Lathbury, Mary Artemisia, the daughter of
Rev. John Lathbury, a Methodist minister,
was born in Manchester, N. Y., August 10,
1841. Two of her brothers, Albert Augustus
and Clarence Lathbury, are ministers
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Her
present address is East Orange, N. J. After
leaving school she became an art teacher,
and later engaged in editorial work.
For many years her work has been in general
literature and illustration, being editor
of a picture lesson paper. Miss Lathbury
is the author of some eight or ten small
volumes, but she is most widely and favorably
known through her songs and hymns,
which were composed especially for use in
the religious exercises at Chautauqua.
Among the new hymns added by the compilers
to the Methodist Hymnal none are
more universally admired than the two
short hymns from her pen found in this
collection. In both cases the tunes are
beautifully suited to the sentiment of the
hymns. It could be wished that we had a
dozen or more hymns from her pen in our
Hymnal if all of them could be as poetic
and devotional as these two beautiful lyrics.
| Break thou the bread of life |
325 |
| Day is dying in the West |
57 |