THOMAS JEFFERSON.

CHAPTER I.

BIRTH OF THOMAS JEFFERSON-HIS ANCESTORS-PETER JEFFERSON-THOMAS JEFFERSON BECOMES A PUPIL OF MAURY—HE ENTERS WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE-HIS HABITS AND PECULIARITIES-DR. WILLIAM SMALL -JEFFERSON'S ATTACHMENT TO MISS BURWELL-HIS LETTERS-GoverNOR FAUQUIER-ELOQUENCE OF PATRICK HENRY-JEFFERSON'S JOURNEY TO PHILADELPHIA AND NEW YORK-HIS ADMISSION TO THE BAR-HIS QUALITIES AS A LAWYER-IS ELECTED TO THE VIRGINIA HOUSE OF BURGESSES HIS ACTIVITY AND INFLUENCE IN THAT BODY.

VIRGINIA possesses the high distinction of being the mother both of great empires and of great men. From her bosom have gone forth, in successive generations, the sturdy and enterprising myriads who have peopled the vast domains which lie to the south and west of her own borders; and which now constitute so large and so important a portion of this confederacy. She has also given birth to many distinguished men, who, in different eras of the past, have shed lustre on their native land by their genius, their patriotism, and the splendor of their achievements. Foremost among all these is Wash

ington, the most illustrious sage and hero of modern times. It had been sufficient glory for any country to have produced him alone. But very near that stately and sublime personage, there stands in the great pantheon of immortal fame another figure of impressive and solemn presence, to whom Virginia also gave existence, and he is the subject of our present history.

THOMAS JEFFERSON was born at Shadwell, in Albemarle county, on the 2d of April, 1743. His ancestors, on his father's side, were of Welsh descent; and his immediate predecessors had been among the earliest inhabitants of the colony of Virginia. They enjoyed the reputation of having been intelligent, prosperous, and highly respectable citizens; and were the possessors of considerable wealth. The grandfather of Thomas Jefferson had three sons. One of these died at an early age. Another removed to the southern extremity of the State, and there passed an unobtrusive and an obscure existence. The third, who was named Peter, had removed from Chesterfield county where he had been reared, to Shadwell, where Thomas, his eldest child, was born. His wife was Jane Randolph, who was connected with one of the oldest and most reputable families in the colony. She was a woman of superior intelligence and amiability, and

became the wife of Peter Jefferson in 1739, at the age of nineteen.

Peter Jefferson, the father of Thomas, had never enjoyed many facilities for mental cultivation; yet his natural talents were of a superior grade, and his industry in the pursuit of knowledge had been so persevering, while his judgment was regarded as so correct, that he was selected to perform the task of ascertaining and settling the boundary line between the territories of Virginia and North Carolina. His associate in this responsible task was Joshua Fry, the professor of mathematics in William and Mary College.

When five years old, Thomas Jefferson commenced his youthful studies at an English school. At nine he began the acquisition of the Latin, Greek, and French languages under the direction of a Scotch clergyman named Douglass. Peter Jefferson died in 1757, leaving two sons and six daughters. But they were not destitute; for to each of them their deceased parent had devised an estate. The plantation called Shadwell, where he first saw the light, was the portion which fell to the lot of the subject of this memoir-it also embraced the farm of Monticello.

After his father's death Thomas became the pupil of Mr. Maury, an eminent classical scholar of that

day; and under his careful tuition he remained during two years. At this period he was already remarkable for his great industry, and for the rapid progress which he made in his studies. He seemed to possess an intuitive fondness for intellectual pursuits; yet he frequently took great delight in the exercise and diversion of hunting, for which the neighboring mountains, which traverse a portion of Albemarle county, furnished the most favorable opportunities.

In 1760, when seventeen years of age, Jefferson passed from the tuition of Mr. Maury to the higher studies and advantages of William and Mary College. He had been well prepared for the labors of this new sphere by the thorough instruction imparted to him by his former preceptors. He remained two years in connection with this institution, which was situated then as now at the city of Williamsburg; which place Jefferson, in his earlier letters to his most intimate friends, designated by the somewhat satirical epithet of "Devilsburg."

Respecting his pursuits and studies while at this institution Jefferson himself has furnished the most satisfactory account in his "Memoir." Says he: "It was my great good fortune, and what probably fixed the destinies of my life, that Dr. William Small of Scotland was the professor of mathema