m took the lad in hand and
began his military education. He drilled him in the manual of arms and
sword exercise, and taught him fortification and engineering. All the
theory of war which Washington knew was gained from von Braam; the
practice he was soon to gain in the field.

_Washington's Athletic Skill_

Many stories are told which show Washington's athletic skill. During a
surveying expedition he first visited the Natural Bridge, in Virginia.
Standing almost directly under it, he tossed a stone on top, a distance
of about two hundred feet. He scaled the rocks and carved his name far
above all others. He was said to be the only man who could throw a stone
across the Potomac River. Washington was never more at home than when in
the saddle. "The general is a very excellent and bold horseman," wrote a
contemporary, "leaping the highest fences and going extremely quick,
without standing on his stirrups, bearing on his bridle, or letting his
horse run wild."

After his first battle Washington wrote to his brother, "I heard the
bullets whistle about me, and, believe me, there is something charming
in the sound." But years after, when he had learned all there was to
know of the horrors of war, he said, sadly, "I said that when I was
young."

_Punctuality_

Punctuality was one of Washington's strong points. When company was
invited to dinner, he made an allowance of only five minutes for
variation in watches. If the guests came late he would say: "We are too
punctual for you. I have a cook who does not ask if the company has
come, but if the hour has come."

In a letter to a friend he wrote: "I begin my diurnal course with the
sun; if my hirelings are not in their places by that time I send them
messages of sorrow for their indisposition."

A letter to his sister, Betty, shows his businesslike manner: "If your
son Howell is with you and not usefully employed in your own affairs,
and should incline to spend a few months with me in my office as a
writer (if he is fit for it), I will allow him at the rate of 300 a
year, provided he is diligent in discharging the duties of it from
breakfast till dinnertime.... I am particular in declaring beforehand
what I require, so that there may be no disappointment or false
expectations on either side."

_His Stepchildren_

Washington's relations with his stepchildren show a very pleasant side
of his character. We find him ordering from London such articles as "10
shillings'