at twenty-one was darkened by a terrible affliction. Robert Elscourt, to whom she was betrothed, met sudden death by drowning only a few hours before the time set for the wedding ceremony. The tragic circumstance threw her many cherished hopes into shadow; but out of her painful experience came numerous soul-songs which have taken strong hold on the affection of the churches.

Miss Steele's hymns number one hundred and forty-four, all of which were published in two editions before her death, in November, 1778. The most familiar, and certainly the most beloved of her hymns, is that which American people almost always sing to the charming tune "Naomi":

Father, whate'er of earthly bliss
Thy sovereign will denies,
Accepted at Thy throne, let this,
My humble prayer arise:

Give me a calm and thankful heart,
From every murmur free;

The blessings of Thy grace impart,

And make me live to Thee:

Let the sweet hope that Thou art mine
My life and death attend,

Thy presence through my journey shine,
And crown my journey's end.

This is from a poem of ten stanzas which begins with the line, "When I survey life's varied scenes." The abridgment was made by Augustus M. Toplady about the time he wrote "Rock of Ages"—in 1776 two years before his death. In this form the hymn is in general use in all English-speaking lands, and after a century and a quarter of service it has lost none of its charm.

There are few hymns in any church collection that tend to inspire more heart-felt praise to the Redeemer than the following:

To our Redeemer's glorious name

Awake the sacred song;

Oh, may His love, immortal flame,
Tune every heart and tongue.

His love what mortal thought can reach,
What mortal tongue display?
Imagination's utmost stretch

In wonder dies away.

He left His radiant throne on high,
Left the bright realms of bliss,
And came to earth to bleed and die!
Was ever love like this?

Dear Lord, while we adoring pay
Our humble thanks to Thee,
May every heart with rapture say,
"The Saviour died for me."

Oh, may the sweet, the blissful theme
Fill every heart and tongue,

Till strangers love Thy charming name,
And join the sacred song.

Another hymn by Miss Steele is taken from a poem of twelve stanzas on the Holy Scriptures. It is beautiful as to poetic form, and is widely popular both in America and Great Britain. I quote the five stanzas which are in common use:

Father of mercies, in Thy word

What endless glory shines!
Forever be Thy name adored

For these celestial lines.

Here may the wretched sons of want
Exhaustless riches find;

Riches above what earth can grant,

And lasting as the mind.

Here the Redeemer's welcome voice
Spreads heavenly peace around;
And life, and everlasting joys,

Attend the blissful sound.

Oh, may these heavenly pages be
Our ever dear delight;

And still new beauties may we see,
And still increasing light.

Divine Instructor, gracious Lord,

Be Thou forever near;
Teach us to love Thy sacred word,
And view the Saviour there.

The mother of Archdeacon Wilson of Manchester, England, taught him when a boy to memorize good hymns a matter that is unfortunately much neglected in these days. The first of the three hundred he committed to memory was this noble hymn by Miss Steele:

My God, my Father, blissful name !
Oh, may I call Thee mine?
May I with sweet assurance claim
A portion so divine?

This only can my fears control,

And bid my sorrows fly.

What harm can ever reach my

Beneath my Father's eye?

soul

Whate'er Thy providence denies,
I calmly would resign,

For Thou art good and just and wise:
Oh, bend my will to Thine.

Whate'er Thy sacred will ordains,
Oh, give me strength to bear;
And let me know my Father reigns,
And trust His tender care.

Thy sovereign ways are all unknown
To my weak, erring sight;
Yet let my soul adoring own
That all Thy ways are right.

My God, my Father, be Thy name
My solace and my stay.
Oh, wilt Thou seal my humble claim,
And drive my fears away?

The Archdeacon highly commended this hymn by saying that more than all the others he carried in his memory, it entered into his bone and blood, "as the true philosophy of life and the wisest prayer."

For a full century after her death Miss Steele filled a larger place in American