rn-stalks, or
what is called sedge--something like spear-grass upon the poor limestone
in England; and the steward told me nothing would eat it, which is true.
Indeed, he found fault with everything, just like a foreigner; and even
told me many unpleasant tales of the General, so that I began to think
he feared I was coming to take his place. But (God knows!) I would not
choose to accept of it: for he had to superintend four hundred slaves,
and there would be more now. This part of his business especially would
have been painful to me; it is, in fact, a sort of trade of itself.

I had not in all this time seen what we in England call a corn-stack,
nor a dung-hill. There were, indeed, behind the General's barns, two or
three cocks of oats and barley; but such as an English broad-wheeled
waggon would have carried a hundred miles at one time with ease. Neither
had I seen a green plant of any kind: there was some clover of the first
year's sowing: but in riding over the fields I should not have known it
to be clover, although the steward told me it was; only when I came
under a tree I could, by favour of the shade, perceive here and there a
green leaf of clover, but I do not remember seeing a green root. I was
shown no grass-hay of any kind; nor do I believe there was any.

The cattle were very poor and ordinary, and the sheep the same; nor did
I see any thing I liked except the mules, which were very fine ones, and
in good condition. Mr. Gough had made a present to General Washington of
a bull calf. The animal was shown to me when I first landed at Mount
Vernon, and was the first bull I saw in the country. He was large, and
very strong-featured; the largest part was his head, the next his legs.
The General's steward was a Scotchman, and no judge of animals--a better
judge of distilling whiskey.

I saw here a greater number of negroes than I ever saw at one time,
either before or since.

The house is a very decent mansion: not large, and something like a
gentleman's house in England, with gardens and plantations; and is very
prettily situated on the banks of the river Potowmac, with extensive
prospects.... The roads are very bad from Alexandria to Mount Vernon.

The General still continuing at Philadelphia, I could not have the
pleasure of seeing him; therefore I returned to Alexandria.

I returned [to Mount Vernon some weeks later] ... to see General
Washington. I dined with him; and he showed me several presents that