to buy the tract, containing about seventy-two acres, at six thousand dollars, in behalf of the Horticultural Society, as soon as one hundred subscribers for cemetery lots, at sixty dollars each, should be secured. By the following year, the list was completed and the purchase made; and on Saturday, September 24, 1831, two thousand persons gathered in the beautiful amphitheatre still known as Consecration Dell to participate in the ceremonies of dedication. The orator of the occasion was Hon. Joseph Story, and the following hymn, written for the purpose by Rev. John Pierpont, was sung:—

      "To Thee, 0 God, in humble trust,
            Our hearts their cheerful incense burn,
      For this Thy word, 'Thou art of dust,
            And unto dust shalt thou return.'

      "For what were life, life's work all done,
            The hopes, joys, loves, that cling to clay,
      All, all departed, one by one,
            And yet life's load borne on for aye!

      "Decay! decay! 'tis stamped on all!
            All bloom in flower and flesh shall fade.
      Ye whispering trees, when we shall fall
            Be our long sleep beneath your shade.

      "Here to thy bosom, Mother Earth,
            Take back, in peace, what thou hast given;
      And all that is of heavenly birth,
            0 God, in peace recall to heaven."

      A description of the cemetery, published by order of the committee at the time of dedication, gives the following account of the land and the uses to which it was to be put:
      "The purchase which has now been made by the Horticultural Society includes between seventy and eighty acres, extending from the road nearly to the banks of Charles River. A portion of the land situated next to the road and now under cultivation is intended to constitute the Experimental Garden of the Horticultural Society. A long water-course extending between this tract and the interior woodland forms a natural boundary, separating the two sections. The inner portion, which is set apart for the purposes of a cemetery, is covered throughout most of its extent with a vigorous growth of forest trees, many of them of large size, and comprising an unusual variety of kinds. This tract is beautifully undulating in its surface, containing a number of bold eminences, steep acclivities and deep, shadowy valleys. A remarkable natural ridge with a level surface runs through the ground from the southeast to northwest, and has for many years been known as a secluded and favorite walk. The principal