orts.

Ingemann's "Morning Hymns" appeared in 1822, and in 1825 his "Hymns of
Worship" was published. In 1854 he was charged with the task of
completing the "Psalm Book for Church and Private Devotion," edited by
the ministerial conference at Roskilde.

A Norwegian Miserere

Before Thee, God, who knowest all,
With grief and shame I prostrate fall;
I see my sins against Thee, Lord,
The sins of thought, of deed, and word,
They press me sore, I cry to Thee;
O God, be merciful to me!

O Lord, My God, to Thee I pray:
O cast me not in wrath away,
Let Thy good Spirit ne'er depart,
But let Him draw to Thee my heart,
That truly penitent I be;
O God, be merciful to me!

O Jesus, let Thy precious blood
Be to my soul a cleansing flood;
Turn not, O Lord, Thy guest away,
But grant that justified I may
Go to my house with peace from Thee;
O God, be merciful to me!

Magnus Brorstrup Landstad, 1861.

LANDSTAD, A BARD OF THE FROZEN FJORDS

This is the story of a man whose chance purchase of two books at an
auction sale for the sum of four cents was probably the means of
inspiring him to become one of the foremost Christian poets of the North.

Magnus Brorstrup Landstad was a poverty-stricken student at the
University of Christiania (now Oslo), Norway, when he happened to pass a
house in which a sale of books was being conducted. Moved by curiosity,
he entered the place just as a package of old books was being offered. We
will let him tell the remainder of the story:

"I made a bid of four cents, the deal was made, and I walked home with my
package. It contained two volumes in leather binding. One was
'Freuden-Spiegel des ewigen Lebens' by Philipp Nicolai. On the last few
pages of this book four of Nicolai's hymns were printed. The other book
was Bishop A. Arrebo's 'Hexaemeron, The Glorious and Mighty Works of the
Creation Day.' In this manner two splendid hymn collections, one German
and the other Danish-Norwegian, unexpectedly came into my possession. I
was not acquainted with either of these works before. Nicolai's hymns
made a deep impression on me, and I at once attempted to translate
them.... My experience with these hymn collections, I believe, gave me
the first impetus in the direction of hymn writing. Furthermore, it gave
me a deeper insight into the life and spir