The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-02-18


 vestry assessed each man in the coun- ty certain amount of tobacco, which he was compelled by law to pay whether he attended the church or not.
 One of the pews was dedicated to the use of the county magistrate, justice of the peace and sheriff, who filed sol emnly in of 0 Sunday with all the dig nifty befitting the upholders of the law. Opposite, and facing the pulpit, is the largest pew in the church, whose size equals that of a ball room It has seats around all four sides. Its backs are nearly five feet high and were for merly surmounted by brass rods, which held thick damask curtains, so that even when standing those inside could neither see nor be seen.
 This pew, our guide informed us, be- longed to Robert Carter (which he pro nounced Ky-arter, with that delightful inimitable Virginian accent), who was | commonly called King" on account of his great wealth and social impor- tance. He owned three hundred thou sand acres of land and three thousand negroes and is one of the best-known | characters of early days. He was treasurer of the colony for many years, | governor, speaker of the house of bur gesses and president of the council in | 1726.
 l He, it seems, was the builder of the church. In the vestry book his name comes before even that of the minister. The whole north side of the building was given up flor all time to come" to | hn Of h; ,;e ,tc d. ents, and none of the congregation ever thought of entering the church until the Carter coach had arrived, and King" Garter and his family had taken their places. The aisles are | formed of massive pieces of freestone and are as solid and smooth to-day as | when they were first laid, nearly two hundred years ago. The original com | munion service is preserved in good condition. It is of silver and was brought over from England.
 | Under the pulpit is placed for safe keeping a relic of unusual interest ir | the shape of an old cedar dial post which formerly stood outside the door On it is still legible the name of Johr | Carter and the date of 1702 This post was one of the relics of the older church. which had been built by Johr Carter, father of the King" One oi the tombs which were moved from the older church is in memory of this Johr Carter and his wives, of whom there seems to have been goodly number The epitaph mentions no less than thu appalling sum of five, who, it adds were all his wives successively ant died before him." This tomb bears th' date 1869. In the center of the build ing is flat slab let into the stone Hoo just at the crossing of the aisles This, legend says, was placed there il memory of plasterer, who fell whil working on the lofty dome and wa killed on the spot.
 Outside is the little graveyard whicl all old churches have, with here an, | there the gleam of a marble slab O headstone showing through the cling ing masses of ivy and periwinkl which cover it. King" Carter's tomb originally very massive and handsome with the Carted coat-of-arms cut upol 1t, is now broken and defaced and lie in fragments. Much of it has beel carried off by relic hunters. Severa years ago a gang of men, believing tn tradition that King" Carter had beel buried with many of his diamonds ant other jewels upon him, broke an entir' side off the massive tomb and dug ul the coffin. This act aroused the peo pie of the neighborhood to such an ex tent that had the thieves been caught there is small doubt but that the. would have been put forthwith int, King Carter's place. For man. years services were held in the churcl only once year, but of late even thi has been discontinued, and the olt building would have been left to tn mercy of the clements, but for the in terest recently awakened in it.--Phila dalnhin rTimaS