of religion; and if we were not blessed with the zeal of a Bennet, we were not cursed with the strife of a Barnabas.  At the time the colonists kicked us out of this place, by way of not going empty-handed, we bagged the church-bells as a trophy—­(query, is not robbing a church sacrilege?)—­and they eventually found their way into a merchant’s store in England, where they remained for years.  Not long since, having been ferreted out, they were replaced in their original position, and now summon the Republicans of the nineteenth century to their devotions as lustily as they did the Royalists in the eighteenth.  There is nothing remarkable in the two other buildings, except their antiquity, and the associations arising therefrom.[AG]

One of the most striking sights here is the turn-out of the Fire Companies on any gala day.  They consist of eight companies, of one hundred each; their engines are brilliantly got up, and decorated tastefully with flowers; banners flying; the men, in gay but business-like uniform, dragging their engines about, and bands playing away joyously before them.  The peculiarity of the Charleston firemen is that, instead of being composed of all the rowdies of the town, as is often the case in the large eastern cities, they are, generally speaking, the most respectable people in the community.  This may partly be accounted for by the militia service being so hard, and the fines for the neglect of the same so heavy, from which all those serving in the Fire Companies are exempt.[AH] The South Carolinians, in anticipation of any insurrection among the negroes, or in case of being driven into secession by success attending the efforts of the Abolitionists, have very prudently established a little miniature West Point institution,[AI] where lads from fifteen to twenty receive a thorough military education, and then retire into private life and follow any pursuits they choose.  By this means the nucleus of military officers requisite for an army is obtained, and the frequent drilling of the militia forms a solid groundwork for that latter, should the hour of necessity unfortunately arrive.  The gay time of Charleston is during the races, which take place in February, and have a considerable reputation, although, perhaps, not quite so high as they had some few years back.  I have never seen any of their racing studs; but, as they import from England some of the finest stallions that come into the market, and as the breed of horse in America is very active and enduring, their racers, it is to be presumed, make a very good show.

Having impregnated my system with turtle, terrapin, mint-julep, and Madeira—­the latter such as only America can show—­I bade adieu to my kind and hospitable friends, and started for Virginia.  The first part of the journey—­i.e., as far as Wilmington—­I performed in a wretched little steamer, anything but seaworthy, with horrid cribs, three one above the other, to sleep in, and a motley mixture of passengers, as usual.  No