In July, 1776, the Congress, having declared the independence of America, ordered the Commonwealth to be prayed for, instead of the King and royal family. All the loyal episcopal churches north of the Delaware were shut up, except those under the protection of the British army, and one in Newtown, in Connecticut, of which last the Rev. Mr. John Beach was the rector, whose gray hairs, adorned with loyal and christian virtues, overcame even the madness of the _Sober Dissenters_. This faithful disciple disregarded the congressional mandate, and, praying for the King as usual, they pulled him out of his desk, put a rope about his neck, and drew him across the Osootonoc River at the tail of a boat, to cool his loyal zeal, as they called it; after which the old confessor was permitted to depart, though not without prohibition to pray longer for the King. But his loyal zeal was insuperable. He went to church and prayed again for the King, upon which the _Sober Dissenters_ again seized him, and resolved upon cutting out his tongue; when the heroic veteran said: “If my blood must be shed, let it not be done in the house of God.” The pious mob then dragged him out of the church, laid his neck upon a block, and swore they would cut off his head, and insolently cried out: “Now, you old devil, say your last prayer!” He prayed thus: “God bless King George, and forgive all his and my enemies.” At this unexpected and exalted display of christian patience and charity the mob so far relented as to discharge him, and never molest him afterwards for adhering to the liturgy of the Church of England and his ordination-oath; but they relaxed not their severities towards the other clergymen, because, they said, younger consciences are more flexible. I cannot conclude this work without remarking what a contrast to the episcopal clergy of Connecticut, and especially the illustrious examples of the venerable Beach and Peters, was offered to many of those that were in the provinces south of the Delaware! In Connecticut, where they suffered everything but death for tenaciously adhering to their ordination-oaths, there some of them, with more enlarged consciences, were not ashamed to commit perjury in prayer and rebellion in preaching. Though, be it remembered, these expressions were decent when compared with those of the fanatics in New-England. The following prayer, used by them before Congress after the declaration of independence, is likely to gratify the curiosity of my readers. It brought the clergymen into disgrace merely by its moderation: