The Washington times., 1923-02-18

IM8 COUNTESS paFCC1pAItn8 In
their eaietieg ~ much a. the
aSres Of her growing Iitt1e On
ily. ana TIE o*ersight Of . Issgs
nunnbar Of slaves would psruslk:
BislApp Afeade ana ether writer's
Of f9Aet time have written Of hefs
grace AaDd charm Of personality.
ana her equally attractive quaIix
ties Of MIND and heart. dwelling
ON the conscientious performances
OF her dutiw to the slaves.
Many dia4fEguisled guests came
to Arlington. old friends and CON.
rades 1t arms Of General wash
ington. whose adopted son they dea
lighted to visit. 1Arnong these Waa
General Lafayette.
On a June day in 1881 Mary
Custis was married ,at Arlington
to Robert =. Lee. IaAer the chief
Of the Confederate armies. when
General Les let ArAngt6n -
take command OF the Virginia
troops, some Federal troops took
possession, turned the nkRnatOn
into q headquarters, edad re
grounds into camp.
MADE A HOSPITAL.
Later q hospital WIS owEab
Hshed In the mansion ana tin
grounds converted into . military
cemetery, by order Of Quarter-
master General Meigs. Subae
quently the estate was sold fbr
delinquent taxes. and bought n
by the Government for $2s,100.
George Washington Gusts Lee,
heir under the Custis win, estab-
1ished his legal claim to the
property. and the claim WAS ID
justed by the payment to him ~
the United States Government 81
$4,000. 81
Though now devoid Of IN The
personal touches that gave charm
to the stately old mausfon N III
prime. It IL q sweet and SACRED
spot to one with vision ana the
power to summon to mind the
picture Of what It must have been
when Jack Gusts brought n1W
bride to grace r..
Something Of that charm may
yet be restored. for there d ~
movement on foot to furnish the
mansion ana reiabiIlfate II, ar
has been done to nj. Vermont
As In the case OF Mt. Vern0al, 4
those who ara working on the
restoration Of Arlington into the
sen1blance OF o home. ara Q group
Of patriotic and loyal women. who !
have begun their project and are
enthusiastically working toward ],
its completion in the not too
distant future.
Swinging round the circle No :
come to Mt. Vernon, where Nellie !
Gusts spent her girlhocd, the JOY I.
Of her adopted fathers heart. !.
Nellie Gusts was the life Of tho /.
fanny ana the spirit OF youth ina 1
carnate. Every slave on the plane,
tation adOred her, and visitors ton
Mt. Vernon wrote home letters,
filled with enthusiastic comments
on her charm.
NELLY'S ROMANCE.
A frequent visitor to Mt. YER
non was Lawrence Lewis. son OF
washington's sister, Betty WASH
ington Lewis, Of Fredericksburg. '
Propinquity ana the romance Of
the beautiful rtver-bordered ccun-
tryside, with the charm Of the
box-walled gardens Of Mt. vernon, r
made an easy task for Dan Cupid,
whose tactics seem TO have bean 1
the same as now. -
In the garden there II still e
pointed out, or used to be by the
the place, a rose bush called by
then-''Nellie Gusts rose BUSH"
where they said, Lawrence Lewis
proposed and was accepted. Be
cause Of that romantic episode In
it's history, the bush was said to
possess magic properties, and any
maid could bring an Rrowal Of
love from any sutton. If she conA
Quoted him to the rose bush. Also.
it was said, a sprig Of the bush
placed under the pillow would
bring a dream Of ones future tate,
The Lewises remained at Mt.
Vernon, and some Of their chil.
dren were born there: then. In
1905, Major Lewis built Wood
lawn, one OF the finest and hand
soonest country homes Of his day.
It commands an imposing position
on the Frederickburg pike, bc-
tween Mt. Vernon and Pphick
Church. Paul Kester, the writer,
bought it and restored It, and
then in turn sold It to Miss =. M.
Sharpe, OF Pennsylvania. and both
Of these modern owners have
spent large sums on it, regtora-
ton, with wonderful results.