A Visit to Mount Vernon -- A Letter of Mrs. Edward Carrington to Her Sister, Mrs. George Fisher

Daily life at Mount Vernon

Quoted from the footnotes to the transcription of the letter: "The text now printed in the Quarterly is from a copy, in the collection of Marshall papers in the Library of William and Mary College. The location of the original is unknown."

Eliza Ambler (Mrs. Edward Carrington)

1799-11-22

eng

"A Visit to Mount Vernon -- A Letter of Mrs. Edward Carrington to her sister, Mrs. George Fisher." The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, 18 2 (April 1938): 198-202.

"Yes we arrived at this venerable mansion in perfect safety, where we are experiencing every mark of hospitality & kindness that the good old General's continued friendship to Col. C. lead us to expect; his reception of my husband was that of a Brother; he took us each by the hand & with a warmth of expression not to be described, pressed mine, & told me that I had conferred a favour, never to be forgotten, in bringing his old friend to see him; then bidding a servant to call the ladies entertained us most facetiously till they appeared."

"Mrs. Washington venerable, kind & plain, & resembling very much our aunt A-----."

"...but now when I see her [i.e. Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis] the Matron, for such her situation makes her appear, though she has only been ten months a wife, lovely as nature could form her, improved in every female accomplishment & what is still more interesting, amiable & obliging in every department that makes woman most charming, particularly in her conduct to her aged Grandmother & the General..."

"It is really an enjoyment to be here, to witness the tranquil happiness that reigns throughout the house (except now & then a little bustle, occasioned by the young squire Custis when he returns from hunting, bringing in a 'Valiant Deer' as he terms it, 'that Grand Pa & the Col. will devour'..."

"My mornings are spent charmingly alternately in the different chambers; first an hour after breakfast with the lady in the straw -- dressing the pretty little stranger, who is the delight of the Grand-Ma; then we repair to the old lady's room, which is precisely on the style of our good old aunt's, that is to say nicely fixed for all sorts of work -- on one side sits the chambermaid with her knitting on the other a little colored pet, learning to sew, an old, decent women with her table and shears cutting out the negroes winter clothes, while the good old lady directs them all, incessantly knitting herself, & pointing out to me several pair of nice coloured stockings & gloves she had just finished, & presenting me with a pair half done, begs me to finish, & wear for her sake --
Her netting too is a great source of amusement, & is so neatly done, that all the younger part of the family are proud of trimming their dresses with it and have furnished me with a whole suit, so that I shall appear "A la domestique" at the first party we have when we get home."

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