“ O Love That Wilt i Not Let Me Go” § «(By DR. GEORGE MATHESON)*■
Is one of the greatest and most beautiful hymns of modern days. There has sprung up a story in connection with the composition of that hymn which unfortunately slipped into our June magazine, to the effect that the hymn was written as a result of the young woman to whom he was engaged, breaking her engage ment when she found out that he was about to lose his sight. We do not know where the story originated, but we have reason to believe that there is not a word of truth in it, and in all fairness to the Scotch girls and to the facts in the case, we are sorry that we have helped to give wider currency to the story. The fact of the matter is, the hymn was written by Dr. Matheson in 1882, when he' was forty years of age and after he had been in the ministry nearly twenty years. It was written on the day of his sister’s marriage. His family had all departed for Glasgow. While he was alone in the manse at Innellan this hymn came to him, and he says that it was one of the quickest bits of' work that he ever did. He had ■ the impression of having received it rather than of having worked it out himself. The hymn is a, hymn that has back of it a large and a mature experience and could only be the expression of a great and a rich life. It is commonly known that the sister who was married, had been eyes to the blind poet for many'years and was a companion as well as a sister. This fact, which increased his deep sense of loneliness, will give to the hymn all that is good in the old story and is very much more in line with what we know of Scotch women and life.
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