ON THIS DATE
Henry Alford died 1/12/1871 at Canterbury, Kent, England – for his own epitaph he wrote: “The inn of a pilgrim traveling to Jerusalem.” At 16 he wrote in his Bible, “I do this day in the presence of God and my own soul renew my covenant with God and solemnly determine henceforth to become his and to do his work as far as in me lies.” Alford attended Ilminster Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge, and was ordained in 1833. He was a church man and a scholar, producing volumes on Homer, English poetry, and a Greek New Testament. Alford was born 10/7/1810 at Bloomsbury, Middlesex, England.
Stanza 1 (of 4) – written in 1844