almost destitute of verdure.

The common people, in the lower parts of Virginia, have very sallow
complexions, owing to the burning rays of the sun in summer, and the
bilious complaints to which they are subject during the fall of the
year; but those in the upper parts of the country, towards the
mountains, have a healthy and comely appearance.

After Mr. Weld had left the house of his friend, he crossed the
_Rappahannoc River_, to a small town called _Tappahannoc_, or _Hob's
Hole_, containing about one hundred houses. The river is here about
three quarters of a mile wide, and, though the distance from its mouth
is seventy miles, sharks are very often seen.

From Tappahannoc to _Urbanna_, another small town on the Rappahannoc,
and about twenty-five miles lower down, the country wears but a poor
aspect. The road, which is level and sandy, runs, for many successive
miles, through woods. The habitations that are seen from it are but few,
and these of the poorest description. The woods chiefly consist of black
oak, pine, and cedar-trees, which only grow on land of the worst
quality.

Mr. Weld observed many traces of fires in the woods. Such fires, he was
informed, were frequent in the spring of the year; and they were usually
occasioned by the negligence of people who burnt the underwood, for the
purpose of clearing the lands. He was himself witness to one of them.
The day had been remarkably serene, and the underwood had been fired in
several places. During the afternoon, the weather was sultry, and, about
five o'clock, the horizon, towards the north, became dark, and a
terrible whirlwind arose. Mr. Weld was standing, with some gentlemen, on
an eminence, and perceived it gradually advancing. It carried along with
it a cloud of dust, dried leaves, and pieces of rotten wood; and, in
many places, as it passed along, it levelled the fence-rails, and
unroofed the cattle-sheds. Mr. Weld and his friends endeavoured, but in
vain, to reach a place of shelter. In the course of two minutes the
whirlwind overtook them: the shock was violent; it was hardly possible
to stand, and was difficult to breathe. It passed over in about three
minutes; but a storm, accompanied by heavy thunder and lightning,
succeeded: this lasted more than half an hour. On looking round,
immediately after the whirlwind had passed, a prodigious column of fire
appeared in a part of the wood where some underwood had been burning. In
many places the flames rose