PROGRESS TO THE MINES. 
133 
they are besides a considerable advantage to Great Britain, because it lessens 
the quantity of bar iron imported from ^pain, Holland, 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 only 
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 thousand 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 own 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, which 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 
Jiim 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 drink 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 
S 
