TRAVEL DIARY OF BISHOP REICHEL



more than a week before us, and one of the men had been
sick with fever the entire way. This night we camped four
miles beyond Birds Ordinary, by Mr. Watson's Plantation,
and after sharing our evening meal all slept calmly and
comfortably.
  The 14. In God's name we continued our journey, and
soon met several families from the Forks of the Adkin
traveling to Maryland, and had the pleasure of giving their
poor hungry children some of our food, which their elders
acknowledged with many thanks. In the afternoon a pleas-
ant incident happened. A stocking had fallen from our
wagon, and was found by two Virginia gentlemen, who fol-
lowed us a couple of miles, riding quite out of their way,
and after making sure that it belonged to us they gave it
to us, which astonished us greatly, for it was an unusual
example of Virginia custom. Late in the evening we passed
Orange Courthouse, which was full of men as this had been
Muster day, and we rejoiced that they let us pass quietly;
we camped half a mile beyond, near a Negro Quarter, whose
inhabitants speedily visited us wishing to furnish us apples,
blades, and milk, but we could not use the milk because it
had been thickened with flour, and the blades might have
been stolen and were at any rate not of the best, so we held
off. In spite of the constant coming and going of the
negroes the night passed safely, and they feared to disturb
us on account of our good dog, constantly on the alert.
  The 1s, Sunday. The weather was very cloudy and dark,
and for several nights the halo round the moon had proph-
esied rain, which we certainly had to-day. This morning
we passed through the beautiful country along the Rapidann,
where almost every kind of tree is to be seen, crossed the
river about noon, and saw and spoke with our acquaintance
and good friend, Mr. Marvin Moore, who knew us at once,
inquired after Br. Joseph, Marshall, Etwein, and others,
and would gladly have taken us in, but we hurried on,
stopped one mile beyond for lunch and were caught in a
heavy rain which forced us into the wagon and continued
the entire afternoon, and finally obliged us to stop at Capt.
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