The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1918-12-19

begin, and might be kept up almost indefinitely.
though for his part, Washington never went be-
yond second glass of wine, and 1t was his usual
custom TO leave the table within a few minutes
after his wife had gone.
Toasts, In those days, were 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 men found them
selves alone, 1t was the proper thing for young
gentleman to get upon his feet-whlch, 1t Is to
be hoped, were still steady-and TO say, 81 give
you Betty LomaX the most beautiful girl In West
moreland countyw Or perhaps It might be Susan
Lee of Rappahannock. Such toast custom
arlly drunk standlng-wlth all the honors, the
phrase was.
Indeed, Christmas was a great day Of festv-
ity in the Virginia of that epoch. Breakfast was
at eight or nine o'clock, unless II had been de-
cided TO go a-hunting In the mOrnlng-in which
case the meal was eaten by candle-llght. 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 were days when meals were ample, but
were not multiplied. Eating, when undertaken,
was no mere frivolity, but serious business. This
Christmas dinner was at 80 p. M; there had
been no lunch and there was no supper TO come
After dinner there were games-bllnd mans buff,
hunt the slipper, and the lke-wlth much romping
and more or less kissing. A sprg Of mstletoe
was hung up In convenient place, and If girl
happened to be kissed under it 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 jolier fellows than they were.
If they loved fercely they proved their sincerity
by marrying early; and, when one of them was
so unfortunate as to lose his wife, he would in.
variaby marry again. Marriage was considered
Just about the most important duty Of life and
the love affairs of the gentlefok were freely
confded even to the servants. Black Tom knew
that Mars James was "going after" Miss Sallle
Lee and would talk the matter over with his
young master. And 1t was the same way with
the girls.
SO 1t may easily be imagined that on a festive
occasion such as this Christmas celebration
good deal of incidental love-making, some of it
serious enough, accomplished But the
Master Of the Revels, though he himself had been
sufficiently ardent in his youth, was in later life
no eager sympathizer with such foes
Though Mr.. Washington took no part in the
romps that followed the dinner, he heartily en-
joyed the fun Occasionally he rellshed 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
I'm those days-the son 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 1878, when just budding into won.
Nnhood while her brother married young, and
had four children, two Of whom, George and Mel
lie Custls, 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 eve there was dance to which
all the neighbors for many miles around were
as matter of course invited. The party began
before eight and was over 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
"a white-hared negro who kept the time and
helped OH the tune by pounding on the floor with
his big foot.
All the young ladies wore lownecked dresses
making brave display Of pretty shoulders, and
the men were In kneebreeches and silk stockings
Mrs Washngtons gown cut V-shaped and filled
In with ruching, was of French silk but the
clothing she ordinarily wore was Of domestic
manufacture, being woven at Mount Vernon where
no fewer than sixteen negro women were kept