The herald., 1895-02-22

the property of George Washington. 1t
was a great domain, extending for miles
down the Potomac below Alexandria,
When the beautiful young relict OF
Colonel Daniel Parke Custie-colonial
belle at 15 bride at II and a widow,
with two children at 24-became Mrs.
Washington, she brought her new lord
dover of 5000 acres of land, 300 negroes
and $30 900 invested in the best securities
of those days. The large domain thus
added to Mount Vernon made Washington
one of the wealthiest landowners of his
day
NO man was ever more liberal in the
entertainment of his friends and neigh
bors than George Washington. Those
were the days when every well-regulated
plantation or farm had it's still house in
which the golden grain-garnered with
sickle, for the originator, of that great in
vention, the grain cradle, with its hve
fingers, the forerunner of the reaper and
the moving machine, was then alike to
fortune and fame unknown-was trans
formed into the whisky which did not
make men crazy and which sold from $3
to S. per barrel, 1t was one OF the staple
productions of Mount Vernon, and every
man on the estate that day drank Wei
come home and long life to General George
Washington in bumper of it that would
excite the horror of modern advocates OF
constitutional prohibitory amendments.
L nave looked upon many mighty men.
l have seen the great Napoleon in the full
flush of his pride and triumph. | have
seen George IV.-the first gentleman of
Europe. | have personally known Lord
Byron. Sir Walter Scott, Daniel O'Con-
nell, Daniel Webster and many others of
the men most famous in affairs OF gov
ernment, arms, literature, state smanship
and oratory, but never have | seen any
other man who impressed me, child
though | was, as possessing such massive
grandeur and dignity of presence as did
General George Washington when he stood
upon the veranda at Mount Vernon and,
in few simple, well-chosen words
thanked us for our demonstration of well
come. The impression then made by
him upon my chld-mind can never be
effaced, and of all the great men whom |
have seen none has ever been able to de-
pose the Father of his Country from the
pedestal of superiority over other men
upon which placed him in my heart
that day.
Down in the negro quarters numer-
Gus pot pies were cooking in ten gallon
kettles and many juicy possums were
roasting before brightly burning wood
fires. We had no coal in those days.
planter at that time would make houses
holder of the present day think that there
had been freshet in the neighborhood.
Then in the grand
When NeighbOrs old banquet hall OF
MountVernon Wash
Met Together ington and his
neighbors sat down
Rich and Poor to one OF the old
fashioned rural Vir-
Alike ginla suppers OF that
period When this
feast had been dispatched, the tables were
quickly cleared away and all the big boys
and gals went swinging around in merry,
joyous circle singing:
We are marching, marching to Quebec
While the drums are loudly beating
''Oh, those were halycon days indeed in
Ole Virginny, when neighbors met to-
gether-rch and poor alike-to help each
other at log rollings, barn raisings, har-
vestings and huskings, and to frolic mer-
rily when the work was done.
II have spoken of the banquet hall at
Mount Vernon. Together with the libra
ry and the piazza overlooking the Po-
tomac it was one of the chief features of
two new wings added to the old mansion
in 1885. Two years previously, on De-
cember 3d. 1888, Washington had per-
formed the crowning act of his heroic
career by giving back into the hands of
Congress his commission as Commander
in-Chief of the armies of great country
which owed it's individual life so largely
to him. On the following night-Christ-
mas Eve, 17S3-the plain Mr.. and Mrs,
Washington and his beautiful wife, were