THE STORY OF THE HYMNS AND THEIR WRITERS 467
when he recollected that there was no tune for Abide with me. He returned to the house, and in ten minutes, despite a music- lesson that was going on, sat down and wrote his beautiful melody.
Lyte wrote Hold then Thy cross before my closing eyes. This is changed to Reveal Thyself, though Lyte did not intend any reference to the Roman Catholic custom of holding a crucifix before the eyes of the dying. One verse is omitted
Thou on my head in early youth didst smile ; And though rebellious and perverse meanwhile, Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee : On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.
Canon Ellerton says there is not the slightest allusion to the close of the natural day : the words of St. Luke xxiv. 29 are obviously used in a sense wholly metaphorical. It is far better adapted to be sung at funerals, as it was beside the grave of Professor Maurice ; but it is almost too intense and personal for ordinary congregational use. The general feeling does not endorse that view.
The history of this hymn, the most widely diffused and most generally loved of the last sixty years, which, as Canon Ellerton says, has taken its place among the choicest devotional treasures of the Christian Church, is a glorious fulfilment of Lyte s own wish
ERE THE NIGHT FALL.
Why do I sigh to find
Life s evening shadows gathering round my way, The keen eye dimming, and the buoyant mind
Unhinging day by day?
I want not vulgar fame I seek not to survive in brass or stone ; Hearts may not kindle when they hear my name,
Nor tears my value own ;
But might I leave behind Some blessing for my fellows, some fair trust To guide, to cheer, to elevate my kind,
When I am in the dust ;
Might verse of mine inspire One virtuous aim, one high resolve impart, Light in one drooping soul a hallowed fire,
Or bind one broken heart ;
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