The southern aegis. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1857-1862, 1861-04-13
MlsttllautOus,
The Fall of Table Rock,
BY the Last Man that Stood on it.

George Wilkes writes =" said that
had something to do with the fall of Table
Rock, that broad shelf on the Canada side,
which in 1850 looked over the very caul-
dron of the seething waters, but which
tumbled into it on a certain day in the
month Of June of that, by me, well re-
membered year. About noon on that day,
| accompanied a lady from the Clifton
House to the Falls. Arriving at Table
Rock, We left our carriage, and as we APP
preached the projecting platform, [ poited
out to my companion vast crack or assure
which traversed the entire base Of the rock,
remarking that it hal never appeared f.
me' before. The lady almost shuddered
as she looked at it, and shrinking back,
declared that she did not care about going
near the edge. "Ah," said |, taking her
hand, "you might as well come on, now
that you are here. I hardly think the
rock will take notion to fall merely be-
cause we are on it."
The platform jutted from the main land
some sixty feet; but, to give the visitor a
still more fearful projection over the raging
waters, a wooden bridge, or staging, had
been thrust beyond the extreme edge for
some ten feet. This terminated in a small
box for visitors to stand IN, and kept in
its position, and enabled to bear its weight,
by ponderous load of stone heaped upon
its inner ends, The day was very right
and hot, and it being almost lunch time
at the hotels, but very few visitors were
out, 50 we occupied the dizzy perch alone.
We gazed fearfully out upon the awful
waters, we stretched our heads timidy
over the frightful depths below, and we
felt our natures quail in every fibre by the
deafening roar, that seemed to saturatc US,
as it were, with an indefnable dread
"This is IL terrible place." said [. "Look
under there, and see on what a mere shell
we stand. For years and years the teeth
of the torrent, in that letting, angry stream,
have been gnawing at that hollow, and
some day this plane must fall"
My companion shuddcred, and drew
herself together in alarm Our eyes swept
the roaring circle of the waters once again;
We gazcd about in fatal fascination, when
suddenly turning our looks, each re-
cognized corresponding fear. ~ do not
like this place!' exclaimed l quickly
"The whole base of this rock is probably
disintegrated, and perhaps sits poised in a
succession Of steps or notches, ready to fall
out and topple down at any unusual per,
turbation. That fssure there seems to
me unusually large to-day. | think we
had better leave, for | do not fancy such a
finish; and besides, my paper must be pub.
lished next week"
With these very words-the latter ut.
tered loosely, though not without alarm
i seized my companions hand, and, in
absolute pauic, we fled as fast as our feet
could carry us toward what might be called
the shore We first burst into laugh
when we gained the land, and Jumping
into our carriage, felt actually as if We
had made fortunate escape. We rolled
back toward the Clifton, but before we
had proceeded two minutes on our way, a
laundering report, like the explosion Of an
earthquake, burst upon US, and with loud
roar the ground trembled beneath oul
wheels. We turned to find that Table
Rock had fallen We were the last upon
it, and it was, doubtless, the unusual per-
turbation caused by our flying footsteps
that disturbed the exactitude of its equil
ibrium, and threw it from its final poise
La minute more the road was filled
with hurrying people, and during the fol