THE FAMILY DINING ROOM. Small and informal, the family dining room was used as such from the time the center section of the house was built until the Lees departed in 1861. Arlington was noted for its hospitality, and seldom was there a meal at which some guests were not present. When he was at home, it was Colonel Lee’s custom to gather rosebuds in the garden each morning and place one beside the plate of each of his daughters, the youngest getting the smallest bud, and so on up to the eldest.
Over the mantel hangs a portrait of Mr. Custis, copied from the original in the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C. On the mantel is a statuette, “The Three Graces,” said to have been imported from Italy by Mr. Custis about 1855. Among the dishes in the cupboard are two custard cups, a Wedgewood cream pitcher, and several other pieces which were originally at Arlington.
THE UPPER HALL. The simple staircase which ascends to the upper hall is typical of those in houses of classic revival style of architecture, since their temple prototypes had no second floor and hence no stairs. That the one in the mansion was carefully planned by the architect, however, is shown by the ingenious way in which one window serves to light the stair landing and the closet off it, as well as the hall below.
Like the one below, the upper hall was originally furnished with several long sofas for use as a sitting room during warm weather. At such times the lower part of the great window at the west end was opened wide in order to increase the movement of air.
The family dining room as seen from the family parlor.
The family dining room.
THE LEE BEDROOM. This pleasant room was occupied by Mrs. Lee before and after her marriage. According to tradition, six of her seven children were born in the small dressing room on its west side. Mrs. Lee’s toilet and serving case, resembling a miniature lectern and bearing her initials “M. C. L.,” sits on the bureau next to the door of the dressing room. On the mantel is an engraving of Mrs. Lee made at Arlington in 1858. This is believed to be the room in which Colonel Lee arrived at his decision to resign his commission in the United States Army.
THE BOYS’ BEDROOM. This bedroom was occupied by the three Lee sons—Custis, Robert, and William Henry Fitzhugh, otherwise known as “Rooney.” The floor, mantel, woodwork, and plaster cornice in this room are original. The mahogany washstand was at Arlington prior to 1861.