s. James Gibson Johnson" is the name attached to it as its
author, though we have been unable to trace and verify her claim.

O, word of words the sweetest,
O, words in which there lie
All promise, all fulfillment,
And end of mystery;
Lamenting or rejoicing,
With doubt or terror nigh,
I hear the "Come" of Jesus,
And to His cross I fly.

CHORUS.
Come, come--
Weary, heavy-laden, come, O come to me.

_THE TUNE_,

Composed by James McGranahan, delivers the whole stanza in soprano or
tenor solo, when the alto, joining the treble, leads off the refrain in
duet, the male voices striking alternate notes until the full harmony in
the last three bars. The style and movement of the chorus are somewhat
suggestive of a popular glee, but the music of the duet is flexible and
sweet, and the bass and tenor progress with it not in the
ride-and-tie-fashion but marking time with the title-syllable.

The contrast between the spiritual and the intellectual effect of the
hymn and its wakeful tune is illustrated by a case in Baltimore. While
Moody and Sankey were doing their gospel work in that city, a man, who,
it seems, had brought a copy of the _Gospel Hymns_, walked out of one of
the meetings after hearing this hymn-tune, and on reaching home, tore
out the leaves that contained the song and threw them into the fire,
saying he had "never heard such twaddle" in all his life.

The sequel showed that he had been too hasty. The hymn would not leave
him. After hearing it night and day in his mind till he began to
realize what it meant, he went to Mr. Moody and told him he was "a vile
sinner" and wanted to know how he could "come" to Christ. The divine
invitation was explained, and the convicted man underwent a vital
change. His converted opinion of the hymn was quite as remarkably
different. He declared it was "the sweetest one in the book." (_Story of
the Gospel Hymns_.)

"ALMOST PERSUADED."

The Rev. Mr. Brundage tells the origin of this hymn. In a sermon
preached by him many years ago, the closing words were:

"He who is almost persuaded is almost saved, but to be almost saved is
to be entirely lost." Mr. Bliss, being in the audience, was impressed
with the thought, and immediately set about the composition of what
proved one of his most popular songs, deriving his inspiration from the
sermon of his friend, Mr. Brundage. _Memoir of Bliss_.

Almost persuaded now to b