tion
relatively to each other and distance from the old palace, they
precisely coincide with two beneath which many of my early days were
passed, at the old family mansion of Glenfinarl, on Loch Fine, which has
since become the property of Mr. Douglas.

There is an old ditch in the neighbourhood, which goes by the name of
Lord Dunmore's Ditch. The history which my informant gave me thereof is
absurd enough, and there is a negro of the name of Isaac still living
who remembers all the circumstances. It appears that Lord Dunmore,
having found fault with an Irish labourer for not doing sufficient work,
Paddy replied, "'Faith, if 'twas yer 'onnur that had the shpade in yer
hand, maybe one-half would satisfy yer 'onnur." The Governor, who
happened to be a man of iron frame, and not at all averse to a joke,
immediately took up Paddy's challenge, and replied, "Paddy, I'll work
four hours against you in a ditch for a month's wages." The combatants
set to work the following morning, and at the end of four hours Paddy
was obliged to confess himself beaten, and the result of my
grandfather's labours goes by the name of Lord Dunmore's Ditch to this
day.

The only parts of the old palace still standing are the two wings, one
of which is now the parsonage, and the other a school, which is kept by
an Englishman, educated at one of our universities, and living here for
his health. This place is both a well-chosen and a favourite locality
for schools, being situated upon a high plateau of land, with James
River on one side and York River on the other; consequently, the air is
peculiarly healthy and pure.

The most imposing, if not the most useful, of the scholastic
establishments is the college, which was founded by William and Mary in
the year 1692. It contains a very fair library of old books, but
comparatively few additions appear to have been made in latter years.
The building bears every internal mark of neglect and dilapidation,
defaced walls, broken plaster, &c. Upon entering the lecture-room, a
quantity of eighteen-inch square boxes full of moisture suggest the idea
of a rainy day and a roofless chamber. Be not deceived: these are
merely receptacles for the discharge of the students' 'bacco juice; and
the surrounding floor gives painful demonstration that their free
spirits scorn the trammels of eighteen-inch boundaries, however
profusely supplied. From what causes I cannot say, but the college has
been all but deserted until