I love to hear the story

I love to hear the story. Emily Miller* (1833-1913). This hymn is believed to have been written in 1867 when Miller was convalescing after an illness. It was first published, with music, in Miller’s own religious magazine, The Little Corporal, published in Chicago, in November 1867 (reproduced below). Apart from its brevity, it has some resemblance to ‘I love to tell the story’* by Katherine Hankey*, which dates from 1869, especially in the first line. It is possible that Hankey had seen a copy of Miller’s hymn, which crossed the Atlantic very quickly, but this has not been established.  What is clear, however, is that Miller’s hymn rapidly became popular on both sides of the Atlantic...