CARPENTER'S MANSION.

THIS ancient structure was originally built as the residence of Joshua Carpenter, the brother of Samuel. It was, in truth, in its early days, a proper country seat, remote from the primitive town. Its respectable and peculiar style of architecture has been a motive for preserving this brief memorial; it has, besides, been sometimes remarkable for its occasional inmates. The present marble Arcade now occupies a part of its former site, and while the beholder is standing to gaze on the present expensive pile, he may remember the former with all its inmates gone down to the dust. It was taken down in April, 1826.

Here once lived Doctor Græme, who died in 1772, a distinguished physician, long holding an office in the customs. His wife was the daughter of Sir William Keith, by his first wife. Græme's house, besides his own hospitable manner of living, was long made attractive and celebrated by the mind and manners of their daughter, the celebrated Mrs. Ferguson,-the same whose alleged overtures to Governor Reed produced the noble and patriotic repulse-"go tell your employers, poor as I am, the wealth of the King cannot buy me!" A mind like hers, embued with elegant literature, and herself a poetess, readily formed frequent literary coteries at her father's mansion, so much so, as to make it the town talk of her day.

While Governor Thomas occupied those premises, from 1738 to 1747, the fruit trees and garden shrubbery had the effect to allure many of the townfolk to take their walk out Chestnut street to become its spectators. The youth of that day long remembered the kindness of the Governor's lady, who, seeing their longing eyes set upon their long range of fine cherry trees, (fronting the premises on Chestnut street.) used to invite them to help themselves from the trees; and oft as May-day came, the pretty misses were indulged with bouquets and nosegays; to such purposes the grounds were ample, extending from Sixth to Seventh streets, and from Chestnut street back to the next street, the mansion resting in the centre.

A letter from John Ross, Esq., attorney at law, of the year 1761, then owner of the premises, agrees to sell them for the sum of £3000 to John Smith, Esq., who afterwards became the occupant. The

She died at Græme Park, in Horsham, about twenty-five years ago, beloved in her neighborhood for her religion, and her goodness to the poor. Her literary remains are said to be in possession of Dr. Smith, of the house of Lehman and Smith. Colonel A. M'Lane assured me he was always the friend of our country, although she may have had the confidence of the British because of her known integrity.

dimensions of the lot then given, were two hundred and thirty-seven feet on Chestnut street, and then back one hundred and fifty feet to "the lane." It may surprise us, in our present enlarged conceptions of city precincts, to learn by the said letter of J. Ross, that "he sells it because his wife deems it too remote for his family to live in!" And he adds, if he sells it," he must then look out another airy place to build on; and how to succeed therein, he knows not!" We know, however, that he afterwards found it on the site where is now United States Hotel, vis-a-vis the Bank of the United Statesthen a kind of out-town situation!

It afterwards became the property of Colonel John Dickinson, who, in 1774, made to it a new front of modern construction, facing on Chestnut street-such as we saw the premises when taken down in April, 1826. It was next owned by General Philomon Dickinson. It being empty in the time of the war of Independence, it was taken possession of for our sick soldiery, when it became an actual hospital for the sick infantry of the Virginia and Pennsylvania line, who died there rapidly, in hundreds, of the camp fever! On that occasion our ladies were very assiduous in supplying the poor sufferers with soups and nourishments. General Washington himself joined in those succours, sending them a cask of Madeira, which he had himself received as a present from Robert Morris. At that place Mrs. Logan's mother witnessed an affecting spectacle--the mother of a youth from the country, in the Pennsylvania line, came to seek her son among the dead-whilst wailing over him as lost, but rubbing him earnestly at the same time, he came again to life to her great joy and surprise!

After this it was fitted up as the splendid mansion of the Chevalier de Luzerne, who, while there as the Ambassador of France, gave a splendid night entertainment of fire-works, rockets, &c., in honour of the birth of the Dauphin of France. The whole gardens were gorgeously illuminated, and the guests were seen by the crowd from the street under an illuminated arcade of fanciful construction and scenery.

About the year 1779, Monsieur Gerard, the French Ambassador, being then the occupant, gave an elegant dinner there to about one hundred French and American officers. Colonel M'Lane, who was among the guests, told me that while they were dining the house was thunder-struck, and the lightning melted all the silver spoons and other plate upon the table, stunning all the company, and killing one of the French officers! What a scene-and what associations!

In time, as ground became enhanced in value, large encroachments were made upon these rural grounds by selling off lots for the theatre, &c., but the mansion, with its court yard upon Chestnut street, long continued a genteel residence in the possession of Judge Tilghman the last owner preceding the sale to the Arcade Company, in 1826. The view of the old house, as given in the picture, is a side view, opening on Sixth street, and is a part of the same building retained by Judge Tilghman as the rear part of his residence. VOL. I.-2X 32*

THIS venerable looking and ornamental edifice was constructed at various periods of time. The western end, as we now see it, was raised in 1727, and having enlarged their means, they, in 1731, erected the eastern end. The steeple was elevated on or about the

year 1753-4.

The facts concerning the premises, gleaned from a variety of sources, are to the following effect, to wit:

The first church built under the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Clayton, in the year 1695, is specially referred to by Gabriel Thomas' publication of 1698, who says, "the Church of England built a very fine church in this city in the year 1695." The most we should infer from his commendation of it is, that it was probably sufficiently sightly for its then size. We know it was his general manner to extol other buildings, which still remain to convince us that good buildings then are but ordinary in our present enlarged conceptions of beauty and greatness. Such as it was, it was enlarged in 1710.

We know that the Rev. Mr. Clayton was first in charge of it, from the book of the Rev. Morgan Edwards, who has therein left us the record of his letter to the Baptists of Philadelphia of the year 1698, wherein he invites them to a public conference on the merits of their several religions, in hopes thereby to surpass them in argument, and win them over to his faith as proselytes; but they stood firmly to their defence, and the breach was widened.

The original records were accidentally destroyed by fire; of course, what we can now know must be such as has been incidentally mentioned in connexion with other facts.

Among the witnesses who had once seen the primitive church, and had been also cotemporary with our own times, was old black Alice, who died in 1802, at the advanced age of 116 years. She had been all her long life a zealous and hearty member of that church. At the age of 115 she came from Dunk's ferry, where she lived, to see once more her beloved Christ Church. She then told my friend Samuel Coates, Esq., and others present, that she well remembered the original lowly structure of wood. The ceiling of it, she said, she could touch with her lifted hands. The bell, to call the people, was hung in the crotch of a tree close by. She said, when it was superseded by a more stately structure of brick, they run up their