Chapter X

THE COMING OF THE CAVALIERS. PAGE Virginia depicted by an admirer 1 Her domestic animals, game, and song-birds 2 Her agriculture 2, 3 Her nearness to the Northwest Passage 3 Her commercial rivals 3, 4 Not so barren a country as New England 4 Life of body and soul were preserved in Virginia; Mr. Benjamin Symes and his school 5 Worthy Captain Mathews and his household 5 Rapid growth in population 6 Historical lessons in names of Virginia counties 7 Scarcity of royalist names on the map of New England 8, 9 As to the Cavaliers in Virginia; some popular misconceptions 9, 10 Some democratic protests 10, 11 Sweeping statements are inadmissible 11 Difference between Cavaliers and Roundheads was political, not social 12 Popular misconceptions regarding the English nobility; England has never had a noblesse, or upper caste 13 Contrast with France in this respect 13, 14 Importance of the middle class 14 Respect for industry in England 15 The Cavalier exodus 16 Political complexion of Virginia before 1649 16, 17 The great exchange of 1649 17, 18 Political moderation shown in Virginia during the Commonwealth period 18iv Richard Lee and his family 19 How Berkeley was elected governor by the assembly 20 Lee's visit to Brussels 20 How Charles II. was proclaimed king in Virginia, but not before he had been proclaimed in England 21 The seal of Virginia 22, 23 Significant increase in the size of land grants 23, 24 Arrival of well-known Cavalier families 25 Ancestry of George Washington 25 If the pedigrees of horses, dogs, and fancy pigeons are important, still more so are the pedigrees of men 26 Value of genealogical study to the historian 26 The Washington family tree 27 How Sir William Jones paraphrased the epigram of Alc?us 28 Historical importance of the Cavalier element in Virginia 28 Differences between New England and Virginia were due not to differences in social quality of the settlers, but partly to ecclesiastical and still more to economical circumstances 29, 30 Settlement of New England by the migration of organized congregations 30 Land grants in Massachusetts 31 Township and village 31, 32 Social position of settlers in New England 32 Some merits of the town meeting 33 Its educational value 34 Primogeniture and entail in Virginia 35 Virginia parishes 35 The vestry a close corporation; its extensive powers 36 The county was the unit of representation 37 The county court was virtually a close corporation 38 Powers of the county court 39 The sheriff and his extensive powers 40 The county lieutenant 41 Jefferson's opinion of government by town meeting 42 Court day 42, 43 Summary 43 Virginia prolific in great leaders 44v