ayette's staff on Washington's
request.

The only one of Washington's family that resembled him closely was his
sister Betty. The contour of her face was almost identical with his, and
she was so proud of it that she often wore her hair in a queue and donned
his hat and sword for the amusement of visitors. Betty married Fielding
Lewis, and two of her sons acted as private secretaries to Washington
while he was President. One of these sons--Lawrence Lewis--married Nellie
Custis, the adopted daughter of Washington and granddaughter of Mrs.
Washington, and the couple, by Washington's will, became part-owners of
Mount Vernon. The man who can figure out the exact relationship of Nellie
Custis' children to Washington deserves a medal.

We do not know much of Washington's father: if he exerted any special
influence on his children we do not know it. He died when George was
eleven years old, and the boy then went to live at the "Hunting Creek
Place" with his half-brother Lawrence, that he might attend school.
Lawrence had served in the English navy under Admiral Vernon, and, in
honor of his chief, changed the name of his home and called it Mount
Vernon. Mount Vernon then consisted of twenty-five hundred acres, mostly a
tangle of forest, with a small house and log stables. The tract had
descended to Lawrence from his father, with provision that it should fall
to George if Lawrence died without issue. Lawrence married, and when he
died, aged thirty-two, he left a daughter, Mildred, who died two years
later. Mount Vernon then passed to George Washington, aged twenty-one, but
not without a protest from the widow of Lawrence, who evidently was paid
not to take the matter into the courts. Washington owned Mount Vernon for
forty-six years, just one-half of which time was given to the service of
his country. It was the only place he ever called "home," and there he
sleeps.

* * * * *

When Washington was fourteen, his schooldays were over. Of his youth we
know but little. He was not precocious, although physically he developed
early; but there was no reason why the neighbors should keep tab on him
and record anecdotes. They had boys of their own just as promising. He was
tall and slender, long-armed, with large, bony hands and feet, very
strong, a daring horseman, a good wrestler, and, living on the banks of a
river, he became, as all healthy boys must, a good swimmer.

His mission among the Indians