THE First church in Lynn was formed in May, 1632, three years after the settlement of the town. In the order of church organizations in the Massachusetts colony, this was fifth - the church in Salem first; next, that in Charlestown, which was afterwards removed to Boston; next, that in Dorchester; next, in Roxbury; next, in Lynn. All the churches organized prior to that in Lynn have ceased to be numbered among the churches of the Puritan faith ; and the same is true of those planted before it in the Plymouth colony, Thus it may be said that the First Church in Lynn has been longer on the ground where it was originally planted than any Congregational Church in America, and the claim is made that it is the oldest living Congregational Church in the world. The little house on Shepard street, which for fifty years served the purposes of a church, was a very modest strcture, and the rom where the people met for worship has been aptly described as "a bascment with no up-stairs," the floor being several feet below the ground outside. In 1682 the main portion of the house was moved to the Common, and was metamorphosed into that singular architectural curiosity known as the Old Tunnel. The porch of the Shepard street house finally found its way to Harbor street, where it still does humble duty as part of a dwelling. The country was sparsely settled, and though the church was made up of people from Lynn, Lynnfield and Saugus, the little house was ample for all requirements for half a century. The Old Tunnel meeting-house stood in the middle of the Common, and was the center of spiritual influences for the community for many years. Nearly square in form, with windows somewhat irregularly placed, and the bell-tower on the center of the roof, it at a distance must have borne a striking likeness to that useful article whose name it subsequently bore. It was originally built without pews, and permission to build them was granted from time to time by vote of the town. Each person built his pew according to a plan of his own, so at last the interior of the church must have had a sort of crazy-quilt appearance. This house kept its place till 1827, when it was removed to the corner of Commercial and South Common streets, and remodeled. Here it served the purposes of the society ten year more, when its new church on the corner of Vine and South Common streets was completed. This was a commodious edifice, although it might not be set down as a triumph in church architecture. On the afternoon of Christmas, 1870, the house took fire from some defect in the heating apparatus, and was consumed. The society immediately set about the task of rebuilding. The corner-stone of the present beautiful structure was laid on the 10th of the following May, and the house was dedicated on the 29th of August, 1872, with appropriate services. It is interesting to note the steps in the evolution of the present house. Each of the five successive structures is a suggestion of the attainment and progress of the people, both in material resources and in some of their religious ideas. The first, plain and bare, without stove or comfortable seats, was not more indicative of the straitened circumstances of the settlers, than of the extreme revolt of the Puritans from the showy, ceremonial, worship of the Anglican church. The Old Tunnel shows something of the returning swing of the pendulum, and in its day was considered quite remarkable as an architectural achievement, and an ornament to the town. In its later years, however, the people became more fastidious in their tastes, and discovered that their historic meeting-house was becoming old-fashioned; soon the name by which it has passed into history was applied in ridicule, and its fate was sealed. Each of the succeeding houses shows progress in the like direction, and was the best the means of the society and the skill of the times could produce. At the beginning, when the membership of the church comprised every family in town, substantially, scattered over the territory of Saugus, Lynnfield, Lynn, Nahant and Swampscott, two pastors were required, who, in comparison with the slender means of the settlers, were given a generous support, though Mather remarks: "The ungrateful inhabitants of Lynn one year passed a vote that they could not allow their ministers above thirty pounds apiece that year for their salary, and behold, God, who will not be mocked, immediatdy caused the town to lose more than three hundred pounds in the single article of their cattle, by one disaster." They were not always so poorly paid, for Mr. Whiting left an estate as good as six thousand dollars, and had, moreover, educated three sons at Harvard. In course of time Mr. Cobbet was translated to Ipswich and Mr. Whiting to heaven, and Rev. Jeremiah Shepherd was called to the pastorate, which office he filled acceptably for many years. It was under his administration that the Old Tunnel was erected, and it did service one hundred and forty-five years. Shortly before his death Rev. Nathaniel Henchman was installed as colleague, and after the death of the aged pastor, continued as sole incumbent of the pastoral office. His pastorate was filled with bitterness and dissatistfaction. He died in 1762. Following him in the pastoral office were Rev. John Treadwell, 1763, Rev. Obadiah Parsons, 1784, Rev. Thomas C, Thacher, 1794, Rev. Isaac Hurd, 1813, Rev. Otis Rockwood, I818, Rev. David Peabody, 1832, Rev. Parsons Cooke, 1836, Rev. James M. Whiton, 1865, Rev. Stephen R. Dennen, 1872, Rev. Walter Barton, 1876, Rev. F. J, Mundy, 1885. At the close of Mr. Shepherd's ministry the church was united and prosperous. From that time until the time of Mr. Rockwood the ancient society had its ups and downs, mostly the latter, and during the pastorate of Mr. Parsons the church was reduced to five male and twenty-one female members, caused by one hundred and eight members of the church, including both deacons, withdrawing and uniting, with others, to form the First Methodist Church. Under Mr. Rockwood's earnest ministry the tide was turned. Numerous additions were made to the church, and its position in the community made much more creditable. In Rev. Parsons Cooke the society and the faith had a strong and earnest champion. He impressed his vigorous personality not only upon the church, but upon the town, and under his leadership the church was placed in good financial condition and its constituency still further enlarged, The Washingtonian temperance movement, the incident of the Comeouters, and the discussions pro and con concerning Methodism, took place during his ministry, and in each of them he bore a memorable part. Like all strong men, he had many devoted friends, and bitter enemies who sought in every way to undermine his influence. He wielded a prolific pen, and aside from its controversial spirit, his history of religious movements in Lynn is both complete and interesting.

     The First Church hive has swarmed six times. First came out the West End or Saugus Church; afterward the church in Lynnfield; then came the secession of the majority of the church to the Methodists; afterward the church in Swampscott was set off from its membership ; and later still, both the Central and North Churches. And aside from this enumeration, as many more have gone singly from its communion to other societies in the place. Despite its years, the Society is still as full of vigor and life as any of its children. A complete history of this church would be a history of the town. In the early years the church organization was substantially the municipal body. During the Quaker discussions, the church was the principal opposing factor. In the days of the Revolution the pastor of the church headed the committee of public safety, and in all the lapse of years no influence has been more potent in shaping the course of events than the old First Church.

     The Central Congregational Church was organized in 1850, chiefly from the membership of the First Church, and their first church building was dedicated, in December of the same year. This building was enlarged and beautified in 1864, and the following year was burned. The present handsome structure was completed in 1868, and is one of the most convenient churches in the city. It is situated on the corner of Silsbee and Mt. Vernon streets, very convenient and accessible, though the rumble of passing trains is sometimes painfully apparent.

     The North Church was formed in 1870, largely from the membership of the First Church, and though youngest among the Congregational churches of the city, is largest in point of membership; and as the section of the city in which it is located is growing more rapidly than any other, it is destined to continue to fill an important place among the churches of Lynn. The pastor, Rev. James L. Hill, has been with the church since 1875, and is the oldest in office of any pastor among the Protestant churches in the city. Mr. Hill was born in a home missionary cabin in Iowa, and graduated from Iowa College in 1871,and in 1875 from Andover Theological Seminary. He immediately assumed the pastorate of this church, to which he had heen previously unanimously called. Under his wise leadership the church has had a steady growth. In 1878 he was chosen by the Legislature to preach tbe election sermon, which was done at the Old South Meeting-House. In 1881 Mr.Hill visited Europe, and in 1883 was chosen to deliver the Alumni oration at his Alma Mater. He was active in promoting the formation of the Associated Charities. As a public speaker, Mr. Hill has few superiors. His relations with his people are of the most cordial nature, and he has declined flattering calls from other places to remain here, it being, as is frequently said, a love-match between him and his people.

     The second meeting-house in Lynn was erected in 1678 for the use of the Society of Friends, and was situated on a spot known as Wolf Hill, on Broad street. It stood in front of the present Friends' burying-ground. where it remained until 1723. The next house was built near the front line of that enclosure. This structure was used until 1816, when it was sold, and a more commodious meeting-house built near the same place, where it remained until 1852, when it was removed to its present location on Silsbee street. The old house passed through various hands, and now serves as an office for the lumber firm of S. N. Breed & Co., on the corner of Beach and Broad streets. Now this location is being improved by the erection of a more commodious structure, and the little historic church will doubtless disappear, though its timbers are as sound as the theology formerly expounded in it. The society at present, though not large as compared with many others, is active and flourishing and, after the custom of the sect, has several ministers, Micajah M. Binford, William O. Newhall and Abigail C. Beede. Recent repairs have much improved the appearance of the church, and in its setting of trees, has a quiet, retired settled look quite appropriate to the oldest church building in use as a church in the city.

     Methodism took early root in Lynn. The Rev. Jesse Lee had introduced this religious system into Connecticut in 1790, establishing a number of classes in the vicinity of Bridgeport. The following year he came to Boston, where for a time he labored, with poor success. Shortly after he came to Lynn, on invitation of Mr. Benjamin Johnson, one of the foremost men of the town. The time was propitious in a marked degree. The dissentions which had crept into the First Church - which, with the Friends' Society, had held the field until that time - caused the many who were dissatisfied with the existing state of things to eagerly welcome any movement which offered them release. Mr. Lee came directly to Mr. Johnson's house, which stood on Market street, on the present site of Exchange building, and there the first Methodist meetings were held, whence the house came to be called the "birthplace of Methodism." Mr. Lee's coming was in February. His first class consisted of eight persons, though hundreds flocked to hear his preaching. A week after, twenty-one were added. In May the number was fifty-one. At that time the class received the sudden addition of one hundred and eight persons, who "sIgned off" from the First Parish. Soon the large dwelling-home of Mr. Johnson became insufficient for the worshippers, and they made his barn their sanctuary. The society became prosperous in the highest degree. Soon the society outgrew the barn, and it was resolved to build a church. The first Methodist meeting-house was built on the site of Lee Hall, and so great was the zeal of the builders that the house was finished so as to be used for worship in twelve days from the commencement of cutting the trees in the forest, but remained innocent of laths and plaster for a long time. This little house had no front entrance, but was approached by a door on each side, and it stood so that its front projected about eight feet into the street, as the lines now run. It served the purposes of the society until 1812 : when the Old Bowery was built, and the little church was removed to West Lynn, where it afterward became the cradle of a Baptist church, and later still passed into the hands of the Catholics. The new church, with numerous additions and alterations, held its place until the present beautiful edifice was completed in 1879. This building is one hundred and twenty-three feet in length and seventy-three in width, with a chapel adjoining, ninetyone feet in length by seventy-three feet in width. The affairs of the parish have always been ably administered, and it is now one of the most prosperous societies in Lynn. Rev. J. D. Pickles is pastor.

     St. Paul's Methodist Church, organized in 1811, was the second Methodist Church in Lynn, and was the first Methodist Church in Massachusetts that was built with a steeple. The comfort of worship for many years varied according to the weather, as no stove was introduced until 1831. In November, 1859, the house was destroyed by fire, but within nine months the house now standing had been finished ready for occupancy. Rev. W. R. Clarke is pastor. The South Street M. E. Church was organized in 1830, and the house now standing was erected the same year. It was originally a plain, substantial edifice without a steeple. The building has been altered and beautified until it is one of the prettiest churches in the city. The pastor is Rev. Samuel Jackson. The Boston Street M. E. Church was organized in 1853, and the church was erected in 1853. The building has been enlarged from time to time, and the church is one of the most active and efficient in the city. Rev. A. McKeown is pastor. The Maple St. M. E. Society was organized in 1851, though religious services had been held in that vicinity for many years. Their church on the corner of Chestnut and Maple streets was dedicated in 1872, and is a very neat and convenient edifice. Rev. W. B. Toulmin is pastor. The African Methodist Episcopal Society, organizecl in 1856, has a very comfortable, though plain, house of worship on Mailey street. Trinity Church, on Tower Hill, is the youngest of the Methodist churches in Lynn, having been formed in 1873 as a mission enterprise. Rev. Alonzo Sanderson was appointed pastor, and still remains with the society. The church edifice on the corner of Boston and Ashland streets was dedicated in 1874. The Methodist Church, both in number of societies and in membership, outnumbers any other denomination in Lynn.

     The First Baptist Society was organized in 1815, but the Baptist belief found lodgment in Lynn very soon after the settlement of the town, not, however, without encountering decided opposition., As early as 1630 we find Joseph Rednap being brought to book because he could not accept the doctrine of infant baptism, and for the same reason Lady Deborah Moody, a most estimable lady, who owned a fine farm in Swampscott, was so beset by the elders of the church that she sold her property and removed to New York, where old Governor Stuyvesant received her hospitably. In 1651 three men, whose names were John Clarke, John Crandall and Obadiah Holmes, came hither from Newport, R. I., in which state a degree of religious liberty, not dreamed of in Massachusetts, was enjoyed. They went to the house of William Witter in Swampscott, where Mr. Clarke preached, and rebaptized Mr. Witter. This being reported to the authorities, two constables went down to Swampscott and arrested them. That night they were kept under guard at the Old Anchor Tavern, and the next day were sent to Boston and imprisoned. Ten day, afterward they were brought before the courts and Mr. Holmes was fined thirty pounds, Mr. Clarke twenty, and Mr. Crandall five. The fines of the two latter were paid, but Mr. Holmes refused to pay his or allow it to be paid, and was retained in prison until September, when he was publicly whipped, receiving thirty stripes on the bare back. The whip was made of three cords with knotted ends, and the record has it that the executioner spat three times on his own hands, that he might honor justice. And in a manuscript left by Governor Joseph Jenks, it is written that "Mr. Holmes was whipped 30 stripes, and in such an unmerciful manner that for many days, if not some weeks, he could not take rest but as he lay upon his knees and elbows, not being able to sufter any part of his body to touch the bed." When he was released, two spectators, John Shaw and John Basel, went up and took hold of his hand to sympathize with him, for which they were fined forty shillings each. William Wittel was made of difterent metal. He was presented at Salem Court for his conncction with the affair, and the following record was made: "William Witter, now comeing in, answered humbly, and confessed his Ignorance, and his willingness to see Light, and (upon Mr. Norris, our Elder, his speech) seemed to be staggered Inasmuch as he came in court meltinglie, sentence- Have called our ordenance of God, a badge of the Whore-on some Lecture day, the next 5th day, being a public fast, To acknowledge his falt, and to ask Mr. Cobbett forgiveness, in saying he spok against his conscience. And enjoined to be heare next court att Salem." After this, the coming of the Quakers and the antics of the witches kept the authorities too busy to attend to minor matters of belief.

     In May, 1815, the First Baptist Society purchased the meeting-house which the Methodist society had vacated, and as if to emphasize the change of sentiment that had taken place, this house was placed on land purchased of the First Congregational Church, in full sight of their own house of worship - the very church which had persecuted the Baptists, and delivered them over to the authorities to be punished, one hundred and sixty-four years before. This building had a checkered career, being last of all occupied by the Catholics, and was burned in 1859. The edifice at present occupied by the society was erected in 1867. It is a commodious and comfortable house. Rev. F. T. Hazlewood is pastor.

     The Second or Washington Street Baptist Society was established in 1851. Services were first held in Union Hall on Union street, and in 1858 the church on High street was dedicated. In 1874 the beautiful church on the corner of Essex and Washington streets was built, which is one of the finest church edifices in town. The pastor is Rev. Benjamin A. Greene. The Third Baptist Society, in Wyoma, was organized in 1858, and services were regularly maintained until 1876. Since then the church has been served by supplies. The East or Fourth Baptist Society was organized April 21, 1874, largely from members withdrawing from the Second Baptist Society at the time the move from High to Washington street was made. The society in the month of October following purchased the church property of the Free Baptist Society on Union street, and is now known as the East Baptist Church. The pastor is Rev. Henry Hinckley. The Union Street Freewill Baptist Church was organized Sept. 7, 1871. After the sale of its church property to the East Baptist Society, the church on High street was purchased, and now the society is in a very prosperous condition. The pastor is Rev. John Malvern.

     The Chestnut Street Church was formed in 1857 by the Baptists, by whom worship was maintained for many years. The church building is now occupied by the Chestnut Street Congregational Society, who have within a year repaired and beautified it, and the society is enjoying a career of prosperity hitherto unknown. Rev. Jay N. Taft is pastor.

     The Second Congregational Society was organized April 5, 1822, and their first house of worship was dedicated the following year. In the summer of 1852 the church edifice on South Common St. was enlarged and remodeled. This is the only Unitarian Society in Lynn. Rev. Samuel B. Stewart is pastor.

     The First Universalist Society was formed in 1833, though Universalism had been preached in Lynn alternately since 1811. For three years services were held in the Town Hall, and in 1835 the society built a church on Union street, near Silsbee. In 1850 this house was enlarged and re-dedicated, and in 1864, to meet the growing demands of the society, the house was again enlarged. The corner-stone of the church on Nahant street was laid in May, 1872, and the church was dedicated Sept. 18, 1873. The tower was not completed until 1886. The cost of the church and site was $140,000. It is one of the finest church structures in New England, and an ornament to the town. This church has had a remarkable growth, and has had some very able men as pastors. In point of membership and the number of people directly and indirectly connected with it, it is the largest Universalist church in the world, so far as is known. The Sunday school numbers upwards of seven hundred. Rev.James M. Pullman, D. D., pastor of the church, is one of the most prominent clergymen of his denomination in the country. He was born at Portland, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., August 21, 1836, and graduated from St. Lawrence Divinity School, Canton, N. Y., in 1860. During the succeeding eight years, he was pastor of the First Universalist Church, Troy, and from there he went to the Church of Our Saviour, New York city, where he remained until he was called to Lynn in 1885. During this long pastorate of seventeen years, he made a reputation, not only in the pulpit, but in all the departments of church work, which placed him in the front rank of American ministers of the Gospel. He has a marked talent for organization, and in this line he has achieved some of his most pronounced successes. During his pastorate in New York, the Church of Our Saviour was erected. He was the organizer and first president of the Young Men's Universalist Association in New York city, and has been prominently connected with the leading educational institutions of his denomination in New York. Since his residence in Lynn, his church, always a strong and active organization, has largely extended its influence, and his strong personality is felt in each line of effort put forth by the society.

     The Second Universalist Church was formed in 1836, and in 1839 it purchased the church on the corner of So. Common and Commercial streets, formerly the Old Tunnel, which they still occupy. Rev. John C. McInerney is pastor.

     The Christian Church was organized in 1835. The first church was built the same year on the south side of Silsbee street, next to the railroad bridge. In 1840 the present church was built, and in 1880 this was remodeled and the tower added. Rev. A. A. Williams is the pastor, having been with the society since 1877.

     For two hundred years after its settlement, the Episcopal system found the New England atmosphere uncongenial. An attempt was made to form a church here in 1819. Services were continued in the Lynn Academy for some two years, when they were abandoned. In 1834 a society was formed, which took the name of Christ Church. Occasional services were held during that year, and regular service was begun on the first Sunday of January, 1835, at Liberty Hall. These services were continued, with little interruption, for two years, and July 20, 1837, a church edifice which had been erected during the year was consecrated. This modest structure on North Common street, between Franklin ayenue and Hanover street. Meetings were maintained until 1841. In 1844 a reorganization was effected. The name now borne by the society adopted, and the church edifice erected in 1837 was bought. This house served the purposes of the society until the present beautiful structure was consecrated in 1881. This edifice was the gift to the society of Hon. E. Redington Mudge, as a memorial of his son, Charles Redington, a lieutenant-colonel in the Union forces, who was killed at Gettysburg, and his daughter, Fanny Olive, who died July 3, 1879. The cornerstone had been laid on the 19th of May, 1880, and in its construction and furnishing nothing was spared that could add to its beauty and completeness. The walls are constructed of reddish-brown sandstone, with facings of brick. The style of architecture gives a happy combined effect of massive solidity and graceful outline. Viewed from whatever point one may approach it, the impression received is pleasing and inspiring, and St. Stephen's Church of Lynn has come to be reckoned among the famous churches of the country. The interior is very beautiful. Our view is taken from the rear of the main audience-room, looking toward the chancel.

     Mr. Mudge, at whose hand the society received this costly and beautiful trust, was a son of Rev. Enoch Mudge, a native of Lynn, but for many years resident in Orrington, Maine. His business talent was of the highest order, and he used his large fortune as a trust to be administered for the benefit of his fellow-men and the city of his adoption. His mental qualities were such as to easily place him allong the foremost in any company. He enjoyed the esteem and respect of his neighbors and friends in a marked degree. The building of St. Stephen's was regarded by him, and proved to be, the crowning work of his life. The work was pushed forward with his whole energy, that his wife, who was an invalid and not expected to long survive, might witness its completion. But on Saturday, October 1, just as the work was nearly done, he was taken ill, before noon had died, and his own funeral was the first service held in the nearly completed church.

     Rev. Frank Louis Norton, D, D., is the Rector of St. Stephen's Parish. Dr. Norton was born in Norwich, Conn., and received his education in the public school, and at Trinity College, and the Berkeley Divinity School. He began his ministry as the assistant to the Rector of St. Thomas' Church, New York, and has been himself Rector of the Church of Our Saviour, Longwood, St. John's Church, Troy, and for the three years previous to his coming to Lynn was Dean of the Cathedral at Alhany,N. Y. He received his degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1884. Always fond of literary pursuits, he has published the "Priest's Book" and "The Excepts of Our Lord." both of which ran through two editions. As a preacher he is earnest and scholarly, and has always drawn large congregations. Under his ministry the church is enjoying great prosperity.

     The Church of the Incarnation was organized in 1885 as an offshoot from St. Stephen's Parish, For the first few months the society worshipped in Templars' Hall on Market street. On the 25th of September the corner-stone of a new church on the corner of Broad and Estes streets was laid with impressive ceremonies, Bishop Paddock and other leading clergymen assisting, and on the 21st of the February following the congregation met for worship for the first time in the beautiful stone chapel. The work on the church will go forward as rapidly as possible. While the society were still worshipping as a mission, a call was extended to Rev. John L. Egbert of Vineland, N. J., and accepted by him. Though yet a comparatively young man, Mr. Egbert had achieved a reputation as an energetic and efficient worker. He is a native of Missouri, though most of his early life was spent in Kentucky. He completed his education at Kenyon College, in Ohio, and afterward studied law, being admitted to the bar in 1870; but a year later he abandoned that profession to prepare himself for the ministry, and graduated from the General Theological Seminary in New York in 1874, and was admitted to the priesthood in 1875. From the time of his graduation until October, 1876, he served as assistant minister of Christ Church Parish of Springfield, having special charge of the Church of the Good Shepherd, on the west bank of the river. From 1876 to 1881 he was Rector of St. Peter's Parish at Bainbridge, Conn., and during that time the church was enlarged and beautified and greatly strengthened in numbers. In the latter year he went to Vineland, N. J., where during the next four years he organized a strong society, and secured the building and furnishing of a beautiful stone church. He entered upon his work in Lynn with the same consecration and energy, and the results of his labors are already apparent. The Parish of the Incarnation has an ample field in the eastern section of the city, and a future full of promise.

     The first Catholic services were held in Lynn in the year 1835, and there after at intervals, in various private houses, until 1848. In that year Rev. Charles Smith was appointed to the charge of Chelsea and Lynn, who fitted up a small school-house near the Arcade for church purposes. He was succeeded in 1851 by Rev. Patrick Strain, the present Rector of St. Mary's Church. In 1854 the little church was enlarged, but in 1859 was burned, and for two years the services were held in Lyceum Hall, which stood on the site of Odd Fellows' block. St. Mary's Church was built in 1861, and was at that time the finest church structure in Lynn. The society have now a large and valuable property, extending through from South Common to Tremont street,. St. Joseph's Church on Union street was begun in 1875, and has but lately been finised. It is a large and handsome gothic structure, costing upwards of $75,000. Rev. J. C. Harrington is pastor.

     The following table contains the churches in Lynn in the order in which they were organized:

First Church Friends' Church First M. E. Church St. Paul's M. E. Church First Baptist Church Second Congregational (Unitarian) Church Maple Street Methodist Society South Street M. E. Church First Universalist Society St. Mary's Catholic Church Christian Church St. Stephen's Episcopal Second Universalist Church Central Congregational Church Washington Street Baptist Church Boston Street M. E. Church African M. E. Church Third Baptist Church (Wyoma) Chestnut Street Church North Congregational Church Freewill Baptist Church Trinity M. E. Church East or Fourth Baptist Society St. Joseph's Catholic Church Church of the Incarnation, Episcopal

1632 1698 1791 1811 1816 1822 1829 1830 1833 1835 1835 1836 1836 1850 1852 1853 1856 1858 1868 1870 1871 1873 1874 1875 1885

     Lynn has, accordingly, one church to each eighteen hundred inhabitants. The time has gone by when people were haled to court if they would not attend service in the church, and those who nodded a sleepy assent to sermons which they could not keep awake to hear were rudely awakened by a prod from the pole of the tithingman. Nevertheless the churches in Lynn afford ample accommodation for all who may desire to worship, and in the nine denominations represented it would seem that all shades of religious belief might find agreeable surroundings. Most of the churches are situated on the "fayre plaine" which lies in semi-circular form around the central cliff, and are for the most part convenient to the principal centres of population. Nearly all have bells, the St. Stephen's tower containing a fine chime placed there within the year, and the mellow harmony of the vesper calls are still "borne on the evening winds across the crimson twilight," even as they were carried in days gone by to the summer home of Longfellow at Nahant, calling into being the following beautiful lines :

          O curfew of the setting sun! O Bells of Lynn!
          O requiem of the dying day! O Bells of Lynn!

          From the dark belfries of yon cloud-cathedral wafted,
          Your sounds aerial seem to float, O Bells of Lynn!

          Borne on the evening wind across the crimson twilight,
          O'er land and sea they rise and fall, O Bells of Lynn!

          The fisherman in his boat, far out beyond the headland,
          Listens, and leisurely rows ashore, O Bells of Lynn!

          Over the shining sands the wandering cattle homeward
          Follow each other at your call, O Bells of Lynn!

          The distant lighthouse hears, and with his flaming signal
          Answers you, passing the watchword on, O Bells of Lynn!

          And down the darkening coast run the tumultous surges,
          And clap their hands, and shout to you, O Bells of Lynn!

          Till from the shuddering sea, with your wild incantations,
          Ye summon up the spectral moon, O Bells of Lynn!

          And startled at the sight, like the wierd woman of Endor,
          Ye cry aloud, and then are still, O Bells of Lynn!