THE LEES AT WEST POINT, 1852 TO 1855; DEATH OF MRS. CUSTIS. Lee took command of West Point in September 1852, where he was shortly joined by his family. Mrs. Custis had been well when they left, so the telegram which came in April telling of her critical illness was entirely unexpected. Mrs. Lee started for home at once, but on arrival found her beloved mother dead and her father prostrated by his loss. She at once took charge of the household and herself conducted the morning worship which had been forgotten in the sorrow and confusion. After breakfast she selected a spot for her mother’s grave among the trees a short distance from the house. For years, Lee had called Mrs. Custis “Mother,” and his grief at her death was almost as great as Mrs. Lee’s. By now the religious convictions instilled in him by his mother had been matured by his own experiences and the example of those at Arlington, and soon after his return from West Point at the end of the term, he and two of his daughters were confirmed at Christ Church, Alexandria. Hoping to divert Mr. Custis, the Lees took him back with them to West Point. But not even a trip to Niagara Falls with his son-in-law could keep him from worrying about his beloved Arlington, and he soon returned home. To ease his loneliness, the Lees came home on brief visits in the spring and summer of 1854. LEE IN TEXAS, 1855 TO 1857. Early in 1855, Lee was assigned to a cavalry regiment being organized for service on the frontier. Before leaving for his new station he made arrangements to have the large unfinished room off the main hall, at Arlington, made into a drawing room and to have a hot-air furnace installed to heat the house. The “Big Room,” as it was called, when finished was very handsome with its marble mantelpieces and crystal chandelier, and Mrs. Lee and the girls were proud of its appearance when they showed it to Lee on his return for the holidays. Much of his leave was given over to straightening out the finances of Mr. Custis’ other farms, for the old gentleman was now 75 and, though active in improving his lands and crops, needed the assistance of his son-in-law in managing his business affairs. Lee returned to Texas in February 1856, and was unable to be home for Christmas that year. His loneliness is apparent in the letter he wrote to Mrs. Lee: “The time is approaching when I trust many of you will be assembled around the family hearth at dear Arlington, to celebrate another Christmas. Though absent, my heart will be in the midst of you, & I shall enjoy in imagination & memory, all that is going on. May nothing occur to mar or cloud the family fireside, & may each be able to look back with pride & pleasure at their deeds of the past year, & with confidence & hope to that in prospect. I can do nothing but hope & pray for you all.”