invited guests, then entered the large Tent of the Litchfield Co. Agricultural Society, where they partook of a bountiful Collation, ORDER OF EXERCISES AT THE TENT. After the "cloth had been removed," the assembly was called to oder by Past Master A. N. Lewis, who announced the regular toats, and on giving the sentiment, "Our Sister Lodges," remarked: 66 "I see before me those who, as Entered Appentices, have delved and hewed in the quarries; have wrought upon the Temple as Fellow-Crafts; and learned lessons of fortitude and fidelity at the grave of the widow's son--others who have received the "white stone," in which a new name is written, which no man knoweth, save him to whom it is given;" who have been inducted into the "Oriental Chair," and learned lessons in government from earnest and practical instructors; who have assisted at the dedication of the Temple, "when the glory of the Lord filled the house, so that the priests could not stand to minister,' but bowed themselves upon the pavement, exclaiming, 'for He is good, and His mercy endureth forever; and, at the peril of your lives,' searched for and brought to light those valuable secrets, which lay buried and hidden from the craft, for the space of four hundred years ;-others, who have wrought in the secret vault, when prying eyes were closed in sleep.'-Others who, as valiant and magnanimous Sir Knights, have worshipped upon the Island, at the Sepulchre, and in the Temple. And if there be any other and higher than these, I bid you all an earnest, a heart-felt, a Masonic WELCOME!" 6 This was followed by the third regular toast; "The Fraternal Dead of King Solomon's Lodge,-Their failings are hidden by the sod that covers them; their virtues are on perpetual record upon living tablets, the hearts of their brethren!" Past Master William Cothren responded in the following words: BROTHERS AND FRIENDS : In rising to respond to the toast just read in your hearing by our worthy presiding officer, I seem to be addressing some five hundred living, sentient beings,-a company of friends and brothers. And yet, as I firmly believe, not only am I doing this, but I am addressing an equal number of the "faithful dead," whose mortal remains sleep peacefully in this beautiful valley, the home of the honored, and the resting place of the tried worthies who have gone before us to the "echoless shore." I take pleasure and consolation in believing, that that large company of the good and "great lights" of our beneficent Order, look down from their serene and happy abode upon us, their children, who, with filial hearts, unite in celebrating their virtues on this happy hundreth birth-day of our beloved Lodge, which they did so much to "adorn and beautify." Secure, themselves, from the perils of life, they smile benignantly upon the noble actions of their descendants. They speak to us from every lowly and sacred mound,-they speak to us from their high abode in Heaven. A sacred feeling comes over us, as we remember the character, and recount the noble deeds of our revered brethren, who lived and acted during the century which has now gone to "join the former ages" in the world's history. We look around us, and note the resting-places of those sainted men, in the pleasantest nooks of this most beautiful of valleys. We tread lightly, as we approach the sacred dust, that silently reposes till the resurrection morn. Their ashes are all around us, as their spirits are above us. I firmly believe that the faithful dead take cognizance of things pertaining to the welfare of friends below. They smile on us from their high seats to-day. "Their crown is secure, and their memory precious forever; to us the strife yet remains." Errors they had, like all the human race; for the Book of books declares, that all have gone astray. But their errors are "hidden by the sod" that covers them. They have "reached that silent home of all the living, which buries every error, covers every defect, extinguishes every resentment." They lived in "days that tried men's souls." They lived in times that required great and heroic deeds. They lived in a period when moral courage, as well as manly hearts, was required, the great demands of history, the great urgencies of life in perilous periods. Even one of our Ministers, bearer of good tidings to men, was obliged, right there, two hundred yards from our place of meeting, to take, two savage, lurking lives, and send their guilty spirits to their dread account. Like courage was re quired of other men, in that period of violence, a hundred years ago. 1 1 Look through the history of our State during the century that is past, and the part that our good old town has borne in all its great events, and you will find the worthies of our Order preëminent in every good and great work. In the deadly struggle of the American Revolution, which gave us our nation's life, and planted the germ of freedom forever;-in all the wars and struggles which have increased and shown our nation's strength; and now, in the last, most momentous and greatest civil war in the history of the ages, which has signalized itself over those of all the past, in giving freedom to an entire race, the brethren of the craft have ever been conspicuous,-foremost in every great undertaking. In the history of the Revolution, their names are radiant on every page, both in the crash of battle, and in the steady support of the brethren at home, giving more aid and comfort, with the other patriotic citizens, to the brave boys in the field, than came from any other interior town known to your speaker. Time would fail me to give a list of those brave men, or to speak of the deeds and virtues of the Hinmans, the Perrys, the Ortons, the Curtisses, the Osbornes, the Chapmans, the Prestons, the Shermans, the Hicocks, the Brinsmades, the Beers, the Nichols, and a host of others, who did great service in that memorable conflict. In our later civil struggle, our fraternal band has offered up of its numbers, and has increased the concourse of the "fraternal dead." In these early hours of our grief, need I speak, (while I say nothing of the living brothers who have done good service to our country) of Polley,' and Orton, who have delivered up their lives, a willing sacrifice, to the great cause of freedom, and of our country. Need I speak of their gentle, home virtues; their orderly walk and conversation, their unwavering fidelity to friends? Of Sergeant Walter J. Orton, dying by a shot through the breast, received at the battle of Winchester, I speak with more than ordinary friend. ship. He was more than a sincere friend. He was at once a devoted and effective one. Well do I remember that summer Sabbath, three years ago, when the members of Co. I., 19th Regt. Conn. Vols. Reference here is made to Rev. Anthony Stoddard, who was for sixty-one years pastor of the First Church in Woodbury. His house, built in 1700, is still standing. 2 James C. Polley, of Company I. 2d Conn. Artillery, who died in service, of fever, at Alexandria, Va., 19th Nov., 1862. |