The Good Old Days

ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT made this twelveth day of April Anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven by & between George Washington Esq. of the Parish of Truro in the County of Fairfax, State of Virginia, on the one part, and Philip Bater, Gardner, on the other WITNESS, that the said Philip Bater, for & in consideration of the covenants herein, hereafter, mentioned, doth promise and agree to serve the sd. George Washington, for the term of one year, as a Gardner, and that he will, during said time, conduct himself soberly, diligently & honestly--that he will faithfully & industriously perform all & every part of his duty as a Gardner to the best of his knowledge & abilities, and that he will not, at any time, suffer himself to be disguised with liquor, except on the times hereafter mentioned.