her glad reign.

Hail to the brightness of Zion's glad morning,
Long by the prophets of Israel foretold!
Hail to the millions from bondage returning!
Gentiles and Jews the blest vision behold.

Lo, in the desert rich flowers are springing,
Streams ever copious are gliding along;
Loud from the mountain-tops echoes are ringing,
Wastes rise in verdure, and mingle in song.

Hark, from all lands, from the isles of the ocean,
Praise to Jehovah ascending on high;
Fallen the engines of war and commotion,
Shouts of salvation are rending the sky.

Thomas Hastings.

THOMAS HASTINGS, POET AND MUSICIAN

High among the names of those who in the early days of America labored to
raise the standard of hymnody must be inscribed the name of Thomas
Hastings, Doctor of Music. Poet and musician by nature, Hastings may
truly be said to have devoted his entire life to the elevation of sacred
song.

The story of his life is typical of the struggles and hardships of many
American pioneers who conquered in spite of the most adverse
circumstances. Born at Washington, Conn., October 15, 1784, young
Hastings removed with his parents to Clinton, N. Y., when he was only
twelve years old. The journey was made in ox-sleds through unbroken
wilderness in the dead of winter.

The frontier schools of those days offered little opportunity for
education, but the eager lad trudged six miles a day to receive the
instruction that was given. A passionate fondness for music was first
satisfied when he secured a musical primer of four pages costing six
pence. The proudest moment in his life came when he was named leader of
the village choir.

It was not until he was thirty-two years old that Hastings was able to
secure employment as a music teacher, but from that time until his death,
in 1872, he devoted all his energies to the work he loved.

Hastings was ever tireless in contending that good music should have a
recognized place in religious worship. From 1823 to 1832, during which
time he edited the Western Recorder, in Utica, N. Y., he had an excellent
opportunity to spread his views on music. In the latter year twelve
churches in New York City jointly engaged his services as choir director,
and for the remainder of his life Hastings made the great American
metropolis his home.

Though seriously handicapped by eye trouble, Hastings p