USA > Connecticut > New London County > Stonington > History of the First Congregational church, Stonington, Conn., 1674-1874. With the report of bi-centennial proceedings, June 3, 1874. With appendix containing statistics of the church > Part 15
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XXXV.
The pulpit of that day, without pretense Or show of learning, yet was pure and strong ; Had independence, manly rugged sense ; And boldness for the right against the wrong ; In faith and doctrine, incorrupt and sound, Simple in thought and speechi, if not profound.
XXXVI.
Such were the pastors of this olden Church - Plain men, endowed with faith and sacred learning, If not of varied and profound research, Yet in his day, each one a " true light burning ; " And each, to his successor radiance lending - And all, into historic beauty blending.
XXXVII.
Their names, from Noyes the first to Couch the last, With Ira Hart, fully their peer between, A record make, as in the history, past Or present, of few churches can be seen ; While other names, of lesser magnitude, Are worthy of this radiant brotherhood.
XXXVIII.
True, they knew nothing of our modern thought ; No Huxley, Spencer, Darwin, then had sent The beastly theory forth now widely taught, The brute and man one by development ; No mammoth Church then baptized wrong as right, Falsehood as truth - the darkness as the light.
XXXIX.
Then, pulpits were like planets round the sun, A brotherhood in truth together bound, By ties of mutual faith and love made one, Shedding a concentrated light around ; No pious fraud, no paltry higgling game - In doctrine, order, discipline, the same.
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BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
XL.
Church meetings, or the meetings of the parish To manage temporalities with care, Were sometimes not a little sour and scareish, With jets of human nature here and there ; The carnal element among the saints Would vent itself at times 'gainst all restraints.
XLI.
Poor human nature then was sanctified As now, in part alone, and that part small; The flesh and spirit strove and sorely tried Despite their " perseverance " saints would fall, And what was bad, fall into petty jangling, On money matters and like carnal wrangling.
XLII.
The fact was, some saints were no saints at all ; Regenerate and unregenerate
Were mixed up in a most unnatural thrall ; Together wedded in the same church state ;
But as of old in every carnal fray,
The flesh proved strongest, and so gained the day.
XLIII.
The tares and wheat long time together grew ; All Israel were not of Israel;
The bond son oft the free son overthrew, As Isaac by a mocking Ishmael ;
But Hagar and her son were sent away ; So here, but how, I have not time to say, -
XLIV.
Save this, that Edwards fearlessly spoke out Against this "half way covenant " communion ; And by his logic, clear, severe, and stout, Sundered the bonds of this unholy union ; And still the echoes of his clarion sound Are heard, in stirring peals, the world around.
XLV.
Then schism came, and sect and separation, " Certificating" - all that sort of thing ;
139
BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
Men, conscientious, grew to desperation, And the tithes abjured as pious swindling ; The standing order was outvoted ; and Democracy strode rampant o'er the land.
XLVI.
But as oft happens, what was once thought evil, Is found at last to be an unmixed good ; So, what the clergy preached was of the devil, Was found to be the special grace of God ; O'erruling human passion and caprice To give his Church both purity and peace.
XLVII.
Before the law all sects were equal made ; Each tub on its own bottom stood, as right ; The large and small, on the same legal grade, As best they could, their upward way to fight, Grow and increase and " push their own canoe ; " Or failing, sink, as they deserved to do.
XLVIII.
And this worked well, despite all special pleading, That infidelity would o'erspread the land ; And that the clergy, without Jegal feeding Would sink to paupered chattels contraband ; Instead of this the churches grew the stronger ; And pastors, honored, held their places longer.
XLIX.
This free church idea has become world wide ; Till " disestablishment " now rules the hour ; E'en Austria is struggling to divide The Church from State ; and England feels the power Of our example of a state held free From priestly rule and mitred tyranny.
L.
About this time, the Baptist faith and order Gave indications of a vigorous life ; And from Rhode Island pushing o'er the border, Began to meddle in the rising strife ; - To testify of faith and sound conversion ; - Church order, close communion, and immersion.
140
BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
LI.
James Davis, too, an odd but godly man, - And a distinguished preacher in his way, - Conceived and carried out a mission plan, Of preaching through the land from day to day. His Indian converts, by the Spirit stirred, Smoothing the fiery roughness of his word.
LII.
He was a fearful messenger of wrath, Hurling God's judgments with unerring aim, Scattering hot thunderbolts around the path Of men to keep them from perdition's flame ; The themes on which he felt impelled to dwell Were justice, law and sin, and wrath and hell.
LIII.
These natives from the Narragansett nation, Endowed with wondrous power of speech and song, When moved to prayer and godly exhortation, In minor tones drawn out, weird, sad, and long, Would shake ungodly men with pious fears And melt whole congregations into tears.
LIV.
But his career, though doubtless of the Lord, Like seer and prophet of the olden day, With flaming torch and fiery flashing sword, Burning and cleaving through the world his way, Was yet exceptional ; - a comet's light - A meteor's flash upon sin's darkened night.
LV.
The Separates, or Orthodox seceders, Who claimed to seek a truer gospel type Of discipline, at length became the feeders To all these churches of " much water " stripe ; E'en as to David, out of Israel, A motley crowd of wretched bankrupts fell.
LVI.
But under his transforming power and hand Became a " corps " well disciplined and strong ;
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BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
And held at bay King Saul and all the land ; And took the kingdom and the crown ere long ; So sects, as vegetation from decay And mould, may flourish, and then pass away,
LVII.
But not the Church - that shall forever stand, Founded on Christ the Everlasting Rock ; Her living walls rise in proportion grand, Defiant of the tempest's fiercest shock ; - This Church elect, beloved of God, shall be The universal Church redeemed and free.
LVIII.
But, to return, as scattering preachers say, Who, wandering now on this side, now on that, In quest of thought, are never on the way Save when they cross it, floundering to get at The tangled thread ; so we again turn back And plod along our time-worn, dusty track.
LIX.
These old historic names, we know them well - Now, as then - names of honor and renown --- From Walter Palmer, to Ann Borodell, Kindred in some way to the Irish crown - Miners, Chesebroughs, Denisons, Stantons, and Others, still, widely scattered o'er the land.
LX.
Wherever found, this hard and rough old stock Maintains its vital fibre tough and strong, And vindicates the discipline of rock Bound soil, the vital forces to prolong, Build up a massive manhood, and displace The genteel dwarfs and pigmies of the race.
LXI.
The earliest settlers built their houses round Inlets; and coves wide opening to the sea ; As Wequetequoc and Quiambaug, rock bound, With shores of bleak and cold sterility. Yet here they lived and toiled and had increase Of goods, and died in Christian faith and peace.
142
BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
LXII.
From Pawcatuc to Mystic's sluggish tide, Along the rugged shore, with all betwixt, Hard granite hills and swamps the land divide, With bits of rich alluvial intermixt ; Affording little hope to ease and wealth, The only law hard work and robust health.
LXIII.
So, as their flocks increased, the grass was cut From salted marsh and upland intervale, And fodder from the corn and grain was put In barn or stack, lest winter's store should fail ; In Spring, ear-marked, young stock was all turned out; To browse and roam at large the woods about.
LXIV.
So, pushing outwards, they would widely roam Through bog and swamp where early grass was found Every day farther from their stalls at home ; Till Autumn, with its biting frosts, came round ; Then they were hunted, and their trail oft struck Upon thy breezy heights, Pung-hung-we-nuck.
LXV.
To this Pung-hung-we-nuck hill country region, Old Walter Palmer early turned his eye; His sons and daughters, soon to be a legion, Must be provided for before he die ; Must have a patrimony ; land to till ; And so he sent them up to hold this hill.
LXVI.
As in the olden times of Israel, They won inheritance by sword and bow ; So did these sturdy men the forests fell ; And conquer Nature with the axe and hoe, The desert turning to a fruitful field, With springing grass and Autumn's golden yield.
LXVII.
Hail old Pung-hung-we-nuck ! Land of my birth ! Thy airy heights o'ersweeping wide the sea,
143
BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
To me thou art the dearest spot on earth, Home of a proud and noble ancestry ; I never may forget, where'er I roam, The beauties of my childhood's Highland Home.
LXVIII.
Here lived the Pequods ; down and up these bays They pushed their light canoes ; kindled their fires On shore ; built wigwams, harvested the maize, Fought, hunted, smoked ; then slumbered with their sires. Their squaws smoothed paddles from the riven ash, Dressed game, and served the luscious succotash.
LXIX.
They held Pung-hung-we-nuck their northward bound, Thence to the Thames, adown their westward side; Southward, was Fisher's Island's narrow sound ; Eastward, the Pawcatuc's sweet placid tide. A well stocked hunting-ground, washed by the sea, Where roamed these grim old warriors proud and free.
LXX.
'T would scarcely seem, that in Anguilla's vale, So peaceful now, near where a church late stood, Was acted once a horrid Indian tale, Tragic with savage cruelty and blood ; But here Canonchet by the treacherous hand Of red men, fell at white men's base command.
LXXI.
When, led to death, the brave old warrior turned, And faced the treacherous cowards who had bound him, His savage soul, with lofty courage, burned, And casting looks of fire and scorn around him, " Go, slaves," he cried, " back to your masters true, And say Canonchet died despising you, And hating them," " Go, the pale-face tell Canonchet feared not death, but loved it well."
LXXII.
They shot him, quartered him, and burned him there, Then sent his head up to the General Court By murderous hands of Indians, with care, To make its gory, sickening, foul report.
144
BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
Niantic, Pequods, and Mohegans, three Neighboring tribes, joined in this butchery.
LXXIII.
But worst of all it was by white men plotted, By men of Christian mien and saintly face, Renowned and skilled in solving questions knotted And difficult, in gospel lore and grace ; James Noyes, in this war council, it is said, The warrant signed for brave Canonchet's head.
LXXIV.
Yet these were times of dire alarm and fright From savage tribes, - as now on our frontier, When danger lurked in ambush day and night, Shrouding each settlement in gloom and fear; These Narragansetts - Modocs of their day - Had to be soundly whipped - then melt away.
LXXV.
But while we linger with a saddened eye On incidents adjacent to our theme, The moments of the hour are flitting by Like bright illusions of a passing dream, So we must hasten on with quickened speed, And to these wayside claims yield no more heed.
LXXVI.
And so in rustic style, life wore away. Days, weeks, and months, and years went fleeting by, The evening shade and morning twilight gray Darkened and lightened then as now the sky, Six days of toil ; the Sabbath's quiet reign, They rested, worshipped, and then toiled again.
LXXVII.
Children were born, and infancy's glad smile, With childhood's ringing laugh and sportive glee, Boyhood and girlhood's bounding, bouncing style, And " young folks " brimming o'er with jollity, Softening the staid severities of age, Makes this Arcadian life a cheerful page.
145
BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
LXXVIII.
Then young men, in their Sabbath homespun guise, Young maidens wooed, in homespun graceful, fair, And maidens, blushing " Yes," with downcast eyes, For favorites then as now had time to spare, So hearts were sweetly sought and sweetly given, And sweet lips sweetly pressed, young love's sweet heaven.
LXXIX.
We'd our Priscillas then, and have them still, As chastely beautiful as her of old, Wanting but Longfellow's chaste, classic quill Their wealth of charm and beauty to unfold, Limned for the admiration of all time,
In the sweet shadings of his polished rhyme.
LXXX.
Give him the story of Ann Borodell, In its surroundings brilliant, rich and rare, And in his sparkling humor let him tell Of form and face and eyes and golden hair, Her gentle culture, royal pedigree, Her faith, her wooing, marriage o'er the sea, --
LXXXI.
And Stonington will have her heroine, Embalmed in dew of poesy divine, A face of girlhood, whose transcendent sheen Old Plymouth's beauty shall as far outshine, As our own girls, to-day, excel in grace Of form and thoughtful comeliness of face.
LXXXII.
Miles Standishes ! we've got them by the hundred - Love-sick and foolish, rusty, gaunt and spare, Old bachelors who in their wooing blundered, Then gave the business up in blank despair ; But Miles, if we remember rightly, heeded The rule to try again, and so succeeded.
LXXXIII.
Their social gatherings were informal, free, Indrawn from homes and clearings far and near ; 10
146
BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
An artless, simple hospitality, With lusty welcome and with huge good cheer ; The table was a sight to bless one's eyes ; Its pork and beans, brown bread and pumpkin pies.
LXXXIV.
Their weddings too ! aye, they were stout and hearty, The overflow of spirit and of glee, No patent leathered and cheap jeweled party As now, but gladsome as a jubilee; Marriage was golden then, with no alloy, And weddings, festivals of sparkling joy.
LXXXV.
They travelled horseback, single or double, Just as convenience or as need inclined ; With our proprieties they had no trouble ; Husband before and wife pillioned behind ; And if young man and maiden all the neater ; With her chaste arm around - what could be sweeter ?
LXXXVI.
In this way, Sabbath day, they rode to meeting On prancing steed or farm-horse dull and slow, The young and old exchanging kindly greeting, As onward to the House of God they go. Arrived - young gallants their new beavers doff, And, bowing, lift the blushing maidens off.
LXXXVII.
Ah, nature was then nature, right or wrong, Is nature still, and will yet nature be ; Its instincts, though instincts, deep-seated, strong, Will chastely rule or run out wildly free. Marriage is holiness - bridegroom and bride, In marriage joined, is nature sanctified.
LXXXVIII.
To me there is no sight of deeper beauty Than youthful matrimonial affiance ; Heart pledged to heart in words of faith and duty, Man's robust love, and woman's fond reliance ; With mutual trust and mutual admiration Awaiting - the long looked-for consummation.
147
BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
LXXXIX.
The earth in " families " is Heaven's law ; Not herded like the beasts in wild embrace Of brutal passion - where the stronger draw The weaker down to shame and foul disgrace; Husbands are straightly charged " their wives to love," And wives unto their husbands "reverent " prove.
XC.
With these old saints, the family was tied And bound in union with the Church and State. Husbands and wives, if saints, were sanctified ; And so their children, all regenerate. A splendid theory - but, or right or wrong, Belongs not to our brief memorial song.
XCI.
Children were brought to Church, - not Sabbath-school ; And seated with their parents in the pew ; For old and young there was but one straight rule, " To sit devoutly all the service through." ' Conference and prayer-meetings were unknown ; Psalm, prayer, and sermon, held the ground alone.
XCII.
The pastor catechised - but what that meant Precisely, I am sure I do not know; I think, perhaps, on given days he went Around the parish, and heard yes or no To questions theological profound, As in the Shorter Catechism found.
XCIII.
Then in few words of godly admonition, And kindly counsel with a fervent prayer, Moving to humble and unfeigned contrition, To greater watchfulness and holy care, The pastor left, and with unwearied feet Sought the next house this service to repeat.
XCIV.
The Sabbath day in Puritanic style Severely kept, enforced by legislation,
148
BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
Brought all to church, and when at home the while, - For work or play there was no dispensation, - From eve to eve, till Sabbath's sun went down, Unbroken quiet reigned throughout the town.
XCV.
Through all the household there was hush and quiet, Parents walked softly, children and servants too, Nor noise, nor bustle, nor domestic riot With child or chick till Sabbath was quite through. The dog and cat became almost devout, And lounged in dozing quietude about.
XCVI.
But when the Sabbath sun's departing ray Faded from childhood's long impatient eye, The pent up fires broke forth in boisterous play, And ringing shouts and laughter pealed the sky. The brutes looked glad, lambs skipped, the horses neighed, Dogs whined, cats mewed, mules kicked, and asses brayed.
XCVII.
No marvel, for the bow, if bent too strong, Will backwards spring with corresponding force ; And childhood's powers elastic, if too long Repressed, too soon will all restraint divorce ; The Puritanic Sabbath, by extortion, Made piety in childhood an abortion.
XCVIII.
Yet these old saints were earnest and sincere, Had faith in God, believed his word and law; And reverenced both, if not with loving fear, Yet bowed to his authority with awe: Their legal faith, duty and servile sense, Far better than our loose irreverence.
XCIX.
"They had some queer laws," that is even so ; They seemed to think that they could legislate Religion into men, and make them go And come, obedient to the magistrate; In things religious, as well as in things civil ; - That law belonged to God and not the Devil.
149
BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
c.
"If right," they said, "pray why not then enforce it, And make the church, and worship, legal tender ? Why from the civil power and arm divorce it ? For who if not the State should be defender Of the faith, by the grace of God, and hold The shield of power over the Christian fold."
CI.
" If right was right, then it was always right, And everywhere ; semper et ubique; No license could change darkness into light, Or bind hostilities into unity ; The right must rule ; the right must hold the sword And chastise men to love or hate the Lord.
CII.
"The Christian faith involved our highest need ; The Church was therefore higher than the State; The latter of our social wants took heed; The former interests regenerate ; The State, therefore, true to this purpose high, The culture of the Church must ratify."
CIII.
And so they legislated for this end ; Enforced the rulings of the Church by law ; The General Court was oft invoked to send Help to this quarter, and from that withdraw ; But things grew bad, and worse- a sorry jumble, And ended, in due time, in crash and tumble.
CIV.
They legislated Sunday in and out ; From sundown unto sundown - it should be; And save to church, no journeying about, Or walk at large had lawful liberty. The Sunday was the Christian Sabbath, when Devotion should engage all godly men. CV.
On the broad street allowed no needless clatter Of prancing hoof or curbed and bitted steed :
150
BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
Such equine undevoutness was a matter For law to look after with earnest heed ; Young Jehus, then as now, devoid of sense, Were curbed into respectful reticence.
CVI.
They ruled that every man should go to meeting In his own parish, and with godly fear Receive with meekness and with pious greeting The engrafted word, such as the saints should hear ; The State must shield the Church against defection, And help call in the yet uncalled election.
CVII.
One early settler in this town was called To Hartford by this Blue-law legislation, And most unmercifully overhauled , And held to answer for some violation Of law and order, - a sheer invention, -- In interest of colonial extension.
CVIII.
Then, Massachusetts claimed a jurisdiction O'er this southeastern section of the State ; And though, the claim was but the merest fiction, It stirred colonial jealousy and hate ; And so they put our Chesebrough on the stand For trial and ejection from the land.
CIX.
The first charge was, " he did not go to meeting" - The next, he " traded with the Indians, and Lived on terms of peace and kindly greeting With heathen, and demoralized the land." He said " there was no church where he could go Outside of Hartford - and he didn't know
CX.
Of anybody with whom he could trade But Indians, - for no one else lived near him, And so he had some changes with them made, - And since they did not seem as much to fear him As his godly Hartford brethren, he thought Their friendship was to be preferred and sought."
151
BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
CXI.
The third charge was, "he sold powder and ball To Indians." This he tartly denied As false and scandalous, meanest of them all ; - Because the silly impeachment implied Not only crime, but lack of common sense, To sell to savages his own defense.
CXII.
And so, the Hartford junto sent him back To live and trade with Indians as he might ; For Hartford then as now was on the track Of Capital and State House, wrong or right, A truckling set of jobbers, past endurance, Living on dogma then - now Fire Insurance.
CXIII.
So Stonington and Hartford from that day Have understood each other all the better ; Like her own granite and persistent clay, The stiff old town will never yield a letter Of right and truth, whether in Church or State; Her motto now as then, " Right, if not great."
CXIV.
Hail to this brave old town ! - Old Britain's pride Once cowered beneath her rough and rude defense ; Her eighteen pounder riddled Hardy's side, And taught him that our boys had pluck and sense ; Leaving his anchor grappled in the bay, Crippled - he slunk in haste by night away.
CXV.
Hail to this rough old town - her ocean shore, Bays, inlets, rivers, sparkling brooks, and streams, Her waves, now breaking with a deafening roar Upon her rocks, now flashing 'neath the beams Of moon and star, while evening's freshening breeze Floats up with grateful coolness 'mid her trees.
CXVI.
Hail to the dear old town, long may she be What she has been, and is, with rich increase
152
BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
And fruitfulness, in full maturity, Of social, civil, and religious peace ; The highest culture of a full manhood In all that makes men wise, and great, and good.
CXVII.
And hail to this old Church, long may her light, A beacon flame, illuminate this shore, Pouring her radiance down through earth's dark night, Guide of the tempest-tost, life's ocean o'er, As in the past, so may she ever be A bulwark strong, of faith and liberty.
CXVIII.
Farewell these olden deeds and olden ways Our roughened verse has held in brief review, If not as brilliant quite as modern days, Yet were they solid, just, and Christian too; Their faith, their prayers, their zeal, and works remain, But these old times will never come again.
CXIX.
A third Centennial begins its flight To-day. The record of its opening page Will be the service of this day and night, The drama of this Bi-Centennial stage, Its deeds, and words, and names, or small or great, Reviewed with care, one hundred years from date.
CXX.
Hail to the future then ! behind the shroud That now conceals it in a sable fold, The sun, bright gleaming through the rifted cloud, Pours down his radiance of flashing gold, While here and there broad belts of genial sky In smiling quietude come floating by.
CXXI.
Then up to labor ! What though life be brief, A fleeting cloud, a shade, the morning dew, And generations fade, as fades the leaf, Yet life has duties stern and joyful too ; These brave old saints gave life their highest powers, Did their work well, LIKE THEM LET US DO OURS.
153
BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
7. SINGING - Hymn 1324, " We are living, we are dwelling." 8. WELCOME TO THE CHILDREN CHURCHES, - by Deacon B. F. Williams : -
MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES, AND GENTLEMEN, - I am re- quested by this Church to welcome with joyful greeting, her children, upon this joyous anniversary occasion. Just why our committee selected me to fill this very important position, I am unable to say, unless it be to represent the laboring class, or be- cause they thought that having fed upon strong meat, thus far, to-day, a little weak tea just at this particular time would have a salutary effect, or because, having but little to say, I might not be tedious ; for I think we shall all agree that brevity on occa- sions like this is a virtue greatly to be prized. Our historian has told you some plain facts about your good old mother. He has even gone beyond the ordinary bounds of propriety, and told us her age, - that your mother is two hundred years old to-day. But though the frosts of two hundred years rest upon her time- honored brow, where, may I ask, are the marks of decrepitude that symbolize old age ? Look with me for a moment upon her beautiful and altogether lovely face. Where are the wrinkles and interlinings which time chisels upon the brows of our vener- able mother ? Is the lustre of her eye bedimmed ? Is her ear heavy, that it does not hear ? Are her footsteps faltering ? Does she give evidence that her natural force is in the least abated ? Does there fall from her lips any uncertain sound ? anything that betrays a lapse into second childhood ? No, there is not. Your mother is old to-day only in point of years. She is young in heart and vigor, to do and dare for Him, who through all these years has been her never-failing friend, her abundant and sure reward. It is not my purpose to go back and trace the events that have marked her history since you bid adieu to this home of your childhood, and sought for yourselves beautiful homes in new and opening fields of usefulness. All this has been ably done by others. Neither would I, much as I honor and revere the memory of an illustrious ancestry, dwell upon their noble deeds of virtue. No, rather would I direct your at- tention to the living present. Well do I remember when, a few years since, this Church being for a little time without a pastor, it was said that for want of a congregation and means to supply
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