Utah Enquirer | 1889-04-05 | Page 2 | Washington's Love Affairs

love affairs major byrd willis whose towering form was tho most striking figure in fredericksburg to my boyish writes my father lewis willis was a schoolmate school mate of general washington his cousin who was two years his senior he spoke of the generals industry and assiduity at school as very remarkable whilst his brother and the other boys at playtime were at bandy or other games he was behind the door ciphering but one instance of youthful ebullition is handed down while at that school and that was his romping with one of the largest girls this was BO unusual that it excited no little comment among the other lads the families of the neighborhood at that time are so well known that we may pretty surely identify the large girl as jane strother who married hon thomas lewis a son of the finnder of augusta county virginia january ag 1749 their friendship which began with their abc a b c days at falmouth continued through life the precocious drawn from his retreat only by what faraday described as the strongest force in nature a pair of black eyes survived iu the surveyor and the soldier the youths love affairs will largely remain among the historic it is said a young god came as a shepherd to the banks of the juna and each of the shepherdesses desses who danced to his piping thought she had him for a partner there may have been similar illusions in the minds of some old ladies after the huge and homely youth on the rappahannock Rappa hannock turned out to be a national saint leaving out these and two or three legendary disappointments it is certain that washington suffered deeply from the rejection of his suit by sally carry she was decender dec ended from a noble english family hudson and falkland and no doubt there were influences enough to cause the preference for one of the house of fairfax over a humble surveyor on their magnificent estate but that she loved him is proved by her of the love letters from him found among her papers after her death at an advanced age in bath england I 1 have heard from a relative of the lady that martha washington was always rather cool toward this beautiful mrs G W fairfax of Bel vior aal perhaps not without reason as not even marriaga could cure her disposition to flirt with the young soldier between whom and herself there had been i thousand tender passages that he could recall these fondly as appears by one letter oven after his engagement with mrs buski renders it but too probable that in tho latter affair the love was not romantic but ho was only twenty six and bo was not a man on whom a cifes loyalty and devotion devot ioa could be wasted in azine 9