Page:Famous Single Poems (1924).djvu/145

 Miss Smith—so far as known—never told the story of the inspiration or impulse which produced “If I Should Die To-night,” and the facts of her life are shrouded in the obscurity of the undistinguished. But if she was seventy-two years old in 1916, she must have been born in 1844, and Stedman & Hutchinson, in their Cyclopedia of American Literature, state that this event took place at Litchfield, Ohio. Apparently her family soon moved west, for it is likewise stated that she resided at Percival, Iowa, from 1850 to 1874. She graduated from Tabor College, and afterwards became an instructor there—and that is all.

It is from the same authority one learns that “If I Should Die To-night” appeared first in the Christian Union of June 18, 1873. Its sentiment was absolutely in tune with that sentimental era, and it was soon being copied by all the exchange editors of the country. It became a favorite recitation at church fairs and Sunday school entertainments. It was set to music, replete with minors, and so found its way to many a heart. In a word, the poem was a great success.

As usual, its author’s name soon became detached from it as something of no importance. After all, what did it matter who wrote it? As Eugene Field so eloquently put it, “Homer’s harp is broken and Horace’s lyre is unstrung,