Sept. 10, 1736.-This evening will be performed at the Theatre, by the young gen tlemen of the college, The Tragedy of CATO; and on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday next, will be acted the following comedies, by the gentlemen and ladies of this country, viz: The BUSY BODY, The RECRUITING OFFICER, and The BEAUX STRATAGEM.

Williamsburg, Sept. 21, 1739.-An epitaph on Miss M. Thacker, (daughter of Col Edwin Thacker, of Middlesex,) who died at Williamsburg, on Wednesday last: Pensively pay the tribute of a tear,

For one that claims our common grief lies here.
Good-natured, prudent, affable, and mild,
In sense a woman, in deceit a child.
Angels, like us, her virtues shall admire,

And chant her welcome thro' the Heavenly choir.

Sept. 21, 1739.-EDWARD MORRIS, Breeches-Maker and Glover, from London, is set up in his business, near the college, in Williamsburg, where he makes and sells the best buckskin breeches, either of the common tanned color, black, or other cloth colors, after the English manner. Also buckskin gloves with high tops. Any persons that have occasion to make use of him, in any of the above particulars, may depend upon kind usage, and at very reasonable rates.

Williamsburg, March 3, 1768.—Early this morning, died at the palace, after a tedious illness, which he bore with the greatest patience and fortitude, the Hon. FRANCIS FAUQUIER, Esq., Lieut. Gov. and commander-in-chief of the colony, over which he has presided near ten years, much to his own honor, and the ease and satisfaction of the inhabitants. He was a gentleman of the most amiable disposition, generous, just, and mild, and possessed, in an eminent degree, of all the social virtues. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society, and died in his 65th year.*

May 26, 1768.-For the benefit of Mrs. Parker, by permission of the worshipful the Mayor of Williamsburg, at the OLD THEATRE, near the Capitol, by the VIRGINIA COMPANY OF COMEDIANS, on Friday, the 3d of June, will be presented the BEGGAR'S OPERA, and the ANATOMIST, or SHAM DOCTOR.

Williamsburg, April 13, 1768.-A hog was brought to town this week, from Sussex, as a show, raised by Mr. Henry Tyler there, who, though only four years old, is near three feet and a half high, about nine and a half long, and, it is supposed, weighs near twelve hundred pounds. He much exceeds any animal of the kind ever raised on this continent, and, indeed, we do not remember to have heard of any so large in England.

Oct. 5, 1768.-Yesterday, PEYTON RANDOLPH, Esq., our worthy representative, gave a genteel dinner at the RALEIGH Tavern, to the electors of this city, after which many loyal and patriotic toasts were drank, and the afternoon spent with cheerfulness and de

corum.

From the Virginia Gazette of 1776 are extracted the following marriage notices, which, according to the custom of the time, are accompanied with a few poetic lines: EDMUND RANDOLPH, Esq., Attorney-General of Virginia, to Miss BETSEY NICHOLAS, a young lady whose amiable sweetness of disposition, joined with the finest intellectual accomplishments, cannot fail of rendering the worthy man of her choice completely happy.

Fain would the aspiring muse attempt to sing
The virtues of this amiable pair;

But how shall I attune the trembling string,
Or sound a note which can such worth declare?
Exalted theme! too high for common lays!

Could my weak verse with beauty be inspired,
In numbers smooth I'd chant my BETSEY'S praise,
And tell how much her RANDOLPH is admired.
To light the hymeneal torch since they've resolved,
Kind Heaven I trust will make them truly blest;
And when the Gordian knot shall be dissolved,
Translate them to eternal peace and rest.

* A paper of a late. date says he was buried in the north aisle of the church.

Mr. WILLIAM DERRICOAT, of Hanover, to Miss SUCKEY TOMKIES, of Gloucester, daughter of Col. Francis Tomkies.

Her's the mild lustre of the blooming morn,

And his the radiance of the rising day.
Long may they live, and mutually possess,

A steady love and genuine happiness.

On Sunday last, Mr. BEVERLY DIXON to Miss POLLY SAUNDERS, a very agreeable young lady.

Hymen, thy brightest torch prepare,
Gild with light the nuptial bower,
With garlands crown this lovely pair,
On them thy choicest blessings shower
Cupids lightly sport and play,
Hymen crowns the happy day;
Sprightly graces too descend,
And the beauteous bride attend.
Here no sordid interest binds,
But purest innocence and love
Combined unite their spotless minds,

And seal their vows above.

Captain SAMUEL DENNY, of the artillery, to Miss FALLEN, of Northumberland

May peace and love the sacred band unite,
And equal joy, yield equal sweet content.

JAMES MADISON, D. D., Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Virginia, and President of William and Mary College, was born near Port Republic, in Rockingham county, in 1749. His father was the district clerk of West Augusta. He graduated with the highest honors at William and Mary, then studied law with the celebrated George Wythe, and after being licensed to practise, turned his attention to theology, and was admitted to holy orders. He was chosen professor of mathematics, in William and Mary, in 1773. In 1777, at the early age of 28, he was elected president, and soon after visited England. "In 1788, as Bishop elect of Virginia, he went again to England for Episcopal ordination, and was consecrated at Lambeth, Sept. 19, 1790. On his return, he united the performance of his duties of bishop with those of president and professor. Until the close of his life, such were his literary and scientific pursuits, that he was occupied in lectures from four to six hours every day. After a severe illness, he died, March 6, 1812, in the 63d year of his age. His published works are, a Thanksgiving Sermon, 1781; a letter to J. Morse, 1795; an address to the Episcopal Church, 1799; and an able and very eloquent discourse on the death of Washington. The reputation of Bishop Madison is that of a refined gentleman, an accomplished scholar, and an enlightened and liberal Christian philanthropist."

"PEYTON RANDOLPH, first president of the American Congress, was a native of Vir ginia, and one of the most distinguished lawyers and patriots of the state. He was, as early as 1756, appointed king's attorney of the colony, and held the office for many years. In 1766, he was elected speaker of the House of Burgesses, and in 1773, a member of the committee of correspondence. The following year, he was appointed a delegate to the Congress which assembled at Philadelphia, and was elected its president; and also presided in the Congress of 1775, till obliged to return to Virginia, when Hancock was chosen his successor. He soon resumed his seat in Congress, but died suddenly of an apoplectic fit on the 22d of October, 1775, aged 52 years."

In speaking of his death, Girardin observes: "That illustrious citizen, distinguished at first by the eminence of his forensic station, and afterwards by the ability, zeal, integrity, and dignity, which he displayed in the higher offices of public life, had several times been elected speaker of the House of Burgesses. On the 20th of March, he was unanimously appointed president of the first convention; and on the 11th of August following, first nominated one of the delegates for Virginia to the general Congress. A new and well-merited honor awaited him there; without one dissentient voice, he was called to preside over that great and venerable body. . . . The remains of this worthy patriot were afterwards brought from Philadelphia to Williamsburg by Edmund Randolph, his nephew, and in November, 1776, deposited in the family vault in the college chapel, with suitable funeral ceremonies. A short time before his departure for the general Continental Congress, the convention, observing with great concern that he was very much indisposed, recommended him to retire for the present from the fatigues of public duty, tendering to him at the same time their unfeigned thanks for his unre

mitted attention to the important interests of his country, and his unwearied application to, and able, faithful, and impartial discharge of the duties of his office; and assuring him that he had the warmest wishes of the convention for a speedy return to health, and an uninterrupted enjoyment of every felicity."

JEFFERSON.

JEFFERSON was formed in 1801, from Berkeley; its mean length is 22 miles, breadth 12 miles. The Potomac forms its northeastern boundary; the Shenandoah enters the county near its southeastern border, and flowing in a northeast direction, parallel with the

Blue Ridge, enters the Potomac at Harper's Ferry. The face of the country is rolling, and the soil almost unequalled in fertility by any other county in Virginia. "It was settled principally by old Virginia families from the eastern part of the state; and the inhabitants still retain that high, chivalrous spirit, and generous hospitality, for which that race was so remarkable in the palmy days of their prosperity." Pop. in 1840, whites 9,323, slaves 4,157, free colored 602; total, 14,082.

Middleway, 7 miles southwest of Charlestown, contains 1 Presbyterian, and 1 Methodist church, 3 mercantile stores, and about 500 inhabitants. Leetown is at the western end of the county, and contains a few dwellings. It derives its name from the celebrated Gen. Charles Lee, who once resided there.

Harper's Ferry is distant 173 miles from Richmond, 57 from Washington city, and 30 from Winchester, with which it is connected by a rail-road. This thriving manufacturing village is situated at the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. Its name is derived from a ferry, long since established across the Potomac, where the river breaks through the Blue Ridge; at this place it is about 1200 feet in height. The name of the place was originally Shenandoah Falls.

"The scenery at Harper's Ferry is, perhaps, the most singularly picturesque in America. To attain the view here given, it was necessary to climb the Blue Ridge by a narrow winding path immediately above the bank of the Potomac. The view from this lofty summit amply repays the fatigue incurred by its ascent. The junction of the two rivers is immediately beneath the spectator's feet; and his delighted eye, resting first upon the beautiful and thriving village of Harper's Ferry, wanders over the wide and woody plains, extending to the Alleghany mountains. President Jefferson, who has given the name to a beautiful rock immediately above the village, has left a powerful description of the scenery of Harper's Ferry. He says:

"The passage of the Potomac through the Blue Ridge, is, perhaps, one of the most stupendous scenes in nature. You stand on a very high point of land; on your right comes up the Shenandoah, having ranged along the foot of a mountain a hundred miles to seek a vent. On your left approaches the Potomac, in quest of a passage also; in the moment of their junction, they rush together against the mountain, rend it asunder, and pass off to the sea. The first glance of this scene hurries our senses into the opinion that this earth has been created in time; that the mountains were formed first; that the rivers began to flow afterwards; that in this place particularly, they have been dammed up by the Blue Ridge of mountains, and have formed an ocean which filled the whole valley; that, continuing to rise, they have at length broken over at this spot, and have torn the mountain down from its summit to its base. The piles of rock on each hand, particularly on the Shenandoah-the evident marks of their disrupture and avulsion from their beds by the most powerful agents of nature, corroborate the impression. But the distant finishing which nature has given to the picture, is of a very different character; it is a true contrast to the foreground; it is as placid and delightful as that is wild and tremendous; for the mountain being cloven asunder, she presents to your eye, through the clefts, a small catch of smooth blue horizon, at an infinite distance in the plain country, inviting you, as it were, from the riot and tumult warring around, to pass through the breach and participate of the calm below. Here the eye ultimately composes itself; and that way, too, the road happens actually to lead. You cross the Potomac above the junction, pass along its side through the base of the mountain for three miles, its terrible precipices hanging in fragments over you, and within about twenty miles reach Fredericktown, and the fine country round that. This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic; yet here, as in the neighborhood of the Natural Bridge, are people who have passed their lives within half a dozen miles, and have never been to survey these monuments of a war between rivers and mountains, which must have shaken the earth itself to its centre." "

There are many points of view from which the scenery appears romantic and beautiful. Among these, that seen from Jefferson's Rock, which is on a hill overhanging the town, is very fine. The top of this rock is flat, and nearly twelve feet square; its base, which does not exceed five feet in width, rests upon the top of a larger rock; and its height is about five feet. The whole mass is so nicely balanced, that the application of a small force will cause it to vibrate considerably. On this rock once reposed another rock, on which Mr. Jefferson, during a visit to this place, inscribed his name. In the extraordinary political excitement of 1798-9, between the federal and the democratic parties, a Capt. Henry, who was stationed here with some U. S. troops, at the head of a band of his men hurled off the apex of this rock.

At Harper's Ferry, on the Maryland side, "there is said to be a wonderful likeness of Washington in the stupendous rocks which overhang the Potomac. The nose, lips, and chin are admirably formed, and bear the semblance of studied art. The forehead is obscure; yet there is sufficient to give the mind a just idea of the noble form and dignified carriage, with the mildness of feature, which the original possessed so pre-eminently as to inspire all men with a profound reverence towards this august personage."

Harper's Ferry is compactly, though irregularly built, around the foot of a hill; but the engraving annexed shows but a small portion of it. It contains about a dozen mercantile stores, several mechanical and manufacturing establishments, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Catholic, 1 Methodist, and 1 Free Church; and, including the suburbs, has a population of over 3,000. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal passes along the left bank of the Potomac, and the Baltimore and Ohio rail-road passes through the town. The town is connected with the Maryland side by a fine bridge across the Potomac, of about 800 feet in length. The United States Armory and the National Arsenal, at Harper's Ferry, are worthy of attention. In the latter, 80,000 or 90,000 muskets are usually kept, which, as they are sent away, are replaced by others from the factories.

Dwelling of Rumsey, the first Steamboat Inventor.

Shepherdstown is situated on the Potomac, in the northwestern part of the county, 5 miles north of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, and about 12 miles above Harper's Ferry. It was established by law in November, 1762, laid off by Capt. Thomas Shepherd, and named Mecklenburg: its first settlers were German mechanics. It contains 6 or 8 mercantile stores, 3 merchant mills, 1 Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, 1 German-Reformed, and 1 Lutheran church, and a population of about 1,600. There is a small stream, of considerable fall, which runs through the town, immediately opposite to which is an inlet-lock to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.

This town is remarkable as being the place where the first steamboat was constructed and navigated. Previous to detailing the experiments at this place, we shall introduce a brief historical sketch of navigation by steam:

"Who invented the steamboat?" is a question which has occasioned much contro versy-an achievement of which nations, as well as individuals, have been covetous.