of "Old Hundred," Dea. Eli Summers was called upon to lead in prayer, which he did, after making some feeling and appropriate remarks. Then followed the reading of portions of the 28th and 35th chapters of Genesis, which contain the account of Jacob's setting up a stone to indicate the place where God had talked with him, and naming it his Bethel; which passages occasioned the giving by our falhers of the name of Bethel Rock to this beautifully wild and secluded place of prayer and communion with God. Then followed, in rapid succession, appropriate remarks by Mr. B. H. Andrews, of Waterbury, Rev. Anson S. Atwood, of Mansfield Centre, Dea. Truman Minor, of Woodbury, and Rev. Philo Judson, of Rocky Hill. Mr. Judson became much affected while giving reminiscences of the great and good men with whom he had communed in prayer in this sacred retreat, in former years, and who now rest from their labors till the "Great Day of Accounts." Then followed the hymn "Once more, my soul, the rising day,' &c. 1 Rev. Benjamin C. Meigs, late missionary to Ceylon, where he had labored for more than forty years, now led in a beautiful and impressive prayer, after having made the following remarks: REMARKS OF MR. MEIGS AT THE BETHEL ROCK. MY FRIENDS! I feel that it is good for us to be here. Here is the place where our Puritan fathers assembled to worship God, before they had any sanctuary built for this purpose, and while their savage foes roamed in these forests. In this beautiful ravine, under these sheltering rocks, by setting a watch on younder point, they could worship in comparative safety. Hence the name by which this place is known-"Bethel Rock." Surely the God of Bethel is here this morning. "This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." May we not suppose that our pious forefathers are now looking down upon us, while we are gathered together in this consecrated place of worship? With what delight will they behold this assembly, while we pour out our hearts before God in prayer? A few appropriate remarks by Dea. Judson Blackman, were followed by a prayer from Rev. Anson S. Atwood, and the singing of a verse from the ninetieth Psalm. The regular exercises being now closed, a few moments were spent in hearing volunteer remarks, when the audience united in singing the verse, commencing Lord, dismiss us with thy blessing," Then followed the brief concluding prayer, by Rev. Philo Judson, and the benediction by Rev. Austin Isham, of Roxbury, and this solemn and interescing occasion was numbered with the events of the past, an event never to occur again during the life of any soul present at the revered spot. Many lingered, as if unwilling to separate, and many more procured and carried away portions of the rock and moss, to be treasured as sacred mementoes of a hallowed spot and a sacred scene. At ten o'clock, a procession was formed in the same order as the first day, with the exception of the "antique" portion of it, which was omitted, and marched to the Tent, escorted by the Band and Warner Light Guards. The services were opened by music from the Band, followed by reading of the following CENTENNIAL HYMN. BY REV. WILLIAM THOMPSON BACON. Supposed to be sung on the spot where the Pilgrim Settlers held their first Sabbath Worship. Here, then, beneath the greenwood shade, The Pilgrim first his altar made; 'T was here, amid the mingled throng, First breathed the prayer, and woke the song. How peaceful smiled that Sabbath sun, How holy was that day begun, When here, amid the dark woods dim, Look now upon the same still scene, The wood and wild have passed away; An exceedingly eloquent, fervid, and appropriate prayer was then offered by Rev. Friend W. Smith, Pastor of the Methodist Church in Woodbury. Then followed a sermon by Rev. Henry Beers Sherman, of Belleville, New Jersey, a native of Woodbury. It was a labored and finished production, and gave great pleasure to the friends on the occasion. At the close of the sermon, short speeches, in reply to previously prepared sentiments, was the order of the day, and constituted one of the most interesting features of this most memorable occasion. The first sentiment was,-" The early Clergy of Ancient Woodbury," and was responded to by Rev. Anson S. Atwood, of Mansfield Center, Conn., a native of Woodbury. A passage or two will show the character of the effort, and will be read with pleasure: "Zechariah Walker was the first Pastor of Ancient Woodbury. It is a good name-Zechariah-it is a Bible name, and he was a Bible man. The church was organized in 1670, and he assumed the pastorate. And if tradition tells the truth, and the little of history that has come down to us, may be credited, he is not to be numbered among the minor prophets of his day and placed on the last leaves of the Bible. He was not an ordinary man, but made of sterner stuff-a man for the times and the work Providence had for him to do; every way worthy to be the minister of that little adventurous band, who came from Stratford to explore and seek a home in the wilderness of Pomperaug; and when they reached the elevation of that western summit, and had gazed and gazed again upon the valley, the object of their search, reposing at their feet in all its primitive beauty and loveliness, they fell on their knees in gratitude to return thanks to God, and John Minor offered that memorable prayer, which your own historian has recorded-a prayer for a divine blessing on their enterprise, and that they might have an upright and godly posterity in all coming generations. A prayer that has proved well nigh prophetic for ten generations of the descendants of some of these pioneers. "Yes, Zechariah Walker was fitted for such an enterprise, casting in his lot with theirs, comforting and cheering them on in their toils, labors, sacrifices and perils in the wilderness, in laying the foundation of a new order of things. "For a few of the first years of his ministry, the place of worship in the winter was the log cabins of his parishioners.; in the summer, the Bethel rock was his sanctuary and altar, the beat of the drum his bell, the heavens his sound-board, his chorister unknown, but perched on a rocky eminence might be seen the sentinel watching the approach of danger, while they bowed the knee of devotion before God. There, in the solitude of the forest, the glad tidings of the gospel were heard by attentive ears, and the songs of Zion were sung by strong and joyful hearts. "History says of him, that he had a sound mind, was a powerful and pungent preacher, that he lived in harmony with his people thirty years, died beloved, and sleeps in death with those to whom he ministered. "Anthony Stoddard followed in the pastorate in 1702. A part of his name Roman, but all the rest of him was Stoddard, from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot; and he had a brave, strong, Christian heart, that beat full and clear, as it sent out its pulsations through all the channels of the duties of his sacred office. Who was his father? Whence came he? We have the answer. He had an enviable descent, from one of the ablest divines New England had raised on her soil. Solomon Stoddard, of Northampton, Mass., was that father, who had few equals, if any superior, in the ministry of that day. He was of a liberal heart, and he gave to the cause of Christ some large donations. He had a daughter, Esther, much beloved, and he gave her away to be the wife of the Rev. Timothy Edwards, of East Windsor, Conn., and the mother of the immortal Jonathan Edwards. He had a son, Anthony, equally beloved, and he gave him to Ancient Woodbury. "This son honored his parentage. His intellect and furniture of mind were of a high order; and one would think from the amount of labor he performed, his mind must have been kept from rusting. He must have had almost a giant's strength, to have, in no unimportant sense, discharged the duties of three professions: that of a pastor, a physician, and a counsellor or judge, while, it is said, he neglected no part of the duties of the ministry. It was from a necessity of the times that all these labors devolved upon him. It must be remembered, that education was almost entirely with and in the hands of ministers in the early infancy of our colonial State. Hence, they had to do many things that belong to other professions. To teach school-masters, and fit them for their work. draw deeds, wills, keep records, and even be judges, in some cases, of probate. Many of these burdensome duties pressed upon Stoddard, but he met them cheerfully, manfully devoting soul and body and every energy of his being to the advancement of the best interests of his flock, temporal and eternal, and not without blessed results. A long, prosperous and happy ministry of sixty yearscrowned his labors. The divine approbation set its seal to his ministry, in permitting him to see almost constant additions to the church through the whole period of his ministry, numbering in all four hundred and seventy-four persons. "At an advanced age, having served his generation faithfully, he came to the grave, “as a shock of corn fully ripe," and his record is on high. "Noah Benedict, the third pastor of Ancient Woodbury, was ordained October 22, 1760. We now come within the recollection of living witnesses, to speak of a man whose name is hallowed in the memories of many who have gone before me. You remember him well-remember him as you remember no other minister you ever knew, and loved him as you never loved any other man. Nor can I think you wrong in it. My earliest years were impressed with the godliness, purity and excellency of his character, as I beard it from parental lips with so much adoration and veneration, that I came to feel, long before I knew him, that he was something more than a man. I am not alone in this impression. I have heard grave and venerable men, in the profession and out of it, say of him, that "he was born a minister, lived a minister, died a minister, and could not, if he would, be any thing else but a minister;" a minister at all times, in all circumstances, in the pulpit and out of the pulpit-a noble minister-a Nathaniel indeed, in whom there was no guile. “There are three men, of the good and the great that I have known, that I would like much to hear pray again, of all men I ever heard pray, if they might come back to the world for a brief space. Noah Benedict, his Deacon, Matthew Minor, and Azel Backus. They are better employed. I recall my impertinent wish. "The venerated pastor of whom I am speaking, and Benjamin Wildman, of Southbury, were near neighbors, and long tried and intimate friends; very different were they in natural temperament and ministerial gifts and graces. I remember an anecdote I heard in my youth, illustrative of the two men. Said one of their brethren, who well knew them both and their different gifts, in a circle |