lished his hymns for the
thousand years' festival of his church. But a few months later he again
buried himself in his study, putting aside the lyre, which for a little
while he had played so beautifully. Many had already noticed his hymns,
however, and continued to plead with him for more. The new Evangelical
revival, which he had largely inspired, intensified the general
dissatisfaction with the rationalistic Evangelical Christian Hymnal, and
called for hymns embodying the spirit of the new movement. And who could
better furnish these than Grundtvig? Of those who pleaded with him for
new hymns, none was more persistent than his friend, Pastor Gunni Busck.
When Grundtvig wrote to him in 1832 that his _Northern Mythology_ was
nearing completion, Busck at once answered: "Do not forget your more
important work; do not forget our old hymns! I know no one else with your
ability to brush the dust off our old songs." But Grundtvig was still too
busy with other things to comply with the wish of his most faithful and
helpful friend.

During the ensuing years, however, a few hymns occasionally appeared from
his pen. A theological student, L. C. Hagen, secured a few adapted and
original hymns from him for a small collection of _Historical Hymns and
Rhymes for Children_, which was published in 1832. But the adaptations
were not successful. Despite the good opinion of Gunni Busck, Grundtvig
was too independent a spirit to adjust himself to the style and mode of
others. His originals were much more successful. Among these we find such
gems as "Mongst His Brothers Called the Little," "Move the Signs of Grief
and Mourning from the Garden of the Dead," and "O Land of Our King,"
hymns that rank with the finest he has written.

In 1835 Grundtvig at last wrote to Gunni Busck that he was now ready to
commence the long deferred attempt to renew the hymnody of his church.
Busck received the information joyfully and at once sent him a thousand
dollars to support him during his work. Others contributed their mite,
making Grundtvig richer financially than he had been for many years. He
rented a small home on the shores of the Sound and began to prepare
himself for the work before him by an extensive study of Christian
hymnody, both ancient and modern.

"The old hymns sound beautiful to me out here under the sunny sky and
with the blue water of the Sound before me," he wrote to Busck. He did
not spend his days day-dreaming, however, but worked