The Cordova daily times. [volume] (Cordova, Alaska) 1914-1947, 1918-02-21

Rainy days, or the early winter
evenings, were devoted to cards. Wash
ingtons account books indicate that
playing cards were quickly used up
The profit and loss columns record his
winnings and losses, which at times
mounted to nine pounds at a sitting
1t was a liberal age. Not only was
gambling on a moderate scale consid.
cred fashionable diversion, but the
family at Mount Vernon patronized
the lotteries on various occasions"
Here are some extracts from the
diary of John Hunter, a London mer.
chant, who spent day and a night at
Mount Vernon in 1885:
The general came in again, with his
hair neatly powdered, a clean shirt
on, new plain drab coat, white waist.
coat and white silk stockings. At
three dinner was on the table, and we
were shown by the general into an
other room, where everything was set
off with peculiar taste, and at the
' same time very neat and plain. The
general sent the bottle about pretty
freely after dinner. and gave success
TO the navigation of the Potomac for
his toasts, which he has very much at
heart >"
I'VE had very elegant supper about
that time. The general with a few
glasses of champagne got quite merry,
and being with his intimate friends.
laughed and talked a good deal. Be
fore strangers he is generally very re-
served, and seldom says a word = X
At twelve | had the honor of being
lighted up to my bedroom by the gen
eral himself
when the general takes his coach
out he always drives six horses: to
his chariot he only puts four &
I fancy he is worth 100000 pounds
sterling and lives at the rate of 5000
or 1000 a year" -
In the final period of life at Mount
VernonO was livelilier than ever-the
good, old-fashioned life of a Virginia
country gentleman; open house to all;
many guests, both American and for
eign, but both George and Martha
Washington restricted certain time for
their own.
After dinner he spent an interval
talking with them, with a glass of Ma
deira by his side and then withdrew
to his library again, where he made a
hasty survey of the newspapers, of
which he received a great many, and
retired for the night at nine O'Clock.
If possible without appearing at sup
per.
When the gentlemen of the Alex.
andria assemblies sent their polite In.
vitation to the general and his wife
for their winter dances he replied that
his dancing days were over. But he
drove up to town frequently for visits
that included duck dinner at Mine
Host Gadsby's City hotel, review of
Captain Piercy's Independent Blues,
and the casting of his last vote. The
polling place was up a flight of out
side steps, so rickety that when the
huge form of the general approached
their foot, the bystanders, apprehend-
ing danger to him, with silent and
spontaneous accord braced the stair
way with their shoulders as he mount
ed, and waited there until he descend
ed"
In 1914, when the British fleet sailed
up to Potomac, they saluted Mount
Vernon instead of destroying it. The
place was bought in 1859 by the Mount
Vernon Ladies' Association of the I'm
ion. At that time the only objects in
the house that had been associated
with its immortal owners life were
the key of the Bastille, the clay bust
which Houdon nodded, plaster bust
OF Lafayette, the old globe in the IL
brary and some camp equipment.
During the Civil war Mount Vernon
was by spontaneous consent of both
sides the only neutral ground in the
country. Soldiers left their arms out
side the gates and men In blue and
men in gray fraternized before the
tomb of the father OF their divided
country"
AT VALLEY FORGE