e usually spent by Mr. and Mrs. Washington either at Williamsburg
or at Annapolis, then, as now, the capital of Maryland, where was to
be found the best society of the provinces, and of which they were the
pride and ornament. Here they entered into the gayeties of the season,
such as dinners and balls, with much real relish; and, if the theatre
added its attractions to the rest, Washington always made it a point
to attend, as the entertainments there offered were of the sort that
afforded him much delight. Nor was he loath to join in the dance; and
your Uncle Juvinell, when a boy, had the rare fortune of meeting, now
and then, with stately old dames, who had been belles in their days,
and could boast of having had him for a partner; but, at the same
time, they were wont to confess, that they were generally too much
overawed by the gravity and dignity of his demeanor to feel entirely
at their ease in his company, however flattered they may have been at
the honor, which he, in his modesty, so little dreamed he was doing
them.

Washington's marriage was never blessed with children; but he was all
that a father could be to those of Mrs. Washington, whom he loved and
cherished as tenderly as if they had been his own. As their guardian,
he had the care of their education, and also the entire control of the
immense fortune, amounting, in negroes, land, and money, to nearly two
hundred thousand dollars, left them by their father, Mr. George
Custis; and lovingly and faithfully did he discharge this sacred and
delicate trust. Of these two children, the daughter (who was the
younger of the two) died, in early maidenhood, of consumption. She had
been of a slender constitution from her childhood; but, for all that,
her death was an unexpected stroke, and was long and deeply mourned by
Mrs. Washington and her husband. He is said to have been absent during
her illness; but, returning a short time before she breathed her last,
was so overcome with pity and tenderness upon seeing the sad change
wrought in so brief a space by this dreadful disease in her fair young
face and delicate form, that he threw himself upon his knees by her
bedside, and, in a passionate burst of grief, poured out a fervent
prayer for her recovery. The son now became the sole object of
parental love and solicitude; and being, like his sister, of frail and
uncertain health, was a source of much affectionate anxiety to his
step-father as well as to his mother.

Bo