Jefferson Quotes & Family Letters

Dear Sir,

University. May 1826

I this morning received the clothes you sent me, viz an uniform coat, six yards of striped cloth for pantaloons & four pair of socks—The coat is a beautiful one & fits me exactly—I thought it best not to write ’till I received the clothes—or I should have written before this—You have heard no doubt of the disturbances in College Soon after you left here the Grand Jury met and put the Students in a terrible fright—so much so that the lectures were unattended—and those whose names were upon the Sheriff’s list—travelled off into the woods & mountains—taking their beds & provisions along with them—there were about 50 on the list—so you may suppose the College was very well thinn’d—this was the first day of the fright—the second day, “A proclamation” was issued by the faculty forfbidding “any student under pain of a major punishment to leave his dormitory between the hours of 8 & 10 AM—(at which time the Sheriffs would be about) or in any way to resist the lawful authority of the Sheriffs”—This order however was very little attended as to—as the fear of the Faculty could not counter balance that of the Grand Jury—most of the “indicted” ran off a second time into the woods and upon an examination the next morning by the Faculty—Some were reprimanded—some suspended—and one expelled—James Albert Clarke from Manchester. (I went to school with him at Burke’s) was suspended for two months, Armstead Carter from this neighbourhood, for the remainder of the session—And Thomas Barclay for ever—

There have been several fights since you were here—One between Turner Dixon, and Blow from Norfolk excited more interest than any I have seen—for a common fight is so trifling an occurrence that no notice is taken of it—Blow got much the advantage in the scuffle—but Dixon posted him in very indecent terms—upon which the whole Norfolk party rose in arms—& nothing was talked off for a week, but Dixon’s charge, & Blow’s explanation—every pillar in the University was white with scratched paper—Dixon made an a physical attack upon Arthur Smith one of Blow’s Norfolk friends—and a “very fine fellow”—he struck him with a large stone on one side of his head—whereupon Smith drew a pistol (which are all the fashion here) and had it not miss’d fire, would have put an end to the controversy—but so it was—it did miss fire—and the matter has since been more peaceably settled—as the Proctor engaged a Magistrate to bind the whole forces on both sides—over to the peace—

Give my love to Ma & Miss Nancy—& all my friends—&