Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. I.djvu/81

His wife, Eleanor Parke Custis, born at Abingdon, Fairfax County, Va., in March, 1779; died at Audley, Clarke County, Va., July 15, 1852, was the daughter of John Parke Custis, the son of Martha Washington. At the death of her father, in 1781, she, with her brother George, was adopted by Gen. Washington, and lived at Mount Vernon. Eleanor was regarded as the most brilliant and beautiful young woman of her day, the pride of her grandmother, and the favorite of Washington, who was the playmate of her childhood and the confidant of her girlhood. However abstracted, she could always command his attention, and he would put aside the most important matter to attend to her demands. She was accomplished in drawing, and a good musician. Washington presented her with a harpsichord at the cost of a thousand dollars. Irving relates an anecdote that illustrates their relations: "She was romantic, and fond of wandering in the moonlight alone in the woods. Mrs. Washington thought this unsafe, and forced from her a promise that she would not visit the woods again unaccompanied, but she was brought one evening into the drawing-room where her grandmother, seated in her arm-chair, began in the presence of the general a severe reproof. Poor Nellie was reminded of her promise, and taxed with her delinquency. She admitted her fault and essayed no excuse, moving to retire from