The Gardener applied to me, and seemed earnestly to wish, that he might be removed from the House he now lives in, to that in which Mr. Butler Sleeps, on acct. of its having a room to lodge in above (which a decent Woman would re-quire) and another below to Cook in, with a floor unsusceptible of fire. Had this request been made before Mr. Butler went into it, I should have yielded to it without hesitation, as well for the accommodation of the Woman as for that of Mrs. Washington when she comes home, for she (the Gardeners wife) would be more at hand there, to receive her directions, and to do what might be required of her about the house than she could be at the other House; and I wish, even under this circumstance, the thing to take place. If Butler does not incline to go to the House where the Gardener at present lives in, (which by the bye is a very proper situation for an Overseer to be, to keep order and quiet in the family) he might have Shoemaker Wills old apartment scoured up, and made a little decent and go into that, as he wants nothing more than a place to sleep in, whereas the Gardener and his wife require for eating, washing and lodging more than one Room to be decent, which the Woman seems to be. There is a very good room over the Kitchen where Fairfax (your predecessor) used to lodge, but as the Major occupied it as a store room, I would not, if the things belonging to that estate are still in it, have them removed, lest it should be considered as a slight.