El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-02-15

southern soldier to IN the great strife
Z not need to burden their purses with
I even these modest charges in Viz
! gfnia. The hospitality Of the landed
I proprietors was proverbial and liter
] ally hOundless. and none would SUI
l fer that any stranger OF any diStiuc-
Z ton should stay in an inn while there
/ was a room in any Virginia gentle
3 mans home. Horses. servants every %
thing were at the guests disposal
J Yet. famous as the lavishness Of the
province was. IL was lavishuess in
Z food ard drink rather than IN other
| luxuries. The rooms OF beautiful
Mount Vernon are furnished simply
I enough. and even the masters bed
room in the mansion is an almost tiny
one. the reverse Of luXuries, while the
chamber known as -'Lafayette's room"
assuredly would be disdained by the
guests OF a modern American coun-
try house.
Woodlawn. eight miles from Mount
Vernon, which George Washington
gave TO his adopted daughter. Nellie
GUSTS. is the most prerentious OF the
old plantation homes remaining in
Fairfax county as memorials or
George Washington time, and its
rooms are far larger and more elab-
crate. But there was little Of luxury
anywhere, as we understand luxury IN
our day. Coaches, none too large.
that labored over roads none too
good. provided the only means OF
cnveyance besides saddle horses As
a matter Of fact. the coaches were, as
a rule. reserved for the ladies' while
the men rode
4 Spacious and Dignified Life.
But IL was a spacious and dignlfled
though simple life. with little that
was sordld or dreary, and the owners
Of the spreading acres lived no life
If III fawaee naemrra Hnn free black Ia
Dor that they owned. EairfaNes and
WashingtOns. MasOns and BroadWa-
tiers, Fitzhughs and NcCartys were
true 10 the principles OF citizens Of
republic Lhey busted tneulselEes
in projects Of roads by land and wa
ter to open Up the country round
about. They sat in legislature and
local assemblies They rode 10 court
and sat as magistrates and court Of
ficials.
Fairfax county had a monthly court
This monthly court system was 100
years old when George Washington
was born, for IL had begun in 1s-S in
the original county from which Fair
fax was formed Il lasted for 20
years, tin IL was abolished by the
constitutional convention OF 1903.
Among the justices were Washington
and his neighDOrs Of that day-Wil-
liam and George Fairfax. barons no
longer; Charles Broadwater. Lewis
Ely, John West, Daniel AlcCarty and
John Turley-
Before the revolution. while the
Church OF England still was an es-
tablshed church in Virginia province.
justices and other county officials had
10 take oath as follows we do de-
clare that there is no transmission
tlatiOn on the Sacrament OF the Lord S
Supper or in the elements OF Breau
and Wine al or after conservation
thereof by any means whatsoever"
Good citizens as they were, there is
a little record in Fairfax court house
which suggests that eminent early
we're not always superior I
matters Of taxes. On Nay =, 1850, :
the grand jury handed down q re-
port We present george and VIII Z
liam Fairfax, George Washington,
John Carlyle land Is othe-sl Ior not
entering their wheel carriages agree
ably 10 law" As there is no succeed Z
ing record OF any -distralnJ' on TIER I
properties or bodies, IL may re con-
cluued that they paid the Tax finally.
Custodian OF W Arlington Relics
There Is q proud man IN talriaX [
county who guards these and other .
relics OF Washington time with a {
fine priestly soncitude. He is Fred I
erick Wilmer Richardson, clerk Of I
the court. and custodian OF Fairfax 7
court house Tie, too, is in keeping 9
with the historic tradition that IS Z
stamped on EalriaE county. Tor he I
has been clerk OF the court for 40 4
years, and before that served for I.
seven years as assistant to mis- father, I
Ferdinand Dawson Richardson. VINO (
in turn was clerk for "a years.
During all those 81 years. says AR. !
with undisguised graft I
[ication, Fairfax court house never /
has been opened on a Sunday. no mat &
ter how high was the station Of the 4
curious visitors who made the short +.
trip from Washington to see the IA !
nous records. Even 4 vice president Z
1f the United States had 70 turn home /
again. without seeing the relics He /
got a good chicken dinner. but he did 4
Tot get into the court house. And the I
clerk permits II TO be understood that Z
80 Ions as a Richardson is on guard 4
there, so IL will remain.
In vault burglar proof and fire J
proof, are the prize possessions OF the /
sounty-the wills Of George and Mar
ina Washington. Gen. Washiugton's
VIII. admitted 20 probate January
20. 1890. consists Of 80 pages
Martha WashiugtOn's VIII. dated I
March 20, 1902, consists Of only three
Dr. four pages, and the burglar proof 1
vault has an especial significance in
It's case, for il is less than three years /
since IL was finally recovered by the
county after having been missing
since the civil war.
II was stolen from the court house
during that conflict and finally came
into the possession Of j. Pierpont
Morgan The Fairfax county funds
not being sufficient for litigation. the
Virginia legislature passed the fol-
lowing act, making the expenses a
state charge:
Recovered the Stolen VIII.
An act 10 authorize the institution
u proper proceedings in the name of 4
he commonwealth Of Virginia TO en-
'orce the return To IL Of the original
VIII Of Martha Washington.
Approved January 30. 1915
Z. Lerear. fire ogl-.ual last VIII II
.l-tla Washington of Mount Yer /
ION, the widow Of George Washing