lyrics have gained a great popularity: in particular
"Never give up," whereof there are extant--or were--no fewer than eight
musical settings. Of this ballad, three stanzas, I have a strange story
to tell. When I went to Philadelphia, on my first American tour in 1851,
I was taken everywhere to see everything; amongst others to Dr.
Kirkland's vast institute for the insane: let me first state that he was
not previously told of my coming visit. When I went over the various
wards of the convalescents, I noticed that on each door was a printed
placard with my "Never give up" upon it in full. Naturally I thought it
was done so out of compliment. But on inquiry, Dr. Kirkland didn't know
who the author was, and little suspected it was myself. He had seen the
verses, anonymous, in a newspaper, and judging them a good moral dose of
hopefulness even for the half insane, placed them on every door to
excellent effect. When to his astonishment he found the unknown author
before him, greatly pleased, he asked if I would allow the patients to
thank me; of course I complied, and soon was surrounded by kneeling and
weeping and kissing folks, grateful for the good hope my verses had
helped them to. And twenty-five years after, in 1876, I, again without
notice, visited Dr. Kirkland at the same place, scarcely expecting to
find him still living, and certainly not thinking that I should see my
old ballad on the doors. But, when the happy doctor, looking not an hour
older, though it was a quarter of a century, took me round to see his
convalescents, behold the same words greeted me in large print,--and
probably are there still: the only change being that my name appears at
foot. I gave them a two hours' reading in their handsome theatre, and I
never had a more intensely attentive audience than those three hundred
lunatics. The ballad runs thus,--if any wish to see it, as for the first
time:--

"Never give up! it is wiser and better
Always to hope than once to despair;
Fling off the load of Doubt's heavy fetter
And break the dark spell of tyrannical care:
Never give up! or the burden may sink you,--
Providence kindly has mingled the cup,
And, in all trials or troubles, bethink you
The watchword of life must be Never give up!

"Never give up! there are chances and changes
Helping the hopeful a hundred to one,
And through the chaos High Wisdom arranges
Ever success, if you'll only