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landers, of the Cameron and other Jacobite clans, left Scotland, after the rebellion of '45, and settled in Virginia. They were so numerous, that for many years afterwards the local courts were obliged to have a Gaelic interpreter, in order to carry on the requisite business in regard to witnesses and juries; and although the place where they fixed their abode was cheerless in appearance and the soil very poor, they have by perseverance and industry improved and rendered it comfortable; and are as unwilling to quit that spot, in search of the fertile plains of the Mississippi, as they were to leave their original country.

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QUIT WASHINGTON.

CHAPTER IX.

Quit Washington for a Tour in Virginia.-Voyage down the Potomac in the Champion Steamer.-Land Journey to Fredericsburgh.-Wretched Road.-Arrival at Fredericsburgh. -The Town.-House of Judge Coalter-hospitable Reception by that Gentleman.-Writers in the Public Press. Journey from Fredericsburgh to Richmond.-Perpetual Danger of being upset.-Arrival at Richmond.-The Townits Society. Judge Marshall-his House.-Ladies of Richmond.-Embark on the James River.-Intermarriages of the Residents on its Shores.-Plantations cultivated by Slaves. -Treatment of the Slaves.-Necessity for corporal Punishment.-Expense of keeping Slaves. The Negro Character. -Domestic and farm-labouring Slaves.-Overseers.-Marriage of Slaves-their Religion.-Agriculture on the Banks of James River.-Law of Primogeniture.-Embark in the Patrick-Henry Steamer.-Region visited by Sir Walter Raleigh. -Cruelty of early Settlers.-James-town.-Indifference of the American People to sepulchral Relics.-Ruins of the former Governor's Palace.-College endowed by William and Mary. New Fortification at Old Point.-Arrival at Norfolk. -Bay of the Chesapeak.-Return to Washington.

On the 27th of March I quitted Washington, to make a short tour in the districts of Virginia adjacent to the James River; comprising Richmond, the present capital, Williamsburgh, the former seat of colonial government, Norfolk, and other towns.

JOURNEY TO FREDERICSBURGH.

151

The first part of the journey is by steam-boat, descending the Potomac about sixty miles. The banks of this river, after passing Mount Vernon, are uninteresting, and I did not regret the speed of the Champion, which performed that distance in somewhat less than five hours; but this rate of travelling was amply neutralised by the movement of the stage which conveyed me from the landing-place to Fredericsburgh. I was informed that the distance was only twelve miles, and I was weak enough (in spite of my previous experience) to imagine that two hours would bring me thither, especially as the stage was drawn by six good nags, and driven by a lively cheerful fellow; but the road bade defiance to all these advantages -it was, indeed, such as to compel me to laugh outright, notwithstanding the constant and severe bumping to which it subjected both the intellectual and sedentary parts of my person.

I had before tasted the sweets of mud-holes, huge stones, and remnants of pine-trees, standing and cut down; but here was something new, namely, a bed of reddish-coloured clay, from one to two feet deep, so adhesive that the wheels were at times literally not visible in any one spot from the box to the tire, and the poor horses' feet sounded, when they drew them out (as a fellow-traveller observed), like the report of a pistol. I am sorry that I was not sufficiently acquainted with chemistry or mineralogy to analyze that wonderful clay and state its

152

WRETCHED ROAD.

constituent parts; but if I were now called upon to give a receipt for a mess most nearly resembling it, I would write, "Recipe-(nay, I must write the ingredients in English, for fear of taxing my Latin learning too severely)—

Fiat haustus-ægrot. terq. quaterq. quatiend." Whether the foregoing, with a proper admixture of hills, holes, stumps, and rocks, made a satisfactory draught or not, I will refer to the unfortunate team-I, alas! can answer for the effectual application of the second part of the prescription, according to the Joe Miller version of "When taken, to be well shaken!"

I arrived, however, without accident or serious bodily injury, at Fredericsburgh, having been only three hours and a half in getting over the said twelve miles; and, in justice to the driver, I must say that I very much doubt whether any crack London whip could have driven those horses over that ground in the same time: there is not a sound that can emanate from human lungs, nor an argument of persuasion that can touch the feelings of a horse, that he did not employ, with a perseverance and success which commanded my admiration.

Fredericsburgh is prettily situated on the banks

FREDERICSBURGH.

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of the Rapahanoc, which flows nearly round it. It does not seem a very busy or thriving place, although the discovery, which has lately been made, of gold in the neighbouring mountains, has called a mining company into existence, and may, if it realizes their expectation, increase the importance and wealth of the town beyond calculation. As I was not able to visit the mines, and am, moreover, no mineralogist, I am unable to calculate the probabilities of the case; but certainly, many of the specimens shown to me by the Secretary of the company indicated a great abundance of the precious metals.

A wooden bridge is thrown across the river, on the opposite bank of which stands Chatham, the house of Judge Coalter. It is beautifully situated on an eminence, commanding a view of the town, and of the bold sweeping course of the Rapahanoc, whose wanderings the eye may trace up to Falmouth, a pretty village, where they are made to lend their aid to some extensive flour-mills, established by Mr. Gordon, a Scottish proprietor, and one of the richest (as I am informed) in Virginia.

The first glance at Mr. Coalter's house impressed me with the idea that it was of anti-revolutionary date: the old brown-coloured bricks, the strait green walks in the terraced garden, and the formal grenadier row of stately poplars, all betokened the old dominion. The family not being at home, I asked, and obtained, permission to view