wi' vull hearts do zend ee
the dootivul an' loyal affecshuns o' th' Society o' Darset Men
in Lon'on. In starm or zunsheen thee ca'st allus rely on our
vull-heart'd zympathy an' suppwort. Zoo wi'out any mwore ham-chammy
we ageen raise our cyder cups to ee, wi' th' pious pray'r on our
lips that Heaven ull prosper ee, an' we assure ee that Darset Men
ull ever sheen as oone o' th' bright jools in yer Crown. I d' bide,
az avoretime, an' vor all time, Thy Vaithful Sarvint,

SHAFTESBURY (President o' Darset Men in Lon'on)."

In the porch of the church lies the "Patriarch of Dorchester," John
White, Rector of Holy Trinity, who died in 1648 and who seems to have
kept the town pretty well under his own control. A Puritan, he
incurred the hatred of Prince Rupert's followers, who plundered his
house and carried away his papers and books. He escaped to London and
was for a time Rector of Lambeth, afterwards returning to Dorchester.
He raised money for the equipment of emigrants from Dorchester to
Massachusetts and thus became one of the founders of New England.
Inside the church the Hardy tablet to the left of the door is in
memory of the ancestor of both that Admiral Hardy who was the friend
of Nelson and the great novelist whose writings have been the means of
making "Dear Do'set" known to all the world. The monument of Lord
Holles is remarkable for a comic cherub who is engaged in wiping his
tears away with a wisp of garment; the naivete of the idea is amusing
in more ways than one. Another curious monument, badly placed for
inspection, is that of Sir John Williams. The so-called "crusaders"
effigies are thought to be of a later date than the last crusade; no
inscriptions remain, so that they cannot be identified. The curfew
that still rings from St. Peter's tower is an elaborate business.
Besides telling the day of the month by so many strokes after the ten
minutes curfew is rung, a bell is tolled at six o'clock on summer
mornings and an hour later in the winter. Also at one o'clock midday
to release the workers of the town for dinner.

Holy Trinity Church was destroyed in the great fire. Another
conflagration in 1824 removed its successor. The present building only
dates from 1875 and is a fairly good Victorian copy of Early English.
All Saints' was rebuilt in 1845. It retains the canopied altar tomb of
Matthew Chubb (1625) under the tower. The organ here was presented by
the people of Dorche