[ 239 ] 
letter XVIII. 
Description of the Passage of Patowniac and 
Shenandoah Rivers through a Break in the 
Blue Mountains.—Some Observations on Mr., 
Jefferson’s Account of the Scene.—Summary 
Account of Maryland.—Arrival at Phila¬ 
delphia .— Remarks on the Climate of the 
United States.—State of the City of Phila¬ 
delphia during the Heat of Summer. — Diffi¬ 
culty of preserving Butter, Milk, Meat, 
Fish, %c. — General Use of Ice. — Of the 
Winds.—State of Weather in America de¬ 
pends greatly upon them.i 
Philadelphia, June. 
HAYING traversed, in various directions* 
the country to the west of the Blue Moun¬ 
tains in Virginia, I came to the Patowmac, at 
the place where that river passes through the 
Blue Ridge, which Mr. Jefferson, in his Notes 
upon Virginia, has represented as one of the 
most stupendous scenes in nature, and worth 
a voyage across the At]anticThe ap¬ 
proach towards the place is wild and romantic. 
After crossing a number of small hills, which 
rise one above the other in succession, you at 
last perceive the break in the Blue Ridge ; at 
the same time the road suddenly turning, winds 
