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Show KaSlli Jiff tOll tHf lVfVm HAS man Side Sowt H IT JL Cll JLJL and Intellectual Defects. How He Appeared as Neighbor and Friend, Husband and Lover. ill i "" ' " ' Copyright, 1010, by John Elfrcth Watltins - -. -w-L' M EyOtf, Feb. 10. "While Hftf George Washinpton's ol'-Hjs ol'-Hjs a necessity, acquaintance H&ririn siile is only a faro lux-BJucation. lux-BJucation. Ki leave school or Hy intimate with Wnshinff-icr Wnshinff-icr aii'l the statesman, but ""iVasliinctou i lie man, nnd meeting's with i lie first ibi" Intler rolo occur only Kc.ojf our incidental and ac-K'jvsinu? ac-K'jvsinu? pastures literary. Kj,c world may now become Kintcd with Washington the aEd friend, the husband and Kan in the flesh the library K now having repaired 3u(l mfc mounted, bound and carc-Knied, carc-Knied, the government's vast Kg- but long neglected eol-BpWnshingtou eol-BpWnshingtou manuscripts, Hn human documents, mostly E; lo and descriptive oE this Koital, whoso 17Sth birthday Hffobrato Tuesday next. Ksical Oliarras and. Defects. Kibcd by his friend. George jKut the time of his marriage, HtWcnty seven, he was "as H'ao Indian, measuring six Knfthes in his stockings, and B5 pounds." He had well muscles, large bones and MKfeet and hands, wide shoul-K. shoul-K. chest neither deep nor Be! was. "uoat waisicd.'7 but Bou tho hips, and. his bead mflareo," although bis neck iKorb." 3 1 is nose was large Jmht rathor than prominent." miuc-cray,- penetrating, widely Kind overhung by heavy mt was lone-faced, with high, k,l(mes and a linn cbiu, and WTrorn in a cue. was dads Bo-bad "clear, though rather H-palo skin, which burns with Stand his month was "largo Kllv. firmly Hosed, but which Eto time discloses some de- KflyHJnc he described himself Hsifts"six feet high and pro-Hrinuule pro-Hrinuule if anything rather HpMjftick for a person of that EjtfnrcUy long arms and OTffiftc time he was fifty-ouc Httd increased to 210, or '15 Efrhat he carried at tho Hicfc-ninrked in addition to Htiive teeth. His attack of Bucasc which marked him 'contracted at tho ago of Hnlc with his invalid brother K" When fifty -seven, in the Kfirst inauguration. Senator Scribing him "as lie really Hwas of " exceptional make, fc&arancc," and complained Katnc Von Id seem to want K'ibat his complexion was Kaknost cadaverous,' and Hto' was "hollow and indi-Hfc'as indi-Hfc'as I believe, ta artificial Eihis urmcr .law, which oc- Hn of the lower jaw" was Kycar later as ouo of his Rstrongly formed," and ilnotc that his bead was Hrt Stuart, tho eminent p portrait, said that (he Kcyes were larger than any Ben before, "and tho upper eo. broader. " Vhon bo was Rwas described as still of fceefness but without "the Hvhich might be expectc.d." BfHevcrest critics speak with Bjst the majesty of bis ex-bmmanding ex-bmmanding presence, tho bo-tv- of his countenance, his Bff br.ovolenco, nobility and jon. In the winter of his life peribed as having "pensivo 3 "settled aspect of inclan- Er.r has failed (o show Bd;Wa$bhftoii is the opinion of Titers who studied him after Bfr president and who lamented BL'ir0L Portraiis which re-Wfk1 re-Wfk1 u " Ufi '1CU bad an ex-mP ex-mP do painter had succecd- and that "no picture ac-"embjes ac-"embjes him iu the minute Ticrsoti." JIc writes of him- posing for the Pealc por- grave and sullen mood, tno time asleep. ,-ud when "painting tho most famous of wiosat with his lips padded won tohido defects caused of hiB front pair of false later he got better teeth, Ht$us tsk, which he wore JCjor a rainiaturo bv Sharp- r0t?ardccl hy "rnany ;,s SflUcr a"d Ecad Little. K,,1C1 Hke a gentleman" Wi L,fP trs iu tho vast K n"l c, '. Thus He wrote M?, ' "winder." "latten" K etli- But his education vlA vat :i h,t,o village Wfeaencksburg. whence be ffe-5?' ffe-5?' r.aminarian, although a Ki t thlncUc- lli5 crnmmar, K unproved in later life, un-K un-K asred au elegance of 1K,;nmansbip, always uni-Kxla?d uni-Kxla?d stiiicl, followed Ktf. 5?tyr,c'1 copies in "The E.i .rom,P3uion," which he mm InoiiBlv nod which con-JBfrL con-JBfrL n ,n 11 C'cat variety of Tmlt ?a'Piry to etiquette, JRPVnnu to dntoring. f(?.h.ut his Itfc Wnshiugton K!f' and what books bo K ? chiefly on agriculture Kicjence. , complete cat-Kflru cat-Kflru . T-v' Panted this win-K win-K l,,n revoalf. however, Kok ,Sxie?.H1V0 collection of Kf, fiction are, however, mm r r. between and you mm count them on vour fin-mftitnFV10 fin-mftitnFV10 Pickle. Gulli-WolLC1,nlS.r' Gulli-WolLC1,nlS.r' 1)011 Quixote Wife Tber,? :,rc a f(,w ,1 el'nucnua verso and the Vr ;?nc ,! "UndrcdB of volumes ?rks ? informative bmkiSfti y1'"1 J-lncyclo- nJlfCr? f,ru 110 011(1 of mhi. S,PrdeD1nc and farming. I! c "ever mentioned rcad- KS.JiC'on has long been Koeia ' thc Uiiilariaim, claim Kr y.,rlJla"y of t heir WSuTJlm? vestryman PsxiriaPCY ll0,flcr ni Christ K mh& I1,0 attended serv-onr serv-onr ffift llf nn,3' ee in by arn(1 on "onimu- mh a J2 t(l" .nnotos Gouvei-KftSt Gouvei-KftSt ,n. rearrt to or- R?plf ili;,t sftoni than mm uu ot iil0 clergy that Chris,;ia,,!SyWlnCh Sh0WCd a bclicj: 5n Tie was fond of dancing, afternoon teas a,i picni,Si His (li;ir- T(c00nr v"n 0V,'' a"a,,n ! 1,is "Hendiineo at iAi i (1',r,nc the revolution he indulged this fondness for thc tcrnsi-euorcau tcrnsi-euorcau art at tho quartern of bis gen-ii.?nd-,t 'worded that once Vlur-ug Vlur-ug this time "his excollencv and Crs. hreen danced upward of three, hours without once sitting down." And Genera Gen-era Knox wroto thai; at ono of tbeso rouls "we danced all night." The nig.it. lhat he resigned his commission commis-sion in Annapolis, "the general danced in every set," and when sixlv-ftmr he was still gayly tripping the light fantastic. fan-tastic. His diaries are also full of retcrences to bis drinking, here and there, afternoon tea, which at. aiount Vernon was regularly served upon r,ho w'(!c, portico facing iho river, and which during tho war was as punctually punctual-ly served at tho general's headquarters. headquar-ters. At Mount. Vernon be ceremoniously ceremo-niously powdered his hair for dinner, at winch were served tho luxuries of the day, including wine often champagne cham-pagne with which he toasted "All our friends." He was very .fond of tho theater, and when president frequently entertained at box parlies and when in bis twenties had an ambition for amateur acting. In bis younger d.-n-s he was also fond of circuses, puppet shows, wax works and concerts. Although reserved and always dignified digni-fied among strangers, among bis inmost circle of trieuds "no man seemed moro to enjoy gay conversation, though," as Madisoy wrote, "bo took littlo part in it himself." Yet he was ready with his reply when occasion offered. Onco while ho was eonimander-iu-chicf, Clinton Clin-ton sent him a letter addressed simply, "Mr. George 'Washington." Glancing at the address, ho said to tho messenger: "This letter is directed to a planter in the state of Virginia. I shall have it delivered to him at. tho end of t.ho war. Till that time it shall not bo opened." And shortly there came, under a flag of truce, another dispatch, addressed to "His Excellency. Gen. Washington." Yer be suffered from slage. fright when called upon to make a speech, and when Adams started to propose him to Congress Con-gress for general of the. continental army, ho "from his usual modesty," darted out. of the chamber. lie had u high temper, but kept it under close control. "If, howevor, it broke its bounds, he was tremendous in his wrath," wrote Jefferson. Gilbert Gil-bert Stuart said that "all his features we.ro indicative of tho strongest and most ungovernable passions, and, had ho been born in the forests, he would have been the fiercest man among the savage sav-age tribes." ' Was a Sport. Washington was a born speculator. At Mount Vernon he was constantly cu-gaged-in land deals, and during the revo' lution he tried-to got a share in a priva-(coring priva-(coring enterprise. He was also an enthusiastic, en-thusiastic, patron of tho raffles and lotteries lot-teries which were fnsbionablc in his day. l-rom the time that ho was in bis twenties uulil he was well advanced in his sixties ho made ropeated entries on his accounts of sums ranging upwards to 50 pounds, invested iu lottery tickets. When thirty-four ho made 1(3 pounds on 0 pounds runs invested. lie put up 1 pound in a rafflo for a necklace, 1 pound. -1 shillines for a chance on the Encyclopaedia Britanuica, and no entered en-tered other raffles for glasses, a coach, a pair of silvor buckles, a watch, a gun, etc. Ho was also fond of gaming and ouo entry in his diary stated tliat he was "at "homo all day 'over cards," but bis diary Tccords his largest gain as 3 pounds. However he onco lost i) pounds, J4 shillings and 0 pence. The record shows that ho was generally unlucky at cards. Uo was fond of billiards, horse racing and fox bunting. Indeed, from bo3-hood ho was passionately fond of horses. Jefferson called him "tho best horseman of his age." Ho subscribed generously to tho races and ran his horses at them. lie would go to Annapolis Annapo-lis or oven an far as Philadelphia to attend at-tend the races. And he. rode to the hounds until sixty-two, when' ho fell off and sprained his back. He. went "ducking" "duck-ing" for teals, sprig-fails and mallards along tho Potomac marshes and at other times he went "a-dragging for sturgeon," stur-geon," or angling for other of the finny tribes. He' also attended cock lights when tho chance offered. Mother Embarrassed Him. Washington's real relations with bis mother were quito in contrast to those painted in our children's books. The more recent biographers paint her as illiterate, untidy and complaining, whilo the tradition was that she smoked a pipe, and she has been blamed for not having been a Spartan mother, for, bo-eauso bo-eauso of fear for his safety, she prevented pre-vented his entering the nav.v and lator objected to his becoming a soldier. Although Al-though her sou ticorgo seems to have taken littlo trouble to lie with her after hp fell heir to Mount Vernon, he yet did more for her than her other children let her keep a part of, his shave of tho father's estate and purchased for her "n commodious bouse. -garden and lots (of her own choosing) in Frod-ericksburg, Frod-ericksburg, that sho might be near my sister, Lewis, her only daughter." Jfe ulso answered all her calls for money, but yet the old lady had such a "poor mouth" that a movement, was onco started during the revolution to . havo the Virginia legislature pension her. This amazed and incensed tho general, who soon put a stop to it. Later he ad- dressed her: "IlonM Madam: In conso-que.nco conso-que.nco of your communication to George Washington of. your want, of mono',"' etc., and advised her to break up housekeeping house-keeping and live with one of her children. chil-dren. He-places Mount Vernon at her disposnl but adds that since tho war his, house i.s like a public tavern al-ways al-ways full of strangers, among whom she would have to "do one of three things': Jst, to bo always dressing to appear in company; 2nd, to come into "fthnir presence) pres-ence) iu a dishabille, or, II rd, to hc as it were a prisoner in your own chamber." cham-ber." .And he adds that the first she would not like, the second ho would not .ike, while thc third would not be pleasing-to either of them. Took Caro of the Pennies. . "Take care of the pennies" was evidently evi-dently nno of tho general's mottoes. He weighed the toll monc3- given to his ferryman, and if it was, short weicht thc latter was made thc loser. Yet once, when General Stone of Maryland gave what weighed three half pence over Washington wrapped up that amount in paper for delivery to Stone on bin return. And returning from the army the landlord of Mount Vernon, on carefully care-fully measuring a room, "found that a plasterer engaeed in his absence had overcharged 1" shillings. .Some time afterward this plasterer died and his widow, upon remarrying, advertised that sho would receive and pay all due to or by her former husband. Washington Wash-ington upon reading the notice made a demand for bis 15 shillings and received re-ceived them. A new contribution to knowledge of Washington's human side has just been made by W. K. Bixhy of St. Louis, who purchased and had printed tor the first time in. a very limited presentation edition the long-lost inventory of tho' ! Mount Vernon estate as appraised . by' Washington's' secretary-. Tobias, Lear, and three others in 1S10. This, with I he wills of" George and Martha Wash-inglon, Wash-inglon, was filed iu the Fairfax court--house, whose records became scattered about the grounds in a Union raid in tho Civil war. The captain of a Union : company-on the grounds at the time picked up several papers, among which he later found Mrs. Washington's will' and the inventory. These he retained until bis death, when they were sold, the will being bought by a prominent New York collector. George Washington Washing-ton 's will, however, wa3 never lost. An expert of the congressional libraiy's manuscript division is now down at Fairfax courthouse repairing it. His Art Tasto. Wc now get our first knowledge from this inventory of the original contents of the rooms at Mount Vernon. It shows that the general's art tasto ran mostly to war scenes and portraits of generals. He haU upstairs some "Xvmphs- Bathing," au "Adonis Carried Car-ried Ofl' bv Venus" and picture of that class, but the greater part of the collection consisted of reproductions of -unknown painters, largely landscapes. lands-capes. The. scale on which thc general lived nt Mount Yurnon is indicated by such itcma as ".fifty-live barrels of shad" and "117 barrolsof herring," and there woro counted on the estate 2P(5 head of cattle, .".' horses, 77 mules, .'SO sheep aud 227 hogs. There were also 121 slaves on, the place, "which Mrs. Washington Wash-ington intended liberating at the end of the year." and which were not up- praised for that reason. i The mansion was filled with mahog- 11 m any Imported from England, and the Mm valuations placed upon it by the apprals- era will Interest our modem collectors m K of antiques. The mahopanv sideboard 1 M In thc dining room was marked at Iff thc 'knife cases 33 apiece, thc mahogany m chairs at $5 aplcco. and the historic "key Hf of the Basflle. with Its representation 69 91 (meaning, evidently, the model of the m W prison), were valued at ?10 with Lenr IW B as ono of the appraisers! Thc general's E "gold watch, two seals and a key', were E valued ,nt ?175; his "diamond eaglo" at H $387, his, shoe and knee buckles, "paste lUffi and gold." at $250. One item, corrobo- H rativc of tho evidence that the general I fSS was always having trouble with hla H m teeth. Is "one case of dentist's instiu- m menls." found in his study. mm The total of personal property found on H m tho Mount Vernon estate was appraised fy H at S57,l'ftG.04, Including S20, lfifi.70 found M S "In thc Iron chst," and exclusive :of the H 9 slave. But, excluulve of this and of his SB wife's esta.te. the general, when he died. OK was worth $530,000, which mearts"that. in H his day he ranked financially asm Van- flSQ derbllttor.a Gould ranks today. And-thn 9H Widow CubiIs. when she was ma.rritd to ! blip, had a fortune of $100,000. which' 'wan M augmentc1 by $50,000 upon the death 'of jjl Patsy Custls, fourteen years later. IB Was. a "Ladies.' Man." . The father of hlr. 'country was ever, a II "ladles' man " Indeed, one of his 4bl0g- , U B raphers goes so far as to say that ho ID was very much more nt ease with' worn- VR en than with men He was not ashamed SB to he caught "romplnq"' with thc girls H at school, when at Hi he became fascl- natcd with Mary Cnry at Lord Fair- fflK fax's, but, , in letters praising her, com- mW plains thut "being in company with hr S K revives my former passion for your low- Mm land -Kcauty." Thc identity of tills "low- 91 land beauty," who has, warmed tho heart IK of. thc country's father when ho was only H I a. lad. remains still a mystery. He colt- pled lovelorn verse with mysterious Iril- mm. tlals In 4 his. journal. ,'. ' R . Then he was In love. with J3ctsy Faup- mm tleroy, 'who passed "a. 'cruel sentence" B upon him when he 'was, If-. And from H the time he .returned 'from ihe wars a j young hero. In his early twenties, women B commenced to court him JJut when Uo H was 21, .Mary Phillpse had the honor ' , m of, refusing the slender young man, wht H had she but known it was to be the tlrst B gentleman of America. Two years later H he was -courting Martha Dandrldgc Cus- ; lis, the rich widow, whom one biographer i 18 sums up as "petite, ovcrfond, hot-tern- ' W pored, obstinate and a poor ppcller." J7v j B was almost 27 when he married her and fl she was nine months his 3enlor. He seems I to have been always true to her. the n ft only tangible evidences of his inndcll- fin ties having been proved to bo Tory for- II gerles circulated in England during the SlIK revolution. Yet .to other women whom fj 8 H he. admired ho was always openly the lien! graceful courtier, thc gallant cavalier. flijfn Writing, when 17. to Lafayette, he pre- I; I 9K sents his compliments to the latter's H H wife and sends her the. message "that I J ll have a heart susceptible of the tendcresc I'Bw passlpn and that it Is .already so strong- :I ly Impressed with the most favorable ! E BO Ideas of her that she mnst.be cautious ilfE of pulthiR: love's torch to It." 1 m When he was tin he wroto to IsclHe , I S "In the composition of the. human' SC frame there is a good deal of Inflammable I IB matter, however dormant it may lie for IB a time." -IS Washington's sight failed during thc M revolution and he tlrst put on glasses II at 45. By 50 he was quito sray. by 55 BBJ quite deaf, and by 03 he had lost his lart 'IV tooth. His last Illness was contracted at ti 67 while riding about Mount Vernon in II a winter storm, from which he contracted B jS diphtheria. First an overseer came and , I W bled him of a half pint, of blood. Then ; I M thc doctors came and bled him to death: II and his last 'words, addressed to them, !K were: "You had better not take any 1 1 XI more troublo about inc. but let mc so IB oft quietly." ill JOHN KLFRETH WATIvPfS. Jfi |
