Wilmington journal., 1876-02-25
WAsHINGTON,s LOVE sCRAPEs.

lowing 10 the Savannah Morning News:
Every boy. We take it. has q first
love, generally en early one. and
ususlly an older one than himself. So
il was with Washington. His first
boyish heart wound, that seemed
hardest TO hssl. was inflicted by the
"Lowiand Beauty" as he typifes the
fair maiden. whose real name neve-
appears in bis MSS. It was as early
AZ 1746, before he was fifteen years old,
ard while he was still at school, study
irg geometry and surveying. These
dry studies were relieved by the sweet
pangs even of hopeless love. If he
ever ventured to make known to hers
self his boyish feelings, which his shy
ness makes quite improbable, the
"Lowland Beauty" may have respond
ed to his sighs and sighed in turn; or,
more likely, il der than he, she re-
garded him as a raw school boy, and
Knocked his rrotestations and laughed
at his verses. The latter she might
we'll do, for his amorous lines make
paltry and limping verses, abortive
enough to discourage any one but
very youthful lover. We cannot doubt
the reality of his profession; it lasted
for years, and the pages of his journal,
while he was residing with his brother
Lawrence at Mt. Vernon, or was
buried ia the woods around Greenway
Court, reveal the grief that time nor
absencs could obiiterate or conceal.
La Irvipg's pages we catch a glimpse
of the sad state of a woe-wor lover,
''sighing like furnace" or ''crossed
in hopeless love-"
1t is not an uninteres4iug coincidence
in the chain of circumstances connect
ing the lives of Washington and our
Lee, that we'll founded tradition iden-
tifies the "Lowiand Beauty" with the
charming Lucy Grymes, of Middlesex,
who, five or six years after Washing
toms plaintive wooings, married her
cousin, Henry Lee, and became the
mother of Light Horse Harry, and so
tle grandmother OF Robert E. Lee.
They were married December 1, 1853,
| aud lived at Leesylvania, the husband s
seat in Prince William. The old feel
ing in Washington's heart had yielded
to fate, but it's deficacy and refined
sentiment still remained. It had
stified q new interest that threatened
to grow up strongly for his second
sweetheart and its happy memories
served tt; win WsshingtOn's constant
| favor, twenty yenrs afterwards, towards
their great son, Henry Lee, Jr. Hie
foGdness for this young General, ]
cannot be mistaken in ascribiny to the
love and admiration he had in his
boyish days for the mother. Recollect
Lees youth when the revolution be-
gan; born in 1856; captain of cavalry
ut twenty; at twenty-one the chief OF
| Westinghouse body guard, at twenty
! two s m.jor nnder Wayne at Stony
| Point. receiving for his services al
| Pauius Hook the thanks of Congress
| and gold medal. distinction that nc
! other officer below the rank of genera
| r, r,ceived during tho war; lieutenant
| colonel al twenty-four OF a legion,
raised expressly foF him by advice oi
General Charles Lee, and at Washing
| tons personal iutercesslOn to Congress
| look at his wonderful career witt
| Greene in the South In the next two
| years, and RENE n Der that ali his honOri
were gained when he was just turned
of twenty-five, and / think we need
come other explanation of his good
| luck than his own merits, great as they
were. This explanation [ believe tc
| have been Washington's interest IN
him, as the son of the LowlanI
Beauty, which prompted him to give
| mis- meritorious young officer every
| opportunity for advancement. and tt
follow him constantly with his syn
I pathy and help.
II. The uext pretty face that made
| WaslIington's heart fiuttcr was that OF
Mary Gary, of "Ccleys," in Elizabeth
City county. near Hampton. Tni.
affair, singular to say, followed sc
soon on the previous one, deep as wa.
its impression, as rather to be rcbuke ed
by it; and thus the growth of q deeper
feeling was probably Numbered, Mise
Cary was the sister of Mrs. George
William Fairfax, aud she WAS spending
much of her time at Bclvoir, the sea,
of the Fairfa1rs, near Mount Vernon
Young Washington was often n guest
of this happy homestead, and thus il
tho society OF Miss Gary. the new feel
ing was likely quickly to supplant the
old. I have no idea that he courted
Miss Gary, and his extreme youth, for
he was just turned sixteen, forbids me
| to credit the tradition that the bashful
al the next year ventured to visit
"Celeye." and asked old Wilson Cary
! for permission to address his daugh-
| ter-mind you, not "to have her." but
pr-cnutiop that not MANY young men
bv the sharp reply, which left nothing
mote to be said "Ii that is your bust
ness here, young man, [ wish you to
leave the house, for my daughter has
been used to ride in her own coach. u
di>credit this story for another
reason; under no circumstances could
such a super cilious and shoddy speech
have come from the mouth of o Vars
ginia gentleman of the olden time.
The fox hunting snd hard riding OF
Washington's rough life with old Lord
Fairfax, kept him much away from
Belvoir, and the return Of Miss Cary
to the low country separated them for
good. Just then our hero went into
the wilderness to survey Lord Fair
fax's vast domain, and carried with
him in the wilds of the Shenandoah
valley the visions of the sweet fece and
bright eyes that had enchanted him at
Belvoir.
Miss Gary married Mr.. Edward
Amber, of jamestown, a gentleman of
high position in the colony. and lived
to see her quondam admirer crowned
with the honors of the revolution at
the conquest of Yorktown. a tradi
tional anecdote relates that she was in
Williamsburg when General Washing-
ton passed through that city at the
close of the war. AS he recognized
her in the crowd, his sword waved to
hHr military salute, and the rush of
feeling was so great that she is said to
have tainted.
Ill, The Third maiden, whom tradi-
tion reports as ensnaring che heart of
the susceptible Washington, was
Elizabeth FauntIcroy, of the Northern
Neck on she Rappahannock. She was
of a Huguenot family which came to
the colony before the Dantes and the
Maurys, as we fud the first of the
family settled IN the Northern Neck
before 1861. Washington's acquaiut-
arce with her is a very obscure tr.di-
ton. tho year even being doubtful,
aud Loue of the circumstances are now
vorifable. She was the first woman
whose hana he actually asked, but she
fatty rejected his suit, and il she were
ambitious, made a great mistake in
NJ ~,