Lancaster Examiner and Herald

              VOLXLIV.
LANGASTER, PA.. WEDNESDAY, MAKOH?0, 1870:
NO. 20,
KXASEDnBR A  SCERAI'V.
PUBLISHED ETOBS WEDHESDAT At Bo. 4 Hortk dueon Street, Lancaiter, P»
TF.RII.S-82.00 A YEAIt IS APVAJfCE.
JOUN A. HIESfTAND i E. M. KLINE, Eclitora and Proprietors.
FEOSim WIHBOWS,
Golden lialr and silver smile,
Wlstmi chUd-soul sUlnlDg Through clear wiudows of blue eyes,
Wiiere is no repining.
Sliver hair and golden sniilc.
Loving cblld-soul siilnliig Tlirough dim windows ofblue eyes,
Whero Is^uo repining.
And tliD loving child-soul .saitii,
•' Tiiougli the frost is creoplnK O'er my windows, tliough alono
Vigil I am keeping— "lam neither chilled nor sad,
Finding life still pleasant Work enough, nnd tnimiull Jo.vs
Ever iu tho presents
" O'er my ¦windows frioudly age
Fair frost-plctnrcs traces- Scenes tlmt once wero dear lo me,
.\nd familiar faces.
" O'er my windows friendly Age
Fair frostrpictnn\s traces- Visions of a charmlu!: day- Glad familiar faces."
liappy spirit, fain would I
IJ.V thy tl reside warm nie: Thou dost keep sucii genial ciioer,
Ago nor deatli can iiarm tliee.
Naj*. Ills fireside eacli must bnild,
I.oncIy vigils Itecping; Tiien Willi Joy lie may be tilled When the frosts come creeping. — Prom file April J\'o. of JApiiineiitCs Maoaziiu
rWrilten for the l-^xamlner ,.t Herald.
THE CHURCH OF DOKEGAI.
' At churcli, Willi meek and unairected grace, Their looks adorned the venerable place."
Many interesting iiiciilenls nud events miglit bo rel.ited about tlie ancient Cliurcli of Donegal, but tlie.se will liave to be left to a future ami more compe¬ tent hlstoi'iau. Firsl, because I have uot access to the records where these incidents may be found; and, secondly, beciuso if I had, a detailed account of them could not bu condensed within the limits of these impei-s. What I have written is from iiersonal impressions, from tho records made on a marble tablet in the present chnich building, and from dala kindly fiirnislied me by Dr. Nathaniel Watson, at jiresent re- sidiOK in the '• Ohl Homestead," in the vicinilv ofthe church. Sryearlieat re¬ collections of Ihis church run back to .•iliout i>>'2!i, when 1 was in the employ of James Mctiinnis, who was a Icnani on the Kerr Farm. Mr McGinnis tind Jiihn Drandt, si'., his fathei'-iu-huv, jointly farmed the "AJirahani Long J'l.ice," which had oiigiimlly been a ]iart of the Donegal Church grant; and for about six weeks tluring the winter of ISili, my duty was to get up early in the morning, feed and curry the horses, ;ind then ride .ind leail Ihem to the " Long Farm," ami there ride them all <lay in thrashing grain, wliieh at that period was tramped out altogether by horse.s, if not bealen ont hy the Hail. Ou these oceasionsi look the McGinnis lioys to the school near the Donegal Church, in the morning, and also took them home again in the evening, when the day's work w.as done. j{y this means i had a sight of theold church almost daily, Ihen an old, gray, stone building, standing lonely, grim, and moss-covered, among tbe lealless but majestic and wide-hfanchingoak trees. AVhen the weather was line, and the roads piussahle, the children walked a-s far homeward :us tho Long Farm, aud mounted the horses there, if they did not walk the whole way. The McGin¬ nis famili^ sometimes visited this church but were not members of it, to my knowledge; but a.s the father w.as of Irish descent, he most likely inclined towards Presbyterianism; for, iu those days, those Irish who were not Catho¬ lics generall.v alliliated with some form of the I'resbyteriau Church, aud attend¬ ed it, if snch church was conveniently near.
liut, to resume the historical continu¬ ation of my last paper, and whicli was suddenly broken oU'from an aiijirehen- sion of getting il too long, I will state that after the death of Jlr. Eoggs, and some probational preaching at Donegal Church, llev. James D. Ilogers was or¬ dained and installed ils iiastor, ou the 21st of August, 1851, according to the "tablet records."   1 left the township ill 1S4S, ami therefore cau record noth¬ ing  from   my personal   knowledge.— .From the same source it appears that the  church was again remodeled, iu ISol, uuder the direction aud superin¬ tendence of the trustees, or a committee of thesame, consisting of Dr. Nathaniel Watson, John JI. Hoover aud James A. Pattersou,     The whole   inside of the church, on this occasion, wtvs remod¬ eled  and renewed.   A lirst-class pine lloor was substituted for the brick paVe- meut, and a new pulpit and pews intro¬ duced iustead of the old ones.   A parti¬ tion was run across uear the cast end, the space allbrding a neat and commo¬ dious vestibule.   The church buildings having multiplied in the neighboring towns, lessened the necessity of so large a room at Donegal.   The outside of the church was covered with a light-colored coating of phaster or cement, but the old-fashioned beveled roof was retained. The whole interior aud exterior finish is neat, plain, and very substanthal, and tlie aisles aro handsomely cari>eted.   If the spirits of theold bodies which for .so many years have been mlugled wilh tho dust of the old grave-yard, were now to rise from their long slumber, and were permitted to view materiality, they would not be able to recognize the old church of