ever tried to be good. I shall go to heaven and be happy; and if you are good you will come to heaven too, and then you will see your little Mary. and we shall all be happy together." What a divine hope; what words of comfort; what a sublime theology! She gave directions for the distribution of her wearing apparel, her books, her toys, dolls and playthings, among her little cousins and friends. She asked her mama: "When I die where shall I be buried?" Her mother answered: Papa says you may be buried in the garden." "Oh, that will be nice," said she, "and then you and papa can come and plant flowers on my grave."

Little Mary's funeral was largely attended, by both old and young; and especially did the little ones come to take a parting look at the sweet face of their beloved playmate and friend; for all the children loved her. The officiating clergyman was Rev. Mr. Rust of the M. E. Church, who preached an interesting discourse from the text:

Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven." Many a time afterward was little Mary's life and character referred to by parents of other children, when teaching them to be good.

The following poem, with its introduction, was written and published by the father of this cherub daughter shortly after her death:

"I SHALL REST TO-NIGHT."

A morning flower plucked for heaven was the writer's little daughter of six summers, who lately

passed from this to a better world, there to bloom forever in the Paradise of God. While upon her dying couch, and shortly before her departure, she besought her wearied and grief-stricken parents to take repose, saying: "I shall rest tonight." At near midnight, Nov. 29, 1857, she closed her eyes as if in a calm slumber, and in a few minutes was indeed "at rest."

"I shall rest to-night." Another day,

While my loved flowers* in breezes dance,
You'll take me from this home away!
A mournful train will then advance
Up through the long and silent street,
To bear me to my lone retreat.

Oh, there, it matters not,-will rave
The storms and blasts of wintry weather,
Above the narrow, new-made grave,
Where death and I lie down together;
Enough that I shall know it not,

Within that lone and narrow spot!

For I shall sleep. As sweet a sleep,
As ever blessed a child reposing,
Awaits me in the grave so deep,

Where I, my weary eyelids closing,
At length shall lay me down to rest,
Heedless of clods above my breast.

Asleep! How deep will be the "rest,"
Free from life's turmoil, moving wildly,
That when is passed the earth's unrest,
It's bosom shall receive me mildly;
For not one dream of earth may come

To break the slumber of that home!

Oh, deep repose! Oh, slumber blest!
Oh, night of peace! no storm, no sorrow,
No heavy stirring in that "rest,"

To meet another weary morrow!

I shall heed neither night nor dawn,
But still with folded arms sleep on!

Weep not, dear parents, more for me,
But live as all true Christians should;
"I'm not afraid to die," you see;

"You'll come to me, if you are good:"
Ere long we'll meet, forever blest,
Beyond the skies in endless "rest."

*She was passionately fond of flowers,

CHAPTER XXIII.

D

I. O. OF O. F.

URING Mr. Hildreth's earlier years he was an active member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1848 he was initiated into the mysteries of the Order in Moosehillock Lodge No. 25, at Haverhill. N. H. At this time he was carrying on the printing and publishing business in Bradford, Vt., on the opposite side of the Connecticut river. Subsequently he was one of the charter members of a Lodge at the latter place The interesting and important ceremonies of instituting this Lodge took place on Jan. 2, 1850. under the auspices of Albert Tuxbury, R. W. Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Vermont. assisted by several officers and brothers from Windsor Lodge No. 3: Vermont Lodge No. 2; and large delegations from Mount Cube Lodge No. 23, Orford, N. H.; and Moosehillock Lodge No. 25, Haverhill, N. H.

The first officers of the Bradford Lodge were Lewis R. Morris, N. G.; Geo. L. Butler, V. G.; A. B. F. Hildreth. Secretary; and Geo. W. Hurlbut, Treasurer. These men being installed into their respective offices, the R. W. Grand Secretary

pronounced Champion Lodge, No. 17, I. O. of O. F., Bradford, Vt., duly instituted.

Some of Mr. Hildreth's personal friends, in Boston, made him several donations for the purpose of furnishing the new Lodge Room, such as a carpet for the floor, a nice clock, by S. C. Gardner; and a superb and costly copy of the Holy Bible, by B. B. Mussey, a native of Bradford. "Please accept," said he in his letter, "and place in your Lodge Room, upon the altar, the Holy Volume which will accompany this line to you. May its precepts guide you in all your deliberations, until we shall all meet in that 'Grand Lodge,' where all our emblems will be fully realized by the ushering in of their glorious reality, and we shall enjoy in its fullness our glorious motto and watchword of Friendship, Love and Truth."

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The Lodge Room was superbly furnished, and it was while Mr. Hildreth was the presiding officer that he accepted an invitation from the Lodge to deliver a public lecture on Odd Fellowship. Invitation cards were sent out to the leading citizens, both ladies and gentlemen, of Bradford and vicinity, and a large and appreciative audience assembled in the Lodge Room on the occasion. The lecture was highly spoken of, and Mr. Hildreth afterwards received invitations to deliver his lecture in St. Johnsbury, Vt., and other places. Mr. Hildreth was also a member of the Odd Fellows Encampment at Windsor, Vt.; and when he removed to Iowa, in 1856, he was an officer of

the Grand Lodge I. O. of O. F. of the State of Massachusetts.

Below is a copy of Mr. Hildreth's lecture on Odd Fellowship, referred to above, as we find it among his papers:

ODD FELLOWSHIP.

Among the various expedients that political economists have devised for the amelioration of social evils, the Odd Fellows Association takes prominent rank. It is no new experiment, but has received the suffrages of all classes and all climes. It has stood the test of Time and become rife with the fruitage of mature growth. Its memories are fragrant of good deeds. Its insignia is, "Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men!"

Based upon the broad catholic principles of Christianity, its philanthropy contemplates not only man's physical, but his moral, and even intellectual good. It seeks to reclaim the erring and point the wanderer to the path of virtue and peace.

With such beneficent aims what heart does not echo a welcome response to its appeals? Who does not desire to aid it in its mission?

We do not, however, purpose to lavish indiscriminate laudations upon Odd Fellowship. It is but a human institution, and therefore not perfect. Yet, taken as a whole, its excellencies far outbalance its seeming defects.

Odd Fellowship sets up no pretension as a teacher of religion, nor does it offer presumptuously a substitute, under color of morals. for the Christian code. While it reveres religion, it forbears to inculcate other than general and abstract truths, which all men may concede, amid the ten thousand conflicts of opinion that divide the Cristian world.

If the command "to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to visit the sick. to relieve the dis