VALENTINE'S MANUAL

His ability to lead the field with his scythe as well as to
recite whole books of Virgil by heart, was shown unex¬
pectedly when a noted Englishman arrived, after visiting
the Van Rennselaer the Schuylers and the Van Cort-
landts. Scarcely had the carriage entered the grounds
when the guest encountered a man without coat or vest,
his trousers tucked into his boots, a scythe over his shoul¬
der, an old straw hat on his head and the perspiration
streaming down his face. The busy farm hand was none
other than Gouverneur Morris himself.

In the memoirs of John Jay we find: "On Wednes¬
day, when the President was away, Mrs. Washington
called on me, and on Thursday, after an early breakfast
of our own, we went, agreeably to invitation, to break¬
fast at General Morris's, Morrisania."

The charming vine-laden mansion of those days is said
to have comprised but one-third of the original structure.
Morris himself once wrote to a friend: "I have a ter¬
race roof 130 feet long,—and, by the bye, I will send
you a receipt how to make one,—from which I enjoy one
of the finest prospects imaginable, while breathing the
most salubrious air."

Many were the distinguished visitors entertained in the
old house. General Moreau, one of Napoleon's famous
officers; Louis Philippe, afterwards King of the French;
and his two brothers, Comte de Beaujolais and Due de
Montpensier. The friendship between Morris and the
renowned General Lafayette was very close. When the
noted Frenchman came to America in 1824, one of the
visits he paid was at the former home of his intimate
friend, where he was most hospitably received by the
young son of the distinguished father.

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