Evening star., 1938-12-25


ride of 25 or 30 miles was "bumbo"
or "nimbo," hot, strong and en-
livening. The ladies took apple
toddy instead.
Gay Society Flocked
To Old Gadsby's.
The Potomac River before Alex
andria was alive with British ships,
and red coats were spreading over
the old town when Gen. Braddock
arrived in 1755 and found young Col.
Washington awaiting him at Gads-
by's-then the City Tavern-in the
hopes that he would be part of the
expedition against the French. He
had made his military headquarters
at the tavern in 1854 at the begin
ming of the Great Meadows cam
paign. In '55 while waiting for
Braddock he whiled away the time
in dining and dancing, for the little
old town was noted for its gay and
aristocratic society, and many a
morning as the sun came up over
the hills the big, muscular Virgian-
ian-afterwards the Father of his
Country-was found treading a
merry measure with some Virginia
belle or sitting out a dance with
Sally Fairfax, wife of his friend
George William Fairfax of Belvoir-
now Fort Belvoir. It is said that
to his association with Mrs. Fairfax
he owed much of the polish and
savoir faire which stood him in good
stead in his official life when he
became world figure.
Tavern Signs
Picture Language.
The sedate Mr.. John Adams, Sec
ond President of the United States,
frequented the taverns of New Eng
land for bit of socialibility if not
conviviality. Mr.. Adams was not
clubbable man and it is not known
if there were any taverns named
for him, but it was the custom to
name them after distinguished men
of the day. In many districts, tavern
signs we're the barometers of public
opinion or the way the elections
were going, and were changed from
time to time.
So far as known there was no
portrait of Mr.. Adams on sign,
but John Hancock, Washington and
Jefferson were favorites, and up in
Massachusetts Franklin was popular.
There are instances of these signs
being painted by artists afterward
world famous. For instance Ben
jamin West, the great painter of the
18th century, painted many tavern
signs in the vicinity of Philadelphia
among them that of the Three
Crowns in It'll, which in 1916 was
removed to the Waterloo Tavern in
honor of Wellington's great victory.
Most of the people of the time could
not read so the signs were the pic
ture language
Mr.. Adams, who frequently stopped
at the Ipswich Inn, gives an
amusing description of the host and
hostess of the inn. He said: The
landlord and landlady are some of
the grandest people alive; landlady
is the granddaughter of Gov.
Endicott, and has all the notions
of high family that you find in the
Winslows, Hutchinsons, Quincys,
Saltonstalls, Chambers and Otises,
and as you might find with more
propriety in the Winthrops" But
Mr.. Adams adds; The landlord is
loud, big, good natured and lazy"
Washington's Campaign
Costs in Liquor.
GadsbyS was situated on the Kings
highway, the much-traveled thor
oughfare between the Colonial Cap
ital at Williamsburg and Alexandria,
and formed link in the chain of
famous taverns which extended from
Virginia to Boston. During election
times they were the headquarters
for the dissemination of politics, and
the candidate who could furnish the
most liquor was frequently the pop
ular choice. Those good old days
We read about when everybody was
honest and there was no Senator
Morris Sheppard to investigate cam
paign funds. While Gen. Washing
ton was known as 'one bottle"
man, he always provided generously
for refreshments at elections and on
other public occasions. At the be-
ginning of his political career in
1853 with his election to the House
Of BurgeSseS as member from
Frederick County, Va, he was on the
Virginia frontier in the war against
the French and Indians; he re-
Quested that the voters be provided
for in a generous way, for the elec-
ton cost him something like f40,
or 5000, and there were 300 voters
that took part in the election-con-
sidered a goodly number. They con-
sumed about 1877 gallons of different
kinds of rum punches, wine, beer and
brandy.
Men lived in the open in those
days and after fox chase or night
of bear and coon hunting the vital
ity was low. We hear at dinner MIR.
Washington usually drank pint
of Madeira, besides rum punch and
beer-sometimes cider, champagne
and brandy we're served at dinner,
but there is no authentic record that
the first President ever became in
toxicated. Jefferson and the Vir-
ginia Presidents imported fine wines
and Old Hickory was noted for his
fine cuisine and good heavy port.
There were other early occupants
Of the White House who generously
served the best-but now it just
isn't done and the country would
howl If it were.
Little Roosevelts
All Over the Place.
BY the way, this is to be jolly
holiday time at the mansion; the
children have begun to arrive to
spend the time with their distin-
guished grandfather and grand
mother, who have way with the
tots, so when all those Roosevelt
grandchildren are romping up and
down the grand stairway and