CRAVEN COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA. 95 



impression of the solitude which actually surrounds 

 you. 



While the mind is thus carried from one depth of 

 loneliness to another, a dull object appears indis- 

 tinctly before you ; as you approach, its form grad- 

 ually reveals itself, and soon the old parish church 

 of St. Stephen stands before you — a handsome 

 brick edifice. It stands at the head of one road 

 which comes from the south, and is so situated that 

 it may be seen at a considerable distance by those 

 who approach it, either from the east or the west, 

 by the main or river road. The church tells a story 

 of former grandeur and of present desolation ; 

 though not large, it indicates a respectable congre- 

 gation ; it is finished with neatness, with some pre- 

 tensions even to elegance, and the beholder in- 

 voluntarily mourns over the ruin to which it is 

 doomed.' All around it are graves ; these seem 

 to be literally running into the woods ; some are 

 marked by stones, which record the virtues of those 

 whose remains now form part of the soil ; some, set 

 apart for families, are enclosed by walls of brick or 

 of perishable timber, and many are protected from 

 the ravages of obtrusive cattle by logs rudely piled 



' Since this has been written, the public spirit of some of the citizens of 

 Pineville and its vicinity has repaired the church, and divine service is 

 occasionally performed there. It is, however, doomed to ruin. Situated 

 beyond the convenient reach of the people, it is maintained only by a feel- 

 ing of reverence for the past. It is not hazarding much to predict that this 

 will not suffice to preserve it for any considerable period. 



