been ineffectually tried, it is probable their compofition is different; they are different alfo in their temperature, being as coid as common water; which is not mentioned. h wever, as a proof of a diftinét impregnation. This is among the fiff urces of James river.

On the Potomack tiver, in Berkeley courty, above the North mountain, are medici a rings, much in re freque, ted than those of Augufta: their power, however are lets, the waters weakly mineralifed, and fcarcely warm. They are more vified, becaufe fituated in a fertile, plentiful and populous cuntry, provided with better accommodations, always fafe from the Indians, and nearest to the more p pulous States.

In Louija county. on the head waters of the South Anna branch of York river, are fprings of fome medicinal virtue; they are, however, not much uied. There is a weak chalybeate at Richmond, and many others in various arts of the country, which are of too little worth, or too little note to be enumerated after thofe before mentioned.

Curiofities.

THE Natural Bridge is the mon fublime of nature's works. It is

on the scent of a hill, which feems to have been cloven through its length by 1 m. grea convudion. The fillure, juft at the bridge, is by fome admeafur ments two hundred and feventy feet deep, by others only two hundred and nve. It is about forty-five feet wide at the bottom, and ninery feet at the top; this of course determines the length of the bridge, and its height from the water. Its breadth in the middle is about fixty feet, but more at the ends, and the thickness of the mafs at the fummit of the arch about forty feet, but more at the ends, and ninety feet at the top. A part of this thicknefs is conflituted by a coat of earth, which gives growth to many large trees, The refidue, with the bill on both fides, is folid rock of lime-flone. The arch approaches the femielliptical form; but the larger axis of the ellipfis, which would be the chord of the arch, is many times longer than the tranfverfe. Though the fides of this bridge are provided in fome parts with a parapet of fixed rocks, yet few men have refolution to walk to them and look over into the aby fs. You involuntarily fall on your hands and feet, creep to the parapet and peep over it. If the view from the top be painful and intolerable, that from below is delightful in an equal extreme. It is impoflible for the emotions aufing from the fublime, to be felt beyond what they are here ; fo beautiful an arch, fo elevared, fo light, and fpringing as it were up to Heaven, the rapture of the fpectator is really indefcribable! The fiffure continuing narrow, deep and ftraight, for a confiderable difiance above and below the bridge, opens a fhort but very pleafing view of the North mountain on one fide, and Blue ridge on the other, at the diffance each of them of about five miles. This bridge is in the county of Rockbridge, to which it has given name, and affords a public and commodious pallage over a valley, which cannot be cruffa eifewhere for a confiderable diftance. The fiream paffing under it is cal ed Cedar creek. It is a water of James river, and fuffcient in the drief seasons to turn a grift mill, though its fountain is not more than two m les ab: ve. There is a natural bridge fimilar to the above, over Stock creek, in Wafington county.

Religion and Character.

THE prefent denominations of Chriftians in Virginia are Preshy

terians, who are the most numerous, and inhabit the western parts of the State: Epifcopalians, who are the most ancient fettlers, and occupy the eastern and frit fettled parts of the State. Intermingled with these are great numbers of Baptifts and Methodists.

It has pro

Virginia prides itself in being "The Ancient Dominion.” duced fome of the moft diftinguished and influential men that have been active in effecting the two late grand and important revolutions in America. Her political and military character will rank among the firft in the page of hiftory: but it is to be obferved, that this character has been obtained for the Virginians by a few eminent men, who have taken the lead in all their public tranfactions, and who, in fhort, govern Virginia; for the great body of the people do not concern themfelves with politics: fo that their government, though nominally republican, is, in fact, oligarchical or ariftocratical.

The Virginians who are rich, are in general fenfible, polite, and hofpitable, and of an independent fpirit. The poor are ignorant and abject, but all are of an inquifitive turn. A confiderable proportion of the people are much addicted to gaming, drinking, fwearing, horfe racing, cock-fighting, and moft kinds of dillipation. There is a much greater difparity between the rich and the poor, in Virginia, than in any of the northern States. The native inhabitants are too generally unacquainted with bufinefs, owing to their pride, and false notions of greatness. Before the revolution they confidered it as beneath a gentleman to attend to mercantile concerns, and devoted their time principally to amufement. By thefe means the Scotch people and other foreigners who came among them, became their merchants, and fuddenly grew rich.

There muft, doubtlefs, be an unhappy influence on the manners of the people produced by the exiftence of flavery among them. The whole commerce between mafter and flave is a perpetual exercife of the most be illerous paffions, the most unremitting defpotifm on the one part, and degrading fi bmiffion on the other. The children fee this, and learm to imitate it; for man is an imitative animal. This quality is the gerin of all education in him, from his cradle to his grave he is learning to do what he fees oibers do. If a parent could find no motive either in his philanthropy or his felf love, for reftraining the intemperance of pallion towards his flave, it fhould always be a lufficient one that his child is prefent; but generally it is not fufficient. The parent forms, the child looks on, catches the lineaments of wrath, puts on the fame airs in the circle of fmaller flaves, gives a loose to his world of paffions, and thus nurfed, educated, and daily exercifed in tyranny, cai not but be ftamped by it with odious peculiarities. The man must be a prodigy who can retain his manners and morals undepraved by fuch circumflances. And with what execration fhould the fateften be loaded, who, permiturg one half the citizens thus to trample on the rights of the other, transforms thofe into defpots, and thefe into enemies; deflroys the mora's of the one part, and the amor patria of the other. For if a flave can have a country in this world, it mutt be any other in pref rei ce to that in which he is born to live and labour tor another; in which he must lock up the facul tes of his nature, contribute as far as depends on his individual es deavours to he evanishment of the human race, or entail his own miferable conditor on he endless generations proceeding from him. With the morais of the people,

their induftry is alfo deftroyed. For in a warm climate, no man will labour for himself who can make another labour for him. This is fo true, that of the proprietors of flaves a very small proportion, indeed, are ever feen to labour. And can the liberties of a nation be thought fecure when they have removed their only firm bafis, a conviction in the minds of the people that thefe liberties are of the gift of God; that they are not to be violated but with his wrath.

It is impoffible to be temperate and to purfue this fubject through the various confiderations of policy, of morals, of hiftory, natural and civil. We must be contented to hope they will ultimately force their way into every one's mind: a change in this State has been perceptible ever fince the eftablifhment of the prefent government. The fpirit of the master has abated, and that or the flave ar:fen from the duft, his condition is now mollified, and the way at length prepared by the federal government for a total emancipation, and this with the confent of the mafters, and not by their extirpation. Be fore the general government of America undertook the noble work of cutting up flavery by the roots, by laying the foundation of a total emancipation, the State of Virginia had as a body politic, made fome advances; and fome private gentlemen had likewife exerted themselves in a very considerable degree, in the cause of the oppreffed Africans.

BEFORE

Trade and Manufactures.

the war,

the inhabitants of this State paid but little attention to the manufacture of their own cloathing. It has been thought they ufed to import as much as seven-eighths of their cloathing, and that they now manufacture three-quarters of it. We have before mentioned that confiderable quantities of iron are manufactured in this flate. To these we may add the manufacture of lead; befides which they have few others of confequence. The people are much attached to agriculture, and prefer foreign manu

factures.

The amount of exports from this State in the year fucceeding Oftober 1, 1796, was five million one hundred and thirty one thoufand two hundred and twenty-feven dollars. About forty thoufand hogtheads of tobacco only were exported this

year.

In the year 1758, this State exported feventy thoufand hogfheads of tobacco, which was the greateft quantity ever produced in this country in one year. But its culture has faft declined fince the commencement of the war, and that of wheat taken its place. The price which it commands at market will not enable the planter to cultivate it. Were the fupply fill to depend on Virginia and Maryland alone, as its culture becomes more difficult, this price would rife, fo as to enable the planter to furmount thofe difficulties and to live. But the western country on the Miffippi, and the midlands of Georgia, having fresh and fertile lands in abundance, and a hotter fun, are able to underfell these two flates, and will oblige them in time to abandon the railing of tobacco altogether. And a happy obligation for them it will be. It is a culture productive of infinite wretchedness. Those employed in it are in a continued flate of exertion beyond the powers of nature to fupport. Little food of any kind is raised by them; fo that the men and animals on these farms are badly fed, and the earth is rapidly impoverished. The cultivation of wheat is the reverse in every circumftance. Befides cloathing the earth with herbage, and preferving its fertility, it feeds the labourers plenNo. 27

ifully, requires from them only a moderate toil, except in the feafon of harveft, raises great numbers of animals for food and fervice, and diffufes plenty and happiness among the whole. It is easier to raise an hundred bushels of wheat than a thousand weight of tobacco, and it is worth more when produced. It is not eafy to fay what are the articles either of neceffity, comfort or luxary, which cannot be raised here, as every thing hardier than the olive, and as hardy as the fg, may be raised in the open air. Sugar, coffee, and tea, indeed, are not between thefe limits; and habit having placed them among the neceffaries of life with the wealthy, as long as thefe habits remain, they must go for them to thofe countries which are able to furnish them.

Colleges, Academies, Literature, &c.

THE college of William and Mary was founded in the time of

:

King William and Queen Mary, who granted to it twenty thousand acres of land, and a penny a pound duty on certain tobaccoes exported from Virginia and Maryland, which had been levied by the ftatute of 25 Car. II. The Affembly alfo gave it, by temporary laws, a duty on liquors imported, and kins and furs exported. From these refources it received upwards of three thousand pounds. The buildings are of brick, fufficient for an indifferent accommodation of perhaps one hundred ftudents. By its charter it was to be under the government of twenty vifitors, who were to be its legiflators, and to have a prefident and fix profeffors, who were incorporated: it was allow ed a reprefentative in the General Affembly. Under this charter, a profefforship of the Greek and Latin languages, a profeffor of mathematics, one of moral philofophy, and two of divinity, were eftablished. To thefe were annexed, for a fixth profefforfhip, a confiderable donation by a Mr. Boyle of England for the inft.uction of the Indians, and their converfion to Chriftianity this was called the profefforfhip of Brafferton, from an eftate of that name in England, purchafed with the monies given. The admillion of the learners of Latin and Greek filled the college with children; this rendered it difagreeable to the young gentlemen already prepared for entering on the fciences, they defited from reforting to it, and thus the fchool for mathematicis and moral philofophy; which might have been of fome service, became of very little ufe. The revenues too were exhaufted in accommodating those who came only to acquire the rudiments of science. After the prefent revolution, the vifitors having no power to change thole circumftances in the conftitution of the college which were fixed by the charter, and being therefore confined in the number of profefforfhips, undertook to change the objects of the profefforfhips. They excluded the two fchools for divinity, and that for the Greek and Latin languages, and fubftituted others; fo that at prefent they fland thus-a profefforfhip for law and police; anatomy and medicine; natu. ral philofophy and mathematics; moral philofophy, the law of nature and nations, the fine arts; modern languages; for the Brafferton.

Measures have been taken to increase the number of profefforfhips, as well for the purpofe of fubdividing thofe already inflituted, as of adding others for other branches of fcience. To the profefforfhips ufually established in the univerfitics of Europe, it would feem proper to add one for the ancient languages and literature of the north, on account of their connection with our own languages, laws, cuftoms, and hiftory. The purposes of the Brafferton inftitution would be better anfwered by maintaining a perpetual million among the Indian tribes; the object of which, befides inftructing them in the Vol. IV. E 2.

principles of Chriftianity, as the founder requires, fhould be to collect their traditions, laws, customs, languages, and other circumftances which might lead to a difcovery of their relation to one another, or defcent from other nations. When these objects are accomplished with one tribe, the miffiorary might pafs on to another.

The college edifice is a huge, mishapen pile; "which but that it has a roof, would be taken for a brick kiln." In 1786, there were about thirty young gentlemen meinbers of this college, a large proportion of which were law ftudents. The academy in Prince Edward co nty has been erected into a college by the name of Hampden Sydney college. It has been a flourishing feminary, but is now faid to be on the decline.

There are feveral academies in Virginia; one at Alexandria, one at Norfo'k, and others in other places.

Since the declaration of independence, the laws of Virginia have been revifed by a committee appointed for the purpose, who have reported their work to the Affembly; one object of this revifal was to diffufe knowledge more generally through the mafs of the people. The bill for this purpose "propofes to lay off every county into fmall diftricts of five or fix miles fquare, called hundreds, and in each of them to eftablish a school for the teaching of reading, writing, and arithmetic. The tutor to be fupported by the hundred, and all perfons in it entitled to fend their children three years gratis, and as much longer as they pleafe, paying for it. These schools to be under a vifitor, who is annually to chufe the boy of the beft genius in the fchool, of those whofe parents are too poor to give them farther education, and to fend him forward to one of the grammar fchools, of which twenty are propofed to be erected in different parts of the country, for teaching Greek, Latin, Geograghy, and the higher branches of numerical arithmetic. Of the boys thus fent in any one year, trial is to be made at the grammar schools, for one or two years, and the best genius of the whole felected and continued fix years, and the refidue difmiffed: by this means twenty of the beft geniuffes will be taken from the mafs annually, and inftructed, at the public expense fo far as the grammar schools go. At the end of fix years inftruction, one half are to be difcontinued, from among whom the grammar schools will probably be fupplied with future mafters, and the other half, who are to be chofen for the fuperiority of their parts and difpofition, are to be feat and continued three years in the ftudy of fuch fciences as they fhail chufe, at William and Mary college, the plan of which is propofed to be enlarged, as has been explained, and extended to all the ufeful fciences. The ultimate refult of the whole fcheme of education would be the teaching all the children of the State reading, writing, and common arithmetic; turning out ten annually of fuperior genius, well taught in Greek, Latin, Geography, and the higher branches of arithmetic, turning out ten others annually, of fill fuperior parts, who, to those branches of learning. fhall have added fuch of the fciences as their, genius fhall have led them to; the furnishing to the weal. thier part of the people convenient schools, at which their children may be educated, at their own expenfe. The general objects of this law are to provide an education adapted to the years, to the capacity, and the condition of every one, and directed to their freedom and happinefs. Specific details were not proper for the law; these mu't be the business of the vifitors entrusted with its execution. The first stage of this education being the schools of the hundreds, wherein the great mafs of the people will receive their inftruction, the principal foundations of future order will be laid here. The firft ele