> a

¦ ^¦'i'fAif

V' ¦^

Waterbury, Conn. Kiverside oenietery.
l!he Riverside cemetery, ... Its articles of
ossociation, by-laws and rules and ret;ala tions.

>J, 4

M.

I';-

^P? '-.S^ ''S^^l^ ' ' -

- S^.f , » ,^ s? '?? "¦*' ¦

fe«

COS

Ci IS.G-^l

"I give iie/e Boeiks
for the founding of a, CoHegi in- this Co^Ay"

8^raEl«¥M¥l^iIf¥^

BY-LAWS AND EULES AND EEGULATIONS,

RIVERSIDE CEMETERY,

AT WATERBURY, CONK.

WITH THE

DEDICATORY EXERCISES,
ADDRESS, .&c.

September 24tli, 1853

WATERBURY:
PRESS OF E. B. COOKE & CO.
1853.

Wa+e.rb>u.-rv, C-cm-n. RiYe.Ta\tic Q.e.rr,^e.r\i

THE

RIYERSIDE CEMETERY

AT WATERBURY, CONN,

%xtkltB 0f ^ss0nati0H,

BY-LAWS AND RULES AND REGULATIONS,

WITH THE

Dedication Address, &c.

Dedicated, Sept. 24th, 1833.

WATERBURY :
PRESS OF E. B. COOKE & CO.
1853.

Ct75^^'^«

?¦

©fficers of tljc ^tssociation.

Trustees.
WM. H. SOOVILL, Chairman.
GREEN KENDRICK,
C. B. MERRIMAN,
JULIUS HOTCHKISS,
JOHN S. MITCHELL.

Secretary,
NELSON J. WELTON.

Treasurer,
F. J. KINGSBURY.
Superintendent,
JOHN NORTH.
Architect and Civil Engiueer,
HOWARD DANIELS.

REMARKS,

EXPLANATORY AND DESCRIPTIVE.

The Riverside Cemetery is situated about half a mile southward from
the central part of the City of Waterbury, on the right bank of the Nau-
gatuck River, where the eastern slope of Town Plot Hill comes down to
the riverside.
It contains about tliirty-oifie acres of land ; purchased at several different
times, at a total cost of about fourteen hundred dollars.
The grounds are well wooded and watered, the surface diversified and
picturesque, and sufficiently elevated at several points to command fine
views of the town.
The site was selected, and the refusal of a portion of the grounds ob
tained in 1849. In the following year a Corporate Association was form
ed, under tho Statute Law of this State relating to Burying Grounds and
Places of Sepulture ; and a sufficient sum of money (about $700) sub
scribed to purchase the first plot of ground.
There has since been expended in the purchase of additional grounds,
about the sum of seven hundred dollars, and in laying out and improving
the whole, about thirty-five hundred dcrllars more. These funds have
been obtained partly by money advanced by a few gentlemen interested
in the progress of the work, and partly by a loan obtained on their credit,
in behalf of the Association.
This amount, it is expected, will in a short time be repaid from funds
arising from the sale of lots, (the original subscribers themselves having
already purchased extra ground, at the maximum price, sufficient to
amount to about one-half the sum,) and all further monies obtained in this
or any other w^y for the Cemetery, are, by the by-laws, devoted to im-
proving or enlarging the ground.?,- so that it can never be made a source
of private emolument, speculation or profit.
The individual burial places are by law exempt from taxation or
attachment, and the poor or unfortunate may here secure a final resting
place for themselves or their friends, without fear of molestation.
Each purchaser becomes by purchase a member of the Association,
with a voice in its management proportioned to the amount of his interest
in the grounds.

6
A price has been affixed to the lots so moderate as to be within reach
of the humblest means, and yet it is confidently believed that this will
afford a sufficient sum to secure the adequate protection and attention for
the grounds.
The Association would take this opportunity to express their sense of
obligation to Howakd Daniels, Esq., of New York, under whose direction
the grounds have been surveyed and laid out, and to Mr. John North,
of Bridgeport, an accomplished landscape gardener, to whose taste and
skill they are indebted for the superior execution of the work.
And in conclusion, the Trustees would express the hope that individual
taste and liberality will carry out the enterprise so auspiciously commen
ced, until the adornment and culture of the grounds shall become worthy
of the natural beauty of the location, and of the sacred purpose to which
it has been set apart.

ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION.

Be it known, that we the subscribers do hereby associate ourselves as a
body politic and corporate, pursuant to Chapter 13lh, Title 3d of the Re
vised Statutes of the State of Connecticut; said title being "An act con
cerning Communities and Corporations," and said chapter being "Of
Burying Grounds and Places of Sepulture," and the following are the Ar
ticles of our agreement and association :
Article 1st.
The name of this Association shall be the "Riverside Cemetery As
sociation." Article 2d.
The purpose for which this Association is formed is the following, to
wit : To procure and-establish a Burying Ground or Place of Sepulture
in the Town of Waterbury, County of New Haven, State of Connecticut ;
to prepare and dispose of suitable lots in the same, and to do all acts
necessary and proper for the well-ordering of the affairs of such corpora
tion. Article Sd.
The Capital Stock of this Association shall be divided into Shares of
Ten Dollars each, and the number of Shares shall be equal to the number
of Lots. Article 4th,
The Statute aforesaid, being Chapter 13th, Title 3d of the Revised Stat
utes, and especially the 190th and 191st Sections of said Title, and any
acts in addition thereto or alteration thereof, are hereby particularly re
ferred to and made part of these Articles, and the Association hereby
established and organized under and pursuant to the said act or acts, shall
have the powers and proceed according to the regulations described and
specified therein.

8
Article Sth.
Each subscriber to these Articles agrees to lake the number of Shares
annexed to his name of the Capital Stock of the said Corporation, each
Share to be Ten Dollars as aforesaid, and to be paid for by instalments as
the proper Officers of said Association shall call in the same.
Bated at Wateriury, March 6th, A. D. 1850.

Subscribers. No.

of Shares.

Subscribers.

No. of Shares.

J. M. L. & Wm. H. Scovill,

Ten.

Lyman W. Coe,

Two.

Charles B. Merriman,

Two.

Nelson Hall,

One.

Green Kendrick,

Five.

Julius Hotchkiss,

Two.

Merrit Lane,

Four.

George W. Benedict,

Two.

Amos S. Blake,

One.

S. M. Buckingham,

Three.

Rufus E. Hitchcock,

Two.

Wm. W. Rodman,

One.

J. C. Booth,

One.

Austin Steele,

One.

D. F. Mahby,

One.

W. W. Burritt & Co.

One.

P. W. Carter,

One.

S.W.Hall,

One.

John S. Mitchell,

Two.

F. A. Warner,

One.

Charles Benedict,

Two.

Jno. E. Smyth,

One.

Benjamin De Forest, Jr.,

Two.

John M. Stocking,

One.

Aaron Benedict,

Two.

Wm. H. Kirk,

One.

Edward S. Clark,

Two.

Anson G. Stocking,

One.

E. B. Cooke,

One.

George B. Hazard,

One,

George Root,

One.

A. E. Rice,

One.

Samuel B. Hall,

One.

C. J. Godfrey,

One.

James Scarritt,

One.

George Pritchard,

One.

L. A. Thompson,

One.

Fred. J. Kingsbury,

One,

Gideon L. Piatt,

One.

John P. Elton, *

Two,

0. H. Bronson,

One.

S. B. Minor,

One,

Almon Farrel,

One.

Israel Holmes,

One,

Merrit Nichols,

One.

F. J. Kingsbury, Sec'y.

BY-LAWS.
At a meeting of the Subscribers to the foregoijig Articles of Association, held May Ath
^ 1850, the following By-Laws were unanimously adopted :
Article 1st.
There shall be an annual meeting of the Stockholders of this Associa
tion holden on the Friday next after the first Monday in April of each
year ; but if from any cause it shall not be holden at that time, then as
soon thereafter as may be, notice to be given as hereinafter provided.
Article 2d.
Notice of the annual and special meetings of this Association shall be
given by publication in a paper published in Waterbury of the week pre
vious to the week in which the meeting is held.
Article 3d.
The officers of this Association shall consist of not more than Five
Trustees, to be elected by the Stockholders at their annual meeting, of
whom the one first chosen shall act as Chairman ; and a Secretary and
Treasurer who shall be elected by the Trustees. All these officers to be
chosen annually, but to hold their office until others are chosen to fill
their places. Article 4th.
The Trustees shall be entrusted with the improvements of grounds, the
employment of laborers, the location and disposal of lots, and the general
supervision and management of all other matters and affairs necessary for
the purposes of the Association. Article 5th.
The Chairman, vvhea present, shall preside at all meetings of Stock
holders and all meetings of Trustees, but in his absence any Trustee may
act as Chairman pro tempore. Article 6th.
The Secretary shall keep a record of the acts, votes and proceedings of
the Stockholders and of the Board of Trustees, and such other records and
accounts as the Trustees may direct.
Article 7th.
The Treasurer shall receive and keep the funds of the Association, and
shall pay out the same to the order of the Trustees, or to the order of their
authorized agent. Article Sth.
In, case of the refusal or neglect of the Trustees to call a meeting of
the Association when requested, any twenty of the Stockholders shall have
the power to call such meeting by publication over their own signatures,
as prescribed in Art. second. Article 9th.
In Stockholders' meetings each share or lot shall be entitled to one vote.
2

10
Article 10th.
Shares of stock and rights in lots shall be held as personal estate, trans
ferable on the books of the Association. Article Uth.
Each owner of a lot shall be entitled to a certificate designating the
lot held, and signed by the Chairman and Secretary.
Article 12th.
All money accruing from sales of lots shall be expended in the purchase
and improvement of the grounds, and for the benefit of the Association.
Article 13th.
The By-Laws of this Association may be altered or amended by the
vote of two-thirds of the members present at any meeting specially warn
ed for that purpose. Article 14th.
All votes in Stockholders' meetings shall be by ballot, when any mem
ber shall so request.
Additional By-Laws, Proposed by the Trustees, Aug. 5, 1853.
Article 15th.
The Seal of the As.sociation shall be a Stamp with the words Riverside
Ce'metery thereon. Article 16th.
Each lot owner shall pay to the Secretary for the use of the Association
fifty cents for each certificate of ownership, which shall be in full for
the same and recording it. Article 17th.
The rules and regulations which are or may be adopted for proprietors
of lots, interments, the superintendent, visitors, and certificates of owner
ship, shall be considered of equal force and validity as the by-laws of the
Association. Article 18th.
Each subscriber paying into the hands of the Treasurer the sum of
ten dollars, shall be a member of the Association and entitled to one vote ;
and also one vote for every additional ten dollars so paid.
Article 19th.
By no fixtures or devices of tombs, vaults, mausoleums, or otherwise,
shall any dead body have its final resting place above ground.
Article 20th.
The minimum price of lots shall for the present, be five cents per super
ficial foot, but the Trustees may hereafter increase the price at their dis
cretion. Article 21st.
Any vacancy occurring in the Board of Trustees, inay be fllled by the
remaining Trustees.

RULES AND REGULATIONS
FOR PROPRIETORS OF LOTS.

1. All interments in lots shall be restricted to the members of the
family and relatives of the proprietors thereof ; except special permission
to the contrary be obtained in writing from the Board of Trustees, or the
Executive Committee.
2. All enclosures of lots with the corner posts, must be placed on the
lot, and not over the outer line thereof; and if a railing, or posts and
chains, must not exceed three feet in hight, the gates of which must swing
into the lot, and if a hedge, must not exceed four feet in hight : no stone
or brick walls entire, or wooden fences can be erected as inclosures to
lots. Inclosures may be iron fences, hedges, stone or cedar posts and
chains. 3. The proprietors of any lot may erect any proper stones or monu
ments thereon, provided that without the written consent of the Trustees,
no head or foot stone shall exceed four feet in hight, (except removals)
and. larger slabs when used shall be placed in a horizontal manner.
Trees, shrubs, and plants may be cultivated, but no tree or shrub grow
ing within the lot shall be removed or injured without the consent of the
Trustees. 4. If any monument, vault, tomb, effigy, railing or other structure
whatever, or any inscription be placed in or upon any lot which shall be
deemed by the Trustees for the time being to be offensive or improper,
the Trustees may, and it shall be their duty, to enter upon such lot and
remove the said offensive or improper object or objects; Provided, how
ever, that if said structure or improvement shall have been made with the
consent of the Board? of Trustees for the time being, the same shall not
thereafter be removed except with the consent of the owner thereof.
5. In the erection of monuments, railing or other structures or im
provements, a place will be designated by tbe Superintendent, for the de
posit of the stones, brick, or other materials, which shall not remain longer
on the ground than may be actually necessary for their construction ;
and all graves shall be dug by the workmen in the employment of the
corporation, for which reasonable and fair charges will be made.

12
6. If any tree or shrub, situated in any lot, shall by means of its roots
or branches, or otherwise, become detrimental, dangerous or otherwise
inconvenient to the adjacent lots, walks or avenues, the Trustees shall
have power, and it shall be their duty, to enter upon said lot and remove
the said tree or shrub, or such parts thereof as may by them be deemed
detrimental, dangerous or inconvenient.
7. It shall be the duty of proprietors of lots to place and keep in repair
permanent landmarks of the boundaries of their respective lots.
8. Proprietors of lots and their families shall be entitled to tickets of
admission and access to the grounds at all times, observing the rules and
regulations which are, or may hereafter be, adopted for the observance of
visitors in general.
9. No transfer of any lot will be permitted, except with the consent of
the Trustees ; the fees for which, including the cancelling the old and
issuing a new certificate, and keeping the necessary record thereof, shall
be two dollars, to be paid to the Secretary for the use of the Corporation.
10. No monument or railing shall be copied, except by the consent of
the owner thereof, unless special permission to the contrary be obtained in
writing from the Board of Trustees. Provided the same is new and was
got up by the proprietor of the lot for the private use thereof.
11. No person shall have any use of, or title to any lot, until the
same is paid for.

INTERMENTS.

1. In each case of interment a statement, giving the name, place of
nativity, residence, age, disease, occupation, parents, and such remarks
as may be desired to be placed on record, of the person desired to be in
terred, must be given to the Secretary for the purpose of an accurate
record being made of the same. When interments are to be made, at
least one day previous notice thereof (when the same is practicable) must
be given at the office of the Cemetery, and a permit obtained therefor,
specifying the name of the person to be interred, the size of the coffin,
and in whose lot, and what part thereof to be interred.

13
2. All interments will be subject to the following charges, which must
be paid to the Secretary on obtaining the permit :
For opening and closing graves five feet long and upwards, $2.00
If the coffin is enclosed in a case, . - - . . 2.50
Opening and closing all graves from four to five feet long, 1 .50
Opening and closing all smaller graves, - - 1.50
3. The Trustees will set off appropriate grounds for single graves,
the price for which will be five dollars each, the money to be paid to the
Secretary at the time of obtaining the permit, and be for the use of the
Corporation. 4. All interments shall be in graves dug not less than five feet deep,
except in cases where the coffin is surrounded with a brick wall to its
top, and the same covered with a stone, and the brick and stone well
cemented, in which case four feet and a half will suffice.
The Trustees beg leave to suggest to proprietors of lots, that the raising
of mounds of earth over graves of about their length, detracts from the
appearance of the ground, without utility ; and when numerous, produce
a general bad effect. It is suggested as an improvement on these em
bankments, that when practicable, a four inch brick wall be built entirely
round the coffin to the top, and a stone or slab be laid over it, with such
inscription as may be desired, and then packing the earth above, leaving
the ground at its natural level, and when taste accords, to cultivate flow
ers over the hallowed spot.

Rules and Regulations respecting Visitors.

1. Visitors will be admitted on all days except Sundays and holidays,
from sunrise until sunset.
2. The gates will be closed on Sundays and holidays, except to pro
prietors of lots, their families, and friends accompanying them.
3. No children will be admitted, unless attended by some person who
will be responsible for their conduct.
4. No riding or driving will be allowed faster than at the rate of four
miles an hour.
5. Persons with refreshments will not be admitted.
6. No smoking will be allowed, nor persons with fire arms be admitted.

14
7. Horses must not be left in any part of the grounds, except fastened
at the places prepared for that purpose.
8. Dogs will not be admitted within the enclosure.
9. No person will be allowed to pluck any flower, either wild or cul
tivated, or to break or injure any tree, shrub or plant, or to enter any indi
vidual's enclosure without leave, or to write on, mark, or in any way
injure or disfigure any monument, railing, or other structure.
lO; No person will be permitted to disturb the quiet or good order of
the place in any way whatever.
11. No money shall be exacted from any visitor by the attendants of
the gate or grounds.

SUPERINTENDENT,

1. There shall be a Superintendent of the Cemetery, who shall reside
on or near the premises, and who is required to be in attendance at every
interment, and shall have the general direction and control, under the
Board of Trustees, of the improvements of the premises.
2. He shall procure a map of the Cemetery grounds, their avenues,
walks and lots, vsrith the numbers of the lots, and shall cause the bounda
ries of the lots, avenues, and walks to be preserved.
3. He shall see that the regulations of the Board of Trustees for the
proprietors of lots, interments and visitors, be properly observed.
4. He shall have charge, and keep an account oT, the property and
tools of the Corporation, which may be on the premises.
5. He shall furnish when required estimates of the probable necessary
expenditures for any given time to come, or of any particular improve
ment proposed, and shall report to the Trustees as often as required the
number of hands employed, the amount due them, and the work on which
they have been engaged, and its then condition, and such other items of
information, coming within the sphere of his duties, as they may desire.

DEDICATION OF THE CEMETERY,

SEPTEMBER 24th, 1853.

The day was clear and beautiful, and the number of spectators assem
bled to witness the solemn ceremonies, was estimated at about 1500. A
platform for the convenience of those gentlemen appointed to take part in
the exercises, and ample seats in front for the accommodation' of the audi
ence, had been constructed by order of the Trustees, in a central part of
the grounds. In front of the platform, were arranged the members of the
" Waterbury Mendelssohn Society," who kindly volunteered their services
in the performance of the vocal and instrumental music, which contribu
ted much to the interest of the occasion.
The ceremonies commenced by the Mendelssohn's singing the following
Ode, with instrumental accompaniments:
preliminary ode.
Time is bearing us away
To our eternal home,
Life is but a winter's day,
A journey to the tomb.
Youth and vigor soon will flee —
Blooming beauty lose its charms ;
All that's mortal soon will be
Enclose I in death's cold arms.
But the Christian shall enjoy
Health and vig )r soon above.
Far beyond the world's alloy.
Secure in Jesus' love !

Rev. Seagrove W. Magill, Pastor of the Second Congregational
Church, next invoked the Most Fligh, as follows :

invocation.

EvERLiviNG and ever-present God, whom we adore as the framer of
our bodies and the father of cur spirits ! Here, in an unwonted but surely
a most impressive and solemn assembly, we are met together in this beau-

16
tiful Temple of iVature, which Thy hands have fashioned, for a purpose,
in reference to which we feel that we may appropriately invoke Thy con
descending and kind regard, Thy gracious and sanctifying presence.
O Lord, Most High and Mighty ! Thou art the giver of life, and in
Thy hand our breath is, and Thou turnest man to destruction and sayest,-
Return ye children of men, Thou hast created man upon the earth, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life — but in Thy judicial displeasure
Thou hast said unto all the race of Adam, " Dust thou art, and unto dust
shalt thou return."
O Most Just and Holy God ! We acknowledge Thy right to rule over
us and to dispose of us, as seems good in Thy sight. And mindful of
Thy solemn and sovereign decree, which consigns us to the dust, we are
met together at this time, taking thought of our latter end, and providing
for ourselves and our fellow riien, a place where our mortal bodies may
be deposited, when death shall have triumphed over them, and where our
garnered dust may rest in safety, until the morning of the resurrection.
Surely it is most befitting, that we should here and now give our minds
to silent musings and to solemn thoughts — should consider our latter end,
and apply our hearts to wisdom. That we may do thus, O Lord, in a
manner well-pleasing in Thy sight, and so as to promote our spiritual
improvement, we invoke Thy gracious and sanctifying presence — and we
would do so in humility and with gratitude, and in dependence upon the
merits and intercessions of thy Son our Saviour, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen. The Invocation was followed by singing the following Hymn, read by
Rev. N. M. Perkins, Pastor of the Baptist Church, the audience all rising :
HYMN.
Great God, we own thy sentence just.
And nature must decay ;
We yield our bodies to the dust.
To dwell with fellow-clay.
Yet foith may triumph o'er the grave.
And trample on the tomb ;
For Jesus, our Redeemer, lives —
Our Savior, God, shall come.
The mighty Conqueror shall appear
High on a royal seat,
And death, the last of all his foes.
Lie vanquished at his feet.
Then shall we see thy unveiled face
With strong, immortal eyes,
And feast upon thy unknown grace
With pleasure and surprise.

17
Rev. J. L. Clark, Rector of St. John's Church, when the hymn was
finished, read from the Holy Scriptures the fiftieth chapter of Genesis, an
appropriate selection, adapted to the time and place.

The Dedication Prayer was next in course, and was offered by the
Rev. W. W. Woodworth, Pastor of the First Congregational Church, in
the following words :
dedication prayer.
Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. Before
the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth
or the world, even from everlasting to everlasting. Thou art God. Thou
turnest man to destruction; and sayest. Return ye children of men. For
a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and
as a watch in the night. Thou carriest them away as with a flood ; they
are as a sleep : in the morning, they are like grass that groweth up. In
the morning it flourisheth and groweth up : in the evening il is cut down
and withereth.
Yet, Lord, we acknowledge the wisdom and the righteousness of that
decree, by which Thou hast appointed unto men once to die. For sin
hath entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so death hath passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned. But we rejoice, and we thank
Thee, that, in Thine infinite raercy, Thou hast provided hope for the
sinning and the dying ; for Christ hath died for us, the just for the unjust,
that He might bring us to God ; and hath brought life and immortality to
light through the Gospel.
We, our Father, have taken our place in that great procession that is
hastening towards eternity. Our bodies will ere long return to the dust,
and our spirits to God who gave them ; and we shall need a burial-place
where our bodies may rest, under our Redeemer's care, till the morning
of the resurrection. We therefore come solemnly to set apart this spot
as a place of burial for this busy generation, and for the generations which
shall succeed it ; and as we would dedicate our living selves, and all we
are and have to Thee, so would we, in a special manner, and with these
solemn ceremonies, dedicate to Thee this place, that it may not only be
sacred to the repose of the dead, but also to those thoughts and affections,
which are appropriate to a spot which is consecrated by holding in trust
the "garnered dust of Thy redeemed."
As from time to time we visit this place, bearing the remains of our
neighbors and our friends, so teach us here to number our days, that we
may apply our hearts to wisdom. Teach us here submission to Thy
will ; teach us repentance for sin of which the grave reminds us ; teach
3

18
us faith in Thy Son who has taken, for those who believe in Him, the
sting from death, and the victory from the grave. Here may we think
not only of death, but also of the resurrection, and of the Heaven to which
Thy people shall be raised, and of the Redeemer who hath consecrated
the grave by Himself lying in it, and hath risen from the dead, and be
come the first fruits of them that slept, and, as our forerunner, hath enter
ed into Heaven for us. Here may we hear His voice, which now seems
to breathe in the winds of Heaven which sweep over us, saying, "I am
the Resurrection and the Life, he that believeth in me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall
never die;" and believing, may we have life through His name.
And, when we shall be called to die, and our bodies shall be borne to
this place of burial, we beseech Thee that we may die in the Lord, that
our spirits may be with Christ while our friends are weeping by our
graves; and that our bodies maybe embalmed in the recollections, and
the Omniscience of our Saviour. And on the great day of resurrection,
when the dead shall start up from this soil at the sound of the last trump,
may we and our friends, and our descendants down to the latest genera.
tions, wake not to shame and everlasting contempt, but, assuming the
likeness of Jesus, with bodies fashioned like unto His glorious body, to
behold His face with joy, and enter with Him into endless glory. All
these favors, and whatever else we need, we ask, for Christ's sake.
Amen.

The dedication prayer was succeeded by singing the following Psalm,
read by Rev. Charles G. Acly, Assistant of St. John's ;
PSALM.
Shall man, 0 God of light and life.
Forever moulder in the grave 1
Canst thou forget thy glorious work.
Thy promise, and thy power to save ?
Cease, cease, ye vain desponding fears ;
When Christ, our Lord, from darkness sprang,
Death, the last foe, was captive led.
And heaven with praise and wonder rang.
Faith sees the bright, eternal doors
Unfold to make his children way ;
They shall be clothed with endless life.
And shine in everlasting day.
The trump shall sound, the dust awake.
From the cold tomb the slumbeiers spring ;
Through heaven with joy their myriads rise.
And hail their Saviour and their King.

19

Next followed the Address, delivered by the Hon. Green Kendrick,
which is appended.
The orator having concluded, the Mendelssohn's introduced to soft and
plaintive music the following stanza :

THE calm retreat.
The calm retreat — the silent shade —
With prayer and praise agree.
And seem by thy sweet bounty made
For those who follow thee !
Then if thy spirit touch the heart.
And grace her mean abode,
O with what praise and joy and love,
She communes with her God ;
Author and Guardian of my life.
Sweet source of light divine.
And all harmonious names in one.
Blest Saviour, thou art mine.

Then followed the Doxology to the tune of Old Hundred, all rising :
doxology.
To God the Father, God the Son,
' And God the Spirit, three in one.
Be honor, praise, and glory given,
By all on earth and all in heaven.
At the close of which, the Benediction was pronounced by the Rev.
Dr. Clark, and the audience withdrew from the sacred enclosure.

ADDRESS.

I stand before this large and intelligent assembly at the request of the
Trustees of Riverside Cemetery, to aid in a solemn and deeply interesting
service. It is to unite with you in dedicating these grounds to the sacred
and inalienable use of the dead, through all coming time. How solemn
the duty, how impressive the lesson it teaches. It is to negotiate with the
dead, whose spirits may be hovering around this still retreat. It is to
contract with each other respecting the disposition and safe-keeping of the
mortal bodies of such of us as shall be left in charge of those who remain
on earth, when the spirits which inhabited them shall have taken their
flight to the invisible world. Who among us shall live to perform the
covenant we are about to enter into, and who of us shall die perchance
before another time of the falling leaf shall return, and leave others to do
for us, what we are to do for them, if they should be called before us ?
If we were about to convey this tract of land, in due and legal form to
some living purchaser, and to covenant to warrant and defend the title in
our own behalf, and in behalf of our heirs and assigns forever, how faith
fully would we expect to perform the covenant. Our sense of justice,
and regard for our reputation, independent of the penalties of law, would
cause us scrupulously to fulfil the agreement. How much more faithfully
should we fulfil our stipulations with the dead. After having fulfilled our
obligations to our friends in life, at their death, when kind offices cease to
be mutual, and devolve entirely on the survivor, it will be a consolation to
know that we have done all, which the strongest affection could suggest,
or the proprieties of the occasion permit, to soften and relieve the unpleas
ant aspect of the tomb ; and that we have reared some enduring testimony
of love, which will speak of them, when other voices, and other remem
brances, shall cease to speak in their behalf.
That all must die, is attested by revelation and confirmed by experience.
" Man that is born of woman, is of few days and full of trouble. He
Cometh forth like a flower and is cut down," perchance before the bud is
fully unfolded, or in the beauty and strength of manhood, and occasionally
in mature age, full of years. Whatev^ may be the lime or the circum-

21
stances of his departure, We know of a certainty that the call will, at some
not very distant period, be made for him to shake off, and escape from,
the outer clay tenement in which the inner and immortal man is incased,
and stand before the throne of the Most High. To-day he boasts of his
strength, and girds himself anew for the journey of life — to-morrow, the
summons is issued, and served by the stern messenger, and willingly or
reluctantly obeyed. No previous monition may have been given. The
darki still hour of the morning twilight, when nature indulges in deepest
repose, may be selected for the attack, and from the apparent sweet sleep
of health, he may awake to look upon the scenes of eternity. Or perhaps
some unheeded indication of disease may precede the fatal stroke — a slight
pain in the head, the che.st, the hand or the finger ; a dizziness of vision,
or an irregular pulsation of the heart, may be the precursor of instant
death. We follow the lifeless body to the grave — we see it lowered into
the open earth — we hear in the solemn and appropriate language of the
burial service — ashes to ashes, dust to dust — we hear the noise of the
pebbles as they fall in solemn succession on the coffin — we see the earth
closed on it, and we gaze for a moment in hopelessness at the thought,
that a dear, and perhaps only true friend, has gone from us foreve^. A
thick cloud of impenetrable gloom envelopes our prospect, and we linger
at fhe grave half unconscious of the deep agony of soul that is raging and
swelling within us. We look up towards the heavens, but no sun, or
moon, or stars are there, to cast a shadow of light or hope on the future.
We gaze once more on the little mound of earth that is raised above our
loved one, and the idea of cruelty, rather than a sensation of comfort,
rushes to the heart — a feeling of loneliness, of destitution, of desolation,
has for a moment the mastery of our reason. The body of one whom we
most tenderly loved and trusted, and who as tenderly loved and trusted us,
lies before us, with the cold, damp earth heaped up upon it, through which
no gleam of hope can penetrate, and from which, no human agency can
recall it to life, and in the agony of grief, and in despair of future comfort,
we wish that we too might die and sleep with our beloved. But the spell
is presently broken. Reason re-acts, and consciousness is restored. We
again look upward, and the dark clouds are gone, the sky looks bright and
beautiful, the sun breaks forth in all its splendor, and all nature wears a
cheerful aspect. What has so suddenly changed the scene ? The thick
gloom of despondency and grief, has been penetrated by a ray of light
from the Sun of Righteoftsness, and we seem to hear the soft, soothing
tones of the Son of God, as when he stood at the grave of his beloved Laz
arus— ^we behold His tears as they flow in copious profusion — we hear
Him command the stone to be rolled away — we hear the call to come
forth, and we see him that was dead emerge lo life, and hear the clear,

22
sweet voice of the Son of man proclaiming — "I am the Resurrection and
the Life, he that believethjn me, though he were dead yet shall he live."
The gloom and horror of the grave is dissipated, and we can now contem
plate it as the still peaceful resting place of the body, until the time when
it shall be re-invested with life, and stand with the Saviour upon the earth
at the latter day.
Had there been no transgression, we are not informed there would have
been any death. For aught we know, man would have lived on, becom
ing daily more and more assimilated to his Maker, and transformed into
the " Heavenly Image," until the " New Jerusalem would have been
seen, coming down from God out of Heaven," and a great voice would
have been heard proclaiming, " Behold the tabernacle of God is with
men." But God, " who in infinite wisdom created all things," saw fit
" for purposes of His own glory," to create man a free agent — he sinned
and fell from his high estate, and death passed upon all men, and from
the transgression to thep resent day, one generation has passed away and
been succeeded by another, and so will it continue to be, until the time
when the " mighty Angel shall stand, with one foot upon the land and the
other upon the sea, and shall swear by Him that liveth forever and ever,
that Time shall be no longer."
Thus did man sin, and thus was the sentence passed upon him, "Dust
thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." And thus too, while death is
regarded only as an " eternal sleep," will it be contemplated with horror
and despair, and thus through faith in the resurrection is the grave reliev
ed of its gloom, and illuminated with hope, founded on the assurance that
the body which is deposited there in corruption, shall be raised in incor-
ruption, and that which was natural, shall become spiritual, and rise and
live forever.
Whether the idea of the resurrection of the body was ever brought so
distinctly before the mind by the light of nature alone, as that its corrup
tion has had any influence on the mind in regard to the choice of a burial
place, may not here be an appropriate subject of inquiry ; but be that as
it may, the fact is nevertheless established, that the universal desire has
always existed to be buried in a place congenial to our own feelings — in
the land of our fathers, and by the side of those who were dear to us in
life. All men of every age, and of every grade of intellectual refinement,
have left on record, in some form or other, satisfactory evidence that such
a desire has always existed. The aborigines of our own country who
saw and believed in the existence of the Great Spirit only as he was re
vealed to them through the volume of nature, entertained in common with
others this same regard for the graves of their fathers, and when driven

23
by the approach of civilization from their wigwams and hunting-grounds,
have often been known to dig up from the earth the bones of their ances
tors, and carry them away to some green spot, towards the setting sun,
where they might be safe from the encroachment of the white man, and
where they might again be collected when the long journey should be
undertaken, which their superstition taught them they should one da)'
make, to their far-off hunting-grounds, in the land of the Great Spirit,
their Father.
The account given with so much particularity in the book of Genesis
of the negotiation between Abraham and Ephron, is so beautifully appro
priate lo our purpose to-day, that (though all are familiar with it,) I can-
not avoid introducing it in this place. (Read Genesis, 23d chapter.) The
beautiful and earnest simplicity with which this negotiation was conduct
ed, furnishes one among the many striking incidents in the life of one of
the most perfectly upright men of whom the history of the world furnishes
any account. Sarah, the devoted wife of the patriarch, with whom he
had lived perhaps a hundred years, and who for her enchanting beauty
and amiable traits of character he tenderly loved in return, lay dead, as
Abraham himself declares, in a strange land ; and after the time of
mourning according to the custom of the country had passed, he stood up
from before his dead, and although " a mighty prince " amongst them, he
caUed himself a stranger and sojourner, and asked that a place should be
assigned him where he might bury his dead out of his sight. It would
seem from the narrative, that each one to whom he addressed himself was
willing to comply with his request, and kindly offered the choice of their
sepulchres, declaring that none of them would withhold the use of them,
and in the kindest manner invited him to make his selection free from
charge. But this liberality and kindness on the part of the children of
Heth, did not satisfy the patriarch's desire. He wanted a sepulchre of
his own, and he wished to pay for it, and have the title and the possession
made sure. The matter was finally settled to his satisfaction ; the money
was paid, good money, current with the merchant, the title passed, and
the " field and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in
the field, and that were in all the borders round about, were made sure,"
and then (and not until then,) he " buried his dead out of his sight." Why
was Abraham thus particular? He was in high estimation among the
people of the land, and all would have felt honored in being permitted to
furnish a part of their sepulchres in which to place the remains of his
wife, and used every persuasion lo induce him lo accept their hospitality.
He evidently wanted a place of his own, where he might himself repose
at a future day by the side of his beloved Sarah, and where his generation

24
after him should in due time join them, and sleep in harmony together,
undisturbed by the intrusion of strangers, and safe from the cupidity of
after generations, who might for purposes of gain or any other object, con
vert the sacred ground to other uses. He wished to sleep with kindred
and friends around him, from the natural desire common to all mankind,
who are susceptible of the emotions of love and affection ; and his genera
tion, in fulfilment of the patriarch's desires, in due lime were gathered to
their fathers, and became tenants of the same rude sepulchre. Isaac, at
the age of a hundred and four score years, gave up the ghost, and Jacob
and Esau buried him ; and Jacob tells us they buried hirn with Abraham
and Sarah. Jacob, as he lay on his death-bed in Egypt, called his son
Joseph and said, " If now I have found favor in thy sight, put I pray thy
hand under my thigh and deal kindly and truly with me ; bury me not, I
pray thee, in Egypt ; but I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry
me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place." And when Joseph,
in whom he had implicit confidence, assured him he would do as he de
sired, he replied, " Swear unto me ;" and when he had sworn, Jacob
bowed himself upon the head of his bed in token of satisfaction and confi
dence that the oath would be performed. It would seem that this assur
ance should have been sufficient to satisfy the dying patriarch, and it
doubtless would have been, had the subject of his request been less dear
to his heart; but we find him, as the hour of his departure drew near,
calling together his twelve sons, and after telling them what should befall
them in the last days, he charged them collectively, and said, " I am to be
gathered to my people, bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the
field of Ephron the Hittite ;" and lest there should be the slightest mis-
take as to the precise spot, he adds, " In the cave that is in the field of
Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abra
ham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite, for a possession and a
burying place; for there they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, and
there they buried Isaac and Rebecca his wife, and there I buried Leah^"
These directions were now certainly so full and explicit, that no further
explanations could have been necessary to enable his sons to understand
his request; but the subject seems to have so entirely engaged the old
man's dying thoughts, that he died, repeating as if in a kind of delirium —
"The purchase of the Jield a'nd the cave therein, was from the children of
Heth." The dying request of Joseph is no less worthy of notice. " And Joseph
said to his brethren, I die ; and God will surely visit you and bring you
out of this land into the land which he swear unto Abraham and to Isaac
and to Jacob ; and Joseph look an oath of the children of Israel, saying,
God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry my bones from hence."

26
Joseph had been invested with regal authority in Egypt, for tbe King
had said to him, " according lo thy word shall my people be ruled, only
on the throne will I be greater than thou," and the just and righteous man
ner of his rule had greatly endeared him to the people, and they would
gladly have given him a grave and erected over it a monument which,
like their Pyramids, would have stood lo this day the wonder and admira
tion of the world. Yet we find him at the close of a life distinguished for
honor, for wisdom and unrestricted authority, having under his control the
affections of the people, and at his command the treasures of a kingdom
surpassing all others in its stupendous works of art — its Obelisks, its
Labyrinths and Pyramids — where he might have commanded for himself
a monument unequaled in splendor and magnificence by any other of
which history has given any account. All this he considered of little
value, if the place of his sepulchre, however costly and magnificent, must
be in a land then perhaps beginning lo be, and thence afterwards lo be
come, a land of cruelty and oppression towards his own people. He was
an heir to the promised land, and though his banishment from it had
brought him honor, wealth and power, he still regarded it with filial affec
tion, and desired that his dust might repose in the cave which was in the
field of Machpelah. Leave not my bones in Egypt — bury me in my oion
kmd, and in the iomi of my fathers — with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob,
with Sarah and with Leah — bury me there — where after lives of vicissi
tude, distinguished by the peculiar favor of God, we may all sleep in quiet
harmony together, and be raised by the sound of the Angel's trump, and
rise together face to face to greet each other after our long repose, and
embrace together that Saviour to come, whom by the eye of faith, though
afar off, we have all beheld, and with whom we shall thenceforth dwell
together, for ever and ever, — bury me not in Egypt, bury me in my own
land and in the tomb of my fathers — bury me there — bury me there.
Knowing then the certainty that all must die, and that it is natural for
those who have been closely associated in life to desire to be near each
other in death, and believing that the mementos of affection which are
spread over and around the grave, have a softening and refining influence
on the living, we come to-day, leaving for a brief period our usual avoca
tions, to spend an hour in setting apart, with appropriate ceremonies, these
grounds for the use of the dead ; and as we come up to-day to these hence
forth consecrated grounds lo perform so solemn a service, let us endeavor
to recall to mind some of the incentives which have impelled us to this
united action. The rapid growth of our young city, and the crowded
state of our old burying ground, need only be mentioned, to show the
necessity of more extended grounds for the use of sepulture. The location
of our old grave yard is such as to render it entirely unfit for the use for
4

26
which it was originally set apart. It lies near the centre of the most
densely populated part of the city, and is being encroached upon on every
side by the dwellings of the living, and is almost daily subjected lo the
depredations of the idle and vicious, and is no longer a suitable place for
the repose of the dead ; and if the opportunity lo secure these grounds had
been suffered to pass unimproved, it is difficult to tell where or when
another place so cheap, or in any respect so suitable could hereafter be
obtained. The spirit of progress and improvement which is characteristic of the
present day, has not in its onward march, overlooked the necessity of a
dwelling place for the dead as' well as for the living ; and rural Cemete
ries are now to be found in the vicinity of almost every city, tastefully
laid out, neatly kept, and as well guarded as may be, from the desecra
tions so often practised in the unprotected and neglected burying grounds
of past years. Surely, the citizens of a place so distinguished for enter
prise in other respects, will not neglect that one which, of all others, fur
nishes the best evidence of correct taste and true refinement.
But independent of the necessity, the instincts of our nature incline us
to the work. We take pleasure in doing anything which evinces our
regard for the memory of departed friends. We love to spread around
their graves the evidences of affection with which we professed to regard
Ihem in life. We love lo rear the tablet which speaks their name, and
transmits to posterity the record of their existence, and points out the place
of their rest. We love lo plant the shrub and flower, and twine the clus
tering rose, to beautify the chamber of the dead. We love to visit the
hallowed spot where the ashes of dear ones repose, and be lulled into sweet
communion with their spirits by the gentle breeze of summer, as it moves
the rustling leaf, and creeps with solemn moan amongst the foliage of ever
greens which our own hands have planted and trained. And especially
do we delight in contemplating the appropriate adornments of the grave,
when these adornments are the result of the united labor and taste of our
selves and those who slumber beneath them. Love ceases not at death —
eternity alone can measure its duration.
But there is another and still stronger incentive lo beautify and ruralize
the grave. The dust which sleeps in solemn stillness beneath these
earthly testimonials of love, dissolved and pulverized as it is, will one day
be reanimated and spring into life, and live and move and think and act
forever. The immortal spirit, which for countless years may have been
living in a separate stale, will return ; and the same power which first
invested these clay bodies with life, will re-create them and re-invest them
with life and motion. The earthly house of the ever-living spirit has
been vacated but for a season, during which time it has been lefl in

27
charge of the living to be safely kept until the time of the re-union, when
all earthly connexions and responsibilities shall cease, and all things will
bear the stamp of eternity. What a sacred treasure to be left in charge
of mortal men ! The mortal tenement of an immortal spirit, lefl by its
escaped tenant in our care, until it shall return to re-inhabit it ! How
shall we fulfil the solemn trust ? When we look into the grave, and see
the crumbled dust of a once living form, we feel confident that out of that
charnel-house a form will arise in the similitude of that which was placed
there ; but of the time to arise and come forth, knowelh no man. The
times and the seasons will pass on, bringing to light, and writing out be
fore the living, events which until then lay hidden by the " veil of mercy"
from human foresight. Spring time will continue to return at the ap.
pointed season, and the genial sun will warm into life ice-bound and
death-stricken nature ; the earth will resume its usual Spring attire ; the
bud will swell and burst ; the expanding leaf will grow apace ; the flow
ers will bud and bloom ; and the music of the feathered choir will war-
ble in sweet harmony through these woods, along the banks of that river,
and this gently murmuring brook — and then Summer will come and ripen
into maturity the fruits of the earth, and expand into mature age the young
products of the vernal season — and sober Autumn will in her turn bear
rule, when the youthful gayety of spring and the flowery robes of summer
will be changed for the sombre garb of age — the trees will be stripped of
their verdant foliage — and then stern Winter will come and spread his
white carpet over the earth, and freeze up and hold in his icy embrace
the vitality of nature, until the returning warmth of the sun shall unloose
his frozen grasp and again set free her torpid energies, to commence an
other round in the cycle of Time. But the dead will sleep on, uncon
scious of the changeful scenes of earth, until the fulness of the time shall.
arrive, when they too will awake and be clothed with life and immortality.
Until that day shall come, the dust of the dead will be in the care and
custody of the Uving ; and who shall be able to answer for the safe keep
ing of so precious a treasure ?
In the discharge then of an imperative duly, and in accordance with the
usages of the age, the proprieties of taste, and the necessity of the occa
sion, we have selected and purchased these grounds, and made sure the
title to these trees, these waters, these hills and these valleys, as a suita
ble and in all respects an appropriate place to incorporate into a city of
the dead. It lies beautifully undulating along the bank of the Naugatuck
River, which serves not only as a picturesque margin on the north, but as
a perpetual barrier against the encroachments of the City. It is at such
a distance from the City as to be convenient of access, and yet suflnciently
secluded, while the many beautiful prospects it furnishes of the City and

28
the enchanting scenery around it, with the gentle hum of business heard
indistinctly in the distance, serves to divest it of that aspect of loneliness
and awful stillness, which engenders only feelings of despair, and which
is uncongenial -with the cheering emblems of hope which a Rural Ceme
tery should ever present to the bereaved and disconsolate heart. There
is a sufficient diversity of hill and valley — some parts being so elevated
and furnishing prospects sufficiently beautiful to suit the taste of the most
aspiring ; others so low and secluded, as to harmonize with the feelings of
the most humble and unpretending. The quiet little stream that runs
through the centre serves to enliven and diversify the scenery, and divide
the grounds into two equal divisions. The soil is well adapted, being
mostly free from stone, deep, and susceptible of a high state of improve
ment. Thus situated by nature, it will, when the improvements which
are so tastefully commenced shall be completed, become a most suitable
and appropriate place for the repose of the dead, and to them we now dedi
cate it, teniil time shall cease, and the grave shall lose its power and dominion.
Henceforth let no thoughtless mortal tread these hallowed grounds.
For ever be banished from this still retreat, all worldly thoughts and idle
conversation. Here let the deep, still quiet of the grave, lull to reflection
the wayward and inconsiderate. Here let the gay become sober, the re
flecting learn lessons of wisdom, the proud learn humility, and the Christ
ian strengthen his hope. Here let the bereaved and disconsolate hold
sweet communion with the hovering spirits of departed friends, and send
up their silent thankfulness to their Heavenly Father for the hope of a
resurrection, and re-union in a better world. The grave knows no dis
tinction of title or name — all here is perfect equality and equal rank.
Hence then be banished the aspirations for wealth or fame ; let all the,
thoughts of those who tread these grounds be of God, the soul and eternity.
But already had these grounds been solemnly dedicated, for already has
the earth been opened to receive the "dead in Christ." The first tenant
of this retreat from the cares of earth, was lovely and pious woman.*
She sleeps quietly and peacefully on the slope of the eastern hill-side.
She was a fit model for the living to copy. She made preparation for her
summons, and when it came she was ready. Neither the swelling waves
of Jordan, or the dark valley, had any terrors. She knew in whom she
had believed, and that "in his light she should see life." And she too,
who lies on the opposite side, was one of God's elect,"|- struck down in
youth in the distant west ; she desired to sleep with her own people in her
native place. A kind husband bore her body here, and there she rests,
awaiting the coming of him and other friends, who, loving each other in
life, will not be separated in death. Let these grounds then be holy, for
God's own chosen sleep beneath the sod.
* Mrs. Upson. t Mra. Lounsbury.

29
The next object which should command the attention of the proprietors,
is the suitable improvement of the lots. Nothing should be done to mar
the beauty of nature. All vain show and mere ostentation should be
avoided. Beauty in the simplicity of nature, is beauty in the highest
perfection. The lots should be properly graded and enriched, and as far
as may be consistent, enclosed by suitable hedges, or light and tasteful
iron fences of moderate hight. Trees, shrubs and flowers should be cul
tivated in all suitable locations, to beautify and adorn the place. Monu
ments, tablets, or other structures should be erected at every grave, and
as different in form and general design, as taste and circumstances will
allow. Mounds of earth raised over the grave have a bad appearance,
and should- be avoided. Taste, judgment, and convenience must decide
in all improvements to be made. Bring hither then the shrub and the
plant appropriate to the adornment of the city of the dead. Bring the
evergreen, fit emblem of eternal life ; the willow, whose slender weeping
branches teach humility and trust ; the rose and the jessamine, whose fra
grance shall be sweet as the memory of the loved ones whose resting
places they shall adorn. Here let the ivy twine its wreaths of fadeless
beauty, and the myrtle unfold its pale blue blossoms lo the sun, that
shall henceforth seem to shed a softer light on these consecrated grounds.
It is natural that in closing the exercises of this occasion, our thoughts
should run along the distant future, and that we should indulge in reflec
tions on scenes and incidents which will transpire and be enacted here.
The entrance lo these grounds may be fitly demonstrated the gateway
from time lo eternity. Hither will be brought the tender infant, but just
permitted to open its eyes, and look with innocency on the beauties of
creation, and close them again forever, without the capacity to compre
hend their design, or to admire the wisdom of their Creator. They will
remind those who bring them here, of the sweet blossoms of early spring,
warmed into life by a few days of untimely heat, and nipped by the frost
of a succeeding night. For such as these, though they may have twined
themselves around the tendrils of the heart, until they have become dearer
than life itself — yet for these no tears of anguish need be shed. The
fond mother, as she parts forever in this world with her darling child, will
undoubtedly weep, but they need not be tears- of anguish. Anguish is
inconsolable ; but she will find consolation soothing and ample. " Suffer
little children to come unto me," said the Saviour, " and forbid them not,
for of such is the kingdom of Heaven." Here they will be safe from the
snares and temptations of the world, and be raised to a " life incorruptible
and that fadeth not away."
And hither too will be brought the youth, who was full of life, and joy,
and hope : but, like the thrifty and vigorous plant, suddenly broken by

30
the storm, just as its fragrant flowers began lo expand in beauty and per
fume, has withered and died, and is brought here to be re-committed lo
the earth, again to germinate, and grow, and bear fruit, in another state
of existence.
And here too, will come those of mature age, of expanded intellect and
high attainments. In the flush and vigor of life, engaged in the eager
pursuits of wealth and fame, and counting on many long years of proba
tion, and devising plans for the future of ease, enjoyment, or usefulness —
the summons is suddenly served on them — the health and vigor in which
they trusted has failed them in their encounter with the grim monster, and
they come, borne on the car of death, to lie each in his appointed place on
some proud eminence, or in some secluded shade within these grounds.
The aged loo must come ; having survived the oft-repeated attacks of the
ordinary diseases of life, they yield at last to the imbecility of age, and
die peacefully as the infant slumbers, and come to take their place at the
side of the family group, and slumber until the end of time.
And hero at the head of each funeral procession, as it moves with
measured steps in solemn silence along these avenues, will be seen the
faithful minister of the Church of God. Death has invaded his flock and
is bearing off his prize. It may be some venerable father in the Church
with whom he has taken sweet counsel, and walked in company to the
sanctuary ; or some younger member of his charge whom God has given
him to become a star in his crown of rejoicing, and who has gone before
him to herald his entrance into life eternal. Or it may be some wayward
child of folly, on whose infant brow he has sprinkled the baptismal waters,
but on whose youthful heart he has been unable to impress the truth as it
is in Jesus. In either case, whether the occasion be one of joyous hope,
or despondency and grief, the devoted man of God will be ever at his post
of duty. We seem to see him now, as in the far distant future, he will
stand uncovered before the storm at the head of the open grave. His
locks may be white with age, his step faltering and his voice tremulous,
but his faith and purpose will be stronger and more vigorous as he ap
proaches nearer, and gains a clearer perception of the crown of life.
Here he will often speak words of consolation to the bereaved, and bind
up many a broken heart ; here he will rebuke the follies of the world,
and speak of an inheritance of priceless value beyond the grave. But he
too will soon make his last long visit to this abode of death. Here the
pastor will lie down with the flock, and they will be " one fold and one
shepherd." And here also will the living come, to moisten with affection's tears the
cold clay that presses the bosoms of departed dear ones. Here in after
years will the bereaved mother weep at the grave of a beloved child, and

31
the orphan kneel to plant the forget-me-not in the earth that covers a dear
parent. The voice of grief will often disturb the stillness of these shades
of death, and those who weep will we trust be made better; but the dead
will still sleep on. Here giddy and thoughtless youth will read the in
scriptions which death has written on everything around them, and, ad
monished by the evidences of mortality which the scene will present, will
think of their Creator, and prepare for the time when they loo must die,
and be buried here. The grave is the house appointed for all living, and
hither all will come — you and I, and all that breathe will share the com
mon destiny. " The gay will laugh
" When we are gone, the solemn brood of care
" Plod on, and each one, as before, will chase
" His favorite phantom. Yet all these shall leave
" Their mirth, and their employments, and shall come
" And make their bed with us. As the long train
" Of ages glide away, the sons of men,
" The youth in life's green spring, and he who goes
" In the full strength of years, matron and maid,
" The bowed with age, the infaiit in the smiles
" And, beauty of its innocent age cut off —
" Shall one by one be gathered to our side
" By those who in their turn shall follow them.
" So may we: live, that when our summons comes to join
" The innumerable caravan, that moves
" To the pale realms of shade, where each shall take
" His chamber in the silent halls of death —
" We go not, like the quarry slave at night,
" Scourged to his dungeon ; but sustained and soothed
" By an unfaltering trust, approach our grave
" Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
" About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."

ERRATA.
On page 22, thirtieth line from top, for corruption, read conception.
Page 29, twenty-fourth line from top, for demonstrated, read denominated.

.{ A, .

;^i^S%.:'^

Xi-i.'-

i'-

>^rr:

'S'

,u

• jff
¦.#»
';^'
.".''''ft '
'id'
1 r-^ « ;