The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-10-27
CHARLESTON FROM THE SEA.
a Sudden Transition to q Southern Scene
Local characteristics.
From the Ne,p York Evening Post.

standing all the many and various
kinds of craft that come into her har,
bor. She knows that Oshe is fair te
look upon with that tender light en-
folding her, and that she renders her
self far more interesting by not dis
playing all her charms at once. Lit,
tie by little she rises bodily from the
water, and this juiicious reserve ex'
cites deep interest in the beholder.
If the adventurous voyager got over
the Bar after nightfall he would be
guided up the harbor by the range
light in St. Philips steeple, one Of
the few, if not the only harbor light
on the coast that is located in a
Church steeple and kept trimmed and
burning by a Church sexton,u the
identical sexton that ushers strang'
ers up the aisle on Sundays and per.
forms other dignifed duties connected
with his office. When the officer in
charge of the government works in
Charleston harbor first broached the
matter of making the steeple a light
house the vestry demurred. 1t was q
benevolent, kindly purpose, but il
was secular withal; might it not be
putting their rerered tabernacle tc
undignifed use? The proposition
was without precedent. Ihecgovern
ment's representative urged on their
consideration the fact that the steeple
was just in the exact spot where q
range light, was needed; the sexton
should tend the light. Everything
should be done to preserve the digni'
ty and placidity Of the ancient struc'
ture, and, indeed, to improve or re-
pair it should occasion require. With
these stipulations vouched for, the
consent Of the parishioners was gained
Honored old st. Philips! She had
been 'sjust in range line" before
when hostile vessels picked her out
for a target. Daring the lombard
ment the beseigers always avowed that
they aimed at her spire, and when this
government light was being arranged
for, three years ago, shell, unex
ploded, was found iu q part Of the
woodwork.
It is, perhaps, these unexplodeo
shells that Charleston still harbors IL
her bosom, all against her will though
it be, that makes old Sumter look sc
glum and interpretive, SO almost
tragic, even on a sunny day, despite
the air Of domessicitv impaired by the
newly painted cottage of the keeper
and the tufts Of grass that grow above
her walled-in parade ground. For
Moultrie, opposite, pillowed on the
white sands Of Sullivan's s Island, look:
benign, almost cheerful. Street cars
jingle past its door, the sound Of chill
dren's voices reaches it from thu
beach below, and nearby houses shell
ter families long since reconstructed
Sumter has none of these soothing
everyday Influences. Apart, out
there in the harbor, self-centered OF
her single isle, that affords no inch o.
foothold to friend or foe, she looks
impregnable still and in no mood to bt
trifed with, in reality, though, she il
not so formidable as she looks, fol
nearly all Of, the ordnance that playee
such significant part three decades
ago has been removed, and the new
magazines and other appliances Of wal
that have been placed there since are
only half completed.
''There is nothing at Fort Sumter
now" says the government officia
who is in charge of the harbor. Gas
far as is possible, all traces Of the
fight in the early sixties have beer
taken away or covered up, and the
work of renovation and outftting, be-
gun twenty years ago, at the time Of
the Yirginius war scare, was left in 6
very crude condition.
The government does not say so
because work on the coast defenses
just now must be carried on with Sc
crecy, but rumor has it that in the
near future Fort Sumter will be fttec
out in no equivocal fashion, and that
hundreds of thousands Of dollars vii
be devoted to the work. Situated
just as she is, she is important, anc
as much pains will be taken with hel
as are expended on the new mortar
and rife batteries Oh Sullivan s Is
land.
If tradition may be trusted, (ano
surely tradition that comes straight
down from father to son is as much tc
be counted on as history, even though
it is never set down in print) Fort