Evening star., 1948-12-29
By George Kennedy

A George Washington letter, the
existence of which had been un-
known to Washington scholars until
recently, was presented to Mount
Vernon yesterday on behalf of its
English owners, twin sisters who in
herited it from their great-grand-
father.
The letter was written on June /,
1895, by President Washington to
David Humphreys, his minister to
Spain. 1t is a holograph letter Zone
written entirely by the signeD and
i considered valuable addition to
the Washingtoniana of this coun-
try's libraries and museums. Most Of
the official Washington letters were
written by secretaries.
The Humphreys letter has a
strong signature and. while there
has been some restoration of the
borders, it is in an excellent state
of preservation. The script, with
the familiar 18th century abbrevi-
tions, Is in the upright hand
familiar to every student of the
writings of the Father Of His
Country.
Famous Signatures In Collection.
The letter was the property OF
Miss Gladys Burton of London and
her twin sister, Mrs. John William
Williams. wife of the head of the
history department of st. Andrews
College. Scotland. They had
inherited it from their great-grand-
father, Marseille Middleton Hollo-
way, q London print seller, who be-
gan making collection in the
middle of the last century of letters
and signatures Of historic person
ages.
The collection has been kept at
St. Andrews College since the sis
jers inherited it in 1908. 1t includes
letters from such other historical
Uersonages as Queen Elizabeth, Sir
Walter Raleigh, Napoleon, LORD
Nelson, Voltaire. Rousseau, Goethe,
Cobert Burns, Byron, Coleridge, Dr..
Samuel Johnson, Dickens and
Thackeray.
Last year, Miss Burton, who had
eerved as a telephone watch in
London,s air raid warden service
during the val VISITED this coun-
iry. Among the places she saw was
Mount Vernon. sShes went through
the shrine like any other tourist.
Sila said nothing to anyone there
about being the owner of q Wash
lngton letter.
Token of Appreciation.
After returning to England and
consulting her sister. she wrote the
Mount Vernon Ladies Association
of the Union, offering them the
letter.
Hitherto" she wrote, I'VE have
kept this collection intact, but we
are agreed that such an important
historical document as the George
Washington letter should no longer
remain in private ownership, and we
should therefore have pleasure in
presenting it as token OF appre-
ciation of much kindness and hos
pftality received by us from Amerl-
cans"
Existence of the letter was known
to only a few Americans and that
but recently. The letter was not
In the dehnitive edition of Wash
ington's writings published through
the congressional appropriation for
the Washington bicentennial in
1882. But recently Prof. Randolph
Adams of the University of Michi-
gan. which has a large collection
of Washingtoniana, had visited st.
Andrews College and photographed
the letter.
The gift the sisters made Is a
substantial one. Washington let
ters written entirely in his own
hand have sold for $4,000 to $4,000
in New. York auctions.
fArranges Reservation.
For a time Miss Burton considered
retaining to this country herself to
present the letter. When she found
this was inconvenient she delegated
the wife of cousin, Mrs. Thomas
H. Burton, who was coming here
anyway to visit her daughter, the
wife of a chaplain with the 9th
Air Force.
Mrs. Burton arrived at the Ra-
leigh Hotel, zealously guarding her
handbag which contained the letter,
and telephoned Charles C. Wall,
superintendent of Mount Vernon.
He drove her out, and she handed
over the letter in front of the desk
Washington brought back from Phil
adelphia-the desk on which the
letter might have been written.
David Humphreys, to whom the
letter was written. was not only
Washington minister abroad but he
was. an intimate. friend who had
spent much time under the roof of
the Presidents house in Philadel-
phia and at Mount Vernon.
when he wrote the letter. Wash
irteton was near the end of his sec
ord term and had borne the brunt
of the attack on the Jay treaty with
England in which he set a precedent
that still stands by refusing to turn
overato the House the instructions
given the negotlatorS. HIS Farewell
Address, to be made public two
months later, was already drafted
Told of Plans to Retire.
In the letter. he confides to his
friend his. determination to retire
and invites him to Mount Vernon.
The letter will be added to the
Mount Vernon collection of Wash
ington's writings which specializes in
the journals on the upkeep of the
place. It reads:
GEORGE WASHINGTON TO
DAVID HUMPHREYS
Philadelphia 1st June 1896.
(Private) -
My dear Humphreys