Anne Ross Cousin

Anne Ross Cousin
Anne Ross Cousin
Born	27 April 1824; Hull, England
Died	6 December 1906 (aged 82); Edinburgh, Scotland
Occupation(s)	Musician and songwriter
Known for	Author of several popular hymns in Great Britain during the mid-to late 19th century
Spouse	William Cousin (1847–1883)
Children	6 children

Anne Ross Cousin (née Cundell; 27 April 1824 – 6 December 1906) was a British poet, musician and songwriter. She was a student of

hymns, most especially "The Sands of Time Are Sinking", while travelling with her minister husband from 1854 to 1878. Many of her hymns were widely used throughout Great Britain during the mid-to late 19th century. One of her sons, John William Cousin, was a prominent writer and editor of A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature.^[1]

Biography

Anne Ross Cousin was born in

Melrose in 1859. During this time, Anne began writing church hymns for her husband's services and many of these became very popular in Britain during the mid-to late 19th century.^[1]

Her most popular song, "The Sands of Time Are Sinking", was written in 1854 while William was still in Irvine. Cousin later claimed she had been inspired by the writing of

choral festivals.^[1]

A collection of her poems, Immanuel's Land and Other Pieces, was published in 1876 under her initials A.R.C., by which she was most widely known.

They retired in Edinburgh after nearly 20 years of religious service. William Cousin died in 1883, and Anne remained in the city until her own death on 6 December 1906. Her daughter, Anne P. Cousin, contributed to her biography when she was profiled for the Dictionary of National Biography by Sir Sidney Lee in 1912.^[1]

The Sands of Time are Sinking

Cousin's best known hymn, "The Sands of Time are Sinking", is known and sung over the English-speaking world. It is also known as "Immanuel's Land", the phrase that is repeated at the end of each stanza. This poem was inspired by Samuel Rutherford's last words. It was first published in the 1860s, with extracts from Rutherford's works, under the title: Last words of Reverend Samuel Rutherford: with some of his sweet sayings.

The first verse of Immanuel's Land says:

The sands of time are sinking, the dawn of Heaven breaks;

The summer morn I’ve sighed for – the fair, sweet morn awakes:

Dark, dark hath been the midnight, but dayspring is at hand,

And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

In this context,

Christ. The original poem has nineteen verses,^[2] but only a few of them appear in most hymnals. Many of the omitted verses are about Anwoth

, where Rutherford lived.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Hadden, James Cuthbert (1912). "Cousin, Anne Ross" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). Vol. 1. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 426.
^ "The Sands of Time are Sinking". Cyber Hymnal. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.

Attribution

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: J. M. Dent & Sons – via Wikisource.

External links

Anne Ross Cundell Cousin – biographical page in the Cyber Hymnal (lists 10 of her hymns)

[Lee-1] Hadden, James Cuthbert (1912). "Cousin, Anne Ross" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). Vol. 1. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 426.

[2] "The Sands of Time are Sinking". Cyber Hymnal. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.

[1]

[2]

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	United States
Artists	MusicBrainz
Other	SNAC

Biography

The Sands of Time are Sinking

See also

References

External links