Friday 28th. Thermometer at 35 in the Morning—44 at Noon and 40 at Night. Cloudy during the fore part of last with appearances of Snow or Rain but the Wind springing up fresh at No. Wt. it cleared. Very pleasant all day—morning calm & not hard. Abt. Noon the wind rose at No. Wt. but neither hard nor cold. In the afternoon it got to the Southward.
Mr. Willm. Craik & his two Sisters, & Mr. Kelly the dancing Master came down to dinner and stayed all Night.
Went out with the hounds to day. Took the drag of a fox with in my Muddy hole Inclosures, and found him in Stiths field (lately Herberts). Run him hard about half an hour—came to a cold drag & then lost him.
Mr. Willm. Craik and his Sisters Mariamne & Nancy and Mr. OKelly the Dancing Master came to Dinner and stayed all Night.
stiths field (lately herberts): Buckner Stith (d. 1800), son of Capt. Buckner Stith of Brunswick County and his wife, Ann Walker Stith, had earlier in the year purchased from William Herbert two adjoining tracts of land containing a total of 301½ acres on Little Hunting Creek. The land adjoined that of Thomson Mason on the road from Gum Springs to Cameron Run (deeds of Stith to Herbert, Fairfax County Deeds, Book Q–1, 492–95, 497–500, Vi Microfilm; , 2:32).