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 of the seat of government from Williamsburg to Richmond, then only a collection of disjointed villages placed amid the ragged ground at the falls of the James. Virginia had been settled largely by sons of country gentlemen, who brought from their far-off homes the love of country life. Her citizens preferred that life, and the title "Country Gentlemen" was the most desired. In consequence there were no large cities in the State.

In 1781, the Marquis Chastellux, who served with honor in the French army, thus described the city:

"Though Richmond be already an old town and well situated for trade, being built on the spot where the James River begins to be navigable, that is, just below the rapids. It was before the war one of the least considerable in Virginia, where they are all in general very small, but the seat of the government being removed from Williamsburg it is become a real capital, and is augmenting every day."

In 1782, Richmond was incorporated as a city, and three years later the foundations of the Capitol were laid. Especially beautiful in the summer months, when the grass is as green as emerald and the noble trees give grateful shade, is the Capitol Square. Squirrels play