The Penn's Grove record., 1885-01-31
Trsdltlon. OF wa.hlngton.

A tourist recently said 1 have spent
much time recently il the gra55-grOwn
streets Of Alexandria, Va, chatting
with the old citizens about George
Washington, and gathering together
such traditions of him as have come
down to them from their fathers. Mr..
William Carne, the youngest man [
talked With, was perhaps 80 years old.
lie is a newspaper correspondent and
llterateur, and he has for years been
interested IN gathering traditions OF
Washington.
MI. CaTne said: ''the last Of the old
men who knew Washington personally
passed away about twenty years ago,
and it is very late TO attempt to get au-
thentic information about him. / was
born III Alexandria, aud | have been
engaged all my life il studying Wash
ington's character, ana have talked
with all the old citizens Of Alexandria
for the past thirty years and mort In re.
gard to him. | knew George Washing
ton Gusts, and | remember him as
coming here every 22d Of February and
on the Fourth Of July. lie would take
his stand on the steps Of the City hotel
and would begin to address the crowd
On the greatness Of Washington and
to tell them anecdotes and gossip con
corning him. / have made an especial
study Of Warrington as a young man.
The traditions OF Alexandria represent
him AS a very proper young fellow, six
feet tall, rather stately In carriage and
very fond of horses. lie liked to try
new horses, and it is said that during a
single day he rode ten different horses
into Alexandria. Every one tells me
that he made a fine looking figure III
horseback. He sat straight and had
thorough command of his steed. This
straightness he kept until the last. He
is said to have danced a great deal as a
young man, and to have been very fond
of balls. I have no doubt that he danced
somewhat, but | do not think he ever
unbent himself to any extent.
'"Hhe dance of aDte-reYOlutlOn days
was far different from the y~oluptuOus
waltz and the fantastic german of the
present. The minuet, for instance, IS
more like a funeral tread than a ball
room skip, and Washington could easily
move through this without appearing
anything but emInently respectable. !
ilthtu O uOtlBL Llidi lt uId1h Il BlhJo VI
vine Or whisky now and then, as was
the custom i'll those days, but | don't
think he ever fTequented the tayerns o.
gossiped at the groggeries. As to his
relations with women, III all my talks
with those who have known him | have
never found reason to believe that he
did anything improper.
AS to his circumstances IS 4 young
man, they were rather poor, and he
learned habits Of business which stood
him well III later years. He did not be-
gin to make money until he became a
surveyor, AMI then he made 1t very fast,
earning $50 a day. He had plenty
of chances for speculation, aud among
other things he bought two lots ia Al
exandria. On one of these he built an
office and TO this he came every day
during a part of his life to do his busi-
ness here. He never lived at AieXan-
dria, but rode up from Mount Vernon
An old gentleman whom | met above
the Braddock hotel, told me he had for
years heard George Washington Custis
talk of his adopted father. Said he:
"Custis looked up to Washington as a
god. He described him as straight as
an American Indian, and as free in his
walk as the savage. From the stories
| have heard of Washington, | have
tried to picture him III my minds eye.
He wa a tall man, padded with muscle,
He was six feet two inches in shoes,
and he weighed 30 pounds in his prime
He wore about No. IL shoes, and had
gloves three times as large AS. the aver
age. His hands were 50 large they were
q curiosity and his whole frame was
bony and large jointed. He had Il broad
chest, but not a full one. IL was rather
hollow, and he was troubled IN ms last
days with a cough. HIS mouth was
firm, and his lower jaw grlpped the
other with Il determined grip. In later
years he lost his teeth, and the false
ones he got did not tit we'll, and pushed
out his lower lip. He had eyes Of cold,
light gray, which could look stern and
angry upon occasion, and which seldom
smiled. He was as wide at the hips as
at the shoulders, and kept his straight
ness Of statue to the last. lie had large
legs and was a good rider and runne
You have heard the stories OF his Won
derful strength Of arm, and how he
threw stones wide distances. His nose
was rather thick and coarse. | have
never heard that it had a blossom on it,
"He was rather fastidiOus as to his
dress, though he wore plain clothes
when not on military duty. He always
shaved himself, but had a servant to
comb and tie his hair every morning,
1 have heard Mr.. Custis,say that he rose
very early at Mount Vernon, often be-
fore daybreak, and as early as 4 a. IN.
He would, at sunrise, go to the stables
and look at his bloOded horses. When
he came back he had a light breakfast
of corn cakes, honey, and tea, OF m
thing Of that sort, and then he ate moth
ing more until dinner. | ain speaking
of his later years. After breakfast he
rode over his estate, and At 3 had re-
turned and was dressed for dinner. |
Dinner was a big meal at Mount Yer
non, and Washington ate nothing after
it. lie usually drank five glasses of
Madeira wine at desert, but | have
never heard of his being drunk. He
was not opposed to the moderate use Of
liquor, and when he was hrst elected To
the house Of burgesses Of Virginia,
among the items of his election eXpen.
SEES wers a hogshead and u barrel of
whisky, thIrty-tiye gallons Of wine, and
forty-three gallons Of beer. In the Nir-
ginia house he did not cut a great figure.
lie was not much Of a speaker. but he
was popular, or lie could not have held
his place ror fifteen years as he did. /
have understood that he treated his
slaves very well, but that he made them
work and would allow 40 fOolishness
among them Washington liked the
theatre, and he was fond OF dancing in
early life"
CuIa tor IatLIerss
Miss Hannah More, a celebrated