As soon as it was dark the house was brilliantly illuminated in every part. Chinese lanterns filled the trees and verandahs, and "Lincoln torches" covered the fences. Under the direction of Capt. Sperry, the soldiers formed and marched through the whole of Main street, from Thomas Bull's to James Green's, the distance of a mile and a half, and for the whole distance, nearly all the houses were illuminated. The soldiers cheered every illuminated hosue, and were cheered in return. Many of the houses had appropriate transparencies and lanterns. Among these, the houses of landlord Kelly, C. G. Judson, Esq., Enos Benham, Esq, Henry Minor, Esq., Alexander Gordon, Esq., Mrs. John P. Marshall and Col. Smith, were conspicuous. The Old Parsonage, built in 1700, was very conspicuous, from its antique structure.”

The Town Hall was beautifully decorated with evergreens and flags. The name of each deceased soldier was encircled with a laurel wreath, placed upon the walls, and the names of the battles in which our soldiers had borne a part, were likewise wreathed with evergreens.

"After performing this march, headed by the Woodbury Drum Band, the soldiers entered the hall, when the following ode of welcome was sung by the Woodbury Glee Club:

SOLDIERS' WELCOME-BY WM. COTHREN.

Home from the war, from Southern hill and plain-
Home from freedom's battles on the land, on the main;
Home from the tented field, the wounded, and the slain-
Ye battle-scarred heroes, we greet you again.
CHORUS-Home, home, sweet, sweet home-

Ye battle-scarred heroes, we welcome you home.

Brave went ye forth on that fair Sabbath day,
Ready for the battle-ready for the fray-
Ready to meet sorrows then soon to come;
Ye battle-scarred heroes, we welcome you home.

Home from the conflict, your duty well done;
Home from the war with proud victory won,
Covered with honor, permitted to come;

Ye battle,scarred heroes, we welcome you home,

"P. M. Trowbridge, Esq, then made the following presentation address to the ladies, who were present in great force:

ADDRESS-BY MR. TROWBRIDGE.

"LADIES OF WOODBURY :-Here are the guests I promised you a little more than a week ago. They are my friends—yea, more: comrades, brothers; for, during these long, sad, weary, bloody years, I have been one of them. The pestilence of camp, the exhausting march, the horrid battle-field, though far away, I have shared with them.

"Constant communion with them has made me familiar with the individual history of each, and I now present them to you as true men. They have been tried and are not found wanting. They stood firmly, unflinchingly, and warded off the 'leaden rain and iron hail," from you and your loved ones. They have followed that Old Flag, the flag which had its conception beneath the dark portals of the Star-Chamber, which was ushered into existence amid numberless prayers and floods of tears, which was baptised in rivers of blood, which was consecrated to God and Liberty, which has been a terror to evil-doers and a praise to such as have done well; I say they have followed that Old Flag from victory to victory, till its protecting folds now wave over the whole of this, our much loved land. Their work is done. They come crowned with honor, purchased with self-consecrated patriotism. It is meet then that you, noble women of Woodbury, should thus publicly say, 'Well done, good and faithful servants,' welcome to the sweets of home,

Ladies: there are others here whom I also promised you as guests this evening. They are the husbandless, the fatherless, the sonless, the brotherless. Made so by what? Go to Heaven's record and there read: These gave their husbands, their fathers, their sons, their brothers, to crush the most impious rebellion earth has known since Satan was cast over the battlements of this Most Holy City.' Could you have gone with me when those winged messengers came, telling of the fall of one after another, and broken the sad intelligence to anxious hearts, you would have witnessed scenes that would have dwelt with you so long as memory was yours. You would have seen a father, a mother, bowed to the earth because the stay of their declining years had fallen ;you would have seen the heart-broken wife bathing with tears her

little ones, as they were clustering about her, and crying, 'Mama, mama, won't dear papa come home any more?'

"I have raised the curtain only partially, because the scenes are far too sacred for the world's eye. But you have seen enough, and you will surely greet these, too, and bid their sad hearts be glad; and you will as surely smooth their lonely pathway till they are welcomed to the Heavenly Home, where war and its sorrows are unknown.”

At the close of the address, Mr. A. N. Lewis made a response for the ladies, and introduced Mr. Trowbridge as the chairman of the evening.

In this response, which was a poetic one, occurred the following beautiful passage:—

"I envy you, soldiers, your welcome to-night;

Fair cheeks have grown fairer, eyes dimmed have grown bright

At your coming--all welcome you here,

And would, if'twere proper, most heartily cheer,

In the midst of my speech; not at what I'm reciting,

But for you--your bold deeds, your marching and fighting,

Of which we, your admirers, are proud and delight in!

Yes, soldiers! brave veterans of 'Company I,'

I dare to assert, what none can deny,

Of all the battalions that rushed to the fray,

There were none that knew better to fight and obey,
There were none that loved better the battle's dread noise,
Than the 2d'--especially Woodbury boys."

""Tis well, on a festive occasion like this,

To think of the loved ones whose faces we miss.

Black bonnets and dresses are worn here to-night
For those who went in, but came not from the fight!
Tall pine trees are rustling, magnolias wave,
Over many a hero and soldier-boy's grave!

From the 'Father of Waters' to Potomac's strand,

Ay, down to the banks of the far Rio Grande,
The soil of the South is dotted with graves
Of nameless, yet noble and canonized braves!"

"Prayer was then offered by the Rev. Mr. Purves,

"The Chairman then introduced William Cothren, who, by appointment of the ladies, gave the welcoming address:

ADDRESS BY MR. COTHREN.

"SOLDIERS OF ANCIENT WOODBURY :-It has become my pleasing duty, at the request of the ladies who now receive you, and speaking their sentiments as well as my own, to give you a hearty welcome home. This beautifully decorated room, these tables, groaning under the weight of refreshments, the happy faces of worth and beauty you see all around you, all testify with mute eloquence the deep fervor of this, your joyous welcome. We welcome you as patriots, who for love of country went forth to endure all the privations of the camp, in the tented field, and to meet the shock of battle, to save your imperiled country. Some of you went forth from the humbler pursuits, some from higher walks, all with great hearts throbbing with the desire to save and protect the vital interests of liberty and humanity. You went forth as only lovers of their country can do, to battle for the right, perchance to die.

"We well remember that fair May morning in 1861, in the very opening of the great rebellion, when the first company of our Woodbury patriots, in the red uniform, went forth, with earnest zeal, amid the hurrahs of the men and the waving of handkerchiefs by our honored ladies, bound to the front, to pass to battle, promising as they went, with solemn vow, to go to the defense of our nation's capital through the streets of Baltimore, where, just then, the northern martyrs in the cause of liberty, had freely offered their lives in the defense of their country. I see here now a remnant of that patriotic band who went to the war from my grounds, and from whom I, a childless man, parted as from my own children. The members of Company E, of the glorious old 5th, will never be by us forgotten. Boys, with earnest emotion, we greet you. With full hearts we welcome you home. Nor can we ever forget, while reason holds its throne, that beautiful morn of the Christian Sabbath, when there were anxious hearts, and a hurrying to and fro. When the peaceful stillness usually devoted to prayers and praise to God, was broken by the notes of war, the shrill cry of the fife, and the fierce rattle of the drum; when religious services were suspended in all our churches, and every citizen was ready to aid the warrior, marching to the relief of the thrice beleagured capital of his country. Oh, there were sad and hurried partings from wives and children, from kindred and

friends, when Company I, 19th Conn Vols., departed for the war, that beautiful summer's day. While terrors thickened, the heavenly Father seemed to smile on the saddened earth. Well do I remember the sad foreboding with which one of that patriotic band, one ever to be remembered, parted from his wife and children. Solemnly he said, the tears streaming from his eyes, I shall not survive this war; never again reside in Woodbury; but it is my duty to go, and I will die fighting for my country. Sadly prophetic words. He died from wounds received at the battle of Winchester. Do his comrades need that I speak the name of Sergeant Walter J. Orton?

"Another noble spirit I must also mention, as I hurry over the record of our heroes. Young, with all the better aspirations we know in life, of high intellectual, social and moral qualities, liberally educated, and beloved in the home circle, he felt it his duty, leaving all his advantages, to go forth and do his share for the salvation of his country. He met his fate, and ascended to his God from Cedar Mountain, dying instantly on the field of battle. I speak the name of Lieut. Henry M. Dutton.

“And there was another nople spirit, reared and educated by the honored man and soldiers' friend during all this dreadful war, who this evening, by the appointment of the ladies, so fitly presides over these ceremonies. He served as a private in the three months campaign, and again in the glorious 11th Conn. Vols, rising by merited promotion for deeds of valor on the battle-field to the post of Adjutant, and A. A. A. G. of his regiment and brigade, and gave up his young life in the great cause, dying from wounds received at the battle of Cold Harbor. A pure and patriotic soul passed thus to heaven.

"All were worthies. Time would fail me to speak of their merits individually. I must hurry, that you may enjoy other pleasures in store for you. Others besides those I have mentioned in the companies went by squads, and singly joining all the various regiments of our State; but they all went for the same great purpose, and did well their duty in the broad field of conflict to which they were called.

"Soldiers of Woodbury! Survivors of forty-three pitched battles, survivors of 262 enlisted men, who left your homes in our midst to vindicate the honor of our country, and preserve our free institutions, we greet with grateful hearts your glad return. Saviours of your country, forever hail!