Mr. Dobbins died on the 29th of May, 1804, at Columbia, S. C., aged seventy-one years; leaving, as his will expresses it, "all his estate, real and personal, consisting of one hundred and seventy-six shares in the Bank of South Carolina, together with other property amounting to six thousand dollars or thereabouts, to the poor and distressed widows, supported by the bounty of Doctor Kearsley, in Christ Church Hospital."

Thus, through the pious munificence of two individuals, one of the most useful benevolent institutions in our country, has been amply endowed, and the declining years of many a poor and aged widow, have been rendered comfortable and happy. "Blessed is the man that provideth for the sick and needy; the Lord shall deliver him in the time of trouble."

29

ARCHITECT'S LETTER.

Referred to in page 247.

To the Committee on the alteration of Christ Church. Gentlemen,

In compliance with your request, I have examined Christ Church, with reference to the proposed alteration of the gallery into 32 slip-pews, and find it practicable without altering the present appearance of the church. It will be necessary to strengthen the gallery by trussing the front on the inside; this may be accomplished without removing the panneling on the outside. In its present situation I think it unsafe; it has already yielded to the superincumbent weight, and the deflection of the timbers composing the front is evident.

The galleries were originally supported by additional columns; these should not have been removed without substituting some other support. The aforesaid alteration of the pews and strengthening of the galleries, will cost four hundred dollars. This estimate does not include cutting down the front of the galleries, which I think would not be necessary in so partial an alteration. If the fronts of the side galleries be made lower, the organ gallery must also be altered in the same manner; all which would cost fifty dollars additional.

You further requested me to suggest such other improvements as would tend to the comfort of the congregation, and the beauty of the house. This to me is by no means an unpleasant duty, as I have often looked with regret at the many innovations on the original purity of the architecture of Christ Church; and it affords me pleasure to think that there is some hope of its restoration to its pristine beauty,

1. First. I suggest that the organ be moved to within three feet of the west wall, the attic gallery taken away, and the bellows placed in the steeple; the gallery for the choir reduced in width, and so arranged as not to mar the harmony of the original architecture; and the stairs to the organ gallery from the steeple made more convenient. The organ at present being so far from the walls of the house, and the space behind it being broken up with the bellows gallery, the effect of the music is much injured; it is also impolitic to have so many of the best pews in the house covered with the organ gallery.

2. The whole architectural effect of the interior is injured by the hanging of the galleries to those beautiful Doric columns. I therefore recommend that the whole of the galleries be taken down and rebuilt, so as to be lower at the front than they are at present; and to clear the large columns, they may be supported from said columns by means of strong cast iron brackets, so fixed in the gallery front, as not to be seen. This arrangement will produce 36 comfortable slippews in the galleries, exclusive of ample accommodations for the choir.

3. I propose that all the old pews on the principal floor of the church be removed, and 132 new slippews substituted; these should be constructed with reference to the comfort and convenience of the congregation, the backs should be made not more than three feet high above the floor, and to deviate from a perpendicular line in the same manner as the back of an ordinary chair; the seats should incline back so as to make the pews comfortable.

4. I recommend that the whole church be floored and carpeted; the stones in the aisles may remain where they now are, and be covered with the floor; should any of the relatives of the deceased wish the stones to appear, they may be inserted in the wooden floor without difficulty.

5. The present manner of heating the church is quite ineffectual, and the stove-pipes and flues mar the beauty of the architecture. I therefore suggest the propriety of removing all the stoves, the pipes and the flues in the N. W. and S. W. corners of the church; and in lieu thereof, I propose to construct a large furnace for the purpose of supplying the church with rarified air. A cellar may be excavated under or near the door leading from the vestry room to the nave of the church, and the furnace built in this cellar, the rarified air to be admitted into the church through an iron grating made in the floor. This I believe to be the only method by which the church can be warmed effectually, the ceiling being so very high. By this manner of heating, we may obtain comfort, without marring the beauty of the

church, or interrupting the worship, by making fires, &c.

6. The eastern window opening into the church, is altogether useless for purposes of light, and must be a great annoyance to the congregation, yet it is of importance to the architecture to retain it; this may be done and its inconvenience avoided, by placing permanent blinds, each slat to be so wide as to prevent any possibility of seeing through from any attainable position in the house; by this means, all the glare of light may be destroyed, and the beauty of the window preserved. I also suggest the propriety of making an additional sash in the window, on the outside of the blinds, for the purpose of keeping out the noise from Second street.

7. If these alterations are made, it will be necessary to paint the whole interior of the Church, including the walls.

I have estimated the expense of making all the aforementioned alterations and improvements, and am of opinion, that the whole may be accomplished for three thousand dollars.

The propriety of reducing the heighth of the ceiling and making it a flat surface, has been suggested; this would make the house easier to speak in, and it could be warmed with more facility; but this alteration would completely ruin the architecture of the building, and destroy all that dignity and ecclesiastical effect so completely attained in this venerable fabric.

It has also been proposed to remove the stairs on each side of the pulpit, and extend the galleries to the