Tradition tells that there was in those early Colonial days a beautiful maiden named Al- verder, who was a member of old St. George's Chapel. Her portraits, still hanging upon the walls of some of the old mansions, show her to be of exquisite loveliness. And of course her lovers were legion. Among them there were two who seemed to be favored, but the girl was unable to decide between them, until one Sunday when they both appeared at her home to escort her to service at St. George's Chapel. One rode a beautiful white horse, leading another just like it, on which was a sidesaddle. The other suitor came in a hand- some vehicle, driving two dashing bays. Al- verder came out on the piazza dressed in a riding habit. She dismissed the other, and rode to church with the man of her choice. That evening at four o'clock a duel was fought by the lovers in the old churchyard, in which the accepted lover was mortally 24 Harewood wounded. He died shortly afterward. His rival disappeared, and it is said he died in a foreign land. The morning after the duel Alverder came to the chapel and knelt beside her dead lover, after which she disappeared and was never seen again. The young man was buried near the spot where he fell and a marble slab was placed over his grave. It is said that every evening at dusk a woman in black is seen walking up the lane which once led to the churchyard, and a narrow path is worn across it to the grave of her unfortunate lover, where she kneels and weeps over the marble slab. ARLINGTON Arlington, the home of the Custises and Lees, is another grand old home that the world knows by heart. It was here that Robert Ed- ward Lee wooed and won the beautiful Mary Custis, daughter of Washington Parke Custis, and it was here in 1831 in this stately old mansion that they plighted their troth, the ceremony being performed by the Rev. William Meade, afterward Bishop of Vir- ginia. A little story about this wedding is still told by the members of the Lee family. The Rev. Mr. Meade was caught in a severe thunder storm when he was on his way to the wedding and was completely drenched with the rain. He had to borrow clothing from Mr. Custis, and as the latter was short and stout and the clergyman tall and thin, his ap- pearance was very amusing. He was forced to wear his surplice all the evening to hide the misfit of his garments. Now, it was not the custom in those days to take a wedding journey, and after the wed- 25 26 Arlington ding the guests all remained for a week-end party. And it is told that every night at the hour of retiring the servants brought in a brimming punch-bowl, an heirloom in the Custis family, it having been given to General Washington by Colonel Fitzhugh, a former aide-de-camp. Inside of the bowl was painted a ship with the hull resting in the bottom ; and it was the rule of the house to drink down to the hull of the ship. But these days are gone, and the light has gone out of Arlington, yet it is sweet to think of its master as a radiant angel beyond the stars.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Tradition tells that there was in those early Colonial days a beautiful maiden named Alverder, who was a member of old St. George's Chapel. Her portraits, still hanging upon the walls of some of the old mansions, show her to be of exquisite loveliness. And of course her lovers were legion. Among them there were two who seemed to be favored, but the girl was unable to decide between them, until one Sunday when they both appeared at her home to escort her to service at St. George's Chapel. One rode a beautiful white horse, leading another just like it, on which was a sidesaddle. The other suitor came in a handsome vehicle, driving two dashing bays. Alverder came out on the piazza dressed in a riding habit. She dismissed the other, and rode to church with the man of her choice. That evening at four o'clock a duel was fought by the lovers in the old churchyard, in which the accepted lover was mortally Harewood wounded. He died shortly afterward. His rival disappeared, and it is said he died in a foreign land. The morning after the duel Alverder came to the chapel and knelt beside her dead lover, after which she disappeared and was never seen again. The young man was buried near the spot where he fell and a marble slab was placed over his grave. It is said that every evening at dusk a woman in black is seen walking up the lane which once led to the churchyard, and a narrow path is worn across it to the grave of her unfortunate lover, where she kneels and weeps over the marble slab. ARLINGTON Arlington, the home of the Custises and Lees, is another grand old home that the world knows by heart. It was here that Robert Edward Lee wooed and won the beautiful Mary Custis, daughter of Washington Parke Custis, and it was here in 1831 in this stately old mansion that they plighted their troth, the ceremony being performed by the Rev. William Meade, afterward Bishop of Virginia. A little story about this wedding is still told by the members of the Lee family. The Rev. Mr. Meade was caught in a severe thunder storm when he was on his way to the wedding and was completely drenched with the rain. He had to borrow clothing from Mr. Custis, and as the latter was short and stout and the clergyman tall and thin, his appearance was very amusing. He was forced to wear his surplice all the evening to hide the misfit of his garments. Now, it was not the custom in those days to take a wedding journey, and after the wed- 26 Arlington ding the guests all remained for a week-end party. And it is told that every night at the hour of retiring the servants brought in a brimming punch-bowl, an heirloom in the Custis family, it having been given to General Washington by Colonel Fitzhugh, a former aide-de-camp. Inside of the bowl was painted a ship with the hull resting in the bottom ; and it was the rule of the house to drink down to the hull of the ship. But these days are gone, and the light has gone out of Arlington, yet it is sweet to think of its master as a radiant angel beyond the stars.

Colonial recipes, from old Virginia and Maryland manors