Alexandria daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1803-1808, 1804-10-02

s4.-He raised his blosted carcaso wit
an air Of surprise, and sullenly sunk gan
his bath. At this place there seemed to int
branch off from the path the small and al
most imperceptible tract OF which we ha'
heard. The blunted ends Of some branch
.es of hazel Showed the traces OF a knife
I. which in former DAYS had worked the pas
sage of some traveller around the rocks
, W. paused-l pointed to the place ane
advanced a few steps, when locking back
found my companions had chosen TO re
main below-~--i mberine
up the steep with the. assistance which Oh
tanned from its craggy surface----l saw a
Dove me the vast pile OF rocks to which ]
| had been directed----l 1t appeared to projec
| about twenty feet from the mountain, anf
was torn in~the middle down to its base by
/ some apparent disruption, which had dis
severed its mass. through this narrow ap
! ! perture | assembled by means Of the points
(which jutted from either side, until OBJ
ltained it. summit, aud rested on It's ha'
surface above. had now extricated my.
self from the night which reigned below:
| and once more got into a region OF light
| from this rock l could see the country a.
| round as far as the eye could reach, and
| could, with a telescope, have discovered
| an army at the distance Of 6fry miles.
! crawled to the front of this platform, and
looking over, at the same time holding tas;
by some grape vines which hung down on
the rock, thought I saw through an acct
dental openingir the scene the epaulette on
the shoulder Of Col. s.. he appeared
TO be a, the distance of about FIVE hundred
feet below and seemed to have continued
near the spot in which | had lett him. 4
rose and ON going to the other end OF the
rock, found my further progress complete
" hindered by the vines which had entan-
eled themselves into an imperceptlble lat
tlce work at the mouth OF cave. cut
through these vines a hole sufficient tor the
admission OF my person, and reached the
excavation. which was the object Of my
sesrch. This large excavation into the
bowels of a mountain was a subject which
trresistably engaged my speculations-MY
senses were hurried into the opinion, that
the earth was created In time, that the
mountains were formed first, that the
springs began to flow afterwards, that in
this place particularly the sprirg at the base
# the mountain, continuing 20 flow, and
r'eceiving regular contributions from the
dripping exudations of the moss covered
Lifts, was damned up in its excursion be.
t3w bv an her mountain running parallel
with this, ard was forced to return .ege,hef
With such approximations as It had recelYSd
in its progress, and rest itself against the
de Of the mountain-.--that at length al
immense ocean was formed, which covered
nc whole vallev---that this ocean by laying
,eainst a body of sand contained within a
circle of rocks in The bosom OF the moun.
tain, gradually ~disrarted its connection,
and caused IL to fall info the waters, which
finally findings passage through the Inc J.
ther mountain, passed off INTO TIE sea, ard
10 their retrocession left this rock eucircled
cave.
The arch approaches the sem:-elliptical
form, but the larger axis of the ellipsis
which is the chord of the arch, is man,
l'nes longer than the transverse, and the
lropping Of the water from the roof OF che
vault, has generated on that, and on the
Ease below, s;aldctites Of q %conical form
which IN some places have met together,
,ad formed massive columns of a iustrooe
appearance, which illuminate the cave
Tatieu.d, low-spirite1 and oppressed, !
turned my eyes from the dark shades which
n~conpassed the lower part of the noun
ain, a i looking through q cleft in the
tlie of 4 cave, a smaii bottle cnriously cork
4, caught my eye. inviting me as il were
from tie riot and tumalt roaring around,
10 BASS through the breach. and nart;cinate