the prison, Capt. C. darted out, and butted him over at his full length, and ran past him through the gate. It was now nearly dark. All was uproar and confusion. Cunningham soon reached a marsh near the house, and was nowhere to be found. Volley after volley was fired after him, and some of the balls whistled over his head. Ere long he arrived at the southern branch of Elizabeth River, which he swam over a little below the navy-yard at Gosport, and finally reached the place whither his wife had fled.

Lieut. Church, who had served as Capt. C.'s first, was determined that his commander should not alone encounter the danger of an escape. He, therefore, followed him; and strange as it may appear, he was never heard of, or accounted for.

Old Point Comfort, on which stands fortress Monroe, is 2 miles from Hampton, and about 12 in a direct line from Norfolk. It is a promontory, exactly on lat. 37o, and with the opposing point, Willoughby, forms the mouth of James River.

The name was given to it in 1607 by the first colonists of Virginia, who, on their exploratory voyage up the James, previous to landing at Jamestown, called it Point Comfort" on account of the good channel and safe anchorage it afforded." The prefix of "Old," was afterwards given to distinguish it from "New Point Comfort."

A fort was built on the Point a few years after the first settlement of the country. The following act for its erection was passed in March, 1629-30. "Matter of ffortifications was againe taken into consideration, and Capt. Samuel Mathewes was content to undertake the raysing of a ffort at Poynt Comfort; whereupon, Capt. Robert Ffelgate, Capt. Thomas Purfury, Capt. Thomas Graies, Capt. John Uty, Capt. Tho. Willoby, Mr. Tho. Heyrick, and Leu't. Wm. Perry, by full consent of the whole Assembly, were chosen to view the place, conclude what manner of fforte shall bee erected, and to compounde and agree with the said Capt. Mathewes for the building, raysing, and finishing the same," &c.

Count de Grasse, the admiral of the French fleet, threw up some fortifications on old Point Comfort a short time previous to the surrender at York.

The salutary experience, dearly bought in the lessons of the late war, when these waters were the resort of British fleets, has doubtless had much influence in prompting the erection of the fortresses of Monroe and Calhoun. The first is one of the largest single fortifications in the world, and is generally garrisoned by a regiment of U. S. troops. The channel leading in from the Capes of Virginia to Hampton Roads, is at Old Point Comfort reduced to a very narrow line. The shoal water, which under the action of the sea, and reacted upon by the bar, is kept up in an unremitting ripple, has given the name of Rip Raps to this place. When the bar is passed, Hampton Roads affords one of the finest anchorages, in which navies could ride in safety. Fort Calhoun, or the castle of the Rip Raps, is directly opposite fort Monroe, at the distance of 1900 yards. The two forts are so constructed as to present immense batteries of cannon at an approaching hostile ship; and the probabilities are, that long before she had completed the bendings of the channel, she would be a wreck, or a conflagration from the hot shot thrown into her. The Rip Raps structure is a monument of the genius of the engineers by whom it was planned. It is formed upon an island, made from the sea by casting in rocks in a depth of 20 feet of water, until, by gradual accumulation, it emerged above the tides. The present aspect of the place is rough and savage; the music of the surrounding elements of air and sea, is in keeping with the dreariness and desolation of the spot.

The beach at Old Point, affords excellent bathing-ground; this, with a fine hotel, and other attractions, make the place much resorted to in the summer months. The officers' quarters occupy several neat buildings within the area of the fort, where there is a fine level parade-ground, ornamented by clumps of live-oak, which is the most northern point in the Union in which that tree is found.

GEORGE WYTHE, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born in this county in 1726. "His education was principally directed by his mother. The death of both his parents before he became of age, and the uncontrolled possession of a large for tune, led him for some time into a course of amusement and dissipation. At the age of thirty, however, his conduct underwent an

entire change. He applied himself vigorously to the study of the law; and soon after his admission to the bar, his learning, industry, and eloquence, made him eminent. For several years previous to the revolution, he was conspicuous in the House of Burgesses; and in the commencement of the opposition to England, evinced an ardent attachment to liberty. In 1764, he drew up a remonstrance to the House of Commons, in a tone of independence too decided for that period, and which was greatly modified by the Assembly before assenting to it. In 1775, he was appointed a delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. In the following year he was appointed, in connection with Mr. Jefferson and others, to revise the laws of Virginia-a duty which was performed with great ability. In 1777, he was appointed Speaker of the House of Delegates, and during the same year judge of the high court of chancery. On a new organization of the court of equity, in the subsequent year, he was appointed sole chancellora station which he filled for more than twenty years. In 1787, he was a member of the convention which formed the federal constitution, and during the debates acted, for the most part, as chairman. He was a strenuous advocate of the instrument adopted. He subsequently presided twice, successively, in the college of electors in Virginia. His death occurred on the 8th of June, 1806, in the 81st year of his age. It was supposed that he was poisoned; but the person suspected was acquitted by a jury. In learning, industry, and judgment, Chancellor Wythe had few superiors. His integrity was never stained, even by a suspicion; and from the moment of his abandonment of the follies of his youth, his reputation was unspotted. The kindness and benevolence of his heart were commensurate with the strength and attainments of his mind."

ESSEX.

ESSEX was formed in 1692, from a part of (old) Rappahannock county. It lies on the s. side of the Rappahannock, about 30 miles NE. of Richmond. Its length is 28 miles; mean breadth 10 miles. In the western part it is slightly hilly, and its soil, except on the margin of the streams, generally sandy. The county, however, produces large crops of corn, considerable wheat and oats, and some cotton and tobacco. Pop. in 1840, whites 3,955, slaves 6,756, free colored 598; total, 11,309.

Tappahannoc, port of entry and seat of justice for the county, lies on the Rappahannock, 50 miles from its mouth in Chesapeake Bay, and contains about 30 dwellings. It has a good harbor, and all the shipping belonging to the towns on the river is entered at the custom-house in this place; tonnage in 1840, 4,591. Loretto is a small village one mile from the Rappahannock, in the NE. part of the county.

FAIRFAX.

FAIRFAX was formed in 1742, from Prince William, and named after Lord Fairfax, the proprietor of "the Northern Neck." The part of Virginia included in the District of Columbia was formed from Fairfax. The county is watered by the Potomac and the Occoquan, and their branches. Pop., whites 5,469, slaves 3,453, free colored 448; total, 9,370,

Fairfax Court House is near the centre of the county, 21 miles from Washington City; it contains the county buildings, and about 200 inhabitants. Centerville is a village of about the same population, on a high and healthy situation near the southwestern angle of the county.

Much of the land of this county, and, indeed, of the whole of the tide-water country of Virginia, is flat and sandy. Some parts, it is true, are very fertile and produce large crops; but these are so intermixed with extensive tracts of waste land, worn out by the excessive culture of tobacco, and which are almost destitute of verdure, that the country has frequently the aspect of barrenness. A ruinous system has prevailed to a great extent, of working the same piece of land year after year until it was exhausted, when new land was cleared, in its turn to be cultivated a few seasons and then abandoned. In some parts of the country the lands thus left waste throw up a spontaneous growth of low pines and cedars, whose sombre aspect, with the sterility of the soil, oppresses the traveller with feelings of gloom. However, land thus shaded, from the rays of the sun, recovers in time its former fertility.

Several years since, some of the enterprising farmers of German origin from Dutchess county, New York, commenced emigrating to this county and purchased considerable tracts of worn-out land, which they have, in many instances, succeeded in restoring to their original fertility. Good land can be bought for $8 or $10 per acre; tolerable fair for about $3; which, in a few years, can be brought up with clover and plaster. Some of the finest farms in New York are upon lands, which, a few years ago, were sand, blowing about in the wind. The worn-out Virginian lands are not so bad as this, and, with a fine climate, are as easily restored. The success thus far attending the experiment is encouraging, and emigration still continues. These farmers make this movement better than going west, for they are sure of a good market, without the whole value of their produce being exhausted by the expense of transportation. Slave-labor is not employed in resuscitating land; the farmers work themselves, with their sons and hired men

The following extracts are from Davis's Four and a Half Years in America, published in 1803. Davis was a school-teacher in the section of country which he describes. His work is dedicated, by permission, to Jefferson: