The new house was thus brought to completion 

 early in 1731. That it was a plain and simple house 

 is apparent from the small amount of labor and the 

 relatively few quantities of material. It appears to 

 ha\e had two fireplaces only and one chinmey. 

 Although the house was wooden, there is no e\idence 

 that it had any paint whatsocser. inside or out. 



FURNISHING THE HOUSE 



Other than a child's chair and a bedstead costing 

 10 shillings, purchased from Enoch Innes in 1729, 

 little furniture was acquired before 1730. Listed in 

 "Domestick Expenses" for 1729-1730 are minor 

 accessories for the new house, such as H L hinges, 

 closet locks, a "scimmer," a pair of brass candlesticks, 

 milk pans, pestle and mortar, ■■'•> doz plates,"' a 

 ■"Cullender," a candlebox, earthenware, and a 

 pepperbox, together with sexeral hand tools. 



MERCERS VARIED .ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS 



The agricultural aspects of a plantation were 

 increasingly in evidence. In 1729 Rawlcigh Chinn 

 was paid for "helping to kill the Hogs," "pasturage 

 of my cattle," and "making a gate." Edward Floyd 

 was credited with £4 6s. 7'2d. for "Wintering Cattle, 

 taking care of my horse & .Sheep to Aug. 1729." 

 John Chinn seems to have been Mercer's jockey, for 

 as early as 1729 he was entering the races which 

 abounded in Virginia, and "went on y"" race w"' C^olt 

 1729." 



In this early period we find considerable evidence 

 of a typical young Virginian's fondness for gaming 

 and sport. One finds scattered through Mercer's 

 account with Robert .Spotswood such items as "To 

 won at the Race . . . 8.9" and "To won at Liew at 

 Col" Mason's . . . 7.3." (Loo was an elegant 

 18th-century game played with Chinese-carved 

 mother-of-pearl counters.) Mercer participated in 

 several sporting events at .Stafford courthouse, for 



court sessions continued, as in the previous century, 

 to be social as well as legal and political occasions. 

 This is illustrated in a credit to Joseph W'augh: 

 "By won at a horse race at Stafford Court and 

 Attorney's fee . . . £1."; on the debit side of 

 Enoch Innes's account: "To won at (luoits & 

 running with you . . . 1/3"; and in Thomas 

 Hudson's account, where four shillings were marked 

 up "To won pitching at Stafford Court." 



Mercer's diversions were few enough, nevertheless, 

 and it is apparent that he devoted more time to read- 

 ing than to gaming. In 1726 he borrowed from John 

 Graham (or Graeme) a library of 56 volumes belong- 

 ing to the "Hon ''"■ Col" Spotswood" 59 (Appendix E). 

 Ranging from the Greek classics to English history, 

 and including Milton, Congreve, Dryden, Cole's 

 Dictionary, "Williams' Mathematical Works,"" and 

 "Present State of Russia,"" they were the basis for a 

 solid education. That the\' included no lawbooks 

 at a time when Mercer was preparing for the law 

 is an indication of his Jjroad taste for literature and 

 learning. 



Marlborough, we can see, was occupied bv a \oung 

 man of talent, energy, and creativity. He alone, of 

 the many men who had envisioned a center of 

 enterprise on Potomac Neck, was possessed of the 

 drive and the simple directness to make it succeed. 

 For George Mason and the \Vaughs, Mercer was the 

 ideal solution for their Marlborousfh difficulties. 



■''-' Clol. .■\k-.\ander Spotswood, Governor of Virginia and a 

 resident of Spotsylvania County, was at this time living in 

 London. He authorized John Graham (or Graeme) of St. 

 James, Clcrkenwell, Middlesex, to "take possession of his iron 

 works in Virginia, with plantations, negroes, stocks, and 

 manage the same." By 1732 Spotswood regretted that he had 

 "committed his affairs to the care of a mathematician, whose 

 thoughts were always among the stars." In 1737 Graham 

 became professor of natural philosophy and mathematics in 

 the College of William and Mary. See "Historical & Gene- 

 alogical Notes," ir.l/(2 [1] (Richmond, 1909), vol. 17, p. 301 

 (quoting B.'kssET, Writings of li'tlliam Byrtl. p. 378). 



