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I found this poem in a newspaper, wrote the music for it, and sang it for the first time at a meeting for ministers and Christian workers at Atlanta, Georgia, conducted by Mr. Moody. It has been repeatedly used as a solo in meetings gathered for the discussion of the subject, ”How to reach the masses. ”Once, in Buffalo, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Yates of Batavia, New York; and I urged him to devote more of his time to writing Gospel hymns. He has since written several popular songs, one of the most successful being ”Faith is the Victory,” which I published in ”The Christian Endeavor Hymnbook."
A poor little girl, living in an alley of the slum district of Chicago, was used in a remarkable way for the conversion of a commercial traveler. He had received instructions, his trunks filled with samples had been sent to the depot, and hurried good-byes had been said. With gripsack in hand, he took a short-cut to the station through one of the filthy alleys of the city. He saw a great number of half-clad children, whose only home was a wretched basement or illy ventilated tenement. As he passed, one little waif was singing at the top of her voice: “Where?” said the thoughtless salesman. “In heaven above, where all is love, there'll be no sorrow there," sang the little girl. |