Jefferson Quotes & Family Letters

Our journey has been or rather will be delayed one day at Jefferson’s desire. he was going to Nelson [. . .] court from which he did not expect to return till tuesday evening, and he wished particularly to be here when we set off. of course we shall not get off go till wednesday when we shall go to Col. Lindsay’s; on thursday to the wilderness, and friday to the steam boat landing. this arrangement will enable us to take breakfast before we go, every morning and have Jeffy’s thickened milk made, and to get in before dark with the children. John H. will pack the books in the green house and send them by the first opportunity to J. W. Davis to whom I mentioned them and he says he will do the best he can by them. Ben tells me that Lewis went repeatedly to Raphaels about those books that he had; he told him he knew nothing about them, that Mants had had the management of them I understood Ben that Lewis had written to Mants and that he again had referred him to Mr Raphael who then said he would make out the list. with regard to the bottles you allways leave time out of your calculation. when your letter arrived Monday evening¹ the boats were all loaded and ready to start. to have detained them then till Titus could go for a crate to Charllotesville Charlottesville, carry it up to Monticello and get the bottles packed and brought down to the boats, each operation with his dilatory proceding; taking a whole day, we should have lost another week. and as I did not know of the accident to the Patomac I thought it all important to get them down by saturday which the boatman (the third we had tried) promised to do. if with the host of difficulties which oppose every thing to be done at Monticello can be surmounted, perhaps in the course of the winter & spring Jane may accomplish having them packed & sent down. it is a pity that it had not been thought of and the books in the green house also, before Lewis and the Girls went up to pack the furniture. the wagon went to & from Charlottesville repeatedly carrying the book boxes and bringing packing boxes for My furniture, many of which were bought in Charlottesville, and having persons on the spot to attend, every thing could have been done and done at once as it is, there is some uncertainty. & a great deal of difficulty as the girls know in the communication. they say V. was the cause that one week was lost in carrying down the furniture by having it taken out of George’s hands (who would not agree to go till there was water to float his boats) and engaging Johnson, who after waiting a week during which time George & Cradock took down a load of flour & returned. & Cradock then at last took the furniture which they would have done at first before but for the engaging Johnson—and you steering clear of impatience split upon the Charibdis of procrastination. your orders about the bottles & the books sent a little sooner would have been imediately complied with. Ben however who is at the University will goad mr R—s memory from time to time, but it would be more certain if you were to write to him (Raphael) your self. the bottle, I hope may be sent down in the course of the winter with the Morisania chairs wh and some other articles which were left by mistake with the blinds. I sent one of the Mantle piece Glasses but I suspect you will find it too shabby to put up adieu dear Nicholas saturday Morning I trust and hope we shall once more be reunited. I am heart sick of the unsetled state in which I have been for some time past My tender love to all our dear ones the children are as well as usual Jeffy has a bad cold but is very chearfull travelling about with considerable activity and occasionally pulling himself up by a chair Yours most affectionately