church had  her spiritual    
songs4 ,the saintliness of the early    
,christian ages  survives in the ,greek 
and ,latin hymns1 and the pleasant task 
of  translating and assembling the      
choicest of these has occupied many     
gifted minds4    ,the ,protestant       
,reformation of the sixteenth century   
was borne forward on  waves of sacred   
song4 ,the sweet voice of the student   
lad that appealed  from the snowy street
 to the heart of ,dame ,ursula ,cotta1  
and opened her  doors to ,martin        
,luther1 was a type of the new time4    
,the new songs of the  ,reformation and 
the old psalms renewed in the vernacular
 and in popular  musical forms1 prepared
 the way of multitudes for the revived  

truths of  the ,gospel4    ,luther's    
musical taste and talent impressed      
itself upon ,germany1 and  thence upon  
,europe4 ,his free spirit found         
utterance outside of the  ,biblical     
forms of praise in metrical renderings  
of his own and other  religious         
experiences4 ,calvin saw the value and  
authority of popular  praises1 and      
encouraged and procured their use in the
 new organisation  of reformed worship  
of which he was the chief agent4 ,but   
his more  conservative spirit in such   
matters held to the ancient psalms2 and 
this  influenced all ,europe outside of 
,germany4 ,the ,church of ,england used 
the  version of ,sternhold and ,hopkins1
 and these will be found appended to    
the early prayer-books4 ,rous's version 
was substantially that best liked  and  
approved by the ,church of ,scotland4   
,the historic 8,huguenot ,psalter0 was  
the joint work of ,clement ,marot and   
,theodore ,beza1 the former having      
rendered into ,french metre the first   

fifty psalms1 and the latter the        
remaining one hundred4 ,these1 set to   
popular music1 caught the ear and heart 
of the people of all ranks4 ,they  ran  
rapidly throughout ,french-speaking     
nations1 and became as well known  as   
the 8,gospel ,hymns0 in the palmy days  
of ,moody and ,sankey4    ,the ,hebrew  
,psalter embodies the religious         
experiences of the chosen  people1 whose
 faith1 more spiritual than that of any 
other nation of  antiquity1 was         
inbreathed and nurtured by the ,holy    
,spirit4 ,it is not to  be supposed that
 the one hundred and fifty psalms       
included within the  canonical psalter  
were the only ones that the poets of    
,israel hymned4  ,but these1 in the     
process of an inspired selection and a  
devotional  development1 were the ones  
that filled and satisfied the religious 
consciousness of that most spiritual    
people1 and became the vehicle of  not  
only a national but of an international 
praise4    ,for the ,book of ,psalms is 

a book for all nations4 ,the very       
divinity of  its origin insures its     
catholic humanity4 ,it has proved its   
high ethnic  qualities by ages of       
world-wide usage4 ,a cloud of witnessing
 praises1  rising from the ,church of   
every age and name throughout centuries 
of  testing1 testifies to its fitness4  
,if the taste of this era--much to the  
regret of some of us--has largely       
rejected metrical versions in the       
vernacular1 yet their use1 after the    
manner of the ancients1 in chants1      
still holds and even widens in the      
,church's service of praise4    ,it is  
significant that the hymns which have   
fastened themselves upon the  hearts of 
the devout in any one branch of the     
,church are those which are  loved and  
used by all who honor and love the name 
of ,christ4 ,in all ages  the truly     
devout are one in spiritual sympathy1   
and therefore the forms  of praise which
 utter the devotions of one heart bear  
alike to ,god the  aspirations of       

another4 ,the ,calvinistic ,toplady1    
,watts1 and ,bonar2 the  ,methodist     
,wesleys2 the ,anglican ,heber1 ,ken1   
and ,keble2 the ,romanist  ,faber and   
,newman1 and all the goodly company of  
the sons and daughters  of ,asaph1 when 
uttering the devotions of their souls1  
speak in one  tongue4    ,there is      
something divine in the flame of sacred 
poesy that burns out  therefrom the     
dross of sect4 ,the hymns of the most   
rigid denominations  are rarely         
sectarian4 ,there is not a presbyter or 
priest in this whole  land1 who1 with   
due tact and good faith1 could not      
conduct a mission or  service of song as
 chaplain of a congregation of soldiers 
or sailors  made up of ,protestants and 
,roman ,catholics1 of all phases of     
ecclesiastical opinions1 without one    
discordant note and with perfect        
approval and enjoyment of all4 ,this the
 writer1 as a ,government chaplain  in  
two wars and for a quarter of a century 
in the ,national ,guard1 has  repeatedly

 done and seen done4    ,such great     
catholic missions as those of ,moody and
 ,sankey1 ,whittle and  ,bliss1 ,torrey 
and ,alexander1 which have appealed to  
all classes1  conditions1 and creeds1   
and have made their services so largely 
a  service of song1 have been and remain
 impressive witnesses of the            
substantial unity of the devout when    
they engage in the worship of  praise4  
,lead1 kindly ,light1 amid the          
encircling gloom1              ,lead    
,thou me on2    ,the night is dark1 and 
,i am far from home2              ,lead 
,thou me on3    ,keep ,thou my feet2 ,i 
do not ask to see    ,the distant       
scene1--one step enough for me4      ,i 
was not ever thus1 nor prayed that ,thou
              ,shouldst lead me on2     
,i loved to choose and see my path2 but 
now              ,lead ,thou me on4     
,i loved the garish day1 and1 spite of  
fears1    ,pride ruled my will3 remember
 not past years4      ,so long ,thy     
power hath blest me1 sure it still      

,will lead me on    ,o'er moor and fen1 
o'er crag and torrent1 till             
,the night is gone2    ,and with the    
morn those angel faces smile1    ,which 
,i have loved long since1 and lost      
awhile4        ,illustration3           
uncaptioned                             
,,lead1 ,,kindly ,,light      ,hezekiah 
,butterworth1 an authority on hymnology1
 pronounces this to be  8the sweetest   
and most trustful of modern hymns02     
while ,colonel ,nicholas  ,smith says1  
8,christians of all denominations and of
 every grade of  culture feel its charm 
and find in it #8a language for some of 
the  deepest yearnings of the soul4'    
,the hymn-books do not contain a more   
exquisite lyric4 ,as a prayer for a     
troubled soul for guidance1 it ranks    
with the most deservedly famous church  
songs in the ,english language40    ,its
 distinguished author1 ,john ,henry     
,newman1 was born ,february #ba1 #ahja1 
the son of a ,london banker1 and        
seventy-eight years later became a      

,cardinal of the ,roman ,catholic       
,church4 ,at the early age of nineteen  
he  was graduated from ,trinity         
,college1 ,oxford1 and became a tutor in
 ,oriel  ,college4 ,he was ordained in  
#ahbd1 and in #ahbh was made vicar of   
,st4  ,mary's ,protestant ,episcopal    
,church1 ,oxford4    ,he was a popular1 
forceful preacher1 with fluent speech1  
perfect  diction1 and a splendid fund of
 illustration which he always used with 
telling effect4 ,he was deeply          
interested in the heart-life of men1 and
  was ever ready to encourage them to   
speak to him freely of their            
experiences and temptations4 ,he        
exercised a strong influence over the   
students who thronged his church4    ,in
 ,december1 #ahcb1 because of impaired  
health1 he went with friends to         
southern ,europe4 ,the spiritual unrest1
 kindled by the 8,oxford ,movement10    
which finally led him to unite with the 
,roman ,catholic ,church1 in #ahde1  was
 already upon him2 he sought eagerly and

 conscientiously for divine  guidance in
 solving the great doctrinal problems   
that vexed his soul4 ,it  was during    
this period of inner disquietude and of 
anxious thought for  the future of the  
,established ,church1 of which he was   
still a member1  that his noble hymn1   
8,lead1 ,kindly ,light10 had birth--a   
hymn which has  voiced the heartfelt    
prayers of thousands for spiritual      
guidance4    ,in the minds of many there
 is intimate association of thought     
between  ,newman's supplication3        
8,lead1 kindly ,light1 amid the         
encircling gloom1              ,lead    
,thou me on60    and another intensely  
human heart-cry for direction and       
companionship in  the hour of           
need--,henry ,francis ,lyte's           
8,abide with me1 fast falls the         
eventide3    ,the darkness deepens3     
,lord1 with me abide40    ,it is        
interesting to know that both of these  
hymns were composed on the  sacred day  
of rest3 ,newman's1 on ,sunday1 ,june   

#af1 #ahcc2 and ,lyte's1 on  ,sunday1   
,september #e1 #ahdg4    ,newman has    
left us this very entertaining          
description of the  circumstances under 
which his hymn was written3    8,i went 
to the various coasts of the            
,mediterranean2 parted with my  friends 
at ,rome2 went down for the second time 
to ,sicily1 without  companion1 at the  
end of ,april4 ,i struck into the middle
 of the ,island1  and fell ill of a     
fever at ,leonforte4 ,my servant thought
 ,i was dying1  and begged for my last  
directions4 ,i gave them1 as he wished1 
but ,i  said1 #8,i shall not die4' ,i   
repeated #8,i shall not die1 for ,i have
 not  sinned against the ,light2 ,i have
 not sinned against the ,light4' ,i have
  never been able quite to make out what
 ,i meant4    8,i got to                
,castro-,giovanni1 and was laid up there
 for nearly three weeks4  ,toward the   
end of ,may ,i left for ,palermo1 taking
 three days for the  journey4 ,before   
starting from my inn1 on the morning of 

,may #bf or #bg1 ,i  sat down on my bed 
and began to sob violently4 ,my servant1
 who had acted  as my nurse1 asked what 
ailed me4 ,i could only answer him1 #8,i
 have a  work to do in ,england4'       
,illustration3 uncaptioned    8,i was   
aching to get home2 yet1 for want of a  
vessel1 ,i was kept at  ,palermo for    
three weeks4 ,i began to visit the      
churches1 and they calmed  my           
impatience1 though ,i did not attend any
 of the services4 ,at last ,i  got off  
in an orange boat1 bound for            
,marseilles4 ,then it was that ,i  wrote
 the lines1 #8,lead1 ,kindly ,light4'   
,we were becalmed a whole week in  the  
,straits of ,bonifacio4 ,i was writing  
the whole of my passage40  ,elsewhere he
 informs us that the exact date on which
 the hymn was  written was ,june #af4   
,it is pleasant to think that this      
much-loved hymn1 the fervent prayer of  
a doubt-tossed soul1 was written in one 
of the majestic calms that  sometimes   
lull to sleep the sunny waters of the   

,mediterranean2 and that  it caught some
 of its delicious fragrance from the    
perfume that was  wafted over the waters
 from the golden cargo with which the   
vessel was  freighted4 ,it would require
 but little imagination to picture the  
scene3  the clumsy boat1 the            
idly-hanging sails1 the listless1       
swarthy crew1 the  brilliant young      
minister emaciated by mental and        
physical suffering1 the  solemn sea1 and
 over all the matchless ,italian sky and
 the tender  twilight calm4 ,fit hour   
and surroundings for such a hymn to have
 its  being4    ,in striking contrast1  
the music to which the words are        
inseparably  wedded1 was composed by    
,dr4 ,john ,b4 ,dykes as he walked      
through the  ,strand1 one of the busiest
 thoroughfares of ,london4 ,it may be   
that the  tumultuous street was typical 
of the wild unrest in ,newman's heart   
when  he began his hymn2 if so1 surely  
the quiet waters of the ,mediterranean  
on that holy ,sabbath evening might well

 represent his spiritual calm  when it  
was ended--even though subsequent       
controversial storms were  destined to  
beat fiercely upon his soul4    ,in this
 connection it may prove interesting to 
read the following from  the ,random    
,recollections of the ,rev4 ,george     
,huntington3    8,i had been paying     
,cardinal ,newman a visit4 ,for some    
reason ,i happened  to mention his      
well-known hymn1 #8,lead1 ,kindly       
,light1' which he said he  wrote when a 
very young man4 ,i ventured to say1     
#8,it must be a great  pleasure to you  
to know that you have written a hymn    
treasured wherever  ,english-speaking   
,christians are to be found2 and where  
are they not to  be found8' ,he was     
silent for some moments1 and then said  
with emotion1  #8,yes1 deeply thankful1 
and more than thankful6' ,then1 after   
another  pause1 #8,but1 you see1 it is  
not the hymn1 but the tune1 that has    
gained the popularity6 ,the tune is by  
,dykes1 and ,dr4 ,dykes was a great     

master4'0    ,perhaps nothing more fully
 illustrates the general acceptability  
of this  beautiful hymn than the fact   
that 8when the ,parliament of ,religion 
met  in ,chicago during the ,columbian  
,exposition1 the representatives of     
almost every creed known to man found   
two things on which they were  agreed3  
,they could all join in the ,lord's     
,prayer1 and all could sing  #8,lead1   
,kindly ,light4'0    ,when some one1 a  
few years ago1 asked ,william ,e4       
,gladstone to give the  names of the    
hymns of which he was most fond1 he     
replied that he was not  quite sure that
 he had any favourites2 and then1 after 
a moment's  thought1 he said3 8,lead1   
,kindly ,light10 and 8,rock of ,ages40  
,illustration3 uncaptioned    8,i know  
no song1 ancient or modern10 writes the 
,rev4 ,l4 ,a4 ,banks1 ,d4,d41  8that    
with such combined tenderness1 pathos1  
and faith1 tells the story  of the      
,christian pilgrim who walks by faith   
and not by sight4 ,no doubt  it is this 

fidelity to heart experience1 common to 
us all1 that makes  the hymn such a     
universal favourite4 ,there are dark    
nights1 and homesick  hours1 and        
becalmed seas for each of us1 in which  
it is natural for man  to cry out in    
,newman's words3      8#8,the night is  
dark1 and ,i am far from home1          
,lead ,thou me on4'0    ,the ,rev4      
,james ,b4 ,ely1 ,d4,d41 writes as      
follows3 8,it is my desire to  relate   
one interesting incident in connection  
with #8,lead1 ,kindly ,light4'  ,this   
hymn was sung in the ,lemon ,hill       
,pavilion1 ,fairmount ,park1            
,philadelphia1 on a recent ,sabbath     
morning1 at a time when the very        
atmosphere1 the beautiful trees and the 
glowing sun seemed to emphasise  and    
make very real the sentiments expressed4
 ,a young man in the  audience1 who was 
a ,christian1 but greatly burdened with 
many anxieties1  felt while this hymn   
was being sung and the music repeated by
 the  cornet1 that ,god was preparing   

him for some special trial through which
  he must pass4 ,during the day and all 
through the week the melody and the     
words haunted him2 and there was also a 
growing feeling in his heart  that he   
ought to go to his old home and visit   
his mother4 ,finally1 on  ,friday noon1 
he determined that he would start that  
very evening1 and  made his plans to do 
so4 ,just before leaving his place of   
business1 a  telegram came informing him
 of his mother's sudden death4 ,while   
the news  was a great shock to him1 yet 
the singing of the hymn and its constant
  reiteration in his thoughts during the
 week had1 in a measure1 prepared  him  
for his sore bereavement4 ,the hymn has 
since become one of his most  sacred    
possessions4 ,i have written regarding  
this unusual incident  because the      
experience is so fresh in my mind and so
 real4 ,i may add  that this hymn has   
again and again been sung by large      
audiences1 and  always with telling     
spiritual effect40    ,many will recall 

that this hymn was a special favourite  
of the late  ,president ,mc,kinley1 and 
that it was sung far and wide in the    
churches on  the first anniversary of   
his death and burial4    ,the last      
stanza of the hymn rings out with a     
grand declaration of  triumphant1       
child-like faith and assurance3         
8,so long ,thy power hath blest me1 sure
 it still              ,will lead me on 
,o'er moor and fen1 o'er crag and       
torrent1 till              ,the night is
 gone2    ,and with the morn those angel
 faces smile1    ,which ,i have loved   
long since1 and lost awhile40    ,there 
has been some controversy as to the     
author's meaning in the last  two lines4
 ,nearly a half century after they were 
written some one asked  the ,cardinal to
 give an explanation1 and in a letter   
dated ,january #ah1  #ahgi1 he thus     
wisely replied3    8,you flatter me by  
your question2 but ,i think it was      
,keble who1 when  asked it in his own   
case1 answered that poets were not bound

 to be  critics1 or to give a sense to  
what they had written2 and though ,i am 
not1 like him1 a poet1 at least ,i may  
plead that ,i am not bound to  remember 
my own meaning1 whatever it was1 at the 
end of almost fifty  years4 ,anyhow1    
there must be a statute of limitation   
for writers of  verse1 or it would be   
quite tyranny if1 in an art which is the
  expression1 not of truth1 but of      
imagination and sentiment1 one were     
obliged to be ready for examination on  
the transient state of mind which  came 
upon one when homesick1 or seasick1 or  
in any other way sensitive  or excited40
        ,illustration3 uncaptioned      
,cardinal ,newman died ,august #aa1     
#ahij1 fifty-seven years after his hymn 
had made his name immortal4    ,in      
addition to the quotations from         
,hezekiah ,butterworth and ,colonel     
,nicholas ,smith1 with which the study  
of this hymn begins1 it will  doubtless 
prove interesting to read what other men
 of prominence have  said in this       

connection3      8,this much-loved      
hymn40--,dr4 ,louis ,f4 ,benson1 author 
of 8,studies of    ,familiar ,hymns40   
8,its sincerity of feeling and purity of
 expression have made it    universally 
acceptable40--,samuel ,willoughby       
,duffield1 author of    8,english       
,hymns40      8,this is truer to the    
life of thoughtful men than almost any  
other    hymn1 but it is so subjective  
and personal that it is more for the    
closet than for the ,church4 ,it is the 
favourite hymn of our                   
students40--,the ,president of a        
prominent ,university4      8,it can    
scarcely be called either a great poem  
or a great hymn1 and    certainly it is 
not a lyric4 ,yet it has certain        
striking passages1 and    appeals to    
those who for any reason are beset by   
darkness40--,rev4 ,david    ,r4 ,breed1 
,d4,d41 author of 8,the ,history and    
,use of ,hymns and    ,hymn-,tunes40    
8,the beautiful hymn1 #8,lead1 ,kindly  
,light1' is of value to the ,church     

for its poetry and its pathos4 ,for     
times of depression and darkness    come
 to nearly all of us1 and this is just  
the cry which the heart    bowed down   
would use at such times of anxious and  
sacred    communion40--,rev4 ,g4 ,l4    
,stevens1 editor of 8,hymns and         
,carols40      8,the most stirring thing
 ,i know is that struggling cry of the  
wanderer    for light1 #8,for ,i am far 
from home4' ,the writer's personality   
adds    pathos to his tender song4 ,out 
of this song1 appropriated by a         
struggling soul to himself1 one is      
prepared for the sublime and            
recovering thought in the dream of the  
wanderer1 #8with sun gone down1'    and 
the way appearing #8steps up to         
heaven4'0--,rev4 ,william ,v4 ,milligan1
    ,d4,d41 ,cambridge1 ,ohio4          
,footnotes      #a,president of the     
,presbyterian ,historical ,society2     
,chaplain of the      ,forty-first      
,regiment1 ,illinois ,volunteers1       
#ahfa-fb2 ,chaplain of the      ,second 

,regiment1 ,pennsylvania ,volunteers1   
during the      ,spanish-,american ,war2
 ,founder of the ,national ,relief      
,commission1 in      ,spanish-,american 
,war2 ,author of 8,the ,latimers3 ,a    
,scotch-,irish      ,historic ,romance  
of the ,western ,insurrection10 8,women 
,friends of      ,jesus10 8,the ,last   
,days of ,jesus10 8,the ,gospel of      
,nature10 8,tenants      of an ,old     
,farm10 8,american ,spiders and their   
,spinning-work10 8,old      ,farm       
,fairies10 8,the ,agricultural ,ant of  
,texas10 8,the ,honey and      ,occident
 ,ants10 and 8,martial ,graves of our   
,fallen ,heroes in ,santiago      de    
,cuba3 ,a ,record of the                
,spanish-,american ,war40               
,transcriber's ,notes      --,silently  
corrected a few typos4    --,retained   
publication information from the printed
 edition3 this e,book    is             
public-domain in the country of         
publication4    --,in the text versions 
only1 text in italics is delimited by   

underscores4