and feet very large, and his wrists of an extraordinary size. His walk is not precise and military, but easy and swinging. He stoops a little, not so much from age as from natural formation. When sitting, he appears short, partly from a rather lounging habit of sitting, and partly from the disproportionate length of his limbs.

"His dress when in the house is a gray surtout coat, kerseymerestuff waistcoat, with an under-one faced with some material of a dingy red. His pantaloons are very long and loose, and of the same color as his coat. His stockings are woollen, either white or gray; and his shoes of the kind that bear his name. His whole dress is very much neglected, but not slovenly. He wears a common round hat. His dress when on horseback is a gray straight-bodied coat, and a spencer of the same material, both fastened with large pearl buttons. When we first saw him he was riding; and, in addition to the above articles of apparel, wore round his throat a knit white woollen tippet in the place of a cravat, and black-velvet gaiters under his pantaloons. His general appearance indicates an extraordinary degree of health, vivacity, and spirit. His sight is still good, for he needs glasses only in the evening. His hearing is generally good, but a number of voices in animated conversation confuse it.

"Mr. Jefferson rises in the morning as soon as he can see the hands of his clock, which is directly opposite his bed, and examines his thermometer immediately, as he keeps a regular meteorological diary. He employs himself chiefly in writing till breakfast, which is at nine. From that time till dinner he is in his library, excepting that in fair weather he rides on horseback from seven to fourteen miles. Dines at four, returns to the drawing-room at six, when coffee is brought in, and passes the evening till nine in conversation. His habit of retiring at that hour is so strong, that it has become essential to his health and comfort. His diet is simple, but he seems restrained only by his taste. His breakfast is tea and coffee, bread always fresh from the oven, of which he does not seem afraid, with sometimes a slight accompaniment of cold meat. He enjoys his dinner well, taking with his meat a large proportion of vegetables. He has a strong preference for the wines of the Continent, of which he has many sorts of excellent quality, having been more than commonly successful in his mode of importing and preserving them. Among others we found the following, which are very rare in this country, and apparently not at all injured by transportation, - L'Ed

nau, Muscat, Samian, and Blanchette de Limoux.

Dinner is served in half Virginian, half French style, in good taste and abundance. No wine is put on the table till the cloth is removed.

"In conversation Mr. Jefferson is easy and natural, and apparently not ambitious: it is not loud, as challenging general attention, but usually addressed to the person next him. The topics, when not selected to suit the character and feelings of his auditor, are those subjects with which his mind seems particularly occupied; and these, at present, may be said to be science and letters, and especially the University of Virginia, which is coming into existence almost entirely from his exertions, and will rise, it is to be hoped, to usefulness and credit under his contiued care. When we were with him, his favorite subjects were Greek and Anglo-Saxon, historical recollections of the times and events of the Revolution, and of his residence in France from 1783-4 to 1789."

VISIT OF THE DUKE OF SAXE-WEIMAR IN 1825.

"President Jefferson invited us to a family dinner; but as in Charlottesville there is but a single hackney-coach, and this being absent, we were obliged to go the three miles to Monticello on foot.

"We went by a pathway, through well-cultivated and enclosed fields, crossed a creek named Rivanna, passing on a trunk of a tree cut in a rough shape and without rails; then ascended a steep hill overgrown with wood, and came, on its top, to Mr. Jefferson's house, which is in an open space, walled round with bricks, forming an oblong whose shorter sides are rounded; on each of the longer sides are portals of four columns.

"The unsuccessful waiting for a carriage, and our long walk, caused such a delay, that we found the company at table when we entered; but Mr. Jefferson came very kindly to meet us, forced us to take our seats, and ordered dinner to be served up anew. He was an old man of eighty-six years of age, of tall stature, plain appearance, and long white hair.

"In conversation, he was very lively; and his spirits, as also his hearing and sight, seemed not to have decreased at all with his advancing age. I found in him a man who retained his faculties remarkably well in his old age, and one would have taken him for a man of sixty. He asked me what I had seen in Virginia. I eulogized

all the places that I was certain would meet with his approbation, and he seemed very much pleased. The company at the table consisted of the family of his daughter, Mrs. Randolph, and of that of the professor of mathematics at the university, an Englishman and his wife. I turned the conversation to the subject of the university, and observed that this was the favorite topic with Mr. Jefferson: he entertained very sanguine hopes as to the flourishing state of the university in future, and believed that it, and the Harvard University near Boston, would in a very short time be the only institutions where the youth of the United States would receive a truly classical and solid education. After dinner we intended to take our leave, in order to return to Charlottesville; but Mr. Jefferson would not consent to it. He pressed us to remain for the night at his house. The evening was spent by the fire: a great deal was said about travels, and objects of natural history; the fine arts were also introduced, of which Mr. Jefferson was a great admirer. He spoke also of his travels in France, and the country on the Rhine, where he was very much pleased. His description of Virginia is the best proof what an admirer he is of the beauties of nature. He told us that it was only eight months since he could not ride on horseback; otherwise he rode every day to visit the surrounding country: he entertained, however, hopes of being able to recommence, the next spring, his favorite exercise. Between nine and ten o'clock in the evening the company broke up, and a handsome room was assigned to me.

"The next morning I took a walk round the house, and admired the beautiful panorama which this spot presents. On the left I saw the Blue Ridge, and between them and Monticello are smaller hills. Charlottesville and the university lay at my feet; before me, the valley of the Rivanna River, which farther on makes its junction with the James River; and on my right was the flat part of Virginia, the extent of which is lost in distance; behind me was a towering hill which limited the sight. The interior of the house was plain, and the furniture somewhat of an old fashion. In the entrance was a marble stove, with Mr. Jefferson's bust, by Cerracchi. In the room hung several copies of the celebrated pictures of the Italian school, views of Monticello, Mount Vernon, the principal buildings in Washington, and Harper's Ferry; there were also an oil-painting and an engraving of the Natural Bridge, views of Niagara by Vanderlin, a sketch of the large picture by Trumbull representing the surrender

at Yorktown, and a pen-drawing of Hector's Departure by Benjamin West, presented by him to General Kosciuszko; finally, several portraits of Mr. Jefferson, among which the best was that in profile, by Stuart. In the saloon there were two busts, one of Napoleon as First Consul, and another of the Emperor Alexander. Mr. Jefferson admired Napoleon's military tactics, but did not love him. After breakfast, which we took with the family, we bade the respectable old man farewell, and set out upon our return to Charlottesville.

"Mr. Jefferson tendered us the use of his carriage; but I declined, as I preferred walking in a fine and cool morning."

CHAPTER LXXII.

LAST YEARS AND DAYS.

THE meeting of Jefferson and Lafayette in 1824 fills a great place in the memoirs of those times. They had labored together in anxious and critical periods, - first when Jefferson was governor of Virginia, and Lafayette commanded the forces defending the State against the inroads of Cornwallis; and afterwards when Jefferson, a tyro in diplomacy, enjoyed the powerful aid of the young and popular nobleman at the court of France. Thirty-six years had passed since that memorable day when Lafayette had brought the leaders of the Revolution to Jefferson's house in Paris, and they had there eaten a sacramental dinner, and afterwards, under the serene influence of the silent master of the feast, arranged a programme upon which it was possible for them to unite. Thirty-six years! Both were old men now, Jefferson past eighty, Lafayette nearly seventy; but both retained every faculty except those which begin to perish as soon as they are created. Jefferson exulted when he heard of the landing of his ancient friend and colleague. "I hope," said he, "we shall close his visit with something more solid for him than dinners and balls ;" and it was Jefferson who proposed that Congress should pay part of the unrecorded and unclaimed debt which the country owed Lafayette for money advanced during the Revolutionary War.

During the heats of August the French republican landed in New York; and as soon as the cool days of September came he moved southward on a pilgrimage to Monticello. They met on one of the fine days of October. Jefferson would have gone some distance to welcome his approaching guest; but the gentlemen in charge of the occasion requested him to remain at his house, while they escorted the Marquis from Charlottesville to the summit of the