e was the secret of Mrs. Washington's successful family government.
That George owed more to faithful maternal example and training than he
did to any other influence, he always believed and acknowledged. And
OBEDIENCE was the first commandment in the Washington family. George
Washington Parke Custis, a grandson, said:

"The mother of Washington, in forming him for those distinguished parts
he was destined to perform, _first taught him the duties of_ OBEDIENCE,
the better to prepare him for those of command. In the well-ordered
domicile where his early years were passed, the levity and indulgence
common to youth was tempered by a deference and well-regulated restraint
which, while it curtailed or suppressed no rational enjoyment usual in
the spring-time of life, prescribed those enjoyments within the bounds
of moderation and propriety.

"The matron held in reserve an authority which never departed from her;
not even when her son had become the most illustrious of men. It seemed
to say, 'I am your mother, the being who gave you life, the guide who
directed your steps when they needed the guidance of age and wisdom, the
parental affection which claimed your love, the parental authority
which commanded your obedience; whatever may be your success, whatever
your renown, next to your God you owe them most to me.' Nor did the
chief dissent from these truths; but to the last moments of the life of
his venerable parent, he yielded to her will the most dutiful and
implicit obedience, and felt for her person and character the most holy
reverence and attachment."

Lawrence Washington, Esq., of Chotauk, a relative and playmate of George
in boyhood, described the home of the mother as follows:

"I was often there with George, his playmate, school-mate, and young
man's companion. Of the mother I was ten times more afraid than I ever
was of my own parents. She awed me in the midst of her kindness, for she
was, indeed, truly kind. I have often been present with her sons,
proper, tall fellows, too, and we were all as mute as mice; and even
now, when time has whitened my locks, and I am the grandparent of a
second generation, I could not behold that remarkable woman without
feelings it is impossible to describe. Whoever has seen that
awe-inspiring air and manner so characteristic in the Father of his
Country will remember the matron as she appeared when the presiding
genius of her well-ordered household, COMMANDING AND BEING OBEYED."