. Picturesque America; or, The land we live in. A delineation by pen and pencil of the mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, water-falls, shores, cañons, valleys, cities, and other picturesque features of our country . Having partially satisfied our emo-tional appetites, we take a recess, and ride up to Adamsons to dinner. In the after-noon we return, and cross the river on foot by a fording-place so rugged and slipperythat we cannot trust our horses to carry us. Up the steep bank, and across a shaded pla-teau, we enter the gate-way, which is farther from the river than we anticipated. Herewe fin
. Picturesque America; or, The land we live in. A delineation by pen and pencil of the mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, water-falls, shores, cañons, valleys, cities, and other picturesque features of our country . Having partially satisfied our emo-tional appetites, we take a recess, and ride up to Adamsons to dinner. In the after-noon we return, and cross the river on foot by a fording-place so rugged and slipperythat we cannot trust our horses to carry us. Up the steep bank, and across a shaded pla-teau, we enter the gate-way, which is farther from the river than we anticipated. Herewe find the inevitable water-power—a trickling rill, whose current might be stopped bya thirsty ox—the insignificant author of this tremendous ruin. Turning from the horse-path, we clamber up the talus at the base of the right-hand abutment, and, when outof breath, sit down to recover, and look up. We are now directly fronting the perpen-dicular edge or gable-end of the great cliff. The first emotion is one of bewilderment,not unmingled with dread, at the impending proximity of the awful pile, as if we werestanding under the leaning tower of Garisenda, at Bologna. As we next begin to 388 PICTURESQUE Cathedral Rock. note the details, and comprehend the general effect of the mass, we are troubled with astrange sense of incredulity, a distrust of our senses, even a certain flushing of resent-ment, as if some imposition were practised upon us. All that we have heretoforeseen and wondered at has not quite prepared us to accept this literally. Can this bereality, or is it only a stony nightmare superinduced by a surfeit of rocks ? Yet, thereit stands, in motionless and silent majesty, a vast minster of the Gothic ages, growingmore and more marvellous as we scrutinize its carven details, and estimate its sublime IN WEST VIRGINIA. 389
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1872
