His relations with his own kindred were patriarchal in character.  His care of Mrs. Washington’s children and grandchildren has already been described.  He gave a phaeton and money to the extent of two thousand five hundred dollars to his mother and did not claim possession of some of the land left him by his father’s will.  To his sister Betty Lewis he gave a mule and many other presents, as well as employment to several of her sons.  He loaned his brother Samuel (five times married) considerable sums, which he forgave in his will, spent “near five thousand dollars” on the education of two of his sons, and cared for several years for a daughter Harriot, notwithstanding the fact that she had “no disposition ... to be careful of her cloaths.”  To his nephew, Bushrod Washington, he gave money and helped him to obtain a legal education, and he assisted another nephew, George A. Washington, and his widow and children, in ways already mentioned.  Over forty relatives were remembered in his will, many of them in a most substantial manner.

In the matter of eating and drinking Washington was abstemious.  For breakfast he ordinarily had tea and Indian cakes with butter and perhaps honey, of which he was very fond.  His supper was equally light, consisting of perhaps tea and toast, with wine, and he usually retired promptly at nine o’clock.  Dinner was the main meal of the day at Mount Vernon, and was served punctually at two o’clock.  One such meal is thus described by a guest: 

“He thanked us, desired us to be seated, and to excuse him a few moments....  The President came and desired us to walk in to dinner and directed us where to sit, (no grace was said)....  The dinner was very good, a small roasted pigg, boiled leg of lamb, roasted fowls, beef, peas, lettice, cucumbers, artichokes, etc., puddings, tarts, etc. etc.  We were desired to call for what drink we chose.  He took a glass of wine with Mrs. Law first, which example was followed by Dr. Croker Crakes and Mrs. Washington, myself and Mrs. Peters, Mr. Fayette and the young lady whose name is Custis.  When the cloth was taken away the President gave ‘all our Friends.’”

The General ordinarily confined himself to a few courses and if offered anything very rich would reply, “That is too good for me.”  He often drank beer with the meal, with one or two glasses of wine and perhaps as many more afterward, often eating nuts, another delicacy with him, as he sipped the wine.

He was, in fact, no prohibitionist, but he was a strong believer in temperance.  He and the public men of his time, being aristocrats, were wine drinkers and few of them were drunkards.  The political revolution of 1830, ushered in by Jackson, brought in a different type—­Westerners who drank whisky and brandy, with the result that drunkenness in public station was much more common.  Many of the Virginia gentlemen of Washington’s day spent a fourth or even a third of their income upon