Jefferson Quotes & Family Letters

Dear Brother

CharlottesvilleSeptember 24th 1819

You must attribute my silence to this infernal play which has taken up all the spare time I had & is not yet acted, god grant that it never may be, for it will afford the young Ladies a good opportunity of being witty at our expence, but that is a thing of course, for their conversation (setting aside what is expended on their toilette and other trivial matters) consists of an uninterrupted flow of (satire) and sometimes slander. If once they lay hold of a poor fellow, they do not release him until he appears perfectly ridiculous; And what is dreadful, they all have a little portion of it, at least there are few exceptions.

I should be very much delighted if Fairfax would make up his mind to come here a person of his character and disposition would be an acquisition any where. I am sure he must be an uncommon young man from the praise you so liberally bestow on him. If he intends to apply himself to the study of the Languages (dead I mean) he will have as good an opportunity of acquiring them here as any where; but if science alone is what he aims at this place will not suit him, at least until Judge Cooper or some other professor comes, Mr Stack is an excellent latin & greek scholar & I beleive a good mathematician, but he teaches no branch of science, he is the best natured man I ever saw & suffers his boys to do what they please, which although prejudicial to small boys and Lazy fellows is not so to young men who know the value of time. the price for tuition is thirty $ a year and 126 for board, or 15 & 63 per session. Mr S. talks of raising his price if Mr Jefferson will suffer him, if not, he threatens to decamp, but I dont beleive Mr J. will consent, & he has received two or three proposals from men who have the best recommendations, therefore if Mr S. does go off his place will soon be filled again. I must not forget to tell you that neither bedding nor wood is found, one must procure that himself. I hope Fairfax may find it his interest to come, the school is a very small one as yet, but it contains two or three fine young men Francis Eppes, Baker &c

Mr Jefferson returned from Poplar Forest about 10 days and we have renewed our dances which I assure you are very agreable; by the by I want to know your reasons for not gracing with your presence the ball given to the cadets at Pougkeepsie, was it because you were afraid your heart would be ensnared, or perhaps your legs were unable to support you through fatigue, I remember when you would not have missed going to a ball for anything in the world, but I suppose you have become an old sobersided fellow, I hope you may, for the extreme difficulty father experiences in procuring money ought to make us both long face’d presbyterians, indeed it is very alarming & I am afraid father he will have to recall one of us before our education is completed; at any rate I will endeavour to curtail my expences though you know that I am afraid it requires more prudence, care and resolution than I possess, to do it. he has not yet sent the remittance that he expected to send us in august, but I am sure it is not his fault that it has not arrived before now, he has done no doubt every thing in his power to procure the money, but when we consider that he has to pay 3000$ yearly for his plantation, that he has to support his family, that cotton bears no price and that there is no money to be had, it is not wonderful that he could not procure enough for a remittance. I think Nic we must haul in a little.

I am pleased to see that your style has improved a good deal & that you write with much greater care than you did formerly, I wish I could say as much for myself, but I think mine instead of mending becomes worse from practice. I wish you would tell me where Mead is at present, for I am perfectly ignorant as to his abode, delicacy prevented me from corresponding with him, for I thought he might employ the money which he would have to pay for postage, to some better account. no one feels more for the poor fellow than I do, but I still think that I would not be justifiable in writing to him, however I will yield to your better Judgement & will obey the commands of the “Capitaine des guardes” not of the capitaine aux guardes as you put it. I have got your sword cane pretty well shattered. I must take leave of you with a request not to change your hand writing, for two fair damsels have deigned to copy it, I will not tell you who they are for fear of kindling your vanity