" Ours are the plan of fair delightful peace, tintvarpVl by party rage, to live like brothers."'
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,qmvejed--his breathing became sliortaud
lodthe cold sweat trickled from hi tem-
plesfr He sprang over the wall-he, rushed
lowarda'the pot, 1 . ' f
1 jviahr he. exclaimed iii agony, "whose
grave is "that ? " 5 . x'
, " Hoot ! awa' Avi ye, said, - the grave
absence became as a dream Upon her face.
The vefy language he had aeqriired during
separation was laid aside. Nature
price.
Lettkus to the Editors must be post-paid.
THE SOLBIGR'9 RETUUft'.
ng
Seven or eight years ago, I : was travel
ling between the Berwick and Selkirk, and,
having started at the crowing of ' the cock,
had "left Melrose before four in the after
joon. On arriving 'at Abbotsford, . I per
ieiveda Highlarid soldier, as apparently fa
tigued as myself, Waning upon a walking
stick, and gazing intensely on the fairy
palace of the magician. , whose wand is
nce broken, but whose magic still re
mains. 1 am no particular disciple of Lava
ter's, yet the man carried his soul upon his
face, and we were friends at the first glance.
He wore a plain Highland bonnet' and a
coarse gray great coat, buttoned to the
throat. His dress bespoke him to belong
onlv to the ranks ; but there was a dig
nity in his manner, and a fire, a glow
ing1 language, in bis eyes, worthy of a
chieftain. His height might exceed five
feet nine, and his age be about thirty.;
The tresses of manly beauty were still
upon his cheeks ; but the sum of a western
hemisphere had tinged them with a sallow
hue and imprinted untimely furrows.
Our conversation related chiefly to the
i ..Usui!? srenprv around us: and we had
pleasantly journeyed together for two or
three miles when' we arrived at a little se
qucsteied burial ground by the way-side,
near which there was neither church nor
dwelling. Its low wall was thinly cover
ed with turf, and we sat down "upon it to
rest. My companion became silent and
melancholy, and his eyes wandered anx
iously among the graves.
" Ilere, " said he, sleep some of ray
AVer's children, who died in infancy. '
He picked up a small stone from the
ground, and throwing it gently about ten
yards, "That, "added he ; is the very
spot. But, thank God no grave stone rtas
been raised during ray absence It is . a
token I shall find my parents living and,'
continued he, with j a sigh, " may I also
End their love. It is hard, sir, when the
heart of a parent is turned against his own
child. ' '
lie drooped his head upon his breast for
a few moments and was silent, and, ha5tily
raising his fore finger to his eyes, seemed
to dash away a solitary tear. I hen turning
to me, he continued : You may think,
Sir, this is weakness in a soldier; but hu
man hearts beat beneath a red coat. My
father whose name ' is Campbell, andwho
was brought from Argyleshire while young,
is a wealthy farmers in this neighborhood.
Twelve years ago, I loved a being gentle
Wo w
children together, and she grew in beauty laid m the Qufl
on my sight, as the star of evening steals
into glory through the twilight. But she
was poor and portionless, the daughter of a
mean shepherd. Our attachment offended
my father. He commanded me to leave
her forever. 1 could not, and he turned me
from his house. I wandered, I knew not,
and I cared not. whither. But I will not
,
.detain you with my history. In my ut
most need I met a Serjeant of the forty-second,
who was then upon a recruiting ser
vice, and in a femiwee.ks I joieed that regi
nient of proud hearts. I was at Brussels
when the invitations to the wolf and the
raven rang at midnight through the streets.
It was the herald of a day of glory
and ofdeath. There were three Highland
regiments of us -three joined in one join
ed in rivalry, in love, and in purpose ; and,
thank Fate! I was present when the Scots
Greys, flying to our aid, raised the electric
shout, " Scotland for ever.' Scotland for
ever ! " reverberated as from the hearts we j
Had left behind us;; and 'Scotland forever !'
re-echoed 'Victory ! " Heavens !" addled
he, starting to his feet, and" grasping his
sfafF, as the enthusiasm of the past gushed
back upon his soul, " to have joined in
that shout was to live ah eternity in the vi
bration of a pendulum V
In a few moments the animated soul that
gave eloquence to; his tongue drew itself
ack into the chamber of humanity, and
fe8uming his seat upon the wall, he con
tinued, I left my old regiment with the
prospect of promotion, and have since serv
ed in the West InoVs ; but I have heard
nothing of my father nothing of my moth
r nothing of her I love. -
While he was yet speaking,; the grave
Sger, with a pick-axe and spade over 4hw
Moulder, entered the ground. , He ap
proached within a few yards of where we
Bar" He measured off a' narrow piece of
earuWh incircled the little stotie which
)ne soldier had throwa" to mark out the
rial place of his fafnUy. Convulsion
Uihed over the features of my companion;
shivered he graspad my; arm his lips
k a
their
triumphed over art. and he addressed her
in the accents in which he had first breath
ed love, and won her heart.
' " Jeanie! said he, pressing her hand
between his its a sair thing to say J-are-
what na a wav is that to ffliffa body ! '-wjxl, but at present 1 maun say it. This
are ye" daft? " i is a scene I never expected to see, for oh,
"Answer me,' cried the soldier, seizing Jeanie ! I could have trusted to your truth
his hand ; "whose grave :yhose grave is and to your love, as the farmer trusts to
that!" ; seed-time and to harvest, and is not disap-
, ', "Mercy me!" replied the man ofdeath, pointed. . Oh! Jeanie, woman! this is like
"ye are surely out o your heed its an separating.the flesh from the bones, and
auld body tba' cad Adam Campbell's grave burning the marrow.. But ye maun be
now are yon bny thing the wiser for anither's now farewell '.-farewell !"
spierinl" . v - ... , , ) 4 No!no! my ain Willie !" she ex-
"Mv father?" cried my comrade as I claimed, recovering from the agony oftu-
appjrbached him; and, clasping his hands ; pefaqtion, "my hand is still free, and my
snoul
together, he bent his head upon my
der, and wept aloud. , - t
I will not dwell upon the painful scene.
During his absence, adversity had given the
fortunes of his father to the wind ; and he
had died in an humble cottage, unlamented
and unnoticed by the friends of his pros
perity. At the request of my fellow-traveller, I
accompanied him to the house of mourning.
Two or three poor cottagers sat around the
fire. Tle coffin with the lid open, lay a
cross tfie table near the window. A few
white hairs fell over the whiter face of the
deceased, which seemed to indicate that he
died from sorrow rather than from age.
The son pressed his lips to his father's j a heart, left the house, gnashing his teeth
heart has been yours save me Willie! save
me ! " and she threw herself into h"i6 arms.
The bridegroom looked from one to an
other, imploring them to commence an at- j commendation to exhibit in
tack upon the intruder, but he looked in
vain. The father again seized the old gray
coat of the soldier, and, almost rending it
in twain, discovered undemea.h to the as
tonished company, -the jrichly laced uniform
of a British officer. He dropped the frag
ment of the outer garment in wonder, and
at the same time, dropped his wrath, ex
claimed, "Mr. Campbell ! or what are j The subject of this notice was born in
xplain yourself? " the county of Ro'
was for many years before, and at the time
of his death, Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of North Carolina, He was alike
distinguished for the warmth of his attach
ment to what was right and just,, and for
the vigor and discriminating powers of his
mind, which had been 'highly polished , by
laborious study. His reported decisions
are read with pleasure, for the purity and
perspicuity of the htyle and arrangement,
and with profit for their erudition and the
high tone of morality inculcated by them.
Such is a brief sketch of the immediate
and near relations of the deceased, Mr. R.
M. Alexander
In referring thus minutely to the ances
try of the subiect of this notice, it is not to
be understood that we would impute to the
offspring of illustrious ancestors, merit
from that adventious circumstance ; but as
a degeneracy in that particular, by the
force of contrast, adds to the degradation ot
any individual, so it is a matter ot just
our lives tne
virtues of those whose names we bear, and
whose blood flows in our veins. In the
case of the unfortunate individual whose
premature death we now deplore, this ref
erence is made, because the signal virtues
and talents of both his paternal and matern
al progenitors, were still preserved and il
lustrated in his life and conversation.
ye f will you explain you
A few words explained, all'. The bride-
! sroom a wealthy, middle ageu manwitnoui
1 T T" 1 ! . ... 4 r
cneeK. tie groaneu xu spun, mu wuo
troubled. He raised his head in agony,
and with a voice almost inarticulate with
orief, exclaimed, inquiringly, " My moth
er?' ;
The wondering peasants started to their
feet and in silence pointed lo ,a, lowly bed.
He hastened forward he fell upon hs
knees by. the bed side.
Tv mother! O mv mv mother ! " he
me ;
Badly as our military honors are conferred,
merit is not always overlooked even in this
country, where money is everything, and
the Scottish soldier had obtained the pro
motion he deserved. Jeanie's joy was
like a dream of heaven. In a few weeks
wan, in the State of North
Carolina. Having: made himself familiar
and thoroughly acquainted with the usu?.l
3 r
elementary studies of an academical course,
he was at an early age sent to the Universi
ty of North Carolina ; where he graduated
with the honors of the College conferred
upon those who distinguish themselves for
scholarship, and where the amenity of his
disposition secured thei approbation of. his
a t
comins
exclaimed, " do not you too, leave
Look at me I am your own son your
own Willie have you, too, forgot me,
mother ? " ,
She too. lav unon her death-bed, and
the tide of life was fast ebbing;
she gave her hand to Captain Campbell of instructors, and the friendship of his fellow
his Majesty's regiment of infantry, j students. Leaving the University, he corn
to whom long years before she had givdn ! rhenced and prosecuted the study of law in
her young heart. Uhe house, and under the care and supervis
ion of his maternal uncle, Leonard Hender-
W. JMlcxantler.
Chronicle contains
Richard
The Mobile
(following account of the death of this
but the re- ' tleman, and brief sketch ct his life :
the
son. The vigor of his
gen-
father by a
resided
ft-
ff1
membered voice of her beloved son drove it
back for a moment. She opened her eyes
she attempted to raise her feeble hands,
ind t M nnnn his head. She Spoke, but
he alone knew the words that she uttered:;
they seemed accents of mingled anguish, of
joy, and of blessing. For several minutqs
he bent over the bed, and wept bitterly
He held her withered hand in his ; he star
ted ; and as we approached him, the hand
he held was stiff and lifeless. He wept
J- no longer he gazed from the dead body
of his father to that of his mother his
eyes wandered wildly from the one to the
other, he smote his hand upon his brow,
and threw himself upon a chair, while mis
ery transfixed him, as if a thunderbolt had
entered his son!.
I will not give a description of the mel
ancholy funeral, and the solitary mourner.
The father's obsequies were delayed, and
the son laid both his parents irr the same
grave.
Several months passed away before I
gained information respecting the sequel of i
I my little storv. Alter nis parents were
William uampoeii wun
a sad and anxious heart, made enquiries
after Jeanie Leslie, the object of his early
affections, to whom we have already al
luded. For several weeks his search was
fruitless : but at length he learned that
j
property had been left to her
distant relative, ami that he now
somewhere in Dumfrieshire.
In the same 'garb which I have already
described, the soldier set out upon his
journey. With little difficulty he discov
ered the house.' ItTesembledsuch as are
Occupied by' the higher clas "of farme'rsi
The front door stood open., He knocked,
but no one answered. Ie approached a
loncr.the nassaffe he heard .voices in, an
"O I --o - . i
apartment on his right -again he knocked
but was unheeded. He entered uninvited.
A group was standing in the middle of the
floor, and among them a minister commenc
ing the marriage service of the Church of
Scotland. The bride hung her head sor
rowfully, and tears Were stealing down her
cheeks she was his own Jeanie Leslie.
The clergyman paused". The. bride's , fa
ther stepped forward angrily and enquired,
" What do ye want Sir?" .but instantly
recognising his features, he seized him by
the brea&t, and, jn a voice half-choaked
with passion, continued -" Sorrow tak ye
for-a scoundrel ! :what . brought you anT
the fnair especially -at a time like this ? Get
out o' my house. Sir! I say, William
Campbell, get out 6 my house an never
darken ray door again :wi your iieer do
well countenance ! " r ' i ' : ' 7 f.
A sudden shriek followed the mention of
his name, and Jeanie Leslie5 fell into .the
arras of her bridesmaid.
" "Peace, Mr. Leslie!" aaid the soldier,
pushing; the; tld man aside; " since matters
are thus I will only stop to say fare well
for auld tang syne you cannot deny me
that.", ,
He passed, towards the object of his
young love. She spoke not -she moved
not he took her harid, but she seemed un
conscious bf what hedid. And as he a
gain gazed upon her beautiful countenance,
"Oppressed with the heat of the day, he
had retired at an early hour to his chamber;
and taking a seat in the window of the
third story of his dwelling house, for the
purpose of enjoying the breeze, he fell from
thence on the pavement in the street a
height of about 30 feet. His whole frame
was bruised, his flesh mangled, and las
bones broken. He lived from the hour of jlina, he was chosen by
10 o'clock, P. M. of Monday, till 4 o'clock, ! freeholders of the town
P. M. of the next day; during which time ! their representative in the Legislature of
intellect, and the
discriminating powers of his mind, soon
enabled him to master such branches of his
profession as are required to be understood
bv candidates for admission to the practice
of the law in the several courts of the State
of North Carolina. He was duly admitted
as counsellor and attorney in the several
Courts of Law and Equity of his native
State. Diligence and learning in a very
short period secured a full share of practice,
and he fast rose to distinction in his pro
fession. While he resided in North Caro-
the freemen and
of Salisbury, as
not a groan
no, insensible to
in
he complained not uttered
and was yet evidently
nqoe'nir n von tc
Whether he fell asleep while sitting
the window, or casually lost his equipoise,
it is now impossible to say. His friends
abstained from making the enquiry of him,
for fear of giving him pain, as he evidently
spoke with difficulty, and from the hope
which thev entertained to the last that he
might yet survive. He expired without
pain, surrounded by faithful friends.
Wm. Lee Alexander, the father of Rich
ard M. Alexander, was an officer in the
army of the Revolution was the friend
and associate of Gen. W. R. Davie of
the State : and for many vears he officiated
as President of the Branch Bank of the j
i. - rur i: : c i i i
State oimorm uaruuna, ai oausuui.
About three years ago, he determined to
seek a more extended field, in which he
might exert the powers of his mind, & where
he might prosecute his profession with
better remuneration for mental labor : He
removed in the fall of 1835 to this city,
was immediately admitted to the bar Of the
courts of the State, and was fast securing
to himself the rewards of industry and tal
ent, when he has been snatched from his
friends by this awful visitation of Providence.
His intellect was vigorous; his mind dis-
Wm. Polk, and of the Grahams ; who so criminating; his heart affectionate and warm;
successfully annoyed Jord tornwams in
North Carolina,and on the borders of South
Carolina. At the battle of Eutaw Springs,
that bloody and successful battle, which
rescued South Carolina from the arms of
the enemy, and confined them to Charles
ton Neck, Wm. Lee Alexander greatly dis
tinguished himself, and received from the
hands of his commanding officer, art ac
knowledgement of the high service he had
rendered to his country and his country s
cause.
At the close of the war, Wm. Lee Alex
ander turning his attention to the arts of
peace,-and pursuing the bent of his incli
nation, prosecuted with vigor and success
the study of the law. With diligence in
his profession, and with talents of the
highest order, he soon rose to eminence,
and became a distinguished member of. the
Bar of the Salisbury District, in North
Carolina.
The mother of Richard M. Alexander,
Esq. Mrs. Elizabeth Henderson, was the
' daughter of Richard Henderson, one of the
Judges of the Superior uourt9 01 Law ana
iFmiitv for the State of North Carolina.
I - ' - 11-111
She was the own sister oi Arcnioaia
and - Leonard Henderson names dear to
every son and daughter of North Carolina,
and revered by the good and great who
knew or have heard of them. .
V Archibald Henderson was among the
most distingushed and eminent counsellors
who have ever appeared in the courts of jus
tice in North Carolina. The. minds of the
Court and of, the Jury were enchained
while he spoke ; they listened with: delight
to his elocution, and his earnestness and
learning secured attention and riveted con
viction; The cause of the client was - se
cure, under the management of so good a"
man, and so great and learned an advocate.
Repeatedly was he listened to with, confi
dence and admiration in the councils of the
State and of the Nation.
Leonard "Henderson, Claris simum no
mm, " often a member of the Legislature,
his demeanor conciliatory, mild and unob
trusive. His whole heart and soul was de
voted to a fond sister and most affectionate 1
brother. To his friends he was sincere,
and to his companions interesting and mild.
His heart was the throne of virtue and
honesty, and his mind the dwelling-place of
science and learning. "The life tof a man of
science is seldom fertile in events which are
calculated to interest our curiosity."" The
private life of this good andunambitiousman,
was characterized more by the habits of
benevolence and virtue, than by striking
incidents. ; ! -
Such was Richard M. Alexander, whose
death our community bemoans I"
I happened to be at the Bridge, some
time after the event, wjien a large company
of respectable looking ladies and gentlemen
had just returned from under, the; Bridge,
and were waiting dinner, like myself, at the
house on the suijirnjt, to which I have allu
ded. The conversation, among this com
pany naturally turned upon the.remarkable
event, as it does to this day f and the book
was referred to, as usual, for he particu
lars. I immediately pave Patrick the hint.
that I wished, to remain incog. t in order
that I might hear for myself the remarks up
on my testimony. It is an old saying, that
a listener never hears any good of himself,
and so it turned out on this occasion. The
company were Unanimous in discrediting
my testimony, ladies and all. Little did
they imagine that the man himself was en
sconced in a comer of the same room with
themselves. I forthwith determined to vol
unteer no more testimony about things so
out of the common current of events; at all
events I determined to hold my peace, un
til the public mind should settle down into
the truth, as it generally does at last.
That time seems to have arrived. The
public, without an exception, so far as I
know, has yielded its credence to the united
testimony of so many witnesses. Scarcely
a periodical in the country,, or a. book of
travels, but mentions the subject.
But there is another reason for
torward at this time, tradition has got
hold of the story at the wrong end. In the
very last number of your Magazine, one of
your contributors misrepresents the matter
unintentionally no doubt and Miss Marti
neau,in her 'Retrospectof Western Travel,'
undertakes to detail the whole affair, scarce
ly one circumstance of which she does cor
rectly. Under these circumstances, I think
a discerning public will appreciate my true
motives in coming out over my own signa
ture; indeed, unless I were -to do so, it
would be useless to say any thing at all.
, I think it was in the summer of 1818,
that James H. Piper, Wm. Revely, Wm.
Wallace and myself, being then students at
Washington College, Virginia, determined
to make a jaunt to the Natural Bridge, 14
miles off. Having obtained permission from
the President, we proceeded on our way re
joicing. When we arrived at the Bridge,
nearly all of us commenced climbing up
the precipitous sides, in order to immortal
ize our names as usual. .
Wre had not been long thVs employed,
before we were joined by Robert Penn, of
Amherst, then a pupil of the Rev. Samuel
Houston's grammar school in the immedi
ate neighborhood of the Bridge. Mr. Piper,
the hero of the occasion, commsnced climb
ing on the; opposite side of the creek from
the one by which the pathway ascends the
ravine. He began down on the banks of
the brook; so far, that we did not know
where he had gone;, and were only appriz
ed of his whereabout, by his shouting above
our heads. When wc looked up,' he was
standing apparently right under the arch,
suppose an hundred feet from the bottom,
and that on the smooth side, which is gene
rally r'jdered inaccessible without a lad
der, s was standing far above the spot
wheretSen. Washington is said to have in
scribed his name, when a youth.
The ledge of rock by which he ascended
to this perilous height, does not appear from
below to be three inches wide, and runs
almost at richt angles to the abutment of
the Bridge; of course, its termination is far
down the cliff, on that side. - Many of the
written and traditional accounts state this to
he the side of the Bridge up which he clim
bed. I believe Miss MartineaU so states
but it is altogether a mistake, as any one
may see, by casting an eye up the precipice
on that side. This story no doubt origina
ted from this preliminary exploit.
The ledge of rock on which he was stand
ingr appeared so narrow to us below, as to
make us helieve his position a very pent
rous roots project into them front the trees
growing on the precipice. It was between
these, that the before mentioned ledge con
ducted him.- Here he stopped, pulled off
his coat and hoes, add threw them down
to me And this, in my opinion, is i suf
ficient' refutation of the story, so often toldj
that he went up to inscribe his name, and
ascended so high that he found it more dif
ficult to return than go forward. He could
have returned easily from the point where
he disencumbered himself, but the fact that
he did thus prepare so early and so near
the. ground, and after he had ascended rriore
than double that height, on the other side,
are clear proofs, that to' inscribe i his name
was not, and to climb the Bridge Was his,
object He had already inscribed his name
above Washington himself, more than fifty
feet.
Around1 the face of this rnige colu'rhri, and
between the clefts he now moved backward
dud forward, still ascending, as - he found
convenient foot hold. When he" had ascen
ded aboiit one hundred and severity feet
f retail the earth, and had reached the point
whete the pillar overhangs the ravine, his
heart seemed to fail. He stopped,- and seem
ed to us to be balancirig mid way between hea-
ven and earth We Were in dread suspense.
expecting every moment to see him dashed
to atoms at our feet, we had already ex
hausted our powers of entreaty,- in persuad
ing him to return, but all to no purpose.
Now, it was perilous even to speak to him,
and very difficult to carry on conversation
at all, from the immense height to whieh he
had ascended, and the noise made by the
bubbling of the little brook.-as it tumbled in
tiny cascades over its "rocky bed, at our
feet. At length he seemed to discover that
one of the clefts bfore mentioned, retreated
backward from the overhanging position qf
the Pillar. Into this he sprang at once, and
was soon out of sight and out of danger.'
There is not a word of truth; in ail that
story about our hauling him up with ropes,
and his fainting away so soon as he landed
on the summit. Those acquainted with the
localities, will at once perceive its absurdi
ty, for we were beneath the arch, and it is
half a mile round to the top, and for the
most part up a rugged mountain. Instead of
fainting away, Mr. Piper proceeded at once
down the hill to meet us, and obtain his
hat and shoes. We met about half way,
and there he laid down for a few moments,
to recover himself from his fatigue.
We dined at the tavern of Mr. Donihoo,
half way between the Bridge and Lexing
ton, and there we related the whole matter
at the dinner table. Mr. Donihoo has since
removed to the St. Clair, in Michigan. Mr.
Piper was preparing himself for the minis
try, in the Presbyterian church, and the
President of the college was his spiritual
preceptor, as well as his teacher m coitege.
Accordingly he called him Up next morn
ing, to inquire into it,, thinking, perhaps,
that it was not a very proper exhibition tor
a student of theologyr The Revd. Presi
dent is still alive, and will corroborate my
testimony. I mean the Rev.Geo.A. Baxter -
D.'-D.i at present at the head ot the Theo
logical Seminary in Virginia. As to the
othef witnesses, Mr. Reverly afterwards be
came a member of the Legislature of Vir
ginia, and somewhat distinguished, " I be
lieve, for a young man; but he unfortunate
ly leu a victim to poison as l nave oeen
informed. Mr. Wallace was then of Rich
mond, but a native of Scotland, whither he '
returned soon after. It strikes me- that I
once heard of his death, but of this I am
not certain. He may be still alive, and a
ble to substantiate my statement.
Mr. Piper himsslf afterwards married a
daughter of General Alexander Smyth, ,of
Wythe, and was afterwards appointed prin
cipal of some academy in the West, which
he abandoned, however, as he. had done the
ministry before The last I heard of htm.
waa dunner the last summer, when 1 saw
. 0
ous one, and we earnestly enireaiea mm w h name fe igtere(j at one ofV the Virginia
come down. He answered us with loudjg - toj4 he had become aaen
shouts of derision. At this stage of tne.bu-! r - , t, - ,,''
siness, Mr. Penn and servant left us. He
From the Knickerbocker of July .
CUMUING THE NATURAL BRIDGE.
i i-
BY THE ONLY SUVIVINO WITNESS OF THAT
.EXTRAORDINARY FEAT.
I have some reason to believe, that I am
the only surviving witness of that most ad
venturous exploit of climbing the Natural
Bridge in Virginia; and belieying that the
particulars ought to be put upon record, I
have selected the Knickerbocker as the me
dium. I have oftentimes, and for many
years, withstood repeated solicitations to do
this, for the following reasons, which I give,
lest it might be supposed, by some suspi-
(Cious persons, that I had waited tor the
death of the other alleged witnesses.
Immediately after the adventure had been
accomplished, and While all the circum
stances were fresh in my memory, I recor
ded them in a sort of journal, kept to re
cord visiteis names, by poor Patrick Hen
ry, a man of color, who kept the Bridge,
This record as referred to by Patrick,
whenever a visiter became inquisitive about
the circumstances. Some believed my state
ment, and others disbelieved it; but -.by- far
the greater number disbelieved iti as he in
formed me. This was far from being plea
sant to xme who had never had his veracity
doubted before. But this was not all.
would not have done so, I suppose, if he
had known what was to follow; but up to
this time, not one of us had the slightest
suspicion that Mr. Piper intended the dar
ing exploit which he afterwards accomplish
ed. He soon after descended from that side,
crossed the brook, and commenced climbing
on the side by which all visiters ascend the
ravine. He first mounted the rocks on
this side, as he had done on the other far
down the abutment, but not so far as on the
opposite side. The projecting ledge may
be distinctly seen by any visiter. It com
mences four or five feet from the pathway;
on the other side, and winds round, gradu
ally ascending,until it meets the cleft of rock
over which the celebrated cedar stump hangs.
Following this ledge to its termination, it
brought him to about thirty or forty feet
from the ground, and placed him between
two deep fissures, one 6n each side of the
gigantic columh of rock on which the afore
mentioned cedar stump stands. This col
umn stands out from' the Bridge as separate
and distinct as if placed there by nature on
purpose For afi observatory to the wonder
ful arch and ravine which it overlooks. j;A
huge crack of fissury extends from it?iba$e
to its summit: indeed it is cracked on both
sides, but much fhiOT
side than the d&er. Both theie Ussnres ire
thickly overgrown with buht,n4 nume-
gineer, and was then engaged in surveying
a road between some two ot the opr.ings. ;
I have thus briefly andhastily related
every thing about the exploit, which Ihave
any reason to believe will be interesting to
the public, ejthernow or hereafter- '..7.
WM. A. CAUtiTilERS.
THE CORN CROP. ,
We have reason to betieve - that the crop
of our most necessary if not bur principal
staple,' Corn, will be exlreinely short this
year We have made a very general in
quiry of the farmers irt "" this section of -Vir
ginia, "and with the exception or a few
neighborhoods, find the prospects of a most
gloomy character. jThe principal cause of
failure, is owing to the severe drought
which has prevailed with but little Jntr
missioh since the 4th of July the' chince
bug is also committing its accustomed rava
ges in many neighborhoods. v'The'conie
quences 'of a short corn crop Will h eri
ous'to large portion font; populations
With many it is the sole reliance for bread,
! as well afefor raising and fattening their
scanty tock of Hogs. r lb the enhaneed
prices ? of Bread-stuffs, Pork itd Baeon,
f&e., ll' classes will feel H more' or less
the poor will inevitably ffer unlesa relief
he intended x bv their more wealthy nd