will be."

"But that is hardly in accord with what the people now living on
these old Eastern farms report for the conditions of agriculture in
the times of their ancestors."

"Oh, yes, I know people are always talking about their ancestors,
and especially Virginians; but, Caesar! I wonder what their
ancestors would think of them! You can't afford to take any stock in
the ancestry of these old Virginians."

"I call to mind that the historical records give much information
along this line," said Percy. "It is recorded that mills for
grinding corn and wheat were common, that the flour of Mount Vernon
was packed under the eye of Washington, and we are told that barrels
of flour bearing his brand passed in the export markets without
inspection. History records that the plantations of Virginia usually
passed from father to son, according to the law of entail, and that
the heads of families lived like lords, keeping their stables of
blooded horses and rolling to church or town in their coach and six,
with outriders on horseback. Their spacious mansions were sometimes
built of imported brick; and, within, the grand staircases, the
mantles, and the wainscot reaching from floor to ceiling, were of
solid mahogany, elaborately carved and paneled. The sideboards shone
with gold and silver plate, and the tables were loaded with the
luxuries from both the New and the Old World, and plenty of these
old mansions still exist in dilapidated condition."

"That all sounds good for history," said the Congressman, "but the
historian probably got his information from some of these old