[At the Falls of the James River with William Byrd.]
"Then I walked to the place where they broke the flax, which is wrought with much greater ease than the hemp and is much better for spinning. From thence I paid a visit to the weaver, who needed a little of Minerva's inspiration to make the most of a piece of fine cloth. Then I looked in upon my Caledonia spinster, who was mended more in her looks than in her humor. However, she promised much, though at the same time intended to perform little. She is too high-spirited for Mr. Booker, who hates to have his sweet temper ruffled and will rather suffer matters to go a little wrong sometimes than give his righteous spirit any uneasiness. He is very honest and would make an admirable overseer where servants will do as they are bid. But eye-servants, who want an abundance of overlooking, are not so proper to be committed to his care.
"I found myself out of order and for that reason retired early, yet with all this precaution had a gentle fever in the night, but toward morning Nature set open all her gates and drove it out in a plentiful perspiration.
"19 [of September]. The worst of this fever was that it put me to the necessity of taking another ounce of bark. I moistened every dose with a little brandy and filled the glass up with water, which is the least nauseous way of taking this popish medicine and besides hinders it from purging.
"After I had swallowed a few poached eggs, we rode down to the mouth of the canal and from thence crossed over to the broad rock island in a canoe. Our errand was to view some iron ore, which we dug up in two places. That on the surface seemed very spongy and poor, which gave us no great encouragement to search deeper, nor did the quantity appear to be very great. However, for my greater satisfaction I ordered a hand to dig there for some time this winter.
"We walked from one end of the island to the other, being about half a mile in length, and found the soil very good and too high for any flood less than that of Deucalion to do the least damage. There is a very wild prospect both upward and downward, the river being full of rocks over which the stream tumbled with a murmur loud enough to drown the notes of a scolding wife. This island would an agreement hermitage for any good Christian who had a mind to retire from the world. . . I was punctual in swallowing my bark, and that I might use exercise upon it, rode to Prince’s Folly and My Lord’s islands, where I saw very fine corn.
"In the meantime, Vulcan came in order to make the drills for boring the rocks and gave me his parole he would, by the grace of God, attend the works till they were finished, which he performed as lamely as if he had been to labor for a dead horse and not for ready money."
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.