of men, and often have I seen him, when asperities arose in a case, as they will, and must sometimes arise, by the dexterous use of his never-failing fund of wit and humor, turn that into a hearty laugh "all round," which might otherwise have turned into an exchange of blows. The same trait of character enabled him to learn the secrets of the camp of his antagonist, and to interpose at the opportune moment, to arrest the progress of litigation, and settle contested cases. He always avoided a trial, if possible. He often said to me that he intended to so live, that one thing of truth could be said of him, when he was dead; and that was, that he "had settled more lawsuits than any other lawyer in his part of the State." And this can be truly said of him. He would allow causes to go on a while in Court, but he generally found the favorable moment to settle them without trial.

A man of superior intellect, such as the deceased certainly had, cannot reside as he did, for fifty years, in a community, without becoming identified with every fibre of its institutions. It is no matter that you may be opposed to him and his views in politics, in religion, in everything. He will have a hold upon you—an abiding influence in the community. The death of such a man is a public loss. It is a removing of the "ancient landmarks." We do well, then, to meet in this public manner to commune of our public loss.

This is an occasion, the full import of which should sink deep into our hearts. As we gather thus mournfully together, and gaze into the open grave of our departed friend, it becomes us to consider "what shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue." Here we may take an effecting view of the follies and vanities of life. Here we may consider how much sorrow and misery we cause each other, and how heartlessly we often destoy each other's happiness and our own. It is well to pause on the brink of the grave, and learn useful lessons for our future lives. May we here pledge each other to imitate the virtues of the deceased, avoid his errors, and labor earnestly for the happiness of our race, while life remains. All animosities, if any existed, in noble minds, end here. There are no contests in the grave. But I will not detain you longer. I know full well your own thoughts outrun my words, and more eloquently express your feelings.

REV. JOHN PURVES, A. M.

Mr. Purves is a native of Scotland, studied law in the city of Edenburgh, came to the United States in 1834, studied theology and was ordained Deacon in the Diocese of Conn. in 1840, and Priest in 1841, by Bishop Brownell. He was Rector of St. Matthews' Church, Wilton, from 1840 to 1843; of St. Thomas' Bethel, from 1843 to 1845; at Humphreysville, from 1845 to 1817; at Bethel again, from 1847 to 1853; was next, Rector of Christ Church, Westport, from 1853 to 1860; Rector of Holy Trinity, Westport, from 1860 to 1862; Rector of St. Paul's Woodbury, from 1863 to the present date.

HON. HENRY SHELTON SANFORD, LL.D.,

Son of Nehemiah C. Sanford, was born in Woodbury. After receiving his education, he engaged for a time in mercantile pursuits. But, for a long period of years, he has been exclusively engaged, in one position or another, in the diplomatic service of the country. He has been Secretary of Legation to France and Spain, and Minister to Belgium. During the War of the Rebellion, he made patriotic presents of improved cannon for the service.

DR. AVERY JUDD SKILTON.

This skillful, intelligent and conscientious physician, was the son of James and Chloe (Steele) Avery, and born Feb. 1, 1802, at Woodbury. He was, during his life, an intimate friend of the writer, and he desires to record his worth upon these pages. The following account is taken principally from the Troy Daily Times, N. Y., of the date of March 22d, 1858:

"Death, the busy reaper of Life's harvest, has stricken down one of nature's noblemen. Dr. Avery J. Skilton is dead. After a long and painful illness, he has gone to obtain the reward of a well-spent life. The hopes of recovery, based upon more favorale symptoms of his case, have been sadly and finally disappointed. "The golden cord is loosened, and the silver pitcher broken at the

fountain.' In stopping to pay the merited tribute to one we have so long known and so highly esteemed, a flood of conflicting emotions crowd upon us. What the heart feels, the pen is powerless

to trace.

noon.

"Dr. Skilton died shortly after four o'clock on Saturday afterOn the 6th of December, he was seized with a violent pulmonary attack, which confined him to his room. He persisted, however, in attending to his professional duties, at intervals of comparative relief from pain, until the 10th of December, when he was obliged to resign himself to an invalid's couch. From that day, he never left his room. His disease was of a most severe and aggravated nature, and completely prostrating in its effects. A life of unremitting labor in a toilsome and hazardous profession had broken down a constitution naturally robust and vigorous, and he wasted rapidly away. It was only at intervals during his confinement that he was able to converse, and only once during the long period was he observed to smile. On Thurs. day last, he became partially delirious, and it was not until immediately preceding his death that he was able, and then apparently only by a great effort, to comprehend the queries propounded to him, and respond to them coherently.

"Dr. Avery J. Skilton was born at Woodbury, Litchfield Co., Conn., on the 1st of February, 1802. He was descended from pure revolutionary stock,—his ancestors having been among the earliest settlers in the locality, and his great-grandfather the first practising physician in the vicinity, He retained until his death the mortar and pestle which this venerable progenitor used in compounding his preparations. The father of our honored friend was a well-to.do farmer, who ranked high in that community which has produced so many eminent men, and of which numbers of our most esteemed fellow-citizens were originally members. The first fact which strikes us in looking back upon his history, is his early aptitude for study, and his disrelish of manual labor, He was by no means calculated to become a valuable appendage upon the farm ; his capacities and inclinations fitted him for a course of development purely intellectual. At school, to which he was early sent, he was distinguished for rapid acquirement of various branches of information, such as are taught in primary institutions of the character. He was always in advance of his course. There was

no dodging of duty by him-the complaint was that he studied too fast. At the early age of fifteen, he was removed from school,

and transferred to the farm. Here his peculiar inaptitude for mere manual employments became evident. A persistent course of study had operated unfavorably upon his constitution, and left him weak, and to a great extent incapable of physical exertion. His father, who was cast in one of the sterner moulds of manhood, was not ready to understand that a son of his should be unable to perform the tasks which he considered in some degree inseparable from a well-ordered life, and often reprimanded him for his inertness. Forced at length to regard the peculiar characteristics of his son, he sent him to the West Farms School, distant some three miles from the family homestead. Here he studied in the same classes with Dr. Edward Beecher, the talented author of "The Conflict of Ages," and maintained an equal position with him in school. It was here that his studies first assumed a distinctive character, and he began to master Latin and Greek, and to familiarize himself with the Classics. Outside of his professional studies, his course of reading was varied, and of the highest order. Before he was twenty years of age, he had exhausted all the mental food presented by the various limited libraries of the locality in which he resided, and was forced to betake himself to borrowing books from more fortunate possessors. In 1819, he was prostrated with lung fever, from which for a time his recovery seemed impossible. When he did finally recover, he was so feeble that close mental or sedentary application was rendered impossible, and his course of reading was therefore interfered with and obstructed for a number of years. In 1821, however, he took hold of German. His speed in the acquirement of language was remarkable. We know him to have been a most enthusiastic linguist, and have often been indebted to him for valuable and curious information with regard to obsolete tongues, whose history was unknown, save to the closest students. In 1834, he befriended the exile son of a Polish nobleman, named Rudolph Gutowski, one of a party who, by a desperate stratagem, escaped from their guards, while on their way to Siberia. This young man became a member of his family, and from him he learned the Polish lan‍ guage. In 1847, he became desirous of tracing up the genealogy of his family, and he made that a particular aim of the remaining portion of his life. His researches in this direction led him to make a thorough exploration of the records of Connecticut, and of that portion of England whence his ancestors came. In this way he became possessed of a vast amount of curious informa

tion, which to some future collator, must prove highly valuable for historal purposes. He was by this means, also, led to trace back our language to its roots, and to familiarize himself with the vagaries of its different branches, since the days of the Anglise, and the Saxons. He had thus wholly or in part familiarized himself with between fifty and sixty languages, many of which have been out of current use for centuries. Aside from this, he has at differ. ent periods been an enthusiastic student of Natural History, in its various forms. At different times, he has pursued the study of Botany, Geology, Mineralogy, Conchology and Paleontology, following up once branch persistently until he had exhausted it, and then taking another. In this way he had collected a valuable philological library, which embodies his peculiar characteristics, and a cabinet of natural, mineral and fossil specimens, which is believed to be the most complete of any private collection in this section. He used to remark that he purchased works and specimens much on the same principle that a farmer will try to buy up all the land that adjoins his own. In the studies to which he devoted the leisure hours he could steal from an extensive practice, he was a thorough enthusiast.

“Dr. Skilton first learned the principles of medicine from works which had been studied by his great-grandfather. At an early period he was doubtful whether he should study for a physician or a clergyman, but having betaken himself, after the manner of John Wesley, to prayer, he became convinced that it was his duty to enter upon the line of life which he did finally adopt. He passed through the usual course in the Yale Medical College, in 1826-7, having previously studied with a practicing Physician at Saugerties, in this State, He commenced his practice in 1827, in this city. He had therefore just entered upon the thirty-first year of his practice in this city, when seized with his fatal illness. The general features presented by the life of a physician-at least, those which come to the knowledge of the public, are monotonous, and to an extent unvaried. Few may know the trials, few realize the necessities, few comprehend the responsibilities of such a life. To those whom he has attended during the 'generation of time' in which he has practiced his profession here, Dr. Skilton stood in the light of a cherished brother, a noble protector, a kind and sympathizing friend. A Christian impulse governed every action of his life, and regulated his 'relations with his patients. Acute sympathy, and that ardent enthusiasm which was a charac