“I felt the same in my youth. Afterwards there were circumstances in my life which inclined me to solitude. I came to Virginia in search of it, and I found it; and I also found peace. Once a year I go to the low country--to Belvoir, my cousin William Fairfax’s; to your brother’s at Mount Vernon; sometimes to see Colonel Byrd at Westover: but I always return to my own fastness gladly. I feel more cheerful now than at any time since we started. My old friends--my books--are waiting for me in my library; I can only take a dozen with me when I go away. My doves and pigeons, my dogs and horses, will all be the happier for my return home. My servants will be glad to have me back--poor souls, they have but a dull time of it all the year round; and I myself, having lived this life so long, find that it suits me. I shall have your company for several weeks; then I shall want you again next year.”