145 TRAVELS THROUGH NORTH AMERICA : 
their head. It was here that numbers of 
English gentlemen,, who migrated when Vir¬ 
ginia was a young colony, fixed their residence; 
and several of the houses which thej r built, ex¬ 
actly similar to the old manor houses in Eng¬ 
land, are still remaining, particularly in the 
counties of Richmond and Westmoreland. 
Some of these, like the houses in Maryland, 
are quite in ruins; others are kept in good re¬ 
pair by the present occupiers, who live in a style 
which approaches nearer to that of English 
country gentlemen, than what is to be met w ith 
any where else on the continent, some other 
parts of Virginia alone excepted. 
Amongst the inhabitants here, and in the 
lower parts of Virginia, there is a disparity un¬ 
known elsewhere in America, excepting in 
the large towns. Instead of the lands being 
equally divided, immense estates are held by a 
few individuals, who derive large incomes from 
them, whilst the generality of the people are 
but in a state of mediocrity. Most of the men 
also, who possess these large estates, having re¬ 
ceived liberal educations, which the others have 
not, the distinction between them is still more 
observable. I met with several in this neigh¬ 
bourhood, who had been brought up at the 
public schools and universities in England, 
where, until the unfortunate war which sepa¬ 
rated the colonies from her, the young men 
