OBSERVATIONS
MINERAL   WATERS
SOUTH WESTERN PART OF VIRGINIA,


              IN A SERIES OF LETTERS.
BY A PHYSICIAN OF PHILADELPHIA'.
  " Ho voluto profittar di questo niomento di tempo per darle un* idea
della mia patria; questa non sara che una grossolaiia pittura, dovecche"
alle mani d' un altro sarebbe stata una  vaga miniatura; il soggetto ne
meritava la  pena, ma il  mio pennello non 2 tanto delicato  da poterlo
eseguire."—GAzre.unEx.Li.
30fr$ V
PRINTED BY J. THOMPSON, CARTER'S ALLEY.
1834. 
W3D 
5?iB2.UA®iao
  The  ensuing observations were made during a visit to Vir-
ginia in the month of August 1833, and were communicated in
letters for the National Gazette, with considerable doubts on the
part of  the  Author of their being worthy of publication.  The
highly accomplished conductor of that paper, having received the
earlier  numbers kindly, and expressed a desire to have the sub-
ject continued, the Author, was induced to proceed with it in de-
ference to his judgment; and also with the view of imparting in-
formation which it was  thought might be useful, to the medical
profession and to  the valetudinarian.   The Letters as published
in  the  National Gazette,  were without proper signature, but as
from accidental causes their source became partially known, nu-
merous applications were made for information on the matter,
and for copies of them.   A wish to supply the latter deficiency
has induced the Author to superintend  a more accessible  and a
somewhat improved edition of them.
   The region of Virginia in which those Springs are situated, is
one of  the  most attractive in our country as a summer resort; its
elevation being about fourteen hundred feet above tide  water se-
cures it from the intense  and unmitigated heats of the same lati-
tude elsewhere; while its position on that parallel prevents what
is  common to the mountainous districts of the  middle and nor-
thern states, to wit  frosts and severe  cold occasionally  at all
seasons.  It is however not pretended that the temperature is ab-
solutely uniform during the visiting  season, which extends from
the first of  July to the middle or last of September; it presents
varieties depending upon fluctuating currents of air, like all parts
of the  United  States: but the following may be stated as a gen-
eral rule; the forenoon and afternoon are pleasant, mid-day is ra-
ther warm, and from  sunset to sunrise a fire is frequently agreea-
ble. This  district being in the  midst of the Alleghany moun- 
4
tains and  their spurs, abounds in bold and majestic scenery,
which to  the  lover  of natural landscape  affords inexhaustible
amusement.  It is traversed  by a main inland route which con-
nects the valley of the  Ohio with that of the James River, and
from  its  locality may be considered  as a focal point for the ren-
dezvous  and amusement of the people of  both  the marine and
ultra-montane states;  a relation which a due cultivation of its
natural advantages, and the high medicinal efficacy of its waters,
will probably establish fully, at a future day not very far distant,
  Philadelphia, July 8, 1834. 
OBSERVATIONS.
                        LETTER I.

  Lee's Sulphur Springs, near Warrenton, Fauquier County, Va.
                                        August 16, 1833.
       Mr. Editor,

  The extent and importance of the travelling interest of our good
city of Philadelphia, make it useful to impart such information as
individuals may obtain, in their  excursions to the several points
of attraction of our highly favored country : and should your co-
lumns not be occupied with  more valuable matter, I may perhaps
find space in  them for a few observations up to the present date
of my own journey.
  Myself and company left  Philadelphia in the Union Line, at 6
o'clock, August first, and found  ourselves at 2 o'clock, P. M., at
the wharf at Baltimore.   At 3| we took stage for Washington and
reached there at 10£.  The  journey was accomplished thus in fif-
teen and a half hours without fatigue, or annoyance, and with every
attention and  foresight to our comfort,  the average  rate of progress
being nine miles an hour.  The next day we entered a good stage
at Washington by  the Piedmont route, and crossing the long
bridge over the  Potomac, found  ourselves in a short time in the
handsome little town of Alexandria, which was for many years a
great  mart for flour  and tobacco, but had its prosperity interrupted
by the peace of Amiens  in  1803, and has  been stationary ever
since.
  At  11 o'clock we left Alexandria for the Virginia Springs, and
reached Warrenton distant  44  miles  at 8£ o'clock.   The road
between these two places is  a turnpike made with about as much
skill, as is common in the interior of the United States. It goes in a
line of almost unvarying  straightness,  over a series of hills, after
the manner of the old Roman military way, and with little or no
reference or deference to the elevation of the ground by running
around the ends of high  hills and along vallies.   This  day's ride
is fatiguing from the monotony and exhausted state of  the coun-
try, until it reaches within eight  or ten miles of Warrenton.  A
good rural dinner to one whose appetite is sharpened by travelling, 
6
 is got  at Bronaugh's tavern sixteen miles from  Alexandria : in
 seven  miles more you get to the village of Centreville, and from
 thence you have the distant prospect  of the Blue  mountains, the
 ridge from which this stage route is called the Piedmont.   After
 the tame flat surface of the shores of the Delaware and Potomac,
 the view of these mountains breaking suddenly on the sight, and
 the sombre tints of the atmosphere surrounding them, are highly
 picturesque and exhilirating;  the stage drives rapidly on as if to
 reach their feet, and in two or three hours more you find yourself
 among the spurs and tributary hills which form their base.
   After an ascent of about six hundred feet above tide water you
 arrive  in the village or town of Warrenton the seat of justice of
 Fauquier  county, and containing about twelve hundred inhabit-
 ants.   It is placed on the summit of a hill, and at the distance of
 several miles around presents  from the heights, a most agreeable
 and inviting aspect of houses interspersed with a luxuriant growth
 of Poplar,  (Populus dilatata)  Tulip, (Liriodendron  Tulipifera)
 Locust, (Robinia Pseudo-acacia) and several other forest trees.
   Many of the private residences are extremely well kept and
 comfortable, and occasionally a chance is presented of getting one
 for the season at a very moderate price, with  its  furniture and a
 muster roll of Virginia  domestics of  all sorts and sizes.  I have
 heard of one of that kind with a good mountain view and several
 acres of ground, use of ice-house, and fine kitchen garden, at for-
 ty dollars a month.  Think of that, and at the same time of a room
 ten feet square occupied for pleasure at the sea shore  or Saratoga,
and ten dollars a week for board. .  There  are here some good
boarding houses, and two good hotels; one of which (Shacklett's)
 is distinguished for excellent accommodation, and the urbanity of
 its landlord.
   August 5th.   We  visited  Lee's Sulphur Spring, on  the
 Rappahannock River,  six  miles  from Warrenton.   The   local
 reputation of this water has been great for several years, though
 it is now  only  becoming  more generally  known and resorted to.
 Its principal  celebrity is  for  the cure of indigestion, diarrhoea,
 hepatic, rheumatic and pulmonary complaints.  An old gentle-
 man named Lee, the father of the present proprietor, and to whom
 it was  known for thirty or forty years, considered  it excellent for
 chronic gout, a complaint to which he was subject for many years,
 and had a lodge built near it for himself, at a time when no other
 habitation was convenient. An intelligent gentleman, Mr. Ino-ra-
 ham, whom I met there, and who has tried it for six years in suc-
 cession, is of opinion that full  benefit may be obtained from it in
 a fortnight, in stomach affections.  It is very desirable, however
 that in place of popular opinions a good set of observations of  a
 positive kind should be made by a medical man, setting forth the
 nature and grade of complaints treated by it, and  the changes 
7
produced at definite times.  Also the physiological effects of the
water upon a person in health, which I have no doubt must be
strongly marked, in the action of the stomach, bowels and kidneys.
  A good table is kept; there are  about 27 lodging rooms in
pairs, of brick mostly, about fifteen feet square, and arranged in
the form of a crescent as yet incomplete.  The dining room, un-
finished but used,  is about 80  feet long, and twenty  wide;—the
parlor about 40 by 25.  The establishment  is rather incomplete,
but the enterprise of its owner, will in a short time give it a pro-'
per arrangement.  The grounds about it are unimproved and the
country broken, hilly and wild.   The spring is in a valley not
more than ten feet above the level of the river, but the cottages
are on an eminence near it.   The river is a  quarter of a mile off*,
its banks being thickly set with trees and wild shrubs.   This dis-
trict of country  is for miles  around remarkable  for its healthful-
ness.  Epidemics or general sickness are almost unknown.  Its
inhabitants are polite in their intercourse with strangers and much
disposed to be accommodating; the general  vigorousness of  their
appearance, and the  robustness of their figures indicate the  salu-
brity of the region.   It is  formed from  spurs and  subordinate
ranges  of  the  Rappahannock mountains,  connected with the
Blue Ridge and constituting its abutments, and abounds in every
direction with  strong picturesque scenery.   The  cultivation  of
the soil, though in many places  good, would not suit the eye of
a  Pennsylvania farmer.  The face  of  the  ground  presents  a
deep covering of  red decomposed  trap   rock,  with white  flint
stone abundantly dispersed over its surface.  Gold has been found
in small quantities.   One of the most remarkable geological fea-
tures,  however, of  this sort  of soil, which  is continued  into
the  adjoining  counties,  is, according to the Hon. John Ran-
dolph,  that of having been very prolific in Presidents of the  Uni-
ted States.   It is  perhaps a knowledge of this genial  influence
which has induced some of our distinguished public men to vege-
tate on it for the season.
  The spring water throughout this district, is most excellent, and
flows from  the foot of the hills, every where in great abundance,
and perfectly filtrated, so that  nothing is perceived but the  pure
element. Mr. Jefferson had  a high opinion of the salubrity of this
region, which he constantly traversed in his Monticello journies,
and in 1803, owing to the existence of yellow fever,  was on the
eve of adjourning his cabinet to Warrenton.  Should the national
road to New Orleans ever be formed,  there  are many  valid rea-
sons for conducting it by this  route.
  The following is the result of some experiments on the spot, of
Lee's  Sulphur Spring, repeated  in  each instance thrice or of-
tener.
  The water added to a solution  of acetate of lead,  produced  a
black precipitate; 
8
   With sub-nitrate of bismuth,  it formed a light freckle colour;
   To a solution of the prussiate of potash, no change.
   A piece of silver coin (half a dollar) was brightened and then
immersed for ten  minutes in the water, in which time its  colour
changed to a copper.
   Sulphuretted-hydrogen gas would therefore seem to be the prin-
cipal ingredient, and that in considerable abundance.   This gas
has a very active  agency on the animal tissues  in certain circum-
stances, and must no doubt modify them much  when taken abun-
dantly  into the  stomach.
   The temperature of this spring is about 62 deg., it being in an
exposed situation, and the atmosphere at 83 deg.   This estimate
is, however, conjectural, as I had not my thermometer at the
time, and  therefore went by feeling.
              Respectfully your obedient servant,         O.

   Since the  above letter  was written,  a very distinguished  citizen,
Chief Justice Marshall, has spent a fortnight at Lee's Spring, it is said
with much benefit to his health; and several improvements in personal ac-
commodation have been  introduced.
                        LETTER II.

                 Warm Springs,  Virginia, August 14, 1833.

       Mr. Editor,

  If the further itinerary of a tourist, since  mine  of the 6th of
August, would be likely to interest your readers, whose health  or
desire of recreation may take them the same way, the following
remarks are at your disposal.  The letter referred to was dated
Warrenton.  In a short time afterwards we resumed the route to
the springs, by the way of Charlottesville distant 75 miles.   The
stage commonly departs at 3 o'clock in the morning, but for some
reason not very apparent we were started from our slumbers at 1
o'clock.   The night being uncommonly fine, a view of the heav-
ens at  this period of it, was a compensation for the loss of repose.
The first six miles of this road are hilly and rough: it afterwards
improves and continues as most  roads over an  undulating coun-
try, until it reaches within eight miles of Charlottesville, when
steep declivities and broken passes return.  A  good breakfast is
got at Culpepper Court House, distant twenty-five  miles, and  a
good dinner  at Orange Court House, twenty miles further on.
The country is under cultivation of an inferior kind, but the site 
9
is rendered  very interesting by  the various views of the Blue
Ridge, extending sometimes over a space of forty miles, and then
again reduced to a few  of its  highest points.   The road leads
along the estate of Mr. Madison, but his house is not visible; six
or eight miles further on, it goes within a short distance of  the
mansion of  Governor Barbour,  which has a prepossessing and
rural appearance.   From time to time,  the fine large estates of
other citizens of less note are traversed, which brings the travel-
ler^ the banks of the Rivanna river, and after following it a short
distance, the glittering dome of the  University of Virginia, and
the celebrated Monticello are brought into view.  Having crossed
the Rivanna over a good bridge, a tide of a few minutes brings one
to Charlottesville.  The journey of the day is  upon the whole
agreeable, the equipment of the stages is strong,and the movement
is rapid; one or more of the drivers superlative, and all of them
very good.   This  line is a continuation of the  Piedmont, which
beginning at Washington ends in Georgia,  and  has a highly  en-
terprizing proprietor—Mr.  W. Smith.
   One day may be spent most agreeably at Charlottesville;  the
morning in a visit to Monticello, and  the afternoon in another to
the University of Virginia,  the urbanity and politeness of whose
professors can only be exceeded  by  their talents and learning.
They are frequently visited by persons who are entire strangers
and have no claim upon  them,  not even that of an introductory
letter, and yet they have uniformly sustained the hospitable cha-
racter of the state.
   The pilgrimage to  Monticello for such  it may be called, was
of course one of the first objects of  our  own arrangement, and
may be accomplished in a carriage,  though the ascent is rather
fatiguing.  It is distant about three miles, and the summit is five
hundred feet above the Rivanna, being crowned by the  Mansion
House.  The view from the latter, of the Blue Ridge, of the North,
the South, and other mountains, has  all the richness and mag-
nificence which fame has attached to it.  The house is  antiquated
in appearance, and  from its having passed into the hands  of
another  proprietor since  the death of its  distinguished founder,
it is of course stripped of  much which  gave it interest; memorials
however are  here  and there left.   It  occupies a large area; and
its exterior is imposing; but it would be difficult to give it a gen-
eric appellation in architecture.   Its interior arrangement is  in-
tricate and  I should  think inconvenient,  notwithstanding the
multitude of devices, with which it abounds; one of our thrifty
Philadelphia matrons could doubtlessly have excelled in practical
skill the great President of the United States, in this department
of housewifery.   There  is however  one  radical objection   to
the whole as  a habitation; its great elevation with an abrupt  as-
cent on every side, makes it a work of endless difficulty, to sup-
ply the  domestic  establishment  with articles  of ordinary con- 
10
sumption-—as provisions—fuel—water; every thing must be cone
with triple labour, a consideration well worthy of the attention
of one who wishes to live on the top of a hill, except he be an as-
tronomer.
  One of the parlour floors is pannelled  like a door, and the wood
variegated; another floor is laid in fish bone pattern like a pave-
ment of brick.  These devices  are  common abroad but not  in
this country, and they have a great advantage in keeping  a floor
perfectly level and without warping, which are almost impossible
under other circumstances, in old buildings.   There is an eight
day clock with a Chinese gong, that may be heard at a great dis-
tance, and weights so fixed as to tell  by"their descent the day of
the week; cum multis aliis.
  It is said that Mr. Jefferson spent  about eighty  thousand dol-
lars  on  his mansion and in improving his grounds, exclusive  of
the labour of his  negroes, horses and oxen, to the same end, which
by the way a Virginia economist never thinks  of  computing,  as
he has those things already on hand!!  Much of the expenditure
must  however have occurred in levelling the summit of Monti-
cello and in getting a road to it.   The  great and absorbing point
cf interest yet remains.  As you approach the house a small en-
closure of rough dry  stone work indicates the family burying
place.   Two tombstones elevated above the ground are seen in
it, the upper one being  that cf a daughter of Mr. Jefferson, and
the lower of some  other member of  his family.   Ten or twelve
feet from the upper tomb, a small unobtrusive pavement of bricks,
seven feet by three feet,  on a plane with the ground and half
covered  by its washings of dirt,  cover the remains of the man
who once had so large a share of public  attention, and gave sucn
signal  directions to popular opinions—Thomas  Jefferson—the
Author of the  Declaration  of  Independence and one of the most
active contributors to it—a President of eight years of the United
States—the purchaser  of Louisiana—the Patriotic Sage, and the
Founder of the University of Virginia.  How striking a contrast is
his now humble and neglected sepulchre to the vast sphere in which
his master spirit once moved! We may canonize the memories
of our great men, and lavish verbiage in their praise; but there is
no evidence from the desolation which surrounds their graves, that
we expect ever to see either political or any other kind of mira-
cles done at them, or even to supply that strong stimulus to virtue
and to patriotism which would be created by the view of splendid
and imposing monuments to their names and achievements.
  The present proprietor of Monticello, Dr. Barclay, seems dis-
posed to do every thing which  could be reasonably expected of
him in  yielding to the public  curiosity to visit so celebrated a
place: this facility has, however, been  much abused, and impro-
prieties of a gross kind committed.  He is invariably attentive
to persons who come  introduced; others are  placed under cer-
tains restrictions. 
11
   The next  day we started for the Warm Springs, and having
-spent the night at  Cloverdale, distant about 70 miles, reached
them the morning after at breakfast.  The road is a good turn-
pike for the most of the way; up to Staunton the country is well
improved; in a short time aftersvarJs you enter the defiles of the
hills and mountains, and are encompassed on all sides by wilder-
ness  and bold savage scenery, which continue with but partial
interruptions  till the end of the journey.   Just before reaching
the Warm Springs  you cross a mountain called after them, and
of 1000 feet  or more elevation; the  ascent is tedious and pro-
tracted; but the descent is not amenable to any such imputation,
and  is indeed rather discomposing to a  plain citizen's nerves,
from the rapidity with which it is executed by the stage.   Back-
ing the horses so as to moderate the speed downwards is out of
the question, for the lock upon the hind wheel being once fixed
on the top of the mountain, away you go like a sled upon the side
of an icy hill, with  short turns alternately  right and left, til! you
get to the bottom.  This manoeuvre, for such it may be called, is
executed in a few minutes to the no small discomfiture of persons
who never participated in it before.   It would be well before it
is begun to have^some understanding with the driver about speed,
but when the latter is once established near the top of the moun-
tain, the stage from a mere vehicle, becomes a species of projec-
tile against  which the physical opposition of the wheel horses is
good for nothing.   To hold on to your seat is therefore the only
rule.   The comfort of this rapid  descent  is not at all improved
by seeing precipices of some hundred feet on one side within a
short distance of the wheel,  and the conviction that the whole
machinery must work perfectly true to save from disaster.
   The driver that we had seemed never to have studied the doc-
trine of centrifugal forces, and as he made one of his left  hand
turns with uncommon activity, I almost  conceited that I could
feel the pitch of the stage over towards the precipice at its side.
Having escaped this, I told him that I had  never seen a more un-
philosophical turn than that; though the meaning of the expres-
sion was perhaps not understood by him,  it put the passengers
into a laugh which  answered the purpose,  and  eased them  of
some of their anxiety.  At the foot of this mountain, the des-
cent of which is the most  memorable incident to a traveller on
the road from Staunton, we were landed  safely  at  the Warm
Springs.
  The central point of this establishment is the pool for bathing;
there  is  however, also, a spring  of drinking water,  of certain
mineral qualities.  The bath is an almost  inconceivable luxury
to such as have not  seen it.   It is  an octagon of thirty-six feet
in diameter and five feet deep, filled with water perfectly trans-
parent, and of a high refracting power; it deserves fully the name
of a liquid crystal.  Its  temperature is 97s0 and invariably so 
12
 from  one year's end to the other; at  the  circumference it  is
 about half a degree less, as this part is  more distant from the
 supply of water which rises up near the centre.  On being emp-
 tied, which  is done two or  three times a day, it fills in an  hour;
 the supply of water is invariable, and is never connected  in any
 perceivable  way with atmospheric changes.  A great quantity of
 carbonic acid gas. is continually rising in  bubbles to the surface
 of the pool.   Its taste is slightly sulphurous.  The temperature
 of this bath, the most suitable for pleasure as being exactly that
 of the  human body: its  great extent; the extreme transparency
 and buoyancy of the water, for the  gas from it attaches  itself to
 the bather, so as to diminish specific gravity; and the arrange-
 ments, all conspire to make it the most perfectly delightful place
 of the  kind  in this country, and one which no artificial applica-
 tion of human skill could possibly rival.
  Nero himself in the plenitude  of Roman power and of luxury,
 probably never saw any thing comparable  to it.   The pleasure of
 swimming under such circumstances  cannot be described ade-
 quately.
  Over a marsh  with a gravelly bottom, and of about an acre in
 extent, there are several springs of equal abundance and of simi-
 lar qualities, so  that it would be easy to make the  present pool
 one hundred feet in diameter instead of thirty-six,  which would
be still more remarkable and fascinating.   The building around
it is open at the top, and is now old and in decay:  such a place
deserves a peristyle of white marble and will no doubt at a future
 day get it.
  The following results were derived from some experiments on
this water.  A clear solution of Prussiate  of potash produced no
 change; neither did subnitrate of bismuth;  one of acetate of lead
 threw down  a copious white precipitate; lime water produced a
 copious white precipitate of a flocculent appearance.
  I collected  carefully some of the gas of this water and found
 that it made lime water slightly turbid, and in a little  time small
 particles of a white precipitate were  seen floating in it.  A stream
 of this gas directed upon a paper on fire extinguishes the latter:
 it also puts out  the ignition of a piece of  Chinese punk with  as
 much celerity as a stream of water would.   The foregoing obser-
 vations were made respectively six times or oftener, so as  to test
 their certainty and  accuracy, and with uniform results.    A gal-
 lon of the water, on being boiled, does not leave more  than a
 few grains of a sa'.ne or earthy residue of  a white colour.
  A friend  has  furnished the following observations  on  a resi-
 duum put into his hands:
  "The  whole from  18  pints of the vaporated water weighed
 65 grains.
  " When placed in dilute hydrochloric  acid it dissolved with
 effervescence, leaving however a quantity  of gritty matter which 
13
appeared upon a cursory examination  to conist of alumine and
silex.                        „
  " Besides these insoluble matters the water contains carbonate
of lime (which must have been held in solution by the excess of
carbonic acid,) sulphate of magnesia and iron.  I was unable to
detect any other substances in solution.  The quantities of car-
bonate of lime and sulphate of magnesia considered in  relation
to each other appeared to be in the ratio of 2 carbonate lime to
1 sulph. magnesia.  The quantity of iron is small, but sufficient
to strike a very deep blue with the prussiate of potash."
  The  medicinal  agency of the  bath is  however  what would
recommend it  chiefly to the valetudinarian  or patient, and  its
effects  may be improved by the  use of the water of  the spring
adjoining, to which I have alluded, as having common properties
with it, and upon the water of which for greater convenience the
principal part of the foregoing experiments was performed.  Its
temperature, the sulphuretted hydrogen gas, in a small quantity
probably, dissolved in the water,  and the carbonic acid gas seem
to be the main elements  which characterize it.
   The effect of the bath if one remains perfectly quiescent is to
reduce the frequency of the  pulse, but to increase its volume;
the former it does about two strokes in the minute; it afterwards
stimulates the heart and arteries so that there are one hundred
voluminous pulsations in the minute, and especially if you take
exercise, or go in after dinner.  It acts strongly on the kidneys.
Some difficulty of breathing and oppression of the breast are found
from being immersed in  it, and a slight fulness of the head; but
the former effects do not seem greater than what  would be occa-
sioned by immersion of the chest  in any bath, which of course im-
pedes respiration from a dense medium pressing on  the thorax
and thereby resisting its dilatation.
   This  bath  disposes to haemorrhage  from the viscera of the
abdomen and pelvis; hence it should be used very cautiously by
persons of either sex having this  tendency.
   In cases of reducible rupture it causes the intestines to ascend,
this is a common observation of  the keeper, and verified by the
testimony of gentlemen  of intelligence who are well acquainted
with the fact.   It  may be accounted for by the intestines being
made to float higher in the abdomen, in consequence of the gas
they contain, and their  upward pressure  against the diaphragm
will also assist in  accounting for the embarrassment of breathing
which is commonly felt.  To medical readers may not this afford
a hint for  using an erect column of warm water, as a bath,  and
of a depth proportionate to the height of the patient, in strangu-
lated hernia?
   I have but little doubt that this bath, if assisted by the drink-
ing of the water of the contiguous spring, and taken under regu-
lated circumstances, would be a most powerful agent in dropsi- 
14
 cal affections, and  especially anasarca, depending on  hepatic
 derangement.
    The bath is under  the charge of  a judicious and attentive
 keeper, Mr. Langridge,  who for a  small compensation has a
 fire in an adjoining  room for the bathers  to dress  by, and  also
 wipes them dry with fresh clean towels.  The ordinary duration
 of the bath is fixed by the attendant at fifteen minutes at most,
 which period I found to be  scrupulously observed by gentlemen
 who have resorted to it for years;  it would seem  therefore to be
 a rule of absolute experience.  In my own case  I felt no incon-
 venience  from  remaining in it for forty-five minutes, paddling
 about and swimming most of the time"  A lady of  the neigh-
 bourhood told me that when young, she frequently staid in  half
 the day in the winter, and was not sensible at the  time of incon-
 venience.   She had  a fine  long  suit of hair, which was much
 injured by it, and finally came out, and she also  thinks  that at
 a subsequent period  her health suffered from  it.   She is child-
 less.  Mr. Jefferson at his last visit about three years before his
 death, staid in  on one occasion for two hours, "and afterwards
 was of opinion that it impaired his health to a degree from which
 he never recovered.  It is in fact  so fascinating and  the pleasure
 so unusual  that nothing short of  the repeated  remonstrances of
 the keeper will draw the new comers out in a reasonable time;
 he generally gives force to his argument, by quoting the case of
 a  young man who  neglected his advice, and  on  coming  out
 fainted.
  A prejudice exists with some against going in with a full sto-
 mach.  In two hours after a hearty dinner, without other drink
than water  in my own  case, I found the sense of distention of
the abdomen removed, digestion improved and no fullness of  the
head to follow.                                          q
                       LETTER III.

             Tour to the Virginia Springs, August 18, 1833.

       Mr. Editor,

  My last communication being dated at the Warm Soring
such observation? on their medicinal  qualities  were introduced
as seemed likely to be useful to the invalid  or  visiter.   It mav
now be stated that the accommodations are excellent- thev con
sist of a central Hotel, about one hundred feet Ion- and two sto"
nes high, with a portico as yet  unfinished, of the'same  length
and on the east side.   Around this hotel, there  are many lodges
or cabins for such persons as choose to occupy them.  The table 
15
is well furnished, with all the varieties of flesh and fowl in com-
mon use, to which may be added a constant supply of fresh ven-
ison, just fiom the adjacent mountains.  The landlord, Mr. Fry,
is very attentive and obliging, and being remarkably good hu-
moured himself, does his best to keep all his guests in the came
mood, in which he succeeds well, judging from the appearance
of happiness on their countenances.
  At the distance of five miles from the Warm Springs, there is
another group.of thermal waters of less volume, but of  a higher
temperature,  from which circumstance they are called  the Hot
Springs.  Some of these  springs are used for drinking and others
for  bathing.  They  freely discharge  air in  bubbles, which rise
with considerable rapidity, and are probably  also carbonic  acid
gas, as a mixture of this and pure  lime water  well  filtrated,
throws down a  strong white precipitate.  Their taste is slightly
acidulous and somewhat  sulphurous.  One bathing pool is called
the boiler, and  its temperature is 104°, but the stream  of water
which is conducted into  it by a spout is 108°.  There are other
spi ings, the temperature of which is 99°.  Near one of the latter
is a common spring at the ordinary heat of 54°.   The  streams
from the two, after running a few yards, unite, but keep their
distinct temperature for some distance, so that a finger may be
immersed into one stream, and another finger of the same hand
into the other stream of a different heat.
  At this place, separate bathing  pools are  allotted to  the two
sexes, in which  there is some convenience, and indeed  the more
necessity, as the supply of water does  not  furnish so rapid  a
change as the  Warm  Springs.   At the latter, the celerity with
which the body  of water is renewed constantly, obviates the ob-
jections of cleanliness, which may be brought against a number
of persons going into the same bath; and moreover, there are
two small baths, each of about  twelve feet in diameter, for such
persons as choose to be alone.
  The  following are the results of some experiments  on  both
thermal waters  of the Hot Springs.
  A solution of prussiate of iron was not affected by them; nei-
ther was the subnitrate of Bismuth.  A solution of acetate of
lead, threw down a  copious white precipitate: and  it  was just
stated that lime water is rendered very turbid.
  The  inference is that  this water bears a very strong analogy to
and is perhaps  identical  with that of the Warm  Springs.  The
most striking difference  being in regard to temperature, it may
be accounted for by supposing that the Hot  Springs are nearer
to the source of the  heat, whatever it may be, volcanic  or other-
wise.   The source  is probably not remote, for  otherwise, the
water in passing through its channels under  ground would be re-
duced much nearer to the temperature of common spring water,
to wit,  54°. 
16
   The Hot Springs are said to be extremely useful in rheumatic
and ancient hepatic affections.  Remarkable cures have been ac-
complished by its baths and by submitting the diseased region to
the impulse of the stream, whose heat is  108°.   It is  probable
that some  reports  in detail will be published before long, on
these points,  bv eye witnesses; on which  occasion a more cor-
rect estimate may be formed of the value of these waters.   1 he
establishment has recently passed into the hands of an intelligent
and enterprising proprietor, Doctor Goode, who  will spare nei
ther trouble or expense to improve its condition; and it is  alrea-
dy in a state  in regard to eating and personal  accommodation,
which is very highly applauded by  persons who  have tried it
during the present season.
   About two  miles from the Hot Springs,  on the road leading to
the Falls Valley, there is a spring the taste of which is astringent
and sweet.    It leaves a copious deposite on the rocks over which
the stream runs; the deposite  has at  first  a metallic brilliancy,
resembliftg a  new gilt button, and afterwards turns black.  An
old woman, supposing it to be gold,  collected a large parcel and
fused it,  by which she obtained a piece of copper the size of a
cent.   Its effects are said to be cathartic,  and it has  in two in-
stances cured muscular inaction which  seemed  to be neither
rheumatic nor paralytic.  About fifteen or twenty miles from the
Warm Springs there is another Spring said to  be strongly  im-
pregnated with alum, and what is also remarkable it is cathartic.
It is resorted  to by the people  of the neighborhood.
   The highly intelligent resident physician of the Warm Springs,
communicated the preceding  statements.  Should  a  regular in-
quiry into all the chemical properties of the Virginia Springs ge-
nerally, ever  take place, it would be  worth while to include in it,
the two latter, so that their specific characters might be properly
understood and  appreciated;  there  may  be some peculiarities
making them  highly medicinal in certain affections, which are
untraceable to the common modes of treatment.
   It  may be  here remarked that the head  of the Warm Springs
appears  to have  nearly  the same level with  the  bath   itself,
for the latter fills much slower as the  water  rises  near the
top.  It  will probably never be deemed  expedient to raise this
bath above its present bed and depth, but  should an  attempt be
made, it ought not to be overlooked  that such an experiment, by
increasing the difficulty of the water finding a vent, may possiblv
force its subterraneous current into a different channel", and thus
the spring itself would be lost, or should it burst out at an acces-
sible  point, its temperature might be much reduced.   This dan-
ger is merely hypothetical, but as the spring is in a limestone re-
gion, the numerous subterranean fissures  and  caverns which
exist, present some facility in  a  new outlet being formed, if the
old one be  much obstructed.   A  chalybeate spring which once 
17
 discharged at the Warm Spring, has had its current lost, owing
 probably to the hydrant attached to it having raised the  column
 of water too high for its source.
   The Warm and the Hot Springs are in Bath County.   Forty
 miles  to the  west of the former, and in the adjacent county of
 Greenbrier, is situated  the celebrated White Sulphur, which like
 the large central diamond of a  crown, reflects its rays on all
 around it.   The road to it is so hilly and mountainous, in passing
 the Alleghany and its tributary ridges, that if a private carriage
 be used, a night should be spent on the way; this may be  done
 comfortably  at Callihan's, distant  about  twenty-eight  miles.
 About 11 o'clock the next day will afford good time to reach the
 White Sulphur, and in case of a disappointment in  not being re-
 ceived there,  to register your name,  and proceed on to  Lewis-
 burg, nine miles further, where one may stay till a vacancy oc-
 curs.
   The White Sulphur Spring is unquestionably the great  focal
 point of  mineral water, not only for Virginia but for every State
 to the South and West of the Alleghany  mountains.  For the
 week or two  preceding bur arrival  crowds of persons  in car-
 riages, in stages, on horseback, and in every other mode of tra-
 velling, had been turned away for want of accommodation, and
 without  some fortunate circumstances, we should  have  shared
 their fate.   The devotion of people to these waters,  and the anx-
 iety with which they look for reception at them, can be compared
 to nothing short of the intense feeling of the Hebrews at Jerusa-
 lem, where a  great  multitude of  the impotent  folks, the blind,
 the halt, and the withered, waited for the moving of the  waters
 of the celebrated Pool Bethesda, to be cured of their diseases by
 plunging in.   The desire to be admitted is  indeed so great that
 it amounts almost to a mental possession: no disappointment can
 be more  strongly marked  on the  countenance,  than that of the
 weary, emaciated and care worn pilgrim, who as he slowly winds
 his vehicle into the court yard and in a doubtful tone of voice
 asks admission, is answered by the agent, " no accommodation,
 Sir?" it seems almost like cutting the last filament which  con-
 nects him with life.   Under such strong conviction of the virtues
 of these waters, multitudes are found, imploring to be received,
 and  thankfully acknowledging the boon, with the  privilege of
 scrambling for a dinner, and sleeping on the floor.
   The establishment of  the White Sulphur  is  suited  to the
 accommodation  of   two  hundred and fifty  visiters,  but by
 some address is  made  to receive  three hundred  and upwards.
 It is on  the side of a  hill  looking to the  south  and forms an
 oblong of small houses and cabins, of about six hundred feet by
three or four hundred.   The area is interspersed with fine forest
trees, and has some  rows  of cabins inconveniently placed in it,
notwithstanding which its verdure, extent and fine elevation  give 
18
it a very noble and attractive appearance. It is much to be regret-
ted that the table is served indifferently, and in a manner by no
means commensurate with the immense receipts during the sea-
son.  There  are other evils productive of  a common complaint
from the guests, and which would stop the resort to these springs,
were their celebrity less.  It is generally believed that a proper
extent and style of accommodation would attract permanently
during the season a company of  at  least one thousand persons,
and in doing so would throw from forty to fifty thousand dollars
of clear profit into the hands of the proprietors.
  Some experiments which I made on this water, showed it to be
highly charged with sulphuretted hydrogen gas, which is perhaps
the most  active principle, though it would  seem to have a small
quantity of some saline and earthy ingredients.  There are two
springs, an upper and a lower, the latter is  almost  exclusively
used from its supposed greater power.  The lower  spring did
not affect a solution of prussiate of potash; it changed  sub-nitrate
of bismuth to a light crimson or brown and produced  an exceed-
ingly  copious black precipitate with a solution  of sugar of lead.
The upper spring did not affect a solution of prussiate of potash,
but with  subnitrate of bismuth  it formed a very copious  black
precipitate, while with sugar of  lead it  produced a light  brown
or blackish precipitate by  no means  equal in  quantity to that
from the bismuth.   There seems indeed to be  an inverse opera-
tion of the two springs upon the  sugar of lead and upon the
bismuth.
  An occasional bubble of air, perhaps carbonic acid gas, is seen
to arise.   The temperature of each  spring is 63°; the sulphuret-
ted hydrogen gas emitted from them may be smelled fifty yards
oft' at night, and it turns of a deep black the paint on the foot of
the columns around them.  The lower spring is an octagon of four
feet in diameter and discharges  about two gallons of water per
minute.   The stream of tii3 upper spring is conveyed into a bath
house, where it is heated artificially.
  The temperature of the air at the White  Sulphur Springs is
about 55° or 60° at^ night; from about  8  o'clock P. M. it feels
cold and  damp.  The fogs continue on the contiguous moun-
tains  till  9 o'clock, A. M. when they disperse and  the  atmos-
phere becomes  serene and very pleasant.  The ni^ht air should
be uvoided by invalids, and most persons feel  a comfort in fires
in the evening and morning.
   These waters, when  drunk for  a  certain time,  generally a
fortnight, at  the rate of  six or eight  glasses a day,  impregnate
the system  so much, that a sulphurous smell  exhales from the
skin.   Such  is the strong  and  universal predilection for  them,
that it is more difficult to say in what they are  thought not  to be
useful, than in what they are useful; dyspepsia, chronic hepatitis,
jaundice, the sequels of intermittent and remittent fevers,  gout' 
19
derangement from excessive living, and  diseases of  the skin,
 form but a small part of the catalogue of ills they are reputed to
 cure; and they unquestionably, by concurrent testimony, deserve
 this character.   Individuals are occasionally found with whom
 the water disagrees,  by producing- too great a laxity of  the bow-
 els; and it should at  all times be used moderately to prevent the
 medicinal qualities from passing off* by some of the emunctories,
 as the kidneys,  bowels  or skin.   The person  therefore  who
 wishes to impregnate himself with this or any other agents should
 be particularly cautious  not to excite any rebellious  movement,
 by an unusual and excessive quantity introduced  at once; for it
 will be thrown off immediately by the sanative operations of the
 system.  If a costive habit be common  to the individual or pro-
duced by the journey, two or three doses of Seidlitz powders will
 remove it, and put this water into an effective state for  health.
   It is not to be supposed that the only attraction to the White
 Sulphur is the just celebrity of its water, for in addition to the
 latter, it  is  distinguished by the excellence and polish of its
company.  The debut of a young lady  there on her  first intro-
 duction to society, is for Virginia, quite equal to one at Almack's
 for an English belle.   Whatever Virginia has of wealth, talent,
personal  elegance, or professional eminence, finds itself repre-
 sented, and  by a proper combination forms a gay and highly
finished aggregate.  This model of a courtly and well constituted
 company,  has its interest enhanced by contributions  from most
other  parts of the United States,  but  more  largely from  the
South and West.  Notwithstanding the  constant causes of colli-
sion between guests on the score of  provision, room and general
accommodation, a spirit of  unvaried  polite  intercourse  prevails
on all sides,  and many inconveniences are forgotten in the jokes
to which they give rise.  Among the entertainments of this place
should be mentioned  that of the ball  room in the evening, which
is well attended and  furnised with  excellent music.  The fore-
noon is spent in excursions on horseback and in carriages.
   Persons who depend  upon  the public stages and  hackney
coaches for proceeding from spring to spring, are exposed to pro-
crastination  and  disappointment,  from their being crowded.
Where a party is concerned a private carriage is almost indispen-
sable,  and such indeed is  the common usage of the guests.  Pri-
vate servants should also be brought for  table service;  and if a
lady is of the party a  dressing-maid should be along, to attend to
herlodge,  and for her personal comfort, as the distance of the
lodges from the main  house  makes it frequently difficult to get a
servant when wanted. At the same time it should be mentioned
that servants fare badly at the White  Sulphur; some of the men
servants sleep in the stable loft,  some in the manger, others in
their carriages, which, by the way, are sometimes  contested by
gentlemen as badly off as themselves; the remainder are disposed 
20
of in any cranny that may be unoccupied.  As the servants are
for the most part black slaves, who have been accustomed to
some variety in their  mode of sleeping,  the arrangement does
not go quite so hard with them as it would with  such  as have
been habituated to regular clean beds.  This contingency, how-
ever, should be looked for, especially by persons travelling from
the northern parts of the United States.
  There is a promise on the part of  the proprietor of the  White
Sulphur to correct these and many other defects which may be
signalized in his concerns.  Should he ever do so  and develope
properly the fine natural advantages of his property, its waters,
scenery  and company would complete what remains, by making
a terrestial Elysium for the hot months of the year.
LETTER IV.
  By reference to the National Gazette of August 13th, Septemr
ber 10th, and September 16th, 1833, a few observations will be
found concerning the  Springs situated in the south western part
of Virginia.   As the group taken together is one of the most in-
teresting and valuable in any part of the world,  and presents a
greater variety than can be found elsewhere, in a compass of 40
miles, the near approach of the season when valetudinarians, and
persons of leisure go in search of health or pleasure, and the de-
sire of information frequently expressed, induce me to give from
my itinerary, some additional extracts on the subject.
  Having spent  a  few days at the White Sulphur Springs, we
departed  on  the 19th of August for the Salt Sulphur, distant 23
miles.  The road is hilly and occasionally rough, but if passed
leisurely  is not dangerous; six  miles of  the beginning, being on
the Lewisburg  turnpike is good.  Ten  miles from  the White
Sulphur,  and on the  left hand  side, immediately beneath  the
road, is Rodgers' or the Organ Cave, of limestone rock,  being so
called from a group  of stalactites of very large size, and bearing
some resemblance to the pipes of a church organ.  Owing to the
want of sufficient light we did not penetrate to the chamber  con-
taining them; when struck they are said to emit distinct sounds
which with some imagination may assist in justifying the name
jriven to  this cave.  The entrance to the cave  is in  a ravine a
hundred feet or so below the road; it forms a fine arch of eighty
or more  feet span,  and forty or  fifty high: this at least was*the
estimate of proportion, I made by the eye; it is however extremelv
difficult to be accurate in this way where large masses are con-
cerned,  and we commonly  fall  short of actual measurement 
21
This entrance is the beginning of a vestibule which slopes down-
wards rapidly for three or four hundred feet, and has its bottom
covered with large masses of rock detached from the arch above.
At the lower extremity of this spacious vestibule, on the right, a
small craggy opening of four or  five feet,  leads into the interior
chambers of the cave, and from this point all is naturally perfect
darkness.  The opening itself is rather appalling,  and the first
sensation of getting into it is  somewhat like that of Sinbad the
Sailor  when he was  entombed alive.  After a  few paces, the
space is enlarged,  so as to vary at  different parts  from five to
twenty  or  thirty feet.   In this interior chamber is a stream of
water, and at the end of the chamber a considerable expansion
of dimension takes  place at a point where  saltpetre  has been oc-
casionally made, to the amount  of two thousand pounds a year.
A part  of the route leading to it is evidently a fissure or rent of
fifty or a hundred feet in the limestone rock,  presenting a forci-
ble parting of the two portions, and a subsidence on one side of two
feet, the depressions  and projections of one wall having the re-
verse surfaces on the other wall.  All the channels of this cave
have not been explored, so that its  actual extent is unknown; it
has however been  traversed for three miles to an open entrance
on the side of a hill at that distance, and from which emerges the
stream  of water mentioned.  The interior of this cave is for the
most part dry and the air pleasant; the guide being the owner of
it, and  having worked in it for ten years, is well acquainted with
it and may be trusted.
   Some persons who go alone, when  they reach the narrow pass to
the interior, become intimidated at the thoughts of murder, robbe-
ry, &c, and decline entering.   The guide however seems to be a
plain honest countryman, whose only peculiarity, is  that of a wild
expression of the  eyes from having spent so much time in the
darkness of this cave, in manufacturing salt petre.   Some  split-
tings of resinous  pine constitute his flambeau, and seem to be
well managed so as to prevent being extinguished; depots of the
same are made at intervals,  so as  to furnish a  supply of  fresh
 materials as the old are exhausted.   The cave is sufficiently in-
teresting to be visited, and like such generally as are in limestone
 countries, it seems to be very extensive.  The place of this cave
 is known by a small  board fixed on  the road  side,  and there is
 generally a vidette on the look out for visiters.
   The  Salt  Sulphur  has latterly come into note; six years ago,
 it had forty guests at a time,  now it counts two hundred.  It is
 hemmed on every side by high hills, and is situated in a narrow
 valley along which runs a  limestone stream of twelve or fourteen
 feet in  width, and only a few inches deep at this season.  It is
 said to be fourteen hundred feet above tide water, and one hun-
 dred and fifty feet lower  than  the  White Sulphur.   The  ther- 
22
 mometer ranged during my visit at about 60° during the  night;
 there were no fogs night or morning, and a most delightful trans-
 parency of the atmosphere existed, so that  the stars shone with
 uncommon brilliancy.
   In regard to freedom from fogs and temperature the Salt Sul-
 phur has therefore an evident advantage over the White Sulphur;
 this arises I think from the  hills for half a mile around, having
 been cleared of a dense and large  forest growth, whereby they
 are readily heated by the day's sun, and this heat being radiated
 from them at night not only prevents the  formation of fogs upon
 them,  but would  even dispel them if they  were wafted  there.
 The clearing of the  hills  has however rather a bad effect  upon
 the scenery of the  place, as an arid parched soil with large rocks
 projecting from its surface, is substituted tor the rich deep green
 foliage, so remarkable in this part of the United States.
   The guests are  mostly accommodated in  lodges, distributed,
 with but little system, over a rising ground,—and the  evenings
 are enlivened by a band of music and dancing.  The table is ex-
 cellent, and its merits are  more conspicuous, in consequence of
 the transition from that at the White Sulphur; where every day
 is a jour maigre without the benefit of fish, and is rendered the
 more intolerable by the keen appetite produced  by its waters and
 the mountain air.  The whole  establishment is conducted with
 skill and close attention by its proprietors, Messrs. Erskine and
 Caruthers, and is well worthy of public patronage for its comforts,
 and the amenity of its hosts.
   The spring is a square of  two feet, and discharges about a quart
 of water in a minute; it has obtained the name  of Salt Sulphur,
 from the precipitation found on the  rocks and stones over  which
 its waters flow; it contains however, very little of the ingredient,
 common salt, implied by its popular designation.
  The following observations were made upon it.
  No change was effected  upon the water by adding to it a solu-
 tion of the Prussiate  of Potash.
  Mixed with subnitrate of Bismuth a turbid ash coloured pre-
 cipitate was formed in small quantities;—and mixed with a solu-
tion  of acetate of lead,  a  black soot coloured precipitate fell
down.—Hence, as  well as from the taste  and smell, may be in-
 ferred the existence of sulphuretted hydrogen gas, but in quanti-
ties much inferior to  the white Sulphur.
  A gallon of the water when carefully evaporated yielded one
hundred  and fourteen grains of a white residium,  one  hundred
grains of which was ascertained subsequently to be composed as
follows:—
 " Sulphate of Magnesia,                             15 7
  Carbonate of Lime,                                U^
  Carbonate of Magnesia,                 ..           qj
  Sulphate of Lime,                                52.53 
as
  Carbonate ot Iron,                                1.45
  Muriate of Soda,                                  6-09
  Sulphur,                                          .52"
  Another fountain near this, called the Sweet  Spring, appears
to have about one half of the strength of this,  judging from the
colour of the  precipitate formed by the aforesaid solution of sugar
of lead and the subnitrate of Bismuth.   In other respects it ia
similar.
  Aug. 21st.  Visited the Red Sulphur, distant sixteen miles
from the Salt Sulphur.  The road is extremely hilly and bad,
and abounds constantly in precipitous  inclinations on the sides,
which make it trying to the fortitude of persons not accustomed
to mountain passes.  This spring is situated in a deep glen, made
by abrupt mountains of four or five hundred feet in height, which
overhang  it so closely that the sun must have  several degrees,
from fifteen to twenty probably, of elevation for its rays to reach
it directly.
   There are two fountains here a few feet apart and of nearly
equal taste.   Their temperature is 68°.  Their water produces
no effect upon a solution of Prussiate of Potash, capable of indi-
cating the presence of iron.  But a very copious black precipi-
tate is formed with subnitrate of Bismuth, also with a solution of
sugar of lead, exhibiting a dose of sulphuretted hydrogen gas but
little inferior to the White Sulphur, and superior to  that of the
 Salt Sulphur.
   About twenty grains of a precipitate form  the residuum after
 evaporating  a quart of water of either spring.
   A  few yards from the springs their water is received into a
large box, the bottom of which is covered with a black slimy de-
 posite, on the top of which is a thin layer of sediment of a brilliant
Ted or lake colour, the reflection from which is very strong when
 the sun shines upon it. The spring has been named from this sedi-
 ment, the nature of which is undetermined; some of it was brought
 to Philadelphia for analysis, but it had undergone such changes
 from delay  or  agitation on the route,  as to make its character
 undistinguishable.   The water of the  Red Sulphur appears to
 contain but little besides sulphuretted hydrogen.   It shows traces
 of muriate of soda and of iron.—The muddy deposite found in
 the bottom  of the  box is  curious—it seems  to  consist in some
 measure of a precipitate formed by an union of the iron of the wa-
 ter with the tannin of the oak leaves or other  vegetable matter
 which falls  into the box.—The red precipitate consists perhaps
 of some of the combinations of iron.
   The Red Sulphur has been frequented for forty or fifty years,
 but its retired situation, the difficulty of approaching it, and its
 location  in a mountain dell, kept the number of its company at a
 small amount, till  within a short period, when it fell  into the
 hands of its present enterprising proprietor Mr, Burke.   Sfensi- 
24
 ble of its advantages, he has cleared away the trees from the moun-
 tains, which has increased the dryness of the situation and dimin-
 ished the fogs inseparable from high mountain localities where the
 rays of the sun are not permitted to have their full force.  He has
 also built an  Hotel of one hundred feet in length and two stories
 high, with a double portico the whole length; and is about other
 improvements which promise to make the accommodations of the
 best kind.   Small lodges of logs are however  here, as at all the
 other Virginia watering places, the principal means of acommo-
 dating guests.
   This fountain has a remarkable effect on the pulse, in reducing
 the frequency of its strokes after a few days use of the water.  It
 is resorted to for most chronic complaints, and is said to fatten
 much; but its particular celebrity is for pulmonary diseases, espe-
 cially in their early stages.  The testimony  of its efficacy then is
 so abundant, that it would seem to be well founded.  Unfortunate-
 ly, many individuals resort to it, in the last stage of consumption,
 when from the pathological changes which the lungs have under-
 gone, nothing short of a regeneration, or  rather a miracle can
 cure.   Such persons ought not to leave their own homes; the in-
 evitable tendency of their disease may then, at least, have some
 of its pangs mitigated by domestic  comforts and  endearments:
 but otherwise, the fatigue of travelling—the excitement of moun-
 tain air, and  changes in  the mode of  living and  lodging, injure
 them very much.  They  spend a few irksome weeks and being
 disappointed  in  their  hopes of amendment, attempt to return
 home,  but not unfrequently die on the road.  The  reputation,
 however, of the Spring is such, and the symptoms of phthisis so
 illusory to  the individual who has it, that  the emaciated form,
 and sepulchral cough of consumption,  may be found in every di-
rection.  The  patient with faith unabated at the progress of his
complaint,  still quaffs, almost to the last gasp,  the waters of the
Red Sulphur as an infallible fountain of health.
  The late William Wirt, whose death our  country has so much
 reason to deplore,  was one of the invalids of the last season at
 this Spring; not, however, for a consumption:  his health he
 thought, much improved by it, as he had gained, in a couple of
 weeks, several pounds in  weight.
  Having returned on the next day to the Salt Sulphur,  we left
 there  on the 23d August for the Sweet Springs, distant nineteen
 miles.  The road was hilly and rough, and was not rendered the
 le?s tedious by a driver who went at the slowest pace consistent
 with the locomotive powers of his horses.  It  took, therefore, eight
good hours to finish this journey.
  The plot of ground connected with the Sweet Springs is open,
 and consists of gently undulating hills, bordered  by high moun-
tains, and interspersed with lodges  and a few fine forest trees.
 An excellent table  is kept by an obliging landlord, Mr. Rodgers! 
25
The central point of attraction is a spring and a bath,  whose tem-
peratures are at about 70°; from  my thermometer being  out of
order I could not ascertain accurately, and was therefore left to
mere sensation, which is rather an uncertain guide.  The quan-
tity of water discharged amounts to many hogsheads in a minute,
it  being sufficient to turn a mill  a short distance below.  Its
taste is acidulated like seltzer water, and the carbonic acid gas
is in such abundance  as to form an incessant stream of bubbles
rising to the surface and breaking.   It holds a large quantity of
lime in solution, as it forms stalactites in great abundance, at a
fall of about two miles distant, which I did not see.
  Neither a solution  of prussiate of potash, of sugar of lead, nor
subnitrate of bismuth, suffered any change from it.  It would hence
appear to be destitute of iron and of sulphuretted  hydrogen gas;
in the latter particular it therefore  differs from any of the springs
heretofore alluded to by me. The water is stimulating, and ex-
cites a keen appetite, which is well responded to by the abun-
dance and excellence of the table: it is gently diuretic and ca-
thartic.  Why  this spring should be called sweet is difficult to
determine.  The taste of the water is pleasant and refreshing,
but has nothing of a saccharine flavour.
  The appearance of this place is  highly  attractive.  The com-
pany is about  two hundred; and like that of the  other springs,
generally, presents many personal  attractions of high polish and
cultivated intellect.   A few weeks may be spent there very plea-
santly.
  A strong  and very  pure Chalybeate  Spring is about one mile
from  the Sweet Spring ; there is some intention of establishing
accommodations around it.                            O.
                        LETTER V.

                                    The Virginia Springs.

  The Sweet Springs  having been the last on my route, I may
now mention that the order established by experience, and espe-
cially in hepatic affections, is to begin with the White Sulphur,
where a fortnight at least should be spent so as to impregnate the
system thoroughly with it, which may be known by the effluvium
from the surface on rubbing the hands together, and also by pie-
ces of clean silver coin becoming copper coloured, when worn in
the waistcoat pocket.  Next  comes  the Salt Sulphur, where a
week or a fortnight may be appropriated to the use  of its waters;
the same length of time may be  devoted to  the Red  Sulphur,
then a week to the Sweet Springs, and what remains of the sea-
son may be disposed of at the  Hot or Warm Springs.  The luxu- 
26
 iy of a bath, at the latter never  satiates, but is a renewed plea
 sure of the most delightful and untiring kind, whatever may be
 the frequency of its use.   As 1 have said in a former letter, none
 can estimate it who have not tried it, and it is worth any one's
 time who can afford it, to experience, once at least in his life, the
 pleasure of a perfect bath, just from the laboratory of nature.
   This group of Virginia mineral waters may be  reached in the
 public conveyances in several directions—to wit: from Washing-
 ton by the Piedmont route to Charlottesville—from  Fredericks-
 burg—from Richmond, and from Baltimore, through Winchester
 and Staunton.  The first is the shortest, and takes five days from
 Philadelphia—the  last requires  about  the  same  time.   When
 once  landed at the springs, it is difficult to proceed,  especially
 in a company, from the crowded state of the stages.   Hacks
 may be got,  but with some uncertainty, on the spot.   A private
 carriage is the only sure dependence, and  most of  the Virginia
 and Southern visiters travel in that way: a conveyance of the lat-
 ter kind will take  ten or twelve days from  Philadelphia, but the
 time may be abridged by  steam transportation to Fredericksburg.
 I would also recommend an abundant supply of silver coin in
 small pieces, as change is very scarce in the mountains.
   As  the White Sulphur is much crowded during the month of
 August, and individuals in a delicate state of health may be pre-
judiced by want of personal accommodation or of suitable  food
 there, I would recommend an immediate resort to the Bed Sul-
phur as a substitute;  the difference between the waters is too
 inconsiderable to justify  a hesitation, when comfort is added to
 the account  of the last.  It appears to me indeed not improbable, if
 some  improvement does not occur in the management  of the
 White Sulphur, that the  enterprising character of the proprietor
 of the Red  Sulphur, and the decided strength and virtue of the
 waters must make  great inroads  on the profits of the former.
   While in  this region of country the tourist should visit a lake
 situated on the top of a mountain, and said to have formed with-
 in the last forty or fifty years.  I did not see it myself but the
 description is such as to leave the inference of its being a curiosi-
 ty well worthy ot  attention; from all accounts it would  appear
 to have arisen from a subsiding of the summit of the mountain,
 which increases a  little every year; it has within the memory of
 an individual, extended from a pond about two or three hundred
 yards in lengh to  a lake of three miles, with a depth  of some hun-
 dred feet, and is probably supplied by springs at its  bottom
   rhe return route from the Virginia Springs may be varied agree-
 ably,  by a visit to the celebrated  Natural Bridge, one of the
 greatest curiosities of this  continent.  Accordingly we left the
 Sweet Springs on  August 24, at half past  nine o'clock, A.  M
 iov Fmcastle distant thirty  miles, and the seat of justice for
 Bottetourt County.   The  road  lead?  over three mountains of 
27
great elevation,  one of which has a base of seven  miles; there
are occasional hills, but these mountains are the striking features
of the route, and excite strong interest by the extensive views
from their summits, of adjoining mountains, which rising  in the
distance, and covered with a luxuriant growth of forest trees, re-
semble a fine undulating grass sward,  from the  uniformity  and
thickness of the trees upon them, which conceal completely the
surface of the soil.  The dark foliage of the pines, as you exa-
mine the  distant mountains, contrasts finely with  the lighter
tints of the oak, chesnut and hickory, and is  seen  clustered in
distinct groves in the midst of the other trees, until the summit
of the mountain is almost reached, when the pines become thin-
ner and thinner, and finally disappear under the influence of an
atmosphere and elevation uncongenial to their habits.  This feel-
ing of admiration at a magnificent prospect is checkered from
time to time, with thoughts of personal safety and  dread, when
on  looking to the  right or left you perceive, just at the side of
the mountain road and within a  few feet of your carriage, preci-
  Sices of some hundred feet in depth, and tending to inevitable
  estruction in case of error in driving  or unmanageable horses.
The route is however executed with great care and judgment by
the drivers, and at the foot of the second mountain, an appetite
sharpened by the toils of the day,  is gratified by an excellent
dinner, upon a fine saddle of venison, shot in the morning, and
by  the rural adjuvantia of boiled ham, fried  chickens, &c, all
cogked in the best style.
  After emerging from  the defiles of the third mountain,  an im-
mediate transition occurs from the vast solitude of a wilderness;
you get into the valley of Virginia, and the eye  is  regaled with
a champaign country, and all the indications of settled polished
life.   You are in fact in the  midst of the extensive fertile estate
of  Mr. -------.   Its large,  imposing and well kept family man-
sion, is situated on a gentle grassy elevation, which descends like
a cone on all sides; and is tastefully surrounded by  a luxuriant
growth of forest and fancy trees.  The scene is such  as to re-
mind  one of the period when the country was generally divided
into those large manors, and tenanted  by the high minded Cava-
liers of England,  who indignant at the ascendency of Cromwell,
sought a refuge from his tyranny in the colony of Virginia.  The
capacious, polished and easy rolling family coach, which we met
on the road, its dignified and matronly tenants, the well fed hor-
ses, and the sleek coal  black driver,  all contributed to sustain
the recollection of ancient customs.
   Having spent that night at Fincastle, we started the next day
for the Natural Bridge, distant twenty-four miles.  The course is
parallel  with  the  western side  of the  Blue  Ridge, and affords
many  fine views of its summits; the Peaks of Otter are the high-
est of this mountain range,  and rise like a cloud from the  sur- 
28
 rounding scenery; their size and elevation are constantly bring-
 ing them into view as the roail makes a favourable turn.
   The Natural Bridge has been well described by Mr. Jefferson,
 in his notes on this State.  It is a single stone arch thrown across
 a ravine which separates the north-east side of a mountain from
 its base, and which gives passage to Cedar Creek, a stream but
 small at that season of the year.  The arch is a span of ninety
 feet long, is fifty feet in thickness, and is sixty feet broad.  The
 top of it has the same inclination with the side of the hill, and is-
 covered  with a soil  affording growth to trees and shrubs; the
 cleft in the mountain is so masked by the latter, that the bridge
 may be easily crossed without a stranger knowing it.
   The cleft is two hundred feet deep, with perpendicular sides,,
 and when examined from the verge of it, is so dark, so deep and
 so chaotic below, as to produce a frightful and tremulous sensa-
 tion; a feeling of insecurity which might indeed overcome one
 not accustomed to  precipices.  An intense desire, like a spell, is
 felt to look over the crown of the arch to the bottom, and as the
 margin is flat it may be done, but ought to be executed cautious-
 ly and under proper safeguards of position, lest a  mere animal
movement or weakness should make the  look a fatal one; for the
ordinary influence of mind seems to be almost annihilated  in
contemplating this awful  wonder.
   After this really thrilling sight from above, the feeling may be
suspended by  pursuing a narrow path on the south side, which?
after several windings leads to the bottom of the chasm and to the
margin of the stream.   On looking up then to the immense mas-
siveness of this solid arch, and seeing it hanging at its great height,
150 feet over your head, the state of mind changes to one of pro-
found and ejaculatory admiration; you adore the power that formed
it, and yet think what is  this to the universe! you look at your
own stature and that of your companions, which form an almost
ludicrous  contrast  with the gigantic work before you; it is per-
haps the first time  that a  human  being ever  looked  so insignifi-
cant to you, and the exclamation bursts  from all, what an  atom
in creation is man!
   There are three views of principal interest, which  may be
taken at the bottom of  the chasm.  One is higher up the stream
than the bridge—another lower down—and the third is vertical
or directly upwards.  The last is the most impressive from pre-
senting the fullest idea of the massiveness of this vast impending
structure, which in a  single block, beautifully and regularly
arched below, is thrown from one abutment to the other.  This
surface is marked  by the dampness, which filtrates from'above
into several grotesque  irregular  figures, which may with  some
imagination represent a lion, an eagle, a  scymetar, and so on* 1
did not myself perceive the resemblance  pointed  out by the
guide, but the company did.  For some hundred feet h'Hier un 
29
and lower down, the sides of the chasm  are perpendicular, and
of solid limestone rock, which forms  the bridge itself.  As the
arch spreads  itself from  side to side it appears  smooth and
almost chiselled;  the  upper parts of the buttresses have also
this appearance; but it may all arise from the distance at which
the surface is  viewed.   The immensity of the whole also makes
ordinary inequalities of surface look  almost  smooth.  The but-
tresses are strengthened by rounded projections at their summits
and base, as if to present their being crushed by the prodigious
weight above.
  The lower  view seems, from the frequency of prints repre-
senting it, to be the favorite one of artists; it is grand and im-
pressive  in the extreme, but  exhibits the arch with sides un-
equally curved.   The  upper view I prefer, because it approaches
more to symmetry, and represents an almost gothic arch, with
its  two equal sides, and a nearly pointed termination in the
centre.
  The harmonious proportions of this bridge prevent an accurate
conception of  the elevation of the arch by the eye alone, but the
individual  who  throws a  stone high enough to  reach  it,  must
have unusual  strength  of arm, and a sling would be necessary to
most persons  to accomplish the feat.  General  Washington is
said to be  the only one who ever threw a stone with the single
strength of his arm, fairly over the bridge from the level of the
stream.
  The probability is  that the whole of the  opening under the
bridge has been forced by an  accumulation of water in a vftlley
above it.   This  conjecture is confirmed by large detached masses
of rock, existing in the stream lower down, and being found for
seven miles till  it  joins the James River.  The arch itself has, I
think, been formed by the attrition of the creek when  the water
had at first that elevation, and  subsequently the chasm between
the buttresses has been made by sudden force, as  the inequali-
ties of surface exhibit that, mode of  disruption.   The alternate
freezing and  thawing of the  moist  surface of the arch would
detach small  portions of  it continually, and  thus give the equal
surface which it has.
   One of  the common feats of visiters  is to try their climbing
faculties by ascending the natural steps  of the buttresses, and to
mark  the  height of their ascent by writing  their names on  the
rock.  When much altitude is reached, the descent  is fearful;
in  this respect, the line, Descensus Averni facilis est, has  an
inverted meaning.  A young gentleman of  spirit  and activity,
having got to a  certain elevation, found the descent so appalling,
and his  head so dizzy from the sight below, that he  took  the
desperate alternative of ascending still further, to the summit of
the  east buttress, by  the steps  which chance presented as  he
went  along.  He happily succeeded; but having done so, the 
30
 sense of  the  danger he had  almost  miraculously got through,
 overcame him, and he fainted.
   Having familiarized myself by these detailed and dangerless
 surveys from below, I ascended the common  path to the top of
 the bridge, and ventured under suitable precautions to look over
 the side of it from the crown, once more: I found the awfulnes9
 of the scene and the moral agitation produced by it diminished,
 but not subdued; and I quickly retired.   At this moment a coun-
 tryman on horseback rode to the verge of the bridge; and looking
 down carelessly, after a few moments he said, " Mister, I guess
 you are frightened  by what you see down there."  "Yes," I
 replied,  «I am frightened; pray, how often have  you  been
 here?"  Oh," says he, " often enough."  "Well, when  I have
 been  here as often as yourself, I shall perhaps care as  little
 about it."
   We  left  this  monument of nature  profoundly and durably
 impressed with its sublimity and grandeur, and with the  feeling
 common to all travellers at the sight  of magnificent and extra-
 ordinary objects, that  of wishing all  itinerants to the Virginia
 Springs to take also a view of what  had afforded us so much grati-
 fication.  A very good tavern is within three miles of this  bridge,
 on the road to Lexington, the  capital  of Rockbridge county, and
 the seat of Washington College.   It may here be remarked that
 the.stage accommodations about the Natural Bridge are so uncer-
 tain, that  if a private carriage is not already the mode of convey-
 ance, one should be got at Fincastle, with the agreement  to pro-
 ceed  on to Staunton, and, if required, to Charlottesville.   From
 Staunton  an  agreeable excursion may be made to Weir's Cave,
 about twenty miles off', and which is another of the great natural
 curiosities of  this district of mountain  and limestone;  but from
 want  of time I did not visit it.
   I have  been under obligations to an  intelligent young friend
 for the analyses of the Rejdua which I brought from the Springs.

   Note.—In closing these informal remarks on the Springs of Vir-
 ginia, the  author takes the liberty of recommending to the perusal
 of invalids the work on Baths and Mineral Waters, by John  Bell
 M.D., Philadelphia, 1831.   It is replete with sound information
 on the hygienic  and  curative powers  of the various  kinds of
 baths, and presents an excellent history of the chemical compo-
 smonof the  chief mineral springs of the United States and of
 Europe.   Abounding in that  learned and patient  research for
 which the writer is distinguished,  should the preceding  pages
 have  afforded any pleasure or instruction, the  reader  will  a
fortiori have more  reason to be satisfied with Dr Bell's work
 He will also be  struck with the decided superiority which this
 region of mineral waters has over any of  equal extent in England
 France, Italy and the more frequented parts of Europe
THE END. 
 
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