Custis tells an amusing story of Bishop’s daughter Sally.  Following the Revolution two of Washington’s aides-de-camp, Colonels Smith and Humphreys, the latter a poet of some pretensions, spent considerable time at Mount Vernon arranging the General’s military papers.  One afternoon Smith strolled out from the Mansion House for relaxation and came upon Sally, then in her teens and old enough to be interesting to a soldier, milking a cow.  When she started for the house with the pail of milk the Colonel gallantly stepped forward and asked to be permitted to carry it.  But Sally had heard from her father dire tales of what befell damsels who had anything to do with military men and the fact that Smith was a fine-looking young fellow in no way lessened her sense of peril.  In great panic she flung down the pail, splashing the contents over the officer, and ran screaming to the house.  Smith followed, intent upon allaying her alarm and ran plump into old Bishop, who at once accused him of attempting to philander with the girl, turned a deaf ear to all the Colonel’s explanations, and declared that he would bring word of the offense to his honor the General, nay more, to Mrs. Washington!

In great alarm the Colonel betook himself toward the Mansion House pondering upon some way of getting himself out of the scrape he had fallen into.  At last he bethought himself of Billy Lee, the mulatto body servant, and these two old soldiers proceeded to hold a council of war.  Smith said:  “It’s bad enough, Billy, for this story to get to the General’s ears, but to those of the lady will never do; and then there’s Humphreys, he will be out upon me in a d—­d long poem that will spread my misfortunes from Dan to Beersheba!” At last it was decided that Billy should act as special ambassador to Bishop and endeavor to divert him from his purpose.  Meanwhile Bishop had got out his old clothes—­Cumberland cocked hat and all—­of the period of the French War, had dressed with great care and, taking up his staff, had laid his line of march straight to the Mansion House.  Billy met him midway upon the road and much skirmishing ensued, Billy taking two lines of attack:  first, that Smith was a perfect gentleman, and, second, that Bishop had no business to have such a devilishly pretty daughter.  Finally these tactics prevailed, Bishop took the right about, and a guinea dropped into the ambassador’s palm completed the episode.

In due time Sally lost her dreadful fear of men and married the plantation carpenter, Thomas Green, with whose shiftless ways, described elsewhere, Washington put up for a long time for the sake of “his family.”  Ultimately Green quitted Washington’s service and seems to have deserted his wife or else died; at all events she and her family were left in distressed circumstances.  She wrote a letter to Washington begging assistance and he instructed his manager to aid her to the extent of L20 but to tell her that if she set up a shop in Alexandria, as she