Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1829-10-16

...e-,.aJ he'd n in unison with the rocks which
overbaop il. and with the dark aud often blast
ed mines, which clothe them; and II, IN a"iu'
grandeur. il cannot be compared with the pas
SAGE of the Rhonc ,hrough the Alps, or IN
be au,y, with some of The smaller lakes, SO aoun'
dant in the northern states Of our own country,
it is yet mos, highly impressive scene. COM
m anding interest from the praise OF one whose
praise was celebrity, Harper's Ferry seems OIL
ten to have disappointed foreigners VIII" eA,
pected to find scene as unique as the Natural
Bridge, end as sublime as the falls u Niagara
Those who form such extravagan's expec'a-
tons will not have them eaiized, but The nation
al admirers of nature will find abundance to
admire in The beauty, the grandeur and the SIM
plicity Of the SPOT.
This subject gives me occasion TO regret'
tina, The many commanding positions which
our mountains present, should De so l'ltie
known. The western part Of Virginia aoou"ds
in romantic scenery bu' the traveller may .oi'
tor hours in its immediate vicinity, plunged IN
drp,h of shade, that excludes all idea oil Inc
beauty by watch he is surrounded; TO ascend
the mountains is difficuI;; and adds bu ll'te TO
his ,hsre. If CRATIC a:on; the foliage is nearly
as thick there rs a, their base, bu, the nscss'
sary loo al knowledge would he at The command
Of all, If those, who annually make summer
excursions trough orr country, were as ardent
a mirers Of nature as they commonly are oil
warm spriugs or other spots, winch draw TO-
ge,n.r i numoer OF half sick, hall idle people,
WIN lounge away the 5es part of The year amid
Indifferent company and bad accommodations.
A, an instance, which happens % occur near
h"me,-how many DR.. Syntaxes, in search o'
he picture sQue, Of the company at the sp'iogs,
or he wonders Of NNeyer's Cav, pass our own
Immediate vicinity, and plunge in The interni-
nable shades Of Browns Gap, which brings So
for, ib:y 10 mind HE lasehood of Thompson S
lines:
Icare not fortune what you me deny,
You cannot bar me from fair natures grace,
You cannot shut the Windoirs Of the shy,
Through which Aurora shows ner smiling face
How many unhappy Wigh's perform bis
darksome pilgrimage, when ih.y mi ht, iew
miles off from Turks Gap, have s.eu he So"
rise over q landscape, whit h exhibits the coan-
Try, towards tide water, spreading oct in an tx
tent Of forest as boundIess and level as the
ocean, TO the nor ana south, The long ain oi
he Blue Ridge, 10 the wes', the well cultivated
valley walered by the Shenandoah, adorned by
detached and picturesque mountains and bound
ed by the hazy and unbtoken line OF The North
Mountain.
To return To Harper's Ferry. The exiI Of
The river at the Short Hills on the Maryland
side is called the pnin, nf rocks; ii is here ha'
Two ,ival companies are con'ending Tor III tx
elusive RICH, 10 possess narrow gorge whit h
will apparently give passage al once To river,
canal, a rail road Should ei'Her the road or
the canal succeed, Aarper's Ferry will increase
in importance; already handsome wooden
b, idge, seven hundred and fifty feet from one
,E, .>,I,.. hn-
tween the piers Of mnre than one hundred and
eighty feet, connects The town with the Ma,
,ylard shore willis, the funds for similar
structure over the Shenandoah have already
been Subscribed The former bridge is simple
and DISPLAYS the skill of the engineer; ii Is
sus ainfd bv arc hes formed of three 'itrs of
blanks placed rdgeways, and whose joints give
sblh TO each o'he; king ros's, tanning from
the centre, unite these planks and sustain a
oof, which, by its d'agonal framing, serves to
give stability in lateral direction The bridge
is double. Did no, the name Of The engineer,
by whom this structure was erected, give sui
frient guarantee for its excellence, he observer
might fear that economy had been too muc b
consulted in the materials.
The national army al HaTper's Ferry is al,
obi CT worthy of attention. Eighty or nIney
thousand stand Of arms are usually keep, there,
and as these are sent of 10 other deposi, cries.
heir pl,ce is supplied from the extensive ,na-
rufactory adiscent. II is interesting to obs. rye
the facility with which weapon, so compllca-
ted as the muke,, is produced A ba, IF ir''n
is forged INFO rough tube; the interior If
whic b is formed into smooth surface by drills
TUNED by he power Of wafer. A first, the
barrel. strongly listened, is moved slowly for
ward, whilst the drill cylindrical rod Of iron,
terminating in rectangular bar, ten or Twelve
inches long, revolSes with rapidIty, bu, without
progressive motion; the barrel is surrounded
by water, which, though constantly renewed,
becomes wa m to the touch. The barrel is not
made cylindrical by single drill; succession
is employed, until, IN The apple alton of finer
drills, he harrel, ony fastened ~ the middle, is
lef free 10 adap, itself to the motion Of he drill
The ous'de Of The barrel is polished by
enormous grind stones, turning with rapidly.
These s'ones guarded by thick cheeks Of
wood, to whiohis fixed a Covering, that lessons
TIE dagger, should the Centrifugal force, arising
T,om Su r. mid a pnotion ku,st he st0na uenp-