the magnificence of the scenery from various points and turns of the road, was such as to baffle all powers of description. Upon one side of me were immense ledges of rocks, piled in masses for hundreds of feet in a perpendicular line; the eye in gazing upon their summits was pained with expansion, and the loose disjointed manner in which the tremendous crags frowned over the road, was such as to inspire fears for the traveller's safety. An immense chasm would at times present itself between the cliffs, where the spruce pine, juniper and laurel, flourished in all the richness of mountain scenery, and presented one unbroken mass of dark green shadow. Through these gaps a small stream of chrystaline purity would leap over the tops of the more lowly shrubs in triumph, and dash in one mass of foam from the edges of the ravine down to the side of the road. The New river upon the other side illuminated by the rays of the rising sun, was seen in a serpentine course for several miles, and resembled a succession of cataracts formed of liquid gold. It dashed and foamed over the rocks which obstructed its course, with the most rapid impetus, and at length it was opposed by the great chain of rock at the Falls of Kanawha, o'er which it was tumbled with a deafening roar, and eddying whirl, until boiling and raging with the velocity of its descent, it seemed to form at the bottom, "one complete hell of waters."

As my journey continued, the invigorating effects produced by riding in the coolness of the morning, began to subside; the rays of the sun poured upon me in a direct line, and languor and fatigue, conse

quent upon excessive heat threatened to overpower me. The scenery was changed, and for the worse; the mountain sides were parched and cracked with the heat, and the surface of the rocks seemed to quiver beneath the excessive rarefaction of the atmosphere. No pure spring burst from the mountain sides to moisten the parched lip of the traveller: no umbrageous oak spread its massive shade o'er the arid road: here and there a solitary pine shot straight up, as bare as a lightning rod, and appeared indeed to act as a conductor to the meridian ray. It was a region upon which famine and desolation seemed to have a confirmed claim, and where the solitary votary of grief and misery might have feasted upon his tears forever, unmolested.

Upon the pinnacle of the mountain, at a sudden bend in the road my eye was at last greeted with a view of the far distant blue mountains of old Virginia. I stopped, and with feelings of ecstacy contemplated the view before me: my heart was filled at once with a flood of overpowering sensations. My long absence, the fatigues of my journey, and the present extreme exhaustion of my powers, were all forgotten, and 1 thought that such a reward, a view of the dear scenes of nativity,.would sufficiently remunerate any one for the toils, privations and troubles of a long sojourn in a foreign land. "Welcome once more my beloved country," I exclaimed, "where virtue, hospitality and freedom, flourish in all their pristine purity."

The confused sounds of a multitude ascending the mountain at my left, disturbed my meditations. I

turned speedily around, and was struck with the odious spectacle of a number of slaves, handcuffed in double files, and a diversified assemblage of old and young women, boys and children of the same ill-fated species, slowly ascending the mountain. The owners were riding behind in a Dearborne waggon, armed with rifles. 1 stopped them and involuntarily asked for what cause these miserable beings were transported from their native land? He replied with an air of perfect nonchalance, that "he had purchased them with a view of selling them again in Alabama or Mississippi." "Have they committed any crime," I enquired? "None," was the reply; on the contrary, they have been highly recommended for their sobriety, but their former masters wanted money and I wanted negroes; so we made an exchange of one for the other. Good day sir. Come my lads move faster, or we shall quicken you." "The damn'd rascal;" said my uncle, with considerable emotion. "I beg your pardon," said he to the young Minister, "for this indecorous interruption; pray proceed.”

I looked after them as they slowly wound along the mountain road, until one by one the whole mass disappeared. "Thus," thought I, "unfortunate, miserable outcasts are your services requited; like a herd of cattle are you driven from your homes and the soil congenial to your natures, for no crime or fault, to serve a mere rascally purpose of speculation.

With the great Jefferson, it made me tremble to think that God was just. The remembrance of this spectacle remained upon my mind till I had re

tired at night to rest; and when my senses were wrapt in slumber, it gave rise to visions truly terrific. Upon the wings of imagination, I was transported to an island in the ocean, and kindness and hospitality seemed to await my arrival. For, I was invited to a sumptuous entertainment at the palace of a grandee, and was at once ushered into a circle of splendour and fashion; seraphic strains of music floated through the marble halls, and the scene was gilded with all the magic colourings of luxury and refinement, and all that could charm the sense or inflame the fancy, was unsparingly afforded.

The banquet was announced, large folding doors flew open, and a burst of melody that echoed through the dome, greeted our entrance into the saloon. The massive table was covered with plates of silver and gold, and the blushing wine shone through the chrystal reservoirs. We were seated: the music ceased for a moment, and suppressed groans rose from beneath the floor and pervaded the apartment, but they were immediately drowned in a swell of the symphony. The covers were removed from the vases: a cadaverous steam arose from the contents, and what was my unutterable horror at beholding them filled with the flesh of the murdered African served up in the most piquant style of cookery. And when I beheld the company around me rioting in all the disgusting barbarity of carnibalism, an overpowering faintness struck to my heart, and I hastily poured out a glass of wine and raised it to my lips. But, my feelings of terror were increased upon seeing the liquor suddenly converted into blood: I dashed the glass upon the floor

and broke it into a thousand pieces. The cause of my behaviour I related to the company, upon which they broke into loud and repeated shouts of laughter, which rose by degrees into the most wild and unearthly screams. Their figures dilated in size, and their features changed in expression, till they presented the appearance of a band of dæmons celebrating their orgies. The apartment was transformed into a gloomy cavern. A river of blood boiled and foamed from the goblet upon the floor, and pervaded the murky expanse. Flashes of lightning illuminated the scene, and a burst of thunder, which rocked the cavern to its base, caused me to start from my bed and awakened me. The sun was gleaming over the tops of the mountains, and the horn blowing the glad tidings of breakfast, had had the desired effect of awakening me."

The young Minister's lively description of this appalling scene, produced a sensation of indignant abhorrence throughout the whole company. My old uncle seemed peculiarly affected, and after he had mused for a moment upon what he had heard, he thus exclaimed with considerable emotion: "Such are the scenes which have given rise to the heart-burning censure which has been cast upon our national character, by our northern neighbours and foreign visitors. It is the depraved spirit of avarice acting upon a few speculative scoundrels, which has cast a blot upon the reputation of the whole South. My feelings, gentlemen," continued our uncle, "with respect to the traffic in slaves, have ever been the same, and when I behold civilized freemen thus