Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1855-11-28
Written for the Spirit OF the Age.
SOLILOQUOY ON MT. FILLMORE.

ny W. n. GATES.
40! grandeur unsurpassed! o wondrous scene
And Is this oil reality, indoed2
Am | above the clouds? And do | stand
Upon the pinnacle-the loftiest peak,
OF fair Columbia's measured soil ? And am
l nearly half n league above the sea?
All yes-these weary limbs-this boundless scope
OF yision,-this lofty scene whore Grandeur
Sits exaltcd-place all beyond u doubt.
Prolific scene! 1 gaze around me, and
Am lost in its immensely. Vast piles
Of adamant, lifting their stately forms
Aloft, in peerless majesty valleys
Unnumberd, dotted DER with how'rs that look
Like little gardens in the forest, or
More distant, like n scattcr'd flock of sheep,
Reclining; mountains DER mountains that seem
A congregation, vast, Of younger earths,
Assembrd to declare their independence!
Meet the bewilder'd gaze, on ey'ry side.
And over all, yon brilliant sun looks down,
In dazzling splendor on the charming scene!
But ah-the nountain tTcmbles and l hear
A mighty rumbling, sof distant thunder.
It is,-it Is and yonder, rolling round
The lofty peaks, a tempest sweeps along!
Onward-onward it rolls, and now a sea-
A black, fearful, hcaving sea surrounds me!
A sea of clouds with mountain tops
For islands! How majestic And the wales
Are wrapt in rayless gloom save when now as
The vivid lightning, momentary darts
Alight-terriic As thoughsthe demon
Of the tempest, were splitting out his wrath.
And now he hurls-as if he enyied them
His volley'd thunder, Mt the lofty peaks!
Buthurls in vain. They playing with his thunder
Toss it back, from crag to crag, till lifeless-
Its last eeho-Ah the clouds are melting!
And on their placid bosom-O sublime!
A Joyous rainbow rests! now It's fading
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES with the clouds
But what u pleasing scene is left behind!
The neryinu UOWer-the wild sublimity
OF raging elements the mingled thrill
OF joy and borrowed passion, have faded,
And left u gentle grandeur DER the scene
A quiet rapture on the soul.
Nature
Seeks repose. Not n cloud appears save one
A chaplet on her brow that circling round,
Just Ger the distant mountain tops, and tinged
With violet and crimson, encloses
All this lovely scene But the valleys, yet,
Are yiewless. And gently, DER them, resting,
A snow-whito vapor floats rs il, beneath
The suns more potent ray, the thunder-cloud
Were bloach'd of all its horrid gloom, and left
Between the elemcnts-a flag Of truce!
How heightened is the scene! How beautiful
The contrast! There stand the darksome mountain
High, ehangeless; here floats the snow-white vapo
Low and fading. Yes, it's fading-melting
Away. And now, upon the lowly bosom,
Only, Of the limpid streams, it resteth
Distinctly tracing each, through ev'ry curve,
Till distance bounds the vision.
Beautiful
Majestic scene! The flights of Fancy, and
The chime Of words-how insignificant!
Beside thee, all imaginings are naught!
And world-renown'd oppression dies!
Farewell!
] leave thee but thine image is engraved,
I%ndelibly, upon my soul, TO tread
The viewless regions Of eternity.
= Mt. Fillmore manned in honor of our /.
President,) is a peak of the Black Mountains, la
ly discovered to be ITO #. higher than Mt. Nit
ell, hitherto regarded the highest.) The altitu
Of Mi. F., according 70 measurement by Hon. T.
Clingman, on the Sth Sept. 1855, is 6842 f., con
quently COS fl. higher than Mt. Washington, Chi
est Of the White Mts.) IL is situated about tn
miles N. N. Il. of Mt. Mitchell, and ~twenty-ni
N. h., of Asheville, N. @. 1t has a deep, rich $
black muok-eyen at the summit but its vegC
ton Is almost exclusively the balsam tree, VIII
forms an exceedingly dense and beautiful e,
green forest, carpeted with moss, from twent,
fifty feet high; though, wherever destroyed,
place is supplied by n luxuriant growth Of vii
grass. Pheasants, Deer and very large
abound, even at the highest peaks. Spring
excellent cold water, are found on the mountain
Sylvan Spring, near the summit of MI. Film
deserves particular notice. The ascent ofthe mt
tain, from the base TO the summit of Mt. f.. is
miles, by a winding path. 1t can be assembled
horseback. During the summer months, the an,
tain House" built entirely of balsam-is oper
tho reception Of visitors. 1t is on q spur oil
Mountain-four miles from the base-at an
tude Of $50 #. There is a good carriage roa
Mr.. Jesse StaPp's, at the base of the Noun
who keeps a good house Of entertainment, a
seasons, and is a very amiable and ~obliging