ney, of South Carolina, with the rank of colonel. But he was never called into active service; and a few months afterward he was sorely bereaved by the death of his illustrious foster-father. That event occurred on the fourteenth of December, 1799, and the adopted son became a prospective executor of that great man's will.* Mount Vernon continued to be his home until after the death of his grandmother, when he commenced the erection of a beautiful mansion at Arlington, an estate of a thousand acres, left him by his father, and lying upon the west side of the Potomac, opposite Washington city. There he resided until his death. It is a most lovely spot, overlooking the Potomac; and from the noble portico, that adorns its front, so conspicuous from every point of the federal city and its vicinity, he saw that city grow into its present grand proportions, from a humble and uninteresting village.

At the age of twenty-three, Mr. Custis married Mary Lee Fitzhugh, a lady whose many virtues endeared her to all who came within the circles of her influence, and who will ever live in the memory of her friends. While the pen of filial affection may not be trusted in delineating a character so beloved, it

* In the last clause of his will, Washington said: "I constitute and appoint my dearly beloved wife, Martha Washington, my nephews, William Augustine Washington, Bushrod Washington, George Steptoe Washington, Samuel Washington, and Lawrence Lewis, and my ward, George Washington Parke Custis (when he shall have arrived at the age of twenty-one years), executrix and executors of this my last Will and Testament." The will was signed and sealed on the ninth of July, 1799. In it was the following clause: "I give and bequeath to George Washington Parke Custis, the grandson of my wife, and my ward, and to his heirs, the tract I hold on Four-mile run, in the vicinity of Alexandria, containing one thousand and two hundred acres, more or less, and my entire square, No. 21, in the city of Washington."

may be pardoned for transcribing the following testimony of a friend:

"To the Editors of the National Intelligencer:

"SAVANNAH, May 16, 1853. "GENTLEMEN: Allow me from this distant city to place an humble wreath, bedewed with many tears, on the grave of the best of friends. Since no one living could do justice to the character of that eminent lady, whose decease has spread the gloom of night through all the halls of Arlington, tremblingly I shrink from the attempt to recall and trace out, even faintly, that most rare combination of virtues and graces which, as no modesty or humility could conceal, no language can adequately portray.

"Happy in her descent from the union of Fitzhugh, of Chatham (the friend of Washington), a gentleman unsurpassed for dignity and courtesy of manners by any who enjoyed the society of Mount Vernon, with one of the most beautiful, accomplished, and religious ladies that ever bore the name of Randolph, all the instructions and associations, the habits and studies of her childhood and youth, were suited to nurture those just principles and and pure sentiments which ever generous pervaded and adorned her entire character. Early allied by marriage to a gentleman bred up in Mount Vernon while the spot was the home of the father of his country-a gentleman whose genius, taste, eloquence, and courtesy, have attracted multitudes from this and far distant lands to that mansion, where, alas, he now sits in sorrow and darkness-she dedicated herself to those gentle offices, quiet duties, and daily graceful ministries of love, so becoming to her station and her sex.

son of his only sister, Elizabeth, of whose remarkable resemblance to the general, mention is made in the memoir of their mother, given in the Recollections. They were married on the twenty-second of February (Washington's birthday), 1799. A month before, Washington wrote to his nephew, as follows:

"MOUNT VERNON, 23d January, 1799. "DEAR LAWRENCE: Your letter of the 10th instant I received in Alexandria, on Monday, whither I went to become the guardian of Nelly, thereby to authorize a license for your nuptials on the 22d of next month, when, I presume, if your health is restored, there will be no impediment to your union.*

"The letters herewith sent were received two or three days ago; and until your letter of the above date came to hand, I knew not with certainty to what place to direct them. They are put under cover to your brother of Fredericksburgh, to await your arrival at that place.

"I enclose the one to your lieutenant, Mr. Lawrence Washington, for safety, and because it may be necessary that you should have a conference with him respecting the plan for recruiting your troops when the order and the means for doing so are received. All, however, that you, Washington, and Custis, have to do at present, is simply to acknowledge the receipt of the letter from the

* The following letter, authorizing the license, is copied from the original, which is addressed "To Captain George Deneale, clerk of Fairfax county court:""Mount VernON, 19th Feb. 1799. "SIR: You will please to grant a license for the marriage of Eleanor Parke Custis with Lawrence Lewis, and this shall be your authority for so doing.

"Those who best knew this lamented lady will testify to a charming simplicity and sincerity, expressed in her aspect, manners, and conversation, blended with a majesty of goodness far surpassing the fairest creations of the painter's or the poet's art. Her clear and comprehensive reason, ever submissive as a child to the teachings of its Author; her integrity never wavering and without guile; the purity of all her motives and affections; the energy of purpose with which she applied herself to duty, and that constant cheerfulness which made to her all duty pleasure, rendered her judgment on all moral questions well-nigh infallible, and gave serenity, consistency, and incomparable beauty to her life. For a period of thirty years the writer recollects no instance in which this distinguished Christian lady erred in judgment on any question of taste, propriety, or duty. Her example was a light, never declining, and never eclipsed, which the wise could not hesitate to follow, nor less serious observers to feel and admire. She was familiarly acquainted with the best English literature, and read much, though very careful to select works of unblemished and established reputation, and confining herself mainly, toward the close of her life, to books on practical religion and to Christian biography. But infinitely beyond all the writings of men she valued the word of God. This was her daily companion, study, and guide, and in the law of God was her meditation and delight all the day. She had a remarkably quick perception of beauty and sublimity in composition, art, or nature; and whenever she discerned these qualities, joy lighted up her countenance with a radiance pure and gentle as that shed through the windows of a cathedral