When you have seen my Letter to her and understand why I cant come to Barbadoes, I am persuaded that you will advise her to come to Virginia to me, and if she do come she shall have no cause to reproach you for your advice if I can help it.

As to your affairs at Perratt's Nest, I am sorry to tell you that on the 19th of March last your Negro Quaccoo Hang'd himself, the Women are all in Health and all things goes on as well as can be expected.

I shall get some Cows and Calves with some Sows and Pigs to begin a Stock for you this Fall, there will be corn and fodder for their Support.

I have not been there lately nor to a Plantation of my own 8 miles higher up I have been so busy in attending Workmen about a new House-but I am well informed that you have extraordinary good Corn at Perratt's Nest.

I have paid Capt. Bowlar Cocke £25 Sterling for his half of your 1000 Acres and have taken his Bond of £200 to make the conveyance which I shall gett performed as soon as possible. Your 1000 acres will cost you £50 Sterling and I think you have such a pennyworth that you will have no occasion to repine at the hardness of your bargain.

I have drawn on Mr. Newport for £60 Sterling, the other 4th I forbear to draw for waiting for an opportunity of buying them with Two Negro Boys for you, I am told a Guinea man is expected Dayly.

I thank you for the Yams Eddoes &c. sent with your letter of the 27th March last, such things will not come to such perfection in this Climate as to be worth the pains of Planting, and the great plenty of other good things that we have, make them the less wanted.

I shall take what care I can about propagating the Fruit Stones, I have had Plum Stones from England and plant

ed them here with no success, having been spoilt in bringing, yet nevertheless these may grow and I will try.

I have had Peaches from the Stones you gave me when you was at my House, it is a good Peach and large but I think I have better and much larger and some has measured 14 Inches about, and I think of as rich a juce as a Pine to the full, I wish I could have sent you and Mrs. Nanny some of them. I have had this year such a Plenty and I have found such a benefit by letting my Hogs come into the Orchard that I propose to plant 6 acres more, and I shall give directions to your Overseer to plant a good Orchard, I will provide him with stones.

I shall plant good Store of May Cherry Stones (others I have enough) if they come up as I hope they will your Overseer shall have a part. I have some young Trees now growing and some black damasons, I am promised this Winter some plum and Morello Cherry trees.

The last time I was at Colo. Byrds his Lady desired me to send to Barbados for some Shells for her as Conk Shells Wilks and such Variety as may be got, let me beg the favour of you to get a small barrel full (enough may be had about Oistins and below Rock) and send them to Colo. William Byrd at Westover in James River and place the Charge to my Account. I am my Dear Friend,

Your most humble serv't,

WM. MAYO.

Sir-The foregoing is a Copy of my last which I hope you have received-enclosed is a letter to your Sister which be pleased to deliver to her.

I am dear sir,

Your most affec't serv't,

Dated foom the N. E. Corner of my Porch,
The 14th Oct., 1731.

WM. MAYO.

}

THE WESTOVER LIBRARY.

PETERSBURG, MARCH 17TH, 1851.

Dear Sir.-Enclosed I send you an account of the Byrd Library, now forming a part of the Philadelphia Library. This memorandum was lately communicated to me by Lyman C. Draper, Esq., a gentleman, who, as you no doubt are aware, has been long engaged in a work which will throw a great deal of light upon the pioneer history and biography of Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, &c. General George Rogers Clarke will be the prominent figure on the canvass. Some estimate of Mr. Draper's indefatigable labors in the prosecution of this work may be inferred from the fact, that his MS. materials when completed will probably fill fifty folio volumes. The work will appear, as I understand, during the next year.

Mr. Draper, you will observe, is so obliging as to promise to send me some additional particulars, (relative to the "Journals of the Dividing Line") which I will forward to you.

Yours respectfully,

CHARLES CAMPBELL.

Catalogue of the Westover Library, in the Philadelphia Library.

Soon after the death of Col. William Byrd, the younger, during the Revolutionary war, his widow (a Philadelphian) had the Westover Library sent to Philadelphia, where it was sold at auction. It appears that N. G. Dufief, a bookseller, Robert Proud the historian, the father of the present John Pennington, bookseller and importer, and others were among the purchasers. The present Mr. Pennington, when he commenced the book business in Philadelphia, a few years ago, placed several of the Byrd library volumes (which his father had purchased at the sale) upon his shelves, and sold them all, except one small volume, before I had any knowledge of the fact. The remaining volume-" Loci Communes, Londini, MDCLXX. having on it the Byrd coat

of arms, and the autograph of William Byrd-the elder, I presume; I bought as a curiosity and much prize it. This volume Mr. Pennington the elder could not have purchased at the original sale of the Byrd library, as upon the title page is written as follows:-"Ex Libris Roberti Proudi, 1782" (which I take to be Dominie Proud's autograph, as he was fond of writing in Latin,) and immediately underneath is added evidently in another hand-writing, "From W. Byrd's Library, Virginia." This goes to show that the Byrd library was sold as early as 1782, and perhaps one two or three years earlier. The catalogue is a three quire quarto volume, gilt-edged and gilt red morocco binding : on the back" Westover Library :"-title page, "A Catalogue of the Books in the Library at Westover, belonging to William Byrd, Esq.-J. STRETCH fecit."

It has also in pencil "Wm. Mackenzie bought from N. G. Dufief, bookseller." It elsewhere appears that this catalogue was one of 500 volumes, presented to the Philadelphia library, by Wm. Mackenzie. In the catalogue I see no mention of the MS. Journals of Running the Dividing Line between Virginia and North Carolina in 1728-copies of which, I have heretofore informed you, are in the library of the American Philosophical Society, one judging from the title the same as that published among the "Westover Manuscripts" at Petersburg, in 1841, the other the "Secret History of the Dividing Line." Neither of these have I yet found the right time to call and examine, and the only knowledge that I have of them is from the catalogue of the Society which possesses them. Mr. Trego, the librarian, has kindly promised to exhibit them to me whenever I wish to see them. I shall make it a point to do so sooner or later and let you know about them. The catalogue of the Byrd library exhibits 3625 volumes, divided as follows: History 467 volumes, Law 275, Physic 163,

Classics and other Latin and Greek authors 540, French books chiefly entertaining 439, Divinity 207, Entertaining, Poetry, Translations, &c. 484, Miscellaneous 1050. The Miscellaneous seem to have been added after the preceding, and embrace works of all characters, and I should think were probably the additions of the younger William Byrd to the original Library of his father. Had these lat, ter 1050 volumes been properly divided by subjects, and added to the others, I should suppose the relative subjects would have been represented nearly as follows:-History 700, Classics, &c. 650, Entertaining, &c. 650, French 550, Law 350, Divinity 300, Scientific 225, Physic 200,-Total 3,625. There are but very few novels catalogued. The histories mostly relate to Europe-Some few to New England. The dates of the editions of the works, history, &c. are seldom or never given. "History of Pennsylvania, 1 vol. Svo," the works of Hennepin, La Hontain, Thevenot, Purchas, Dampier, Wafer and Hackluyt's History of the West Indies are mentioned. On Virginia History only the following are catalogued:-History of Virginia, 1 vol. 8vo." There are three such entries, whether duplicates of the same work, there is nothing to determine: "State of Virginia 1 vol. 8vo,"-"Smith's History of Virginia 1 vol. folio:"-" Virginia Laws 1752, 1 vol. folio:"-" Virginia Laws manuscript, 1 vol. folio:”—Virginia Laws abridged, 2 vols." (quarto or octavo-thus the list is headed, in which the work appears.) Beverley's Abridgment 1 vol. 8vo. :" Beverley's History of Virginia, 1 vol 8vo." "Records of the Virginia Company, 2 vols. folio." There are 15 volumes of 8vo. pamphlets. These might have furnished something on Virginia history. You will be disappointed that so little appears on Virginia history; you have also the consolation of knowing then that little has been lost. Among the larger works I noted the following: "Monthly