The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1915-10-19
A Trip to the Oldest Church in
This Country.

there for century and a half. Go
there thousand years from now and
you will see it. Yes sir, we look at It.
and the longer we look, the higher ir
seems to aim. We stand there ana
gaze in its direction till we are tired.
We want to see what it's like. We
think we have seen something like
it or could make it. But we haven't.
No We couldn't make one like it
either. Its a type of the orig
inal, the one designed by the
Almighty Himself, the one on which
His son Jesus was crucified more
than ninteen hundred years ago, ana
in it's presence you lose sight OF your
own personality. Plain as day-just
as it was after the din of battle, and
exactly the same as when Corvallis
soldiers under Col. Macarthur used
it as a hospital-this church stands
its every day the same. We get
right up at it, we forget who we are
we don't care anything about that.
What we wan is to see what there is
to be so we take little view Of the
cross up yonder. 1t is just so long
from where it leaves the top to it's ex-
tremity- piece that traverses tho
horizontal shaft is the very same at
both ends there's no difference. Open
ing the door and going inside we
come to a spot where some of our
great great grandfathers worshipped
We see the nails they drove with
their own hands, and the benches
grand mothers sat with old gray
bonnet covered heads and eagerly
listened to the truth as it was told
in the good old days. Yes, and we
see the spot where they kneeled
down away back yonder in seventeen
sixty-eight when they dedicated it to
Him-the great Rector of all the
churches in the world, and in that
holy hush we pay homage to those
who preceded us. There is no pull
pit. You could not make a gold one
and carry it inside. The main object
is to keep it as it is-the very heart
of longleaf pine. If a board decays
there is another put in its place, mai,
ed just precisely where the other
was; and so complete is the job
that you couldn't tell that any change
had been made. Going outside where
the tombs are almost too thickly
MI en- or oil II
them and take few inscriptions
They are absolutely all round the
building everywhere. over at the
gate under brick mound is the
Of the 71th Scotch Regiment in the
Revolution. He was second in COM
mand of Corvallis army at Cow
pens and Guilford Courthouse His
last resting place is marked with
birch tomb On the south side is the
first Confederate monument ever err
ected. We go there and look at it, it
: unlike any others and takes first
honor in keeping alive the deeds, and
memory of the men who served In
the Confederate army. Near the from,
of the church we find the grave Of
Captain Daniel Elkins who was cap
tain of the first steamship that ever
crossed the Atlantic Ocean. At the
back we find the grave of Alexander
Gregg who was the first Bishop OF
Texas. He was rector of this churcn
when he received this appointment
Then we are attracted by the tomb
OF Chief Justice Henry McIver rign,
about in the path of the skirmish O,
Gen. Logan of the Federal army ano
Gen. Hardee of the Confederate on
March 3rd 1865 and here we find tn.
last resting place of about fifty Con-
federates who fell. Directly in front,
the largest, the one bringing tears to
the dryest eyes is where fifty English
soldiers, after dying in the church
while it served as a hospital, are
buried in one grave. We move over
10 the corner OF the church yard and
view the place where Mr.. William
Robbins-the great philanthropistl
whose old home was in Boston
sleeps his last sleep On his tomb
we read the eptaph written by his
own hand, | get down on my knees
and read every word. ! am careful
10 get in every word and mark them
just like he made them:
My name M country what are
they to thee.
whether high or low M