Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1884-05-01

The Present Appearance of WashingtOn's
HOme-The First Presidents Domestic
Life.
Washington Cor. Troy Times.
But was going to say a word about
Mount Vernon. Its lawns are now full
of the early Spring, green slope rising
from the Potomac. 1t is a pleasant sail
down from Washington, and every day
groups of pleasure-seekers can be found
on the steamer going down to spend the
day about the mOss-cOVered walls of Old
Fort Washington or on the slopes of
Mount Vernon. The latter was not SO
grand a house in it's day as Arlington.
where the Lees lived, but in my opinion
it is the handsOmest sight along the riv-
er. With property facing the Potomac
for nearly nine miles, several hundred
slaves, and home like Mount Vernon
it is no wonder that Washington was re-
garded in his time as a lucky man. When
the ladies' association bought Mount
Vernon, it obtained two hundred acres
of land, which Is even now fertile, and
the fifty acres under cultivation raise
great quantities of garden ''Sass," which
finds ready markets in Alexandria and
Washington. The property is kept up in
better condition than 1 had been led to
expect. True, the ladies have been
obliged to give up the time-honored
lunch which they formerly served to Wis
itOrs. but the house and grounds are well
cared for. The upper floors of the house
are gettinga trihe shaky. "Only forty
or fifty ladies and gentlemen will go up
stairs at once" drOnes the guide, but no
attention is paid to him, and if the tim
bers Creak some they are in no danger of
giving way. To stand in the little room
with its two windows looking down over
the Potomac and look upon the high
posted bed where Washington died
brings a feeling which no man can be in
sensIb BILE to. Then to grope through the
narrow passage into the guest-chamber,
with its quaint furniture and windows
darkened dy the great pillars of the pi-
azza, to step into the homely room look
ing out in the courtyard where Nellie
Custis used to sleep, and on whose wide
settee I have no doubt she often dreamed
away the Summer days and thought of
her steptfaher away off at the wars. And
downstairs in the little music groom, be-
tween Mrs. WashingtOn's sitting-rOOm
and the parlOr, still stands the Old-fash-
toned harpsichOrd on which Nellie Gus
tbs used to play. never cid think that
she was the demure creature that many
writers have made her out to be- She
was more like romping girl, who liked
far better to be riding or rowing upon
the river than to sit at her harpsichOrd
But we can imagine Mrs. Washington
having an eye out for her daughter, as
sitting in the next room she worked out
in her thoughts the problems of the
young girls future. If anything serves
to separate Washington from the formal
historical part of his career, it is the
home life which visit to Mount Vernon
brings so wildly to mind. Next to Mrs.
WashingtOn's sitting-rOOm is the dining
room. opening into the open corridor
leading to the kitchen in the adjoining
building. The frescOing here is falling
some. and the furniture has all been tax
en- out, but it takes no great stretch of
the imagination to imagine Washington
sitting at his table, with the western sun
streaming and the servants bringing
from the great kitchen the colOred cooks
greatest achievement in the culinary line
1t was there that BushrOd Washington,
associate Justice of the supreme court,
entertained Lafayette when the latter re-
turned to this country, stopping In his
triumphal progress through the States to
visit the tomb of his old Commander
JJp stairs the chamber which he occu-
pied is still called the Lafayette room.
Bushrod Washington took a great pride
/ in the place after it came to him. He
gave up the old ice pit, fifty feet deep,
which Washington built, and construct
ed another nearer the house. He re-
paired the buildings on the farm and In
creased the size Of the gardens. But
while he did this it never seemed to
occur to him to improve the noisome
tomb in which Washington was first
buried, and it was not until after
/ the ladies' association obtained permits