The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1866-11-08
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ADAH AMID THE RUINS
(CoNCLUpED.).

It is no difficult undertaking TO Vlslt ana observe
tho runs of Charleston oil in one day, but to write
a. readable description Of even the principal ones
in a. snace suitable for O mornings paper, ls quite
another matter In the desire to save room one
onoits intentionally much matter that might be in
taraating, andn SO doing is apt to forget to insert
Some ots which afe essential to the completeness
~ the narrative. For this reason the last few par
agraphs Of our first article were TO M our
satisfaction, and We now beg our readers to re-
trace their imaginary course for square or so, IN
order m thatth oioarone may eexpatiate at some
what more length On = - - -
Il was here that in December, 1850, was held the
Convention Of tho People Of South Carolina that
passed the famous Ordinance of escession,a We
shall never forget the scene when we first heard it i
announced that South Carolina was an independent
State, The First Rifle Regiment was being pa
raded on the sohutzen Platz by it's lalnented COM
1nander, J. y. PErr1qaEw, who was afterwards
Confederate Bgigadier, and fell at Falling Waters.
Colonel PRrueREw formed his men in a. a hollow
sn1lsre and read them the ordinance, which was re-
ceiyed with the greatest enthusiasm. Few OF tne
men, had any just comprehension OF the result OF
The net for which they were shurrahing, butthelr
colonel did, for ii speech which be made to them
on assuming command Of the regiment short
time before: he had said that hS wantod none but
fighting men; That it was mistake to suppose
that the North would allow peaceable SECESSION;
that the war which was about to be Inauguration
would extend from Virginia to Missouri, and would
be Of magnitude to give every truo patriot
place in the picture. The mon had hurrahed to
thakalso. and some had cried out that that was
Just what they wanted, but in honest truth there
were precious few Of them; according to tho best OF
our recollection who did not think that the Colonel
was talking aigroat deal Of nonsense. Is
But we are wandering far away from st. An
drews Hall, which in it's origin had nothing to do
With the politics of this country, but was built by
the ST. Andrews Society, an association Of Scotch
gentlemen and their descendants, who were desi-
rous, by social Interchange Of thought and feeling
and by deeds Of charity, TO keep alive the memory
and love Of their fatherland. .jza=i.
1t is one Of the oldest and most respectable So
cietes ia the State, and despite the loss OF their
hall and the other calamities Of the war, the sur
viying members still continue to fulfill the noble
purposes Of the organization.
The portion Of the Burnt District next in interest
lies along Meeting street, between Queen and Mar
ket streets. Its interest howeger. liesr " the
things shat have been than In thoHe Eat are.rtle
only ruin II any size ii the neishbofheod being
that I .''t q tae ornoD1Ah i onunon.
This lis, perhaps, the most picturesque in the
bly, The lofty columns Of it's portico and it's cir
oular wals that once supported magnificent
dome, resemble, in their decay, Che Pantheon OF
Rome while. the vacant arches Of the windows,
while they diminish the resemblance, increase the
ACTUAL beauty of the ruin. AS in the case of st.
Finbar's Cathedral, q commodious chapel IN the
rear shows that this is not the permanent ruin
worked by time, but tho effect of on accident that
the spirit Of the century will soon ehace and that
wo may expect hereafter to see new church, moro
striking and moro beautiful than tho ono that was
DESTROYED. In this case the chapel has been erected
from the material Of the old church, which we re-
gard as another evidence that the ruin is Of somo
future day to be replaced by nm entirely new build
ing, Next to the Circular Church on the south are
the foundations of four walls, enclosing large OBJ
long space, which are Ill that now romain Of
INSTITUTE HALL.
In our boyish days the industrial fairs, for which
it was built, wero it's greatest features; but the
floral fair for the benefit of the Calhoun Monument
Association, which was held there, was q maggnif-
cent succe IS, and the most beautiful thing of the
kind that we over saw. College comm enoements,
Ethiopian fnnstres, concerts,i panoramaa Jug
glers' exhibitions, and public meetings OF various
kinds, are among tho sconos .conjured up by
memory as having transpirodill that hall but tho
impressions which they created wero indstinct,
uncertain and vanishing, Like those made by dis
solving viows. There, arc two s6enes, however, of
later lifo belonging to the Institute Hal, that
stand before minds eye in bold relief. The
first is a session Of tho Democratic Convention OF
1860. It was an assemblage OF marked mon, and
many OF the laccs especially those Of South Caro-
linans, were familiar to us but thoro were three
or four figures that struck us at the time as dis
tinguished from the rest, and which, we think, we
would know again wherever VIC saw thom. These
were CALEB CUSHING of Massachusetts, President
of tho Convention whose commanding figure,
stern face and calm deneanor, wore tho porsoni-
flcation of dignity BENJAMIN T. BUT1RR, from tho
same State, whom VIC remember as boing bald on
the crown of his hoad fat and pursy, but
ill-shapod, and having thick sonsual features;
CLARK, of Missouri, and Gw1NN, thon or afterwards
Senator from California, both athlotic representa-
tive Western u1en, and q very large man with tre-
mendously long hair and beard, who was pointed out
to us as Col CHAs. MAY, tho cavalry officer who
distinguished himself i'll tho Mexican war. Those,
with some dozen or more others, wore all on the
floor at once trying to get Che car Of tho Convon
tion, when tho hammer Of tho Speaker and his
calm, clear voice, sThe member from Missouri has