Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-16

iii which have made this lnStru-
III ment famous.
have had a curious experience, and.
strange to say, although they belonged to
Gen. Washington he never saw them:
They were handsomely bound as present
for him by Compile De Rochambeau, and
shipped to Mount Vernon in French
vessel, which was captured by a British
cruiser during the voyage. One OF the
officers of the cruiser retained the books
as his part of the prize. and inscribed the
fly leaf of the first volume as follows:
"Was intended for General Washing
| ton by the Marquis Rochambeau, but
British cruiser saved it for me;
The late Prof. George Brown Goode,
assistant secretary Of the Smithsonian
| Institution and curator Of the National
Museum, while poking around the sec
ond-hand book shops of London discover
ed these volumes accidentally: ne pur.
| chased them and presented them to the
| lady regents. Thus after a delay OF more
than hundred years they finally reached
| the shelves for which they were original
| ly intended.
Z. 'NTelemachus"; Fenelon. Two vol
| umes published In 1795, bearing. the sig
nature of. Lawrence Lewis, who, 1t Is
said. received them from Gen. Wash
! ington.
| 5. Hervey's "Meditations and Contem-
plations" Two volumes published in 100,
bearing the inscription MARY Washing
| ton. Her Book"
0. The. Literary Miscellany" 1795;
signed by Eleanor Parke Lewis:
| 10 Tea Table Miscellany" 176S; sign
ed by Martha Parke GUSTS
II. THE Bee or Literary Weekly In
telligence." 1892; inscribed: Given to
Eleanor Parke Gusts by her beloved
| Grandmama."
by Eleanor Parke Lewis.
Another recent accession to the collec-
| ton Of family relics Is a wedding gown
| of white silk trimmed with rare lace
| worn by Nellie Custis at her marriage
with Washington's nephew. Maj. Law
| renee Lewis. which took place In the
banquet hall at Mount Vernon the last
anniversary of Washington's birth, Feb
ruary o. 1909. during his life: This was
| Conrad family of New Orleans. Other
accessions have been Gen. Washington's
| library desk and chair and q shaving
stand given him by the first minister
| from France to this capital.
Alleged Portrait Of Washington.
Hanging upon the walls of the banquet
hall is full-length picture of young
man in military uniform, which was re.
| ceived from the municipal authorities OF
l GLASGOW WIN d request tIldt lIc lcSShlS
of Mount Vernon would determine. II
possible. whether there Is any truth in a
tradition that it represents George Wash
ington when holding rank as major of the
Virginia militia. This portrait was found
among a collection Of pictures that once
belonged to Gov. Dniwiddie, who was a
resident of Glasgow both before and after
his term in Virginia. He occupied pre-,
| tentious house on one OF the prlnclpa
| streets and possessed great wealth. His
| residence is now occupied as tenement
by several poor families. 1t is his
torical fact that Washington was great
| favorite with Gov. Dinwiddie. and 1T is
possible that he may have had his por-
trait painted but this picture bears very
little resemblance to the earliest anthem
tic portrait of Washington, painted by
Charles Wilson Peale when the genera
was about twenty-five years old. and now
belongs to the Doudinot family of Der
nardsville, N. j. The eyes and shape o.
the head are similar, but the nose. mouth
chin and other features are very different
If the two portraits were placed side b!
side no one would be apt to suggest tina
they represent the same person
According to the representations re
ceived from Glasgow. this portrait hunl
originally in the Dinwiddie mansion unit
Ss rebels Hp
. patrons then put it out of sight. 1t wa
. never returned to its original place. but
after Dinwiddie's death, with the rest o
his pictures, it fell into the hands of TIN
|, municipality and for many years ha
! been hanging in the picture gallery of tn
! Peoples Palace, catalogued as The In
known" Thus far the regents OF Noun
Vernon have discovered no evidence AM
therefore are not prepared to make posi-
tive statement either for or against IN
genuineness of the picture.
Discriminating Regents.
: The regents are very discriminating
about relics submitted for examination
or presented to the collection, and the!
reject many more than they accept. ii
. cases Of doubt, where there is a proba
, bility, they usually give the article place
!. but are careful to mark 1t in such Wa!
that the public may not be misled. Thi
caution does not always please the dono
of the article, and sometimes eXcites IN
dignation. Not long ago stately Oh
, coach was presented to Mount Vernon
by the Michigan Mount Vernon society
concerning which there is a great deal o
doubt and consequently 1t is not labele'
as belonging to Washington, but a.
coach exhibited at Philadelphia centen
: NAL in 1876 as Washington's white char
iot.'l
|, 1t is entirely probable that Gen. an
Lady Washington often rode in thi
coach, but there is no evidence that
ever belonged to them. Mr.: Harrison L
: Dodge, the custodian of Mount Vernon
, has made thorough investigation, an
the probabilities are against ownership
q | It was first exhibited as an advertise
' ment at the Philadelphia exposition i
: 1915 by the Dunlap Carriage Company
T which acquired it in 1855 of the Powell
, family of Philadelphia, who inherited
= from a great-aunt, and she was an in
j innate friend Of the Washington family
AS near as can be ascertained, tw
coaches. duplicates in every respect wer
imported from England at the same tim
by Gen. Washington and by that lady
and this is one of them. And there
! no doubt that in the intimacy betwee
' the families and their constant inter
| change of visits while Washington wa
h President the members Of both famil1e
frequently rode in both coaches. Blu
there is strong probability that tn
| coach now at Mount Vernon belonged t
= the Powells instead Of to Gen. Washing
. ton.