Litchfield enquirer., 1865-07-20
Coral a,,o Gou,tp News.


 LITcHFRLD.-The news reached ns on Sa, | urday afternoon that the Second Heavy Arr tillery had been paid off. and the Litcb6eld boys were coming on the evening staee. The. glad tidings spread like the wind and ,ongs before nine o'clock an immense crowd had gathered about the Mansion House h rece;ve the heroes The Mansion House, the United States Hotel, and the Post Office were illu- minated, and huge bonfire lit up the whole square At a little past 9 o'clock, the ring ing of the bells and the discharge of sipnal rockets from the Post Office. heralded the ap- proach of the brave men. On their arrival in front of the Mansion House. they were greeted with waving of han lkerehiefs from the ladies who crowded the upper balconies, with music from the Litchfeld Brass Band, and with a pretty earnest demonstration of rejoicing from every one After the first spontaneous greet Ing had abated, J. Deming Perkins, Esq. step ped forward on the lower balcony, and welcomed the heroes in A short and most appropriate address He was followed by the Rev. George Richards, Chas. B. Andrews, ,Esq., and Dr. J. G. Beckwith. with very pertinent and brief remarks The boys were then invi- | ted into the house, where generous collaiion had been prepared under the superinf endence | of the host, Mr. F. NJ Hale.
 1 = On Sunday afternoon. at the Congrega- tional Church, Rev Mir. Richards addressed the returned soldiers in an elegant and i'm. pressive discourse. The soldi.rs were seated in a body, in the east gallery, and the house was filled with an attentive audience. The Communion Table was spread with the National Flag on which the ladies had ar ranged an exquisite basket and vases of flowers. In the centre was a wreath of white blossoms from the Yocca gloriosa, which hlos- soms trieniaHy. It was last in flower when the regiment were encamped here; and now was inst in season to furnish its silvery gar land--a tribute from mourner to the brave who return no more ........... ....
 The following are the concluding paragraphs of the sermon that Mir. Richards has kindly permitted us to publish
 May not convey the welcome of this con- gregation and this community to the returned soldiers-few and far between--relics of the battlefield. whose bronzed faces we rejoice to see, whose hard hands to grasp?
 We greet you as kindred friends neighbors fellow -townsmen. Three years. nearly, have elapsed-long and weary years to some of us since those farewells were interchanged. and these homes were made lonely and desolate by your departure. How constantly we have borne you on our hearts, remembered you in our prayers, longed for the time when you God be praised that you are here once more !! Nature herself seems to have put on her festive robes in your honor. The harsh beat of drums ard bray of trumpets is succeeded by the gay minstrelsy of birds. Woman, whose busy nee dle toiled for you in your absence. breathes round you the breath of flowers. You come home to remain. No furlough just about to expire; no toilsome marches and counter ] marches under scorching suns, through drifted snows-the footprints smeared wIIn DIoUu no sweet dreams of home, interrupted by the long, roll, or the short, sharp command. Fall in ;'.no days and nights without food. without sleep. followed by the horrors of the battlefield, d,-the ghastly reaper, sickle in hand. gathering and garnering his priceless sheaves no fetid pris- ons,-life living, loathsome and lingering death. Welcome to the family board. the fam; 'ly circle, the family altar. Welcome to the Sanctuary, where no Sabbath has passed that has not recalled you. Welcome to these scenes of your childhood, youth, and opening man hood. Resume the places, which. as sons, brothers, husbands, fathers you were priv ileged to occspy, till your country summoned you.
 We miagle our Thank offering with yours. upon Gods altar, that you and we have been spared, here. side by side. in His presence, to greet this day. ......- We welcome you also as our country's cham pions. The sword that may now rust in it's scabbard. has conquered us this peace. The gun ,-fhat may be hung up a cherished heir loom-will be to distant times memento of hard fought and wellfought fields. We owe It to you and your comrades. that the Union is single and indivisible the Constitution no tenn porary compact, to be dissolved at will but an irrevocable covenant; the long winding rivers irrigating the soil and floating the commerce Of but one Republic chains of mountains bind. ing us in indissoluble bonds no slave hence forth, to water with his tears and blood the sods which he had turned up with an i'll requi- ted or unrequited toil; equal laws, from the lakes to the gulf, and from ocean to ocean, guaranteeing their protection to high and low alike-exacting of all their allegiance, and en. surfing to all the rights which God and nature have conferred on them land-in extent, in variety, in prodigal and inexhaustible endow- ment, without it's peer in all the circuit of the sun.-consecrated to civilization that borrows not it's maxims from the Black Hole of Calcut- to or the Jersey prison ship, but from the New Testament. Such a heritage-the legacy of the present to the future--your patriotic valor,