The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1918-12-20

begin, and might be kept up almost indefinitely.
though, for his part, Washington never went be-
yond second glass of wine and it was his usual
custom to leave the table within few minutes
after his wife had gone.
Toasts, in those days, never drunk until
after the ladies had left the table, and beautys
health was ever pledged in this fashion while she
was present. But when the found them
selves alone, it was the proper thing for young
gentleman to get upon his feet-which 1t is to
be hoped, were still steady-and to say, II give
you Betty Lomax, the most beautiful girl in West
moreland countyl" Or perhaps it might be Susan
Lee of Rappahannock. Such toast was custom
arily drunk standing-with all the honors, as the
phrase was.
Indeed, Christmas was great day of festiv-
ity in the Virginia of that epoch. Breakfast was
at eight or nine o'clock unless 1t had been de-
cided to go ahunting In the morning-in which
case the meal was eaten by candle-light If there
was fox-hunt-a sport of which Washington was
very fond-the host wore brilliant red waist
coat trimmed with gold lace, and the ladies who
rode were beautiful In scarlet habits. On such
occasions Mrs Washington would go out in her
chariot and four" keeping as close to the hunt
as the roads would permit. Not until 1885 were
the Mount Vernon kennels abolished and the dogs
sold.
Those days when meals were ample but
were not multiplied. Eating when undertaken,
was no mere frvolity, but serious business This
been no lunch, and there no supper to come.
After dinner there games-blind mans buff,
hunt the slipper, and the Hke-wfth much romping
and more less kissing. sprig of mistletoe
was hung up in convenient place. and If girl
happened to be kissed under 1t by young man
she did not faint or call for help In fact, 1t
might be suspected that she did not seriously OBJ.
ject.
Never, and nowhere, in this world were there
more capable and expert makers Of love than the
young men of Washington's day in old Virginia
Nobody ever saw jollier fellows than they were
If they loved fercely, they proved their sincerity
by marrying early; and, when one of them was
unfortunate as to lose his WIFE he would In
yariably marry again. Marriage was considered
just about the most important duty of life, and
the love affairs of the gentlefolk were freely
confded even to the servants. Black Tom knew
that Mars James was "going after" Miss Sallie
Lee, and would talk the matter over with his
young master. And 1t the same way with
the girls.
So it may easily be imagined that on festive
occasion such as this Christmas celebration
good deal of incidental love-making some Of it
serious enough was accomplished. But the
Master of the Revels, though he himself had been
sufficiently ardent in his youth, in later life
eager sympathizer with such follies.
Though Mr.. Washington took no part in the
romps that followed the dinner, he heartily en-
joyed the fun. Occasionally he relished a game
OF cards, and probably on this Christmas evening
he INDUCED In some such amusement, In company
with the older people, while the young folks
scampered and romped. He played for money
but the stakes were small.
There were two young people at Mount Vernon
In those days-the and daughter of Mrs
Washington by her first husband. It is easy to
imagine the part they took in the romps on Christ
mas day. John and Martha, their names were
but everybody knew them as Jacky and Patsy
Patsy died in 1773, when just budding into wom-
anhood, while her brother married young and
lie GUSTS, were adopted by Mr. Washington To
George he left the famous Arlington estate, oppo-
site the city Of Washington, which afterwards
fell by inheritance to the wife Of Gen. Robert e.
Lee.
On Christmas there dance, to which
all the neighbors for many miles around were
as q matter of course, invited. The party began
before eight, and by ten o'clock
Young ladies' beauty in those times was not
spoiled by late hours. For music there was
single fiddle, played by an old slave on the place
Ia white-haired negro who kept the time and
helped on the tune by pounding on the floor with
: his big foot.
All the young ladies wore low-necked dresses
making brave display of pretty shoulders and
the men were in kneebreeches and silk stockings
Mrs. Washington's gown. cut v-shaped and filled
In with ruching, was of French silk; but the
manufacture. being woven at Mount Vernon, where
no fewer than sixteen negro women were kept