Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1918-12-20

Deg1n, 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 pledged in this fashion while she
was present. But when the men found them
selves alone, it was the proper thing for a young
gentleman to get upon his feet-which. it is to
be hoped, were still steady-and to say, IT give
you Betty Lomax, the most beautifully girl in West
moreland county!" 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 a great day of festiv
tty in the Virginia of that epoch Breakfast was
at eight nine o'clock, unless it had been de-
cided to go ahunting in the morning-in which
case the meal was eaten by cande-light. If there
was foxhunt-a sport Of which Washington was
very fond-the host wore brilliant red waist
coat trimmed with gold lace, and the ladies who
Arode 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
We're 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 no supper to come
After dinner there were games blind mans buff
hunt the slipper. and the lke-with much romping
and more or less kissing. "A sprig Of mistletoe
was hung up in a convenient place. and if girl
happened to be kissed under M by young man
she did not faint or call for help In fact it
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 joer 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
variably marry again. Marriage was considered
just about the most important duty of life and
the love affairs Of the gentlefolk were freely
conf1ded 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 it was 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, was in later life
no 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 reshed a game
of cards, and probably 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 small
There were two young people at Mount Vernon
in those days-the and daughter of Mrs.
Washington by her first husband. 1t 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 Jacky and Patsy
Patsy died in 1773 when just budding into wom
anhood while her brother married young and
had four children two of whom, George and Nell
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 eve there was dance to which
as matter Of course, invited The party began
befora eight and over by ten O'clock
Young ladies' beauty in those times was not
spoiled by late hours. For music there was a
single fiddle, played by an old slave the place
Ia -vhite-hared negro who kept the time and
helped on 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 knee-breeches and silk stockings.
Mrs Washingtons gown, cut V-shaped and filled
in with ruchng, 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
FROM THE HEART