The True George Washington | Page 9

visits, but frequent letters, which rarely failed to send love to "Nelly and the little girls," were exchanged. The acceptance of command compelled Washington to resign the care of Custis's estate, for which service "I have never charged him or his sister, from the day of my connexion with them to this hour, one farthing for all the trouble I have had in managing their estates, nor for any expense they have been to me, notwithstanding some hundreds of pounds would not reimburse the moneys I have actually paid in attending the public meetings in Williamsburg to collect their debts, and transact these several matters appertaining to the respective estates." Washington, however, continued his advice as to its management, and in other letters advised him concerning his conduct when Custis was elected a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. In the siege of Yorktown Jack served as an officer of militia, and the exposure proved too much for him. Immediately after the surrender, news reached Washington of his serious illness, and by riding thirty miles in one day he succeeded in reaching Eltham in "time enough to see poor Mr. Custis breath his last," leaving behind him "four lovely children, three girls and a boy."
Owing to his public employment, Washington refused to be guardian for these "little ones," writing "that it would be injurious to the children and madness in me, to undertake, as a principle, a trust which I could not discharge. Such aid, however, as it ever may be with me to give to the children especially the boy, I will afford with all my heart, and on this assurance you may rely." Yet "from their earliest infancy" two of Jack's children, George Washington Parke and Eleanor Parke Custis, lived at Mount Vernon, for, as Washington wrote in his will, "it has always been my intention, since my expectation of having issue has ceased, to consider the grandchildren of my wife in the same light as my own relations, and to act a friendly part by them." Though the cares of war prevented his watching their property interests, his eight years' absence could not make him forget them, and on his way to Annapolis, in 1783, to tender Congress his resignation, he spent sundry hours of his time in the purchase of gifts obviously intended to increase the joy of his homecoming to the family circle at Mount Vernon; set forth in his note-book as follows:
"By Sundries bo't. in Phil'a.
A Locket ￡5 5 3 Small Pockt. Books 1 10 3 Sashes 1 5 0 Dress Cap 2 8 Hatt 3 10 Handkerchief 1 Childrens Books 4 6 Whirligig 1 6 Fiddle 2 6 Quadrille Boxes 1 17 6."
Indeed, in every way Washington showed how entirely he considered himself as a father, not merely speaking of them frequently as "the children," but even alluding to himself in a letter to the boy as "your papa." Both were much his companions during the Presidency. A frequent sight in New York and Philadelphia was Washington taking "exercise in the coach with Mrs. Washington and the two children," and several times they were taken to the theatre and on picnics.
For Eleanor, or "Nelly," who grew into a great beauty, Washington showed the utmost tenderness, and on occasion interfered to save her from her grandmother, who at moments was inclined to be severe, in one case to bring the storm upon himself. For her was bought a "Forte piano," and later, at the cost of a thousand dollars, a very fine imported harpsichord, and one of Washington's great pleasures was to have her play and sing to him. His ledger constantly shows gifts to her ranging from "The Wayworn traveller, a song for Miss Custis," to "a pr. of gold eardrops" and a watch. The two corresponded. One letter from Washington merits quotation:
[Illustration: ELLANOR (NELLY) CUSTIS]
"Let me touch a little now on your Georgetown ball, and happy, thrice happy, for the fair who assembled on the occasion, that there was a man to spare; for had there been 79 ladies and only 78 gentlemen, there might, in the course of the evening have been some disorder among the caps; notwithstanding the apathy which one of the company entertains for the '_youth_' of the present day, and her determination 'Never to give herself a moment's uneasiness on account of any of them.' A hint here; men and women feel the same inclinations towards each other now that they always have done, and which they will continue to do until there is a new order of things, and you, as others have done, may find, perhaps, that the passions of your sex are easier raised than allayed. Do not therefore boast too soon or too strongly of your insensibility to, or resistance of, its