HL
Washington at
Valley Forg'e. I'roin the Piiiiiliui; l.y
Glory of I George Washington’s'', Wedding Day
AXl'AKY ti, ITS y etylpi <lawuisl clear, crlap O I o auil elUlenliiK i>»cr New Jj K Keut I'ountr. Vl tUc runjr HOtr light of the entiling day 0<«h!>-<! the earth nature a wo •»ne inovemeut. There wa* a fluttering of wingK anil the aweet snug* of the reilblnla and the oriole* ro the air as the pretty feathered Sttree flitted from boxwood 4tedge to magnolia or the tall, anaying poplars, then darted off into the woods to join to tin- grand matin song which rising from the thousands of little throats la the accompaniment of rustling leaves and the soft tread of other • -blidren of nature. As the sun rose higher it touched the «anther vane oa the steeple of old St. IVter's. In Williamsburg, shedding scintillating rays athwart the little edIhrc: it flooded the great plantations sloi.g the Pninuukey Kirer atid ailed an extra glint of brightness on those of t'olonel John Unndridge and •The White House." the magnificent home of the widow t'ustis. a few miles dis-
tant.
Ami why this untisnal flutter and hnstl- and donning of fine s raiment? Tl:i- greatest social function Virginia had ever witnessed and one which was fleaiined to go down in the annals of history was to take place that day. • *«)oi,el ISeorge Washington, of the adtoinlng rounty. the highly esteemed Viu.Ji ofllcer. who had just returned fro,:: a successful military campaign, and had taken bis seat as a member »f the House of Burgesses, was to come 1 over from hla horn * in Mount Vernon j to wed the beautiful and wealthy, widowed daughter of t'olonel John Ilandrklge. Martha Dandridge Curtis. As the day advamed there was a per- eptlble movement toward PI. Peter's Church, in Williamsburg, the little edifice built in 1701! nt a cost of litUSW pounds of tobacco. The lieil •n the belfry was ringing as the gentry. the quality and the nobility of ibr capital and surrounding country drew near. Chaises resplendent in hrtgb: lined tRtpp'ngs and drawn by fours, with postilion riders, coming from all directions deposited wedding guest* at the church door. Tall straight, with dark brown hair and pray eyes, youug Washington.
'while satin ribbons brocaded In leaf pattern, disclusini white satin indited |»ettlcont: that her shoes were of white satin, dainty, high-bcelcd affainhand with diamond buckles; that rich point lace Unished the neck of her gown and hung from her slecvca, and that loops of pearls decked her powdered hair. Indeed, she was altogether a lovely sight, and the three ■bridesmaids who accompanied her were most happy to he attendant upon
such a lovely creature.
H ith the ending of the prayer of the Ker. Mr. Mosaum. the lon{ and happy married life of (icorgi- and Martha
Washington commeu d.
The bridal procession that left St.
home of the bride. •'The White House.’ on the Pamuukey. And such a feast anti frolic at "The White Houser' A* the wedding party turned Into the tsixwood lined lithe Custls mid r>undrldge slaves we present to salute the bride and the new master, nnd long before the bride’s coach bud reached the door iM-autlful children. John Parke Marlhu ( Parke Custls, had ran out to welcome their foster father, a foster father who proved himself to lie these litiic ones all that a real father i-nuid lie in tender care mid guardian ship. The mansion within was decked with flowers nio'l garlands of greenery; I here were uinslc and feasting ninl Colonel John 1 land ridge, enthusiast! •-ally happy over his new' son in law dipped often iiito the great punch bowl and drank to the health of the bride and bridegroom. There were wedding presents, the most mtiniflcent one. perhaps. not lu-ing visible. Ibe llUO.OUU which by law of marriage passed to Washington from bis wife's estate, and which, with bis. own wealth and lauded possessions, made him one of the wcalthlc. t men in Virginia. Cisorgs Washington's Agr. . Thai historians have all erred in iheir reckoning of tieorge Washington's age seems to have near pretty conclusively proved by W. K Preston, an antiquary of Hartsvilb-. Pa. "Kcckouitig time." said Mr. Preston recently, "as we now reckon it. Washington was born on February £1. 17:*:. and he waa not quite sixty-seven years old when he died. Instead bf sixty-eight, as commonly accepted. For be was born on February 11. 1732. as (he date waa given ab that time, saya the Philadelphia Ilecord. Where English rifle ex-
GEOBGE WASHINGTON.
•WAnn»flT0» am a BiiaiakOQKwb« was then in the twe»|j-aereutli year of his age. mnde a hau'dsome and ini|M»sing bridegroom. *He waa clothed In a stilt of bine coth. the coat lined with red silk and ornamented with silver trimming*. His waistcoat was of - arblte satin, embroidered, and gold imcklcs were on bis shoes and at his knees, and his hair waa powdered. A straight dress sword bung by his side He was every Inch the soldier in civilian dress as be a'pproached the altar with military bearing. Tbe Iter. Mr. Mussum. in full canonicals. stepped to tbe chancel rail. On a sweet aunc day. ten years previously. this reverend gentleman had •lood at the same chancel roll, awaiting the same lady whom everybody present Was now awaiting. Then, at li e age of seventeen, she became tbe •wide of Daniel Parke Custls. wbo had lived hut seven yesrs thereafter. As the marriage ceremony proceeded the earnest gray eyes of Washington uever left her face. The sped that had «-ome over this young Mars when, a l.juUtnl dispatch trip, he had stopped topline at Major Clinaiberlaync's and | bad been smitten by tbe charm: of Ibis lady, who was one of the (neats, had not departed. Had Colonel Wo .Ingtoa been capable of comprrbcauli-g a description of bis bride's costume as afterward told by a woman wtr> was present be Would bare horned that her gown was of heavy corded silk, with threads of ■liver later woven through It: that the
Peter's on that day has nerer since been equalled in Virginia. Then came an incident wbleb was not calculated to cut any figure !u tbe great wedding ceremony, but which, nevertheless, was of much consequence to a bumble personage present. The proudest and happiest moment in tbe life of Bishop, hi* body servant, bad come. During tbe ceremony Bishop. i brand new aut of scarlet, bad stood on the steps ^olding Colonel Washington's horse, tbe magnificent animal wblcn Genercl Bruddoek bad bequeathed to Washington upon bis death. Tbe horse was now richly ca•Mtrisoned. Both Bishop and his charge well deserved their, gay trappings, for they had each- !*een instrumental In tbe wooing. the horse in carrying tbe Colonel to Major Cham her lay ne's house, and Bishop In making bis young master as attractive In appearance as only a weil-tralncd body servant knows bow. As Bishop led tbe Colonel's horse forward. be was tbe proudest slave In all Virginia. Washington then took his place be-
side tbe coach, and a cortege Been and gentry, wbo bad glrmOy mounted, drew around Other entered coaches. With the c* of whips and tbe prodding of an bests into horses' flanks, the gay cuta lend* started oe Its way toward the
ded then the year began with March 25. so Washington was born a short time before the end of the year 1732. By act of 1‘arllament. in 1751. the Oregorian calendar was adopted and tbe beginning of tbe year was changed from March 25 to January 1. This change went into effect In 1752. September 2 was followed by September 14, and 1752, baring begun with March 25 and ended with December 81. would have been not quite ten mouth* long. In this year Washington had no birthday. February 22. 1753. was what would hare been February 22. 1752. bad not tbe liegitmlng of the year been -bunged. On February 22, 1753. Washington, then, was twenty years old. When, therefore, on Ivcembcr 14. 17S». he died, he was not sixty-seven years ten months old. as the carelessly state, but be was a little than sixty-seven yean old."
Tbe original map made by George Washington In 1775 of tbe lands on tbg Great Kanawha Kiver. West Virginia, gqsnted to him by the British Government In 17U8 for his services In the Braddock expedition, is now In tbe possession of the Ubrary of Congress. The map is about two by live feet, and la entirely In tbe handwriting of Washington. Tbe margin is filled with notes, also In Washington's handwriting, describing tbe boundary marks set by Washington, and different features of
the tract.
G. W.—“Ya*. father. 1 cut It d Hla Dad (grimly >-"Vwy well. my new pswcesd tn cut U up."
York Americas.
VASaiNfiTON’S s PISTOLS A flt. latuis collector of olil flreurius has a picture of the George Wash. Ington pistol* which have rm-eiitly Iteen limdr a bone of contention tax the court* of DriM.re William Couuly.VIrglnia. il* perfectly matched pair of old flintlock piatols Is now In the |s»*e»s of Ml** Mounte Marsteller. who liven at Washington. D. t\. ssrs the Kt.
IXMiis Pust-Dispati-h. General Washington gave them tn Mr Dandridge. his secretary, and the grandfather of Mias Marsteller purchased them when the Dandridge effects were sold it pub. lie sale Like the locally famous Htradlvarlu* violin In the Garescbe family of 8t. Louis, the Washington pistols are so highly prised that more than one member of the family de-
sires to posse** them.
Washington Wanted a Knife
a.
The above letter of tieorge Washingm was photographed from the original. which hangs, in an oak frame, in the Waluut street office of Stan V. Henkel*. The letter shows, for one thing, that the cutlery business waa not very Tar advanced In 1779. WaahIngton pleads In tbe letter for a twobladed knife as be would hardly have to plead for a sixteen-bladed one were
he alive now.
Statue of Washington
fiiven to Chicago
Ootting Reform Cheap. We are told that salvation is free * said Mark Twain while chatting about religion a fet. days before be Mjled for Italy. Sut I think few reallie the ; fart as thoroughly as a good oil uou' ; * ,u ' live# near my rummer hotr- at i Elmirs She l/ild me not long age that she had enjoyed religion for Of teen year* at s ro*i of about ter cent* And ' she added, "It would nol I have cost that much, but I went to • | church sociable and did not know th*t they charged foi ire cream."—K»
. York Time*
p'rr..-uw in Mulligan bitten by raUd ; i-.g. 4i. non .rni to thr IV-t-ur I.i-
be given to Chlrago by a dozen ot more ritiseu* whose name* are not revealed. The statue is to cost (13.000. and prop aflly will be put in position at the head of Grand Boulevard at a site to be selected by the South Park Commissioners, wbo will furnish tbe pedesial. Charles L. Hutobln*on announced the gift st a meeting of the Chicago Public School Art Society a few day* ago. The original of the statue was present ed to the French Government by the Daughters of tbe American K<-volution. Waahingtsa's Birthday. A teacher in one of the primary schools of Boston a*hed her pupil* to write a paper why Washington'* Birthday was celebrated. Tbe replies were original. Here are extracts from them: ieorge Washington's Birthday I* celebrated because he freed the Americans: and he is a honest man, at least he was. he ain't now. He never told a lie as people say." "George waa a well brought up man." "He shop the tree down and his father ask him to did it and be did IL He won the battle of Bunker Hill and be was a'kind man " We celebrate George Washington * Birthday because be vas honest, kind, polite and ohjidging." « "George Washington's Birthday is celebrated because be fought ft almost every war and was at tbe bead of tbe
army."
"George Washington's Birthday I* celebrated for bis kindness and braveness. He never told a lie to his mother. He also bad a good conscience." "George Washington's Birthday Is celebrated tor his behavior and for hi* death, and his very kind hearted thoughts."
I»Young women may avoid I much sickness and pain, says Hiss Alma Pratt, if they will only have faith ia tbe use of i LydSa E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound. ! Judging from the letMrs she ia roeolving from so many young girls, Mrs. Plnkham believes that our girls are often pushed sltogsthvr too near ths limit of their endurance now1 adays In our public ocbools and seznin- : arias.
.tie girl must be pushed to tbe front and grad salad with honor ; often physioal collapse follows, and It takes years to recover the loot vitality, — oftan it ia never recovered. Mies Pratt •ays. — “Dbub Mbs Piikuam : — 1 feel it my duty to tell all young women how muck Lydia B. triaklxam's won derful V egetable Compound has dons for v me I waa completely rundown. unable to attend school, and did not care for any kind of society, but now I feel like a new person, and have gained seven pounds of flesh in three
I recommend it to all young nen who suffer from female weaka" — Mias Ai-M a Pb»tt. Holly. Mich. — fSOOC forfeit IforiflmmJ ***•«• <«t»»
MARTHA WASHINGTON.
According to Captain Mercer the following describes Washington when hr took hla seat in the House of Burgesses
in 175B:
H* Is as straight aa an Indian, measuring six feet two tiu-hes In his stockings and weighing’ 175 pounds. His head Is well shaped, thongb not large, and Is gracefully poised on a superb neck, with a large and straight, rather than a prominent nose, bluegrey. peuctrailug eye*; which are widely separated and overhung by heavy brow*. A pleasing, benevolent, thongb commanding countenance, dark brown hair, features regular and placid, with all the muscles under control, with a large mouth, generally flrmly closed." ‘>n's bust accords with this description.' "George Wa’shTagtoa gat f groat deal t credit f<W not telling a Ut." "Yea." answered the man whs thl that all la fair la huslnsss; “truthful
HU draatvst Achlavomsat. "And now tell me." said tbe teacher, "what George Washington did that
^P'RIENDSft FOR fj
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Sour Stomach en-h. re. featfer ■a&owria ^
made Mm great. I see your I reload. Arthur. What waa UT" "Greased the Dataware stood In’ sod dids t rock the host."
m&SrmmSmm*

