In the early settlement of the country, the mother nursed and reared her own children; was mistress and servant; carded the wool; spun it into yarn, and made it into cloth. She was her husband's and boy's tailor, her own and her daughter's milliner and mantuamaker; and in a word, discharged every domestic duty unaided. It is not strange that such women should have reared such sons as we have been boasting about here for two days.

"Let us do fitting honors on this occasion to the female character. Every man who has risen to distinction in any of the walks of life, is indebted to his mother for those traits of genius which he inherited from her, and those habits of thinking and of action, which are the result of her early teaching.

Of the soul

"The mother in her office, holds the key

and she it is who stamps the coin

Of character, amd makes the being who would be a savage,

But for her gentle cares, a Christian man.-"

"How dear to us is the sacred name of mother! She it was whose loving care and ceaseless vigilance protected and nurtured us in helpless infancy. We learned from her those earliest lessons which are most deeply impressed upon our memories, and which time does not obliterate. Our recollections of a mother's love, a mother's care, a mother's patience, and a mother's forgiveness of our faults, freshen and become more and more tender, as our shadows lengthen upon the dial. It is to her we owe all that we are and all we hope to be.

"I might speak of woman in the relation of wife, and of the love, respect, and kindness which she deserves as such. She is sought and won, forsakes father and mother, and cleaves unto the husband. With an amazing confidence, she entrusts her happiness, her all, in his hands. She shares his sorrows, participates in his joys, labors for his advancement, and occupies the position in life in which his success or misfortune may place her. If we loved her when seeking an alliance, how much more tenderly should we feel toward her, when she has committed herself to our fostering care, and has become the mother of our children.

"There is still another relation in which I might speak of woman. I mean as daughters. None but fathers know aught of the emotions of a father's heart toward them. With what solicitude do we watch their growth and development. With what intense interest do we gaze upon their budding beauty, and varied accom

plishments. With what tender affection do we cling to them, and how they wind themselves about our hearts. And then, endeared to us as they are, and in the flush and beauty of their youth, we are called to relinquish them into other hands, as their mothers were relinquished to us. Then we know for the first time, what the yielding to our request cost some few years ago.

"Were there time, and were there not some Governors, Lawyers, Doctors, and Clergymen yet to speak, and whom you are anxious to hear, I should be pleased to enlarge upon this fair topic; but even at the hazard of standing between you and those gentlemen for an unreasonable time, I could not say less. When I look upon this immense audience, and especially upon this bed of flowers before me, in which I see the spring violet, the summer rose, and the dahlia of autumn, all in bloom at the same time, as if the three seasons had been consolidated, I wish we had another day in which we could say what we feel and think.

"Since my earliest recollection, great changes have been wrought in this valley. The stately elms and maples that line the way southward to the western limit of the village of Southbury, were in their infancy fifty years ago; but now they spread their giant arms in every direction, and are models of strength and beauty. This was then a sparsely settled village; but since that period it has undergone such alterations as to change its appearance altogether. Then it was purely an agricultural town; but now it derives its prosperity in a degree from the successful prosecution of some of the mechanic arts.

"The men of that day have been for the most part gathered to their fathers; but I recognize in some of those here, the family likeness, and hear on every hand the familiar names. The names

of Stiles, Curtiss, Hinman, Sherman, Judson, Atwood, Strong, and many others, are still preserved, and last, but not least, you have 'saved your Bacon.' We had yesterday afternoon a taste of the attic salt which gives it value.

"In conclusion, let me congratulate the originators of this celebration, and all who have been interested in it, upon the singularly fortunate circumstances attendant upon this Festival. The heavens have smiled upon us-no accident has occurred to mar the festivities of the occasion-and the re-union has been one of unmixed enjoyment. We can be present but upon one such occasion in a life-time. Here we have renewed old friendships, and I trust have formed new ones of an enduring character. Many a

history will date from this occasion, for it would not be strange if some, who have met here for the first time, will pursue life's journey hand in hand-will 'climb life's hill together,' and when the journey is concluded, will 'sleep together at the foot' the sleep of death. The youth of both sexes here present, will excuse this public allusion to a delicate subject, which may have found a place in their private thoughts.

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'Now, my friends, I must take my leave of you. There is a small army of orators behind me, who are waiting for turns, as the old settlers waited at the old mill; and there are many here whose thoughts, radiant with beauty as they are, will not find vent in words. We part with pleasant recollections of this memorable interview, which we shall cherish while we live."

Hon. Henry Dutton, of New Haven, a native of Watertown, within the limits of the Woodbury deed of 1659, responded to the sentiment, "The Cousins of Ancient Woodbury."

MR. PRESIDENT:—An incident has occurred since I have been on this platform, which has almost induced me to withdraw. The distinguished gentleman from Litchfield related an anecdote, which seemed to reflect upon the honored practice of "cousining." Now as I am here only under that long established custom, and have no right to be heard, except as a remote cousin of Woodbury, had I not felt the utmost confidence in the friendship of that gentleman, I should have been disposed to take offence. I have been somewhat reassured, however, by the course taken by the eloquent gentleman who has preceded me. When that gentleman,

but whose

"Whose head is silvered o'er with age,"

Long experience has [not] made him sage,"

and whom I have known for many years as a grand-father, comes here and palms himself off as a great-grandchild of Woodbury, I trust I shall be excused if I claim the relationship of only fourth cousin."

Gov. Dutton then proceeded to give some very interesting remiuiscenses of the men of the early and the Revolutionary times, to the great interest of the audience.

Samuel Minor, Esq., of Sandusky, Ohio, a native Woodbury,

then spoke to the sentiment, "The Emigrants from Ancient Woodbury," as follows: "

MR. PRESIDENT:-Under a brief notice, I am desired to make a few remarks in behalf of the Emigrants from Ancient Woodbury, those who have left these hills and valleys for distant abodes, and returned to unite in this festive occasion. In their names, we tender most cordial thanks, for the invitation we have received, to visit our paternal homes-to gather again around the domestic hearthstones, and to sit again in the old arm chairs of our ances

tors.

"Personally, this occasion has a special interest, for around the residence near by, and the grounds on which we are assembled, are gathered all the associations of a New England Home. Here were spent my childhood and youth, and here were received those instructions prized higher than any other legacy earthly parents could bestow. The rocks and trees and hills are as familiar as household words. When I call to mind those who have fallen asleep, and look upon those who live; when recollection runs over the reminiscenses of the past, and then turn to the present, the soul is filled with emotions which can not be uttered, and I can only exclaim in reference to this loved spot, as can each returning wanderer as to his own:

'Home, home, sweet, sweet home,

There's no place like our old firesides,
There's no place like our good old homes.'

Those of us who have removed from among you, observe with peculiar interest one feature of this celebration, and that is, the presence of so many of advanced and maturing years, so many bright links connecting the past to the present, so many Elishas, upon whom have fallen the mantles of the Elijahs that have gone before; and when I speak for myself, I speak for all who reside in the newer States, and assure you, there is nothing we there so much miss as the presence of good old men. Happy is that community which is blessed by many of them. It is for you, my aged Fathers, to remember, that, as physical strength diminishes, the fruits of a worthy character are ripening, and the fragrance of useful lives is being shed abroad over the community. Your influence, like gravity, is silent, but powerful. To you we look with confidence and respect. We feel that you have imbibed the spirit

and principles of our Puritan ancestors, and are manifesting these principles in your lives, and that you have thus become, not only sons of the past, but fathers of the future.

"But time is passing. Again, we thank you for this occasion; we thank you for the hospitality and kindness received, and for the able addresses we have heard. We thank you for the influence your character still exerts, and that, as we wander over the earth, we are enabled to point with pride to New England, with pride to Connecticut, with pride to Woodbury.

"Permit me, in behalf of my adopted, and also my native home, without disparagement to others, to close with this sentiment: "OHIO-Noblest of the Western States.

"CONNECTICUT-Parent of the best part of Ohio."

Dr. Leman Galpin, of Milan, Ohio, a native of Woodbury, next spoke of the early days, and gave pleasing reminiscenses of early life, followed by Gen. William Williams, of Norwich, who congratulated us on our successful celebration, and invited the inhabitants of the town to be present at a like celebration, to be held at Norwich in the succeeding September. Gen. Williams' remarks were followed by the reading, by Rev. Robert G. Williams, of an interesting poem by Miss Hortensia M. Thomas, now Mrs. Elam B. Burton.

Rev. C. Trowbridge Woodruff then read, with admirable effect, the closing poem of the occasion, written by Mrs. Ann S. Stephens, the distinguished authoress of New York, a native of Ancient Woodbury:

"We have met-we have met, by the graves of our sires,
Where the forest once reddened with war council fires,
Where the smoke of the wigwam, while curling on high,
Left its bloom on the hemlock,-its cloud on the sky.

"Let us turn from the brightness of this happy hour,
Two centuries back, when the savage held power,
From the Naugatuck, sweeping through gorges and glen,
To the bright Housatonic and onward again.
Here a wilderness spread in its wildness and gloom,
Revealed by the starlight of dogwood in bloom,
And the broad rlvers ran in the flickering shade,
Which the pine trees and cedars alternately made.
Here the chiefs gathered wild in their gorgeous array,
And their war-path was red at the dawning of day
Along the broad plain where light lingers clear,
Came the crack of the musket-the leap of the deer.