Each object in the house--the old furniture and very table-sets--recalled the memory of Washington, and were dear to him.

Here were many pieces of the "Martha Washington china," portions of the porcelain set presented to Mrs.
Washington by Lafayette and others--in the centre of each piece the monogram "M.W." with golden rays diverging to the names of the old thirteen States.

Here were also fifty pieces, remnants of the set of one thousand, procured from China by the Cincinnati Society, and presented to Washington--articles of elaborate decoration in blue and gold, "with the coat-of-arms of the society, held by Fame, with a blue ribbon, from which is suspended the eagle of the order, with a green wreath about its neck, and on its breast a shield representing the inauguration of the order." Add to these the tea-table used by Washington and one of his bookcases; old portraits, antique furniture, and other memorials of the Lee family from Stratford--let the reader imagine the old mansion stored with these priceless relics, and he will understand with what anguish Lee must have contemplated what came duly to pass, the destruction, by rude hands, of objects so dear to him.

That he must have foreseen the fate of his home is certain.

To take sides with Virginia was to give up Arlington to its fate.
There is no proof, however, that this sacrifice of his personal fortunes had any effect upon him.