Excerpt from A Semi-Centennial Discourse: Before the First Congregational Society in Bridgewater; Delivered on Lord's Day, 17th September, 1871 Dear Sir, In behalf of the members of the First Congregational Society in Bridgewater, I have the pleasure of tendering you their thanks for your very highly interesting Discourse, delivered on the Sunday following the fiftieth anniversary of your ordination as Pastor of that Society, and of requesting a copy of the Discourse for publication. Very respectfully, I am, dear Sir, Yours, most truly, Artemas Hale. Bridgewater, September 23, 1871. To Rev. Richard M.Hodges, Cambridge, Mass. To Hon. Artemas Hale. My dear Sir, The spirit that prompted the preparation of the Discourse which you, and those whom you so fitly represent, ask to have put into a permanent form, will, I trust, outlive appointed times and special occasions, and therefore I comply with your request, As in youth, so in age, Your friend, R.M. Hodges. Cambridge, October 20, 1871 About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.