the interest of the scene. "There was almost a sense of pain, at the stillness which seemed to reign. We could hear the flapping of the wings of the hawks and buzzards, as they seemed to be gathering a new impetus after sailing through one of their circles in the air below us. North of us, and on the other side of the Valley of Virginia, were the mountains near Lexington, just as seen from that beautiful village,--the Jump, North, and House Mountains succeeding each other; they were familiar with a thousand associations of our childhood, seeming mysteriously, when away from the spot, to bring my early home before me--not in imagination, such as had often haunted me when I first left to find another in the world, but in substantial reality. "Further on down the valley, and at a great distance, was the top of a large mountain, which was thought to be the Great North Mountain, away down in Shenandoah County--I am afraid to say how far off. Intermediate between these mountains, and extending opposite and far above us, was the Valley of Virginia, with its numerous and highly cultivated farms. Across this valley, and in the distance, lay the remote ranges of the Alleghany and mountains about, and, I suppose, beyond the White Sulphur Springs. Nearer us, and separating Eastern and Western Virginia, was the Blue Ridge, more than ever showing the propriety of its cognomen of the 'backbone;' and on which we could distinctly see two zigzag turnpikes, the one leading to Fincastle, and the other to Buchanan; and over which latter we had travelled a few days before. With the spy-glass we could distinguish the houses in the village of Fincastle, some 25 or 30 miles off, and the road leading to the town. "Turning towards the direction of our morning's ride, we had beneath us Bedford County, with its smaller mountains, farms, and farm-houses--the beautiful village of Liberty, the county roads, and occasionally a mill-pond, reflecting the sun like a sheet of polished silver. The houses on the hill at Lynchburg, 25 or 30 miles distant, are distinctly visible on a clear day, and also Willis' Mountain, away down in Buckingham County. "I had often visited Bedford, and had been more or less familiar with it from childhood, but at our elevation, distances were so annihilated, and appearances so changed, that we could scarcely recognise the most familiar object. After some difficulty, we at length made out the residence of Dr. M., we had that morning left, and at that moment rendered more than usually interesting by containing, in addition to the other very dear relatives, two certain ladies, who sustained a very interesting connexion with the Doctor and myself, and one of whom had scarcely laid aside the blushes on her bridal hour.