Martinsburgh gazette. [volume] (Martinsburgh, Va. [W. Va.]) 1810-1825, 1824-07-08
MIS- CELLANEOU S.
FROM THE Bosros RECORDER.

FROM THE Bosros pEcoRDER.
We copy the following articles from the
~'Eniied States Literary Gazette" VALUABLE
paper recently commenced in this city.
NIAGARA.
The thoughts are strange, which crowd into
my train,
rs While look up to thee. It would seem
A. if God poured thee from his hollow hand,
Aud hung his bow upon thy awful front;
And spoke in that voice which seemed 20 him
Who dwelt in Patmos for his Saviour's sake,
The sound of many waters; and thy flood
Had hidden chronicle the ages back,
And notch his centuries in the eternal rocks.
Deep calleth unto deep. And what are we,
Who hear this awful questioning o what
Are all the stirring notes that ever rang
From wars vain trumpet, by thy laundering
side
Yea. what is all the riot man can make
In his short life, to thy unceasing roar!
And vet, bold babbler, what art thou to Him
Who drowned world, aud heaped the waters
FAR
Above its loftiest mountains A light wave,
That breaks and Whispers of its Makers might
ANON.
Notwithstanding the number of peo-
pie who constantly visit Niagara from
all parts of the country, yet there are
, some with whom it is matter of some
doubt, whether man may 20 beneath
the falls, and live. Many, when they
look upon this scene, are overcome with
terror and cannot approach it. Others
of firmer nerves, venture into the ancil-
larry droppings of this queen of waters,
and. COMPOUNDED by the noise, wind and
spray, and still more by their own ina
gination, scramble into day ligit, fully
persuaded they could not have lived
there moment longer.
But effectually to achieve this per-
Torrance, it is only necessary that we
have confidence. The scene itself is
dreadful enough, and its natural terrors,
If armed with the persuasion that our
design cannot be accomplished, viii in
evitably defeat it.
1t isa general impression, that, to go
under the falls, we must walk upon the
level, where they spend their fury, and
within arms length of the torrent;
but it is not SO; our path lies upon
the top of bank at least thirty feet
above the bottom Of the abyss, md
as far in a horizontal line from the
course of the falls and close under the
immense rock which supports them
This bank overhangs us, as one side of
an irregular arch, of which the cores
ponding side is formed by the sheet of
water; and thus, instead of q oping our
way at tie foot of a narrow passage, we
stand mounted in stupendous cavern.
On fine morning in August last,
soon after sunrise, set out with friend
a guide TO visit this sublime scene. The
first thingto be done, after descending
the tower of steps, is to strip ourselves
OF all clothing, except single covering
Of linen, and silk handkerchief tied
tight over the ears. This costume, with
the addition of pair of pumps, is the
court dress Of the palace Of Niagara.
We passed about fifty rods under the
Table rock, beneath whose brow and
~.crumbling sides we could not stop to
shunder, our minds were at once excited
and oppressed, as-we approached that
eternal gateway, which nature has built
of the motienless rock. and the rushing
torrent, as fitting entrance to her most
awful nagnifcence. We turned lut-
ting corner of the rock, and the chasm
yawned upon us The noise at the
cataract'was most deafening; its head
long grandeur rolled from the very
skies; we were drenched by the over
flowing of the stream; our breath was
checked by the violence of the wind =,
which Tor moment scattered away the
clouds Of spray, when full view of the
torrent, raining down its diamonds in
infinite profusion opened upon us. No
thing could equal the flashing brilliancy
of the spectacle. The weight of the
falling waters made the very rock be-
meath us tremhle, and from the cavern
that received them issued asroar. as If
the confined spirits of all who had ever
been drowned, joined in an united
scream for help! Here we stood, in
the very jaws of Niagara.-deafened b,
anuuToar whose tremendous din SEEM