PROGRESS TO THE MINES. ^33 



they are besides a considerable advantage to Great Britain, beeause it lessens 

 the quantity of bar iron imported from Spain, Hollaiad, Sweden, {Denmark 

 and Muscovy, which used to be no less than twenty thousand tons yearly, 

 though at the same time no sow iron is imported thither from any country 

 but only from the plantations. For most of this bar iron they do not oaly 

 pay silver, but our friends in the Baltic are so nice, they even expect to be 

 paid all in crown pieces. On the contrary, all the iron they receive from the 

 plantations, they pay for it in their own manufactures, and send for it in their 

 own shipping. Then I inquired after his own mines, and hoped, as he was 

 the first that engaged in this great undertaking, that he had brought them to 

 the most perfection. He told me he had iron in several parts of his great 

 tract of land, consisting of forty-five thousaiid acres. But that the mine he 

 was at work upon was thirteen miles below Germanna. That his ore (which 

 was very rich) he raised a mile from his furnace, and was obliged to cart the 

 iron, when it was made, fifteen miles to Massaponux, a plantation he had 

 upon Rappahannock river; but that the road was exceeding good, gently 

 declining all the way, and had no more than one hill to go up in the whole 

 journey. For this reason his loaded carts went it in a day without difficulty. 

 He said it was true his works were of the oldest standing: but that his long 

 absence in England, and the wretched management of Mr. Greame, whom he 

 had entrusted with his affairs, had put him back very much. That what 

 with neglect and severity, above eighty of his slaves were lost while he was 

 in England, and most of his cattle starved.- That his furnace stood still 

 great part of the time, and all his plantations ran to ruin. That indeed he 

 was rightly served for committing his affairs to the care of a mathematician, 

 whose thoughts were always among the stars. That nevertheless, since his 

 return, he had applied himself to rectify his steward's mistakes, and bring his 

 business again into order. That now he had contrived to do every thing 

 with his owni people, except raising the mine and running the iron, by which 

 he had contracted his expense very much. Nay, he believed that by his 

 directions he could bring sensible negroes to perform those parts of the work 

 tolerably well. But at the same time he gave me to understand, that his 

 furnace had done no great feats lately, because he had been taken up in 

 building an air furnace at Massaponux, v/hich he had now brought to per- 

 fection, and should be thereby able to furnish the whole country with all 

 sorts of cast iron, as cheap and as good as ever came from England. I told 

 him he must do one thing more to have a full vent for those commodities, he 

 must keep a shallop running into all the rivers, to carry his wares home to 

 people's own doors. And if he would do that I would set a good example, 

 and take off" a whole ton of them. Our conversation on this "subject con- 

 tinued till dinner, which was both elegant and plentiful. The afternoon was 

 devoted to the ladies, who showed me one of their most beautiful walks. 

 They conducted me through a shady lane to the landing, and by the way 

 made me di'ink some very fine water that issued from a marble fountain, and 

 ran incessantly. Just behind it was a covered bench, where Miss Theky 

 often sat and bewailed her virginity. Then we proceeded to the river, 

 which is the south branch of Rappahannock, about fifty yards wide, and so 

 rapid that the ferry boat is drawn over by a chain, and therefore called the 

 Rapidan. At night we drank prosperity to all the colonel's projects in a bowl 

 of rack punch, and then retired to our devotions. 



29th. Having employed about two hours in retirement, I sallied out at the 

 first summons to breakfast, where our conversation with the ladies, like whip 

 sillabub, was very pretty, but had nothing in it. This it seems was Miss 

 Theky's birth day, upon which I made her my compliments, and wished she 

 might live twice as long a married woman as she had lived a maid. I did 



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