Custis bedroom.

Guide to the House and Grounds (continued)

THE CUSTIS ROOMS. An inner hall gave private access to the two small rooms in the north wing occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Custis in the years before the main part of the house was completed. Later they were probably used for guest rooms until such time as the size of the Lee family and the Custises' advancing years made it advisable for them to reoccupy their old suite. In the larger room is the bed Custis bought about 1805; in the smaller room, under the window, is a small mahogany candle stand once owned by Martha Washington and later part of the Arlington furnishings.

The wooden mantelpiece in the sitting room is the oldest one in the house, and its disproportionate size indicates that it was made for the large unused chimney breast in the inner hall.

The wooden mantelpiece in the Custis bedroom is the oldest in the house, dating from its earliest years.

The schoolroom.

THE SCHOOLROOM. This may have been Mrs. Lee's bedroom when she was a little girl and her parents occupied the adjoining rooms. After the main part of the house was built, it was used as a sewing room and a schoolroom for the Lee children and those of the house servants. The old terrestrial globe is one of the most interesting original objects in the mansion, having been found tucked away in the attic under the eaves by workmen repairing the roof some years ago. The small pine table on which it stands is also an original piece. Over the globe is a framed photograph of Comdr. Sidney Smith Lee, brother of Robert E. Lee. The walls and woodwork, like those of most of the rooms, have been re stored to their original color.