convul- fion. Tne fiflure, jufl: at the bridge, is, by fome admeafurements, 270 feet deep, by others only 205. It is about 45 feet wide at the bottom, and 90 feet at the top; this of courfe determines the length of the bridge, and its height from the water. Its breadth in the middle, is about 60 feet, but more at the ends, and the thicknefs of the mafs, at the fummit of the arch, about 40 feet. A part of this thicknefs is conftituted by a cx)at of earth, which gives growth to many large trees. The refidue, with the hill on both fides, is one fohd rock of lime-ftone.—The arch approaches the femi-elliptical form; but the larger axis of the ellipfis, which would be the cord of the arch, is many times longer than the tranfverfe. Though the fides of this bridge are provided in fome parts \vith a parapet of fixed rocks, yet few men have refolution to walk to them, and look over into the abyfs. You invo- luntarily fall on your hands and feet, creep to the parapet, and peep over it. Look- J^/PrsoM>j7chr, /tjyr 'r, O / Y/V//' <</ ///r //r/////v// ^^)r/4/y/ /// //•^/y//^/^.
lr»
ing down from this height about a minute, gave me a violent head-ach. If the view from the top be painful and intolerable, that from below is delightful in an equal extreme. It is impoffible for the emotions arifing from the fublime, to be felt be- yond what they are here: fo beautiful an arch, fo elevated, fo lights and fpringing as it were up to heaven! the rapture of the fpeftator is really indefcribable ! The fiflure continuing narrow, deep, and ftreight, for a confiderable diftance above and below the bridge, opens a fliort but very pleafing view of the North mountain on one fide, and Blue ridge on the other, at the diftance 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 paflage over a valley, which cannot be crofled elfewhere for a confiderable diftance. The ftream palling under it is called Cedar-creek. It is a water of James' river, and fufficient in the driefl: