confirm, unto the said Daniel McCarty, the said pew in the said new church lately built on the upper side of Pohick, in the said parish of Truro and county aforesaid, numbered and situated as above mentioned, to have and to hold the said pew above described unto the said Daniel McCarty, his heirs and assigns, to the only proper use and behoof of him, the said Daniel McCarty, his heirs and assigns forever. And the said vestry, for themselves and their successors, (vestrymen of Truro parish,) do covenant and grant to and with the said Daniel McCarty, his heirs and assigns, that he, the said Daniel McCarty, his heirs and assigns, shall, and may forever hereafter, peaceably and quietly have, hold, and enjoy the said pew above. mentioned and described, without the lawful let, hindrance, interruption, or molestation of any person or persons whatsoever. In witness whereof the vestry now present (being a majority of the members) have hereunto set their hands and affixed their seals the day and year first above written.

At the close of this deed is a receipt to Mr. McCarty for fifteen pounds ten shillings, the price of the pew. General Washington's pew in Christ Church, Alexandria, cost thirty-six pounds ten shillings.

No. XXI.

THE INSCRIPTION ON COMMISSARY BLAIR'S TOMBSTONE IN THE OLD GRAVEYARD AT JAMESTOWN, FURNISHED BY MR. HUGH BLAIR GRIGSBY, A DESCENDANT OF COMMISSARY BLAIR'S BROTHER.

MY DEAR SIR:-I send you the inscription on the stone of the old Commissary in as perfect condition as I could procure it. I also send a translation, filling the blanks and chasms with my own knowledge of the events of the Commissary's life. If you look critically at the Latin and at my paraphrase, you will perceive that I have rarely missed the mark. One thing it is proper to say. In the line "Evangeli-Preconis" there may be a mistake of the transcriber. If the word "Preconis" be correct, then it is figurative, and means to compare the Commissary with John the Baptist. But I think the word "Preconis" is wrong, and was written "Diaconi," "Deacon," as the number of years shows that it was in his combined character of Evangelist, Deacon, and Priest, to which allusion is made; that is, to his whole ministerial services, which were precisely fifty-eight years.

To another topic I would invite your attention. The concluding lines in which theology is mentioned are imperfect, and cannot convey the exact meaning intended, and so I translate them as referring to pious youth who may seek instruction in sacred things; but they certainly lead us to suspect that the good old man left his books to theological students as a class, and that he had in view to endow by his will an ecclesiastical professorship. His will in the Clerk's Office, and the statute or order of the faculty accepting his books, would ascertain the fact.

I wish the remains of the Commissary could be removed to the chapel of the College, and there, with appropriate services, deposited beneath the chancel.

With affectionate regards, I am, as ever, reverently and faithfully yours, HUGH B. GRIGSBY.

BISHOP MEADE.

H. S. E. (Hic sepultus est)
Vir Reverendus et Honorabilis
JACOBUS BLAIR, A.M.
In Scotia natus,

In Academia Edinburgensi nutritus,

Primo Angliam deinde Virginiam
venit:

In qua parte tenarum

Annos LVIII. Evangeli, Preconis
LIV. Commissarii

Gulielmi et Mariæ Præsidis,

e Britanniæ Principum
Consiliarii

Concilii Præsidis,
Coloniæ Prefecti,

munera sustinuit :
ornavit

um oris venusti Decus,
ate hilari sine (?) hospitali
munificent

issimo egenis largo.

omnibus comi

superavit.

Collegio bene diversam
fundaverat

ens Bibliothecam suam

id alendum Theologiæ studiosum juventutem pauperiorem instituendam Testamento legavit

Cal. Maii in die*

MDCCXLIII

ætat: LXXXVIII

am desideratissimi

Senis Laudem

is nepotibus commendabunt

pene marmore perenniora.

Here lies buried

The Reverend and the Honouratie

James Blair, A.M.,

who was born in Scotland, was educated in the College of Edinburgh, and emigrated to England, and thence to Virginia, in which Colony he spent fifty-eight years as an Evangelist, Deacon, and Priest of the

* The word “Maii" must be a mistake of the gentlemen who transcribed one of the fragmentary inscriptions from which I have made out the above skeleton. Dr. Blair died, I believe, on the 3d of August, 1743. Some of the words, apparently perfect in my notes, are certainly wrong; but I have done the work as thoroughly as my materials will allow me. The two transcripts before me were made, one of them by the Rev. George W. McPhail, of Easton, Pa., the other by William Lamb, Esq., of Norfolk. I have made a translation, filling up the chasms with my own suggestions; and I feel confident that, however much we may regret the loss of the inscription as a whole, and however unable we may be to judge of it as a work of taste in its present dilapidated state, I have incorporated every important sentiment which it contained in the transcript which I send you on the opposite leaf. I am ashamed to say that I have lost-or, rather, put too carefully away-the fragments of the inscription which you transmitted to me.

Church of England, and fifty-four years as Commissary of the Bishop of London.

He was the Founder and first President of William and Mary College, a member of the Council, and, subsequently, its President; and, as such, in the absence of the representative of the King, the Governor of the Colony.

He sustained his various offices with the approbation of his fellow-men, while he illustrated in his life those graces which adorn the Christian character.

He had a handsome person, and in the family circle blended cheerfulness with piety.

He was a generous friend of the poor, and was prompt in lending assistance to all who needed it.

He was a liberal benefactor of the College during his life; and, at his death, bequeathed to it his library, with the hope that his books-which were mostly religious-might lead the student to those things that pertain to salvation.

He died on the day of the Calends of May, [August, rather,] in the year 1743, aged eighty-eight years, exhibiting to the last those graces which make old age lovely, and lamented by all, especially by his nephews, who have reared this stone to commemorate those virtues which will long survive the marble that records them.

No. XXIL

EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL.

THIS institution, the diocesan school for boys, is situated at Howard, in Fairfax county, three miles west of Alexandria, and within a quarter of a mile of the Theological Seminary. The situation is perfectly healthy at all seasons of the year, and from its elevation commands a beautiful view of the Potomac, the cities of the District of Columbia, and the surrounding country for many miles. The play-grounds are extensive and adorned with trees of inviting shade. They are immediately adjoining the school, and with the fields of the enclosure (containing about seventy acres) afford ample room for exercise and recreation. The Potomac and other small streams in the neighbourhood furnish opportunities for bathing and skating. The buildings, erected expressly for the purposes of the school, are large, furnished with every convenience for the wants of the students, and capable of accommodating about eighty boys.

The object of the Church in establishing the High School was to provide