for we may safely aver, that Mr. Jefferson is the first American who has consulted the fine arts to know how he should shelter himself from the weather.

The visit which I made to him was not unexpected, for he had long since invited me to come and spend a few days in his company, that is, amid the mountains. Nevertheless I at first found his manner grave and even cold; but I had no sooner spent two hours with him than I felt as if we had spent...

Let me then describe to you a man, not yet forty, tall, and with a mild and pleasing countenance, but whose mind and knowledge could serve in lieu of all outward graces; an American, who, without ever having quitted his own country, is Musician, Draftsman, Geometrician, Astronomer, Natural...