It was towards the close of his Presidency that Mr. Jefferson began to think seriously of building a house at Poplar Forest. But the first idea was conceived much sooner, and he used to say from his having been confined there for three days, in one of the two rooms of an overseer's house, during a great rain storm. Finding nothing but an almanack to read, he finally, in despair, fell to computing how long it would take to pay the national debt. The usual pocket-book of logarithms chanced to be absent, and he had slowly to run over interminable masses of figures. But he persisted and finally ascertained to his satisfaction that the internal taxes could be abolished, and the debt still be paid in eighteen years by the increase of revenue and a proper retrenchment in expenditures. This occurred in 1801, and it led him to introduce the original of the passage in his first. message, commencing with the words, "Other circumstances, combined with the increase of numbers," etc. The original was more definite and precise in its statements; but Gallatin did not agree with its conclusions, and the other members of the Cabinet held back from expressing an opinion. Nicholas and most of the chiefs of the Virginia delegation were open-mouthed against it, fearing it would only end in disappointing popular expectation. But Gallatin, on a careful reëxamination of the President's data and estimates, changed his mind, and the passage, with some modifications, was inserted. The three days among the overseer's dogs and children, were therefore not unfruitful ones. And they suggested a more convenient resort from long rain storms, and an uninterrupted retreat for the solitary study of high problems.

The house at Poplar Forest was not completed until a number of years after the close of Mr. Jefferson's Presidency. It was situated in that part of Bedford, on the confines of Campbell

sharp, prompt, fearless pull on the reins of the heavy curb-bit suddenly arrested the horse, and it was done with such vigor and such a will, that the great animal threw his forefeet high in the air, and the gate seemed to swing under the uplifted hoofs, as it closed. In another moment, it was seized by the little rider, thrown open, and away she went with whip flying, to overtake her companions. We thought of the wild, fearless, graceful riders of the western plains, and wondered whether the blood of Pocahontas, which flowed in the veins of the merry party, had anything to do with the matter!

A day or two afterwards, we were walking with our friend in the neighboring highway. He picked up a horse-shoe, gazed at it a moment curiously, and ejaculated with a smile: "I thought as much;" and then, turning to us, remarked: "That's -'s" (naming a son): "I know his mark. Whenever the roads are passable, he tucks up his coat-tails, and then de'il take the hindmost until he throws at least two shoes! I believe," he continued, "there must be something in our climate to make hard riders: our boys and girls can never rest with trotting a horse for a mile!"

county, which is near the city of Lynchburg. The following is an agreeable picture of it, and of its scenes and accessories:

The house at Poplar Forest was very pretty and pleasant. It was of brick, one story in front, and, owing to the falling of the ground, two in the rear. It was an exact octagon, with a centre-hall twenty feet square, lighted from above. This was a beautiful room, and served as a dining-room. Round it were grouped a bright drawing-room looking south, my grandfather's own chamber, three other bedrooms, and a pantry. A terrace extended from one side of the house; there was a portico in front connected by a vestibule with the centre room, and in the rear a verandah, on which the drawing-room opened, with its windows to the floor.

We

Mr. Jefferson, from the time of his return home in 1809, was in the habit of visiting this Bedford plantation, but it was some years before the house was ready for the reception of his family. It was furnished in the simplest manner, but had a very tasty air; there was nothing common or second-rate about any part of the establishment, although there was no appearance of expense. As soon as the house was habitable, my grandfather began to take the ladies of his family, generally two at a time, with him, whenever he went. His first visit of a fortnight or three weeks was in the spring-the second, of about six weeks, in early or late autumn. have staid as much as two months at a time. My mother went occasionally-not very often-for she had too much to do at home. I . . . . generally accompanied him with one of my younger sisters. Mr. Jefferson greatly enjoyed these visits. The crowd at Monticello of friends and strangers, of stationary or ever-varying guests, the coming and going, the incessant calls upon his own time and attention, the want of leisure that such a state of things entailed as a necessary consequence, the bustle and hurry of an almost perpetual round of company, wearied and harassed him in the end, whatever pleasure he may have taken, and it was sometimes great, in the society and conversation of his guests. At Poplar Forest he found in a pleasant home, rest, leisure, power to carry on his favorite pursuits-to think, to study, to read whilst the presence of part of his family took away all character of solitude from his retreat. His young grand-daughters were there to enliven it for him, to make his tea, preside over his dinner table, accompany him in his walks, in his occasional drives, and be with him at the time he most enjoyed society, from tea till bed time. The weather was generally fine (the autumn climate of this part of Virginia is delightful, and even the spring is pleasant), the neighbors, who were to a man exceedingly attached to him, were very friendly, without being oppressive in their attentions. There were some excellent people among those Bedford neighbors of ours, and something touching in their affection for their old friend, whose arrival they watched for with pleasant anticipation, and hailed with a sort of loyal satisfaction. It was no sooner known in the neighborhood that Mr. Jefferson had arrived, than our neighbors hastened to help our housekeeping with all kinds of fruit, vegetables, poultry, game (I remember once a quarter of a bear's cub), the product of rich farms and an abundant country.

By and by the gentlemen came dropping in-the ladies soon followed-we were invited out to dine, and the neighbors came to dine with us-but not often enough to consume much time, or interrupt our home occupations. I remember among

these neighbors a certain "Parson" Clay, as he was called, who must have been an Episcopal clergyman before the Revolution, to whose four sons my grandfather used to lend books, and who astonished me with their names of Cyrus, Odin, Julius and Paul.

My grandfather was very happy during these sojourns in a comparatively simple and secluded district-far from noise and news-of both of which he got too much at Monticello; and we, his grand-daughters, were very happy too. It was a pleasant change for us, a variety in life and manners. We saw, too, more of our dear grandfather at those times than at any other. He was most desirous that we should find congenial occupations, and we had books, drawing materials, embroidery, and never felt time heavy on our hands. He interested himself in all we did, thought, or read. He would talk to us about his own youth and early friends, and tell us stories of former days. He seemed really to take as much pleasure in these conversations with us, as if we had been older and wiser people. Such was the influence of his affectionate, cheerful temper, that his grandchildren were as much at their ease with him, as if they had not loved and honored and revered him more than any other earthly being. I. . . . not only listened with intense interest to all he said, but answered with perfect freedom, told my own opinions and impressions, gave him my own views of things, asked questions, made remarks, and, in short, felt as free and as happy as if I had been with companions of my own age. My grandfather missed my mother of course. Her company had become very necessary to him, but her absence seemed the only drawback on his unalloyed satisfaction during these short and highly prized intervals of rest and leisure.

rose.

Our days at Poplar Forest were cheerful and uneventful. We met in the morning for an early breakfast, which, like all his other meals, he took leisurely. Whilst sipping his coffee or tea he talked with us, and if there was anything unusual to be done, arranged our plans for the day. The forenoon, whilst we followed our own desires, he passed in the drawing room with his books. With the exception of an occasional visitor, he was seldom interrupted until the hour of his ride. We dined about three, and as he liked to sit over his wine (he never took more than three glasses, and these after, and not during dinner), I always remained at table till he His conversation was at this time particularly pleasant-easy, flowing, and full of anecdote. After dinner he again retired for some hours, and later in the afternoon walked with us on the terrace, conversing in the same delightful manner, being sometimes animated, and sometimes earnest. We did not leave him again till bed-time, but gave him his tea, and brought out our books or work. He would take his book from which he would occasionally look up to make a remark, to question us about what we were reading, or perhaps to read aloud to us from his own book, some passage which had struck him, and of which he wished to give us the benefit. About ten o'clock he rose to go, when we kissed him with warm, loving, grateful hearts, and went to our rest blessing God for such a friend.

Mr. Jefferson had decidedly one of the evenest and most cheerful tempers I ever knew. He enjoyed a jest, provided it were to give pain to no one, and we were always glad to have any pleasant little anecdote for him-when he would laugh as cheerily as we could do ourselves, and enter into the spirit of the thing with as much gaiety.

It was pleasant to see him in company with the country gentlemen of the neighborhood, they treated him with so much affectionate and respectful franknesswere so much at their ease with him, whilst they held him in such high honor.. Their wives too were as happy as queens to receive him, and when he called or

dined with them, were brimful of satisfaction and hospitable devotion. This frank and free homage, paid by independent people, who had nothing to gain, to one whose public character had merited their approbation, and whose private virtues they loved and revered, was equally honorable to those who rendered and him who received it. Our journeys to and from Bedford, were almost always pleasant. The weather at the season of our visit was good of course, though we were once or twice caught by an early winter. The roads were not bad for country roads. My grandfather travelled in his own carriage, with his own horses, his faithful Burwell on horseback by his side. It took us nearly three days to make the hundred miles. always stopped at the same simple country inns, where the country-people were as much pleased to see the "Squire," as they always called Mr. Jefferson, as they could have been to meet their own best friends. They set out for him the best they had, gave him the nicest room, and seemed to hail his passage as an event most interesting to themselves. These were pleasant times, but I have dwelt on them long enough.

With

We

great regard, my dear Mr. Randall,
Very truly yours.

A younger grand-daughter of Mr. Jefferson's wrote her husband many years ago:

"In his journeys to Bedford, he always took two of us along with him. I often now think of those journeys, generally made in good weather, and with every attention to our comfort. Early in the morning, he was sure to have some additional wrapping to put over the shoulders of each of us, generally a large cape off from one of his cloaks, and if the weather was cold we were wrapped in his furs. His cheerful conversation, so agreeable and instructive, his singing as we journeyed along, made the time pass pleasantly, even travelling through the solitudes of Buckingham and Campbell counties over indifferent roads. Our cold dinner was always put up by his own hands; a pleasant spot by the road-side chosen to eat it, and he was the carver and helped us to our cold fowl and ham, and mixed the wine and water to drink with it. During those visits to Poplar Forest, he took us to see all his neighbors, and to Lynchburgh sometimes to see the place, and to make some purchase to please us in the shops."

In the above pictures of Poplar Forest there is one omission. In the drawing-room there was what Mr. Jefferson called his petit-format library, contained in four cases, each of which was perhaps between three and four feet in width and height. The books, to economize space, were generally of the smallest sized editions published. He had first made this collection for his convenience at Washington. It contained upwards of one hundred volumes of British, a considerable collection of Italian and French, and a few favorite Greek and Latin poets, and a larger

1 Poplar Forest could be reached from Monticello by travelling about eighty miles, but the roads were far rougher.

number of prose writers of the same languages-all, it is unnecessary to say, in the original. These, with the last three or four new books and reviews, brought from Monticello, were the delights which, with the society of his grand-daughters, and the occasional visits of neighbors who mixed the courtesy and simplicity of the old Virginia planter with the culture and selfrespect of gentlemen, filled up that round of quiet enjoyments which contrasted, a portion of the time, so pleasingly with the hotel-like bustle and want of privacy at Monticello.

It was at Ford's tavern, one of the stopping-places between Monticello and Poplar Forest, that the following incident occurred on one of Mr. Jefferson's trips from one to the other. He was alone, and on alighting was shown into the best room. where a very respectable looking stranger was sitting. The latter, who was a clergyman, soon opened a conversation without having the least idea to whom he was talking. He incidentally introduced the subject of certain mechanical operations which he had recently witnessed. Mr. Jefferson's inquiries and remarks, as he afterwards declared, soon satisfied him that he was conversing with some eminent engineer. Agriculture next came up, and then he made up his mind that Mr. Jefferson was a large farmer. Finally, the topic of religion was broached, and the clergyman became strongly suspicious that his companion was another clergyman, but he confessed that he could not discover to what particular persuasion he leaned! There was something in Mr. Jefferson's presence that did not invite the indulgence of personal curiosity, and no "leading questions," were put to him. At ten o'clock he retired to bed. The clergyman immediately sought the landlord and asked who had been his companion. "What, don't you know the Squire?-that was Mr. Jefferson," was the reply. was the reply. "Not President Jefferson ?" "Yes, President Jefferson!" "Why," exclaimed the clergyman, "I tell you that was neither an atheist nor irreligious man-one of juster sentiments I never met with.""

We have seen Mr. Jefferson in several personal phases, and it is now time to look in upon him in the interior of his family. in purely domestic life, for, sooth to say, some periods of the brought a comparative cessation of company.

year

1 We have this from one who had more than once heard it from the lips of the good "parson" himself.