dwelling,
Christmas morning was my heaven on earth,
And thy chimes, like angel voices swelling,
Told with joy of my Redeemer's birth.

Louder still thy joyful chimes resounded,
When on wings of early morning borne,
They proclaimed: Awake with joy unbounded,
Christ arose this blessed Easter morn.

Sweeter even were thy tolls when blending
With the calm of summer eventide
And, as though from heaven above descending,
Bid me cast all grief and care aside.

Hence when now the day is softly ending,
Shadows fall and birds ascend their nest,
Like the flowers my head in silence bending,
I am chanting with my soul at rest:

When at last, O Church Bell, thou art tolling
O'er my grave while loved grieve and sigh,
Say to them, their troubled heart consoling,
He is resting with his Lord on high.

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[11]The printed text is corrupt, but the correction is not obvious.
Norway and Finland might have "about as many" or "about half as many".

Other Danish Hymnwriters

Chapter Seventeen

The Danish church has produced a large number of hymnwriters, who, except
for the greatness of Kingo, Brorson and Grundtvig, would have commanded
general recognition. The present hymnal of the church contains
contributions by about sixty Danish writers. Though the majority of these
are represented by only one or two hymns, others have made large
contributions.

Kingo, Brorson and Grundtvig, peculiarly enough, had few imitators. A
small number of writers did attempt to imitate the great leaders, but
they formed no school and their work for the most part was so
insignificant that it soon disappeared. Thus even Kingo's great work
inspired no hymnwriter of any consequence, and the fifty years between
Kingo and Brorson added almost nothing to the hymnody of the church.
Contemporary with Brorson, however, a few writers appeared whose songs
have survived to the present day. Foremost among these is Ambrosius Stub,
a unique and sympathetic writer whose work constitutes a distinct
contribution to Danish poetry.

Ambrosius Stub was born on the island of Fyn in 1705, the son of a
village tailor. Although extremely poor, he managed somehow to enter the
University of Copenhagen, but his poverty compelled him to leave the
school without completing his course. For a number of