ear Dr. Dick. By Saint Memin.

(_Courtesy Corcoran Gallery of Art_)]

There are many levels, and the house goes back in a surprising brick ell
that is not seen from the street. The exterior presents the appearance
of a story-and-a-half cottage. Two windows, with their uncommon blinds,
break the wood-shingled roof. The blinds' slats are wide and heavy, and
the shutters are held in place when opened by the traditional molded
iron holdbacks. The east gable end of the house is shiplap. From this
side projects the entrance porch, added about 1816, and protected by
"jalousies."

Portraits, old silver, glass, and china, prints and mahogany, with great
grandmama's best brocade dresses, are the fruits of more than a century
of the family's inheritance. The picture over the mantel is done in
embroidery--the product of one of the Fawcett ancestors, worked in 1814,
while a pupil at one of Alexandria's schools where young ladies were
taught the fine arts, and the curriculum included every form of
needlework.

[Illustration: Benjamin Dulany's Town House]

[Illustration]

Chapter 15

The Benjamin Dulany House

[601 Duke Street. Owners: Mr. and Mrs. John Howard Joynt.]

On February 15, 1773, George Washington wrote to a friend, "Our
celebrated Fortune Miss French, whom half the world was in pursuit of,
bestowed her hand on Wednesday last, being her birthday (you perceive I
think myself under the necessity of accounting for the choice) upon Mr.
Ben Dulany, who is to take her to Maryland in a month from this
time."[149]

Miss French, the heiress, was a ward of Washington and lived at Rose
Hill, not far from Mount Vernon. Benjamin Dulany Sr., a wealthy and
cultured gentleman of Maryland, born of distinguished Irish parentage,
was of the third generation in America. He and the celebrated Miss
French moved to Alexandria before the Revolution and settled at Shuter's
Hill overlooking the town, where they reared a large family. Ben Dulany
is often mentioned by General Washington in his diaries. He was a
frequent visitor at Mount Vernon, a companion in the chase and the
race, at dinner and overnight, sometimes with his lady, but more often
without.

[Illustration: Benjamin Dulany of Shooter's Hill and Alexandria]

In 1785 Washington concluded a bargain for the exchange of some land
with the Dulanys and made several references to the transaction in his
diary. Under the entry for Monday, February 21, 1785, he wrote: