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* 4
fHRISTMAS at Mount Vernon in the
peaceful days which followed the Revo
lution was always exceedingly merry.
The Virginians of those days, being
cavaliers, made the most of the holiday
which the grim Puritans of New Eng
land Ignored.
It was a season of profuse hospitality.
But In all the northern neck of Vir
ginia no house was the 1 scene of more
joyous doings than that of George
Washington. Often mere strangers,
bearing letters of introduction, came and went at
will, sometimes staying for weeks, or even months.
Though stem, Washington could unbend consider-
ably on such an occasion.
r He was getting to be an
old man, and his adopted f
’son, George Custls, de- I
scribes him as wearing I
habitually at that period I
plain drab clothes, with a '
broad-brimmed white hat,
and carrying an umbrella
with a long staff attached
to his saddle-bow when he
rode to shelter him from
the sun, his skin being
- tender and burning easily,
t While yet a young man
he had inherited the
Mount Vernon estate from
his half-brother. The
t house was much smaller
than it is today, being
' -what was then called a
■“four-room cottage”—that
is to say, with only that
many rooms on the ground
* floor. It had been built in
. 1743 by Lawrence Wash-
ington by the labor of
transported convicts from
England, the main timbers being cut from the
nearby forest, while the outer sheathing of North
Carolina pine was hewn into blocks to resemble
etone.
There were about a dozen bedrooms, all of
them small, and doubtless they were rather
erowded at Christmas time—some of the people,
very likely, “doubling up.” All of the rooms had
low ceilings; there was no paper on the walls;
water pipes of all kinds were conspicuous by
their absence; no furnace heated the mansion
(there were no stoves, indeed), and the only il
lumination in the evening was furnished by can
dles. Yet, as things went in those days, this was
a luxurious establishment.
The Christmas dinner was at 3 o’clock in the
“banquet hall,” and probably twenty-five or thirty
people eat down to the repast. The table was
covered with a snowy damask cloth, and there
^ere fine linen napkins—both being luxuries rath
er exceptional in those days. But this was by no
means all. There was a handsome service of
pure' silver, most of which had belonged to the
widow Custls when she married Mr. Washington,
and also there was a big display of cut glass even
more precious. Most remarkable of all, however,
there were real stiver forks—a rarity indeed!
Ladies and gentlemen ate with their knives in
those days in away that would now be consid
ered shocking. It was a matter almost of neces
sity, inasmuch as the forks they used, which had
only three tines, did not serve very well for some
purposes, such as the carrying of peas to the
mouth, for example. It is painful to think of the
Father of His Country at his Christmas dinner
putting his knife Into the mouth, but there is no
doubt that he did so. Another oddity, as now
adays it would be considered, was the arrange
ment of the tqble, upon which all the dishes to
be served, including even the puddings and pies,
were placed at once. No wonder that in those
times a festive board was said to “groan" beneath
the weight of the viands!
A MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Christmas brings the remembrance
of a gift so great and wonderful that
all who realize what it meant to the
world feel the desire to give some
thing in return though it may be
nothing more than the expression of
a wish for a merry Christmas. No one
was anxious to receive the gift at
first. People do not always know the
value of what is given them. The
only door opened to receive It, led
into a cattle stable! But now, whose
door does not fly open at Christmas
to send out some blessing, some word
of good will?
The old carol, sung to a few Shep
hards. has gone around tbe world
now, and the message of peace and
good will has been carried every
where. Somehow, when you lay a
new-born babe In a man’s arms, you
are pretty sure to bring a smile to his
face, and a softening to his heart ns
well. An Infant is a great peace
brlnger. What has touched and soft
ened the heart of this grim world
more than anything else, is the re
membrance that Christmas brought a
blessed child down to earth and laid
him confidingly In the arms of hu
manity, brought him from home, and
left him outcast, that the opportunity
might be given to every man to take
him in and give him the love and
tenderness which is every child's
birthr’ght
As a matter of course, at the Christmas dinner
(as on other occasions) the table was waited upon
by slaves, who did duty as house servants. Two
were allotted to each guest, so that quite a num
ber were required. All of the eatables had to be
fetched a considerable distance, the kitchen being
detached from the mansion, with which It was
connected by a covered way.
At the houses of the great Virginia families at
that period it was customary for the slavesto wait
on the table in their ordinary plantation garb.
But at Mount Vernon many things were on a
scale of exceptional luxury, and the negroes who
performed such service were clad in Washing
ton's own livery of red, white and gold, which
was handsome and striking.
One may suppose, then, that the conversation at
the Christmas dinner was more than ordinarily
entertaining. As a matter of course, everybody
was hungry; for, according to the custom of
those days, there were only two meals —breakfast,
which was early, and dinner. The necessity for
supper was removed by a great prolongation of
the dinner, at which each person was expected to
eat all that he or she possibly could. In fact, it
was the duty of the hostess gently to persuade
her guests to gorge themselves to repletion, while
the host made it his business to press wine and
other drinkables upon the men to an extent which
in these times would be considered most im
prudent.
The ladies, however, drank little or nothing
So far as they were concerned, the prohibition of
stimulants w’as much more strict than it is today
—a rather curious thing, when it is considered
how copiously the men imbibed. As for the lat
ter, if on occasions a gentleman took too much,
the matter was politely ignored—such an acci
dent, It was considered, being more or less likely
to happen to anybody. But it should be under
stood that the really hard drinking was done,
not while the ladies were present, but after their
departure from the table.
This it is, which moves us to strive
to make children happy at Christmas.
They may be like those w-ho float
along with the river, knowing nothing
of its lovely source high up in the
everlasting hills. But even if they do
not know why, most of us do want to
make it a merry time for children
It is emphatically the children's fes
tival. No one ever regrets it who goes
out of the way to help some little
ones to be happy at Christmas. They
are the special friends of the Christ
mas child, and it is well to be able to
entertain the king's friends. If not the
king himself.
It does the world good to open its
heart and take in the season's greet
ing. Business goes on all the happier,
One may view the scene in imagination, as, the
moment having arrived for an important act ot
ceremony, Washington rises to his feet from his
place at the table, holding a glass of Madeira in
his hand. He is a very tall man, two inches
above six feet in height and large of frame. His
nose is slightly aquiline, his mouth broad, his
chin square, his cheek bones high, and his com
plexion rather florid. He is dressed in a suit of
costly black velvet, with knee breeches, black
silk stockings, and silver buckles on his shoes. At
his wrists are fine lace ruffles, and his hair is
drawn back and done up behind in queue.
“Gentlemen,” he says, bowing right and left,
“I drink to my guests!”
The natural response, at the instance m the
most distinguished guest present, is a health
drunk to Lady Washington. This is followed,
perhaps by five or ten minutes of general conver
sation after which Mrs. Washington gives the
signal'by pushing back her chair, and the women
rise to take their departure. The General himself
walks to the door, throwing it wide open, and
each of the ladies courtesies deeply as she goes
out, In response to the bows of the host and the
other men. . .
If when the time comes to rejoin the ladiev.
two'or three of the guests find themselves hard y
in a condition to do so. they are handed over to
the care of the African major domo, who sees
that they are put to bed. Such things are bound
to happen occasionally, and it is not likely that
any of the women will have the bad tact to ask
what has become of them.
There is a good long evening, which, appropri
ately to Christmas, is given up to a romp. Such
old-fashioned games as blind man's buff and hunt
the slipper furnish incidental opportunities for
much incidental flirtation and love-making Per
haps there may even be a kissing game or two;
and a spray of mistletoe fastened over a doorway
gives excuse for some osculation and a great deal
of merriment. It is all very delightful. Christ
mas gifts are exhibited, and Nellie Custis. it la
likely, plays a bit on her harpsichord.
A negro fiddler, one of the slaves on the estate,
in picturesque plantation garb, starts some merry
music, while the young people choose partners
for the dance. But the older ladies and gentle
men prefer cards, and sit about little tables,
shuffling and dealing. The host himself plays,
for small stakes only, gambling for money to
considerable amounts being one of the vices he
most abhors. As for Mrs. Washington, she talks
to a neighbor and knits. When not otherwise
busily occupied she always has knitting in her
hands, having acquired the habit In camp dining
the Revolution, when she made stockings for des
titute soldiers. . . .
Fortunately, the frame, or setting, as it might
be called, of the Christmas festivities here de
scribed in such crude outline is still preserved
intact, thanks to the efforts of a few patriotic
women who have made this their loving task.
The United States government has never paid
one cent to keep the home of Washington from
destruction. Many years ago congress refused to
give the money to buy it. But in the hands oi
the Mount Vernon Association the historic man
sion and Its immediate surroundings are kept in
such excellent repair that Mount Vernon today
is practically as It was more than a century ago.
when George and his wife, Martha, kept open
house and offered a generous hospitality, not only
at Christmastide but at all other seasons of the
year.
because there is a warm charitable
feeling in a man's soul towards his
employers, or employes, or acquaint
ances. We are all so busy, we are
apt to forget to be considerate, forgiv
ing. and kind. It is well to let the
brain rest, and allow the heart to rule
sometimes, or men may lose the facul
ty of loving and being charitable.
Centuries of experience have prov
ed that it is well also to make a
clearing house of the season, to square
accounts by wiping off all the old
grudges and settling old quarrels, and
listen once again to the message of
peace and good will. Anger and mal
ice never gave a man happiness:
nothing but forgiveness and charity
can do that
SHAFT FOR CHERRY VICTIMS
Monument Unveiled to the Memory of
Those Who Died in Mine
Disaster.
Bloomington, Ill.—Recently at Cher
ry a monument was unveiled to the
memory of the 256 men and boys
who lost their lives in the great min
ing disaster over two years ago. The
officers of the state miners’ organiza
tions had charge of the ceremonies
and prominent labor leaders were
present. The memorial —a simple
shaft of gray granite 14 feet high—
was unveiled by the daughter of a
/
/ r n
_ I
Monument to Cherry Victims.
man who had lost his life in the
tragedy, and seated upon the speak
ers’ platform were 20 survivors who
were rescued after having been im
prisoned one week in the burning
mine. Among the speakers was John
P. White, president of the United
Mine Workers.
Cherry today is greatly changed
from what it was two years ago
Robbed of one-half of its male inhab
itants almost in the twinkling of the
eye, the town was crushed for a time,
but has since been slowly recovering,
thanks to the liberality of the Ameri
can nation.
The sum of $316,424 was contributed
for the relief of the widows and
fatherless children. The Illinois leg
islature appropriated SIOO,OOO. Up to
June 1, 1911, the commission in
charge had distributed SSI,49S, leav
ing most of the remainder in trust
as a pension fund for the relief of
those robbed of their bread winners.
Relief was afforded every widow’ and
every dependent child, and they will
be taken care of for life if necessary.
Placed on a cash basis, no greater
charitable work has ever been ac
complished, nor has any relief move
ment been handled as economically
or as successfully.
HERE’S A NEW KIND OF JAG
Department of Agriculture Asserts
That It Lurks in Some South
ern Watermelons.
Washington.—The department of
agriculture asserts that there is a
concealed jag in some of the south
ern watermelons. It requires some
labor and scientific knowledge to ex
tract it, but out of every 100 pounds
of melons the government chemists
have made one-tenth of a gallon of
alcohol.
They have also succeeded in ex
tracting a very good quality of al
cohol from the sweet potato, and It
is expected that these two vegetables
can be turned to a good profit in the
manufacture of denatured alcohol for
A Watermelon Jag.
manufacturing purposes. Some ex
periments show that one bushel of
sweet potatoes will make about two
thirds of a gallon of commercial al
cohol.
Dog Buried in Flag.
Washington, D. C. —Because United
States soldiers on duty with the aero
nautical corps at College Park, Md.,
are reported to have recently buried
a dog wrapped in the American flag,
Mrs. Isabel Worrall Ball, chairman of
the Woman’s Relief corps national
committee for the prevention of the
desecration of the flag, has written a
vigorous protest to Secretary of War
Stimson.
The dog, which was the mascot of
the aviation school, was accorded a
funeral with full military honors, in
cluding sounding of "taps.” In her let
ter to the secretary of war, in which
she demands that the guilty men be
reprimanded, Mrs. Ball brands their
action as "repugnant" and adds:
“The symbol of the great power and
authority of the United States is too
lofty a thing to be used as a shroud
for a dog.”
Bites Wife’s Leg; Fined SIOO.
Chicago.—A fine of SIOO and costs
was imposed by Municipal Judge Cav
erly upon Antonio Narsko, who was
accused of having bitten his wife,
Mary, on the left leg during a quarrel
in their home. “He attacked me and
while we were struggling he stooped
down and bit me in the leg,” Mrs
Narski told the court.
A FEDERAL HEALTH BOARD.
It is gratifying to note that the bill
for the creation of a federal health,
board will not be allowed to pass with
out a protest. Reports of organized
rislstance come from all parts of the
country, and it may be that tbe oppo
sition will soon be sufficiently solidi
fied to defeat a project that promises
Infinite mischief for the community,
and suffering and Injustice for the in
dividual.
The proposal is based upon those
specious claims that are notoriously
hard to controvert. If a federal health
board were to confine its activities to
the promulgation of salutary advfco
upon hygienic matters, to the abate
ment of quackery, and to the purity of
drugs, it might be possible to say
much In its favor, although it would
still be difficult to say that such an
organization is needed. But we know
that it will attempt to do far more
than this, seeing that its adherents
have loudly proclaimed their Inten
tions. Indeed, there Is no secrecy
about them. It Is confidently expected
that the board will consist of advo
cates of one school of medicine only
and that tbe methods of that school
will be not only recommended, but
enforced upon the nation. Indeed a
board that was in any way representa
tive of the medical profession as a
whole would be stultified by Its own
disagreements. Outside the domain
of simple hygiene, for which we need
no federal board at all, there is no
single point of medical practice upon
which allopaths, homeopaths, eclectics
and osteopaths could be in unison.
Any board that could be devised by
the wit of man must be composed of
representatives of one school only,
and this means that all other schools
are branded as of an inferior caste,
even though nothing worse happened
to them. And something worse would
happen to them. If we are to establish
a school of medicine, if we are to as
sert that the government of the Unit
ed States favors one variety of prac
tice more than others, why not estab
lish also a sect ot religion arid be
stow special authorities upon Bap
tists, Methodists and Episcopalians?
An established school of religious
conjecture seems somewhat less ob
jectionable than an established sect
of pseudo-scientific conjecture.
Those who suppose that a federal
board of health would have no concern
with individual rights are likely to
find themselves undeceived. It is for
the purpose of interfering with indi
vidual rights that the proposal has
been made. We need no special
knowledge of conditions to be aware
that what may be called unorthodox
methods of healing have made sad in
roads into the orthodox. Homeopathy
claims a vast number of adherents
who are just as well educated and just
as intelligent as those who adhere to
the older school. Osteopathy, eclecti
cism, and half a dozen other methods
of practice are certainly not losing
ground. Beyond them is the vast and
ingreasing army of those who may be
classed under the general and vague
name of mental heaiers. Those who
are addicted to any of these forms of
unorthodoxy need have no doubt as
to tbe purposes of the federal health
board. Those purposes are to make
it difficult for them to follow their
particular fads and fancies, to lead
them, and if necessary to drive them,
from medical unorthodoxy to medical
orthodoxy.
Now the Argonaut holds no brief
for any of the excesses and the super
stitions connected with the care of the
body in which this age is so rife. But
it does feel concerned for the preser
vation of human liberty and for the
rights of the Individual to doctor him
self in any way he pleases so long as
he does not indubitably threaten the
health of the community. He may
take large doses or small ones, or no
doses at all; he may be massaged,
anointed with oil, or prayed over, just
as the whim of the moment may dic
tate, and probably it makes no par
ticle of difference which he does. But
he has the right to choose, just as he
chooses the color of his necktie or the
character of his underclothing. It is
sot a matter in which any wise gov
ernment will seek to interfere. This .
Is precisely the liberty that the health,
board intends to take from him.
Orthodox medic'ne. conscious of its
losses, is trying to buttress itself, by
federal statute, to exalt allopathy to
the status of a privileged caste, and
to create an established school of
medicine just as some other countries
ha»e allowed themselves to create an
established school of religion. It is
for the common sense of the commu
nity to rebuke that effort and to re
pel an unwarranted invasion upon ele
mentary human rights.— San Fran
cisco Argonaut.
A Drain of the Company.
On his way home from the theater,
wuere he had seen a performance of
"Othello," Bobby was unusually quiet
“Didn’t you enjoy the play,” his
grandfather asked at last
"Oh, yes, very much,” replied Bobby.
“But. grandpapa, there’s one thing I
don’t quite understand. Does ths
buck man kill a lady every night?”—
Youth’s Companion.
Natural Deduction.
"Papa, are lawyers always bad-tem
pered?”
“No. daughter; why do you ask
that?"
“Because I read so much in the pa
pers about their cross-examinations."
Kindred Spirits.
“Lady," said Plodding Pete, “I ain’t
had a square meal in two days."
“Well,” said the resolute woman,
as she turned tbe dog loose, "neither
has Towser, so I know you'll excuw
him.”
