collapsed coinplctciy. In spite of his ininistiations, 

 however, there were difficulties with the siafl". Piirdie 

 & Dixoivs GrtC'//'' carried the following on June 6, 

 1766: 



MARLBOROLGH, STAFFORD county, May 26, 



1 766. 

 Run away from the subscriber, some time last February, 

 a Negro man named TEMPLE, about 35 years old, well 

 set, about 5 feet 6 inches high, has a hish forehead, and 

 thick bush beard; he took a gun with him, and wore a 

 blue double breasted jacket with liorn buttons. I 

 suspect he is harboured about Bull Run, in Fauquier 

 coimty, where he formerly lived. I bought him, with 

 his mother and sister, from Mr. BarradalPs e.xccutors in 

 ]t'llliamsburg above 20 years ago, and expected he would 

 have returned home; but as he has been so long gone, I 

 am doubtful he may endeavour to get out of the country 

 by water, of which he may understand something, as he 

 was two years on board the Wolf sloop of war in the 

 ]i'est Indies, and carries the marks of the discipline he 

 underwent on board. 



Likewise run away last Whitsun hoiydays two indented 

 servants, imported from LONDCJN last September, viz. 

 JOSEPH WAIN of Bucknell, in the county of Oxford, 

 aged 22 years, about 5 feet 4 inches high, round shoul- 

 dered, stoops pretty much in his walk, has a down look, 

 and understands ploughing. WILLL^M CANTRELL 

 of Warwickshire, aged 19. about the same height, and 

 stoops a little, but not so much as \\'.\IN, has a scar 

 under one of his eyes, but which is uncertain, has some 

 marks of the smallpox, his hair is of a dark brown and 

 short, but Wain's is cut off, he pretends to understand 

 ploughing and countr\- business, and has drove a waggon 

 since he has been in my service; they both have fresh 

 look. The clothes they left home in were jackets of red 

 plaids, brown linen shirts, Russia drill breeches with 

 white metal buttons, and thread stockings; Cantrell with 

 an old hat and new shoes, and ]Vain with a new 

 hat and old shoes; But as it is supposed thai they were 

 persuaded to elope with four Scotch servants belonging 

 to the widow Slrulher, on Poiowmack run in this county, 

 whom they went to see, and who went off at the same 

 time, it is probable that they may exchange their clothes, 

 or have provided some other. It is supposed that they 

 will make for Carolina, where it is said an uncle of one 

 of Mr. Slrolher's servants lives; and as several horses are 

 missing about the same lime in these parts, it is very 

 probable they did not choose to make such a journey 

 on foot. Whoever secures my servants and Negro, or 

 any of them shall, besides the reward allowed by law, 

 be paid any reasonable satisfaction, in proportion to 

 the distance and extraordinary trouble they may be 

 put to. 



JOHN MERCER 



.Mercer seems to have been coiiccrned principally 

 with his brewers and with the wasteful scheme they 

 furthered with their incompetencies. Even they 

 seem to ha\c liecn beyond his strength, for he became 

 ill in )anuar>- 1766, and suffered recurrently the 

 rest of the year. From his journal we can detect 

 a once-strong man's struggle against the first warnings 

 of approaching death: 



12 







.•\ugust 26 Rode 6 m. & home had a fever 



27 sick 



28 Rode 5 m. & home 



29 2 m. & D° had an -Ague 



30 D» 



31 D" 



Sept 1 Had an .Ague 



2 Rode 5 m. & home 

 * * * 



Sept 22 to M' Selden's & ret''' abo' a mile but 



went back 12 



23 home by 12 and went to bed 10 



24 Confined to my bed 



(remained so rest of month) 

 Oct I Confined to my bed and very ill 



5 D" Sat up a little 



6 D" Better 



7 D» D" 



8 Drove out 3 m & home 6 



He informed George that after his return IVom Mr. 

 Selden's on September 23 he was for "several days 

 under strong delerium and had the rattles." By the 

 beginning of 1768, however, he was able to boast 

 that "T think I may safely aver that I have not been 

 in a better [state of health] any time these twenty 

 years past, & tho' I am not so young, my youngest 

 daughter . . . was born the 20th day of last January." 



On ,\pril 22, 1766, he noted in the journal that the 

 "Kitchen roof catched fire" and on May 15 that he 

 "Took Possion [sic] of my summer house." The 

 latter was probably located in the garden, where, 

 during his convalescence in the spring, he was able to 

 make a meticulous lecord of the blooming of each 

 plant, flower, tree, and shrub, constituting n most 

 interesting catalog of the wild and cultivated flora of 

 Ifith-ceiUury Marlborough. The catalog is indicative 

 of Mercer's ranging interests and his knowledge of 

 botanical terms (see Appendix L). That the garden 

 was perhaps as interesting as the house is borne out 

 by the fact that in 1 7,50, as the house was reaching 

 completion, Mercer had brought from England a 

 gai-dener named \\'iiliam Blacke, paying Captain 

 Timothy .Nicholson for his passage. 



