The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1843-09-30


nor of the state. This town is abou, 16
miles long,. and about 2 miles " ide, CON
tanning in lSl0, 922 inhabitants. being 80
less than in 1897. The principal employ
menl of its inhabitants is agriculture, aud
the town presents lule interesting to a
stranger, aside from lis Introduction to
Yankee manners. There is a Shaker vii
lage IN the Southeastern part, composed.
of six families. and containing about 40
| inhablai is. What struck ME as being
| the greatest curiosity the place affords, is
circular stone barn, us feet in com-
pass.
,4ugusi 5M-Fisited Monument noun
tain, in the town of Great Bar.iugton.-
| This mountain is perhaps the the mos. no
ted of any in this section of the country;
it rises almost perpendcularlv from the
east bank Of the HousatonIc, extending II
s.ior. distance into the town of Stock
bridge. 1t is much to be regretted that
| the rude monument of stones, which once
stood upon the Southeastern cliff of this
mountain, and gave il its name, should
have been entirely demolished This
pile is said to have been 8 or 10 feet in di
ameter, circular at its base, and raised in
the form Of an ohtuse cone over the grave
of one of the aborigines. Whenever an
Indian passed by the tomb Of his country
man, il was customary for him to cast a
stone upon it, and n a series Of years by
this slow method of accumulation, the
heap ill question rose to the size we have
inst mentioned. Tradition says, The per-
son bsried here was female, who had
thrown herself from the rocky cliffs Of
the mountain, through a passionate love
for cousin, whom the religion of The
nation would not allow her to marry
The following eX tract f ON poem writ
ten by VIM c. Bryant, some years since
an inhabi tant Of this town, delineales the
scenery Of this mountain, and may be
applied to much of the mountain scenery
of this State:
''Thou who wouldst see the lonely and the wl
Mingled in harmony on natures face,
Ascend our rocky mountain. Let thy foot
Fail not with WEAKNESS, for on their tops,
10, md I La, &c ~,
Spread wide beneath, shall make thee to forge
The steep aud toilsome way There as thou
stand st.
The haunts of men below thee, and above
The mountain sammts, thy expanded heart
Shall feel kindred with that lQfter world
To which thou art translated, and partake
The enlargement ofthy vision. Thou shall look
Upon the green and rolling forest tops,
And down into the secrets Of the glen,
And sire ms, tina! with their bordering thckets
strive
To hide their wndngs. Thou shalt gaze at once,
Here white Villages aud, filth, and herds
And swarming roads, and there sohtudes,
| That only hear the torrent and the wind
| And eagles shrek. There is precipice
| That seems fragment Of some mighty wall,
Built by the hand that fashioned the old world,
! To separate its nations, and thrown down
| When tie food drowned tlom. 10 the north a
path
| Conducts you up the narrow bat'lement.
| Sleep is the western side, Shaggy and wild,
With messy trees and pinacl,s Of flint,
| And many hanging crag. But to the east
Sheer 10 the vale go down the bare old cliffs
| Huge plrs that in middle heaven uprear
| Their weather-beaten capitals; here dark
With the thick moss Of centuries, and there
| OF cIially whteness, where the thunder-bolt
Has spntered them. 1t is a fearful thing
| To stand upon the beetling verge and see
Where storms and lightniugs from the huge grey
wall
| Have tunbled down vast blocks and at the base
Dashed them in fragments; and to lay thine ear
Over the dizzy depth, and hear the sound
| OF winds that struggle with the woods below,
Come up like ocean murmurs. But the scene
Is lovely round; beautiful river there
Wandcrs amid the fresh and fertile meads,
The paradise he made unto himself,
| Mining the soil for ages. On each side
The fields swell upward to the hills; beyond
! Above the hill in the blle distance rise
The mighty columns with which earth props
I heaven"
The following remarkable circumstance
is related by Dr. Dwight, as having oc-
CURED at the great bridge in this town.
"a Mr.. Van Ranselaer,a young gentle
man from Albany. came one evening into
an inn kept by Mr.. Root, just at the
eastern end of the bridge. The innkeep-
er who knew him, asked him where he
had crossed the river. He answered son