Page:History of Cumberland, Maryland 2.djvu/520

490 spires, temples built of native stone, charming villas, towered edifices, and comfortable homes, evincing educated tastes and refined ideas. The placid Potomac, forming the southern boundary of the city, is apparently land-locked, and presents the appear- ance of a modest lake, upon whose bosom is mirrored the beauty of its leafy shores; while ^the swifter waters of Will's Creek come purling into the very heart of the town, cool and fresh, from the sombre shades of the wondrous "Narrows." Southward the waters of the two streams tumble over a dam of solid masonry, and skirt the base of " Nobley" Moun- tain, until they disappear from view at the edge of the city, some half mile lower down the channel. Eastward is a series of bluffs, some three hundred feet in height, known as " Shriver's Hill," " M cKaig's Hill," and "Fort Hill." The sides of these hills are dotted with dwellings, and cultivated fields, in many places, while the gorges between have been converted into streets and roads. On the south, and on the opposite side of the river, in West Virginia, Nobley Mountains rise in their self-asserting grandeur, and with the rich bottom lands lying at their feet, form a picture worthy to be transferred to canvas, if a brush can be found to do them justice. On a knob, around which the river sweeps with a graceful curve, stands the beautiful villa of Capt. Roger Perry, of the navy, forming one of the most prominent and attractive pictures of the panorama of the city. Cumberland is divided into two parts by the waters of Will's Creek. That portion lying east of the Creek comprises ihe greater part of the business houses, hotels, mills,