Mr Grubb called again about twelve with an intention to ride out to the Potowmack but there came on a Rain & kept us at Home—We spent the afternoon sociably in our Room. Miss Nancy Carter last Night or this morning, in some whimsical freak, clipt off her Eye-Brows; She has a very good Skin; exceeding black hair, & black-well arched, full Eye-brows, which, as I said the other day are much esteemed in Virginia—She denies positively that She cut them herself, & swears some mischievous person has done it when She was sleeping. But I am inclined to think it is an experiment She has been making on herself to see how she can vary the looks of her face. It made me laugh when I saw it first, to think how early & how truely She copies Female absurdities.
Towards evening we rode out merely for exercise, & straggled at last to Mr Simpsons; near his house we saw two trees standing near each other both of which have lately been struck by Lightning & are torn to shivers in several parts—
Mr Grubb agreed to stay the night. we supt on Artichoks, & Huckleberries & Milk—The toasts, after Supper, were the King, Queen & Royal Family, the Governor & his family, & then young Ladies of our acquaintance—We were alone. Mr and Mrs Carter left us immediately, so that we spent the evening without restraint.
Sunday 3.
We were all to go to Church to day, but we were prevented by a storm of thunder & Rain; the Ground is now sufficiently wetted—I have not heard a Sermon on Sunday since the fifteenth of May; a longer Vacancy from publick worship than I have ever had since my first remembrance. About ten an old Negro Man came with a complaint to Mr Carter of the Overseer that he does not allow him his Peck of corn a Week—The humble posture in which the old Fellow placed himself before he began moved me. We were sitting in the passage, he sat himself down on the Floor clasp'd his Hands together, with his face directly to Mr Carter, & then began his Narration—He seem'd healthy, but very old, he was well dress'd but complained bitterly—I cannot like this thing of allowing them no meat, & only a Peck of Corn & a Pint of Salt a Week, & yet requiring of them hard & constant Service. We have several Rains this day so that the Ground is sufficiently wetted—I spent the greater part of the day writing at my Sermon.
Monday 4.
I begun to read the first Volume of Tristam-Shandy—He is droll in the account he gives us of his Birth & Family—We have several good showers to day, the weather is warm, funky, very damp, & I fear will not turn out long to be healthful. With us in Jersey wet Weather about this time not only is prejudicial to the Harvest, but is generally thought, & I believe almost never fails being a forerunner of Agues, Fall-Fevers, Fluxes, & our Horse-Distempers—Fearing these, any of which so far from Home, would be painful & expensive, I keep myself much at Home, contrary to the repeated & strong invitations of the youngsters—And indeed my Duty, seems to require my Presence pretty constantly; & I am forced to produce an Example for what I find it necessary to enforce on our Boys, in order to do it with some face, for they always call upon me for a Reason for every one of my precepts—It is now the Height of Harvest—There is at Mr Turburville's a young Lady, from the Isle-of Wight, Miss Betsy Lee,[183] a Sister of George & Lancelot Lee's—It is proposed that Ben & I go this Evening to the Captain's & Invite her here—Accordingly after School we rode on our errand, We found besides Miss Lee—Mr George Turburville, his Wife, Mr Grubb, & Lancelot Lee—After the ceremony of Introduction, & our Congees were over, we took our seats in a cool passage where the Company were sitting; all the Company when we entered were laughing at Master Lee, who had been gathering Mulberries, & either through carelessness or Greediness had stained his ruffles—At any Rate they looked like a scarlet Clock in a Bunters stocking, both indilicate & impudent—The attention of the Company however being wholly taken up with Mr Lee, I had the opportunity, 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 Betsy Lee, I am told is but lately entered her twenty sixth year; She is a well set maid, of a proper Height, neither high nor low—Her Aspect when she is sitting is masculine & dauntless; she sits very erect; places her feet with great propriety, her Hands She lays carelessly in her lap, & never moves them but when she has occasion to adjust some article of her dress, or to perform some exercise of the Fan—She has a full face, sanguine Complection, her Nose is rather protuberant than otherwise; Her Eyes are exactly such as Homer atributes to the Goddess Minerva; & her Arms resemble those which the same Poet allows to Juno. When She has a Bonnet on & Walks, She is truely elegant; her carriage neat & graceful, & her presence soft & beautiful—Her hair is a dark Brown, which was crap'd up very high. & in it she had a Ribbon interwoven with an artificial Flower—At each of her ears dangled a brilliant Jewel; She was pinched up rather too near in a long pair of new fashioned Stays, which, I think, are a Nusance both to us & themselves—For the late importation of Stays which are said to be now most fashionable in London, are produced upwards so high that we can have scarce any view at all of the Ladies Snowy Bosoms; & on the contrary, they are extended downwards so low that whenever Ladies who wear them, either young or old, have occasion to walk, the motion necessary for Walking, must, I think, cause a disagreeable Friction of some part of the body against the lower Edge of the Stays which is hard & unyielding—I imputed the Flush which was visible in her Face to her being swathed up Body & Soul & limbs together—She wore a light Chintz Gown, very fine, with a blue stamp; elegantly made, & which set well upon her—She wore a blue silk Quilt—In one word Her Dress was rich & fashionable—Her Behaviour such as I should expect to find in a Lady whose education had been conducted with some care & skill; and her person, abstracted from the embelishments of Dress & good Breeding, not much handsomer than the generality of Women—
What made me desirous to see, & curious to reconnoitre this young Lady, was, a Sentence that was dropt yesterday by a respectable Member of our Family, intimating a Desire that I may, on seeing Miss Lee, after having known, by report, her faultless character, be so pleased with her person as to try to make her mine, & settle in this Province—That kind Body, who is for making me happy by settling 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 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 is but a beggarly Cottage, we seem not satisfied with the most elegant entertainment if we are totally seperated from it—But if a Princess should solicit me to accept, together with Herself, 50000£ a Year—I declare, with as great pleasure as truth, that the esteem, & Fidelity which I possess for my dear, dear Eliza would make me without reflection, evade & refuse the Proposal—Ben & I returned Home before dark—We had the 'Squire to drink Coffee with us—He brought us a Newspaper containing the debate, of the House of Commons concerning the Repeal of the Tea-duty.
Teusday 5.
While we were at Breakfast came from Hobbes-Holes Mrs Oakly a Woman who has acted as nurse for several of Mrs Carters Children with great credit—All the family speak of her with Love & regard—This day is very warm, but no rain—I gave all the Girls this day to chat with their old acquaintance—Tho' the weather is warm & very Damp we have here no Musquetoes; I have not seen one, since I came into the Province as I can now recollect which seems to me a little strange; for at Princeton in Jersey some warm evenings in July & August they are so numerous as to be troublesome, & that is more than twenty miles from Salt Water, this not more than three times as many Rod.—In the evening, among several other things Mr Carter informed me that he has on this plantation a Negro Man called Prince who is now unwell of a Strain—This Man, he swears, he would not sell for 500£ ready Cash—I was almost ready to say it is more Money than I would give for all he owns on his Estate—The evening is very pleasant I had an oppertunity on the Pavement before the Hall Door of shewing away on Astronomy to Mrs Carter, I lectured for half an hour on the Milky-Way, on several of the Stars, on Jupiter in particular, & on the Course of Comets—