Middletown transcript., 1868-02-15
Original grtitles,.. +.
- For 9e Aiddlstosen Transcsri;pt.
A Word About n. Arr,s." :" '"'i

In these days, when pulpit eloquence,
and clerical polisics are so highly valued, !,
oftentimes at the expense of more desirable
gifts when churches rebuilt by contract,
and paid for by money raised by fairs and
amusements when rich men give grudg-,
ingly a pittanee of their thousands ) and
needy pastors are. months behindhand in
their salaries and when yet, spite Of these
evidencesof laggard christianity, and leth-
argic religion, the histories of old churches
| are, eagerly inquired into, and all matter
CONCERNING them is read with interest, q
| few words about old st. AIMS may not be
amissil i3iu yHoa-lt II aus aaf 4i sg4Lo
The Middletonians scarcely seem to re-
! ahze their privileges in worshiping in one
| ofthe oldest churches in the Unions and
there is. little reason to suppose that the
past generations rated their blessings more
highly, since many points of interest, in
| the history of old Appoquinimink Parish,
have been allowed to fade altogether from
memory, or at best are handed down by
| doubtful traditions. What fields of spec
| ulation are, opened to us, % as We wander
around the old enclosure, searching vainly
| for some trace of the original building, or
! seeking to settle satisfactorily to our own
! minds the exact cite of the ancient walls.i
No traces are to be fonnd, but tradition
| tells us, that the first church was erected
! in 1906 on mound due east Of the present
edifiee :; and the workmen engaged in dig
ging the foundations of the yestibule now
used, found and rebuilt on portion of the
ancient foundations, thus partially fixing
the site of the original building. islA :
Little Of the past of st. AIMS is now
| certainly known however;a = we are told it
was originally mission church during
Queen Ahne's reign, and that this good
queen presented to her namesake hand
some crimson velvet altar cloth, q small
piece of which marked with her initials,
still remains framed at the parsonage, to
prove that SO far at least, fact is not foun-
| ded merely upon conjecture. The second
| and present edifce is supposed to- have
been built sixty-three years later, of brick
! imported from England, but wondermcnt
| vainly questions who first raised the sounds
of prayer and prase among the echoes of
Appoquinimink creek. No mound marks
the first pastors last resting-place, no stone
commentaries his early works and trials,
and the mind can find no tangible data
wherewith to fill the ehasm, which makes
all history herela thing of tho past. The
| imagination may bridgeiit over with ro-
nances fed by the odors of antiquity which
hnger around the spot, but after all, it
was, it is, almost the sum total of our
knowledge. .E5rih ri -ge'I redf. 5sl "a
Evenmere passers-by, unacquaintedw with
the extraordinary interest which attaches to
the old church, could scarcely fail to note
\ the air of mystery which environs it.
| Seemingly the guardian of the town, as it
stands on the only ridge of rising ground
within miles, the same ridge which the
| English Committee, sent to examine the
colonies, accustomed to flats and levels, de-
scribed as a g huge mountain, y the old
stone walls seem pregnant with secrets of
the past, all guarded sacrcdly from worldly
ken by the little gilt cross which surmounts
the entrance. The ivy ciinging to its
walls is of real English growth, transplant
ted from the mother soil by our sainted
Bishop Doane. .,...5a' .l.a.-,,i. D. ..
! A lordly oak spreads out its branches,
pointing the way to the sanctuary, as if
the spirits Of the early dead were watching
somewhere in its hollows, and with out
1 stretched arms, were forever tutoring q
silent benediction ON the old walls which
had formerly sheltered them. In sum
ner the leaves rustic, and the creek which
washes the base of the hill murmurs q
reply, and the old tree nods'in the breeze,
as il it approved of ftwhat they were saying,
and it shakes its branches at the straggler,
beekoning him to come and interpret the
language Of nature, and enjoy the lost his
tories Of former generations 4 Into fancy's
ear may then softly be whispered the tale
Of the first baptism, when the sins of the
little one were washed away ere committed,
and the prayers of the congregation gath
cred from far and from near, to welcome
the lamb to the fold, arose as incense from
the shadows Of the old tree to the blue
| vault beyond. Fancy may learn the fur,
thef history of the child. as maturing into
manhood, the gathering years found it
ready to renewlits baptsmDal vows; and
the old oak and the rippling waters may
even tell of later VOWS more softly spoken,
and heard only by ono chosen one. 1T
would seem that the old tree itself loved
4 these associations, and We may readily
/ imagine that more than one amorous swain
has stolen his first kiss beneath its qniy-
| ering shadows How the birds iwould
| twitter then, and the leaves tremble with
joy, and how the top would sway to catch
. glimpse Of the happy faces beneath, and
telegraph it to the creek. and how the
! waters would gush and ripple along, break
ing into snatches of praise for the heaven
! born love, which had brought peace and
joy to two youthful hearts. llPerhapsfancy
might.eveni hear of the last honors paid by
the same love, years later, 10 earthly de-
/ cay; when one of this happy pair whdin
youth uttered their wooing beneath the
tree, or perchanee pressed hands furtiYely
at the ehancel rail; was laid in her allotted
1 portionlof ground, leaving no consolation
save the same voice which had ionce rus