Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1885-02-10

uHllG III IN l1usSs llltllSIUHt5ls IL fllULud~s
rave. Like all these l6rdly estates,
tits laid off aud ornamental accord-5
ing 10 the true principles OF land-
scspe gard dening. 1t has the usual
features of a costly mansion, well
built stone walls, neatly trimmed
hedges, noble gates, coy lodges,
clean fields, good roads, fine stock,
and thicls set groves or preserves for
game. IN. small fei by the road;
saw at least Eve hundred rabbits
jumping about and browsing on: the
green grass. In another, hundreds
OF sea fowl. IL Was about noon
hat struck me IS b ss1ge was the
times that the rat hits were seen. With
us they never leave their cove. tiH
evening. Sir Eg Macna1ghteu seemed
to be very much Thought of by his
|neighbors. just then every one was
giving expression to their sympathy
for him because Of the, elepement OF
his. wife with a neighbor by the name
of Thornton, who. was d man of little
means. She left behind four little
children. A divorce had just been
granted, and thesescapadeof of the wife
was tile Heading scandal sof the day,
andwas severely eprehended by an
with whom talked. i was told that
she was, a daughter OF the editor OF
the London Times. What. has great
wealth, station, or title to do with
.happiness2 n were better to have d
wife we'll willed and little farm well
titled, than worldly and 1ngodly
woman, with an estate never so
prince!y. Midway between Portrpsh
and the CausewaY stand the ruins Of
the castle of Dunluce, which was
built many centuries ago. In the
history of the wars Of Tyrconnel
against O'Neill, wherein Moo Quillan,
the Lord of Dunluce, and; one Me-
Donnell prominently figured, might be
found facts and incidents of the most
interesting character, about one of
the most striking and perfect speci-
mems of "a castle in ruins to be found
in the United Kingdom. There IT
stands, covering a precfpitous rock
that rises perpendicutarly from the
ocean s edges at the base of which the
sea for centuries has heaYed In vain
its dark and angry waters. Its walls,
and towers and turrcts, though be-
logged and storm-b beaten for ages,
looking sullen and dark, still defy
the sea, the thunder and lightningJ
and thetblasts of a. northern sky
How. interesting must be the history,
traditions and legends of that once
impregnable strongholdl And what
a thing of grandeur and beauty 1t
must have been when there aoated, as
do now from castles on the Rhine,
flags or pennants from every tower
and tt1rret. About three miles from
the castle Of DunIuce, and on the
same coast, are found the most won-
derful geological formations in the
world. l allude to the Giants Cause
way and to the columnar structure of
the cliffs near by. tits utterly yimpos-
sible to describe this phenomenon In
such manner as to convey a perfect
or proximate idea of it's appearance.
l shall not therefore attempt III. It
can only be done by means of the
photograph or similar instrument Of
art. The coast here is very high, be-
ing aboutfour hundred feet-above.the
waters of the sea, which swell, break.
and roar at its base. tits rock-ribbed
and precipitous. You approach it
from the rear over q well cultivated
country. When you reach its brink
and look out upon and over the sea-
your feet rest upon green sod. It
is indented with little bays and prom
inent headlands or promontories,
which jut forward into the sea. Here
and thereis alaud slip whichiuheoyersl
the face of the lofty cliffs exposing
their columnar ribs, which look like
colohnades with pillars in iuxtaposi-
ton, and standing erect in straight
orcurved lines, nicely nccommodat
to the undnlations of the const.-s
"Phe finest of all the promontories,t
as the Giant Amphitheatre Is of the,
bays" is that called Che Pleasktn.-
To the student OF geology it is very
interesting, ,as presenting somesixteen
different strata. j borrow the fol-
lowingd description of this promontory,:,
THE natural basaltic here lies tmme.
diately under the surface. About
twelve feet from the summit the rock
begins to assume columnarl tend
ency and is formed into ranges of.
rudely columnar basalt, in vertical
position, exhibiting the appearance Of
a grand gallery whose columns meas-
ure sixty feet in height. This bag
saltic columnade rests upon a9bedlof
coarse black irregular rock sixty feet
thick, aboundipg tnair holes. Below.
this coarse stratum is a second range
of pillars; forty. five feet high, moro
accurately coltimnar and nearly asf
accurately formed as the Cadseway
itself. The cliff appears as though
1T had been painted for effect, in5ya-
rfous shades of green, yermilion
rock, red ochre, grey itchens, etc.
its general form SO beautiful -itsi
st0riedJ pillars; tier after tier, sol
arehitec ecturally graceful It's curious
and varied stratiflc cations supporting
the coidmnar ranges haYe the dark
brown anofpho1s Basalf, the red
ochreS and below that again tie slenss
der but distinct lines OF wood coal.5
all the edges Of It's different stratifi-.
cations tastefulIY y varied by the hand
OF vegetable nature With grasses,
ferns and rock plants. I'm tie yarf9
4ous strata of which; it ais composed,