to be peaceable; but they wished to worship God in their own way. They attempted to "build him a house." Its site had been selected; the timbers had been cut and raised; the building was in the progress of construction. But it was never completed. No winds beat upon it to overthrow it, no floods carried it away, no fire devoured, no earthquake swallowed it. The inhabitants gathered tumultuously by night, and demolished the structure. Persons of consideration and respectability aided in the riotous work of violence, and the defenceless foreigners were compelled to submit to the wrong.'

The Rev. Edward Fitzgerald, from Londonderry, ministered to this church for several months. The number of communicants is supposed to have been nearly equal to those of the Congregational Church; but they were poor, and the minister, unable to procure a proper maintenance, left the place, anterior to the settlement of Mr. Burr. A union was at one time proposed between the two infant churches, and the Presbyterian clergyman had once been invited to officiate in the pulpit vacated by the recent dismission of Mr. Gardner. The request, however, was never repeated, and soon after he left. When Mr. Burr was ordained over the First Church, there was a tacit agreement, that if the Presbyterians would aid in his support, it should be their privilege, occasionally, to listen to teachers of their own denomination. For a season the two societies worshiped in the same house. But being disappointed in their expectations of seeing one of their own clergymen occasionally in the pulpit, the Presbyterians withdrew from a connection, in which the privileges all seemed to be on one

side, and that not their own. The Rev. William Johnston was then installed as their pastor and teacher.

Obliged to contribute to the support of Mr. Burr, while heavily drawn upon to sustain their own minister, they appealed, in 1736, to the justice of their fellow townsmen for relief from a tax inconsistent with their religious privileges. The appeal did not avail to secure the end asked for, but it called forth an answer from the body petitioned, which contains some curious and instructive items.*

Failing to obtain what they regarded as precious rights, many of the Presbyterian planters left the place. Some joined those of the same denomination who founded the town of Pelham, in the county of Hampshire. These enjoyed the ministrations of the Rev. Mr. Abercrombie. Others went to Londonderry, N. H., where they could unite in worship congenial to their feelings. Others still emigrated to the State of New York, and found a home with the colony on the banks of the Unadilla.

The Rev. Mr. Johnston became the pastor of the Presbyterians in Londonderry, in 1747. In 1753 he was dis* missed from that place, because the people were not able to afford him a competent support. After his dismission, he accompanied a small colony to Unadilla, on the east side of the Susquehanna river. The unfortunate emigrants were destined to meet with trials wherever they went. In their new home the horrors of Indian warfare menaced them. Unable to protect their property from the depredations of the savage, or to insure their personal safety, they abandoned the place and sought refuge in less exposed and more populous towns.

* See this answer in full in Lincoln's History, p. 193.

"It is probable that Mr. Johnston was accompanied by some of his former parishioners, and that the town of Worcester, at the south-east corner of Otsego county, derives its name from their recollections of the place of their first American settlement."

It is sad to reflect on the treatment which these men received from their fellow citizens. They had those qualities which should have made them welcome wherever they went. Their habits were peaceful, industrious and frugal. By an example of diligence, and by introducing useful arts, they contributed to the prosperity of the province. Says Belknap, "They brought with them the necessary materials for the manufacture of linen; and their spinning-wheels, turned by the foot, were a novelty in the country. They also introduced the culture of potatoes, which were first planted in the garden of Nathaniel Walker, of Andover." But they were met with an opposition, and treated with a contumely, as impolitic as it was unreasonable. Too feeble to resist their oppressors, they met their trials with what of patience and fortitude they could command, and finally disarmed opposition by their virtues, and secured respect for their integrity and moral worth.

§ 2. Chapel of the State Lunatic Hospital.

In the third annual report of the Trustees and Superintendent of this Hospital, the subject of providing religious worship for the unfortunate inmates of the institution was particularly commended to the attention of the Governor of Massachusetts and the Honorable Council. In the fourth

*See Lin. Hist., , p. 194.

report, the importance of the subject was more earnestly insisted on. The Superintendent thus gave his views: "With the insane, I would as far as possible, inculcate all the habits of rational life. I wish them to attend religious worship on the Sabbath, for the same reason that other men do, for instruction in religion and virtue. In matters of religion and morality, I would deal with the insane, as with the rational mind, approve of no deception, encourage no delusions, foster no self-complacent impressions of character, dignity and power. I would improve every opportunity, when the mind is calm and the feelings kind, to impress them that they are men, to excite in their minds rational contemplations, encourage correct habits, awaken self-respect, and prompt to active duty. In aid of this, I wish them to attend religious worship, to listen to instruction from the volume of truth, and receive encouragement to calm and quiet temper from its promises of reward to upright and virtuous conduct."

In 1837, a chapel was erected for religious worship, and on the 8th of November in that year, it was solemnly dedicated to that purpose. "On the day of the dedication, about one hundred and twenty-five inmates were present. It was the first assemblage that had ever taken place to so great an extent, and was a most interesting meeting. At each subsequent religious meeting, about the same number have attended, not always composed of the same individuals. In the whole, about one hundred and forty have attended these meetings, and nothing has occurred to disturb the quiet, or to distinguish this from any other assembly. The inmates have been much gratified with this indulgence and proof of confidence. The favorable influence of these

meetings upon the feelings and habits of our family, has been all and more than was anticipated.

"With the fullest conviction that the principles of Christianity, rightly conceived and properly dispensed, can never injure the minds nor disturb the feelings of the insane, I am confident that, if a judicious course be pursued, all that has been anticipated of good will be fully realized in the religious worship of our chapel."*

Different clergymen officiated in this chapel until October, 1838. A year's experience convinced the Superintendent and the Trustees that their most sanguine expectations respecting the beneficial effects of this measure were not extravagant. During the twelve months following the dedication of the Chapel, there were three hundred and seventy-six patients in the Hospital, and of this number, three hundred and fourteen had attended religious worship. The services had been remarkably quiet and orderly, and, almost without exception, the patients had justified the confidence reposed in them. "The power of self-control, which many excited patients have exercised in the chapel, during the hour of worship, a control which no motive could induce them to exercise elsewhere, is itself a most forcible argument in favor of religious worship for the insane."†

Successive Annual Reports confirm the impressions thus expressed respecting the importance of divine worship for this unhappy class of our fellow citizens. Every year added force to the argument that religious exercises could

*Report of Dr. Woodward for 1837.

† Report of Dr. Woodward for 1838, p. 76.