a, N. Y., have come away with at least one impression that is
lasting. It is the singing by the vast assembly of Mary Lathbury's famous
vesper hymn, "Day is dying in the west."

This beautiful evening lyric, which was written especially for the
Chautauqua vesper hour, has been called by a distinguished critic "one of
the finest and most distinctive hymns of modern times," and there are few
who will not concur in his judgment.

The "lyrist of Chautauqua" was born in Manchester, N. Y., August 10,
1841. As a child she began to reveal artistic tendencies. She developed a
special talent in drawing pictures of children, and her illustrations in
magazines and periodicals made her name widely known. She also wrote
books and poetry, illustrating them with her own sketches.

Very early in life she felt constrained to dedicate her talent to
Christian service. She tells how she seemed to hear a voice saying to
her: "Remember, my child, that you have a gift of weaving fancies into
verse, and a gift with the pencil of producing visions that come to your
heart; consecrate these to Me as thoroughly and as definitely as you do
your inmost spirit."

An opportunity to serve her Lord in a very definite way came in 1874,
when Dr. John H. Vincent, then secretary of the Methodist Sunday School
Union, employed her as his assistant. The Chautauqua movement had just
been launched the previous year and the formal opening on the shores of
the beautiful lake from which the institution has received its name took
place on August 4, 1874. Dr. Vincent became the outstanding leader of the
movement, and he began to make use of Miss Lathbury's literary talent
almost immediately.

Dr. Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, historian of Chautauqua, writes: "In Dr.
Vincent's many-sided nature was a strain of poetry, although I do not
know that he ever wrote a verse. Yet he always looked at life and truth
through poetic eyes. Who otherwise would have thought of songs for
Chautauqua and called upon a poet to write them? Dr. Vincent found in
Mary A. Lathbury a poet who could compose fitting verses for the
expression of the Chautauqua spirit."

The beautiful evening hymn, "Day is dying in the west," was written in
1880, at Dr. Vincent's request, for the vesper services which are held
every evening. It originally consisted of only two stanzas, and it was
not until ten years later that Miss Lathbury, at the strong insistence of
friends, added the last two stanzas. We are happ