Jefferson Quotes & Family Letters

My Dear Sir

University June 24, 1825

According to my promise I now set down to write to you to give you a few particulars of my situation here and also concerning myself as I know they can not fail to be interesting. I must first let you know that me and Philip are both very comfortably situated on the eastern range of pavillions in seperate apartments as we aprehended that we could not both room together very conveniently at this warm season of the year We have not as yet been much tormented with heat nor have we had sufficient experience to judge but should we find it after a while to be oppressive I do not know what we will do as there are no boarding houses in Charlottesville where we might live and We are both much opposed to boarding at taverns and should prefer remaining here. We [. . .] are boarding at present with Mr Chapman whose keeps an excellent table and from all what I can judge I think [. . .] him to be an excellent man your friend Mr Garrett declined recommending us to any particular one and advised us to inquire of the students and judge for ourselves. We have engaged with Mr Chapman for only three months which is from the 16th of the present month to the middle of september. You will find inclosed herein an account of the [. . .] my expenditures excluding my pocket money. [. . .] They will have exceeded the money you gave me by 12 dollars which I had to take out of the 24$ which you gave me for my pocket money. my expenditures have been much greater than you had made allowances for. I have had to buy a great many french books which I had not in my possession before. When you write to me I wish you would let [. . .] me know whether you intended me to study the Spanish and Italien or not. for my part I think I have plenty time to carry them both on with the rest of my studies and should be glad with your approbation so [. . .] to do should you approve of it, I [. . .] wish you to send me money enough to buy me such books as I will stand in need of which will perhaps be near twelve dollars. I shall delay at present giving you an account of my studies and habits as I have scarcely had time to begin to study hard owing to my not being able to procure books till a day or two all I can say is that I see a great deal of dissipation and that I shall try to avoid falling into such habits of idleeness idleness. I have taken the three tickets you requested me that is to say Mathematics Modern and Ancient Languages and I am afraid I will not do myself much good in attending to Mr Blættermann’s Lectures unless I Study the Spanish and Italian as I do not benefit myself much in the manner in which he delivers his french Lectures which does very well for beginners to learn them the pronunciation. his plan is to read make all the class read f the same sentence consisting of four or five lines over and over again until they can pronounce it correctly, now I know how to pronounce it as well as he does but I want to learn to speak it. Philip told me you gave us leave to go to Charlottesville to the dancing school there. I should be very glad to go indeed with your approbation and I should you be very glad if you would send me money to pay him.

Write to me shortly. I am your affectionate friend