quest of him. But in this he was mistaken. La Fayette retreated before him, joined at every step by the militia, many of them well armed and mounted in their own outfits, and, on the Rapidan, a tributary of the Rappahannock, he was met by General Wayne with reinforcements from Washington, when Cornwallis thought it expedient to abandon the purpose to capture him at that time. Cornwallis now sent Simcoe, one of his best officers, to destroy stores and arms designed for the army in the South, under the escort of Baron Steuben with a few hundred men, at the junction of the Rivanna with the James, and Tarleton was dispatched to Charlottesville to capture the Legislature in session there. Mr. Jefferson, who was then at Monticello, with several members of the Legislature as his guests, had warning of the intentions of the British trooper in time to send away his family, conceal many of his valuable papers, and on one of his fine horses make his own escape, with the enemy in sight of his house. Nor did Tarleton succeed in capturing but few members of the Legislature, they having been. apprised of his approach, and adjourned to meet at Staunton, across the Blue Ridge Mountains. Mr. Jefferson's home at Monticello suffered very little by this raid, as the British officer, McLeod, had his orders from Tarleton to that effect. But this was so much at variance with that soldier's warfare, that it was supposed he had been required by Cornwallis to treat the Governor's home in that unusual manner. This kind of treatment, however, Mr. Jefferson's property did not receive in other parts of the State from the British commander. Mr. Jefferson subsequently wrote of the general damage from this invasion and his own

losses when Cornwallis had his head-quarters on one of his farms at Elk Island, on the James:

"He remained in this position ten days, his own head-quarters being in my house, at that place. He destroyed all my growing crops of corn and tobacco; he burned all my barns, containing the same articles of last year, having first taken what corn he wanted; he used, as was to be expected, all my stock of cattle, sheep, and hogs, for the sustenance of his army; and carried off all the horses, capable of service; of those too young for service, he cut the throats; and he burned all the fences on the plantation, so as to leave it an absolute waste. He carried off also about thirty slaves. Had this been to give them freedom, he would have done right; but it was to consign them to inevitable death from the small-pox and putrid fever, then raging in his camp. When I say that Lord Cornwallis did all this, I do not mean that he carried about the torch in his own hands, but that it was all done under his eye. He treated the rest of the neighbors somewhat in the same style. Wherever he went the dwellinghouses were plundered of every thing which could be carried off. From an estimate I made at that time, on the best information I could collect, I suppose the State of Virginia lost under Lord Cornwallis's hands, that year, about thirty thousand slaves; and that of these, about twenty-seven thousand died of the small-pox and camp-fever, and the rest were partly sent to the West Indies, and exchanged for rum, sugar, coffee, and fruit, and partly sent to New York, from whence they went at the peace, either to Nova Scotia or England. History will never relate the horrors committed by the British army, in the Southern States of America. I suppose their whole devastations during the six months in Virginia amounted to about three millions sterling."

It was on the 4th of June, 1781, on which Tarleton broke up the Legislature at Charlottesville, and two days before Mr. Jefferson had really ceased to be Governor of Virginia. At that time there was a very considerable demand for a "Dictator Governor," and the supporters of this idea were in favor of con ferring this power upon Patrick Henry, who was ex ceedingly popular among all classes, and as in many

other instances of popular whims, without his having any great fitness for the position. But fortunately the advocates of this measure were not strong enough to carry it out. Many of them entertained the idea. that republics would do well enough in times of peace, but were worth nothing in war. Some of Mr. Jefferson's friends desired his re-election, and it appears quite likely that the people would have generally favored his continuing in the governor's chair. But he, with many others, preferred a military governor, a man having skill to direct and lead in the military affairs of the State, as well as, ability to manage its civil and domestic concerns. This scheme was finally successful in the choice of General Nelson, a soldier of some ability, and a man otherwise possessed of admirable qualities for the position, among which was that of being a universal favorite throughout the State.

A great deal was now said as to the want of success, or the bad management of Mr. Jefferson's administration, and an investigation of the case was finally ordered by the Legislature. It seems that Mr. Jefferson strongly favored a thorough examination of all his public acts, and for the purpose of furthering this object, one of the members from Albemarle County resigned his seat in the Legislature that it might be given to Mr. Jefferson. He appeared in his place in that body, made a statement of the objections to his course, answered them, and asked an impartial and complete investigation. But the Legislature saw that the whole affair would result in nothing, and believing that he had probably conducted the concerns of the governor's office to the best advantage under the cir

cumstances, unanimously ended the matter with the following

"Resolved, That the sincere thanks of the General Assembly be given our former Governor, Thomas Jefferson, Esquire, for his impartial, upright, and attentive administration whilst in office. The Assembly wish, in the strongest manner, to declare the high opinion which they entertain of Mr. Jefferson's ability, rectitude, and integrity, as chief magistrate of this Commonwealth, and mean by thus publicly avowing their opinion, to obviate and remove all unmerited censure."

This is an entertainingly worded resolution, and while asserting great faith in his "rectitude and integrity" is designed only to "remove unmerited censure." Yet, as he was very sensitive as to charges against himself, the act of the Legislature must have been explained to mean a release of Mr. Jefferson, in good faith, from all blame of every kind. The little cloud that rose over him at home did not extend to the Congress, and Mr. Nicholas and others ready to prefer charges against him deserted their ground, and afterwards became his warm supporters.

Mr. Jefferson had no military skill, and unlike John Adams, never did have any desires in that way. The persistent determination never to have the militia ready for

any emergency was the policy of the Legislature, made necessary, to a great extent, by the want of money and arms. Still there were some good military men at the command of the Executive, the resources. of the State were certainly very great, the "gentlemen" militia had arms when they chose to use them, and it was hardly unreasonable to think that a more complete protection to the State should have been developed under his administration.

The plan for a dictatorial government in Virginia

was undoubtedly repugnant to Mr. Jefferson. He was a republican, and there may be found in his writings and the history of the times evidence that such an attempt to overturn the constitution and set on foot such a scheme, even under the unaspiring and unmilitary Henry, would have met forcible opposition from Mr. Jefferson and his friends. Although a member of the Legislature, Mr. Jefferson chose not to attend the next session of that body, and for that was highly censured, and his course regretted even by his friends, Madison and Monroe, and not without justice. He no doubt considered himself blameless. Mr. Jefferson took every thing aimed at his character deeply to heart. And although it is said, that he never forgot a friend, it is also equally true, that he never gave up an opinion, and he was certainly slow to release private sentiments of a wrong done. He now considered that the Legislature had not sufficiently exonerated him, and as he had only taken a position in that body for the purpose of defending himself, he somehow did not deem it his duty, as it was not his pleasure, to engage further in its deliberations. This was a purely selfish view of the case, and although some other men may have embraced it under like circumstances, it could not be maintained on just and worthy grounds. It is certainly no small offense to accept the position of representative of the people, and yet neglect and treat with contempt the responsibilities while still holding the place. But he had at least one just ground of excuse for his conduct, that which had before led him to decline further public trusts, the failing health of his wife. But recently this had led him, greatly against what would have been real delight under other sur