About The Atlanta constitution. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19?? | View Entire Issue (Aug. 10, 1903)
4 S6e Life and Times | of & i Thomas Jefferson * Being the First Part of a History of the United States CHAPTER XXIX One of Mr. Jefferson's reasons for go ing to London was that the ambassador of Tripoli was there readj t-> negotiate with the United States it: reference ‘o certain Americans who It 1 In • n cap tured on the sea and carried into Mo hammedan bondage. For Tripoli was a ''barbary pirate" stat*, which still kept up. on a limited .B tie. the hoary feud between cross and crescent. Christian nations had long sir. e lost their crusading habit, and wars were not being waged any more because of d ■■ ■ .. f creed. Christians > spent ft much of their time fighting fe'-’ow- Christian w-re not disposed to Itarrass infidel nations about art:-ies of fa: h. But the Mohammedans 11 not who y abandoned their anci--nt ways: hence, in quarters where they were str ngest they continued to do as was done by both cross and crescent in the days of ’l'” crusades—they sp .'■ j tl • Egyptia) s The Egyptian who f till led the S ft; - t r in one case v. as tl. • Mohamme 1 In the other, he was the Christ! : Law s :'. authority in the »:.■• s * wis de rived’ from th- Jewish Testament; in the.other from tile Arab Koran. in both cases law and g- spel is strongly agdlnst the Egyptian Most !.;<tvriuns contentedly describe tl • Mohammedars Rs "barbar.' pir.te*. ‘ in the sense that the crusaders were ; irates or that Drake and Hawki: s w-: pirates. th.-y were pi rates. They were :: tstin c. >tl:er From th days ' G.-lfre •. Bohem-nd. Tattered in! Richard, down to th se of Don John of A'istrChristi:':. jr'.'<-s had hurled themselves upon the Mussul man. d -ing him injury t ■ t'.:f :. extent of their power. The M 'damme lan retal iated whenever he At the close 3f the eighteenth cent try th- lineal de tcer.dant of the crusading customs, so . hr as the followers of Mohammed were concerned, made its. f manifest in the - . ■ "Bari ers," of all such seis as wore unrble prevent ’. To a religious world which had forgot ten all abo.it the h -arc pledges to re deem the sepulcher of Christ, and which had no distinct re old--.’ion of the whole sale manner in w .:. !. ’ Christian west had formerly ■.l " Hohammedan east this surv x ric. pi was most irks me : 1 'd.o’is. It was what would b - hist etire as an a: : ism Therefore it could not be too sc- •■rely condemned "Barbary pirates ' was a name unite g: : ■ to do in the . ight. enth v'ntnry what had ■. . ■ . ct . jh n the ixt nth or even In the seventeenth. b .: w ..; a was now clearly out of date. But the Mussulman was a gr- .it tigat-r. : and to kee.p him fr- m continuing the eru- I >:....■ - hi- n1 :: . • ite * - I «* bought p ’.ice ; cm . a t a st a- J , price. To this ingh r. 'is end had >me tl.e i ttalhs sworn an I armte' m.r.-!.a.-*d to bre: k the powers of Mahomet and re- • deem the gra. • : 1 .hr st. Xow t ■ infant repu . of the 1 nite.d States, not versed in the ways of diplomacy, had paid no tribute t.. tl.e ■ Bat i rates." The - • -• >i_u net - ripened earl In th* pring - ' Amer.-an brig. Betsy, wa- joufied upon Mor Spa* cur friend, and Spain urgently requested th-' sultan <>f to th*- pris- on pts without ransom Ev**n j, r'ates t■,• ir a® of >■ iu v .1 ’.’l t i • >■.. •• ’ Fuitan had no wish to affront a tribute- > paying Chris' in. hke Spa. ;■ Besides, the I uit-'.l States wes. perh ps. ignorant of t'ne rules and had not mtend-d t-» \V'- ft ■ stems ’ M liter Iv c ’mpliment- i the infant repui'.:.’ wyn the liberty of the Betsy's crew. No; he would not exact money t is time Ac cept these captm’-s with 'he compliments of the sultan. Bit hereafter - ' Tills hereafter so n < :imr. Tin •• m re crews, not knowing the law, .-.i i.i.■* the hands of tile infideiy end the three, captains wailed, beseeching Mr. .]<-:Terso’.i t > get them out. This matter caused Mr. J.-':'-: - n a great deal of labor and aanoyaie - While in England he had interviews and cor respondence with the Tripolitan ambas sador. but the difference between the ransom demanded ai d the s im Mr Jef ferson was authorized to offer was so gr-at that nothing came of tre tedious nnd protracted nego’i.itior.s Mr. Jefferson was profoundly dissatis •',d with the relations which existed be tween Christian Europe and these t'-ar b.trv pirates. To behold Great Britain. France. Holland. Spain. Naples, the two S: ill. s. Venice and Portusa! bargaining with Mohammedan states for peace at so mm h per annum was humiliating. He believed that war—an issue of arms upon principle like that—wouid not onlv be justifiable, but cheaper in the Eng r •>. Therefore he prop.'S'-d a by which the nuisance could be abate!. Let the Christians concerned agree among themselves to furnish pto r.i a a fleet whose special mission it sh-ild be .to either compel the Barbary pow- rs to sign treaties of peace without exacting subsi dies. or to fight them off the seas. Mr. Jefferson’s plan was the conception of a statesman, and met with favor, but unfortunately, congress could not back him with the frigate which, under the of his programme, it was the duty of the United States to furnish So the plan did not materialize. Turning from historians to diplomat, and contrasting the language us»d in the one case and in the other, we beconie Interested if not edified. The emperor of Morocco was the chief pirate of all Barbary pirates, and yet when President Washington, in 1791. had occasion to send a letter to this emperor It was addressed "Great and Magnani mous Friend." It seems that the old em peror had recently died and that Presi dent Washington was wilting to the son fti e deceased—the father and son both being pirates, mind you. Washington says to the young emperor. "Tl.e death of t’ne late emperor, your father and our friend of glorious mem ,-rv .-■■ Receive, great and good friend, iny’ sincere sympathy with you In that loss!" Oh what rare pirates are these. Who wouldn't turn pirate to win such friend B s Washington, and have him pose as mourner? Ix>t us read on: "Permit me to express the satisfaction with which 1 ’earn the accession of so worthx a suc cessor to the imperia! throne of Morocco and offer you the homage of my sincere congratulations! 1 ! Angels and ministers of grace, defend us! The great George Washington hold ing this kind of language to a robber. Permit me to offer the homage! Congratu lations that are sincere! Read on: "May tlie days of your majesty's life be many and glorious!" President Washington then proceeds to i hope, earnestly and somewhat humbly, that the young pirate will treat thy Uni ted States as liberally as the old dead pirate had done. ' And the missive winds up with an as ' tonishing prayer that the "God whom we both adore" <we pirates) "will bless your imperial majesty witli long life, health ’ and success!" Blessed pirates. At tlie close of this amazing letter and ■ astonishing prayer are signed the names of George Washington, president, and Thomas Jefferson, secretary of state. Verily, diplomacy has ways th atare pe culiar. and language which is queer. And when President Washington trans mitted to the senate that treaty with Tripoli which the senate ratified, the in i' troductory sentence ran in these words: "As tlie. government of the United States is not in any sense founded on i the Christian religion, etc." This to soothe the Mohammedan pirate I and to keep his prices within the bounds . of moderation! In view of such facts as these it might , be well for historical authors to discard the title of "Barbary Pirates." and to put upon Washington's great friend of ' "glorious memory." a name which would | reflect greater credit—upon ■Washington, i As w" .1 as another could Washington I r. sort to the wiles of diplomacy when o. < asion demanded. Hence he could court I the Mussulman witli meaningless bland ishments am! bide the time when the sword could cut this particularly difficult I knot. During his second administration Wash ington believed that his country was ' strong enough to defy the Barbary pow -1 ers. and lie called upon congress for half a dozen modest little, battle ships to be i u.-'-d in the Mediterranean. After tlie us l ual lengthened debate, congress did final ly vote the vessels. I Nothing further was done until Jeffer son himself was president We sliall then see how this most tenacious of men car ried out his original plan of bringing the M iss .man t.o realize that the crusad-s w- re over. This recommendation which Washing ton made jn >,j s nies-ace. was based upon ! the report which Mr. Jessi rson. as seere l tary of state, had made to c ngress. : That body hajitjg applied to him in the i matter of the navy he advised the build : mg of a sufficient number of vessels to 1 protect our commer. e in the Mediterra : nean. On a count of suggestions like i those he made in Paris nnd during his ' secretaryship. John Adams called Jeffer son ti e father of the Ameri'an mivv •TIA'PTER XXX ■ What did Mr. Jefferson do for bls conn- 1 try while minister tu France? 1 To answer fully would certainly be te ! dious a: ! would probable be useless. I i Whale oil, salted fish, tobacco, rice, salt- I ; ed pork are important items in commerce. I having much to do with the balance <f j I trade and the prosperity of Individuals I and of nations; but when the reader is ■ : seared that Mr. Jeff-rson struggled lane. : ■ hard and with partial success to prevail , I upon France to be lenient with, us upon ' i thos e subjects he lias perhaps ; -arm'd as j ni’e h as he ear- s to kr w. ; The grip of the protectionist, the mo ' nopolist, was almost irreslstable in the ! 1 France of that day. as it is in America I ■ now; .. mJ Mi. Jeffersoi.'s t.rnk was w-l!- i j night hopeless Yet by gr- at persever- i j an- e and the bringing to bear of tlie j i pr-ssnri of Lafayette ; rj otl: r personal ; i friends, he did manage : loos-m the j i:. >n bands .< little. While oi; ;,mi sij ' fish from New England .-gsn to have i better treatment: so did rice from the i south. For tobacco he was not able to I do nm.'fi. th.:t article of commerce being i I in the control <.f the Farmers-General, a , ■ corporation w!.i 'll held France by the | i throat. The sum and substance of it all j ' was that Mr. Jefferson succeeded in get- j t ting the United States treatt 1 as the most favored nation. France not only yielded j to him better trade relations than she I j had ever, conceded to Dr. Franklin, but ; ' she agreed to pat her consular arrange- . . ments with i:s on a far more satisfoctory ' I basis than Dr. Franklin had agreed to ; . oecept In s';...rf. Mr. Jefferson accomplished no ' marvels, but he did everything that w.:s ; Be-;des h s p blic duties lie was kept , Ic.isy to varior.s other matters } : which one of our nation:’! representatives ' >•: a : reign •• .at w.-.'d n iv disdain, i Mr. Choate, who takes care of our dig ; i. ty at ti e court of St. Jani'-s. would I probably refuse to buy lamps for nn American friend, as Mr. Jefferson cheer- ■ fully did for Richard Henry Lee: and M'. Charlemagne Tower, who emphasises and illustrates cur national majesty- at Berlin, would hardly moke the rounds of tl.e jewellers' shops to select a pair of spe t.icies for an acquaintance, as Mr. ; Jefferson did for Bellini. i Things were different then, and Thomas i Jefferson was often seen under conditions | not more impressive than Chief Justice T.-hn M.i: sua il's. when lie 'eie.ee 1 cab : bages in the R'. hmond market and walk ed home bearing a pleblan burden of chickens and eggs, ham and sausages. Fancy a chief justice of the supreme court of the United States now going along tha streets from market holding a : bunch of squalling chickens in his hand, will you? Wasting no thought on his dignity. ; Thomas Jefferson was happ.v in attending ' to tlie wants <-f his old friends. He would ransack the book stores to get rare vol- j times far George Wythe and James Men- I roe and James Madison; for some other correspondent he would buy a new tongue for the harpsichord; to another he would -'end a case of wine: and lie went to a great deal of trouble to procure for Mr. Mad.son tlie best watch that could be made. The state of Virginia wished to have a marble bust of Washington, and Mr. Jef ferson selected tlie sculptor tHoudon), made the contract and conducted the cor respondence with all tlie parties concern ed An- w state house was being built in Richmond; it delighted the ministers to furnish plans ana specifications, copied from a Roman remain which fascinated ) ' this amateur architect. I In the course of a friendly discussion with Buffon, the French naturalist, as to the respective sizes of animals in Europe and America. Mr. Jefferson resolved to bring forward as proof of his theory the skeleton of a. moose. He wrote to Genr c-al John Sullivan, of Maine, to get him the skin and skeleton of a moose and to ship it to France. General Sullivan sallied forth on a THE WEEKLY CONSTITUTION: ATLANTA, GA., MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 1903. winter campaign, accompanied by a troop of hunters, maxphed through the snow, found a herd, killed a moose, had to cut a road 20 miles through the wilderness j and drag the carcass by hand. Having i got the anima! to his home. General Sul livan had to take off the skin, clean the bones. ck tlie parts wanted, etc. In line time Mr. Jefferson got the argu ment lie need-'d for the convincing of Buffon. He also got a bill of expenses, which amounted to 5220. The Count De Buffon handsomely confessed himself con quered. Ail Americans who happened to need : help of any kind burned the way tj,Mr. ; Jefferson's house in Paris. Lion-hearted Paul Jones, seeking jus tice from Denmark which had given up to England , ■ r'.uin priz- s won from the mis tress of the seas by the dauntless Jo:, v. appealed to Jeflersyn, not in vain. Ledyard, the Connecti'Ut tra eler. found in out. niiijist- r a. friend who sympathized with him. From Mr. J-'ffersen h- obtain ed money and lhe int: i" ti"U. to people I of influence. He zealously aided ail Americans who | were in distress, those who were pris- ! oners in tli-‘ hands of the "Barbary Pi- I i rates," tlr .-e who were in trouble because ; of violations of French maritime regula- , tions. and those who w-re simply short i i of money. He kept American colleges informed ! on tlie subjep:s ; scientific discovery . and .speculation, curious books and learn- i ed tlu-ori- - Agri.-uliural so- ieties he , supplied with ::• v -vl:-. plants, r.njj and valuable suggestions. Tlie heavy upland ■ lie which b- .mu’ such a b’.qgsing to Georgia and S ■ :th Carolina, was grown '■ from s°ed win-'ll ! ■ brought jrjr.iv from Italy in hl? overcoat pocket. The glorious i prop 'five i'l'ineiple made it a crime to export tlie rough rlee from Its native | home, and Thomas Jefferson, in the in- j terests of humanity, became a smuggler. ■ The world his country, to do good his i religion, lie. like Thonu'-s Paine, carried ' his benevolence wherever he went, and, ‘ just as w e tjpd bjji making efforts to erm- ■ f-T benefits upon Am-r! a. we see him do- I Ing the same, thing for Europe. The pe- i can nut is one of our grvat natural sources of wealth -a fact that we. even at I this day. are only beginning to realize. I Mr Jefferson aemri nore that a hundred years .;go; and !■■ intro.l : ■ d it into France. James Madison sending; him the nuts, lie wj> inter"-:-d in all i sorts of useful inv-ntions. and his cor- : respondents at home were kept informed of w learned. !': on H-:rs. hel s discovery of do-.ble stars to Watt's sne c-ss with the steam engine, from the m-w French theory about tlie rainbow to t..e s rew-propel:er wliieh Parisian had just invented, he was on the alert, qu: -k to investigate and t>i report resuHs u> his friends across the waler. James Bri-•>•. t'ne celebrated traveler, explor-a Afrioa in ~-.irr . vl tlie source of the Nil-v -scaping dangers of every d--s ripiiot f--',—r. drowning, starvation, attack of wild man and beast, poison- I oils serpent and ravenous eroeodil"-1-> , come tu'nt i t last and meet death in a 1 ; ■ steps ot his own house. Something like th* of ,thi.s fat* be fell Mr. J< While casually stroll- : ing with friend one day near Paris. 1 mast, ... ■ -J horse. ..nd th.- frail boa', and -■<’ tpe I ■unhurt from a headlong pH-j> down l;is ; mount .in, or from a dnrjpg v-mture a-cross ' the swoll'-n errent of a mountain stream, ' fe.l to tl: • ground and broke his wrist. ■ Awkward, but stoical, he grasped the wound-'d right hand with his left, made I i. ■ sign, and continued the scroll and the ' --onv-'i. u' ii ii. That evening lie made the i usual entiies in those account books, us- j i:.g the left hand. But the injury wits ■ si-r; It gave him great pain, and he I n< ver r- i o’.a red the full us“ of the hand. ' Thus, writing lie time v- r« laborimts to ' bin., and ni... h of It ft.mi that time was : don- v..:h 1..' i- ft hand. Mr. Jefferson states that he continued I his violin pr.ieti— up to the breaking out of th-.- re\ o! inion. 11 is l-iograph--r, Henry S RandalJj, thinks he did :..>t eu lreiy quit lidd.itig >.:::il tins fracture of his wrist. In spite of Mr. Jefferson s positive | statement that he "never took up" his | violin at'tt-r the revolution broke out, I Mr. Rauda.ll carries him on tv the ac- ■ cident in Fran'- ; bitt positively puts an end to it then, in defiance of both Jes- I ferson and Rat ail, Mr. William Eleroy ' Fortis k--<-ps J'ft rson fiddling with his , stiff wrist ail through his term of secre- ' tary of state, and holds him to it even j while lie is jij'esldent. A most remarkable composer of true I biographies is Mr. Curtis, to be sure. Perhaps, it was while Jefferson was j playing with a. stiff wrist that .lie made I tl.e rej. ita'.ion of which Mr. Curtis said ' he had -Of being tlie sorriest fiddler in • CHAPTER XXXI. The learned Parisian doctors advised the .'offerers to drink the waters of Aix Mr. Jefferson was himself something of a surgeon—. 'Uld set a broken limb and tie up an artery—and wcannot but think he wished to travel for the sake o: traveling. - -e lie would not have gone to such a distance to drink wa'.c-r for a bruised wrist. Whatever his motive, he set forth upon his travels-, drank water at Aix for a while, derived no benefit therefrom, and r-sumed his light wines as he con tinued his journey. The diary in which he recorded his experience indicates tiiat be was not one of those who go about merely to look at houses and trees, rivers and mountains. He studied the people. He wanted to know how they lived, what kind of food they ate and beds they slept on, what sort of work was d»me, and what wages were paid. He entered their homes, lolled upon their cots, peeped into their pots, pried with tongue and spied with eye, in the most practical, prosaic, uncomfortable manner. Delighted with his success, he wrote to Lafayette that if he really wished to know the condition of his own people he, the marquis, must do what he, the American minister, was then doing—-he must go into the huts of the poor and see for himself just how they lived. That the French peasantry were wretchedly poor, degraded, squalid and ignorant to a shameful degree is true—a truth which is disgraceful to the system of king rule and priest rule which had so long held them in absolute subjec tion. Mr. Jefferson's opinion was that .lineteen million of the twenty million citizens of France were in a worse con dition than the most abject victims of poverty in America Yet he notes that he had never seen ( • ( | «|* » • t + ! j ' n!* ( • a drunken man in France. His sympathy with the d ’wn-trodd»n nineteen millions was profound; his indignation against the I one million oppressors was hot and b;t --i ter. No words were strong enough to con demn the heartless rulers who had en slaved .and brutalized the masses in order that the privileged few might revel in riches beyond the limits of healthy, ra tional desire. To Washington, Monr e and others lie wrote in most cont -mptuo':- terms of the besotted kings, tha reckless, selfish no- I hies, the cruel int lun’.ith s and injustice i of the old word system; but his tone is ’ always that of a statesman deepened :n convictions which lie ha I long held. His repeated cry is: 'lf you want to fully appreciate the blessings of our democracy, come . ver here and see what the other thing is' Come -and gaze upon these swinish k ::gs. these queens who madly gamble; these nobles who shirk ei ery duty, plunder the tax payers and , live riotously on the sp lls; these priests I who are as greed;, as the peers gnd as I corrupt! Come and gaze upon the toilers I of the land, those who feed and clothe | and serve their masters, living in huts not fit for horse or cow; keeping body ; and soul together .-n food not good I enttgh for a decor.- dog! Look at their : ■ - s and fori Their minds I , ' y have had no ■ schools. Ignorant, superstitious, well l r.igh b'stl.ii. thej lost !1 conception ! of government; and their religion is a. , ni- ..ninglv.-* form. To them t’ne state I means a master th- y mast pay or be damned here on earth; the church is a I master they must pay or be damned in ; hell hereafter. Beitold in France the ripened harvest o;’ : .e system! A du:!. ; coarse-mannered k;::g whose rapture is to slaughter tame birds and deer; a 1 queen who is frivolous, headstrong, ' haughty and devoted to gambling; a no : lillity which is rotten t ) the very core; ■ a. church which crucifies its savior every ! day in the week; a peasantry which has i never known a, kind word or deed from i those who are its self-constituted shep l herds—a peasantry which has never ' known its masters save in the taxes , which pl’.’.dered an the discriminations which, heavj as a y '■<=. cut .ike a : I Washington, pleas.only engaged in re i habitating Mount Vernon, could not rea.l - ize what Jefferson w.mes-ed in France For i this reason, as we . as others, he could | never sympathize with the French revo : lotion. ' In all the earlier ,-:nges of that mighty movement Mr. Jeff-'san was as openly a friend of the re:\ ".ters as his position allowed. He of course became acquainted with N-'-cker, the n: aist'‘r of mild reform, ile knew that noble minded dreamer, Con dorcet. v, .. . was to sacrifice himself in the effort to uplift 1:1s felt wman;' and he was in c.osest touch with ardent Laf.iy- J.-ffersoii's r.. 4 aim :1 gr :. .1 upon which the refv’i m leaders could meet to adjust their diff 'er.ces; and thej I sometimes embarrassed him by the free . dom with which they used it. j The French ministers to whom Jeff- rson I made ■ xplanatlon not cn'y took no or ' fen.-e, but, in effect expressed tlie hope ' that these reformers mig it continue to have the benefit of J.’ffer'on's wise, con servative advice. That he was conserve tire is shown by '.lie plan of compromise between toe king and th-' liberal no!' • s which lie I suggested. Let tlie monarch t ome for ward with a cliara.-ter in w! hhe should i grant liberty of the person, of the con s, iene". and of the press; trIM by jury I a representative legislature to meet an ' nually and control taxation; :<..d a minis try responsible to the people Unfortunately, the king xv.is contra .-d !>v a. party which nu'useu concession; while the reformers were dominated by tion which den led mor* than Jef ferson outlined. No compromise couid I .• made; and t’ne t'-V"litti<m r died on. Having seen for himself the miserable condition of the French peasantry, the interest with which Mr. Jefferson regard ed the opening scenes of the revolution may be imagined. He saw the notables called together, the high Leads of church and state. He saw them cling to their j i ivil< g< s ref ng to yield anything. They were prosperous, they considered the system a glorious sys tem. It has been good for their fathers; It was good enough for them. Surrender their privileges. Give up feudal dues! ‘ Tax themselves! Grant r- lief to the peas ants!—never in the world. 'l he high heads go a s they came, very high indeed. But something must be done. The king r.-eds money. And the people, so it is said, are on the point of starvation. Tha states general i« called, and Mr. Jefferson attends the opening scene He witnesses the preliminary struggle over the ques tion of one general assembly where each deputy shall have one vote, or three sep arate assembles where any one chamber can veto the action of the other. A vital issue—for the assembly of tlie nobles would veto the acts of the commons, even if the assembly of the higher clergy did not. Mr. Jefferson is there when the royal sitting Is held, and when the king in person commands the deputies to sepa rate into three houses; there when depu ties remain after the king has gone; there when Mirabeau thunders his famous re fusal to get out. He is deep in the counsels of tl.e re formers all along here. King—bearding Is a pastime he is fond of; he has beard ed a king before. Tradition says that it was he who advised the commons to declare themselves the assembly, leaving it to the oilier two classes to say. whether they would join or not. (1) 111 is present at the very first collision between the people and the troops; he is there when the Bastille is stormed—there when the glory head of poor old De Lan nay— from the end of a pike—stares upon the wild multitudes of Paris. Mr. Jefferson Is In Paris when the king is brought from Versailles to have the badge of revolution pinned in his coat and its watchwords practiced on his lips. He is there on that memorable night in August when feudalism is offered up as burnt offering, to appease the wrath of gods and men. Sages take their places to ' write a constitution fop the new France; | and they invite Mr. Jefferson to be pres ent and to help—an invitation which flat- ! ters. but which must be declined. All the time that he is heart and soul with the reformers, he urges them not to at- ! tempt too much now. Leave something to time. By demanding too much you may lose all. Go slow. They all respect him, confide in him. iI) The British ambassador wrote at the time ’hat Jefforson had given the Advice here alluded to—vastly important advice! ■ look up to him. Around him is the halo i of the success of the American revolu j tion. He is an authority—a soldier in the : sacred cause of civil liberty whose lau j rels are still fresh. Barnave, who was not afraid to cross swords even with Mirabeau, is to be seen at Jefferson's table; also De l.ame’h, also Duport; also Mounier. Me know that Jefferson was familiar with such men as Montmorin and Necker. such women as Madame Houditot. De Tesse. arid Necker's brilliant daughter; but did he know the angular, sharp-faced mem ber from Arcis, Robespierre? Did he ever chance to discuss science with Dr. Jean Paul Mara: .' Did he ever hear thunder ing at the Palais Royal the burly Dan ton? We know what he thought of the ora tory of Mirabeau—life is bountiful when it permits the same man to hear both Patrick Henry and Mirabeau. We know that he was acquainted with the Girondin Condorcet, and that he gave to Brisset, another Girondin, a let ■r of introduction to Madison; but did ! he eV' r meet the lofty-minded patriot, Louv.-t, a third Girondin, whose book of "Chevalier Fanbias" (so detested by Thomas Carlyle) deals largely with the adventures of the Count Pulaski, who gave his life for us at Savannah? j Among the young nobles whom he met in his social rounds did he happen to i know the gallant Viscount Beauharnais, | and the gay wife of the same-sweet . fa ed, soft-voiced, artfully artless Jo- t I sephlne? ‘ The Abbe Raynal was a savant of some | reputation—did he ever see the American minister, and if so did he introduce his , . protege, Lieutenant Napoleon Bonaparte. , ' Questions like these naturally occur to | i the mind, but they cannot be answered. ' Owing to tlte bungling work of a crude letter-press all of Mr. Jefferson s letters, at the most Interesting period of his stay In France, are unreadable. CHAPTER XXXII. Mr. Jefferson upon his arrival in Faris had placed his daughter, Martha, in a convent school. The other two he left In Virginia with their aunt, Mrs. F.ppes. The youngest, Lucy, died soon after her i 'ather reached France, being about 2 years old at the time. In 1757 Mary Jef i ferson joined her father and her sister I in Paris, and was also placed In the convent school. Martha is described as being tall anil elegant, with a cairn, sweet face, stamped with though: and earnestness. She was modest; she was ' both gentle and genial; and she possessed fine natural talents which she was faith ful In her efforts to Improve. Her tem ■ per was sonny: extremes were inknown I her; -he elevation of her father never I ; elated her unduly; and the misfortunes ’ wliic': came upon him, and upon her. i could not break her spirit. "The noblest | 1 woman in Virginia." So said John Ran- i i dolph, of Roanoke, who did not love her j i her fathoy's sake. j I Mary Jefferson is said ’to have been I ; i’ea ttifu: ”!', form and face, like her : moT! ■r. "A finer child of her age I nev- r . wrote Mrs. John Adams, who kept j ' ■ ’.-irl a while in London til! Mr. Jes [ '■ con’d send for her. "She was the , '. vori'e of every one in the house." She I was one of those impulsive, warm ar. i ■ i ■ ilngit.g children whose throne is a fath- I • r'~ ’it -’', and who must r tn to him with be.iutifu! flower it has found, every . beautiful picture it sees in the books; one !wk must r :sh to his arms for ccnsola- ' :t when its little griefs come and weep its way to ojmfi rt on his breast. M: Jefferson had been enjoying the 're. j.-.m and advantages of his position •'o much that ho came near making a Ist k 1 : st daughter. II- forgo: how long she had been at the ""'.' "'it until one morning In 1759 he re d ’ n-’t'- from her In which she ' i- a '• "mission to become a nnn. Allowing the note to go unanswered for I d.i ■ or 'wo he drove to the had the necessary explanations with the 1 eth >r superior: then telling his dough-1 lots that he bad come to take them away from school, he drove off with them to its home. Engaging spe. ial masters, the education ' < f the young laill, s was continued, spe • i.il attention being given to their music! ! and dancing Each of them spoke I'ren 'i as fluently n< they did their 1 ' mother tongue. When Mr. Randall stated that, after ’ coming from the convent. Martha Jeffer-! n was introducr-d into society, he prob- I ably meant no more than he said, viz. . that she began to meet Iter father's I friends socially, receiving and paying) isits in Mr Jefferson’s quiet way. Mr. I Randall could pot have meant that Mar- ; tha had not been in society previous to | that time, for the letters he prints show! that so early as 1757 she accompanied b a r j father on hep social rounds. Resolved into its real elements the epl- I s vie becomes simple enough. The Ameri- j , can minister puts his daughter in charge I • : lhe mother superior, or abbess, of a' . nvent to be educated. Sanctimoniously ( envir-'tied. the impressionable girl be-| comes sanctimonious, inclining to nun nery Tlie mother superior herself, no abt. required that the minor child con ’ suit her father before committing herself. At any rate, the suggestion comes to Mr. Jefferson in a frank, open way. He acts the gentleman with the abbess, for he goes to her before seeing his daughter. He acts the kind-hearted parent with the . liild, for he utters no word of reproof. He asserts his rights as parent, for he takes hi s girls home. And he acts the man of the .world, for he gives them other tea hers, and throws them with people v. ho are not so sanctimonious. That Is all there is of ft—until Mr. Wil liam Eleroy Curtis gets hold of the inci dent, and then occurrences befall! He makes Martha's letter to her father a "tearful entreaty." N'o tear splotches were in the missive till Mr. Curtis took possession. Furthermore, he makes Jef ferson a boor who sends for his children, without a previous interview with or a message, to, the mother superior! Then having unceremoniously affronted the abbess by sending for the girls, he leaves off educating Martha, and immedi ately plunges her "Into tlie brilliant scenes of the court of Louis XVI, where she soon forgot," and so forth! The scenes of the court of poor .Louis XVI were not so very brilliant in the year 1759. when the Jefferson girls were taken from school, and there is no evidence that either of them was ever introduced into the "court scenes'' at all. If a Virginia girl of the peculiarly noble type of Mar tha Jefferson had been thrust immediate ly into the stifling atmosphere of that court, with its Polignacs. Its D’Artois, its gambling queen and tipsy king—this brothel, as the queen's own brother called it—the probability is that the convent , would have gained immensely by contrast , • Sy * | ; Thos. E. Watson, j h I *** •) Author of • h Story of France,” i !j "Napoleon,” Etc, j ‘ Copyright, 1903, by Thbt. E- Watson’"JHl Rights Reserved and the diplomatic parent would have realized that he had over-reached him self. In the spring of 17S8 Mr. Jefferson went to Amsterdam to concert with Mr. Adams some plan to satisfy the hungry creditors of the United States. Traveling in his own carriage, using post horses, he pass ed through Valenciennes, Brussels. Ant werp. Rotterdam and .The Hague. Mr. Adams joined him here, and they proceed ed in company to Amsterdam, where they got rid of the old debts by the compara ! tiveiy familiar device of making a ne-v ' one. Mr. Adams having executed bonds to the amount of a million florins subject to the approval of congress, the minister» separated, and Mr. Jefferson extended his journey tip the Rhine, visiting Cologne. Frankfort. Heidelburg. Manhelm, Carls ! ruhe and Strasburg, he returned to Paris I byway of the Marne At the time Mr. Jefferson accepted the diplomatic mission, he had supposed taat his absence from home would not be long. Two years was the length of his term of office. But when congress nomi nated him to the position made vacant by i Dr. Franklin his stay had prolonged itself five years It was Important that ho should return home for at least a few months. His pri vate business required It; his family af fairs required it. Not till August, 1789 did he re ' ■ tice of the desired leave of absence, ar. 1 , it was November. 17-9. when he and his ! daughters reach'-1 No rfolk. They j 'r neyed t war! home leisurely, for it was ■ not til! Christmas was almost upon 'hem I that they reached Monticello. In Richmond, where the logisfin nr-' was in session, his loyal friend. Edmund Ran dolph. met him at the head cf a dr:’’.!'.)'! from the house to welcotne him home and present congratulatory resolutions. (1) Making suitable reply Mr. Jefferson con tinued his journey, till he reached the ! home of Mr. Ep;es, his brother in law. I where he spent some dtr.s. As his carriage at length drew near Monticello two days before Christmas everybody on the place came streaming down the road to meet him. 1 The negroes were in a state of excite ment, which grew as they waited; end i when at length they caught sight of his carriage they broke Into shouts of wel come. They whooped, they laughed, they cried—they couldn't keep hands off. They must take hold of something, .somewhere! ' Traces were undone, horses taken out. stout slaves caught hold, and in spite of all the master could do. the negroes rush up hill with tlie carriage, some pac ing in front, some pushing behind, some i keeping at tlie win ds till the level ground - « s reached at the t p; and old mister I was at home again! | The door wis plucked open and Mr. I Jeffers -n was caught tip in strong arms 1 I and "toted" into the house in the midst I . ot a deariuru of enthusiastic joy. wnieli j I passed from the kissing of fits hand's to I i the kissing of his feet. I Bright shone the lights at Monticello : that night; and late was the hour, no ! doubt, when the sounds of gladness died i away and s'e-’p enwrapped the place— • “big house, quarters and all. Ar..l after everybody p! --e had gone t> bed and every ! l other candle w;,s out. wo have not the • i slightest doubt that the home-eomlng ' '• statesman softly opened th** secret draw- i er. in the private cabinet, touched rever entlv the s mventrs of the dead wife who , had always greeted his return before, and in the loneliness of the house where , all bat be slumbered, the old "wounds which have bled enough" opened ones ; more and bled again. CHAPTER XXXIII. Nobody cares much to know whet • ■ average river rises; It is a matter of no i particular c •:-• mence. and m:.l<e no ap- ; ’ peal to the imagination. But when one I ! looks upon the fountains from whence the Danube flows, wh n one gazes down ' into the feeble beginnings of the Nile, tl.e Amazon o* - the Mississippi, the feeling must be altogether different. So it is \ with the various governments of the : world. The origin of the average estab ! lishment awakes no especial curiosity. : challenges no espe.'Ml investigation; but • when we come to deal with such a re ' public as that which our fathers built. ' so novel and so groat, the remote sources : ’ from whence It drew the blood and breath : ; of life to become Intensely interesting. i Whose was the original idea, whose the . plan? Who first unfurled its standards : ’ and fought its early battles? Whence ! or me the form of our republic and whence ! ■ the spirit? | The Puritan says. "It was I who led ; j the way, planted the principle, developed ; ! the idea, gave it strength and shape, i i caused its triumph. Flymouth Rock is ! ; rhe comer stone of American democ- : racy." | The Cavalier says. "It was I who von- I ! tured first, suffered most, accomplished : most. My footing here was permanent I and secure before the Puritan was seen; I had planted trial by jury, representa tive government, and local sovereignty, before New England ever heard of a Pil grim father. Sword in hand, I had wrest ed the charter of my liberties from Great . Britain a hundred years before the stamp act was heard of; and 1 was practicing the leading principles of democracy while the Puritan was hunting for witches, offering large rewards for Indian s. a.ps, selling King Philip's son into slavery, torturing children to get evidence against parents, .persecuting to the death any body who was not a Puritan, denying the , right of citizenship to all who were not ■ Puritans, and straining every nerve to establish the most repulsive theocracy the world every saw." , Such are the contending claims of Puritan and Cavalier. They clash at all , points. But the Puritan was quickest i with his pen. He wrote the story to suit himself. The Pilgrim Father s sketch : was worded by bls son; and its modesty is not its striking feature. ; When the three ships of December 19, ; IGO6, dropped down the Thames on their i way to the sea. on their way to the new ■ : world, they flew at their mastheads the ■' flags of a new civilization, a new cm- i pire. The Discovery, the Godspeed, the 1 Susan Constant, with the character of King James 1, sail away from the old home and steer jor the western world. They plant the Christian religion at Jamestown, established trial by jury. 1 and John Smith is the first man in the 1 new world to be tried by his peers, and to ' have his heart leap at the blessed words i ‘ "not guilty." No king, no parliament, aids these he. role adventures in their struggle for ex istence in Virginia. When swamps are <l) Conway says it was RanL-IJ'h. Parton says it was Patrick Henry, who was the . author of this public welcome. :: cleared away, they do the work: v. - - j savages assail, they do th" fig . 1 King James has graciouslv given l ■ ■ . .. ' piece of paper, that is ail. Th*:: t risk, the danger, the toil, the mit s pain of hunger and disease. The • » ' glory of the victory. By sheer for: ' character, hardihood and coarag*, a - I soldier-ruler," John Smith, beats down ‘ every obstacle, asserts his domin.m over ■ the white men of his little c Fry . > "i the red men of the wild’ rness, - settlement of Virginia, its co.. • ’ Anglo-Saxon civilization is r.■> , . ..• - t question of doubt. : "He that will not work shall r - •.:"" - Admiral John Smit::! Re?d-h<" s whiskered, sh-rt but st" at ap’-'F ' American demccracy! Who c . •■- f . ■ a republic upon a nobler principle? it > '; tlie “golden rule" of dem «'t: ' I The cavaliers murmure l; but t c ' ed. Soon it was remarked that • b ’ ’! of the colonists w't'" wp re classed < '| "gentlemen" ex (■’.!• d the other i - ’ I manual labor. 1 | In the year I*’>l2 b*-g.in a f irtl - L ress in republican institutions R ’ * permission was given to the Li>- .1 'r. I pany which controlled Virginia to s" I a week in London and to h Id four g urts in the year for the 1 of tlie colonial affairs. • Here was the creation of a dem . society in the very citadel of mon :’ ! The company had authority t m laws for Virginia, provided su-h laws : were not contrary to those ■■■f Er-’ t I Britain. What room for debate! ! We are not surprised when we res 1 i that the meetings were thronged a I th-, ir discussions tumultous. No w " ! that the ambassador of Spain should '■ ' King James that the Virginia were but a seminary to a s-’dit: vis p.i:- j linment. I In Spain the ambass?.*lor -o::'1 w i ness. alm st any month In the year, t e ' burning at the stake of some poor wret . who had ventured to think for h'.'t:.-*', ■ on questions which kings and pr!e-ts had , declared were settled. ' In London, owing to the king’s w ‘ lack of foresight, leading citizens were | hotly debating the fundamental bases i of government. "Shall the will cf t-. ■» I people control in the making of a law. or I shall it be the pleasure of the king?” But for that new charter, the more d'.s --i cushion of the question would smell rank- I ly of treason. In the debate, victory- was by th-' i popular party: Virginia was t? have the , ess-".rials of free government. ! In the year 1619 (no Pilgrim Fathers y ' In sight!) every free man in Virginia w' ?e t > y- jte did so; and thus tl s- ■ representative to the general assembl" . at Jamestown, which began t‘ make 1 ■ • ; for the people. I Here was the cradle of American ' mocracy! I In this first of reprosc-r-tative Assemblies I held by white me" On ! 's continent manj was made for hom--- rule: and te. ' ' years later that dem. nd was expres-:v eon eded No orders of the Lon lon i pany were to be binding on the col'nv ; "unless they be ratified by the general : assemblies” of the colony. • This pap*-r bears date 24th July. ' '. I What charter of free government ! .America antedates It? 1 When Cromwell overtnrn-M rnyn’tv England, the cavaliers of V!rgl" ! a. ' < , to church and king, remained stea*'.’ ■With arms in their hands, they tr n .?’ ’ : for peace with Cromwell's comn - er'. \ f 'rmal compact wes agree : '’• ■ put in writing, and signed The e -:!’:n ' article of that treaty rends; ! "Virginia shall te free from a'l *-X'-s customs and !mpn.= !:in-ns whats ■ ‘ ” Xone shall be Imposed without the c-' I sent of the grand assembly” (of VI.-- ' g’nla) “and neither forts nor cist’es sh| Ii ~ erected, nor garrisons main: il’ ■••1 ! without their consent.” I Here was local Independence! Freedom from taxation, freedom of trade, freedom, from English troops and forts. Home rule through their own representative” Is It any marvel that, after Cromwell ' time, the minions of a restored end shameless king should attempt to er croach upon the liberties which Crom well had sanct! ned, and that "Great re bellion" should be the measure of Vlr ' ginia's resistance? : Young Nathaniel Bacon, land-owning : cavalier, was just as true a patriot when • he led the embattled Virginians in ' "■• | as young George Washington, land-cv: - : ing cavalier, was when he led them n 1 1776. Home rule, civil liberty, just laws, I good government were just as much at ' the bottom of the quarrel in the one cas« as in the other. CHAPTER XXXIV. I We have already seen how tlr's inde | pendent spirit flamed up again in 17'M and 1765. when Nathaniel Bacons, a!l • over Virginia, left their farms to main tain their rights. We have heard the orator talk, and seen the soldier arm. We have learned that in all the colonies the feeling was practically the same, and that nothing was needed but lead ership and organization to w! 1 separate committees Into a confederation. We have seen the younger Virginians holding their private meetings apart from the more conservative members of the legislature; we have seen them agree upon the committee of correspond ence whose mission it will be to knit the threads of continental union. Whose brain originated the plan? Some claim it for Richard Henry Lee. some for Samuel Adams, some for Jeffers n. It is Dabney Carr who came forward to proclaim it, and to advocate it so convincingly that no opposition is heard. We have seen the first congress meet and separate, having done little more than establish the vital fact that the continental congress was something more than a sugges'.i.-n. It was a reality. Other congresses follow, and we see the beginnings of nationality. We stand at the headwaters. We gaze down, down into the iittle j arent streams with pro found interest. With what artful man agement the colonies are kept in line, taught to keep step! With what diplo macy the front ranks are made to go Slow till lagging patriots can be brough: up! How careful the extremists are not to frighten the conservatives. Notice that the fiction of "your maj-sty's loyal subjects" is maintained to the very last moment; and that the magic word inde pendence fi-es not slip the muzzle until all the colonists are in line of battle, with George Washington in command. Then note the earnest reaching out for supports, for outside help. See tha anxiety to protect the western flank from hostile Indians. Nobody's aid is Continued on Fifth Pace.
