“Friends, our chief treasure, how they drop!
How the world falls to pieces round about us!
And leaves us in the ruin of our joy!
What says this transportation of my friends?
It bids me love the place where now they dwell,
And scorn this wretched spot it leaves so poor.”[[75]]
The aisles of the church are paved with a coarse species of marble, laid down in alternate diamonds of black and white. The chancel is raised by two steps, and has a stone pavement. The body of the church contains 152 pews, but with the assistance of the galleries, of which there are three, affords about 1800 sittings. The governor’s pew is very neatly fitted up with crimson damask, and contains some gaily coloured ottomans; over the pew are the royal arms of England. Service is performed in the church on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; and our exemplary rector, with true Christian indefatigability, administers the sacrament monthly, at eight in the morning, and after the usual morning service.
The organ with which the church is furnished, was erected (partly by subscription) in 1760, at the cost of 450l. sterling, the vestry making up what was wanting. It is still a very fine instrument, and our talented and respected organist, G. Hart, Esq., fully recompenses us for any defects it may labour under by his inimitable execution.[[76]]
At the west end of the nave rises a plain quadrangular tower, surmounted by an octagonal cupola. The elevation to the apex of the cupola is sixty-five feet; the altitude of the tower itself is fifty feet. This tower was not erected until 1789, some years after the parent church, but from being constructed of the same materials, presents a uniform appearance; the cupola is built of wood, the perpendicular compartments being jalousied. John Delap Halliday, Esq. gave 500l. towards its erection.[[77]]
Within these last few months, two windows have been pierced at the east side of the tower, in the small chamber where the works of the clock are placed. These were made at the suggestion of Mr. Jones, the keeper of the clock, and which prove very beneficial to him when inspecting and cleaning that necessary appurtenance. Before that period this chamber was perfectly dark, which not only rendered the air within it extremely damp, but presented an obstacle to the due regulation of the instrument contained in it; for candles are but a sorry substitute for the clear light of day when employed in such delicate business as rectifying the machinery of a horologe. Under the care of Mr. Jones the works are kept beautifully clean, which of course will produce a good effect. This instrument was the gift of John Delap Halliday, (as may be seen by the inscription upon the works,) of Antigua, and the maker of it Charles Penton, London, 1788. The windows are glazed, and present exactly the same appearance as those to be found in the suburban dwelling-houses around that mighty metropolis, London.
The tower contains two bells; the tenor one inscribed—“Edmund Powell, Golden Grove, 1684,” and was kept for the use of the coloured classes in other days. The large bell was presented to the church by John Delap, (before he assumed the name of Halliday,) Esq., 1788. It bore the following inscription:—“The gift of John Delap, Esq. The Rev. James Lindsey, rector; Thomas Hanson Halloran, and Daniel Hill, churchwardens. Charles Penton, London, fecit. John Warner, founder, of London, 1788.” It was taken down the 11th of February, 1840, on account of a serious injury beyond repair, shipped for London on board the “Antigua Packet,” and exchanged for a new one of the same size, which now serves to call the people to church, and to speak the demise of the inhabitants; but it is silent at a wedding, for in this country no merry peal of bells announces that event which elsewhere is ever the signal for joy and festivity.
Having attempted the description of the church, I will now proceed to mention the churchyard, which lies upon a gentle slope, and contains numerous tombs, with their iron or wooden railings. The most beautiful tomb in the ground was erected to the memory of the Honourable Otto Baijer, by his widow, who afterwards died on her passage to England in 1726. Her remains were brought back to Antigua, and now repose by the side of her loved husband. It is of pure white marble, although stained by exposure to the weather, and is elegantly ornamented with various fruits and flowers in basso-relievo.
The oldest sepulchral monuments, of which I could make out the inscriptions, are to the memory of Troughton, 1704; Col. Philip Lee. 1704;[[78]] Capt. Bastien Baijer, 1715; Thos. Oasterman, Esq., 1724; Frederic Cope, 1739; and Mrs. Warner, the wife of Ashton Warner, Esq., 1748.
The inscription upon the tomb of Frederic Cope demands, however, further mention. It is an acrostic; the poetry I leave to the judgment of my readers.
THE INSCRIPTION.