Alexandria gazette & daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1817-1822, 1821-06-27

a height of nearly 800 feet, among their
brosen fellows, which strew the verge OF
the water beneath you. Over against you,
at distance of a few hundred yards, the
mountain, in the form Of crescent, rises
abruptly to the height of about 40 feet;
The rocks are bare most of the way, ana
SO steep that stone put in motion at the
ton continues to roll with increasing We
locity until it overtakes those which have
zone the way before it, and are scattered
in abundance at the base OF the mountain
This view, in my opinion, far surpasses
any thing which l ever saw at harPers
Ferry; although that must be confessed
quite a romantic scene. lf"to view that
is worth a voyage across the Atlantic"
to view this is worth voyage from India.
It NAV be said. that affords wide field for
philosophic speculation; and neither Is
this altogether barren soil tor theorislng'
There is as much reason to believe that
the mountain here has either been CLEFT
by some CONFUSION Of nature, or worn
way by attrition SO as to form passage
for the water, as that such an operation
was ever performed at Harper's Ferry.
Indeed the strata of rock, now called the
Castle. appears to have been thus chang
ed from horizontal to vertical POSI-
ton.
But l forbear to advance any farther
with my hypothesis, and shall content my
self with the slight and imperfect descrip.
ton which have given; and If it should
call the attention of some one better quail
flied to read the volume of nature than
myself to the place; or should it only at.
ford an innocent qualification to such OF
your readers as are fond Unnatural science;
| shall be satisfied.
The Edinburgh Review for March con-
tains review of several works published
in France on the subject of Cookery. "a
nongst French writer's, (say the Review
ers) the science of eating has always held
much more distinguished rank than
with us, and makes no light figure in all
the branches of their literature. Voltaire
has declared, that the fate of nations very
often depends on the good or bad diges-
ton of prime minister; and in most of
the French novels, the pleasures of eating
are dwelt upon; and. even in the most pa
thetic parts, the heroines often descant
on them, much in the tone which we
should expect in the daughter of London
Alderman"
Amongst many choice collections of
d" Complete Cooks" Closets opened &c.
which we have examined in the hopes of
discovering some choice mortal for the
regale of our readers, we found the fol-
lowing curious account of Triumphs and
Trophies in Cookery, to be used at Festi-
val times 1t is pretixed to the Accom-
plished Cook of Robert May, 1864
gentleman of great eminence in his time,
who received his culinary education at
the Court of France, as appears by bio
graphical memoir which accompanies his
book. After giving directions for pre-
paration in paste OF an artificial ship and
castle with battlements, port cullisses,
draw-bridges, &c. with guns, and train
of gunpowder to communicate with them,
a paste Stag is 10 be made, and placed
on the table between them, all to be gilt
and ornamented with flags, &C.; his body
is to be filled with claret wine, and broad
arrow stuck in it; and on each side of the
stag two pies are to be served the one
filled carefully with lice frogs, & the 9TH
er with lire birds; the whole to be gar
nished round with egg shells deprived of
their meat, and filled with rose water.
The trains are to be let off, and the ship
and castle are daintily to fire at each other
in mimic battle; but before this, it is to
be so ordered that some of the ladies may
pluck the arrow out of the stag, and then
will the claret wine follow as blood run
ming out of a wound. This done to sweeten
the stencil of the powder, let the ladies
take the egg shells full of sweet waters,
and throw them at each other All dam
ger being seemingly over by this time,
you may suppose they will desire to see
what is in the pies, when lifting first the
lid off one pie, out slip some frogs! which
makes the ladies ia snip and shrek! next
after, the other pie, whence comes out the
birds, who, by natural instinct flying at
the light, will put out the candles; SO
that, what with the flying birds and skip
ping frogs, the one above, the other be-
meath, will cause much delight and plea
sure to the whole company. At length
the candles are lighted, and banquet
brought in; the music sounds; and every
one with much delight and content, re
hearsed his actions in the former passa-
ges.'
Such were formerly the delights CT the
nobility, before good housekeeping had
entirely left old England! for tastes, how