The night before the white horses which Washington used as President were to be taken out, their coats were covered by a paste of whiting, and the animals were swathed in wrappings.

In the morning the paste was dry and with rubbing gave a marble gloss to the horses' coats.

The hoofs were then blackened and polished, and even the animals' teeth were scoured.

Such arrangements, however, were not peculiar to Washington's stable.

This was the usual way in which grooming for "the quality" was done in that period.
The first house occupied by Washington was at the corner of Pearl and Cherry streets, then a fashionable locality.