Legislature. That body arranged to honor the hero as soon as he appeared
in the House, by a eulogistic address by the speaker. No sooner had he
taken his seat, than the speaker, Mr. Robinson, immediately arose, and,
commanding silence, addressed Washington in such language of praise as
only true patriotism, united with personal friendship, could dictate;
enlarging upon his heroic deeds for his country in its time of its
greatest peril. As he closed, the whole Assembly rose to their feet,
and saluted the young colonel with a bow.
Had an earthquake suddenly shaken the Capitol to its centre, Washington
would not have been more completely surprised. He was confounded. He
rose to make his acknowledgments, but, alas! his tongue had forgotten
its office. Thrice he essayed to speak, and thrice, in spite of every
effort, his utterance failed him, save faintly to articulate, "Mr.
Speaker! Mr. Speaker!"
The speaker was equal to the occasion, and came to his relief in one of
the best, quick-witted sallies on record.
"Colonel Washington," he exclaimed, "sit down! sit down! Your modesty
alone is equal to your merit."
Soon after the adjournment of the Legislature, Washington removed his
family to Mount Vernon, to devote himself to agricultural pursuits. For
fifteen years he continued to abide there in domestic enjoyment. Every
year of this fifteen he was elected to the House of Burgesses, where
his counsels and great influence became indispensable. Still he was a
farmer on a large scale, and devoted himself to the improvement of his
estates, and the raising of wheat, corn, and tobacco. The landed
estates of both himself and wife must have numbered more than twenty
thousand acres, for his Mount Vernon estate alone amounted to over nine
thousand acres. Then he owned large tracts of land outside, containing
thousands of acres. Add to these extensive tracts the Custis estates,
and we find him one of the largest landholders of North America.
A thousand persons were required to perform the labors of his domestic
and agricultural establishments, including his negroes. The products of
his plantations were shipped to his agent in England; and he came to
enjoy such a reputation there as a successful and upright planter, that
the usual custom-house inspection of all packages and goods marked
"George Washington" was omitted. A record of his products before us for
a single year shows that he raised ten thousand bushels of corn and
seven thousand bushels of wheat. One hundred cows, with oxen, horses,
and mules in that proportion, stocked his immense estate. His farming
implements, carriages, and the nicer materials for clothing himself and
family, were imported from England. With this exception, the linen and
woollen cloths used were made by hand on his own plantation. Sixteen
spinning-wheels were kept in operation.
Mrs. Washington took her position in this immense establishment as
mistress, proving that her accomplishments and education under the
influence of wealth did not make her vain and aristocratic. Unlike many
planters' wives of that day, she did not consider that labor was
degrading. She was provided with all the servants necessary, but she
relinquished to no one, however competent, the oversight of her
household affairs. "Carrying her keys at her side, and making frequent
visits to the various apartments connected with the elaborate
arrangements of the table and its 'aids and appliances,' the spotless
purity of her attire always remained unsullied by her active
participation in the mysteries of each and all." Neatness, order, and
industry characterized her in the house, as they did her husband on the
farm.
That great care and responsibility must have devolved upon Mrs.
Washington, appears from Irving's description of a Virginia estate.
"A large Virginia estate in those days was a little empire," he says.
"The mansion-house was the seat of government, with its numerous
dependencies, such as kitchens, smoke-house, work-shops, and stables.
In this mansion the planter moved supreme; his steward, or overseer, was
his prime minister and executive officer; he had his legion of house
negroes for domestic service, and his host of field negroes for the
culture of tobacco, Indian corn, and other crops, and for other
out-of-door labor. Their quarter formed a kind of hamlet apart, composed
of various huts, with little gardens and poultry yards, all well
stocked, and swarms of little negroes gambolling in the sunshine. Then
there were large wooden edifices for curing tobacco, the staple and most
profitable production, and mills for grinding wheat and Indian corn, of
which large fields were cultivated for the supply of the family and the
maintenance of the negroes."
At the same time that Mrs. Washington had to preside over the farm-house
for the sake of the one thousand souls on the large estate, she was
obliged to conduct her domestic affairs in a costly and fashionable way
for the sake of her guests. Her wardrobe, furniture, and preparations
for special occasions were necessarily elaborate and expensive, for her
mansion was the resort of the most distinguished men and women of the
country. Almost every day some civil or military gentleman of
distinction was found at her table. Hence, much style and expense were
required to maintain her hospitable board. A silver service was demanded
by the times, the manners and customs of which were imported from
England. All other appointments corresponded with this royal standard.
Irving says that Washington's "intimacy with the Fairfaxes and his
intercourse with British officers of rank had their influence on his
mode of living."
Mrs. Washington had her chariot and four, with driver and black
postilion in livery, more, perhaps, to entertain and honor her
distinguished guests than for personal enjoyment. Her husband usually
appeared on horseback. He loved horses, especially fine ones, and most
of those in his stables were imported. To each he gave a name, suggested
by some quality that attracted his observant eye, as Ajax, Blueskin,
Valiant, Magnolia (Arabian), etc. Several noble dogs for fox-hunting
were found about his house and stable--Vulcan, Singer, Ringwood,
Sweetlips, Forrester, Music, Rockwood and Truelove. With such
preparations, an English baronet and his wife, Lord Fairfax, the wealthy
fox-hunter, provincial governors and generals, or the ordinary farmer,
could all be accommodated on the Mount Vernon estate.
An order sent to England in 1759 shows that Mrs. Washington's wardrobe
received particular attention:
"A salmon-colored Tabby (velvet), with satin flowers for sack
and coat.
"One cap, handkerchief and tucker and ruffles, to be made of
Brussels lace or Point, proper to be worn with the above; to
cost L20 (one hundred dollars).
"Two fine flowered lawn aprons.
"Two pairs women's white silk hose.
"Six pairs fine cotton do.
"Six pairs thread do., four threaded.
"One pair black and one pair white satin shoes of the smallest
fives.
"Four pairs Calimanco do.
"One fashionable hat or bonnet.
"Six pairs women's best kid gloves.
"Six pairs do. mits.
"One doz. round silk lace.
"One doz. most fashionable cambric pocket h'k'c'fs.
"Six lbs. perfumed powder.
"One piece narrow white satin ribbon, pearl edge."
Fashion ruled with mighty power at that time, and Mrs. Washington was
one of its votaries from necessity, if not from choice. Her husband,
too, paid much attention to dress; nor was it the result of her
influence. Before he became acquainted with her, in one of his orders
sent to England appears the following:
"Two pairs fine worked ruffles, at 20s. per pair.
"Two sets complete shoe brushes.
"Six pairs thread hose at 5s.
"Enough superfine blue cotton velvet for coat, waistcoat, and
breeches, with fine silk buttons to match, and necessary
trimmings, with garters for the breeches.
"Six pairs of the very neatest shoes; two pairs double
chancelled pumps; two pairs turned ditto; and two pairs stitched
shoes; to be made by Didsberry, over Col. Beiler's last.
"Six pairs gloves; three pairs for riding, with slit tops."
As if fearing that the claims of fashion might not be carefully
regarded, he added, "If worked ruffles should be out of fashion, send
such as are not."
An order for an outfit for horse-back riding shows how much attention
was paid to comfort and appearance at that time among the wealthy
planters of Virginia:
"One man's riding-saddle, hogskin seat, large-plated stirrups,
and everything complete; double-reined bridle and Pelham bit,
plated.
"A very neat and fashionable Newmarket saddle-cloth.
"A large and best portmanteau, saddle, bridle, and pillion.
"Cloak-bag, surcingle, checked saddle-cloth, holster, &c.
"A riding-frock of a handsome drab-colored broadcloth, with
plain, double-gilt buttons.
"A riding waistcoat of superfine scarlet cloth and gold lace,
with buttons like those of the coat.
"A blue surtout coat.
"A neat switch whip, silver cap.
"Black velvet cap for servant."
Mrs. Washington devoted herself to the education of her two children,
six and four years of age at the time of her marriage with Washington.
Had their own father been living, he could not have co-operated with
their mother more cheerfully and tenderly than Washington did. Their
father left a fortune to each of them, and that fact determined the
character and methods of their training, agreeable to the custom of that
day and locality. The following order for articles for the children is
quite instructive as to the management of the Mount Vernon home:
"For Master Custis, _6 years old_."
"One piece Irish Holland, at 4s.
"Two yards fine cambric, at 10s.
"Six pocket handkerchiefs, small and fine.
"Six pairs gloves.
"Two laced hats.
"Two pieces India nankeen.
"Six pairs fine thread stockings.
"Four pairs coarser do.
"Four pairs worsted do.
"Four pairs strong shoes.
"Four pairs pumps.
"One summer suit of clothes, to be made of some thing light and
thin.
"Three fine ivory combs.
"Two horn do. and two brushes.
"One piece black hair-ribbon.
"One pair handsome silver shoe and knee buckles.
"Six little books for children beginning to read.
"One light duffel cloak with silver frogs.
"10s. worth of toys."
"For Miss Custis, _4 years old_."
"Eight yards fine printed linen, at 3s. 6d.
"One piece Irish Holland, at 4s.
"Two ells fine Holland, at 10s.
"Eight pairs kid mits.
"Four pairs gloves.
"Two pairs silk shoes.
"Four pairs Calimanco do.
"Four pairs leather pumps.
Six pairs fine thread stockings.
"Four pairs worsted do.
"Half piece flowered dimity.
"Two yards fine cambric, at 10s.
"Two caps, two pairs ruffles, two tuckers, bibs, and aprons, if
fashionable.
"Two fans, two masks, two bonnets.
"Two m. minikins, one cloth cloak.
"One stiffened coat of fashionable silk, made to packthread
stays.
"Six yards ribbon.
"Two necklaces.
"One pair silver sleeve buttons, with stone.
"One fashionable, dressed baby, 10s., and other toys, 10s.
"Six pocket handkerchiefs."
This insight into the early wedded life of Washington, a hundred and
twenty years ago, upsets the notions of those people, in our day, who
suppose that the sway of fashion belongs to modern times only.
Mrs. Washington was proverbially kind to her slaves, though not more so
than her husband. They constituted a part of her family, for whom she
had to provide both in health and sickness. This fact explains several
entries in his journal concerning the quantity of provisions used. For
example, one entry is, "Although we keep one hundred and one cows, we
have to buy some butter."
Among their slaves were all kinds of artificers--carpenters,
blacksmiths, shoemakers, tailors, wheel-wrights, and so forth. All these
were indispensable on such an establishment, since a plantation must
necessarily produce whatever ordinary use required. This arrangement
imposed increased burdens upon the master of the plantation and the
mistress of the house.
Mrs. Washington was as domestic in the house as her husband was
practical on the farm. His journal shows that, unlike many of the large
planters, he labored with his men on the plantation.
"Fitted a two-eyed plough instead of a duck-bill plough, and with much
difficulty made my chariot wheel-horses plough. Put the pole-end horses
into the plough in the morning, and put in the postilion and hind horses
in the afternoon; but the ground being well swarded over, and very heavy
ploughing, I repented putting them in at all, for fear it should give
them a habit of stopping in the chariot."
"Spent the greater part of the day in making a new plough of my own
invention."
"Bottled thirty-five dozen of cider."
"Seven o'clock a messenger came to inform me that my mill was in great
danger of being destroyed by the flood. I immediately hurried off all
hands, with shovels, etc., to its assistance, and got there myself just
time enough to give it a reprieve for this time, by wheeling gravel into
the place the water had washed."
"Surveyed some lines of my Mount Vernon tract of land."
"Employed in running some lines between me and Mr. William Triplet."
"Surveyed the water-courses of my Mount Vernon tract of land, taking
advantage of the ice."
"Laid out a road from Mount Vernon to the lane of Mr. Marley's."
Irving says of Washington: "He was an early riser, often before
day-break in the winter, when the nights were long. On such occasions he
lit his own fire and wrote or read by candle-light. He breakfasted at
seven in summer and eight in winter. Two small cups of tea and three or
four cakes of Indian meal (called hoe-cakes) formed his frugal repast.
Immediately after breakfast he mounted his horse, and visited those
parts of the estate where any work was going on, seeing to everything
with his own eyes, and often aiding with his own hands."
Soon after he introduced his wife to his Mount Vernon estate, he began
to improve and adorn the grounds. He made lawns, laid out walks and
avenues, set out a great number of ornamental trees, and planted
orchards of fruit-trees. He posted himself as far as possible in the
science of agriculture, and made many improvements upon his plantations,
by reclaiming land and increasing the productive power of the soil.
Once he conceived the idea of reclaiming the Great Dismal Swamp, and
actually explored it with reference to that ultimate purpose. Through
his agency, the incorporated company known as the Dismal Swamp Company
was organized. "This vast morass was about thirty miles long and ten
miles wide, and its interior but little known" until Washington explored
it, and found a lake six miles long and three miles wide near its
centre.
The large number of guests at Mount Vernon, and Washington's enjoyment
in hunting, fishing, and visiting, particularly in winter time, when the
cares of his plantation were less numerous, appear from his journal. In
the month of January, 1770, are the following entries:
"2. Mr. Peake dined here.
"4. Went hunting with John Custis and Lund Washington. Started a
deer, and then a fox, but got neither.
"5. Went to Muddy Hole and Dogue Run. Took the dogs with me, but
found nothing. Warner Washington and Mr. Thurston came in the
evening.
"6. The two Col. Fairfaxes dined here, and Mr. R. Alexander and
the two gentlemen that came the day before.
"8. Went hunting with Mr. Alexander, J. Custis, and Lund
Washington. Killed a fox after three hours' chase. Mr. Thurston
came in the afternoon.
"9. Went a ducking, but got nothing, the creek and rivers being
frozen. Robert Adam dined here.
"10. Went hunting on the Neck, and visited the plantation there,
and killed a fox after treeing it three times and chasing it
three hours.
"13. Dined at Belvoir with Mrs. Washington and Mr. and Miss
Custis.
"15. Went up to Alexandria, expecting court, but there was none.
[He was county judge.]
"20. Went hunting with Jackay Custis, and killed a fox after a
three hours' chase.
"23. Went hunting after breakfast, and found a fox at Muddy Hole
and killed her. Mr. Temple and Mr. Robert Adam dined here.
"27. Went hunting; and after tracking a fox a good while, the
dogs raised a deer and ran out of the Neck with it, and did not
come home till the next day.
"28. Mr. Temple came here.
"29. Dined at Belvoir with J. P. Custis.
"30. Went hunting, and having found a deer, it ran to the head
of the Neck before we could stop the dogs. Mr. Peake dined
here."
In the following month, February, fox-hunting occupied nine days, and
five days were given to surveying.
The laws of Virginia were very strict against interlopers on the
Potomac. They were a great nuisance to the wealthy planters on its
banks. Fishing and duck-hunting lured them thither. One day Mrs.
Washington remarked to her husband, "I think that strangers are at the
landing."
"Are you sure they are strangers?"
"Yes, I think so," Mrs. Washington answered. "Look and see."
"They are strangers, surely," responded Washington, after a critical
look towards the landing. "An oysterman's craft, I think."
"What should an oysterman come to our landing for?"
"We shall find out before long, no doubt," Washington replied.
It was at the landing where the family barge was tied up. The affluent
planters kept beautiful barges, imported from England, for the use of
their families. Washington had one, rowed by six negroes, wearing a kind
of uniform of check shirts and black velvet caps.
They did find out very soon who the strangers were--an oysterman and his
crew. They were a drunken, noisy rabble, who disturbed the neighborhood
with their yells and revelry.
"They must be sent away," remarked Washington, as he hurried toward the
landing. But they were not in a condition to listen to his counsels.
They were in the defiant state of intoxication, and refused to evacuate.
They declared themselves able and determined "to hold the fort."
The hero of Monongahela was not to be defied in that way. He adopted
immediate measures to drive the mob away, but was not successful.
Finally, summoning his negroes, and organizing a campaign against them,
he forced them to leave, though, Irving says, "It took a campaign of
three days to expel these invaders from the premises."
At another time Washington was riding over his estate, when the report
of a gun on the banks of the river, not far away, startled him. Turning
his horse in the direction of the report, he soon discovered an
interloper in a canoe, making havoc among the canvas-back ducks which
were numerous on the river.
"Stranger," he called.
The hunter looked up.
"By what authority are you trespassing upon these grounds?"
The only reply that Washington received was, the hunter aimed his gun at
him as if to fire. But the owner of Mount Vernon had seen guns pointed
at him before; and, nothing daunted, he dashed into the river, shouting,
"Fire if you dare!"
Seizing the painter of the canoe, he drew it to the shore; then,
springing from his horse, he wrested the gun from the hands of the
astonished hunter.
"I am the proprietor of this estate," he shouted, seizing the fellow by
the nape of his neck and pulling him out of his canoe, "and we will see
whose rights are to be regarded."
The hunter begged for mercy, promising to quit the grounds and never
more trespass upon them. Washington restored his gun to him, and allowed
him to depart without further punishment.
Mr. and Mrs. Washington were active and influential members of the
Episcopal Church. Irving says:
"The Episcopal Church predominated throughout the 'Ancient Dominion,' as
it was termed. Each county was divided into parishes, as in England,
each with its parochial church, its parsonage, and glebe. Washington was
vestryman of two parishes,--Fairfax and Truro. The parochial church of
the former was at Alexandria, ten miles from Mount Vernon; of the
latter, at Pohick, about seven miles. The church at Pohick was rebuilt
on a plan of his own, and in a great measure at his expense. At one or
other of these churches he attended every Sunday, when the weather and
the roads permitted. His demeanor was reverential and devout. Mrs.
Washington knelt during the prayers; he always stood, as was the custom
at that time."
One of Mrs. Washington's biographers says of her:
"It is recorded of this devout Christian that never, during her life,
whether in prosperity or adversity, did she omit that daily
self-communion and self-examination, and those private devotional
exercises, which would best prepare her for the self-control and self
denial by which she was, for more than half a century, so eminently
distinguished. It was her habit to retire to her own apartment every
morning after breakfast, there to devote an hour to solitary prayer and
meditation."
Mount Vernon was a home of prayer, of course. The presence of guests,
however distinguished, never modified the family devotions. These were
among the essentials of good family government. In one of Washington's
orders sent to England is the following:
"A small Bible, neatly bound in Turkey, and "John Parke Custis" wrote in
gilt letters on the inside of the cover.
"A neat small prayer-book bound as above, with "John Parke Custis," as
above."
The necessity of erecting a new house of worship was discussed in the
vestry of Truro, and a vote in favor of the project was secured. On the
location, the vestrymen were divided.
"The old site is the proper one," said Mr. George Mason, whose residence
was near the house of worship.
"Not at all central," replied another.
"Yet not so far aside as to discommode any one," responded Mason.
"I beg leave to dissent from Mr. Mason," added a third. "The location is
inconvenient for my family."
"The sacred associations of the spot alone ought to keep the church
there," urged Mr. Mason. "For generations our house of worship has stood
there, and the place is hallowed by the sepulchres of our fathers around
it."
The subject was discussed, pro and con, when Washington's opinion was
asked. Without reserve he remarked:
"I cannot agree with my friend Mason that the location does not sensibly
inconvenience some members of the parish. I think it does, and that a
more central locality can be found. Neither can I see the force of his
argument derived from the contiguity of the grave-yard. Churches are
erected for the living, and not for the dead. The ashes of the dead can
be sacredly protected by a suitable enclosure."
The vestry adjourned without deciding upon the location, and before the
next meeting, Washington carefully surveyed the parish, and made a neat
plan of the same, showing that the old location was far from the centre.
Mr. Mason urged with more earnestness than before the claims of the old
site. But when Washington took his plan of survey from his pocket, and
gave ocular demonstration that the old location was at one side of the
parish, the new location was adopted at once.
Rev. Lee Massey was rector of the church at that time, and he said of
Washington:
"I never knew so constant an attendant on church as Washington. And his
behavior in the house of God was ever so deeply reverential that it
produced the happiest effects on my congregation, and greatly assisted
me in my pulpit labors. No company ever kept him from church. I have
often been at Mount Vernon on the Sabbath morning when his
breakfast-table was filled with guests; but to him they furnished no
pretext for neglecting his God and losing the satisfaction of setting a
good example. For, instead of staying at home out of false complaisance
to them, he used constantly to invite them to accompany him."
Mrs. Washington's daughter died in 1770, after a lingering and painful
disease. It was a terrible blow to her; and how severe a blow it was to
her husband may be learned from the following incident:
Coming into the room when his wife's face was buried in her hands,
convulsed with grief, he burst into tears, kneeled beside the bed, and
poured out his soul in a most fervent prayer that God would yet spare
the dear girl for the sake of her mother, and for Christ's sake. She had
already breathed her last a moment before he entered the room; but, in
his great sympathy for his wife, and his own passionate grief, the fact
was unrecognized, and he sought relief in prayer.