? 
 
 Lorry i: Rae 
 Tawa Linder a. : 
 
 uw Waal BS ng 
 
 Peleaa fare 
 
 ee ENS Ey ft 
 
 Lon An 
 
 Woon 
 
 OF of) 
 
 By 
 REV. S. F. SMITH, D. D. 
 
 ee 
 ete 
 Bers 
 BATT 
 
 apie 
 Gi fy 
 
 Cis eM alal eds al od ne! 
 fF ME ee he ow 
 
 Ma Se EE AR aE dy lee 
 
 2h Section 
 
 124% 
 
iL LN esol Lone otar 
 ; Thy radiance bright 
 
 Shall spread o’er all the east- 
 
 ern sky; 
 
 Morn breaks apace from gloom and night; 
 
 Shine on, and bless the pilgrim’s eye. 
 
 Shine on, ‘‘Lone Star!”’ I would not dim 
 The light that gleams with dubious ray; 
 The lonely star of Bethlehem 
 Led on a bright and glorious day. 
 
 Shine on, ‘‘Lone Star!’ in grief and tears, 
 And sad reverses oft baptized ; 
 Shine on, amid thy sister spheres; 
 
 Lone stars in heaven are not despised. 
 
Shine on, “ Lone Star!”? Who lifts his hand 
 To dash to earth so bright a gem, 
 
 A new “lost pleiad”’ from the band 
 That sparkles in night’s diadem? 
 
 Shine on, ‘Lone Star!”’ The day draws near 
 When none shall shine more fair than 
 thou; 
 
 Thou, born and nursed in doubt and fear, 
 
 * Wilt glitter on Immanuel’s brow. 
 
 Shine on, ‘Lone Star!” till earth redeemed, 
 In dust shall bid its idols fall; 
 And thousands, where thy radiance beamed, 
 
 Shall <‘crown the Saviour, Lord of all!”’ 
 
HE poem entitled The Lone Star, aside from 
 
 its intrinsic beauty of thought and imagery, 
 
 _ possesses interest for its historical significance. 
 
 The early days of the Telugu Mission were times that 
 sorely tried the faith of the workers, both at home and 
 on the field, and the question of abandoning the feeble 
 interest in South India was frequently considered. In 
 1853, Rev. S. S, Day, D. D., the founder of the 
 mission, came home completely broken in health, leav- 
 ing only Rev. Lyman Jewett, D. D., and his wife to 
 care for the work. At the annual meeting of the Mis- 
 sionary Union held in Albany that same year, when 
 the report of the Telugu Mission came up for discus- 
 sion, one of the speakers called attention to the mis- 
 sionary map which hung above the platform, on which 
 the mission stations were marked with stars. He 
 
 pointed out the solitary star at Nellore in contrast with . 
 
 the clusters in Burma and Assam, and referred to it as 
 a ‘<lone star.’”? Among those present was Rev. S. F. 
 ‘Smith, D. D., author of America, The Morning Light 
 Is Breaking and other soul stirring hymns. His atten- 
 tion was arrested by the words, <‘‘lone star,’’ and 
 before he slept that night he gave expression to his 
 feelings in this poem. The public reading of the 
 verses the next day created a profound impression, 
 which resulted in a vote not only to continue, but to 
 reenforce the mission which has since, under the name 
 of the Lone Star Mission, become famous in missionary 
 annals, ‘That ‘‘lone star’? has now (1908) increased 
 to a constellation of twenty-nine, and forms one of the 
 brightest spots in all the firmament of missions. 
 
 AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY UNION AND THE 
 ‘WOMAN’S BAPTIST FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY 
 FORD BUILDING, BOSTON, MASS.:; 
 WOMAN'S BAPTIST FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY 
 OF THE WEST, 1318 MASONIC TEMPLE, CHICAGO, ILL. 
 
 T13-1ED-3M, FEBRUARY, 1908. PRICE 2 CENTS A COPY; 20 CENTS A DOZEN