DESCRIPTIVE: Opposite Harper's Ferry,--which is situated on a pleasant
elevation at the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers--a few
rods north of "Pinnacle Bluff," a flighty eminence on the Blue Ridge
Mountains, stands a most singular formation of rock, known as
'Washington's Face'; and which, to a casualist void of imaginative
powers, is easily recognized if pointed out by a guide; but to a close
observer, however, with common discernable perception, it presents _at
first sight_ a most striking and correct resemblance of _the great
original_. From midway the bridge which crosses the Potomac, the
countenance and contour of the face _to me_, appeared discriminatingly
perfect, and constrained me to look upon it as _one_ of the most
wonderful, and the noblest work of revealed nature.
In the high barren cliffs of the Blue Mountain Ridge,
That frightfully hang o'er the trestle-built bridge,
Juts out into space a huge rocky bluff,
Which the elements rudely left broken and rough.
Near this, stands a bust so exquisitely fair,
That the chisel of art would be uselessness there!
For nature wrought well till the model was done--
An impress on stone of our GREAT WASHINGTON.
The Earth born from chaos at some mighty shock,
Left the image to rest on the high mountain rock,
On a turret-like peak, in the heavens above,
_As a sentinel over the country we love:_
Where the sunbeam could linger till daylight had fled,
Where the bright stars of night, form a crown o'er its head;
And where, through the greenwood, the faintest breeze creeps,
To sigh for the Hero, who deathlessly sleeps.
There it stands like a giant in storm and in calm,
Like the Hero in battle, no foeman could harm!
And commandingly looks with a Patriot's pride,
On the wild mountain stream of Potomac's fast tide,
Whose waters swell on in the valley between,
Through the vast hilly regions and forests of green;
O'er a rock-bottomed track, to the blue-bosomed sea,
From its struggles to rest, like our sire of the free.
Stand up there in might, till the bright sun shall die,
Till the stars glimmer out their light in the sky,
And the moon shall no longer lend beauty or light,
But _all_ shall again be dark chaos and night,--
Till then, let its base be the tall craggy steep,
Where rocks are o'er moss-grown, and ivy-vines creep;
With the Heaven's wide canopy over its head,
_An immortal image of greatness that's dead._
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[Illustration: THE VIOL SERAPHINE]
INTRODUCTION.--The clear tones of a viol or bass viol are generally
admitted to be more melodious than those produced by other kinds of
instruments, and many have expressed a desire to see an instrument so
constructed as to be played with keys, like the organ or piano forte,
and give the tones of the violin. This is the character of the
instrument here introduced. It is elegant in appearance; occupies less
than half the space of a piano forte, and is so light and portable
that a lady-performer may readily place it before her, and thus avoid
the necessity,--unpleasant to all parties,--of turning her back on the
company. We do not say that an instrument of this kind has been as yet
constructed complete: but the principle has been proved, and it may,
and probably will be soon, offered to the public, at a cost not
exceeding sixty dollars.
EXPLANATION.--In the engraving, a side view elevation only is
represented, showing only one string and one key of a series of twenty
or more of each. The body of the machine A B, is a light hollow chest
about three feet square and six inches deep, supported by four posts
or legs with castors. Two bridges, C and D, extend across the breadth
of the chest. The bridge D is supported by a cleat, E, in which is
inserted the pin F, to which is attached one end of the string C D F.
The other end of the string is simply attached to the bridge C. A
key-lever, G H, passes through the bridge, and is mounted on a pivot
therein. The front end of the key (G) is held in its ordinary position
by a small spring thereunder, and may be easily depressed by the
finger of the performer: the other end of the key serves as the
bearing of the pivot of a delicate arbor, the opposite pivot of which
has its bearing in the bridge D. On the front end of this arbor is a
wheel three-fourths of an inch in diameter, with its periphery smooth,
and polished with rosin, or rosin varnish; and so adjusted, that by
the depression of the key, this wheel is brought up in contact with
the string, whereby, if in motion rotarily, a full sound is produced,
as if a violin bow was drawn across the string. On the other end of
the arbor is a grooved pulley, over which passes a silken cord, which
also passes round a delicate band-wheel, I, below, and by which,
motion is communicated to the arbor and sounding wheel. The band-wheel
is mounted on a shaft, I J, which has its bearings in two small head
blocks which project from two crossbars: and from the block J is
suspended a vertical rod, to the bottom of which is attached a
treadle, K L, and from which a curved ratch, L M, extends upward and
takes to a small ratchet on the shaft I J; so that, by the horizontal
motion of the treadle, the motion is communicated to the wheel, &c.
The teeth of the ratch and ratchet have so gentle an inclination on
one side of each, that although the ratch applies force to the ratchet
in the upward direction, they slide freely over in their return. It
may be understood that the machine is to have two treadles and two
ratches, which move forward alternately: and that twenty or more
arbors, pulleys, strings and keys are arranged in series, although
only one of each is represented in the engraving. The cord applies to
each pulley in the series, by passing over the first, under the
second, and over the third, and so on, descending from the last of the
series to the band-wheel. Each arbor is placed directly under its
respective string, and it is also proposed to place moveable stops
under the strings, at equal distances from the key bridge, and to
regulate the tones by adjusting the stops, without depending on the
pins at the ends for that purpose. We shall employ a competent
mechanic to construct one or more of these instruments as soon as
convenient, and give due notice accordingly.
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