{"1": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3602", "width": "2029", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0001.jp2"}, "2": {"fulltext": "Class 4^^^", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0002.jp2"}, "3": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0003.jp2"}, "4": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0004.jp2"}, "5": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0005.jp2"}, "6": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0006.jp2"}, "7": {"fulltext": "iSl^\\nHISTORICAL DISCOURSE\\nDELIVERED ON THE\\nFORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS PASTORATE\\nIN RIND GE, N. H.,\\nNovember 14, 1861,\\nBy rev. a. W. BURNHAM, D. D.\\nWITH\\nADDRESSES, ic. ON THE SAME OCCASION.\\nBOSTON:\\nCROSBY AND NICHOLS.\\n1862.", "height": "3409", "width": "1982", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0007.jp2"}, "8": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0008.jp2"}, "9": {"fulltext": "HISTORICAL DISCOURSE\\nDELIVERED ON THE\\nFORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS PASTORATE\\nIN RIND GE, N. H.,\\nNovember 14, 1861,\\ni^\\nBy REV. A. W. BURNHAM, D. D\\nADDRESSES. c. ON THE SAME OCCASION.\\nBOSTON:\\nCROSBY AND NICHOLS\\n1862.\\nvv", "height": "3409", "width": "1982", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0009.jp2"}, "10": {"fulltext": "Cambridge:\\nWelch, Bigelow, and Company,\\nPrinters to the University.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0010.jp2"}, "11": {"fulltext": "OEDER OF EXEECISES IN THE CHUECH.\\nI. VOLUNTARY.\\nstrike the cymbal.\\nII. INVOCATION AND READING THE SCRIPTURES.\\nBY KEY. SAMUEL LEE.\\nIII. SINGING PSALM CXXXVI.\\nGive to our God immortal praise.\\nREAD BY REV. A. P. MARVIN.\\nIV. PRAYER.\\nBY REV. ASA RAND.\\nV. SINGING PSALM LXXVm.\\nLet children hear the mighty deeds.\\nREAD BY THE PASTOR.\\nVL DISCOURSE.\\nBY REV. A. W. BURNHAM, D. D., THE PASTOR.\\nVn. PRAYER.\\nBY^ REV. Z. S. BARSTOW, D. D.\\nVm. Sn^GING ORIGINAL HYMN.\\nBT SAMUEL BUBNHAM. READ BY REV. W. L. GAYLOKD.\\nIX. DOXOLOGY.\\npraise god from whom all BLESSINGS FLOW.\\nX. BENEDICTION.\\nBY REV. Z. S. BARSTOW, D. D.", "height": "3409", "width": "1982", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0011.jp2"}, "12": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0012.jp2"}, "13": {"fulltext": "DISCOURSE.\\nHitherto hath the Lord helped us.\\n1 Sam. vil. 12.\\nAt the time referred to in this passage, the Israel-\\nites, under the leadership of Samuel, were at war\\nwith their constant enemies, the Philistines. God\\nhad interposed and given them a victory, and when\\nin pursuit of their foes they had reached a certain\\nspot, where probably they felt sure of ultimate suc-\\ncess, Samuel took a stone, and set it tip hctiveen ^lizpeh\\nand Shen, and called the name of it Ehenezer, saying,\\nHitherto hath the Lord helped iisV This was done in\\ngrateful acknowledgment that it was by the help\\nof God that they had been thus far sustained and\\nprospered in their enterprise, and to transmit to\\nfuture generations a memorial of that Divine aid\\nby which such a victory had been achieved. The\\nLord had helped them, and given success up to that\\ntime.\\nSo all serious persons, as they pass on from one\\nstage of life s journey to another, find occasion to\\nadopt the language of the devout leader of God s\\nancient people.", "height": "3409", "width": "1982", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0013.jp2"}, "14": {"fulltext": "And thus families and communities, as they ex-\\nperience the aid and interpositions of God in their\\nbehalf, not unfrequentlj have reason to exclaim,\\nwith a full heart, Hitherto hath the Lord helped lis.\\nAnd plainly this language cannot be used by\\nany persons with greater propriety than by the\\nChristian Pastor, and those who, for a series of\\nyears, have shared with him the duties and trials\\nand responsibilities incident to the important rela-\\ntion existing between them.\\nAnd this is the interesting position occupied to-\\nday by the First Congregational Church and So-\\nciety in this place and their Pastor. Forty years\\nago to-day this relation was constituted in this\\nancient house, according to the simple, but solemn\\nforms of Congregational usage. Then I gave my-\\nself, as I think sincerely, to this people to be their\\nservant in .the Pastoral office for Jesus sake to\\nidentify myself with them in all that should affect\\ntheir welfare. And the labors and trials, the days\\nof prosperity and of adversity, which have been ex-\\nperienced during these years, have served only to\\ndeepen this feeling in the Pastor s mind, that he\\nand his people are one, having but one great in-\\nterest to secure, one cause to maintain, one object\\nto accomplish, by their mutual labors.\\nIn reviewing, then, as it is deemed proper on this\\ninteresting occasion, as briefly as practicable, our\\nown history during the period here referred to, I\\ndoubt not this beloved Church and Society are\\nready to unite with the Pastor in a devout ac-", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0014.jp2"}, "15": {"fulltext": "knowledgment of the good hand of our God which\\nhas been upon us. Hitherto hath the Lord helped u^r\\nI. He hath helped us in all that concerns our\\ntemporal welfare.\\nAnd here should be noted the continuance of our\\nlife. In yiew of our various liabilities in this re-\\nspect, the sicknesses and deaths, in the midst of\\nwhich we have lived, the multitude who have, in\\nthe period now contemplated, fallen around us, we\\nmust gratefully acknowledge that it is because\\nhaving obtained help of God, we continue to this\\nday.\\nWhile we have suffered less than some other vil-\\nlages from sweeping epidemics, yet probably the\\nyearly bills of mortality may have contained as large\\na proportion of the poj^ulation as other towns in this\\nvicinity. If I have kept an accurate record, 793\\npersons, of whom 174 were members of the Church,\\nhave died in this town during these forty years a\\nsmall fraction less than twenty on an average in\\neach year. Thus nearly twice as many as usually\\nenter this house on the Sabbath have, one after\\nanother, joined the great congregation of the dead,\\nand sleep with their fathers in the grave. Death\\nhas thus invaded perhaps every family in some\\ninstances scattering the members, in others, extin-\\nguishing the family, not leaving one to transmit\\nthe name to another generation. Scenes of sick-\\nness and sorrow have been always passing before\\nus, and the doings of death in the midst of us and", "height": "3409", "width": "1982", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0015.jp2"}, "16": {"fulltext": "8\\nyet zve have been preserved. God has healed our\\nsicknesses, renewed our strength, reheved us in dis-\\ntress, comforted us in sorrow, had compassion on\\nour infirmities, borne with our sins and, while we\\nreview the past, Ave are bound to ascribe the con-\\ntinuance of life to help obtained of God.\\nAnd, by Divine aid, a reasonable degree of pros-\\nperity has attended the various occupations of the\\njDCople. We inhabit a rough and uneven portion of\\nthe country, are subjected to the inconveniences\\nof a hard, stony soil, with no water-power for large\\noperations, and every man is obliged to earn, if not\\nto eat, his bread in the sweat of his face yet\\nthe blessing of God has attended the labors of the\\nhusbandman and the mechanic, the tradesman and\\nevery other employment in such measure, that the\\npeople have lived and thrived, and the necessaries\\nand comforts of life are abundantly enjoyed. At\\nleast, all things needful for the body are found\\nin every house. True, many of us are obliged to\\nwork hard, to practise the wholesome virtues of\\ndiligence, economy, and self-denial but hitherto\\nhath the Lord helped us, and hath given us day\\nby day our daily bread, and no small progress has\\nbeen made in all that pertains to the real conven-\\nience and comfort of life, and great increase in\\nsome branches of business. For example, I think\\nthat forty years ago there were only two, and these\\nold-fashioned, saw-mills in town but, until this ter-\\nrible war was forced upon us by ungodly men, for", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0016.jp2"}, "17": {"fulltext": "9\\nyears past, wherever you went in the town, 3^011\\nwould see proofs of substantial prosperity. And\\nwhile there has been manifest improvement in the\\nfundamental and honorable business of agriculture,\\nin the neat and thriving villages that in the last\\nhalf of this period have sprung up, you could both\\nsee and hear convincing evidence that a lively busi-\\nness was done, ^particularly in the manufacture of\\nwood even your sapling pines and white birches,\\nwhich forty years since you would perhaps have\\ngiven to any man who would take them away\\ninto vessels and utensils of almost every sort for\\ndomestic use.\\nI ought to refer to improvements made in things\\npertaining to every-day conveniences and comforts.\\nFor instance, in the dwelling-houses and their ap-\\npendages, barns, and other erections, once rare, but\\nnow common, on the family premises.\\nAs I pass around the town, I am impressed and\\ngratified with the manifest change for the better\\nin all your buildings, private and public and as,\\naccording to the unanimous testimony of visitors,\\nvery few country congregations in New England\\npresent a better appearance, and make a better\\nimpression for good sense and intelligence when\\ngathered for worship in this our beautiful house,\\nso very few places in this rough region furnish a\\ngreater proportion of neat and comfortable houses,\\nor houses better supplied, as I have very good\\nreason to know, with the substantial means of good\\nliving. And corresponding evidence of progress in\\n2", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0017.jp2"}, "18": {"fulltext": "10\\nthe tasteful and ornamental is seen in the flowers\\nthat now adorn your gardens, yards, and windows,\\nnot to refer to the fruits of the needle and the\\npencil seen in so many houses, proofs not only\\nof diligence and skill, but of elevation of mind and\\nrefinement of taste and general manners.\\nIn a historical discourse such as this, the cause of\\neducation and morality should not be overlooked.\\nIn regard to the condition of common schools,\\nthe school-houses, the views and habits of the peo-\\nple on the subject, the qualifications of teachers,\\nmethods of instruction, the character and supply\\nof text-books and other important provisions, the\\namount studied and learned, great progress and\\nreal improvement in these and other important re-\\nspects is very manifest in every part of the town.\\nThirty-five years of actual acquaintance, in the ser-\\nvice of the town, with the schools, may justify the\\nspeaker in a free utterance on this subject. With\\nthe exception of one school-house, that in District\\nNo. 12, which stands as a fair representative of the\\nbuildings passing under that name twice forty years\\nago, every district is now furnished with at least a\\ncomfortable school-room, most of them with houses\\nof rare excellence. And if, passing from the con-\\ndition of education in the common school to that\\nin schools of higher grade, and to the means and\\nactual possession of general intelligence, we exam-\\nine the facts, we shall find evidence of no inconsid-\\nerable improvement.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0018.jp2"}, "19": {"fulltext": "11\\nPrevious to 1821, 1 believe four persons, residents\\nat the time, if not natives, of the town, had received\\na collegiate education; viz. Joseph Mulliken, Ed-\\nward Payson, James Walker, and Asa Rand, whose\\nvenerable presence honors this occasion since\\nthat period have graduated Isaac Kimball, Charles\\nWalker, George P. Barker, Charles and George\\nShedd, Charles E. Blood, William C. Richards, Ira\\nRussell, Joseph B. Brown, and Samuel Burnham.\\nWhile not a few others, having obtained, if not a\\nfall public, yet a substantial education, are now, or\\nhave been, in various capacities, civil, sacred, and\\neducational, holding positions of distinction, and\\ndoing honor to the place of their nativity, by a use-\\nful application of the training they here received.\\nRindge, as well as the State of which she is a rough\\nand rocky part, has been, and still is, honorably rep-\\nresented by the sons and daughters she has sent\\nabroad.\\nIn regard to the state of morals, this people,\\nstaid and conservative as they are reputed to be,\\nprobably have degenerated no more than their\\nfellow-citizens in adjacent places. In the observ-\\nance of the Sabbath, reverence for other sacred\\ninstitutions, honesty, integrity, and general up-\\nrightness and circumspection of deportment, this\\npeople will not probably suffer in comparison with\\nothers of the present day and generation. As to\\nthe use of intoxicating drinks, though very much\\nis drunk, and many are going into the drunkard s\\ngrave, as many have gone before, yet to the man", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0019.jp2"}, "20": {"fulltext": "12\\nwho can remember the practices in this matter\\nforty years ago, a great reformation is manifest\\nin the views and habits of the people. At the\\nperiod referred to, it was the many that used the\\narticle, the few who abstained. Now, it is the\\nmany that abstain, the few that drink.\\nA fact of general interest touching the cause of\\nTemperance may here be stated. At the meeting\\nof the General Association of New Hampshire in\\nthis place in 1827, at the suggestion of your Pastor,\\nit was unanimously voted that the members should\\nnot use at their boarding-houses any intoxicating\\nliquors. Previous to this such liquors had been\\npresent in the families where the members were\\nentertained. From that time, it is believed, no\\nintoxicating drink has been used or seen in any\\nministerial meeting in the State.\\nIf other vices and offences have become more\\nprevalent than in the days of the fathers, the fact\\nis to be deeply deplored, and the guilty are called\\nupon to put away the evil of their doings, to cease\\nto do evil, and learn to do well. And how much\\nsoever that has been wrong a review of our his-\\ntory may bring to light, yet in regard to all that\\npertains to the subjects and interests above con-\\nsidered, we have occasion to adopt with grateful\\nhearts the language of the text, Hitherto hath the\\nLord helped us.\\nII. The Lord hath helped us in our religious\\nconcerns.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0020.jp2"}, "21": {"fulltext": "It appears from the records, that, as early as 1760,\\nor eight years from what has generally been con-\\nsidered as the permanent settlement of the town,\\nmeasures were taken to secure preaching but it is\\nbelieved that the Church was organized near, if not\\nat, the time of the ordination of the first Pastor,\\nNovember, 1765. From the votes on record, it is\\nrendered very probable that preaching was enjoyed,\\noccasionally at least, previous to his ordination.\\nThus, in 1763, the record states that the town\\nunanimously voted to give Mr. Timothy Walker,\\nJr., a call to settle with them in the Gospel minis-\\ntry, amongst them in said township, if he seeth\\nfit. There is no record of his reply but he did\\nnot see fit to accept the invitation. Mr. Walker\\nis believed to be the gentleman afterward known\\nas the Hon. Timothy Walker of Concord, a son of\\nthe first minister of that town, and for many years\\na Judge of the Court, and a leading man in civil\\naffairs.\\nOn Nov. 6, 1765, Rev. Seth Dean, from Killingly,\\nConn., was ordained the first Pastor, and was dis-\\nmissed in September, 1780, at his own request.\\nRev. Seth Payson, D. D., became Pastor of this\\nChurch by ordination, Dec. 4, 1782. He was a na-\\ntive of Walpole, Mass., a son of the minister of that\\nplace, and had two brothers in the ministry. He\\nhad five sons and two daughters. Of these sons two\\nbecame ministers, one of whom is well known as\\nthe late celebrated Rev. Edward Payson, D. D., of\\nPortland. Dr. Seth Payson was a graduate of Har-", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0021.jp2"}, "22": {"fulltext": "14\\nvard College entered the ministry at an earlier\\nage than was common at that time possessed a\\nclear, discriminating mind had deep experience\\nin spiritual things, and, while he prosecuted the\\nwork of the ministry with great ability and faith-\\nfulness, and secured, in a degree unusual even at\\nthat day, the confidence and veneration of the\\nflock over the which the Holy Ghost had made\\nhim overseer, he became one of the leading min-\\nisters of his denomination in the State in all eccle-\\nsiastical and benevolent concerns. After a life of\\ngreat usefulness, he died February 26, 1820, aged\\nsixty-two, having just entered the thirty-eighth\\nyear of his ministry.\\nMany anecdotes have been related of Dr. Payson,\\nfor which there is no room in a discourse of this\\nkind; but an incident which he himself often spoke\\nof with much satisfaction will not be out of place.\\nWhile on a missionary tour in the then Province\\nof Maine, arriving at a dwelling to which he had\\nbeen directed, he overheard the good woman say\\nto a neighbor, who had called upon her, What\\nshall I do I have nothing to offer the minister\\nbut Indian cake, Set it on, replied the neigh-\\nbor if he is a good man, he will be satisfied and\\nif he is not a good man, tis better than he de-\\nserves.\\nAnd for future reference it is proper to record,\\nthat the present Pastor, a native of Dunbarton, son of\\nDeacon Samuel Burnham of that place, and brother\\nof the late Rev. Dr. Burnham of Pembroke, gradu-", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0022.jp2"}, "23": {"fulltext": "15\\nated at Dartmouth College in 1815, pursued the\\nprescribed course of study in the Theological Sem-\\ninary at Andover, Mass., left that institution in the\\nclass of 1818, and, after being employed in the\\nHome Missionary service in this State and first\\nprincipal of Pembroke Academy, was ordained the\\nimmediate successor of Rev. Dr. Payson, Pastor\\nof this Church and religious Society, November 14,\\n1821.=^\\nThe Society, with which the present Pastor be-\\ncame connected in 1821, was constituted in March,\\n1820, and is believed to be the first that was formed\\nin this State under what was denominated the\\nToleration Act of 1819. Such an organization\\nwas, at that time, a new thing. Questions, doubts,\\nand difficulties were felt and foreseen but, moved\\nby a desire, as the founders say, of enjoying\\namong ourselves, and of transmitting to our pos-\\nterity, the enjoyment of the benefits accruing from\\nthe public worship of God, and the ordinances of\\nthe Gospel, these good men and true organ-\\nized the Association, known then, and ever since,\\nThe clergymen who composed the Council and took part in the\\nordination were Rev. Laban AinsAvorth, of Jaffrey, who was Mod-\\nerator, and gave the Ordaining Prayer Rev. E. Clark, of in-\\nchendon, Scribe Rev. Richard Hall, of New Ipswich, Introductory\\nPrayer Rev. Abraham Burnham, of Pembroke, Sermon from 1 Corin-\\nthians iii. 9, We are laborers together with God Rev. John Gush-\\ning, D. D., of Ashburnham, Charge Rev. John M. Putnam, of Ashby,\\nMass., (only member of the Council now living,) Right Hand of Fel-\\nlowship Rev. John Sabin, of Fitzwilliam, Concluding Prayer.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0023.jp2"}, "24": {"fulltext": "16\\nby the name and style of The First Congrega-\\ntional Church and Society in Rindge. Eighty-one\\npersons, it is supjDOsed, affixed their names to the\\nConstitution at the organization of the Society.\\nThe first name was that of the late Ezra Thomas,\\nthe second, Samuel L. Wilder, who was its first\\nClerk, and who, with perhaps twenty others, of the\\noriginal eighty-one, still live to enjoy the blessings\\nflowing from an institution which they gave their\\nnames, their influence, and their property to -estab-\\nlish and maintain/^\\nFor various reasons some withheld their names\\nmany have died, or have removed, and their estates\\nhave passed out from the Society and yet, formed\\nfor the high purjDOse of maintaining and trans-\\nThe following names of the original members are taken from the\\nSociety Records\\nEzra Thomas, Francis Sawyer,\\nSamuel L. Wilder, Charles Cutler,\\nHezekiah Hubbard, John Fox,\\nEleazer Blake, Amos Cutler, Jr.,\\nEbenezer Brown, Zenas Stone,\\nEliphaz Allen, William Kimball, Jr.,\\nWilliam Barker, Ezekiel Demary,\\nJohn Perry, Levi Hubbard,\\nAndrew Calhoun, Samuel Tarbell,\\nJoseph Crombie, Abiel Holt,\\nGates Rand, Azariah Buswell,\\nDaniel Norcross, Joshua Towne,\\nWilliam Sherwin, James Bobbins,\\nJoshua Converse, Joseph Moors,\\nThomas Ingalls, Ira Converse,\\nJoel Raymond, Henry Smith, Jr.,\\nSalmon Stone, Edward Waldron,\\nAbel Perkins, Jr., Asa Jones,\\nJosiah Coburn, Peter Howe,", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0024.jp2"}, "25": {"fulltext": "17\\nmitting the Gospel, the Society has, by Divine aid,\\npursued, amidst all the changes that have occurred,\\nthe even tenor of its way, and enjoyed the bless-\\nings contemplated by its founders. And while it\\nhas secured to the members and their families the\\nbenefits accruing from the public worship of God,\\nit has kept oj)en doors for all who choose to enter\\nthe house of God, whether or not they have con-\\nscience enough to aid in supporting the privileges\\nAvhich the Society has placed, and still keeps, within\\ntheir reach.\\nAnd in this connection it may not be amiss to\\nrecord a few facts bearing on the financial con-\\ndition of the Society.\\nWilliam Rugg,\\nJoseph Page,\\nJoseph Wetherbee,\\nAsaph Brown,\\nEbenezer W. Brown,\\nJohn Pritchard,\\nJoshua Walker,\\nLuke Rugg,\\nJohn Lovejoy,\\nDavid Adams,\\nNathan Johnson,\\nAsa Cole,\\nJonathan Kimball,\\nJosiah Stratton,\\nBenjamin Hastings,\\nEphraim Hunt,\\nAndrew Kimball,\\nJosiah Pierce,\\nJohn Buswell,\\nHezekiah Sawtell,\\nJoshua Todd,\\nWilliam Stickney,\\n3\\nAquila Kimball,\\nNoah R. Cook,\\nSelah Lovejoy,\\nAsahel D. Shurtleff,\\nLeonai d Wellington,\\nJames Bowers,\\nAaron Brooks,\\nAmos Jewett,\\nJoshua Chadwick,\\nDavid Wood,\\nWilliam T. Kimball,\\nJosiah Sawtell,\\nIsaac Wood,\\nAmos Cutler,\\nIsrael Gibson,\\nAmos Darling,\\nSardine Stone,\\nNehemiah BoAvers,\\nIsaiah AVhitney,\\nQuincy Parker,\\nMarshall P. Wilder.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0025.jp2"}, "26": {"fulltext": "18\\nPopulation of the town is about 1,200.\\nValuation, or taxable property of the town, $500,000.\\nSociety, $160,000.\\nAverage and present number of members, from 80 to 85, or\\nabout one third of the voters or tax-payers in the town.\\nBut hitherto the Lord hath so helped, that the\\nSociety has promptly met every expense. In 1839,\\nit remodelled and repaired, at an expense of $4,000,\\nthis ancient house, built by the fathers in 1796, on a\\nsolid foundation, and of better materials than can\\nnow be obtained and, with the assistance of the\\nliberal and energetic women of their own families,\\nand of some others, have rendered it, in external\\nappearance, and in the comfort and convenience\\nwithin, not only an honor to themselves, but an\\nornament to the place a house which, with the\\nchapel, well finished and furnished by the same\\nmeans, is second in conveniences to very few in\\nthis vicinity.\\nAnd the members of the Society and their fam-\\nilies bore their part in the expense and effort in\\nthe finishing and furnishing of the beautiful Town\\nHall, on the lower floor, and eastern portion of this\\nhouse.\\nSome of the prominent facts relative to the\\nmeeting-houses occupied by this Church and Soci-\\nety, which some research has enabled me to obtain,\\nmay be concisely stated.\\nThe first reference to a meeting-house which 1\\nfind on record, is a vote passed at a meeting of the", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0026.jp2"}, "27": {"fulltext": "19\\nProprietors, February 13, 1749, that such a house\\nshould be built within five j^ears, at their expense.\\nIn the Charter, also, which is dated at Portsmouth\\non the 16th of June of the same year, it is re-\\nquired that a meeting-house should be built within\\nfive years from that time. But in 1754, at the\\nexpiration of the time, it was voted inexpedient\\nto build a house, on account of the hostile state of\\nfeeling manifested by the Indians, and peace with\\nthe Indians appears to have been a condition in\\nthe Charter on which their obligation in this case\\nwas binding. At subsequent meetings the propo-\\nsition to build a house was rejected, although a\\nvote to raise money for preaching was passed at\\ntwo different meetings, and the house of Samuel\\nHodskin* appointed as the place of worship. The\\nvote to build a house for the public worship of\\nGod was at length passed at a meeting held at\\nthe house of Abel Platts, May 28, 1761, the\\nlength to be fifty feet and the breadth forty feet,\\nthe posts and all the timbers to be proportion-\\nable thereto. Moses Hale, Abel Platts, and Jona-\\nthan Stanley composed the committee. Some time\\nelapsed before the enterprise was commenced, for\\nin May, 1764, 1 find it voted to build a meeting-\\nhouse this spring, and a committee chosen to\\nprovide the liquor for the raising, in case the non-\\nresident Proprietors should refuse to do it. But,\\nThis house is supposed to have stood near the present residences of\\nJeremiah Norcross and Asa and Charles E. Stickney, but the precise\\nlocation is not known.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0027.jp2"}, "28": {"fulltext": "20\\nas I suppose, lest what was deemed so essential\\nto the success of the undertaking should not be\\nsecured, they voted and provided one barrel of mm,\\nnot for the whole work of erecting and completing,\\nbut simply for the raishg of the house.\\nI find no record of the raising, completion, or\\ndedication of the house but in 17G5 it was occu-\\npied for public worship under the stated ministra-\\ntions of Rev. Seth Dean, the first pastor. This\\nhouse, I have been informed by the late Ezra\\nThomas, Esq., who recollected the building, had no\\npews or galleries in 1770 and in 1779 there is a\\nvote, and it is the last one relative to that house,\\nto finish the meeting-house.\\nThe next movement in the town regarding a\\nplace of worship is a vote of thanks to the Rev.\\nMr. Payson, the pastor, relative to a new meeting-\\nhouse, for his generous offer, and the choice of\\nnine persons to prepare a plan. The generous\\noffer of the pastor was, to give them a hell if\\nthey would build a new meeting-house within a\\nlimited period, I think three years. A new house\\nwas needed both on account of the increased popu-\\nlation of the town, and of the inconvenience and\\ndiscomforts of the existing one.\\nThis vote of thanks was passed in 1792 but it\\nwas not until May, 1794, that a vote was obtained\\nto build a new house in June, to sell the old\\nhouse and September 8, 1794, to accept the plan\\npresented for the house, by a vote of thirty-one to\\nseventeen, the dimensions to be sixty-six by fifty-", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0028.jp2"}, "29": {"fulltext": "21\\ntwo feet. But, as is not unfrequently the ease\\nin matters of a public nature, there was so much\\ndelay that the oiler of the pastor was forfeited.\\nThis delay was occasioned, I learn, by the reluc-\\ntance of pew-owners to relinquish their rights. In\\nAugust, 1796, it was voted to build a steeple and\\nto let it out at 330 and on the 17th of October\\nwas let out, to use the old-fashioned phrase, the\\nraising of this house, within whose walls we are\\nnow assembled. One or two items regarding the\\narrangements for raising the house may be men-\\ntioned, items which at the time were considered\\nof sufficient consequence to be voted and recorded\\nin the Town Meeting of a respectable Christian\\ncommunity, and they show us the views and habits\\nof the generation then on the stage.\\nIt is on record that the\\nExpense of Raising was\\nFood\\nLiquors, c.\\nLemons and Sundry Articles\\nTotal 75 19 7|\\nAnd four shillings and ninepence were deducted for\\nthe rum-barrel that was sold.\\nThese items are not mentioned for the sake of\\nexciting a smile, or of diminishing the respect for\\nthe men of that day, which we ought, and are will-\\ning, to render them. They were as worthy men as\\nlive now but they acted according to the views\\nand spirit of their times; while we can rejoice in\\ns.\\nd.\\n18\\n31\\n4\\n25\\n10\\n1\\n7i", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0029.jp2"}, "30": {"fulltext": "22\\nthe improvements that have been made, as well\\nin regard to the means of raising meeting-houses\\nas in their form and construction.\\nI find no record of the dedication of this house,\\nbut am informed on good authority that the dedi-\\ncation occurred January 11, 1797, with a sermon\\nby the pastor. Rev. Dr. Pay son.\\nIn October, 1799, an article was inserted in the\\nwarrant for Town Meeting, to see if the town\\nwould raise 500, more or less, to purchase a bell.\\nThis, or some article to the same effect, was nega-\\ntived, or passed over, for seven years in succession\\nand then entire silence in the records on the sub-\\nject until March, 1816, when a vote was passed to\\nraise 400, to purchase and hang a bell. Thus,\\naccording to the well-known reputation of this\\npeople for caution and moderation in the manage-\\nment of their pecuniary concerns, sixteen years\\nelapsed after the first motion for a bell was made,\\nbefore the people allowed themselves to be called\\nto the house of worship by the solemn but cheer-\\ning sounds that for the last forty-five years have\\nsaluted their ears as often as the light of the Sab-\\nbath has dawned upon them. Upon the Sabbath\\nfollowing the hanging of the bell, Dr. Payson, with\\nhis characteristic aptness in the selection of apj)ro-\\npriate texts, preached a sermon from a passage in\\nthe eighty-ninth Psalm Blessed is the people that\\nknoio the joyful sound. It may not be known to\\nall, however, that the town, as such, was at very\\nlittle expense for the bell. The ground since occu-", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0030.jp2"}, "31": {"fulltext": "pied by four pews in front, on each side of the\\nbroad aisle in the room below, then in seats, was\\nsold to individuals, and the avails were nearly, if\\nnot quite, sufficient to defray the cost of the bell.\\nThus we see that the first house for reliijious\\nworship in this town was built in 1764 or 1765,\\nand on almost the same spot this house was erect-\\ned in 1796, furnished with its first bell in 1816,\\nand, with the exception of being painted in 1807\\nand 1827, received but few repairs until it was\\nthoroughly remodelled in 1839, and dedicated De-\\ncember 25th of that year. A sermon was preached\\nby the pastor from the text in Ezra v. 11 We are\\nthe servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the\\nhouse that was hiiilded these many years ago!\\nIn this connection a few words are appropriate\\nrelative to the salaries of the pastors.\\nThe salary of Rev. Mr. Dean is not known, Dr.\\nPayson received two hundred pounds settlement,\\nas it was called, and eighty pounds salary, near\\nthe close of his life it was increased to five hundred\\ndollars. The present Pastor s salary was, at the first,\\n$400, wdth the use of the Parsonage-house and\\nland, valued, probably, at the time of his ordina-\\ntion, at 100. Doubtless the Society intended that\\nthe Pastor should receive $500 per annum, and\\nthroughout the changes that have been experi-\\nenced in these forty years, no alteration in the\\nsalary has been made. None has been asked, and\\nnone proposed.\\nIt is due, however, to the thoughtful generosity", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0031.jp2"}, "32": {"fulltext": "24\\nof the people to state, that by various gifts, espe-\\ncially by Donation Visits, they have afforded\\ngreat encouragement and substantial aid to the\\nPastor and his fxmily.\\nOne fact, on the subject of salary, which has\\nalready been given to the public through another\\nchannel, should here be recorded to the honor of\\nthis Society, and for an example to others holding\\nthe same relation.\\nThe salary, which is raised by a tax on the mem-\\nbers, in the same manner as the tax in the town\\nis assessed, has been paid to the Pastor in one sum,\\nand for twenty or more years by the same indi-\\nvidual,* on the veiy day specified in the contract, for\\nthlrtf/-nine years, excepting the years when the\\nday of payment has fallen on the Sabbath then\\nthe money has been paid on the preceding day. The\\nPastor has nothing to do in the matter, but to\\nreceive the amount at the hands of the Treasurer\\nand sign a receipt already prepared, and use the\\nmoney and this admirable habit, so excellent\\nin its influence on Pastor and people, has pro-\\nduced such confidence, that the Pastor has felt\\nfor nearly forty years about as sure, and, notwith-\\nstanding the distress of the times, does noio feel\\nalmost as sure, that his salary will be paid at the\\nappointed time as that the sun will rise that day.\\nIf the people of any other country Parish in New\\nEni2;land have treated their Pastor in this sinorular\\nway, the fact has not come to my knowledge\\nJason B. Perry, Esq.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0032.jp2"}, "33": {"fulltext": "25\\nThe tendencies and habits of this people are\\ndecidedly cautious and conservative but they are\\nas patriotic, and as ready to make sacrifices for the\\ncountry, as ready to embark, and, according to\\ntheir ability, are as liberal, in every department\\nof Christian benevolence, as any other people or\\ncongregation in the State.\\nAnd it is deemed proper to note in figures the\\namount of moneys appropriated by this Church and\\nSociety, and their families, for the support of the\\nGospel, and the various benevolent institutions and\\nenterprises of the age\\nAmount of Pastor s salary, 500 per year, forty\\nyears $20,000\\nRemodelling and repairing Meeting-House and\\nParsonage 5,550\\nAnd, knowing as I do the comparatively limited\\nmeans of the people, I think it right to record the\\nfigures, showing, not the actual toil and sacrifice\\nendured, but simply the amount that has been con-\\ntributed, chiefly by the female benevolent Societies\\nof this Church and Congregation.\\nThe Sewing-Circle, in forty years $1,500\\nLadies Bible Association, in thirty-three years 1,000\\nFemale Auxiliary H. M. Society, in thirty-three years 1,000\\nSoldiers Aid Society, with some help from patriotic\\nwomen not belonging to this congregation, in six\\nmonths 100\\nTotal $3,600\\nMale and Female contributions for home and foreign\\ndistribution, $30,000\\n4", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0033.jp2"}, "34": {"fulltext": "26\\nI observe, further, By divine aid you have en-\\njoyed what you beheve to be the faith once deliv-\\nered to the saints. In other words, that system of\\nChristian doctrine which you beheve to be clearly\\ntaught in the Bible, and which was originally\\nreceived and professed by this Church, has here\\nbeen maintained without variation, and without the\\nmixture or addition of novelties and speculations\\nof man s device, by which the light of so many\\nChurches has been obscured, and their influence\\ncorrupted.\\nWith us the inquiry has not been for some new\\nscheme of doctrine, but for the old paths, marked\\nout by the Word of God, and trod by the fathers;\\nand by walking therein we have found rest.\\nThe prominent marks of this way are, the en-\\ntire sinfulness by nature of the human heart the\\nnecessity of a radical change, effected by the special\\ninfluence of the Holy Spirit the perfection of the\\nDivine character and law the supremacy and sov-\\nereignty of the Divine government in the kingdoms\\nof nature, providence, and grace salvation by the\\ngrace of God, through the atonement made by\\nJesus Christ, received by the sinner in penitence\\nand faith and a day of future judgment, followed\\nby eternal retribution, awarded to each individual\\naccording to his character.\\nAnd this people have never experienced the\\nunhappy influence on all the most important in-\\nterests of the community, of a frequent change of\\nPastors. For, during the ninety-six years of its", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0034.jp2"}, "35": {"fulltext": "27\\nexistence, it has had only three, Rev. Seth Dean,\\nwho was ordained November 6, 1765, and whose\\nministry of fifteen years was closed by his own\\nrequest Eev. Dr. Seth Payson, who was ordained\\nDecember 4, 1782, and was Pastor thirty-seven\\nyears, and the precious fruits of whose able and\\nfaithful ministry and godly conversation remain to\\nthis day manifest proofs of the value of perma-\\nnence in the pastoral relation while the third\\nPastor, ordained November 14, 1821, having ob-\\ntained help of God, continues to this day. Thus,\\nin ninety-six years, this Church has enjoyed ninety-\\ntwo and a half years of pastoral labor, seventy-\\nseven of them by two ministers, and has been des-\\ntitute of an ordained Pastor only three and a half\\nyears and during the last forty years has been\\ndestitute of preaching probably not more than six\\nSabbaths.\\nAnd it is a fact worthy to be noted, that, though\\nthis Church has, of necessity, in the course of almost\\na hundred years, experienced difficulties and trials,\\nyet in all this period only four times has an Eccle-\\nsiastical Council been called and in these instances,\\nnot to advise in matters of difficulty, but simply\\nto ordain three Pastors, and dismiss one of the\\nthree. Doubtless some advantages arise from an\\noccasional change of Pastors these, however, it is\\nbelieved, are overbalanced by those flowing from\\nthe continuous ministrations of one, who, qualified\\nfor his work at the first, and identifying himself\\nwith the peop le, devotes himself for life to labors", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0035.jp2"}, "36": {"fulltext": "28\\nfor their good. In the blessings of such a ministry\\nthis people have richly shared. And in view of the\\nnumerous conflicting elements and revolutionary\\nagencies that have been working all around us dur-\\ning these forty years, seriously affecting both the\\nministry and the churches, the measure of peace\\nand quietness this Church has enjoyed in itself,\\nand under an uninterrupted ministry, demands this\\nday a devout acknowledgment of the goodness\\nof God. And I here state as a fact, that my es-\\nteemed ministerial brother, Kev. Dr. Barstow of\\nKeene, and myself, are the only Congregational\\nPastors in the State now officiating where they did,\\nif indeed anywhere, forty years ago. And when in\\nmy youthful manhood, and with much fear and\\ntrembling, I ventured to assume the functions of\\nthe pastoral office in this place, I had not the\\nleast reference in my mind to any period, long or\\nshort; I received the people as mine, and gave\\nmyself to them in this solemn relation, their ser-\\nvant for Jesus sake and I have reason to believe\\nthat they responded to this dedication, and are\\nready to-day to unite with me in adopting the\\nlanguage of the Hebrew prophet, Hitherto hath the\\nLord helped 7is\\nAnd the measure of success which has attended\\nthe present ministry is certainly to be attributed to\\nthe Divine blessing. In regard to the peculiar and\\nsaving results of the Gospel, It is not of him that\\nwilleth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that\\nshoweth mercy. Neither is he that planteth any-", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0036.jp2"}, "37": {"fulltext": "29\\nthing, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth\\nthe increase, This is the doctrine of the Bible,\\nis confirmed by all experience, and the truth of it\\nis felt by every true minister of Christ.\\nIf, then, general intelligence, the cause of learn-\\ning, morality, benevolence, and the common welfare\\nof the people have been promoted in the period\\nembraced in this discourse, if, especially, the chil-\\ndren of God have received aid and comfort on\\ntheir way heavenward, and others have cordially\\nreceived the truth and laid hold on eternal life, I\\nfeel bound devoutly to recognize and record this\\nday the unmerited goodness of God. That in some\\nmeasure these precious fruits have here been pro-\\nduced, I should sin against God, and abuse his\\ngrace, were I to entertain a doubt. And let Pastor\\nand people join in the devout ascription, Not unto\\nus, Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name, give\\nglory, for thy mercy and for thy truth s sake.\\nDuring the present ministry, ten seasons of spe-\\ncial interest in spiritual things have been enjoyed\\nthose most memorable were in 1822 and 1842\\nthose most limited in extent and fruits, in the\\nwinter of 1847-48, the spring of 1850, and the\\nwinter of 1857-58. And in all these precious\\nseasons of intense labor, as well as of joy, no\\nprofessed Evangelist, or Revival Preacher, so\\ncalled, has been employed, or desired. Whenever\\nthe demand for labor has been beyond the ability\\nof the Pastor to meet, assisted, as he has always\\nbeen, with great readiness and good-will, by the", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0037.jp2"}, "38": {"fulltext": "30\\nChurch, ministers of churches in the vicinity, in\\nwhose experience and discretion we had confidence,\\nhave come over and helped us.\\nAt the commencement of the present ministry\\nthis Church contained from one hundred and forty\\nto one hundred and fifty members and during\\nthese forty years have been added 481 by pro-\\nfession, average 12 a year, and 100 by letter;\\ntotal, 581. Removed, 174 by death; 180 by dis-\\nmission to other churches; and 20 by exclusion.\\nWhile 200 are now resident members, only 12 are\\nliving who were members forty years ago.\\nIn this connection it may be well to state, that\\nI have baptized 488 persons, solemnized 265 mar-\\nriages, and attended, probably, 650 funerals.\\nNo particular account of the Sabbath School can\\nhere be admitted. It ought, however, to be re-\\ncorded and uttered, on this occasion, that this\\nimportant institution, though not elevated from\\nits proper sphere, nor shorn of its proper power\\nby putting it into the place and time assigned to\\nthe preaching of the Word, has been most highly\\nvalued, steadily maintained, and with an increase\\nin interest and numbers, to the present time. It\\nembraces two thirds of the congregation, and has\\nfurnished probably five sixths of those who have\\nbeen admitted to the Church on profession.\\nThis people were trained by my predecessor to\\nexcellent usages, and their prevailing sentiment\\nand practice is in favor of keeping the Sabbath,\\nreverencing the sanctuary, rendering due respect", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0038.jp2"}, "39": {"fulltext": "31\\nto the ministry, and sustaining and attending the\\npublic worship of God. And from actual examina-\\ntion I feel safe in saying, that a larger proportion\\nof the inhabitants are regular attendants upon the\\nministrations of the sanctuary on the Sabbath than\\nin any other place in this section of the country.\\nTwo thirds of the population are justly reckoned\\nas attendants at the house of God. This estimate,\\nof course, embraces the congregation worshipping\\nat the Methodist Chapel. The congregation to\\nwhich it has been my privilege to minister so long\\nis the largest, except one, in the county, and there\\nare but few larger in the State, aside from the city\\nassemblies.\\nThe office of Deacon, important as it is to the\\nefficiency of the ministry and the edification of the\\nChurch, ought to receive at least a passing notice\\nin this Discourse.\\nThe course pursued by this Church in relation\\nto this responsible office has been designed, and, as\\nwe think, adapted, to elevate the position, and give\\nit weight and honor in the estimation of the Church\\nand the community, and increase of usefulness in its\\nappropriate line of service.\\nA simple choice, by the vote of the Brethren, has\\nnot been deemed according to the example of the\\nprimitive Christian Church and the Apostles at the\\ninstitution of the Deaconship, or sufficient to meet\\nthe full design of the office. Nor has this Church\\nadopted, as some other churches have done in these\\nrevolutionary times, the method of choosing for a", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0039.jp2"}, "40": {"fulltext": "32\\nlimited period, or by rotation, so that all who, like\\nDiotrephes, love to have the pre-eminence, may\\nhave a chance to gratify their unholy ambition.\\nChosen by the Brethren, and after due delibera-\\ntion signifying their acceptance of the appointment,\\nthe Deacons have been inducted into the office with\\nregular, full Divine service, prayer, sermon, and\\nordination. And the choice and intention has been\\naccording to the old platform and practice in ap-\\npointing the judges of the New England Courts,\\nduring good behavior and the fact that all who\\nhave occupied this important post in this Church\\nhave maintained it till death or change of resi-\\ndence shows that, in the judgment of the Brethren,\\nthey used the office of a Deacon well. No record\\nor report of impeachment is found.\\nSince the organization of the Church, in 1765,\\nthirteen have held the office\\nJosiah Ingalls, Ebenezer Brown,\\nJohn Lovejoy, Benjamin Eddy,\\nEdward Jewett, Luther Goddard,\\nFrancis Towne, Adin Cummings,\\nDavid Barker, Joseph B. Breed,\\nHezekiah Hubbard, Omar D. Converse.\\nEleazer Blake,\\nThe two last mentioned are now officiating to the\\nacceptance and edification of the Church.\\nAnd it is due to those who in past years have\\nbeen, and to those who now are, members of the\\nChoir, to say that, from the time when, forty years\\nago this day, Hon. Marshall P. Wilder conducted", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0040.jp2"}, "41": {"fulltext": "33\\nthe singing at my ordination, to the present hour,\\nthe music in this Church has, in my judgment,\\nbeen equal, if not superior, to that in any other con-\\ngregation in this vicinity with which I have been\\nacquainted and that during this long period the\\nPulpit and the Choir have been on intimate and\\nharmonious terms.\\nIn reviewing his own history, the Pastor would\\ndo injustice to himself if he should neglect in this\\npublic manner to use the language of the text in\\nhis own behalf, Hitherto hath the Lord helped\\nhimy Helped in his duties, in the study, the sanc-\\ntuary, as overseer of the flock of God, in duties\\npertaining to the sick, the afflicted, and the dying,\\nduties as spiritual guide to Christians and in-\\nquiring sinners, and all the round of cares and\\nlabors expected of a New England country Pastor.\\nHe has helped me and my family in toils and trials\\n\u00e2\u0080\u00a2which have been appointed for them to endure,\\nand those severer trials which belong more par-\\nticularly to the Pastor, and which arise peculiarly\\nfrom his relations and work as a Christian minister.\\nBut of trials I have no intention or disposition to\\nspeak in this Discourse but only to recognize the\\nhelp which God has afforded, and which has hith-\\nerto sustained me in all the way that He has led\\nme these forty years.\\nIn this time I have ivritten 2,050 sermons, covering\\n10,000 sheets of sermon-paper, and, with some excep-\\ntions, through feeble health in 1828 and 1829,\\nhave met the people almost every Sabbath twice, and\\n5", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0041.jp2"}, "42": {"fulltext": "34\\ngenerally three times. Besides this, I have taken\\nan active, and to nie a very delightful part, in the\\nSabbath School, having charge, particularly for thirty\\nyears past, of a class of from ten to thirty-five\\nyoung men, who, for intelligence, sound mind, and\\nother essential elements of a good character, are\\ninferior to no other equal number of young men in\\nthe Congregation. Of miscellaneous writings, and\\nother services, of which there is almost no end, I\\ngive no enumeration.\\nBut while it becomes me thankfully to acknowl-\\nedge the good hand of God, which has upheld me\\nin labors, trials, and responsibilities incident to no\\nother calling, I am very happy in having this\\nopportunity to express, in the presence of these,\\nmy brethren and this assembly, and here to record\\nwith gratitude, the uninterrupted confidence which\\nthis people have placed in me the forbearance\\nwhich they have exercised, and the innumerable\\nkindnesses which in various ways they have shown\\nto the Pastor and his family. May the God of all\\ngrace and comfort pour upon you and your chil-\\ndren still more abundantly the blessings of his\\nprovidence and grace.\\nAnd I trust the people are ready to acknowledge\\nthe help of God in preserving them, and prospering\\nthem in all their important interests especially, in\\nenabling them to support and enjoy uninterrupt-\\nedly for so long a time, the blessings of an evan-\\ngelical ministry. To deepen your convictions of\\nthe value of the pure Gospel, and of your indebted-", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0042.jp2"}, "43": {"fulltext": "35\\nness to God, just compare your present condition\\nwith what it ivoiild have been had not the ordi-\\nnances of rehgion been maintained here for eighty,\\nor for the last forty years.\\nSuppose that during all this time this House of\\nGod had been closed no preacher of righteousness\\nhad stood up in this pulpit, and set forth in the\\nname of Christ the great truths of his word and\\nno spiritual guide, no man of God, had been seen\\namong you, moving from house to house to impart\\ninstruction, admonition, and consolation to the peo-\\nple or su^Dpose that you had been occupied, as\\nsome churches and societies have been, half of the\\ntime these forty years in obtaining and dismissing\\nministers, calling councils, changing creeds and\\nforms, and, like the Athenians, in constant pursuit\\nof some new thing or that you had been subject-\\ned to a ministry corrupt in doctrine or practice, or\\nin both.\\nWhile, then, this people are reminded to-day of\\nthe comparatively peaceful, onward way in which\\nGod has led them, let them render due acknowl-\\nedgment to the blessed Gospel, whose genuine fruits\\nare so manifest on every side. Let them remem-\\nber, too, that these blessings flow directly and\\nlegitimately from strict adherence to that scheme\\nof doctrine which has been accepted, preached, and\\nmaintained here from the settlement of the town\\nto this day.\\nAs we stand here, then, to-day. Pastor and flock,\\nafter forty years of toil and trial, joy and sorrow.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0043.jp2"}, "44": {"fulltext": "36\\nmutually shared, united still, and cordially, for\\naught I know, as at the first, we do devoutly ex-\\npress, before God and this assembly, and here\\nrecord our indebtedness to Divine mercy, in the\\nlanguage of the ancient Hebrew leader, Hitherto\\nhath the Lord helped us.\\nBy this imperfect review of our history, an\\ninquiry is suggested, of deep interest to this\\nChurch and Society, to the cause of truth, and the\\nhighest welfare of this people.\\nThe Lord hath helped you hitherto but how\\ncan you secure his help in time to come You will\\nneed his aid in the future as really as in the past.\\nThe Pastor, and the few who have walked and wor-\\nshipped, labored and suffered with him for all this\\nperiod, and yet survive, must soon pass from the\\nstage, and leave all the precious interests here\\nconcerned to other hands. The past experience of\\nthe Pastor encourages him to hope for all needful\\nDivine aid during the little time he may be allowed\\nto live and to labor for the salvation of those who\\nhave been intrusted to his pastoral care and the\\nChurch and Society have equal reason to hope for\\nthe help of God in coming time, provided they\\npursue the course in regard to the Gospel which\\nhas so manifestly received the approbation and\\nblessing of God nearly one hundred years in this\\nplace. If the Lord has helped, and so richly blessed\\nyou in connection with an evangelical ministry\\nand unbroken pastoral relations, and you and your\\nchildren to-day rejoice in the invaluable fruits of", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0044.jp2"}, "45": {"fulltext": "37\\nsuch a ministry as has been maintained among this\\npeople, and if, as is well known, the effects of the\\nsame system of truth are everywhere substantially\\nof the same character, then the way to secure the\\nDivine aid and blessing in the time to come is plain.\\nThe general condition in this case is, the united\\nand permanent support of those institutions to\\nwhich you are so deeply indebted for your past\\npeace and prosperity.\\nReference is had, not only to the support of\\npublic worship in its appointed forms, but to the\\nmaintenance of that system of doctrine believed by\\nthe Pilgrim Fathers, by Edwards, Griffin, Woods,\\nyour own venerated- Payson, and other lights of the\\nNew England churches, a system of truth which,\\nwhen rightly set forth by the ministry, is most\\nhealthful in its influence on all the interests of men\\nthe world over, and is the power of God unto\\nsalvation to every one that believeth. As we truly\\nsay of our government, it is the best under heav-\\nen, founded by the Fathers under the supervision\\nof God, and has worked well and filled the land\\nin its breadth and lenorth with blessino-s so the\\nscheme of Christian doctrine here referred to, usu-\\nally denominated Evangelical or Calvinistic, and\\nthe Congregational Church polity, and perma-\\nnence in the pastoral office, have worked well in\\nall past generations. And while you and your\\nchildren gratefully acknowledge to-day the bless-\\nings you and they and your fathers received\\nthrough this channel, look over New England,", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0045.jp2"}, "46": {"fulltext": "38\\nthe moral garden of the world look at the great\\nWest, and onward to the Pacific Ocean, where a\\nsecond New England is rising up to bless the land\\nand the world. And think, too, of the wonderful\\nresults of the missionary work in heathen lands,\\nand bear in mind that all are directly and indirectly\\nthe genuine fruits of this glorious Gospel of the\\nblessed God. Let it be here maintained, then, to\\nthe end of time. And whoever in coming years,\\nhaving the taste and spirit of these times, may\\nwish and undertake to effect an essential change in\\nthe religious faith and usages here so long main-\\ntained; to disturb waters that have been compara-\\ntively so quiet, and which have been sending forth\\nblessings of incomprehensible value to three whole\\ngenerations let that man be admonished that he\\nwill take upon him a fearful responsibility. It is\\nmuch easier to disturb than to allay, to scatter\\nthan to gather up, to divide than to unite, to de-\\nmolish than to build up.\\nBut in reference to the inquiry. How may the\\nhelp of God, in the present application of the lan-\\nguage, be secured in time to come only a sug-\\ngestion or two will be made.\\nThe institutions of God s appointment must be\\ntreated as He requires. Thus the Gospel, the Sab-\\nbath, the ministry, and the ordinances of religion\\nmust be more highly valued. All reasonable effort\\nmust be made to support the public worship of\\nGod, and the stated ministrations of an ordained.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0046.jp2"}, "47": {"fulltext": "39\\nevangelical, godly, and otherwise qualified Pastor\\nand the doctrines of the Gospel believed, and its\\nprecejDts obeyed.\\nIt is necessary that your cJdldren should be trained\\nto support and obey the Gospel.\\nThe slight sense of obligation in this matter now\\nmanifested by a large portion of the young will in\\nprocess of time be entirely lost, luiless, contrary\\nto the practice of some of whom better things are\\nreasonably expected, parents and heads of families\\nshall faithftdly endeavor to produce in the mind of\\nthose committed to their care an abiding conviction\\nof the value of the Gospel, and their obligation to\\nsupport and obey it.\\nThe young should be reminded of the goodly\\nheritage which they have received from the fathers,\\nthe precious fruits of an Evangelical ministry,\\ncontinued, as has here been the fact, from past gen-\\nerations. The founders of this Society felt, for they\\nhad experienced, the inestimable value of Christian\\ninstitutions, and made the effort and sacrifice neces-\\nsary to secure for themselves and their posterity\\nthe enjoyment of the Gospel. They entertained the\\nreal Puritan conviction on this subject; as one of\\nthe early New England fathers said, A true New\\nEngland man could no more live without a minister\\nthan a blacksmith could work his iron without fire.\\nAim to fix this conviction in the mind and con-\\nscience of the coming generation, that they may be\\nqualified and ready to take the places and fulfil", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0047.jp2"}, "48": {"fulltext": "40\\nthe duties of those who now sustain the institutions\\nof rehgion, but who cannot continue, by reason of\\ndeath.\\nAnd while I exhort you, beloved Brethren and\\nfriends, to cherish a deeper sense of your own\\nindebtedness to the Gospel, and train your children\\nto understand and fulfil their duties to God and\\ntheir fellow-men, so that you and they may rea-\\nsonably hope for Divine help in time to come, I\\nonly add, Follow after the things which make\\nfor peace, and things wherewith one may edify\\nanother. And while you contend earnestly for the\\nmaintenance of the faith once delivered to the\\nsaints, endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit\\nin the bond of peace. Learn the wholesome lesson\\nsuggested by the facts of your own history, as given\\nto-day, and that of contemporary churches and re-\\nligious societies, around you and elsewhere.\\nNow, the God of peace, that brought again\\nfrom the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd\\nof the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting\\ncovenant, make you perfect in every good work\\nto do His will, working in you that which is well\\npleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom\\nbe glory for ever and ever. Amen.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0048.jp2"}, "49": {"fulltext": "ORIGINAL HYMN,\\nWRITTEN FOR THE OCCASION,\\nBY SAMUEL BUENHAM,\\nAND SUNG BY THE CHOIR AFTER THE DISCOUKSK.\\nMemories of the past come swelling\\nO er the grave of twoscore years\\nScenes of joy and sorrow telling,\\nSun and shadow, smiles and tears.\\nMerry shouts of joy and gladness\\nRing out from the shadowy past,\\nWhile the mournful tones of sadness\\nWail like winter s shivering blast.\\nMany a loved one, fondly cherished,\\nCalmly in yon churchyard sleeps\\nMany an orange-flower has perished,\\nMany a willow sadly weeps.\\nMany a voice has ceased its singing,\\nBut in brighter, fairer skies.\\nWhere heaven s harmonies are ringing.\\nJoins that song which never dies.\\nYet we feel that, hovering near us.\\nSpirits of the sainted dead\\nFrom the dim past come to cheer us.\\nWith their guardian wings outspread-", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0049.jp2"}, "50": {"fulltext": "42\\nThus do memories come pressing\\nOn the track of bygone years\\nAnd, though sorrow came with blessing,\\nSmiles are glistening through the tears.\\nBless to us past mercies given,\\nBless to us this festal day\\nPoint us all the road to heaven,\\nLead us in the shining way.\\nJust beyond death s narrow river.\\nHeaven s own glories on us shine\\nGrant that flock and shepherd ever\\nThere may sing of love divine.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0050.jp2"}, "51": {"fulltext": "EXEECISES IN THE TOWN HALL.\\nImmediately after the close of the services in the\\nChurch, Jason B. Perry, Esq., Chairman of the Com-\\nmittee of Arrangements, invited the audience to\\nproceed to the Town Hall, which was appropriately\\ndecorated, and where a bountiful collation was in\\nreadiness.\\nStephen B. Sherwin, Esq., of Rindge, presided at\\nthe collation and during the exercises of the after-\\nnoon and evening.\\nAfter the audience had been seated so far as was\\npracticable, a song was admirably performed by\\nMiss Julia E. Houston, soprano singer at the Old\\nSouth Church, Boston a Blessing was then invoked\\nby Eev. J. W. Guernsey, of Keene, N. H., formerly\\npastor of the Methodist Church in Eindge, and all\\nwere supplied in the most liberal manner from the\\nwell-furnished tables.\\nAt a meeting of the Society, legally called, a Committee was chosen\\nto make all necessary arrangements for the exercises of the Anniversary,\\nconsisting of Col. Jason B. Perry, Col. George W. Stearns, and ]\\\\lr.\\nJames B. Robbins. To these gentlemen, and to the various sub-commits\\ntees afterward appointed, is to be attributed in a great measure thead-\\nmirable order and marked success which attended the whole occasion.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0051.jp2"}, "52": {"fulltext": "44\\nAfter the collation, and another song by Miss\\nHouston, who contributed greatly to the enjoyment\\nof the occasion, during the afternoon and evening,\\nby her admirable singing, Mr. Sherwin made a wel-\\ncoming address, as follows.\\nADDRESS OF STEPHEN B. SHERWIN, ESQ.\\nLadies and Gentlemen In behalf of our venerable\\nPastor, and the First Congregational Church and Society\\nin Rindge, I bid you a most cheerful, a most hearty wel-\\ncome. We would greet you with a friendly greeting. The\\noccasion, the event we celebrate, is of rare occurrence in\\nthis or any other community. Few indeed are the clergy-\\nmen who have measured the term of forty years amongst\\nany one people. In the retrospect there are many rem-\\niniscences that are dark and chilling, and many that are\\npleasant and cheering, all of which are incident to human\\nlife. The record of the last forty years shows an onward\\nmarch in every department of life unparalleled in the\\nannals of time. Were all the changes, inventions, and\\nimprovements that have occurred within that time written\\nout, they would fill a volume that the measure of no one\\nman s life would be sufficient to read. In our own New\\nHampshire but little remains unchanged except our granite\\nhills, and even they have not wholly escaped the sweep-\\ning tide of time and improvement. The mighty influence\\nof our republican institutions has been felt almost world\\nwide, and man has been struggling for his freedom in\\nevery land. In Europe, revolution has followed revolution\\nin quick succession the arm of tyranny has been paralyzed\\nin Italy, and serfdom in Russia has found its grave.\\nThe mighty march of improvement in the arts, sciences,\\nagriculture, and in everything that pertains to the eleva-\\ntion and happiness of man, is unprecedented in the his-", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0052.jp2"}, "53": {"fulltext": "45\\ntory of any other forty years. The many wonderful\\ninventions now in practical use which have gradually pre-\\nsented themselves, and by common use and association have\\nlost all that is strange and wonderful, to the man of forty\\nyears ago would be most mysterious, most unaccount-\\nable. Could the man who has slept beneath the sod the\\nlast forty years be waked from that sleep to-day, and behold\\na steam-engine followed by a train of cars, freighted with\\nhuman beings, speeding its way among his native hills,\\nwhat think you would be his astonishment, what his con-\\nsternation, and to what agency would he ascribe all this\\nWould he not at once attribute it to that evil spirit of\\nwhich he was so often reminded by the reverend clergy\\nof his day Show him next that man can take that\\nsubtile agent, known only to him as seen in the heavens\\nby the name of lightning, charge it with a message,\\nsend it at his will hundreds of miles in a few seconds, and\\ncause it there to write the same on paper, would he not\\nbe doubly confirmed in his first opinion Such, ladies and\\ngentlemen, are examples of some of the wonderful and\\npractical inventions that have dawned upon the world\\nduring the stay of our venerated Pastor amongst us.\\nI would not dim or mar your happiness on this occasion\\nbut there is another change which is a sadder picture.\\nThe great heart of the nation throbs with anxious and dis-\\nturbed pulsations what man, looking from the stand-point\\nof forty years ago, ever dreamed that to-day the suicidal\\nhand would be raised, that treason would be rife in our\\nland, threatening the destruction of the best government\\nupon which the sun ever shone So it is but while the\\npicture is dark, our hope for the future is bright and\\njoyous. And now permit me to say, I will not by any\\nextended remarks delay the audience from the rich enter-\\ntainment for which we are all in eager expectation. Again\\nI bid you a most sincere, a most cordial welcome.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0053.jp2"}, "54": {"fulltext": "46\\nThe first regular sentiment was then read by the\\nPresident.\\nThe Clergy of New Hampshire But few are fortunate\\nenough to retain their settlement for the celebration of its\\nFortieth Anniversary.\\nRev. Z. S. Barstow, D. D., of Keene, N. H., was\\nthen introduced as the only clergyman present, with\\nthe exception of Dr. Burnham, and beside him the\\nonly Congregational clergyman in the State, who\\ncould appropriately respond to the sentiment.\\nADDRESS OF REV. Z. S. BARSTOW, D.D.\\nMr. President You call on me to respond to the sen-\\ntiment. I understand, Sir, that I have been published in\\nthe papers as one of the speakers on this occasion. But I\\nnever heard a syllable of it till I came upon this platform.\\nNor had I the most distant expectation of being thus un-\\nceremoniously called upon.\\nBut, if I understand it, the sentiment calls for remarks\\nupon the importance of a permanent ministry. And,\\nSir, though I admit that our Methodist brethren have some\\nadvantages from their short pastorates, yet they have lit-\\ntle opportunity to form enlarged plans, and to carry them\\nout to their results. But our system enables us to give\\nourselves and our full powers to the people over which\\nthe Holy Ghost hath made us overseers. It enables us\\nto comprehend the wants of the people, their interests,\\ntheir dangers, and the best mealis of promoting their tem-\\nporal thrift, their educational necessities, their moral and\\nsocial interests, and the thorough instruction of the people\\nin the faith once delivered to the saints.\\nBesides, Sir, we have an illustration of this whole subject", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0054.jp2"}, "55": {"fulltext": "47\\nin the discourse which we have heard this day of the\\ngreat advantages to be derived from a permanent ministry,\\nin the prosperity of the people, the stability of the Church,\\nand their general advancement in all things lovely and of\\ngood report.\\nAnd now, Sir, as I am up, I wish to say, that, while the\\ngreat object of the ministry is to train men up for an inher-\\nitance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away,\\nthere are side issues of incomparable benefit to society.\\nAmong other things, we may speak especially of the power\\nof the pulpit in promoting liberty and the general weal of\\nthe nation Why, Sir, while we attribute to Mr. Jefferson\\ngreat praise for his admirable Declaration of Independence,\\nwe may affirm that all the great principles contained in that\\ndocument had been elaborated, discussed, and wrought\\ninto the minds of the people by the clergy of New England\\nand New Jersey, and Mr. Jefferson himself acknowledged\\nthat the platform of the Congregational Church sug-\\ngested the platform of our liberties\\nAnd Mr. Hume himself, who was no special advocate of\\nthe Puritanical principles of our fathers, acknowledged\\nthat, whatever of civil and religious liberty England now\\nenjoys, she owes it all to the Puritans And every one\\nknows what a power the pulpit had in clipping the wings of\\nthe hierachy, purifying the liturgy of its Popish complexion,\\nand giving strength to the democracy of England.\\nWe might go still further, and affirm that the clergy did\\nmuch toward giving the key-note in the declaration of\\nAmerican independence. It was Witherspoon, and not the\\nelder Adams, that first gave the impulse to the Convention\\nat Philadelphia He stepped forth, saying, in substance,\\nthough I cannot remember his words precisely I have a\\nwife and children that I tenderly love, and God has\\nblessed me with earthly possessions And I am ready to\\nsacrifice all. Let us be free And from that arose the\\nenthusiasm and courage of that venerated Convention!", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0055.jp2"}, "56": {"fulltext": "48\\nBut I need not enlarge. I have only to refer to the\\nwords of Cowper\\nThe pulpit (in the sober use of its legitimate, peculiar powers)\\nMust stand acknowledged ivhile the loorld shall stand.\\nThe most important and effectual guard,\\nSupport, and ornament of virtue^ s cause.\\nThe pulpit does more to promote political economy\\nand to advance the common weal, than statesmen, pris-\\nons, and the power of law to prevent. the outbreakings\\nof crime, and to make human society tolerable I Yes,\\nSir, it does more than all things else to promote men s\\nwelfare.\\nTherefore, we say to the good people of Rindge Hold\\non upon a permanent ministry. And remember, that while\\nthere are many new things, and many true things, the new\\nthings are not true things, and the true things are not\\nnew\\nRev. Asa Rand, son-in-law of the Rev. Dr. Seth\\nPayson, former Pastor of the Church and Society\\nin Rindge, was then called upon to respond to the\\nfollowing sentiment\\nThe Memory of Dr. Payson Instead of the fathers\\nshall be the children. Rev. Mr. Rand, a native of\\nRindge, and son-in-law of the venerated Payson, and known\\nto the public from the press and the pulpit, is welcomed by\\nhis townsmen as an honorable connecting link between the\\npresent and the past.\\nADDRESS OF REV. ASA RAND.\\nRespected Friends Your chairman proposes that I\\nspeak of the past and the present of your former Pastor\\nand his times; of the pulpit and the periodical press.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0056.jp2"}, "57": {"fulltext": "49\\nwith both of which I have had responsible connection\\nin my protracted Hfe and labors. But he allows me\\nonly a few minutes and will therefore permit me to\\nconfine myself chiefly to the first part of Dr. Payson s pas-\\ntorate, with which I was personally acquainted. As I am\\nalmost a stranger in the present congregation, and feel that\\nI belong to a generation which long since passed away,\\nit may be necessary to give a brief account of myself.\\nKnow, then, that I was born in this town seventy-eight years\\nago, in the year after Dr. Payson s settlement toiled upon\\na rugged farm to the age of nineteen then went abroad to\\nacquire an education for the ministry, upon which I entered\\nabout fifty-four years since. My pastoral labors were be-\\nstowed on a beloved people in Maine during fourteen years\\nthough frequently interrupted by severe illness, which con-\\ntinned from one or two weeks to six months at a time, and\\nat length imperatively demanded a dissolution of a happy\\npastoral relation, which might have continued to this day\\nbut for this providential dispensation. My next thirteen\\nyears were devoted principally to editorial labors, with\\nvery little public speaking. Regaining health in a good\\nmeasure, I returned to the pulpit, preaching as stated\\nsupply and acting pastor in several places, with little inter-\\nruption by sickness, during the nineteen years succeeding.\\nFor the six years past, encompassed with infirmities, I\\nhave lived retired from public labors, waiting for my final\\nsummons to depart. My personal acquaintance with this\\npeople for almost sixty years has, you perceive, been very\\nslight, being acquired only by brief and infrequent visits.\\nOf the first half only of Dr. Payson s ministry can I speak\\nfarther back than others. I am without doubt the oldest\\nnative of the town now present. Two others I find who are\\nsome five years younger. One brother,* not a native, who\\ncame to the town in early manhood, six years older than\\nS. L. Wilder, Esq.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0057.jp2"}, "58": {"fulltext": "50\\nmyself, can look back on Rindge and its people nearly as\\nfar, and trace their history down to the present hour, when\\nhe stands before you to recount the mercies of God to you,\\nand him, and his, under the ministry of both your venerat-\\ned pastors. When I received your kind invitation to meet\\nyou on this occasion, I doubted the prudence of exposing\\nmy health and life abroad in November weather. But my\\nheart came at once, and now a kind Providence has brought\\nme here in person. And here I am glad to be for here\\npassed the days of my childhood and early youth here\\nare the graves of honored parents and beloved kindred\\nhere some of my relatives yet reside, and stand connected\\nwith your church here I was joined in marriage with my\\nfirst beloved companion, the eldest daughter of Dr. Payson,\\nwhose life on earth was short, and whose only child now\\nliving, William Wilberforce Rand, had much pleasure in\\nonce preaching the Gospel to you the summer past. Well\\nmay I love to unite with you in mutual congratulations\\nand thanksgiving to the God of all grace, who, when He\\nsaw fit to call home the venerated Pastor of my youth. He\\nset another light in the golden candlestick, and has kept it\\nburning so brightly these forty years. To God be all the\\nglory.\\nBut what of Rindge in the early past Rindge was a\\nrough and rocky place. Myself and my contemporaries,\\nand especially our fathers before us, were chiefly agricul-\\nturists, compelled to be laborious, industrious, and frugal.\\nI see you have made great changes and improvements,\\nwhich Dr. Burnham has named, contrasting the present\\naspect of material things with that which he first saw on\\nhis coming among you. What would he have said if he\\nhad looked over the town one or two generations earlier\\nWhy even now your soil is rugged, and demands incessant\\ntoil. Coming to this neighborhood after a sojourn of fifteen\\nyears in Central New York and Ohio, I could not but ex-\\nclaim, How can this people live But I called to mind", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0058.jp2"}, "59": {"fulltext": "51\\nthe lessons of my youth, and laid together the results of\\nextensive observation at the East and the West, both in\\ncity and country and I here declare to you my firm con-\\nviction, that your physical training and mine, with all its\\nstern necessities, is more favorable to the formation of a\\nsterling cliaracter, whether for our personal happiness or\\nhonor or usefulness, than that which can usually be\\nobtained on the facile and fertile soil of tlie West and\\nSouth, or amid the opulence and indolence of city life.\\nI have no doubt that you owe much of your temporal\\nprosperity, with your marked stability in your educational,\\nmoral, and religious concerns, to the influence of your\\nrugged soil and climate and your isolated situation. Truly\\neach of you may say, with me, The lines have fallen to me\\nin pleasant places yea, I have a goodly heritage.\\nA word concerning schools and facilities for obtaining\\neducation. We had short schools in summer and winter,\\nand we children thought them very good. Master Fos-\\nter, an excellent penman, and for many years town-clerk,\\nwas my early male teacher several years. He taught read-\\ning, spelling, writing, and the rudiments of arithmetic\\nnot a single word of English Grammar, or Geography, or\\none on that long catalogue of studies you now have, with\\nimproved methods of study and instruction which learned\\nprofessors had not then dreamed of. Why, if I had retained\\nall I knew when I left college, I could not now enter the\\nFreshman Class, and could scarcely receive the approbation\\nof your examining committee as teacher of a common\\nschool. Of books for intellectual and moral improvement\\nwe had but few in our dwellings, with access to a small\\nsocial library, kept some years at the house of the Pastor.\\nThese were adapted to adults and older scholars but for\\nchildren we had only the ever-blessed Bible, Watts s Psalms\\nand Hymns, and the New England Primer, with its blue\\npaper cover and precious contents among which was the\\nAssembly s Catechism, which every child should write upon", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0059.jp2"}, "60": {"fulltext": "62\\nhis heart, and every aged man and woman repeat weekly\\ntill their dying day. For children s papers, and even re-\\nligious periodicals for adults, we had literally none. But\\nnow what scores and hundreds of papers and magazines\\nand Sabbath-school books for all ages. Parents are at a\\nloss to select what is safe and useful and youth are in\\ndanger of being corrupted with that literary trash which\\nSatan and his publishers thrust before them at every turn.\\nAh the Word of God was precious in those days, scarce\\nhere a little, and there a little. Now the heavenly manna\\nfalls every morning about your dwellings, with a tenfold\\nportion when you go up to the house of the Lord and listen\\nto your teachers, your assiduous Pastor among them, feed-\\ning the lambs in the Sabbath School and the sheep from\\nthe pulpit. Truly, blessed are the people who hear the\\njoyful sounds yea, blessed are they who so hear the Word\\nof God and keep it. In my youth I heard nothing of a\\nSabbath School or Bible Class only of a catechetical lec-\\nture by the Pastor. I think there were not stated meetings\\nfor conference and prayer and the time had not come for\\nthe ministers and churches in this region to engage in mis-\\nsionary and other benevolent enterprises which now bless\\nthe Church and the world. Later in his ministry, and quite\\nfts early as others, Dr. Payson promptly and earnestly en-\\ngaged in these labors of love, as you well know, and led on\\nhis people in the Avork.\\nI must say a few words concerning the ministry of Dr.\\nPayson at that early period, his doctrine, manner of life,\\npastoral labors, and influence upon the people of his charge.\\nHe exerted a happy influence upon schools and families,\\nand on the intellectual and moral training of the young.\\nOf the character of his preaching, as Scriptural, lucid,\\nfaithful, solemn, and affectionate, your present Pastor, with\\nmany others, has borne a decided testimony. He also\\nmakes grateful mention of the influence of those ministra-\\ntions, together with a consistent life, and his oversight of", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0060.jp2"}, "61": {"fulltext": "53\\nthe flock, on the state of morals and religion, and the pros-\\nperity of the Church. Thus, through the protracted labors\\nof his predecessor, Dr. Burnham found things in a good\\ndegree made ready to his hand so that, through Him that\\ngiveth the increase, the sower and the reaper may rejoice\\ntogether, and together give all the glory where all is due.\\nTo this testimony I can only add the experience and ob-\\nservation of a wayward child for I must ever lament that\\nI did not repent and believe till my last year in college,\\nand my name was never enrolled in this Church. But I\\nshall ever bless God that my feet were early led to trudge\\nthree miles over these hills, to and from this house of God,\\nand that which preceded it that I was taught to remember\\nthe Sabbath day, and reverence the sanctuary and that I\\nheard such preaching as made the sinner tremble and re-\\nsolve, though he might soon forget. Yes, I fully believe\\nthat the constant preaching, which I could never treat with\\nlevity of speech or feeling, restrained me from vice, en-\\nlightened my mind, kept my conscience measurably tender,\\nsettled my convictions of fundamental truth, and thus pre-\\npared the way, when the Spirit came with quickening\\npower, for my becoming a living believer and an unworthy\\nsoldier of the cross.\\nOf the character and state of the Church at that period\\nI could be but a poor judge. I saw them walking in the\\nordinances of the Lord harmoniously many, I thought,\\nfeared God and wrought righteousness and of some,\\nspiritually-minded and prayerful, I was constrained to say,\\nThere is a daily beauty in their lives, that makes me\\nugly. I think there were not at that period copious\\nshowers of grace upon this people, such as have since\\nattended the labors of both your pastors. Yet God granted\\nthe former and the latter rain, and the Church was in-\\ncreased and refreshed from year to year. In this commu-\\nnity at large I think the general impression was, that the\\ndoctrine according to godliness was here preached that", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0061.jp2"}, "62": {"fulltext": "54\\npure and undcfiled religion is the one thing needful for all\\nand that such a ministry as they had should be stated,\\nregular, and permanent. Under it, as under that which\\nfollowed it, the people were not given to change and no\\none suspected that the Pastor would forsake the people\\nwhom he loved, till he had finished the work which his\\nLord had given him to do.\\nTo-day we review the past, and lay upon our souls the\\nresponsibilities of the present, as they bear upon the future.\\nThe past is gone forever, the future is unknown to mor-\\ntals, the present is all we can call our own. But what a\\nprice it puts into our hands, to get wisdom, to attain salva-\\ntion, to glorify God, to perpetuate Gospel privileges, to\\ndiffuse on earth the knowledge of redeeming love. Pastors\\nand people die, and go to their final account. In forty\\nyears, a number equal to your usual congregation, twice\\ntold, have here joined the congregation of the dead. Have\\nall these washed their robes, and made them white in the\\nblood of the Lamb God alone knoweth. With us, num-\\nbered with the living still, there is hope an accepted time,\\na day of salvation, a space for repentance, a time to work\\nin the vineyard of the Lord. Shall we, by help from\\nabove, make it as the beginning of still brighter days to\\nthis people, to the Church of Christ, and a dying world\\nHave all our brother s hearers believed on Christ to the\\nsaving of the soul Is this Church an epistle of the living\\nGod, known and read of all men Have you done, and\\nwill you do, all that in you lies, that the Word of the\\nfaith of the Gospel may be with you, and your children,\\nand your children s children, till time shall end God\\ngrant it, for his mercy and his truth s sake.\\nAnd now, brethren and friends, we commend you to God\\nand ^the Word of His grace, who is able to build you up,\\nand give you an inheritance among them who are sanctified.\\nMy brother, respected and beloved, go forth yet longer to\\nyour work of faith and labor of love, until the even of life", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0062.jp2"}, "63": {"fulltext": "55\\nshall come. May you yet turn many unto righteousness,\\nwho shall be your joy and crown of rejoicing at the aj^)-\\npearing of Jesus Christ.\\nThe President then announced the following sen-\\ntiment\\nThe Sons of old Rindge Many have distinguished them-\\nselves in the different departments of life wherever they\\nare, they will always meet with a right hearty welcome at\\nthe old homestead.\\nHon. Marshall P. Wilder, of Dorchester, Mass.,\\na native of Rindge, was called upon to respond,\\nand addressed the audience in the following lan-\\nguage.\\nADDRESS OF HON. MARSHALL P. WILDER.\\nMr. President I thank you for the compliment paid\\nby your toast to the sons of old Rindge, and I am most\\nhappy here and everywhere to respond for them with such\\nability as I possess. I rejoice in the privilege of being\\npresent on this occasion; but when our honored pastor\\nstated that forty years ago I acted as chorister at his ordi-\\nnation, I felt a sensation of age creeping over me but in\\nthe presence of so many with whom I was acquainted in\\nyouth I feel that I still belong to the rising generation.\\n(Laughter.) My associations and recollections of this good\\nold town are of the most affectionate and interesting char-\\nacter. And who that has a soul within him can forget the\\nplace of his birth, the home of his childhood, the old dis-\\ntrict school where he learned his ABC, the church where\\nhe was offered at the baptismal font, or the consecrated\\nground in which repose the loved and lost ones of earth\\nBut I must not mar the pleasure of this occasion by this\\ntrain of thought. No, rather let me call up the bright", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0063.jp2"}, "64": {"fulltext": "56\\nreminiscences of early life. Although I left Rindge at the\\nage of twenty-five, I can remember much that transpired\\nbefore that time. I can remember the old school-house\\nwhere I at.tended when I was but four years old, and which,\\nI noticed to-day as I entered the village, like myself had\\ngrown a little gray with age. This school-house stood on\\nthe common directly in front of my father s dwelling, the\\nseats facing to the north, and I can distinctly remember\\nmy own on the low bench for the small boys. Nor have I\\nforgotten a certain little bunch of twigs, resembling a bun-\\ndle of apple-grafts, which hung behind the master s desk,\\nand at which ever and anon I cast an anxious glance. I\\nremember well the new school-house, as it was called, which\\nnow stands at the foot of the hill east of us. But alas\\nthis too has been whitened with the snows of more than\\nfifty winters. It was here that I was first taught the art of\\nwriting. The first copies were straight marks, then came\\nthe trammels, then the pot-hooks, and when I had learned\\nto make that mysterious round letter that has no beginning\\nor end, I felt that I was in a fair way to become an accom-\\nplished penman.\\nWell, Mr. President, here was laid the foundation of\\nwhat little education I possess. In truth. Sir, the system\\nof education is much more practical now than in those\\ndays. Then we had no Colburn s Arithmetics, no black-\\nboards, and but few of the aids and advantages possessed\\nby the present generation. I don t remember. Sir, that I\\nwas particularly distinguished, except for getting my lessons\\nin double quick time, and of course rather hastily. I be-\\nlieve, however, I was considered a pretty good arithmeti-\\ncian, having gone through Adams s Arithmetic three times\\nbefore I was fourteen years of age but I strongly suspect\\nmy attainments in this branch were much like those of\\nsome other gentlemen who boast of having gone through\\ncollege that is, gone in at one door and out at another\\nBe that as it may, I have a vivid recollection of my trials", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0064.jp2"}, "65": {"fulltext": "57\\nwith some of the most difficult sums, and how, if I could\\nnot avail myself of the answer from my neighbor s slate,\\nmy poor head and patience were taxed to work out the\\nresult. Ah, Sir many a time have I sympathized deeply\\nin the doggerel rhyme\\nMultiplication is vexation,\\nDivision is as bad\\nThe Rule of Three, it puzzles me,\\nAnd Fractions make me mad.\\nAnd then came the Rule of Proportion but for my\\nlife. Sir, I never could see any beauty in its proportions\\nand then that awful Rule of Cube Root, of the philoso-\\nphy of whose roots I knew far less than I now know of the\\nphysiology of the roots of trees and plants.\\nBut, Mr. President, there was one exercise of which I\\nwas very fond. I mean the Evening Spelling Matches,\\nwhere each one carried his tallow candle and a nice white\\nturnip with a hole in the centre to stick his candle in or\\nif the turnip was forgotten, how we melted the end of the\\ncandle and stuck it up on the bench. And I well remem-\\nber. Sir, that when I was captain of a class, and it fell to\\nmy lot to make the first choice, I had far more anxiety to\\nselect the prettiest girl in the school to stand by my side\\nthan for her particular accomplishment in spelling.\\nWell, Sir, here I finished my Common School education\\nand entered upon a higher course of study, which my ven-\\nerable father God be thanked that he is spared to be with\\nus to-day hoped would terminate in one of the learned\\nprofessions. And, strange as it may seem, I proceeded so\\nfar as to read six or seven books of the ^neid of Yirgil\\nand now, lest any one should doubt the correctness of this\\nstatement, I will attempt to construe and translate a line\\nwhich I have not seen since that time. It ran thus\\nMusa/ O Muse memora, declare mihi, to me\\ncausas, the causes, quo numine laeso, Ah! Mr.\\n8", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0065.jp2"}, "66": {"fulltext": "58\\nPresident, my memory falters, and I will leave it to these\\nlearned divines to translate the three last words. (Laugh-\\nter.)\\nBut to proceed. My father soon discovered that my mind\\nwas of too roving a character to be confined to books, and\\naccordingly gave me the choice of preparing for college, of\\nentering his store, or of working on the farm. I chose the\\nlatter, it being the most congenial to my natural taste but\\nit was not long before my assistance was demanded in the\\nstore, and hence I have been merchant or agriculturist as\\ntime and circumstance would permit. I think, however,\\nI can truly say, that from the day when my sainted mother\\nfirst took me into the garden to help dress and keep it,\\nI have never seen the time when I did not love the cultiva-\\ntion of the soil, and I shall never cease to feel that a part\\nof my humble mission on earth is to promote this most hon-\\norable and useful of all employments.\\nPardon me, Mr. President, and ladies and gentlemen,\\nfor further allusion to myself, for I have come to the old\\nhomestead to rejoice with you and to ask forgiveness for\\nthe errors of youth. I have heard it reported that I was a\\nwild boy. Be that as it may, I can assure you that I have\\never since been Wilder. I have heard it said that if I was\\nnot guilty of, I was at least cognizant of, some of the mis-\\ndemeanors which occurred here while I was a boy. To\\nthis. Sir, in a measure I plead guilty. But while I ac-\\nknowledge that I did hear the crash of the old horse-sheds\\nas they tumbled over upon the common on a dark, stormy\\nSaturday night, I do solemnly aver, in all truth and hon-\\nesty, that I had no part or lot in stealing the beehives of\\nMr. Morse, or shearing the horse of Dr. Shurtleff, nor do I\\nto this day know who the rogues were (Laughter.)\\nBut, Sir, no more of this. I have undoubtedly sowed my\\nshare of \u00c2\u00abwild oats, but, thanks to aifectionate and godly\\nparents I believe very few of them have ever vegetated.\\nMr. President, I have spoken enough of the foibles of", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0066.jp2"}, "67": {"fulltext": "69\\nyouth and of the school-house, which here, as in other\\ntowns of our blessed New England, stands in public esteem\\nnext to the chui ch. But to you, my honored Pastor, I\\nwould say, your name and profession are more intimately\\nassociated with this sanctuary around which cluster some\\nof the most precious memories of my childhood and youth.\\nI can recollect this old church as it then was, with its high\\npulpit, spacious galleries, and its square pews surmounted\\nwith a balustrade and rail, and how terrified I was if by\\nchance I turned one of the rounds and made it squeak, lest\\nit should have disturbed the venerable Deacon Blake, whose\\npew was between that of my father and the sacred desk\\nand how now and then, in time of service, I opened one\\neye and looked around to espy the handsomest young lady\\nin the congregation, and that here it was my eye caught\\nhers who became my first love and the wife of my youth.\\nOf one other circumstance I have been reminded to-day\\nby our honored Pastor, namely, that forty years ago this\\nday I acted as chorister at his ordination. But, Sir, there\\nare some here whose memory runs back still further. There\\nare some here who can remember that I was installed in\\nthat office when I was but eighteen years of age. Yes, Sir,\\nsome who can remember when I played the big fiddle, and\\nmy good friend, Mr. Amos Cutler, played so dexterously\\nthe little fiddle and perhaps our Pastor may have some\\npainful recollections of the customs of that time, especially\\nof screwing up the strings and thumbing the instruments\\nduring the last part of prayer, so as to be ready to com-\\nmence our part as soon as the minister had finished his.\\nBut, Mr. President, to be more serious, I am most happy\\nto be here to-day, and to participate in the pleasures and\\nprivileges of this occasion. I never return to this good old\\ntown, the place of my birth, the home of my youth, and\\nin whose sacred soil repose my mother, my brother and sis-\\nters, the wife of my youth, and some of my children, but\\nI feel sensations which no language can describe. I never", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0067.jp2"}, "68": {"fulltext": "60\\nrevisit this ancient town, but with the first glimpse of her\\nglorious old hills, over which I have roamed in my youth\\nwith gun and fishing-rod, my soul rises with the inspi-\\nration of the scene, and I almost involuntary exclaim,\\nThank God, I am with you once again\\nI feel the gales that from ye blow,\\nA momentary bliss bestow,\\nAs waving fresh your gladsome wing,\\nMy buoyant soul you seem to soothe,\\nAnd redolent with scenes of youth,\\nI breathe a second spring.\\nOne word more, Mr. President, in regard to the day and\\nland in which we live, and I have done. One year ago we\\nwere rejoicing in peace and prosperity. Now we are in the\\nmidst of the most dreadful civil war that ever cursed the\\nworld, the natural result of sectional hatred and jealousy,\\nand. Sir, I feel that I may congratulate your honored Pastor\\nand the people of his charge that he has never fostered this\\nhatred by the preaching of party politics. I am happy in\\nthe belief that his heart has been fixed on nobler ends, the\\nunion of the whole country, and the spiritual welfare of\\nhis particular charge, and he will allow me to say that I\\nconsider his example worthy of universal emulation.\\nAnd now. Sir, in view of the wonderful progress and\\nprosperity of our country, who can look back to the past\\nand forward to the future, without feeling tlie responsibil-\\nities which rest upon us as American citizens. When I\\nconsider the stupendous proportions of our country, extend-\\ning from ocean to ocean, embracing almost every variety of\\nsoil and climate, and capable of producing almost all the\\nproducts of the habitable globe, a country which, before\\nsome who now hear me shall go down to their graves, will\\ncontain one hundred millions of souls, a country whose\\nthriving cities and villages rise as by enchantment, and sud-\\ndenly surpass in arts, commerce, and manufactures the most\\nrenowned cities of the Old World, a country whose liter-", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0068.jp2"}, "69": {"fulltext": "61\\nary, civil, and religious institutions arc the admiration of\\nmankind, a country, too, whose inhabitants from every\\npart of the globe are commingling and rapidly assimilating\\ninto a race far more powerful than any that has preceded\\nit, I cannot but feel that He who rules in mercy as well\\nas in justice has a more important mission for these United\\nStates to perform than for any other nation, and that he\\nwill bring us out of the trials through which we are pass-\\ning, and make us a wiser and a better people that he will\\npreserve the Union of these States, and make us one in\\ninterest, one in inheritance, and one in glorious destiny.\\nLet us then be faithful to our high and glorious trust.\\nLet us stand by and sustain the government with every\\nmeans in our power. Let us stand by the flag of our\\nUnion, and for every one that has been struck down by our\\nenemies, a thousand shall rise in its stead, and the red,\\nwhite, and blue, like the flowers of the field, blossom again\\nfrom one end of our land to the other.\\nThe next sentiment was,\\nRev. Samuel Lee, of New Ipsivich Unlike Samuel of\\nold, it is not necessary to call upon him three times, but\\nlike him, always ready to answer, fiere am\\nADDRESS OF REV. SAMUEL LEE.\\nMr. President Are all the managers of this celebra-\\ntion enlisted recruits for the army I should infer it and\\nthat the particular department of their drill at present is\\nin the science of taking by surprise. I am their honored\\nvictim, taken perfectly by surprise. .And what shall I\\nsay What is my theme Myself. And that is very gen-\\neral indeed, a centre from which I may radiate at any\\nconceivable angle to a circumference.\\nIt might seem appropriate to talk of the past and I", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0069.jp2"}, "70": {"fulltext": "62\\nhave thought of many things in years long gone by, while\\nI have listened to the able discourse of my brother, and\\nto the remarks of my friend who has just addressed us.\\nBut I am not quite old enough to talk, on such an occa-\\nsion as this, of the past. I am not yet sixty years old,\\nand my ministry but of little more than thirty years. Still\\nI remember so far back as to furnish to me a scene very\\nunlike the present. And I have to-day gone back to my\\nchildhood, to the home of my father, and the employ-\\nments of the family. I remember the fire-place, with its\\nhigh wooden mantle, and how I was proud when I could\\nstraighten up and touch it with the top of my head\\nhow I sat in the fire-place, i. e. within the jamb, while\\nothers were seated at the other extreme, and between us\\na rousing fire, that was perhaps heating the water in a\\nfour or six pail kettle and how I could look up and see\\nthrough the top of the chimney, the stars in the sky. I\\nremember the spinning-wheels of my mother and sister,\\nthe little wheel and the great wheel the loom in\\nwhich the yarn produced by these wheels was converted\\ninto linen and woollen cloth to be worn by the family. I\\nremember the school-house of that same period, and the\\nchurch, the modes of travel, fec., c. But I have not\\ntime to do justice to this theme. A thousand particulars\\nmust be enumerated and presented eaqh in contrast with\\nan equal number of the elements of our present condition.\\nAnd besides, as I have said, I am not old enough to talk\\nof the past, as could the man of twenty years added to\\nmine.\\nBut shall I talk of the future Should I give to you\\nthe real utterances of my inmost soul, my voice would\\nnot exactly harmonize with that of the pulpit to-day. I\\nhave less of reverence for the past than my good brother\\nwhose anniversary we are celebrating. I am God grant\\nI may never be any other a man of progress. I do not\\nbelieve that all change is to the worse. Much of the meta-", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0070.jp2"}, "71": {"fulltext": "63\\nphysical theology and much of the exegesis of tlic past\\ncan no more go into the future than can the agriculture\\nand the mechanics of the past. I have no veneration for\\nthe creeds of the fathers. I believe, with Robinson, of Pil-\\ngrim celebrity, that there is more light yet to break forth\\nfrom the Bible. No change is not necessarily for the\\nworse. My eye rests habitually upon a blessed, a glorious\\nfuture. A half-century has witnessed a wonderful change,\\nthat certainly is an improvement. And yet this is but\\na beginning, whose consummation shall be glory. This\\nmy philosophy teaches, this my Bible this my heart feels\\nmust be true. Nothing else will satisfy its love for the\\nRedeemer, and desire that he should be glorified by re-\\nsults worthy of Him as the Divine administrator of the\\nplan of redemption. Jesus is able to save this world, and\\nhe will do it to perfection.\\nBut this strain is not exactly appropriate to the cir-\\ncumstances in which I am speaking. If my venerated\\nbrother is not quite as hopeful and quite as progressive\\nas myself, yet we agree in almost everything else. I have\\noften said that there is no man in the circle of my ac-\\nquaintance whose theology is so nearly in harmony with\\nmy own; mine metaphysical, his comnwn-sense-ical,\\nand the former finding evidence of its correctness from\\nits harmony with the latter. And a ministry, right by his\\nside, of the quarter of a century, has had the effect to\\nbind my heart very closely to him. We have had some\\nhappy experiences together in our labors as the servants\\nof Jesus Christ. When to-day he spoke of the revival of\\n1842, I remembered, with a degree of satisfaction that I\\ncannot tell, the fortnight 1 spent with him in that pulpit\\nabove, and in this room for religious conversation. I re-\\njoice that his ministry yet lasts on. May he never know\\nwhat is my experience in being laid aside from his work\\nwhile yet he lives. I had hoped to die with my harness\\non. May he die thus. May he never know what it is to", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0071.jp2"}, "72": {"fulltext": "64\\nlive, yet live withaut an object. I live thus. My work\\nof life is done. I am having a sort of day of judgment\\nwhile yet in the body. My life is of the things that\\nwere and seen in review. I rejoice that I have been a\\nminister. As furnishing the material for a hopeful future,\\nno conceivable earthly state can for a moment compare\\nwith it. I had rather go to heaven from the pulpit than\\nfrom the throne, infinitely rather\\nBut I am talking too long. You gave me, Mr. Presi-\\ndent, myself as my theme myself of course as a la-\\nborer by the side of your Pastor, and I have talked about\\nmyself as such. Long may that Pastor live, and gather\\nyet greater multitudes to Christ before be shall be called\\nhence.\\nThe President announced as the next sentiment,\\nThe Clergy of Massachusetts Unsurpassed for educa-\\ntion, intelligence, and efficiency they are always welcome\\nto the old Granite State.\\nIn presenting this sentiment, Mr. Sherwin made\\nthe following remarks\\nYou will pardon me here, ladies and gentlemen, for\\nstating, that a few years since, while in conversation with a\\nMassachusetts clergyman, he inquired why it was that the\\ngood people of old Rindge were so well united in politics\\nand religion I answered him that this remarkable una-\\nnimity must be attributed to one of two things. Either\\nthe people were consummately ignorant, and knew naught\\nelse save to follow in the wake of their fathers, or else\\nthey were tolerably intelligent, and so well booked up,\\nthat they were not to be duped by the doctrines and isms\\nof modern times.\\nI perceive that the same clergyman with whom I had\\nthis conversation is present on this occasion, and I call", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0072.jp2"}, "73": {"fulltext": "65\\nupon him to respond to the sentiment, and also, if he\\npleases, to settle the question before a Rindge audience\\nto-day to which of the two propositions the unanimity of\\nour people is attributed, and in settling this question he\\nwill also settle another; he will furnish the reasons why\\nDr. Burnham has remained with us so long:\\nI call upon Rev. A. P. Marvin, of Winchendon.\\nADDRESS OF REV. A. P. MARVIN.\\nMr. President I am reminded here to-day of the\\nfact that I have had a connection a slight connection,\\nperhaps with Rindge. I refer to the days of my youth,\\nfor during the last eighteen years my intercourse with you\\nhas been frequent and agreeable. It has been stated to-day,\\nthat Dr. Payson had two sons, who were ministers of the\\nGospel. One of these was the celebrated Dr. Edward Pay-\\nson, of Portland. The other was the Rev. Phillips Payson,\\nof Leominster, Mass., and afterwards of North Lyme (now\\nLyme), Conn. While there, he was the pastor of my moth-\\ner s family, and during my visits at home I often heard\\nhim preach, and I learned in what estimation he was held\\nby the people. Through him some of that influence which\\nthe elder Dr. Payson exerted so powerfully on his parish-\\nioners reached me. And in this connection it may be grati-\\nfying to you to say that Mr. Phillips Payson has a son who\\nis now a very promising young minister in the city of New\\nYork, and a voice behind me says that two others of his\\nsons are in a coivse of preparation.\\nBut, Sir, I was called up by a sentiment and a story.\\nIn relation to the sentiment, while I am not worthy to rep-\\nresent the clergy of Massachusetts, I will say, in their\\nbehalf, that this tribute of respect is freely bestowed on\\nyour venerated Pastor, who completes the fortieth year of\\nhis settled ministry to-day. Though he has not courted\\npublicity, yet he has not lived here so long, and pursued a\\n9", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0073.jp2"}, "74": {"fulltext": "66\\ncareer so useful, without becoming extensively known, and\\nsecuring the high regard and esteem of his brethren in the\\nministry. In their name, I now offer the due meed of\\nrespect and reverence to Father Burnham. It is true that\\nhe, some years since, almost reproved me for styling him\\nfather, yet it seems to me that there is a manifest pro-\\npriety in giving one who has become a Doctor of Divinity,\\nand has a good right to the degree, and who, besides, has\\nbeen settled in one parish during forty years, that ven-\\nerable title. In these years I have not seemed to myself\\nto grow old at all, while he has been assuming the double\\ncrown of age and of honor. Henceforth he is to me\\nFather Burnham.\\nAnd now, to the story of the worthy President of the\\nday. It seems that my inquiries about the unanimity and\\nstability of the people of old Rindge, .in religious and polit-\\nical matters, excited the suspicion of an intention on my\\npart to cast a slur on this good old town as if the inhab-\\nitants did not think for themselves, but were under the\\nthraldom of leaders. This, according to my recollection,\\nmust have been an entire mistake. The thing that lay in\\nmy mind was just what we are commemorating here to-day.\\nI had reference to the long and able ministry of Dr. Pay-\\nson and his successor, and to the influence flowing there-\\nfrom, in securing stability of character. The influence of\\na minister of the Gospel, preaching and living well in\\nsuch a place as this, during a long course of years, is pow-\\nerful for good. And the man who can retain his position\\ntwenty, thirty, forty years, in these changing times, must\\nhave peculiar qualifications. In the last century, ministers\\nwere settled with the expectation that they would remain\\nduring good behavior, or. to the close of life yet even\\nthen there were many brief pastorates, and a man could\\nnot retain his hold on the people unless he was a man of\\nestimable qualities. But in those days, when parishes are\\nrestless, and when they all desire the most eloquent and", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0074.jp2"}, "75": {"fulltext": "67\\npopular preacher in the land, and when, moreover, great\\nquestions are agitating the country, no man can remain\\nforty years in connection with the same church and society\\nunless he is well qualified for the duties of his high office.\\nFor, be assured, this position cannot be retained by artifice,\\nby trimming the sails to catch the popular breeze, nor by\\nanything except substantial merit. It requires piety, discre-\\ntion, fidelity in the performance of duty, good temper,\\nsympathy with the people in all their joys and sorrows, and\\ncommon sense, which, when bestowed in large measure, is\\none of the rarest gifts ever conferred by the Almighty on\\nthe children of men. As these are the characteristics of\\nyour Pastor, we know why the Lord helping him he\\nhas continued to enjoy your confidence and affection. And\\nI may add, that he knows how to keep up with the times,\\nand in this regard differs from many men in every profes-\\nsion and pursuit, who, by clinging blindly to the worn-out\\npast, are left as wrecks on the bank of the stream of life.\\nAnd here it occurs to me to express the gratification I feel\\nat finding myself in such near accord with your honored\\nPastor on the great exciting questions of the day. I have\\na suspicion that you, in your conservative wisdom, used to\\nlook on me as a rather fast young man, in relation to\\nslavery and kindred subjects. Now, I am quite willing to\\nconfess that I have always believed slavery to be the great\\nsin and curse of the land, and, have been in favor of all\\njudicious efforts for its speedy overthrow. It is now seen\\nto be the cause of this wicked rebellion, which is rending\\nour country, and calling us to give up our dear friends, by\\nhundreds of thousands, who have gone, and are going, to\\nthe tented field. And we all feel that the cause of the\\nrebellion must be put away, else we shall leave a heritage\\nof blood to our children, increasing from year to year, in\\ncompound ratio. In regard to these things, Rindge and\\nWinchendon are in happy agreement. They think the\\nsame and feel the same concerning the republic. And", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0075.jp2"}, "76": {"fulltext": "68\\nwhen, not long ago, your minister preached on the war, in\\nmy pulpit, and, while showing the necessity we are under\\nof putting down the traitors, he doublecl up his fist, and\\ninquired, what the Lord had given it to us for, unless to\\nuse in case of emergency, my people felt sure that he was\\nquite up to the times And it is worthy of note, that you\\nwere disappointed in me on that day, because there was no\\nallusion in my preaching to the political events of the day.\\nYou were, perforce, obliged to listen to what are some-\\ntimes called regular Gospel sermons, since I rarely\\nallude to political affairs in my Sabbath services, while at\\nthe very time, my people were listening with interest to\\nyour minister, as he exposed the wickedness of the rebel-\\nlion, and denounced the leading rebels. This, Sir, may not\\nbe what is sometimes reprobated as political preaching,\\nbut it sounds to me a little like the politics of war. And\\nnow, Sir, are we square in regard to our part of the con-\\nversation to which you alluded when introducing me to\\nthis assembly\\nPassing this topic, it is but fair to add, that the minister\\ndoes not deserve all the credit, when the pastoral relation\\nhas been permanent. There have been many ministers,\\nwho were amply endowed for the work, and yet have not\\nbeen able to remain forty, or twenty, or five years, in some\\nplaces, because the people were not able to appreciate them,\\nnor to estimate the value of a long pastorate. It is your\\ndistinction that you have been above such folly, and you\\nnow reap the advantages that flow from the continuous\\nlabors of one who has known how to care for your estate,\\nand has loved to labor for souls as one that must give ac-\\ncount. I have alluded to your Pastor s labors, and to your\\nappreciation of them and here let me raise the question,\\nwhether it would not be well for you to give him still more\\nemployment. This is indeed a delicate subject. It may\\nseem strange that I, who do not appear to be worn down\\nwith toil, certainly am not in the lean and slippered", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0076.jp2"}, "77": {"fulltext": "69\\npantaloon, should stir you up to increase your minis-\\nter s duties. It was stated, as you recollect, in his admira-\\nble sermon this morning, that he received all his salary on\\nthe appointed day, and that he had nothing to do about it,\\nexcept to sign the receipt and spend the money, four hun-\\ndred dollars. Now the question in this connection is,\\nwhether it would not have a healthy influence if you\\nshould give him a little more to do But that question is\\nleft for you to decide.\\nIn such a gathering as this I realize the force of an old\\ntruth, more vividly than ever before. Reference is had to\\nthe power of a minister for good, when he is faithful to his\\ntrust. This point has been so well treated by one who has\\npreceded me, that I will refer to it with brevity. Some one\\nhas said, that when a bright, sensible girl is married into a\\nfamily, she will keep fools out of it for several generations.\\nThe same is true of a parish, when it forms a connection\\nwith an intelligent, clear-headed minister. Under his\\npreaching, and his general influence in schools and in\\nsociety, the young people will come forward with sound\\nminds, and before his cultivated intellect nonsense and\\nfoolish isms will flee away as fog before the sun. A single\\nillustration shall convey all I have to say on this point.\\nSuppose, Sir, this house should be closed, the minister dis-\\nmissed, and the church disbanded. Let there be no evan-\\ngelical preaching in the town. What would be the result\\nIn a generation, the moral and pious people would die or\\nmove away. Few good people would grow up here, and\\nthey would seek a home elsewhere. Vices of every kind\\nand degree would become common. In the mean time the\\nignorant and depraved in neighboring towns would flow in\\nhither, as if drawn by a sort of moral, or rather immoral,\\ngravitation, until all religious, moral, and even decent peo-\\nple would avoid it as they would a pestilence. The agency\\nthat prevents such results, and produces those that are just\\nopposite, is unsurpassed in usefulness.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0077.jp2"}, "78": {"fulltext": "70\\nI will add but another remark. We see, in such a scene\\nas this, how a minister is linked into the affections of his\\npeople. He is with them in their most joyous, their sad-\\ndest, and their holiest seasons. The orange-blossom and\\nthe waving willow are associated with him in the hearts of\\nthose whom wedded love has made happy, and of those who\\nhave been led by him to feel that God loveth whom he\\nchasteneth. He is also enshrined in the hearts of those\\nwhom he has led to the Saviour and welcomed to the table\\nof the Lord. Thus the tendrils of sacred affection are\\nthrown around him, and when he is called up, many hearts\\nfollow him to the skies. It is my fervent wish and hope,\\nthat when, late hereafter, your loved and venerated Pastor\\nshall return to Heaven, he may be blessed with the assur-\\nance that he will be followed, not only by those who are\\nnow pursuing the strait and narrow path, but by many\\nothers also, who shall yet be gathered into the fold of the\\nGood Shepherd.\\nThe President announced as the next sentiment,\\nThe young Clergymen of New Hampshire: May they\\nprove as efficient in their mission as their predecessors.\\nRev. W. L. Gaylord, of Fitzwilliam, was called\\nupon to respond to this sentiment.\\nADDRESS OF REV. W. L. GAYLORD.\\nMr. Chairman The gentleman who preceded me has\\nexplained the principle upon which we who were not\\nadvertised to speak on this occasion are called out so\\nsatisfactorily, that nothing further remains to be said on\\nthat point.\\nPerhaps, Sir, I am requested to respond to the sentiment\\nwhich you have just read, for the reason that, in this assem-", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0078.jp2"}, "79": {"fulltext": "71\\nbly, convened to honor, on the fortieth anniversary of his\\npastorate over this people, one of the oldest ministers in\\nthis State, I stand as the youngest ordained clergyman\\nof this section of the State or it may be that while these\\nvenerable fathers, whom we delight to-day and always to\\nhonor, have told us of what they have done, and these\\nbrethren in the scenes and activities of midday life tell us\\nof what they are doing, I am before you the representative\\nof that class who are just entering and looking out upon\\nthe field before us, but who, having done but little as yet,\\nhave nothing to tell you about but our expectations and\\nour faith in the future, with the inspiring example of these\\nfathers and brethren before us.\\nI count it, Sir, one of the highest privileges of my inter-\\ncourse with these reverend and venerated brethren, and of\\nmy life, to be permitted to speak congratulatory words to\\nthem, and to this assembly to-day and as they have led us\\nback, in memory, along the history of past generations,\\nsince they were young like those in whose name I address\\nyou, I have felt that my feet pressed hallowed ground, and\\nthat a holy Presence was making sacred and forever em-\\nbalming this hour and this scene in our hearts.\\nAs I came hither this morning, my mind attempted to\\ngrasp the fact, and to review in imagination the history of\\na pastorate of forty years length. I attempted to measure\\nthe aggregate of ministerial labor that had been performed\\nin that time the hopes that had been awakened, to be re-\\nalized in present fruition, or only to be crushed in the bud.\\nJoys came flitting by and lighted up the scene, and anon\\nclouds of sorrow came, darkening the sky and shedding\\ngloom around. It was a checkered scene that seemed to\\npass before me in that momentary and imaginary reviewal,\\nbut amid it all I thought I saw the angel Hope winging her\\nway heavenward and beckoning the humble laborer in his\\nDivine Master s vineyard to follow her, with his eye fixed\\non the Day-Star, while Faith walked ever by his side and", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0079.jp2"}, "80": {"fulltext": "72\\nchanted to his often troubled, yet often entranced spirit,\\nThe Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.\\nBut it is impossible for me now in words, as it was then\\nin thought, to present anything like an adequate view of\\nthe history of a pastoral relation extending over a period\\nof so many years.\\nCould our revered father in the ministry, whose festal\\nday brings us together here, have had prophetic vision\\ngiven him when, on this day forty years ago, he gave him-\\nself to this church and people, to be to them a servant for\\nChrist s sake could he have looked down along these\\nmany years that have passed, and seen and known all the\\ntoils, the sacrifices, the trials that awaited him, though\\nthe path should seem, even then, to be radiant with joys\\nand blessings, I think that he would have been overwhelmed\\nwith the magnitude of the work before him, and would\\nhave felt that, unless the Eternal Presence should be with\\nhim, he could not go forward.\\nThe young clergy of New Hampshire desire to emulate\\nthe example of the fathers who have spoken to us to-day,\\nthat, like them, by making full proof of our ministry,\\nwe may hereafter look back upon a well-fought conflict of\\nfaith, and forward to an imperishable crown of right-\\neousness in store for us.\\nThe reminiscences of the past the whole history of\\nother generations as it has been reviewed by honored lips\\nto-day shall incite us to renewed diligence and faithful-\\nness in our divine calling.\\nThe lives of these revered fathers are to us the golden\\nlinks uniting us by their history with the past^ and by\\nthe inspiration of their example, the support of their ap-\\nproval, and the wisdom of their counsel, to an active and\\nhopeful future, and hereafter to a glorious and triumphant\\nrevelation in the presence of the Anointed One, by whose\\ncommission we go forth to preach the Gospel of peace\\nand good-will to men.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0080.jp2"}, "81": {"fulltext": "73\\nIn closing, permit me to offer to you, my beloved, and in\\na special sense, my honored father in the ministry, to\\nthese otlier fathers and brethren, to you, Mr. Chairman,\\nto this church and congregation, and to all assembled\\nhere to-day, my most hearty congratulations upon this\\nauspicious day and event, and to thank you, Sir, for the\\nhonor of being invited to speak on this occasion.\\nThe next sentiment was,-^\\nOur Guests from Abroad: Rindge extends a cordial wel-\\ncome to those who honor the town and the occasion by\\ntheir presence.\\nJ. Russell Bradford, Esq., of Boston, was called\\nupon to respond, and spoke as follows\\nADDRESS OF J. RUSSELL BRADFORD, ESQ.\\nMr. President It appears to me, notwithstanding the\\nrequest with which I have been honored, that it is hardly\\nright for me to occupy a moment s time upon this platform.\\nThis is a day when the first church in Rindge calls her\\nchildren home when she says to those who, having been\\nnourished and brought up in her bosom, but who in their\\nyouth or manhood, or womanhood, have gone forth to\\nother scenes of joy or sorrow, Return, come yet again\\nand let us together hear and tell of former days, of our\\nearly recollections, pastimes, enjoyments, hopes, fears,\\ntrial s, and sorrows. But in all these, Sir, a stranger\\nintermeddleth not therefore it is that I ought not to be\\nheard to-day, for I came yesterday for the first time among\\nyou, an entire stranger, without even an acquaintance,\\nexcepting your honored Pastor and his family, who are, I\\nam most happy to say, my friends. And yet, stranger\\nthough he be, no one can be with you to-day, participating\\n10", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0081.jp2"}, "82": {"fulltext": "74\\nin its enjoyments, and listening as we have done to the\\naddress of your Pastor as he has recited all the way in\\nwhich the Lord has led you, without rejoicing with you\\nin your joy, and sympathizing with you, to some extent at\\nleast, in many of the tender and hallowed recollections of\\nthe past. Most sincerely do I rejoice with you that your\\nbeloved Pastor is still spared in health that he has been\\npermitted to-day to tell of the mercies of the Lord, and to\\nacknowledge the helping hand of God in all his ministry\\nand that, still pressing forward toward the prize of his\\nhigh calling, he loves to invite you, with him, to run with\\npatience the race that is set before you, looking unto Jesus.\\nAnd I also rejoice in the unanimity and Christian, brotherly\\nlove that has always prevailed among you and still con-\\ntinues in your reverence for the good old truths, so pre-\\ncious to the fathers, in which you are strengthened, settled,\\nstablished in your love for your Pastor, who so well de-\\nserves your love in the prosperity that attends you in\\nthe success that has followed the efforts here put forth for\\nthe spread of the Gospel and in the souls saved through\\nthe blessing of God upon the preaching of the Word. No\\none could have listened to the discourse of the morning\\nwithout gratitude to God for His goodness and loving-kind-\\nness to you as a church and people, and none should ever\\nforget the patient, faithful, self-denying labors of him who\\nhas, in season and out of season, for many years, ministered\\nto you in holy things. It is an exceedingly rare thing, in\\nthese days especially, for one man to be united so long to\\none people, and it deserves to be commemorated as it is by\\nyou to-day. May it long be remembered as a season of joy\\nand gladness, as a thanksgiving-day among you, and may\\nthe Lord continue to bless the dear Pastor and his people\\nin all things.\\nMr. Bradford s remarks concluded the exercises of\\nthe afternoon, and the audience adjourned until\\nevening.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0082.jp2"}, "83": {"fulltext": "75\\nEVENING.\\nAt an early hour the Town Hall was again filled,\\nand the exercises commenced with the singing of\\nWindham by the whole congregation, led by Hon.\\nMarshall P. Wilder, who conducted the singing forty\\nyears ago that day at the ordination of Dr. Burn-\\nham.\\nThe first sentiment of the evening was then read\\nby the President.\\nThe Clergy and the War: Always faithful to preach\\nPeace and good-will to men, thej do not forget to en-\\nforce the text, They that take the sword shall perish by\\nthe sword.\\nThis was responded to by Rev. J. S. Batchelder,\\nof Jaffrey, N. H.\\nADDRESS OF REV. J. S. BATCHELDER.\\nMr. President It seems that I am the first to have\\nan ambush sprung upon me this evening. The first inti-\\nmation I had of this special duty was in being asked by the\\nchairman a few moments since, if I believed in fighting\\nYes, I do believe in fighting to preserve our government\\nand free institutions from being trampled in the dust by\\nrebellion and treason. I believe in fighting for the sake\\nof PEACE.\\nWhile we who are appointed ministers of the Gospel are\\nto preach peace, if so be wicked men force upon us the\\nalternative of war or the death of our dear-bought free-\\ndom, then we cannot do otherwise than speak and pray\\nfor the sword.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0083.jp2"}, "84": {"fulltext": "76\\nFor this occasion I would adopt Kossuth s translation\\nof the angels song, viz. Good-will on earth to men of\\npeace.\\nI think that declaration, They that take the sword shall\\nperish by the sword, means, They that take the sword\\nin an evil cause shall fall by the sword they have invoked.\\nWe must remember to modify the doctrines of peace taught\\nby Christ by that declaration, I came not to send peace\\non earth, but a sword.\\nThat which is a peace to the true is a sword to the false.\\nThere is good reason why we ministers of New England\\nshould not shrink from this contest for American freedom.\\nIt comes from the blood that runs in our veins. We have\\nan ancestry. Are we now to prove recreant to the old\\nPuritan blood Shall we forget Hampden and Sidney\\nand Vane, and Miles Standish and his stern little band,\\nand all those God-fearing old heroes who stepped upon the\\nPlymouth rock, in the face of that sharp wintry blast,\\nwhen\\nThe breaking waves dashed high\\nOn a stern and rock-bound coast,\\nAnd the woods against a stormy sky\\nTheir giant branches tost\\nShall we hold back now, and make it true that the blood\\nof our fathers was spilled on the ground in vain\\nSome of our friends are in the habit of accusing the\\nNew England ministers of having brought these troubles\\non the country. Very well admit it for the sake of the\\nargument. What a compliment they are paying us They\\nwould make us to be the ruling power of the nation. This\\nis far more honor than it would be modest in us to claim.\\nBut if bravely to oppose a wrong is to enrage those who\\nuphold the wrong, wc will accept the charge. If we have,\\nby God s help, brought it to pass that this nation should\\nnot be bound hand and foot, and laid at the feet of the\\nsystem of slavery, we glory in the accusation.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0084.jp2"}, "85": {"fulltext": "77\\nI do not believe that the ministers in general are in favor\\nof any rash proclamation of emancipation but we mean\\nto labor and pray that the power of slavery may be forever\\nbroken in America. Slavery is at the bottom of this war,\\nand we must not blink the fact.\\nLet me say of our reverend father here, that we know he\\nis equal to the rebellion. I was delighted the other day,\\nwhen I had the honor of an exchange with him, to learn\\nthat, as brother Marvin says, he had shaken his fist in\\nmy pulpit.\\nPerhaps he has not coveted the honor of preaching\\npolitics in past times. Well, better late than never.\\nWe now welcome him to the ranks of true political preach-\\ners At least he will preach politics as the old Quaker\\nfought. He did not believe in war, but aiming a gun in\\nthe direction of a rebel, exclaimed as he pulled, Friend,\\nthee unfortunately stands where I am just going to shoot\\nThere is no doubt that Dr. Burnham s gun went off in the\\ndirection of the rebels.\\nI cannot sit down, Mr. President, without an expression\\nof my own personal feelings to our venerable father whom\\nwe to-day meet to honor. I shall always remember him\\nas the one whose hands were laid on my head when I was\\nconsecrated to the ministry of Jesus. That consecrating\\nprayer will ever live in my memory. There is one reason\\nwhy I have loved him ever since I knew him, and that is, I\\nfelt that he hada/ ear^; and in looking for the reasons\\nwhy for forty years he has maintained an unbroken pastor-\\nate, I find them not only in his ability and faithfulness to\\nthe truth, but in the fact that you have found in him a\\nsympathizing friend. While he has been a minister he has\\nnot forgotten that he was a man. Age has whitened his\\nhead, but his heart is still young. If it be a sin to smile, he\\nhas many such sins to answer for in us all May he be re-\\nsponsible for many more such sins while God shall spare\\nhim to dwell among us.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0085.jp2"}, "86": {"fulltext": "78\\nRev. S. W. Brown, of Rindge, then responded to\\nthe following sentiment\\nThe Clergy of New England: From the landing of the\\nPilgrims to the present hour, faithful to their duties, their\\nGod, and their country always on the side of civil and\\nreligious liberty, and loving peace so well that they are\\nready to fight for it.\\nADDRESS OF REV. S. W. BROWN.\\nMr. President, and Ladies and Gentlemen One\\nreason that the powers of nature make so little impression\\nupon the mind, is that many of them are noiseless in their\\nworking, though capable of upheaving continents and sub-\\nmerging islands by their operation. The rill that pene-\\ntrates the rocky fissures of the mountain-side is a feeble\\npower. Yet when it has filled the cavity and congeals in\\nwinter, it suffices to lift the huge boulder from its bed. In\\nthe mountain showers and snows which percolate the upper\\nstrata until they reach the compact clay, and then flow\\naway upon it, we have the source of those subterranean\\ncurrents which shoot forth from the Artesian wells, some-\\ntimes more than a hundred feet in height or burst forth\\nlike the Colorado or San Antonio, large streams at their\\nvery sources.\\nThe coral insect, which builds its house and tomb of lime\\nbeneath the sea, is a tiny thing. But, though so insignifi-\\ncant, these zoophytes form the substructure of those circu-\\nlar islands of the Pacific, large enough for a whole fleet to\\nride at anchor within their enclosed waters.\\nLike these workings of nature are the labors of a faith-\\nful Christian minister. Quietly he performs his round of\\nduties. But his labors are often unappreciated, because\\nthey have never failed. We anticipate his weekly in-\\nstructions and pastoral visits we expect him to share", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0086.jp2"}, "87": {"fulltext": "79\\nour joy at the baptismal font and the bridal altar we\\nknow he will be present with his sympathy in our cham-\\nber of sickness, and bring consolations to the house of\\nmourning. The commonness of these blessings renders us\\ninsensible of their greatness. It is well, therefore, to com-\\nmemorate in this public manner a day which reminds us\\nof so great benefits.\\nDelilah said to Samson, Tell me wherein thy great\\nstrength lieth, or wherewith thou mightest be bound to af-\\nflict thee. The discourse to-day has revealed the secret\\nof our nation s power. It consists in the vitality of the\\nGospel truths as taught and exemplified by the clergy. As\\nthey have wrought in the preacher s own heart, they have\\nmade him the patron and friend of learning, as an ele-\\nment in human progress. Working in the national life,\\nthey have developed the individual, yet rendered him sub-\\nmissive to law making us the enigma of tyrants and the\\nhope of the oppressed.\\nThe teachings of Puritan clergymen made despotism\\nimpossible in England in 1640. They were germinant\\nwith liberty in this country in 1776. They are not less po-\\ntent to-day, in nerving our people to crush out this most\\nwicked and gigantic rebellion. The traitors deemed us\\nbound hand and foot, when they had rendered bankrupt\\nour treasury, stolen our arms, and dispersed our fleets.\\nThey knew not the genius and energy of a loyal people.\\nThey had never considered that men loving freedom, and\\nanimated by religion, would be so ready to present their\\nbodies as a bulwark to the foe that a people animated by\\nPuritan ideas would be mightier than fleets and arma-\\nments.\\nThe Micronesian Islanders when offered a compass as\\nthey were leaving home for the Sandwich Islands, a voyage\\nof twelve hundred miles, replied, We do not want it we\\nhave the compass in our heads. So these ideas of God and\\nof liberty, for which we may thank the clergy, are like a", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0087.jp2"}, "88": {"fulltext": "80\\ncompass in the head. They follow our people in their wan-\\nderings, making the settlements of the wilderness but a\\nminiature New England. Our citizens advance to battle,\\nnot fired by passion which will consume itself by its vio-\\nlence, but animated by a settled purpose, which shines in\\ntheir faces and strengthens their arms, which makes\\nthem patient in labors, fearless in conflict, and merciful in\\nvictory. Their foes see this resolution in their counte-\\nnances, and it is no wonder that they cry. We may as well\\nattempt to shake Bunker Hill Monument as them.\\nThose Missourians who invaded Iowa, burned the church\\nat Denmark, fired the academy, and declared they would\\nhang Father Turner, the minister, if they could find him,\\nshowed a clear perception of the sinews of our strength.\\nBefore the rebels can hope to succeed, they must deprive us\\nof the teachings and example of a Christian ministry and\\nthis they can never do. God has here planted the Church\\nand placed the ministry, not only for the salvation of our\\nown nation, but that he may use our land as a seed-plot,\\nfrom which the plants of righteousness may be transferred,\\nto bless other nations of the earth.\\nTlie discourse to-day has shown us how the clergy are\\nready to make sacrifices for the cause of religion and edu-\\ncation. We followed the speaker, as he showed how the\\nLord had helped him forty years in the ministry, and\\nthirty-five in labor for the cause of education, and I trust\\nwe all felt that there was evidence of self-denial.\\nI do not think the time has come yet when the minister\\nis required to fight for his principles, nor is it likely to\\nwhile free men rush to the field by hundred thousands, to\\nfight for the Union, the Constitution, and the Laws. While\\nsuch a spirit animates the masses, liberty is safe. A High-\\nlander of the New York 79th Regiment, who lost a limb at\\nBull Run, called upon Secretary Cameron, in New York\\nCity, and asked that he might be accepted to serve again\\nupon crutches, as he was ready to part with his remaining", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0088.jp2"}, "89": {"fulltext": "81\\nlimb, for his country. And at Ball s BlnflT, the sick has-\\ntened from the hospitals, that they might share with their\\ncomrades in the glory of the engagement.\\nWhile such a spirit pervades our people, the clergy can\\nbe better employed even than in fighting for our liberties.\\nWhen other defenders are wanting, I trust the clergy will\\nbe ready to fight.\\nSamuel L. Wilder, Esq., of Rindge, was next called\\nupon to respond to the following sentiment\\nThe First Congregational Church in Rindge In more\\nsenses than one founded upon a rock.\\nADDRESS OF SAMUEL L. WILDER, ESQ.\\nMr. President: It is with no little hesitation that I\\nrise to speak. The infirmities necessarily attendant upon\\nadvanced age remind me that the scenes of public life are\\nfor those whose heads are not so gray as mine. Yet I may\\nbe pardoned for saying a few words on an occasion which I\\nhave enjoyed with my whole heart.\\nIn the Discourse to which we listened in the morning,\\nwe had given to us, and very properly too, all necessary\\nstatistics of the Society. But I would allude to the fact\\nthat it was the first organization of the kind in the State\\nupon the voluntary principle. It was entered upon with\\nmuch anxiety and with many misgivings on the part of the\\ntrue friends of the cause in this place but, with the bless-\\ning of God, the enterprise was crowned with success, and\\nto-day we realize the fruits of that effort, and celebrate its\\ncontinuance in all its original purity of faith and doctrine.\\nThe permanency of the ministry in this town has been\\nremarkable, especially when compared with that of the\\nneighboring towns. In all of these the changes have been\\nfrequent since the settlement of our present Pastor and it\\n11", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0089.jp2"}, "90": {"fulltext": "82\\nis not too much to say, that our own present prosperity,\\nand the comparative freedom from untoward circumstances\\nin times past, is in no small degree owing to the uninter-\\nrupted ministrations of the Gospel.\\nMy recollections of the Rev. Dr. Payson, the predecessor\\nof the present Pastor, are distinct. I sat under his ministry\\nfor more than twenty-five years, and can testify to his faith-\\nfulness and the deep interest he felt in the prosperity of his\\npeople, even to the last days of his life. I recall an inter-\\nview had with him, not many months, and perhaps not\\nmany weeks, before his decease, and after he had become\\nboth physically and mentally disqualified to perform the\\nduties of a Pastor.\\nIt is known to this audience that Dr. Payson s mind\\nwas seriously affected for some time previous to his death.\\nWhile in this state, I was often invited to ride with him,\\nand upon one of these occasions we went upon horseback.\\nAfter leaving his dooryard, some time elapsed without con-\\nversation. At length he broke the silence by saying, that\\nhe felt a degree of clearness of mind that morning, which\\nhad of late been unusual to him and he wished to improve\\nthe opportunity to state his anxious desire that measures\\nshould be adopted, in some way, for continuing the minis-\\ntrations of the Gospel to the people of his charge. This\\nremark, and others bearing upon the same subject, which\\nseemed to weigh upon his mind, were uttered with such\\nsolemnity, and with such a tone of deep feeling and desire,\\nthat, to my mind, they had the force of a fervent prayer to\\nwhich he could take no denial. Was it not the effectual,\\nfervent prayer of the righteous man which availeth much\\nThese desires have been realized, in that the ordinances\\nof religion have been continued without interruption to the\\npresent hour and from time to time we have experienced\\nrefreshings from God s presence, thus evincing that the\\nChurch in this place does indeed rest upon that sure foun-\\ndation of which Jesus Christ himself is the chief corner-", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0090.jp2"}, "91": {"fulltext": "83\\nstone, elect and precious. And will not our friends from\\nabroad, present on this occasion, unite with us in invoking\\nthe blessing of God upon this Society, and in praying\\nfor the perpetuity of our religious institutions to the latest\\nposterity\\nI would earnestly exhort our own people to value more\\nhighly the blessings with which we are favored, not only\\nfor our individual good, but for the best welfare of the com-\\nmunity in which we dwell. No permanent good can be\\nsecured without some sacrifice. We must count the cost,\\nthe labor to be expended, the sacrifices to be made. We\\nshould consider the shortness of life, and the rewards re-\\nsulting from a life of obedience to the will of God,\\nEspecially would I urge parents to train up their children\\nin the nurture and admonition of the Lord, so that when\\nwe fail, others may come forward to fill our places and give\\nsupport to the ordinances of religion.\\nRev. Z. S. Barstow, D. D., followed Mr. Wilder\\nwith the following remarks\\nI wish to testify. Sir, to the correctness of what Mr.\\nWilder has said in regard to Dr. Payson s great regard to\\nthe welfare of his people and also to s.ay that when I com-\\nmenced my pastorate, I felt what a boon it was to be able\\nto look to such a man for counsel, to receive him into my\\nfamily, to hear his chastened wit and his profound theo-\\nlogical remarks and admonitions. And if it would not be\\nthought amiss, I would like here to say, that after the good\\nDoctor s death, when spending a Sabbath in Riudge, I took\\nfrom my pocket a copy of the Christian Spectator^ then\\npublished at New Haven, and read the short obituary of\\nDr. Payson to his venerable widow. Putting her trumpet\\nto her ear, she listened with marked attention, and occa-\\nsionally suffusing her face with tears, while I read it. At\\nthe close, she said with much emphasis I wonder how\\nthey could know so much of my dear husband", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0091.jp2"}, "92": {"fulltext": "84\\nThe speaker did riot attempt to enlighten her. Nor did\\nhe ever tell who wrote that obituary, till this occasion\\nAnd, Sir, now I am up I wish to testify a word in regard\\nto my brother, whose fortieth anniversary we now celebrate,\\nI have been with him on many occasions and in seasons of\\ngreat trial, and mingled my tears with him and his family\\nin their afflictions, when death came up into their windows,\\nand tore away those promising and beloved daughters\\nAnd I wish to testify that he has always shown a commend-\\nable, lovely, and Christian spirit.\\nRev. W. L. Gaylord, of Fitzwilliam, said\\nOur reverend Pastor has spoken of his obligations, dur-\\ning his long pastorate, to those who have conducted the\\nsinging in the house of public worship. We are happy\\nto acknowledge to-day our gratitude to the lady (Miss\\nJulia E. Houston, of Boston) whose beautiful music has\\nadded so much to the interest of the present occasion.\\nWe offer, therefore, the following sentiment\\nThe sweet Singer from the Bay State We shall long\\nremember the thrilling tones of her voice, as we have heard\\nthem in the sacred and patriotic songs which she has sung\\nto-day. May the pleasure which she has contributed to\\nthis festal occasion be returned to her in tenfold measure.\\nMiss Houston responded to this sentiment with\\na song.\\nRev. Mr. Copp, pastor of the Methodist Church\\nin Rindge, being called upon by the President, spoke\\n.as follows.\\nADDRESS OF REV. MR. COPP.\\nLadies and Gentlemen What kind of a man have\\nyou here for a President Since he this morning informed\\nme that he should call me out on this occasion, I have re-", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0092.jp2"}, "93": {"fulltext": "85\\npeatedly entreated him not to do so but all my entreaties\\nhave been in vain, and I am forced to come to the painful\\nconclusion that he is a man of but little mercy. Possibly\\na further acquaintance may lead me to a diifcrent conclu-\\nsion. I never did, Sir, like speech-making and this is not\\nthe worst of it, I fear I never shall. There arc individuals\\nquite likely they are present who take a supreme de-\\nlight in displaying their eloquence on all possible occasions,\\nand would at any time go without a good dinner rather\\nthan lose the privilege of making a speech. But, unfortu-\\nnately for myself perhaps, I do not belong to this class, and\\nwovild go without half a dozen good dinners rather than be\\ncalled upon for a speech. The Indians say, Old men for\\ncounsel and young men for war and if I mistake not,\\nmy mother used to say to me, when I was a little boy and\\nbecame too talkative in the presence of older people, that\\nlittle folks should be seen and not heard. Now I am of\\nthis opinion to-night, and consequently my words shall be\\nfew.\\nThis is the first time I have ever had an opportunity\\nof attending a celebration of this kind, and, indeed, such\\ncelebrations are in these days very rare for, whether\\nthe change is for the better or worse, ministers of all de-\\nnominations are now-a-days v^ry migratory in their habits.\\nWhere one pastor remains over a flock forty or even twenty\\nyears, probably ten do not remain even five years. But,\\nSir, this occasion has been to me, and doubtless to all pres-\\nent, one of interest. I was pleased with the discourse to\\nwhich we listened this morning, and which was prepared,\\nno doubt, at the expense of much time and labor.\\nThe addresses, also, to which we listened this afternoon\\nwere excellent and. Sir, permit me to say further, that the\\nrefreshments so bountifully provided by the ladies for this\\noccasion were equally excellent. I think it may safely be\\nsaid that in the furnishing of a table the good ladies of\\nRindge are not to be surpassed. I said I was pleased with", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0093.jp2"}, "94": {"fulltext": "86\\nthe discourse this morning. I was not only pleased, but I\\nfelt that I could heartily indorse what was said concerning\\nthe general good character of the people of this town. I\\nam, to be sure, a comparative stranger among this people,\\nyet I have been here long enough to learn that there are\\nmany warm and liberal hearts in Rindge. As I have visited\\namong the people I have sometimes, when it has been con-\\nvenient, called upon families belonging to Dr. Burnham s\\ncongregation and the warm sliake of the hand and the\\nsmiling faces with which I have everywhere been met, have\\nbeen as sunshine in my pathway. The union of feeling\\nwhich exists between the two Societies in this place has\\ndone very much toward making the few months I have\\nspent here pleasant months both to me and mine. The\\nkindness and sympathy manifested in my behalf, by the\\npeople of Dr. Burnham s congregation as well as by my\\nown people, during the recent severe sickness in my family,\\nI shall not soon forget.\\nThe aged Pastor whom we have this day assembled to\\nhonor, by the kindness and respect he has invariable shown\\nme, has also won my esteem. Indeed, what my predecessor\\nsaid to me concerning him, I can to-night say, He has been\\nto me as a father. May Heaven bless him and his, and\\nmay he for ten years to come be able to go in and out be-\\nfore his people to break to them the bread of life, so that\\non the fourteenth of November, 1871, he may in this place\\nbe honored with a semi-centennial celebration.\\nThe follow^ing original Hymn, written by W. F.\\nSomerby, Esq., was then read.\\nHYMN.\\nTake a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.\\nGently sweep the tuneful lyre\\nLet each heart be full of praise\\nUnion of our souls inspire\\nEach with love your voices raise.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0094.jp2"}, "95": {"fulltext": "87\\nHarps of hallowed numbers bring,\\nChiming with the timbrel s strain\\nGod of Love, to thee we sing,\\nThus renew our love again.\\nShepherd of this social fold,\\nTwoscore years thy prayer hath been,\\nThat the love which is untold,\\nShould redeem us all from sin\\nThat the life of each should be\\nPure as the example set\\nBy our Lord of Calvary,\\nHealer of Genesaret.\\nMem rj with its spirit chain.\\nLinks us to companions dear,\\nWho, too pure for earth s domain,\\nPassed to heaven s more genial sphere.\\nLittle tufts of faded earth\\nMark the spots their caskets hold.\\nBut their spirits second birth\\nBlooms like roses o er the mould.\\nAs the sun illumes each day,\\nAs the stars adorn the night,\\nPurer shine, O genial ray\\nOf a union still more bright\\nMet as one, in mind and heart,\\nWelcome at our festive shrine\\nStrike the timbrel ere we part,\\nTo the praise of All Divine\\nWhile the nation wars for right,\\nAnd her battle bugles ring,\\nAnd our star-filled emblem bright,\\nWaves for freedom while we sing\\nPeaceful with our pastor raise\\nSong and prayer our land shall be\\nThrough all time the theme of praise,\\nHome of peace and liberty", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0095.jp2"}, "96": {"fulltext": "88\\nLetters were then read from various gentlemen\\nwho were unable to be present, after which the\\nPresident called upon Mr. Samuel Burnham, of Bos-\\nton, son of the Pastor, to address the meeting.\\nADDRESS OF MR. SAMUEL BURNHAM.\\nMe. Peesident Remarks from me seem superfluous,\\nafter the many excellent addresses to which we have lis-\\ntened during the day and evening and following in the\\nwake of the large vessels which have ploughed their way\\nover this sea of talk, my little canoe is in danger of\\nswamping.\\nThe gentleman who immediately preceded me (Rev. Mr.\\nCopp) referred to an adage concerning little folks,\\nwhich applies with equal force to me, or, as some one has\\ngiven it in a rhyme which occurs to me at the instant\\nOne word of self, if you will please excuse,\\nThere was a phrase my mother oft did use.\\nThe pith of which, if not the very word.\\nWas, Little folks be seen, but seldom heard\\nNow, of the many things I failed to do,\\nOne most important was, I never grew\\nTo manly stature, and mamma s old adage\\nHolds just as true as when I, at that bad age,\\nCould never learn fully to realize\\nThat many persons pass for wondrous wise,\\nAs mighty men, and men of great ability.\\nBy merely bridling tongues from volubility.\\nOr still again, a moral can be drawn from Holmes s\\ncouplet\\nLong metre answers for a common song,\\nThough common metre does not. answer long.\\nBut, Sir, as in times past, I have never declined speak-\\ning in and for my native town, or, as a clergyman of this", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0096.jp2"}, "97": {"fulltext": "89\\nvicinity once said, in the place of my former nativity\\nso now I gladly accept your invitation, so far as to say\\nthat I never was so proud of old Rindge as to-day. And\\nthis I say with the warmest impiilses of my lieart. Proud\\nof my native town, of its people, of its Pastor (even though\\nhe is my father), of the fame of those who have gone out\\nfrom us, of the intelligence, enterprise, and thrift of those\\nwho remain, of the exercises of to-day, and of the honor-\\nable record of the past to which we have listened proud\\nof all these, and of a thousand other things which come\\nwelling up in the soul as the long line of years tells its\\ntale of the past. I rejoice to stand before a Rindge audi-\\nence, and tell them, as a son of the town, that my affec-\\ntion for the old homestead was never so strong as to-\\nday that to-day new ties of love have been formed, and\\nthe old ones all strengthened.\\nFrom my earliest recollections, even from the time when\\nI was smaller than now, (and I can remember that day\\nof small things I have loved my native town. Thus\\ntaught in my childhood, and with nothing but pleasant\\nassociations connected with all the people, with many ties\\nto bind my heart here, absence diminishes not my love,\\nand, like a tired bird, I often am glad to return to the old\\nnest for shelter and repose. Your hills and valleys, rocks\\nand streams, the beautiful ponds that make your landscape\\nso charming, the noble mountains on every side, I know\\nthem all, and year by year as I return, they seem to pos-\\nsess new attractions. From the Prophet s Chamber, in\\nthe old Payson mansion, full many an hour have I gazed\\non that landscape of unsurpassed beauty which stretches\\noff to the distant horizon familiar indeed to you, but\\nwhich I claim to love with a deeper love, as I can see it\\nonly at long intervals. Sitting in that ancient chair in\\nwhich Dr. Payson once wrote his sermons, and in the very\\nroom wherg, surrounded by the minds of the great dead,\\nhe studied and prayed, I have looked out into the far\\n12", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0097.jp2"}, "98": {"fulltext": "90\\nNorth, away, away into the distance, where the faint out-\\nline of the mountain ranges seemed blending into the pale\\nblue of that far-off sky, until the eye grew dim with seeing,\\nand the soul had more than its fulness of beauty. How\\nthat landscape stretches on and away with long ranges of\\nbillowy hills, and intervening valleys, the streams glisten-\\ning like silvery threads, the white villages smiling in the\\nsunlight, the lakes sleeping quietly in the shadows of the\\ndark forests on and on stretches the glorious scene, and\\ngrander and grander rise heavenward the blue mountains,\\nuntil, scores of miles away, Kearsarge, and a long range\\nof pale blue hills, form as if a boundary-line between the\\npresent and the future. And Monadnock, noble in its\\nisolated grandeur, rises skyward, our pride and our ad-\\nmiration and from whose summit,\\nThe beauty and the majesty of earth,\\nSpread wide beneath, shall make thee to forget\\nThe steep and toilsome way. There, as thou stand st,\\nThe haunts of men below thee, and around\\nThe mountain summits, thy expanding heart\\nShall feel a kindred with that loftier world\\nTo which thou art translated, and partake\\nThe enlargement of thy vision.\\nAnd from the eminence just west of us, what a scene of\\nbeauty is spread out, a landscape famous through all the\\nregion\\nThe hills,\\nRock-ribbed and ancient as the sun, the vales\\nStretching in pensive quietness between\\nThe venerable woods, rivers that move\\nIn majesty, and the complaining brooks\\nThat make the meadows green\\nthe lake that rests at the foot of Monadnock the villages\\nthat sit on the sunny slopes, all unite to complete this\\npicture, the loveliest of all Yes, all these I know, all\\nthese I love", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0098.jp2"}, "99": {"fulltext": "91\\nBut I was not to make an address. We who follow the\\npen, we who endeavor with a modicum of brains to se-\\ncure the requisite amount of bread and butter, we\\nliterary men, are not speech-makers. We literary\\nmen, did I say It is told of a young unmarried clergy-\\nman in the vicinity of Boston, that once on a time he\\ngave an address before a Maternal Association, and, becom-\\ning warmed with his subject, he astonished his hearers by\\ncommencing an impassioned sentence with, We who are\\nmothers Perhaps my lapsus linguce is not quite so in-\\nappropriate yet those who spend their time, pen in hand,\\nendeavoring to catch and fix stray ideas, whether lit-\\nerary men or not, are out of their proper sphere when\\nupon the platform. We who are acquainted with such\\nmatters feel the awkwardness of the position, and can pick\\nsome grains of comfort from an anecdote told of a New\\nHampshire clergyman of ye olden time.\\nIt is well known to this audience, and especially to the\\nclergymen upon this platform, that, many years ago, all\\nSouthern New Hampshire was kept on a broad grin by the\\njokes, whims, and oddities of a few celebrated clerical wits.\\nAnecdotes of Ainsworth, of Sprague, (the identical man\\nwho did, in fact, pull his beans and re-set them, because he\\nsupposed they were coming up the wrong way of Miles,\\nof Payson, and others, will never die. Some one behind\\nme adds the name of Sabin. Thanks for the suggestion, as\\nhe is one whom I remember. Recollections of my earliest\\nchildhood bring to mind his bended head, and his long\\nbrown surtout and I never hear his name without recall-\\ning a little incident characteristic of the man, and in relat-\\ning it I trust I shall not lose sight of the anecdote I started\\nupon some sentences back.\\nIt was in the old church and Mr. Sabin, with whom\\nfather had exchanged that Sabbath, had been reading a\\nhymn, and it was a very long one. After reading it\\nthrough, he looked calmly at it some time, and then,", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0099.jp2"}, "100": {"fulltext": "92\\nslowly raising his head, looked at the choir as calmly\\nagain he looked at the hymn, and again to the choir, and\\nremarked, Well, I guess you may sing the whole of it\\nyou had rather sing than hear the old man preach\\nBut to the other incident, whose practical and personal\\napplication, like to that of a sermon, comes at the close, or\\njust after Finally.\\nIt is told of one of these ministers, that, before studying\\nfor the clerical profession, he had given some attention to\\nmedicine and he lost no opportunity for displaying his\\nmedical knowledge, thus driving a double team of theology\\nand medicine whenever occasion offered. One Sabbath, a\\nrequest for prayers for a sick woman was sent to the pulpit,\\nas was customary at that time, and is now in many country\\nplaces. This was an opportunity for displaying his medical\\nknowledge not to be lost sight of, and his request was\\nworded after this style We pray thee, Lord, that this\\nwoman, thy servant, may recover, if it be thy will, although\\nwe who are acquainted with medical matters know that she\\ncannot\\nMr. President, we who are acquainted with medical\\nmatters, or, in this instance, we literary men, feel that\\nwe must be known by the pen rather than the tongue,\\nthat platform-speaking is not our vocation. It was not my\\nintention to make an address, only to assure you. Sir,\\nand all present, of the great enjoyment I have taken in all\\nthe exercises of the day of the great pleasure it gives me\\nto be here, and to be one of your number and of my\\nheartiest wishes for the continued happiness and prosperity\\nof all gathered within these walls.\\nThe President then announced the following sen-\\ntiment\\nWe honor the good tvomen of olden time, and rejoice\\nthat they have worthy successors in their daughters.\\nRev. A. P. Marvin, of Winchendon, responded.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0100.jp2"}, "101": {"fulltext": "ADDRESS OF REV. A. P. MARVIN.\\nMr. President It clearly belongs to another gentle-\\nman to respond to this sentiment, rather than to me. Has\\nhe not told us this afternoon how devotional he used to be\\nin his early days in church on the Sabbath during\\nprayer-time, especially when he ventured to look out of\\none eye at the prettiest girl in the meeting-house But as\\nthe duty has been assigned to me I will say a few words,\\nsince the sentiment is so true and so well-deserved.\\nWe honor the good women of the olden time, of\\nPuritan and Revolutionary days. Dr. Beecher once said,\\nthat if he were invited to give an oration on the 4th of\\nJuly, he should celebrate the virtues of the foremothers,\\ninstead of the forefathers. The latter, he said, had monop-\\nolized all the glory of our heroic age, although their moth-\\ners, wives, and daughters had endured quite as much, and\\nevinced at least equal piety and heroism, in subduing the\\nwilderness, and securing our national independence. This\\nis unquestionably true for though woman is not sum-\\nmoned into the field, nor exposed to the hardships of the\\ncamp and the mortal strife of the field of battle, yet she\\nis called to self-denial, to sorrow, to anxiety, to the long\\nagony of bereavement, when she learns that the idols of\\nher heart will never return to behold home and friends and\\nnative land again. Our mothers deserve honor, and they\\nshall receive the tribute of grateful admiration from our\\nhearts.\\nBut, Sir, it is our double felicity to have worthy succes-\\nsors to them in their daughters. Passing events, which\\ncall into exercise not only the patriotism of the men, but\\nthe self-denial of the women, give them an opportunity to\\nshow their devotion to their country and their love of\\nfreedom and most nobly liave they responded to the call.\\nSome appear to be surprised at this, as if they supposed all\\nthe heroic and noble in woman had died out in a former", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0101.jp2"}, "102": {"fulltext": "94\\ngeneration. These persons, unlike your respected minis-\\nter, wlio keeps abreast of the times, and sees good in the\\npresent as well as in the past, resemble the Roman poet s\\nlaudatores temporis acti, and always tell us that we\\nhave degenerated from our ancestors. Nothing is so good\\nnow as when they were young. Even the girls are not so\\npretty as in the days of their boyhood. [Here some one\\nsaid, That is so. Well, Mr. President, as to that, I\\nam inclined to think that the girls never were so pretty as\\nabout sixteen or eighteen years ago though those now\\ncoming forward are promising. But as I was saying. Sir,\\nthis war gives an occasion for the women of our land to\\nvindicate their claims to historic renown, and they are not\\nfound wanting. No one who is familiar with the moving\\nforces of society ever doubted this. It is true, we have\\nsome Miss Flora McFlimseys, who, tottering along un-\\nder a load of silks, satins, furs, and jewelry, can only\\nsigh out, Nothing to wear but these pampered butter-\\nflies of fashion are comparatively few. Our countrywomen\\nare making manifest their blood, their training, their spirit.\\nThey are not called into the imminent deadly breach\\nthey are not called to endure such hardships as were com-\\nmon in the Revolution, because the land, is full of riches.\\nYet they are busy in all our towns, villages, and cities,\\nworking for the benefit of the soldiers. And what is more,\\nthey are ready to part with husband, brother, son, and\\nfriend, when they go forth to the field of blood. Even the\\ndelicate maiden will bind the sword on the ruddy youth,\\nwho is so dear to her that she can hardly bear to have him\\nout of her sight, and bid him God-speed to the war.\\nThis is a most surprising spectacle. A whole people have\\nsprung to arms, as one man, and all are moving as under\\none impulse. Men, women, and children are swayed by\\none feeling and I am amazed at this grand uprising,\\nwhich has no parallel in all history. It seems as if our\\npeople were moved by the inspiration of the Almighty.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0102.jp2"}, "103": {"fulltext": "95\\nAnd I verily believe this is His contest, and that He is\\nsending forth our men in such numbers for the purpose of\\nsettling forever for this country and for the people of all\\ncountries the question of free government. In this wicked\\nrevolt, which is a war of anarchy against authority, of re-\\nbellion against good government, of slavery against free-\\ndom, of despotism against civil liberty, and of a religion of\\ncaste and prejudice against the religion of Jesus Christ,\\nthe Lord of hosts, I cannot doubt, is on our side. And in\\nthis awful struggle we have the support of the daughters,\\nas our fathers were cheered and animated by the mothers\\nin the brave days of old.\\nThere are, however, other labors and other scenes besides\\nthose connected with war, which call out the sympathy and\\nthe active support of woman. These spheres of activity\\ndemand quite as much of self-denial, of piety, and of endur-\\nance as those which are more celebrated in history. Every\\nminister knows to what I refer, and therefore I am speak-\\ning of what is pertinent to this occasion. Very much of\\nthe power of the ministry and of the Church for good de-\\npends upon the devotedness of the female members. Even\\nthe pecuniary support is supplied by them to a considerable\\nextent. I know it is sometimes said, that it is of no use to\\nask women to give, for it all comes out of the husband s\\npocket. But how does it get into his pocket Suppose he\\nshould keep house for himself that he should be destitute\\nof the steadying influence of home, how much would\\nhe have to give But this is not the main point. The\\nmoral and religious influence of woman in society is in-\\ndispensable. She brings forward the young, and inclines\\nthem, with the blessing of God, to walk in the way of life.\\nShe encourages the minister in times of darkness, when the\\nways of Zion mourn because so few come to her solemn\\nfeasts. It is by her prayers that blessings are called down\\nfrom heaven upon his soul. No man can come before an\\naudience week after week, and preach unwelcome truths,", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0103.jp2"}, "104": {"fulltext": "96\\nunless he is projected forward by some force from without.\\nIt is easy to speak before a lyceum, where all have come to\\nbe pleased. It is pleasant to address a crowd of politi-\\ncal sympathizers, where every sentence will be applauded.\\nBut it is entirely different in preaching the plain, hum-\\nbling doctrines of the Gospel to those who are unwilling to\\nbe told of their guilt and danger. What can induce a man\\nto be faithful in the utterance of such truth Nothing but\\nthe influence of the Holy Spirit. And this influence comes\\nin answer to prayer. And it is by prayer that the sisters\\nof the Church do so much to uphold the minister s hands\\nand strengthen his heart.\\nAnd here it will not be out of place to say, that there is\\nanother class of women who do much to promote the use-\\nfulness of ministers, as well as to secure the permanency\\nof their settlement I refer, of course, to the wives of the\\nclergy. One who is intelligent, prudent, pious, free from\\nworldly ambition and the love of change, and who besides\\nknows how to make home pleasant, does much not only to\\nkeep a man in the same place, but to keep him alive, and\\nto make him useful while he does live. In this regard, I\\nbelieve that the ministry have been generally fortunate or\\nrather, as a prudent wife is from the Lord, I ought rather\\nto say that they have been the favorites of Heaven. And\\nwhile my acquaintance with the wives of the younger clergy\\nin this vicinity would prompt me to say, Many daughters\\nhave done virtuously, I am quite sure they would all jus-\\ntify me in turning to the respected wife of your honored\\nguest to-day, and in view of her larger experience in all\\nthe sorrows and joys of home, by which the blossoms of\\nyouth have been ripened into the fruits of mature Chris-\\ntian womanhood, and saying, But thou excellest them\\nall. This occasion unseals my lips, and I am glad of the\\nopportunity to utter what else might remain unspoken.\\nFor ever since my first meeting with her, some seventeen\\nyears since, when she gave me an account of the departure", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0104.jp2"}, "105": {"fulltext": "97\\nof those sainted daughters, one of whom went before as\\na happy pioneer, and then seemed to return and become\\nvisible, through the parted veil which divides eternity from\\ntime, to her who was ready to follow, who had for so\\nmany years filled the parsonage with gladness, and caused\\nthe hearts of parents to dance with joy ever since then, I\\nrepeat, all my thoughts of her have been redolent of that\\nfirst interview. That bereavement was a great grief, but\\nit was attended with a sacred joy, and left its permanent\\nstamp on the soul. And this reminds me of the power of\\nmothers to lead their children to the Saviour, and so to\\nheaven. In a recent popular and much admired work, an\\nunhappy mother is made to exclaim 0, my wedding-\\nday Why did they rejoice Brides should wear mourn-\\ning the bells should toll for every wedding every new\\nfamily is built over this awful pit of despair, and only one\\nin a thousand escapes. This is all wrong. Every bride\\nshould rejoice. Let the bells ring a merry peal, for Christ\\nhas provided for the salvation of every child, if the mother\\nwill give them up to him, and train them for his service.\\nHe will take them in his arms and bless them. And so\\nevery Christian mother, whether wife or widow, whether\\nmarried or alone, like the good old Christiana of the Pil-\\ngrim, can take all her flock with her up the strait but\\nshining way that leads to heaven.\\nThe next sentiment was\\nThe present delightful occasion Fraught with deep in-\\nterest, as furnishing opportunity for friendly reunion, too\\npure and elevating in its influence to find full expression\\nin the language of earth, may it be but a foretaste of the\\nblessed reunion and fellowship of kindred spirits above,\\nwhose triumphant and holy joys shall find perfect expres-\\nsion in the dialect of heaven.\\nJ. Russell Bradford, Esq., of Boston, was called\\nupon to respond.\\n13", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0105.jp2"}, "106": {"fulltext": "98\\nADDRESS OF J. R. BRADFORD, ESQ.\\nPermit me, Mr. President, and ladies and gentlemen, to\\nsay a few words in response to the sentiment just read.\\nSurely that sentiment merits a great deal of thought,\\nalthough at tliis hour but very little of our time can be\\ngiven to it. The question must, it seems to me, have often\\narisen in our minds to-day, Why are we so happy here\\nWhy is this a day of such pure and unalloyed enjoyment,\\nnotwithstanding the thoughts of sadness that must have\\noccasionally crossed the hearts of nearly all present Why\\ndo we weep when others weep, while we rejoice with ex-\\nceeding joy and feel that our hearts are full of sympathetic\\nemotion and fraternal love Our beloved friend, your\\nPastor, struck the key-note this morning in leading us to\\nfeel that, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us, and not\\nonly hitherto, but now it is the Lord, the Lord, His good-\\nness. His love, that visits us to day, and causeth us to sit\\ntogether in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. In what other\\nassemblage of people can there be found such perfect satis-\\nfaction, not only at the time, but when afterwards we look\\nback upon it, as when Christians meet together to recount\\nthe mercies of God in all the way in which he has led\\nthem, or to pray, and praise, and to hear his word In\\nsuch meetings, and in such alone, where God is honored,-\\nadored, acknowledged as all in all, and loved, though so\\nimperfectly, is there any approach to the perfect happiness\\nof heaven. And if the communion of saints here on earth,\\nwhere so much of sin mingles with our best service, gives\\nus such peaceful joy that sometimes we can almost say,\\nNow, Lord, lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,\\nwhat must the bliss of heaven be What is it to meet\\nthere with all the ransomed of the Lord, in the immediate\\npresence of Him who sitteth upon the throne, beholding all\\nits glories, and, having cast our crowns at his feet and join-\\ning in the everlasting anthem of Worthy is the Lamb,", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0106.jp2"}, "107": {"fulltext": "99\\nwe sit down to go no more out forever, telling each other\\nof the loving-kindness of God, as manifested to our once\\nlost, but ransomed souls Let us, then, remembering all\\nthe happiness of this day, cultivate more and more the\\nsocial element of our faith, that all our earthly enjoyments\\nmay be increased, while we look away in joyful anticipation\\nand hope to that assembling of the friends of Christ that\\nshall continue forever. The Gospel, glad tidings of great\\njoy, is to be preached to all nations because it tells to a\\nsinful world of happiness in Christ Jesus, who came to\\nsave all who will believe in him and, thanks be to God it is\\nnot these honored ministers alone who are privileged to go\\nforth and tell the joyful message, but all of us, every one\\nhere is invited, nay, commanded, to go into all the world\\nand preach the Gospel, and this in order that every one\\nmay be an instrument in the hand of God in leading souls\\nto heaven. Praising him for the promise, Lo, I am with\\nyou always, even unto the end of the world, let us go\\nforward, earnestly desiring to do something more for our\\nLord.\\nBut, Mr. President, I cannot dwell longer upon this\\ntheme, pleasant though it be. I have now a duty to per-\\nform, and a very pleasant one. We who are your guests\\nto-day have found it very good to be here. We have had\\nour heart s desire of enjoyment, and we would not leave\\nyou without giving our tribute of thanks to those who\\nhave so effectually ministered to this pleasure. In obedi-\\nence to the suggestion of others, as well as to the dictate\\nof my own heart, I desire, in behalf of your visitors, to\\nthank the members of this Church and Society most heart-\\nily. For the open door of your dwellings, the cordial\\ngrasp of the hand, the hearty Glad to see you and the\\nprivileges of bowing at your family altars, which has made\\nus feel at home while partaking of the bountiful hospitality\\nof your homes, we thank you. We cannot in words thank\\nthe dear Pastor of this flock for his address of the morn-", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0107.jp2"}, "108": {"fulltext": "100\\ning but, often as we think of that acknowledgment of the\\nmercies of God, often as we call to mind that Scripture,\\nHitherto hath the Lord helped us, so often will our\\nhearts thank him for his bright and patient example of\\nfaithful labor as an ambassador for Christ in the minis-\\ntry of the Gospel. To those who with their melodious\\nvoices led us in the service of song, and with whom we\\nwere permitted to unite in praise, making melody in our\\nhearts, we also offer our thanks. And, not only to these,\\nfor, Mr. President, although in an assemblage of this kind,\\npeople very often forget their obligation to those who have\\nborne the burden and heat of the day of preparation, we\\ncannot forget them, for a large share of our enjoyment\\nis the result of the able, judicious, and orderly manner\\nin which they have prepared and brought before us the\\nexercises and festivities of this occasion. Therefore, to\\nyou. Sir, and to all who have been associated with you in\\nthe preliminary arrangements, so various, and so promptly\\nand happily performed, are our thanks most justly due,\\nand we heartily offer them.\\nAnd once more. To the ladies. What can we ever do\\nwithout them From the hour of our birth to that of our\\ndeath, we are continually dependent upon their kind offices.\\nI was most happy to hear, and do cordially unite in all that\\nhas just been so fitly spoken of woman and let me add\\none word to it. No man with an honest heart ever speaks\\nlightly or sneeringly of woman. To-day the handiwork of\\nthe ladies has been most clearly seen, being discerned by\\nthe things they have made, and for the generous collation\\nso bountifully provided, so tastefully arranged and set be-\\nfore us, the product and the proof of their skill and energy,\\nwe do most sincerely offer our service of thanks.\\nThe President then announced as the last senti-\\nment\\nOur Reverend Pastor In the true succession of the", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0108.jp2"}, "109": {"fulltext": "101\\nprophets, forty years the leader of God s chosen people.\\nFar distant be the day when all Israel shall be gathered\\ntogether to mourn for him.\\nRev. A. W. Burnham, D. D., the Pastor, responded\\nto this sentiment in the following words.\\nADDKESS OF KEY. A. W. BURNHAM, D. D.\\nMr. Chairman: I supposed that I had fulfilled my\\npart in the public exercises of this day, but I am now in-\\nformed that the proprieties of the occasion demand some\\nremarks from me.\\nBut, in the circumstances, I can only express my hearty\\nthanks, first, to my own beloved people, for their appoint-\\nment of this public observance of the fortieth anniversary\\nof my ministry among them.\\nContrary to some anxieties that were felt, the effort has\\nbeen perfectly successful and I knew the people too well\\nto allow myself to entertain any apprehension of a failure.\\nI appreciate the liberality, the admirable order, the good\\ntaste, so manifest in the general arrangements, and the\\ncare and hard ivork to which the committees and others\\nhave necessarily but cheerfully submitted in making all the\\nprovisions for the day and. the evening.\\nNext, in behalf of the people and for myself, I tender to\\nmy brethren in the ministry, and to other visitors from\\nabroad, our grateful acknowledgments for their presence,\\nand the essential aid they have rendered to the interest and\\nenjoyments of this delightful occasion.\\nBut I must, in all honesty, disclaim all title to the unex-\\npected commendations expressed in my behalf by my breth-\\nren, and others, to whose remarks we have listened with so\\nmuch satisfaction.\\nWhile I am encouraged by this expression of their ap-\\nproval, yet- I must and do, here and now, repeat my", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0109.jp2"}, "110": {"fulltext": "102\\nacknowledgment of entire indebtedness to help obtained\\nof God and to Him alone is due the glory, now and\\nforever. Amen.\\nThe exercises of the evening were closed by the\\nsinging of America by the audience, and the Bene-\\ndiction by the Pastor.", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0110.jp2"}, "111": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0111.jp2"}, "112": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0112.jp2"}, "113": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0113.jp2"}, "114": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0114.jp2"}, "115": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3399", "width": "1935", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0115.jp2"}, "116": {"fulltext": "", "height": "3550", "width": "2013", "jp2-path": "historicaldiscou00burn_0116.jp2"}}