the view from the top seeming to be of foliage below foliage for ever. "The way to the glen is through a field opposite the inn, and down a steep, rough, rocky path, which leads under the bridge, and a few yards beyond it. I think the finest view of all is from this path, just before reaching the bridge. The irregular rock, spanning a chasm of one hundred and sixty feet in height, and from sixty to ninety in width, is exquisitely tinted with every shade of gray and brown; while trees encroach from the sides, and overhang from the top, between which and the arch there is an additional depth of fifty-six feet. It was now early in July; the trees were in their brightest and thickest foliage; and the tall beeches under the arch contrasted their verdure with the gray rock. and received the gilding of the sunshine, as it slanted into the ravine, glittering in the drip from the arch, and in the splashing and tumbling waters of Cedar creek, which ran by our feet. Swallows were flying about under the arch. What others of their tribe can boast of such a home? We crossed and recrossed the creek on stepping-stones, searching out every spot to which any tradition belonged. Under the arch, thirty feet from the water, the lower part of the letters G. W. may be seen, carved in the rock. When Washington was a young man he climbed up hither, to leave this record of his visit. There are other inscriptions of the same kind; and above them a board, on which are painted the names of two persons, who have thought it worth while thus to immortalize their feat of climbing highest. But their glory was but transient, after all. They have been outstripped by a traveller, whose achievement will probably never be rivalled; for he would not have accomplished it if he could, by any means, have declined the task. Never was a wonderful deed more involuntarily performed. There is no disparagement to the gentleman in saying this: it is only absolving him from the charge of foolhardiness. "This young man, named Blacklock, accompanied by two friends, visited the natural bridge; and, being seized with the ambition appropriate to the place, of writing his name highest, climbed the rock opposite to the part selected by Washington, and carved his initials. Others have perhaps seen what Mr. Blacklock had overlooked-that it was a place easy to ascend, but from which it is impossible to come down. He was forty feet or more from the path; his footing was precarions; he was weary with holding on while carving his name; and his head began to swim when he saw the impossibility of getting down again. He called to his companions that his only chance was to climb up upon the bridge, without hesitation or delay. They saw this, and with anguish agreed between themselves that the chance was a very bare one. They cheered him, and advised him to look neither up nor down. On he went, slanting upward from under the arch, creeping round a projection, on which no foothold is visible from below, and then disappearing in a recess filled up with foliage. Long and long they wait. ed, watching for motion, and listening for crashing among the trees. He must have been now one hundred and fifty feet above them. At length their eyes were so strained that they could see no more, and they had almost lost all hope. There was little doubt that he had fallen while behind the trees, where his body would never be found. They went up to try the chance of looking for him from above. They found him lying insensible on the bridge. He could just remember reaching the top, when he immediately fainted." Passage through the Blue Ridge.The following interesting description is in Jefferson's Notes on Virginia : "The passage of the Potomac through the Blue ridge is one of the most stupendous scenes. You stand on a very high point of land; on your right comes up the Shenandoah, having ranged along the foot of the mountain a hundred miles to seek a vent; on your left approaches the Potomac, in quest of a passage also; in the moment of their junction, they rush together against the mountain, rend it asunder, and pass off to the sea. The first glance of this scene hurries our senses tain, from a very peculiar formation of it is hardly perceptible along the ridge a subterrene, or rather a subsaxumous which divides the waters of the Mononcoat of ice, which, on turning up a stone on the warmest day of summer, discovers itself with a refreshing coolness. It is, in fact, a natural and magnificent refrigerator. No night can be passed here without feeling the necessity of a blanket. The usual place of resort in the vicinity goes by the name of "Capon springs. Taking the summit of the Alleganies as a central point of view to overlook the state, we find first a wide tract of adjacent country, diversified with all the irregularity of a mountainous region, varying from rough and rocky heights, to picturesque and shady valleys, many of which are rich in mines and mineral springs, where the crowds of gay visiters, mingling with invalids, enliven the picturesque scenes with groups strongly contrasting with the wildness and solitude of nature. Next eastward of this lies a section, extending to tidewater in the rivers, which amounts to 15,386 square miles; and between that and the eastern boundary is another, with its lower level and navigable waters, and also the sites of the old settlements, having an area of 11,805 square miles. gahela from those of the Ohio, in that remarkable, narrow, northwest gore of land before mentioned. The mean elevation of central Virginia is eighteen hundred or two thousand feet above the Ohio, the descent to which is by several plains or natural terraces― gradually descending to the west. The climate of the mountainous regions resembles that of the Atlantic coast, as high up as latitude forty three degrees. There is a remarkable mountain-ridge from fifteen to twenty miles distant from the Blue ridge, to which it is related as the Blue ridge is to the Alleganies proper. It may be traced through Maryland in the Parr-spring ridge, Pennsylvania (where, as in Virginia, it has no distinctive name), and through New Jersey in the Schooley's mountain ridge. The counties through which the ridge passes in Virginia are Loudoun, Fauquier, Culpepper, Orange, Albemarle, Nelson, Amherst, Bedford, Franklin, and Henry. On most maps the mountains present a confused mass; but they are, in fact, divided into five or six distinct ridges. Indeed, says Darby, "the whole state, from the head of tidewater to Ohio river, is formed of a series of mountain-chains and intervening valleys." But the Blue ridge is the most prominent, stands very detached, has the highest points in the Appalachian chain southwest of Delaware river, and everywhere marks the lines between counties. But the western section, lying beyond the Alleganies, is the most extensive and flourishing. It contains 28,387 square miles. Climate, soil, situation, and the origin of the people, have great influence in stamping a variety of characteristics on these different districts; for while the low eastern regions are warm, and the soil cultivated by slaves, facilities for navigation have raised large towns amid extensive plantations; in the higner districts, other objects and modes of culture have been adopted, while slaves are less numerous, and they often work side by side with their masters. The relations established by the natural features of the western district cement the people more intimately with the Mississippi valley than with those of the At-years past.* lantic borders. So great is the difference of seasons found in different parts of Virginia, that vegetation is often far advanced in the spring at Wheeling when The interior of Virginia was almost uninhabited, even by savages, when the country was first known to Europeans. A few tribes only occupied any part of its surface, and these dwelt chiefly along the tidewaters. It is capable of supporting a population of three millions, even if the arable parts were as thickly inhabited as some of the most populous districts; but a combination of causes has prevented the increase for some * We improve this allusion to the agricultural resources of this state, to introduce in a note the following interest ing letter from a son of Virginia, the Hon. WILLIAM C. RIVES, our minister to France. It has reference to his visit to the World's Fair at London; and some valua |