Jefferson goes with the President to Rhode Island.--Visits
Monticello.--Letter to Mrs. Eppes.--Goes to Philadelphia.--
Family Letters.--Letter to Washington.--Goes to Monticello.--
Letters to his Daughter.--His Ana.--Letters to his Daughter.--
To General Washington.--To Lafayette.--To his Daughter.
In the month of August (1790) Jefferson went with the President on a
visit to Rhode Island. In his recent tour through New England, the
President had not visited Rhode Island, because that State had not
then adopted the new Constitution; now, however, wishing to recruit a
little after his late illness, he bent his steps thither. On the 1st
of September Jefferson set out for Virginia. He offered Mr. Madison
a seat in his carriage, and the two friends journeyed home together,
stopping at Mount Vernon to pay a visit of two days to the President.
He arrived at Monticello on the 19th, and found his whole family
assembled there to welcome him back after his six months' absence.
On the eve of his return to the seat of government he wrote a letter
to Mrs. Eppes, from which I give the following extract:
The solitude she (Mrs. Randolph) will be in induces me to leave
Polly with her this winter. In the spring I shall have her at
Philadelphia, if I can find a good situation for her there. I
would not choose to have her there after fourteen years of age.
As soon as I am fixed in Philadelphia, I shall be in hopes of
receiving Jack. Load him, on his departure, with charges not to
give his heart to any object he will find there. I know no such
useless bauble in a house as a girl of mere city education. She
would finish by fixing him there and ruining him. I will enforce
on him your charges, and all others which shall be for his good.
After enjoying the society of his children and the sweets of domestic
life for not quite two months, Jefferson reluctantly turned his
back upon home once more, and set out for the seat of government on
the 8th of November. Mr. Madison again took a seat in his carriage
on returning, and they once more stopped at Mount Vernon, where
Washington still lingered, enjoying the repose of home life on the
peaceful banks of the Potomac.
After having established himself in his new abode in Philadelphia,
Mr. Jefferson began his regular weekly correspondence with his family
in Virginia; and I give the following letters to tell the tale of his
life during his absence from home on this occasion, which continued
from the 8th of November, 1790, to the 12th of September, 1791.
_To Martha Jefferson Randolph._
Philadelphia, Dec. 1st, 1790.
My dear Daughter--In my letter of last week to Mr. Randolph,
I mentioned that I should write every Wednesday to him,
yourself, and Polly alternately; and that my letters arriving
at Monticello the Saturday, and the answer being sent off on
Sunday, I should receive it the day before I should have to
write again to the same person, so as that the correspondence
with each would be exactly kept up. I hope you will do it, on
your part. I delivered the fan and note to your friend Mrs.
Waters (Miss Rittenhouse that was), she being now married to
a Dr. Waters. They live in the house with her father. She
complained of the _petit format_ of your letter, and Mrs. Trist
of no letter. I inclose you the "Magasin des Modes" of July. My
furniture is arrived from Paris; but it will be long before I
can open the packages, as my house will not be ready to receive
them for some weeks. As soon as they are opened, the mattresses,
etc., shall be sent on. News for Mr. Randolph--the letters from
Paris inform that as yet all is safe there. They are emitting
great sums of paper money. They rather believe there will be
no war between Spain and England; but the letters from London
count on a war, and it seems rather probable. A general peace is
established in the north of Europe, except between Russia and
Turkey. It is expected between them also. Wheat here is a French
crown the bushel.
Kiss dear Poll for me. Remember me to Mr. Randolph. I do not
know yet how the Edgehill negotiation has terminated. Adieu, my
dear. Yours affectionately,
TH. JEFFERSON.
_To Mary Jefferson._
Philadelphia, Dec. 7th, 1790.
My dear Poll--This week I write to you, and if you answer my
letter as soon as you receive it, and send it to Colonel Bell
at Charlottesville, I shall receive it the day before I write
to you again--that will be three weeks hence, and this I shall
expect you to do always, so that by the correspondence of Mr.
Randolph, your sister, and yourself, I may hear from home once a
week. Mr. Randolph's letter from Richmond came to me about five
days ago. How do you all do? Tell me that in your letter; also
what is going forward with you, how you employ yourself, what
weather you have had. We have already had two or three snows
here. The workmen are so slow in finishing the house I have
rented here, that I know not when I shall have it ready, except
one room, which they promise me this week, and which will be my
bed-room, study, dining-room, and parlor. I am not able to give
any later news about peace or war than of October 16th, which
I mentioned in my last to your sister. Wheat has fallen a few
pence, and will, I think, continue to fall, slowly at first, and
rapidly after a while. Adieu, my dear Maria; kiss your sister
for me, and assure Mr. Randolph of my affection. I will not tell
you how much I love you, lest, by rendering you vain, it might
render you less worthy of my love. Encore adieu.
TH. J.
_To Martha Jefferson Randolph._
Philadelphia, Dec. 23d, 1790.
My dear Daughter--This is a scolding letter for you all. I have
not received a scrip of a pen from home since I left it. I think
it so easy for you to write me one letter every week, which will
be but once in the three weeks for each of you, when I write one
every week, who have not one moment's repose from business,
from the first to the last moment of the week.
Perhaps you think you have nothing to say to me. It is a great
deal to say you are all well; or that one has a cold, another
a fever, etc.: besides that, there is not a sprig of grass
that shoots uninteresting to me; nor any thing that moves,
from yourself down to Bergère or Grizzle. Write, then, my dear
daughter, punctually on your day, and Mr. Randolph and Polly on
theirs. I suspect you may have news to tell me of yourself of
the most tender interest to me. Why silent, then?
_To Mary Jefferson._
Philadelphia, Jan. 5th, 1791.
I did not write to you, my dear Poll, the last week, because I
was really angry at receiving no letter. I have now been near
nine weeks from home, and have never had a scrip of a pen, when
by the regularity of the post I might receive your letters as
frequently and as exactly as if I were at Charlottesville. I
ascribed it at first to indolence, but the affection must be
weak which is so long overruled by that. Adieu.
TH. J.
_To Martha Jefferson Randolph._
Philadelphia, Feb. 9th, 1791.
My dear Martha--Your two last letters are those which have
given me the greatest pleasure of any I ever received from you.
The one announced that you were become a notable housewife;
the other, a mother. The last is undoubtedly the key-stone of
the arch of matrimonial happiness, as the first is its daily
aliment. Accept my sincere congratulations for yourself and Mr.
Randolph.
I hope you are getting well; towards which great care of
yourself is necessary; for however advisable it is for those in
health to expose themselves freely, it is not so for the sick.
You will be out in time to begin your garden, and that will
tempt you to be out a great deal, than which nothing will tend
more to give you health and strength. Remember me affectionately
to Mr. Randolph and Polly, as well as to Miss Jenny. Yours
sincerely,
TH. JEFFERSON.
_From Mary Jefferson._
Monticello, January 22d, 1791.
Dear Papa--I received your letter of December the 7th about
a fortnight ago, and would have answered it directly, but my
sister had to answer hers last week and I this. We are all well
at present. Jenny Randolph and myself keep house--she one week,
and I the other. I owe sister thirty-five pages in Don Quixote,
and am now paying them as fast as I can. Last Christmas I gave
sister the "Tales of the Castle," and she made me a present of
the "Observer," a little ivory box, and one of her drawings; and
to Jenny she gave "Paradise Lost," and some other things. Adieu,
dear Papa. I am your affectionate daughter,
MARIA JEFFERSON.
_To Mary Jefferson._
Philadelphia, February 16th, 1791.
My dear Poll--At length I have received a letter from you. As
the spell is now broken, I hope you will continue to write every
three weeks. Observe, I do not admit the excuse you make of not
writing because your sister had not written the week before; let
each write their own week without regard to what others do, or
do not do. I congratulate you, my dear aunt, on your new title.
I hope you pay a great deal of attention to your niece, and
that you have begun to give her lessons on the harpsichord, in
Spanish, etc. Tell your sister I make her a present of Gregory's
"Comparative View," inclosed herewith, and that she will find
in it a great deal of useful advice for a young mother. I hope
herself and the child are well. Kiss them both for me. Present
me affectionately to Mr. Randolph and Miss Jenny. Mind your
Spanish and your harpsichord well, and think often and always
of, yours affectionately,
TH. JEFFERSON.
P.S.--Letter inclosed, with the book for your sister.
_From Mary Jefferson._
Monticello, February 13th, 1791.
Dear Papa--I am very sorry that my not having written to you
before made you doubt my affection towards you, and hope that
after having read my last letter you were not so displeased as
at first. In my last I said that my sister was very well, but
she was not; she had been sick all day without my knowing any
thing of it, as I staid up stairs the whole day; however, she is
very well now, and the little one also. She is very pretty, has
beautiful deep-blue eyes, and is a very fine child. Adieu, my
dear papa. Believe me to be your affectionate daughter,
MARIA JEFFERSON.
_To Mary Jefferson._
Philadelphia, March 9th, 1791.
My dear Maria--I am happy at length to have a letter of yours
to answer, for that which you wrote to me February 13th came to
hand February 28th. I hope our correspondence will now be more
regular, that you will be no more lazy, and I no more in the
pouts on that account. On the 27th of February I saw blackbirds
and robin-redbreasts, and on the 7th of this month I heard
frogs for the first time this year. Have you noted the first
appearance of these things at Monticello? I hope you have, and
will continue to note every appearance, animal and vegetable,
which indicates the approach of spring, and will communicate
them to me. By these means we shall be able to compare the
climates of Philadelphia and Monticello. Tell me when you shall
have peas, etc., up; when every thing comes to table; when you
shall have the first chickens hatched; when every kind of tree
blossoms, or puts forth leaves; when each kind of flower blooms.
Kiss your sister and niece for me, and present me affectionately
to Mr. Randolph and Miss Jenny.
Yours tenderly, my dear Maria,
TH. J.
_To Martha Jefferson Randolph._
Philadelphia, March 24th, 1791.
My dear Daughter--The badness of the roads retards the post,
so that I have received no letter this week from Monticello. I
shall hope soon to have one from yourself; to know from that
that you are perfectly re-established, that the little Anne is
becoming a big one, that you have received Dr. Gregory's book
and are daily profiting from it. This will hardly reach you
in time to put you on the watch for the annular eclipse of the
sun, which is to happen on Sunday se'nnight, to begin about
sunrise. It will be such a one as is rarely to be seen twice in
one life. I have lately received a letter from Fulwar Skipwith,
who is Consul for us in Martinique and Guadaloupe. He fixed
himself first in the former, but has removed to the latter. Are
any of your acquaintances in either of those islands? If they
are, I wish you would write to them and recommend him to their
acquaintance. He will be a sure medium through which you may
exchange souvenirs with your friends of a more useful kind than
those of the convent. He sent me half a dozen pots of very fine
sweetmeats. Apples and cider are the greatest presents which
can be sent to those islands. I can make those presents for you
whenever you choose to write a letter to accompany them, only
observing the season for apples. They had better deliver their
letters for you to F. S. Skipwith. Things are going on well
in France, the Revolution being past all danger. The National
Assembly being to separate soon, that event will seal the whole
with security. Their islands, but more particularly St. Domingo
and Martinique, are involved in a horrid civil war. Nothing can
be more distressing than the situation of their inhabitants, as
their slaves have been called into action, and are a terrible
engine, absolutely ungovernable. It is worse in Martinique,
which was the reason Mr. Skipwith left it. An army and fleet
from France are expected every hour to quell the disorders. I
suppose you are busily engaged in your garden. I expect full
details on that subject as well as from Poll, that I may judge
what sort of a gardener you make. Present me affectionately to
all around you, and be assured of the tender and unalterable
love of, yours,
TH. JEFFERSON.
_From Mary Jefferson._
Monticello, March 6th, 1791.
According to my dear papa's request I now sit down to write. We
were very uneasy for not having had a letter from you since six
weeks, till yesterday I received yours, which I now answer. The
marble pedestal and a dressing-table are come. Jenny is gone
down with Mrs. Fleming, who came here to see sister when she
was sick. I suppose you have not received the letter in which
Mr. Randolph desires you to name the child. We hope you will
come to see us this summer, therefore you must not disappoint
us, and I expect you want to see my little niece as much as you
do any of us. We are all well, and hope you are so too. Adieu,
dear papa. I am your affectionate daughter,
MARIA JEFFERSON.
P.S. My sister says I must tell you the child grows very fast.
_To Mary Jefferson._
Philadelphia, March 31st, 1791.
My dear Maria--I am happy to have a letter of yours to answer.
That of March 6th came to my hands on the 24th. By-the-by, you
never acknowledged the receipt of my letters, nor tell me on
what day they came to hand. I presume that by this time you have
received the two dressing-tables with marble tops. I give one
of them to your sister, and the other to you: mine is here with
the top broken in two. Mr. Randolph's letter, referring to me
the name of your niece, was very long on the road. I answered it
as soon as I received it, and hope the answer got duly to hand.
Lest it should have been delayed, I repeated last week to your
sister the name of Anne, which I had recommended as belonging to
both families. I wrote you in my last that the frogs had begun
their songs on the 7th; since that the bluebirds saluted us on
the 17th; the weeping-willow began to leaf on the 18th; the
lilac and gooseberry on the 25th; and the golden-willow on the
26th. I inclose for your sister three kinds of flowering beans,
very beautiful and very rare. She must plant and nourish them
with her own hand this year, in order to save enough seeds for
herself and me. Tell Mr. Randolph I have sold my tobacco for
five dollars per c., and the rise between this and September.
Warehouse and shipping expenses in Virginia, freight and storage
here, come to 2_s._ 9_d._ a hundred, so that it is as if I had
sold it in Richmond for 27_s._ 3_d._ credit till September, or
half per cent. per month discount for the ready money. If he
chooses it, his Bedford tobacco may be included in the sale.
Kiss every body for me. Yours affectionately,
TH. JEFFERSON.
_To Martha Jefferson Randolph._
Philadelphia, April 17th, 1791.
My dear Daughter--Since I wrote last to you, which was on the
24th of March, I have received yours of March 22. I am indeed
sorry to hear of the situation of Walter Gilmer, and shall hope
the letters from Monticello will continue to inform me how he
does. I know how much his parents will suffer, and how much he
merited all their affection. Mrs. Trist has been so kind as to
have your calash made, but either by mistake of the maker or
myself it is not lined with green. I have, therefore, desired
a green lining to be got, which you can put in yourself if you
prefer it. Mrs. Trist has observed that there is a kind of veil
lately introduced here, and much approved. It fastens over the
brim of the hat, and then draws round the neck as close or open
as you please. I desire a couple to be made, to go with the
calash and other things. Mr. Lewis not liking to write letters,
I do not hear from him; but I hope you are readily furnished
with all the supplies and conveniences the estate affords. I
shall not be able to see you till September, by which time the
young grand-daughter will begin to look bold and knowing. I
inclose you a letter to a woman who lives, I believe, on Buck
Island. It is from her sister in Paris, which I would wish you
to send _express_. I hope your garden is flourishing. Present me
affectionately to Mr. Randolph and Polly.
Yours sincerely, my dear,
TH. JEFFERSON.
I find among his letters for this month (March) the following
friendly note to Mr. Madison:
_Jefferson to Madison._
What say you to taking a wade into the country at noon? It will
be pleasant above head at least, and the party will finish
by dining here. Information that Colonel Beckwith is coming
to be an inmate with you, and I presume not a desirable one,
encourages me to make a proposition, which I did not venture as
long as you had your agreeable Congressional society about you;
that is, to come and take a bed and plate with me. I have four
rooms, of which any one is at your service. Three of them are
up two pair of stairs, the other on the ground-floor, and can be
in readiness to receive you in twenty-four hours. Let me entreat
you, my dear Sir, to do it, if it be not disagreeable to you.
To me it will be a relief from a solitude of which I have too
much; and it will lessen your repugnance to be assured it will
not increase my expenses an atom. When I get my library open,
you will often find a convenience in being close at hand to it.
The approaching season will render this situation more agreeable
than Fifth Street, and even in the winter you will not find it
disagreeable. Let me, I beseech you, have a favorable answer to
both propositions.
March 13th, 1791.
_To Mary Jefferson._
Philadelphia, April 24th, 1791.
I have received, my dear Maria, your letter of March 26th.
I find I have counted too much on you as a botanical and
zoological correspondent, for I undertook to affirm here that
the fruit was not killed in Virginia, because I had a young
daughter there who was in that kind of correspondence with
me, and who, I was sure, would have mentioned it if it had
been so. However, I shall go on communicating to you whatever
may contribute to a comparative estimate of the two climates,
in hopes it will induce you to do the same to me. Instead of
waiting to send the two veils for your sister and yourself round
with the other things, I inclose them with this letter. Observe
that one of the strings is to be drawn tight round the root of
the crown of the hat, and the veil then falling over the brim of
the hat, is drawn by the lower string as tight or loose as you
please round the neck. When the veil is not chosen to be down,
the lower string is also tied round the root of the crown, so
as to give the appearance of a puffed bandage for the hat. I
send also inclosed the green lining for the calash. J. Eppes is
arrived here. Present my affections to Mr. R., your sister, and
niece.
Yours with tender love,
TH. JEFFERSON.
April 5. Apricots in bloom,
Cherry leafing.
" 9. Peach in bloom,
Apple leafing.
" 11. Cherry in blossom.
_From Mary Jefferson._
Monticello, April 18th, 1791.
Dear Papa--I received your letter of March 31st the 14th of
this month; as for that of March 9, I received it some time
last month, but I do not remember the day. I have finished Don
Quixote, and as I have not Desoles yet, I shall read Lazarillo
de Tormes. The garden is backward, the inclosure having but
lately been finished. I wish you would be so kind as to send me
seven yards of cloth like the piece I send you. Adieu, my dear
papa.
I am your affectionate daughter,
MARIA JEFFERSON.
_To Martha Jefferson Randolph._--[_Extract._]
Philadelphia, May 8th, 1791.
I thank you for all the small news of your letter, which it
is very grateful for me to receive. I am happy to find you
are on good terms with your neighbors. It is almost the most
important circumstance in life, since nothing is so corroding
as frequently to meet persons with whom one has any difference.
The ill-will of a single neighbor is an immense drawback on the
happiness of life, and therefore their good-will can not be
bought too dear.
_To Mary Jefferson._
Philadelphia, May 8th, 1791.
My dear Maria--Your letter of April 18th came to hand on the
30th; that of May 1st I received last night. By the stage which
carries this letter I send you twelve yards of striped nankeen
of the pattern inclosed. It is addressed to the care of Mr.
Brown, merchant in Richmond, and will arrive there with this
letter. There are no stuffs here of the kind you sent. April
30th the lilac blossomed. May 4th the gelder-rose, dogwood,
redbud, azalea were in blossom. We have still pretty constant
fires here. I shall answer Mr. Randolph's letter a week hence.
It will be the last I shall write to Monticello for some weeks,
because about this day se'nnight I set out to join Mr. Madison
at New York, from whence we shall go up to Albany and Lake
George, then cross over to Bennington, and so through Vermont
to the Connecticut River, down Connecticut River, by Hartford,
to New Haven, then to New York and Philadelphia. Take a map and
trace this route. I expect to be back in Philadelphia about
the middle of June. I am glad you are to learn to ride, but
hope that your horse is very gentle, and that you will never be
venturesome. A lady should never ride a horse which she might
not safely ride without a bridle. I long to be with you all.
Kiss the little one every morning for me, and learn her to run
about before I come. Adieu, my dear. Yours affectionately,
TH. JEFFERSON.
The following letter from Jefferson to his brother-in-law, Mr. Eppes,
gives us a glimpse of young Jack Eppes, his future son-in-law:
_To Francis Eppes._
Philadelphia, May 15th, 1791.
Dear Sir--Jack's letters will have informed you of his arrival
here safe and in health.... Your favors of April 5th and 27th
are received. I had just answered a letter of Mr. Skipwith's on
the subject of the Guineaman, and therefore send you a copy of
that by way of answer to your last. I shall be in Virginia in
October, but can not yet say whether I shall be able to go to
Richmond.
Jack is now set in to work regularly. He passes from two to four
hours a day at the College, completing his courses of sciences,
and four hours at the law. Besides this, he will write an hour
or two to learn the style of business and acquire a habit of
writing, and will read something in history and government. The
course I propose for him will employ him a couple of years. I
shall not fail to impress upon him a due sense of the advantage
of qualifying himself to get a living independently of other
resources. As yet I discover nothing but a disposition to apply
closely. I set out to-morrow on a journey of a month to Lakes
George, Champlain, etc., and having yet a thousand things to do,
I can only add assurances of the sincere esteem with which I am,
dear sir, your affectionate friend and servant,
TH. JEFFERSON.
FRANCIS EPPES, Esq., Eppington.
In a letter of the same date to Mrs. Eppes, he writes:
_To Mrs. Eppes._
I received your favor of April 6th by Jack, and my letter of
this date to Mr. Eppes will inform you that he is well under
way. If we can keep him out of love, he will be able to go
straight forward and to make good progress. I receive with real
pleasure your congratulations on my advancement to the venerable
corps of grandfathers, and can assure you with truth that I
expect from it more felicity than any other advancement ever
gave me. I only wish for the hour when I may go and enjoy it
entire. It was my intention to have troubled you with Maria when
I left Virginia in November, satisfied it would be better _for
her_ to be with you; but the solitude of her sister, and the
desire of keeping them united in that affection for each other
which is to be the best future food of their lives, induced me
to leave her at Monticello.
_To Martha Jefferson Randolph._
Lake Champlain, May 31st, 1791.
My dear Martha--I wrote to Maria yesterday while sailing on
Lake George, and the same kind of leisure is afforded me to-day
to write to you. Lake George is, without comparison, the most
beautiful water I ever saw; formed by a contour of mountains
into a basin thirty-five miles long, and from two to four miles
broad, finely interspersed with islands, its water limpid as
crystal, and the mountain sides covered with rich groves of
thuja, silver fir, white pine, aspen, and paper birch down to
the water-edge; here and there precipices of rock to checker
the scene and save it from monotony. An abundance of speckled
trout, salmon trout, bass, and other fish, with which it is
stored, have added, to our other amusements, the sport of
taking them. Lake Champlain, though much larger, is a far less
pleasant water. It is muddy, turbulent, and yields little game.
After penetrating into it about twenty-five miles, we have been
obliged, by a head wind and high sea, to return, having spent a
day and a half in sailing on it. We shall take our route again
through Lake George, pass through Vermont, down Connecticut
River, and through Long Island to New York and Philadelphia.
Our journey has hitherto been prosperous and pleasant, except
as to the weather, which has been as sultry and hot through
the whole as could be found in Carolina or Georgia. I suspect,
indeed, that the heats of Northern climates may be more powerful
than those of Southern ones in proportion as they are shorter.
Perhaps vegetation requires this. There is as much fever and
ague, too, and other bilious complaints on Lake Champlain as on
the swamps of Carolina. Strawberries here are in the blossom,
or just formed. With you, I suppose, the season is over. On
the whole, I find nothing anywhere else, in point of climate,
which Virginia need envy to any part of the world. Here they are
locked up in ice and snow for six months. Spring and autumn,
which make a paradise of our country, are rigorous winter with
them; and a tropical summer breaks on them all at once. When
we consider how much climate contributes to the happiness of
our condition, by the fine sensations it excites, and the
productions it is the parent of, we have reason to value highly
the accident of birth in such a one as that of Virginia.
From this distance I can have little domestic to write to you
about. I must always repeat how much I love you. Kiss the little
Anne for me. I hope she grows lustily, enjoys good health, and
will make us all, and long, happy as the centre of our common
love. Adieu, my dear.
Yours affectionately,
TH. JEFFERSON.[43]
[43] This letter, as a matter of curiosity probably, was written
in a book of the bark of the paper birch, having leaves seven
inches long by four wide. (Note from Randall's Jefferson.)
The allusion in the following letter to the Duke of Dorset, and
to his niece, the charming Lady Caroline Tufton, deserves a word
of explanation. The Duke was British Minister in France during
Mr. Jefferson's stay there. The two became acquainted and warm
personal friends, and an intimate friendship sprang up between
Martha Jefferson and Lady Caroline. On her return to America, Martha
requested her father to call one of his farms by her friend's name,
which he did, and a fine farm lying at the foot of Monticello bears
at this day the name of Tufton.
_To Martha Jefferson Randolph._--[_Extract._]
Philadelphia, June 23d, 1791.
I wrote to each of you once during my journey, from which I
returned four days ago, having enjoyed through the whole of it
very perfect health. I am in hopes the relaxation it gave me
from business has freed me from the almost constant headache
with which I had been persecuted during the whole winter and
spring. Having been entirely clear of it while travelling,
proves it to have been occasioned by the drudgery of business.
I found here, on my return, your letter of May 23d, with the
pleasing information that you were all in good health. I wish I
could say when I shall be able to join you; but that will depend
on the motions of the President, who is not yet returned to this
place.
In a letter written to me by young Mr. Franklin, who is in
London, is the following paragraph: "I meet here with many who
ask kindly after you. Among these the Duke of Dorset, who is
very particular in his inquiries. He has mentioned to me that
his niece has wrote once or twice to your daughter since her
return to America; but not receiving an answer, had supposed she
meant to drop her acquaintance, which his niece much regretted.
I ventured to assure him that was not likely, and that possibly
the letters might have miscarried. You will take what notice of
this you may think proper." Fulwar Skipwith is on his return to
the United States. Mrs. Trist and Mrs. Waters often ask after
you. Mr. Lewis being very averse to writing, I must trouble Mr.
Randolph to inquire of him relative to my tobacco, and to inform
me about it. I sold the whole of what was good here. Seventeen
hogsheads only are yet come; and by a letter of May 29, from
Mr. Hylton, there were then but two hogsheads more arrived at
the warehouse. I am uneasy at the delay, because it not only
embarrasses me with guessing at excuses to the purchaser, but is
likely to make me fail in my payments to Hanson, which ought to
be made in Richmond on the 19th of next month. I wish much to
know when the rest may be expected.
In your last you observed you had not received a letter from
me in five weeks. My letters to you have been of Jan. 20,
Feb. 9, March 2, 24, April 17, May 8, which you will observe
to be pretty regularly once in three weeks. Matters in France
are still going on safely. Mirabeau is dead; also the Duke de
Richelieu; so that the Duke de Fronsac has now succeeded to the
head of the family, though not to the title, these being all
abolished. Present me affectionately to Mr. Randolph and Polly,
and kiss the little one for me.
_To Mary Jefferson._
Philadelphia, June 26th, 1791.
My dear Maria--I hope you have received the letter I wrote you
from Lake George, and that you have well fixed in your own mind
the geography of that lake, and of the whole of my tour, so as
to be able to give me a good account of it when I shall see you.
On my return here I found your letter of May 29th, giving me
the information it is always so pleasing to me to receive--that
you are all well. Would to God I could be with you to partake
of your felicities, and to tell you in person how much I love
you all, and how necessary it is to my happiness to be with
you. In my letter to your sister, written to her two or three
days ago, I expressed my uneasiness at hearing nothing more of
my tobacco, and asked some inquiries to be made of Mr. Lewis on
the subject. But I received yesterday a letter from Mr. Lewis
with full explanations, and another from Mr. Hylton, informing
me the tobacco was on its way to this place. Therefore desire
your sister to suppress that part of my letter and say nothing
about it. Tell her from me how much I love her. Kiss her and
the little one for me, and present my best affections to Mr.
Randolph, assured of them also yourself, from yours,
TH. J.
_To Mary Jefferson._
Philadelphia, July 31st, 1791.
The last letter I have from you, my dear Maria, was of the 29th
of May, which is nine weeks ago. Those which you ought to have
written the 19th of June and 10th of July would have reached
me before this if they had been written. I mentioned in my
letter of the last week to your sister that I had sent off some
stores to Richmond, which I should be glad to have carried to
Monticello in the course of the ensuing month of August. They
are addressed to the care of Mr. Brown. You mentioned formerly
that the two commodes were arrived at Monticello. Were my two
sets of ivory chessmen in the drawers? They have not been found
in any of the packages which came here, and Petit seems quite
sure they were packed up. How goes on the music, both with your
sister and yourself? Adieu, my dear Maria. Kiss and bless all
the family for me.
Yours affectionately,
TH. JEFFERSON.
_From Mary Jefferson._
Monticello, July 10th, 1791.
My dear Papa--I have received both your letters, that from Lake
George and of June the 26th. I am very much obliged to you
for them, and think the bark that you wrote on prettier than
paper. Mrs. Monroe and Aunt Bolling are here. My aunt would have
written to you, but she was unwell. She intends to go to the
North Garden. Mr. Monroe is gone to Williamsburg to stay two
or three weeks, and has left his lady here. She is a charming
woman. My sweet Anne grows prettier every day. I thank you for
the pictures and nankeen that you sent me, which I think very
pretty. Adieu, dear papa.
I am your affectionate daughter,
MARIA JEFFERSON.
_To Mary Jefferson._
Philadelphia, August 21st, 1791.
My dear Maria--Your letter of July 10th is the last news I have
from Monticello. The time of my setting out for that place is
now fixed to some time in the first week of September, so that I
hope to be there between the 10th and 15th. My horse is still in
such a condition as to give little hope of his living: so that
I expect to be under the necessity of buying one when I come to
Virginia, as I informed Mr. Randolph in my last letter to him. I
am in hopes, therefore, he will have fixed his eye on some one
for me, if I should be obliged to buy. In the mean time, as Mr.
Madison comes with me, he has a horse which will help us on to
Virginia. Kiss little Anne for me, and tell her to be putting on
her best looks. My best affections to Mr. Randolph, your sister,
and yourself. Adieu, my dear Maria,
TH. JEFFERSON.
In a letter written to Mrs. Randolph in July he announced the arrival
of his French steward, Petit,[44] who he said accosted him "with the
assurance that he had come pour rester toujours avec moi," he goes
on, as follows:
The principal small news he brings is that Panthemont is one of
the convents to be kept up for education; that the old Abbess
is living, but Madame de Taubenheim dead; that some of the nuns
have chosen to rejoin the world, others to stay; that there are
no English prisoners there now; Botidorer remains there, etc.,
etc. Mr. Short lives in the Hôtel d'Orleans, where I lived when
you first went to Panthemont.
[44] This servant had made himself invaluable to Mr. Jefferson;
and in a previous letter he wrote to Mrs. Randolph, "I have been
made happy by Petit's determination to come to me. I did not look
out for another, because I still hoped he would come. In fact, he
retired to Champaigne to live with his mother, and after a short
time wrote to Mr. Short 'qu'il mourait d'ennui,' and was willing
to come."
The following extract from a letter of Jefferson to Washington,
written early in the spring of this year (1791), shows the warmth of
his affection for him, and betrays a touching anxiety for his welfare:
I shall be happy to hear that no accident has happened to you in
the bad roads you have passed, and that you are better prepared
for those to come by lowering the hang of your carriage, and
exchanging the coachman for two postilions, circumstances which
I confess to you appeared to me essential for your safety; for
which no one on earth more sincerely prays, both from public and
private regard, than he who has the honor to be, with sentiments
of the most profound respect, Sir, your most obedient and most
humble servant.
Mr. Jefferson left Philadelphia for Virginia on the 2d of September,
and arrived at Monticello on the 12th. He remained there just one
month, leaving for the seat of government on the 12th of October.
His regrets at leaving home were on this occasion lessened by the
pleasure of being accompanied on his return to Philadelphia by his
beautiful young daughter, Maria. His establishment in Philadelphia
was one suitable to his rank and position. He kept five horses, and
besides his French steward, Petit, who presided over the ménage of
his house, he had four or five hired male servants and his daughter's
maid.
In a letter to Mr. Randolph written on the 25th of October, he writes
thus of his journey:
The first part of our journey was pleasant, except some
hair-breadth escapes which our new horse occasioned us in going
down hills the first day or two, after which he behaved better,
and came through the journey preserving the fierceness of his
spirit to the last. I believe he will make me a valuable horse.
Mrs. Washington took possession of Maria at Mount Vernon, and
only restored her to me here (Philadelphia). It was fortunate
enough, as we had to travel through five days of north-east
storm, having learned at Mount Vernon that Congress was to
meet on the 24th instead of the 31st, as I had thought. We got
here only on the 22d. The sales at Georgetown were few, but
good. They averaged $2400 the acre. Maria is immersed in new
acquaintances; but particularly happy with Nelly Custis, and
particularly attended to by Mrs. Washington. She will be with
Mrs. Pine a few days hence.
In a later letter to Mrs. Randolph, he says:
Maria is fixed at Mrs. Pine's, and perfectly at home. She has
made young friends enough to keep herself in a bustle, and has
been honored with the visits of Mrs. Adams, Mrs. Randolph, Mrs.
Rittenhouse, etc., etc.
Towards the close of this year Jefferson began to keep his "Ana," or
notes on the passing transactions of the day.
The tale of his life will be found pleasantly carried on in the
following letters to his daughter:
_To Martha Jefferson Randolph._
Philadelphia, January 15th, 1792.
My dear Martha--Having no particular subject for a letter, I
find none more soothing to my mind than to indulge itself in
expressions of the love I bear you, and the delight with which I
recall the various scenes through which we have passed together
in our wanderings over the world. These reveries alleviate the
toils and inquietudes of my present situation, and leave me
always impressed with the desire of being at home once more,
and of exchanging labor, envy, and malice for ease, domestic
occupation, and domestic love and society; where I may once more
be happy with you, with Mr. Randolph, and dear little Anne,
with whom even Socrates might ride on a stick without being
ridiculous. Indeed it is with difficulty that my resolution will
bear me through what yet lies between the present day and that
which, on mature consideration of all circumstances respecting
myself and others, my mind has determined to be the proper one
for relinquishing my office. Though not very distant, it is
not near enough for my wishes. The ardor of these, however,
would be abated if I thought that, on coming home, I should
be left alone. On the contrary, I hope that Mr. Randolph will
find a convenience in making only leisurely preparations for a
settlement, and that I shall be able to make you both happier
than you have been at Monticello, and relieve you of désagrémens
to which I have been sensible you were exposed, without the
power in myself to prevent it, but by my own presence. Remember
me affectionately to Mr. Randolph, and be assured of the tender
love of, yours,
TH. JEFFERSON.
_To Martha Jefferson Randolph._
Philadelphia, February 26th, 1792.
My dear Martha--We are in daily expectation of hearing of your
safe return to Monticello, and all in good health. The season
is now coming on when I shall envy you your occupations in the
fields and garden, while I am shut up drudging within four
walls. Maria is well and lazy, therefore does not write. Your
friends, Mrs. Trist and Mrs. Waters, are well also, and often
inquire after you. We have nothing new and interesting from
Europe for Mr. Randolph. He will perceive by the papers that the
English are beaten off the ground by Tippoo Saib. The Leyden
Gazette assures that they were only saved by the unexpected
arrival of the Mahrattas, who were suing to Tippoo Saib for
peace for Lord Cornwallis. My best esteem to Mr. Randolph, and
am, my dear Martha, yours affectionately,
TH. JEFFERSON.
_To Martha Jefferson Randolph._
Philadelphia, March 22d, 1792.
My dear Martha--Yours of February 20th came to me with that
welcome which every thing brings from you. It is a relief to be
withdrawn from the torment of the scenes amidst which we are.
Spectators of the heats and tumults of conflicting parties, we
can not help participating of their feelings. I should envy you
the tranquil occupations of your situation, were it not that I
value your happiness more than my own, but I too shall have my
turn. The ensuing year will be the longest of my life, and the
last of such hateful labors; the next we will sow our cabbages
together. Maria is well. Having changed my day of writing from
Sunday to Thursday or Friday, she will oftener miss writing, as
not being with me at the time. I believe you knew Otchakitz, the
Indian who lived with the Marquis de Lafayette. He came here
lately with some deputies from his nation, and died here of a
pleurisy. I was at his funeral yesterday; he was buried standing
up, according to their manner. I think it will still be a month
before your neighbor, Mrs. Monroe, will leave us. She will
probably do it with more pleasure than heretofore, as I think
she begins to tire of the town and feel a relish for scenes of
more tranquillity. Kiss dear Anne for her aunt, and twice for
her grandpapa. Give my best affections to Mr. Randolph, and
accept yourself all my tenderness.
TH. JEFFERSON.
In the following extract from a letter to General Washington, written
on the 23d of May (1792), Jefferson makes an eloquent appeal to him
to remain for another term at the head of the Government. After
speaking of the evil of a dissolution of the Union, he goes on to
say:
_To George Washington._
Yet, when we consider the mass which opposed the original
coalescence; when we consider that it lay chiefly in the
Southern quarter; that the Legislature have availed themselves
of no occasion of allaying it, but, on the contrary, whenever
Northern and Southern prejudices have come into conflict, the
latter have been sacrificed and the former soothed; that the
owners of the debt are in the Southern, and the holders of it in
the Northern division; ... who can be sure that these things
may not proselyte the small number that was wanting to place the
majority on the other side? And this is the event at which I
tremble, and to prevent which I consider your continuing at the
head of affairs as of the last importance. The confidence of the
whole Union is centred in you. Your being at the helm will be
more than an answer to every argument which can be used to alarm
and lead the people in any quarter into violence and secession.
North and South will hang together if they have you to hang on;
and if the first correction of a numerous representation should
fail in its effect, your presence will give time for trying
others not inconsistent with the union and peace of the State.
I am perfectly aware of the oppression under which your present
office lays your mind, and of the ardor with which you pant
for domestic life. But there is, sometimes an eminence of
character on which society have such peculiar claims as to
control the predilections of the individual for a particular
walk of happiness, and restrain him to that alone arising from
the present and future benedictions of mankind. This seems to
be your condition, and the law imposed on you by Providence in
forming your character, and fashioning the events on which it
was to operate; and it is to motives like these, and not to
personal anxieties of mine or others, who have no right to call
on you for sacrifices, that I appeal, and urge a revisal of it,
on the ground of change in the aspect of things.... One or two
sessions will determine the crisis, and I can not but hope that
you can resolve to add more to the many years you have already
sacrificed to the good of mankind.
The fear of suspicion that any selfish motive of continuance in
office may enter into this solicitation on my part, obliges me
to declare that no such motive exists. It is a thing of mere
indifference to the public whether I retain or relinquish my
purpose of closing my tour with the first periodical renovation
of the Government. I know my own measure too well to suppose
that my services contribute any thing to the public confidence
or the public utility. Multitudes can fill the office in which
you have been pleased to place me, as much to their advantage
and satisfaction. I have, therefore, no motive to consult but
my own inclination, which is bent irresistibly on the tranquil
enjoyment of my family, my farm, and my books. I should repose
among them, it is true, in far greater security if I were to
know that you remained at the watch; and I hope it will be so.
The following extract is taken from an affectionate letter written by
Jefferson to Lafayette on the 16th of June, in which he congratulates
him on his promotion to the command of the French armies:
Behold you, then, my dear friend, at the head of a great army
establishing the liberties of your country against a foreign
enemy. May Heaven favor your cause, and make you the channel
through which it may pour its favors. While you are extirpating
the monster aristocracy, and pulling out the teeth and fangs
of its associate monarchy, a contrary tendency is discovered
in some here. A sect has shown itself among us, who declare
they espoused our new Constitution not as a good and sufficient
thing in itself, but only as a step to an English Constitution,
the only thing good and sufficient in itself, in their eye. It
is happy for us that these are preachers without followers,
and that our people are firm and constant in their republican
purity. You will wonder to be told that it is from the eastward
chiefly that these champions for a King, Lords, and Commons come.
On the 22d of the same month he writes from Philadelphia to Mrs.
Randolph as follows:
_To Martha Jefferson Randolph._
My dear Martha--Yours of May 27th came to hand on the very day
of my last to you, but after it was gone off. That of June 11th
was received yesterday. Both made us happy in informing us
you were all well. The rebuke to Maria produced the inclosed
letter. The time of my departure for Monticello is not yet
known. I shall, within a week from this time, send off my stores
as usual, that they may arrive before me. So that, should any
wagons be going down from the neighborhood, it would be well to
desire them to call on Mr. Brown in order to take up the stores
should they be arrived. I suspect, by the account you give me of
your garden, that you mean a surprise, as good singers always
preface their performances by complaints of cold, hoarseness,
etc. Maria is still with me. I am endeavoring to find a good
lady to put her with, if possible. If not, I shall send her to
Mrs. Brodeaux, as the last shift. Old Mrs. Hopkinson is living
in town, but does not keep house. I am in hopes you have visited
young Mrs. Lewis, and borne with the old one, so as to keep
on visiting terms. Sacrifices and suppression of feeling in
this way cost much less pain than open separation. The former
are soon over; the latter haunt the peace of every day of
one's life, be that ever so long. Adieu, my dear, with my best
affections to Mr. Randolph. Anne enjoys them without valuing
them.
TH. JEFFERSON.