reds of hogsheads of
tobacco, all waiting patiently their turn for inspection; and the
sweating negroes, tearing off the staves of the hogsheads to display the
leaf to view, and then noisily hammering them together again, while the
impatient inspector himself went the rounds and examined the wide spread
plant, and adjudged its quality; proving at the same time his capacity
as a connoisseur, by the enormous quid which he rolled pleasantly in his
mouth.

But it is the more fashionable part of the town, with which our story
has to do; and here, indeed, even at this early day, wealth and taste
had done much to adorn the place, and to add to the comfort of the
inhabitants. At one end of the long avenue, which was known as Stuart
street, in compliment to the royal family, was situated the palace of
Sir William Berkeley. Out of his private means and the immense salary of
his office, the governor had done much to beautify and adorn his
grounds. A lawn, with its well shaven turf, stretched in front of the
house for more than a hundred yards, traversed in various directions
with white gravelled walks, laid out with much taste, and interspersed
with large elms and poplars. In the centre of the lawn was a beautiful
summer-house, over which the white jessamine and the honeysuckle,
planted by Lady Frances' own hand, clambered in rich profusion. The
house, itself, though if it still remained, it would seem rather quaint
and old-fashioned, was still very creditable as a work of architecture.
A long porch, or gallery, supported by simple Doric pillars, stretched
from one end of it to the other, and gave an air of finish and beauty to
the building. The house was built of brick, brought all the way from
England, for although the colonists had engaged in the manufacture of
brick to a certain extent, yet for many years after the time of which we
write, they persisted in this extraordinary expense, in supplying the
materials for their better class of buildings.

At the other end of Stuart street was the state-house, erected in
pursuance of an act, the preamble of which recites the disgrace of
having laws enacted and judicial proceedings conducted in an ale-house.
This building, like the palace, was surrounded by a green lawn,
ornamented with trees and shrubbery, and enclosed by a handsome
pale--midway the gate and the portico, on either side of the broad
gravel walk, were two handsome houses, one of which was the residence of
Sir Henry Chi