The Washington herald., 1913-02-16

The widow Custis. when she married
George Washington. brought to him in
her lap Ito use an old-fashioned figure
of speech, a tidy fortune OF 10000 It
was a whole lot OF money in those days.
But he was already a very rich man
his haIf-brother Lawrence having left
him not only Mount Vernon, which was
an estate OF baronial size. embracing
a number of farms, but n great deal Of
other property. His cattle were number
ed by hundreds. and likewise his sheep
and hogs: he had many slaves Ito which
thirty or more belonging to his wife We're
added, and the Iron chest" that did
duty as savings bank (being kept in
his bedroom). contained an ever-increas-
ing hoard of specie.
No wonder. then. that in 1853. a few
months after his marriage. he wrote: II
am now, l believe, fixed at this seat.
with an agreeable partner for life: and
/ hope TO find more happiness in retire
ment than / ever experienced amidst
the wide and bustling world
One should remember. however. that
when this was written. Washington was
only twenty-seven years old. The language
and the point OF view seem elderly for
so young a man. As for the partner"
she was described by one contemporary
observer as 'overfond, hot-tempered, and
obstinate" Doubtless her stern but gen.
tie husband soon found out how to man
age her. To her children (both of whom
were under seven) he was as a second
father.
The mansion at Mount Vernon had
been built by Lawrence Washington in
1913 (when George was only eleven years
old, mainly by the labor of transported
convicts from England. Its new owner
was well content to remain for the rest
of his days merely a gentleman farmer.
Nobody could have been so surprised as
he, If it had been possible to know that
he was destined to take a conspicuous
part in the worlds affairs, and to become
his country's most honored citizen.
Washington was a man devoted to sys-
TEN in all things. There were no loose
ends in his business affairs. and his plan
tation on the Potomac River was so
managed as to yield a maximum Of in
come. 1t is a noteworthy fact that his
tobacco always commanded an extra high
price in the market. His watchful eye
was on everything. and. while habitually
kind, he could be sternness itself in re-
buking any fault on the part of those
who served him.
Nearly every day he would pay visit
of inspection to one part or another of
his domain on horseback. and would
give directions even in regard to matters
of utmost detail The establishment was
thoroughly patriarchal, nearly all of the
labor being furnished by negro slaves.
Washington himself was by no means an
advocate of slavery. and declared on a
number Of occasions that he would give
his own negroes their freedom were it
not that they had become matrimonially
mixed with the dover negroes (be-
longing to his wife) to such an extent
that much distress would be caused by
their nlanumssion.
People nowadays pay, at 25 cents
apiece. something like $4,000 annually to
see the old place dts lands cut down
to a small fraction of their original area).
which, at present the very abode of
quiet and repose. was in Washington's
time a scene of busy activity. In the
old spinning house. which is shown to
visitors, sixteen slave women were kept
constantly engaged in the spinning and
weaving of materials for clothing.
There was much of the old Virginia
hospitality that one reads about: for the
immortal George was an eminently social
man. and liked to entertain his friends.
But in those days the house had not yet
become like a tavern"-to which its
owner compared IL in a letter written to
his mother after the Revolution. In this
letter he offered her a home at Mount
Vernon, but at the same time advised
her not to come. inasmuch as the man
sion was always filled with guests, many
Of them strangers, and she would be
obliged to keep herself dressed up.
Much has been said. especially in books
for the instruction Of the young. about