Old Hundred

Old Hundred, the classic hymn tune also known as the "Old Hundredth," serves as the musical climax of the boys' dramatic return to their own funeral in St. Petersburg. After the congregation had spent a week mourning the three missing boys, believing them drowned, the Sunday service reached its emotional peak with the minister's tearful eulogy. At the very moment when grief was most overwhelming, Tom Sawyer, Joe Harper, and Huckleberry Finn marched up the aisle from the unused gallery where they had been hiding, listening to their own funeral sermon. The stunned congregation, having just witnessed what they thought were dead boys restored to life, was commanded by the minister to sing. He shouted at the top of his voice, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow -- SING! -- and put your hearts in it!" and the congregation responded by singing Old Hundred with a triumphant burst that shook the rafters of the little church. For Tom Sawyer, this was the proudest moment of his life. As the music swelled, he looked around upon the envying juveniles about him and confessed in his heart that this was the proudest moment of his life. The "sold" congregation, as they trooped out, said they would almost be willing to be made ridiculous again to hear Old Hundred sung like that once more. The hymn thus becomes the sonic emblem of the boys' resurrection, transforming a scene of mourning into one of exultation and cementing Tom's status as a hero in the eyes of the entire village.