VIRGINIA 33 



rooms, kitchens, quarters for the slaves, and who knows 

 what else, commonly so many small, separate, badly 

 kept cabins of wood, without glass in the windows, of 

 the structure and solidity of a house of cards. This 

 plan is not so much the consequence of any particular 

 taste, as of necessity. In the settlement of a new plan- 

 tation there is concern for only the most indispensable 

 buildings, and a hastily built block-house is all that is 

 needed at first; but by degrees, the family increasing 

 and more land brought into cultivation, greater con- 

 venience becomes an item. And thus are built grad- 

 ually a good many small houses and cabins, commonly 

 without the assistance of carpenters, patched together 

 by the people themselves and their negroes. This being 

 an easier method than to put together a large house all 

 at once, one often sees such little houses growing up 

 where there is neither material nor capital for bringing 

 them together in one solid house. In such cabins then, 

 about which all the evidences of negligence are to be 

 remarked, it is nothing extraordinary to see the lady of 

 the house, and women generally, clothed and adorned 

 with great fastidiousness ; for the fair sex in America 

 cannot resist the propensity to make themselves fine, 

 even when remotely situated they must forego the 

 pleasure of being admired except by the casual travel- 

 ler. We had gone many miles through the woods, had 

 seen only a few wretched cabins, and arrived finally at 

 a house that had been indicated to us, which appeared 

 not greatly different from the rest, not a whole pane 

 in the windows, neither rum, nor whiskey, nor bread 

 to be had, a draughty, empty place ; but in return we 

 had the altogether unexpected pleasure of making our 

 devoirs to several ladies dressed tastefully in silk and 



