Greenwich Decem: 1. 1774.
To Laura.
—"From a Settlement made May 12: 1774 there appears a Balance due from Laura of N. n to Lucius, fifteen Letters & a Visit; the whole to be paid on or before the 20th: of Novem. next ensuing—Which Payment if not well & truely made by the said Laura, within the Time above limited, then the said Lucius is, & by these Presents shall be now & forever possest of the full Liberty of siezing, destraining, or taking any or every Part of the said Delinquents Goods & Chattels, & disposing of the same, as he shall think proper til the said Balance be made up—And in Case there shall be failure of Effects, then it is & Shall be lawful for the said Lucius to take under his immediate Direction the Person of the said Laura—
This 1. Day of Decem: on which I am examining a little into my Accompts is the 11:Day since the Time of Payment allow'd to that young Lady is fully expired—"Curse not the King, said Solomon, in thy Bed-Chamber, not even in thy Heart"—Why? "The Birds of the Air will tell it."—Very fine, this! Bring Scrippture among your Pounds, Shillings, & Pence—Very fine, young black Coat—Don't be too fast, Madam, I've got a Gown on, & my Hair is cu'd—On the 4: of July 1774. about three in the Afternoon, I was sitting alone in my Chamber, in Virginia, thinking—Among many other Conclusions I remember well, it was determined in my mind that this same Laura who is now so much in my Debt, is actually worth 50,000£ Sterling, pr Annum—Where is the Impropriety then, of my mentioning Solomon's Advice?—Does it now hurt your Conscience, Madam?—
If you can have Patience, I will tell you, from my Virginia Journal the true Cause of that Conclusion.
—Monday. July 4th: 1774.
"Miss Nancy Carter, at Dinner, informed us that Miss Lee, a young Lady from Richmond is now at Mr Turberville's, & she begg'd that her Brother, & I would go in the Evening & invite her here—We consented, & after School took Horses & rode on our Errand; Besides Miss Lee, we found Capt: Turberville, his Lady, Daughter, & several young Gentlemen.
After the Ceremony of Introduction, & our Devoirs were over, we took Seats, in a Cool Hall where the Company were sitting;—All when we entered were smiling at young Mr —— who had been gathering Mulberries, & stained his Ruffle—The Attention of the Company being wholly taken up with him, I had the Oppertunity which I wanted, of examining the Person of his Sister, without being interrupted either by the Notice of others, or by my own Timidity. Miss Lee, I am told, is now entering her 20th Year; She is handsome. Her Eyes are exactly such as Homer, attributes to the Goddess Minrva; and her Arms resemble those which the same Poet allows to Juno—Her Hair is a dark leaden Colour; & was craped & knotted up very high, & in it neatly-woven, a Ribband, with a Sprig of green Jessamine—She wore a light Chintz Gown, very fine, with a blue Stamp, eligantly, & fashionably made, & which set well upon her—In one word, her Dress was neat & genteel; her Behaivour such as I should expect to find in a Lady whose Education had been conducted with Care & Skill, & her Person, abstracted from the Embellishments of Dress & Good-Breeding, not much above the Generality of Women.
What made me desirous to see, and curious to examine this young Lady, was a Sentence that was dropt yesterday by a respectable Person in our Family, intimating a Desire that I may, on seeing Miss Lee, after having known, by Report, her faultless Character, be so far pleased with her Person, as to try to make her mine, & settle in this Colony—That kind Person who is for making me happy by setling me in Virginia, & connecting me with one of the best Families in the Government little knows how painful it would be, if I was indeed compell'd by any Accident of Fortune, to spend the Remainder of my Days in Virginia, if it is the Pleasure of Providence, that I am to continue for any Length of Time in the World.
"Strong, & sweet are the Bands which tye us to our Place of Nativity; If it be but a beggarly Cottage, we seem not satisfied with the most rich & splendid Entertainment if we are separated totally from it.