Miss M. D. Porter:
484. Door-handle from back door of Rev. Nathaniel Taylor’s house in New Milford, probably made for the front door by the old blacksmith, Daniel Burritt, whose initials are on it, 1759. When repairs were made in the house, in the summer of 1880 or 1881, this old latch was taken off and given to Mrs. Mary Taylor Porter.
485. Powder horn (Abel Hine, 1758).
486. Pulpit Bible, used by Rev. Nathaniel Taylor, who was settled in New Milford in 1748, and died after a pastorate of 52 years. This Bible was given to him by his father, Daniel Taylor, of Danbury.
487. Silhouette, Rev. Nathaniel William Taylor, D. D. (grandson of Rev. Nathaniel Taylor), made by Samuel Metford, New Haven, in 1842.
Mrs. Chas. Taylor:
488. Hand-made counterpane. Made for large four-post bedstead, of linen, with pattern done in candle wicking, drawn through.
THE OLD HOME GATHERING
The “Old Home Gathering” in Roger Sherman Hall, at 8:30 o’clock Saturday evening, was presided over by W. Frank Kinney, Chairman of the Committee on Invitation, Reception, and Entertainment. Mr. Kinney, by way of welcome, spoke as follows:
“You do not know how hard it is for me to come to-night into a place like this. I was asked by the committee to take charge of these exercises for reasons that you well know. I am asked to give you a welcome to our town. ‘Surely, the love of home is interwoven with all that is pure, deep, and lasting in earthly affection. Let us wander where we may, the heart turns back with secret longing to the paternal roof. There all the scattered rays of affection concentrate. Time may enfeeble them, distance overshadow them, and the storms of life obscure them for a season, but they will at length break through the clouds and gloom, and glow, and burn, and brighten, around the peaceful threshold of home.’ Thus wrote the poet Longfellow, and I repeat those lines because they express in so much better language than it is possible for me to do, the thoughts that are uppermost in your hearts to-night.