Although America’s oldest silver
communion service is right here in
New Bern at Christ Episcopal
Church, there are thousands of lo
cal citizens who have never seen it.
They have no one to blame but
themselves. We know from person
al experience that the Rev. Charles
E. Williams, who has long served
as rector of this historic place of
worship, is happy to display the
treasjjred service to anyone genu
inely interested.
Still in use, it was a gift from
King George II of England in 1752.
Especially created by royal com
mand, each piece of the pei'fectly
fashioned service bears the Royal
Arms of Great Britain, and four
Hall Marks, in a shield.
Any expert could t^ke a quick
look at these identifications, and
vouch for the authenticity of the
various pieces. The first tiny Hall
Mark consists of the initials, M.F.,
and indicates that the silversmith
who made the service was Morde-
cai Fox of England.
The next Hall Mark is the letter
“R” for “Rex” or King, and this
indicates that the order for the
service came from George II him
self. A “passant gardant” in the
form of a lion is proof that the sil
ver was of a standard’required by
law, and a crowned leopard's head
shows that the plate was hall mark
ed in London in the government
office.
The inspector who determined
for the king that sufficient silver
was used in fashioning the com
munion service took nothing foi»
granted. A close examination will
disclose a small auger hole, where
a sample of the metal was extract
ed for careful testing.
King George died eight years
after the gift was presented to
Christ Episcopal Church, having
reigned as a monarch of the Han
overian line from 1727 until 1760.
Incidentally, one of the great
works of English literature —
Thomas Grey’s “Elegy in a Coun
try Churchyard” — was written
while King George was on the
throne.
It was Fox, designer of the
Christ Church communion service,
who also created a similar set for
presentation to Old South Church
in Boston. He later made an alms
basin that is the property of Trin
ity Church in New York City.
The priceless Christ Church ser
vice remains unmarred, despite its
hectic early history. It has been
said that Ro^al Governor Josiah
Martin tried to take it with him,
when he left New Bern with con
siderable speed back in 1775. He
was foiled in his plans.
Having remained intact through
the Revolutionary War and the
War of 1812, the set was again en
dangered by a conflict when the
War Between the States broke out.
The Rev. A. A. Watson was rector
of Christ Church at that time. He
took the set post haste to Wil
mington. It was later transported
to Fayetteville, and placed in the
care of Dr. Joseph Huske.
According to the story, it was
hidden beneath a pile of rubbish
in a closet there. Federal troops
didn’t discover it, and eventually
the service was returned to Christ
Church. It has been here ever
since.
Not only did King George ft
give the local church its commun
ion set, but presented also its Bi
ble and its Books of Common Pray
er. The lapse of time since these
gifts arrived from England seems
doubly impressive when measured
by literary figures of the era.
For instance, Charles Dickens
wasn’t born until 60 years after the
communion service was presented.
And it wasn’t until 98 years after
the set was put into use that Rob
ert Louis Stevenson saw the light
of day.
(Continued on back pa^ai
The NEW BERN
5 Per Copy
VOLUME 2
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1959
NUMBER 25
STIJX WINNING RIBBONS—Mary bad a little lamb in one
of our favorite Mother Goose rhymes, but it wasn’t 10-year-
old Mary Dunn of route 1, New Bern. She prefers a heifer
like Big Susie, capable of capturing purple and blue rib
bons in the Coastal Carolina Junior Dairy Show.,Last year
the young lady came up with a champion and this year she
did it again. It’s getting to be a habit.—Photo by Billy Ben
ners.
Local Males Also Following
Trend Toward Less Clothing
Most New Bern males, when
they run out of something alleged
ly funny to say, poke fun at the
female of the species for wearing
less and less clothes. The accusa
tion may be true, but look who is
talking.
Like the pot that calls the ket
tle black, local men are wearing
less than ever themselves, and are
in no position to wisecrack about
the fair sex in this respect.
For example, Mr. New Bernian
no longer starts from scratch by
donning heavy woolen undemear
with the first cool days in Septem
ber. He doesn’t even put the long
handles on when the icy blasts of
Winter arrive.
Decidedly not. He wears the
same skimpy shorts that served
a worthy purpose in July and Au
gust, and it’s next to sure bet that
he won’t even add an undershirt.
Gone are the days when no self-
respecting gentleman would think
of climbing into his best Sunday
shirt without seeing to it that he
had on other suitable wrappings
underneath.
Wearing an undershirt today
doesn’t prove that your’re cultur
ed, and careful not be downright
uncouth. It only labels you as a
square who is living in the wrong
century. In fact, you might even
end up in a museum or have a his
torical marker placed upon your
bosom.
And, while you’re smirking
about the limited attire of local la
dies, you might remember that
you’re the guy who used to wear a
vest. Going out minus a vest was
enough to make a fellow feel half
naked.
Even when the hot days arrived,
you still wore one of the things to
Sunday school and church, and on
all other special occasions. Now
the only reason you condescend to
wear a coat in church is the fact
that the average place of worship
has been air conditioned to coax
WATERY ROW TO HOE—Pushing onward through waist-deep water, ■ farther in South
Viet Nam follows his two water buffaloes and plow through a rice field. Heavy rains have
flooded a wide area of the country.
you into the pews.
When was tne last time you.
wore a pair of garters to hold up
your socks, like you did in the so-
called good old days? And what
happened to the arm bands that
held up your shirt sleeves?
It’s still debatable whether do
ing away with vests was a wise
thing. Admittedly, they were most
ly good for spilling soup and gra
vy on them, but the soup and gra
vy now go on your best tie and
your last clean shirt. Besides, when
vests went out of style, it like
wise spelled the end of that grand
and glorious masculine ornament—-
the gold watch chain.
In all probability, the departiu^
of his watch chain started many
a good man on the road to being
a mouse. Next to a cheap cigar,
nothing made a gent feel more
important and influential.
With those shiny links missing
from his midsection, he lost his
sense of security, and ceased to be
the true master of his house. The
next thing he knew he had been,
reduced to the role of a domestic
servant, and was doing the dishes
with monotonous regularity.
Aside from this lowered station
in life, doing away with the vests
and undershirts, and most especi
ally long-handled underwear, may
have brought on other complica
tions. To be specific, those pesky
little varmints that the doctor calls
a virus.
Back in the days when men saw
fit to wear more, there weren’t
any viruses, and very few germs.
At least, if they were around they
apparently couldn’t get to you in.
a vitid spot. Come to think of it,
(Continued on Back Pago)