of all the persons I have known, Mr. Jefferson appears to owe most to the manner of his intercourse with mankind, there is nothing more fascinating about him than the appearance of perfect candour. He is much more of a courtier than I can ever be, with every aspect of the most unconcerned...

The old Citzn of Monticello is such a diplomatist, that he has quite baffled our schemes to obtain his opinion: and when we ask him one thing he tells us, he ‘has reason to believe’ something about another. A plague upon all diplomacy I say.

I have frequently heard Mr Jefferson say that this germ of a fondness for building, was developed in him by the accidental circumstance of his purchasing a book on Architecture, when at College from an old drunken Cabinetmaker who still resided near the College gate in my time & whom I...

I am obliged candidly to own that thus far it has fallen far below my expectations—And I fear that the apprehension (which I always felt to a certain degree, that when its master & creative spirit was gone, it would languish dwindle & decay,) has begun already to be realized. Indeed it...

But one of the greatest curiosities I met with was Thomas Jefferson. Whether you will call this a natural or an artificial curiosity, I am puzzled to know. At all events, I went to see him at the exhibition-house at Monticello, up a long hill, which is almost daily trod by many a weary pilgrim’s...

We arrived at Monticello, three miles farther, about eleven o’clock, ascending the South West Mountain, on which the house is situated, by a winding carriage-road through the wood. I sent in my letter to Mr. Jefferson, who soon afterwards came out and gave me a polite reception, leading me...

The mansion-house of Mr Jefferson occupies the summit of an eminence, constituting a part of the South west mountain of Virginia, elevated about 600 feet above an arm of the James River, which meanders at its base. This ascent eminence, the ascent of which following the flexures of the road, is...

From this northern terrace the view is sublime; and here Jefferson and his company were accustomed to sit, bare-headed, in the summer until bed-time, having neither dew nor insects to annoy them. Here, perhaps, has been assembled more love of liberty, virtue, wisdom, and learning than any other...

But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you,...

Our return to Oak Ridge, and thence to Castle Hill, brought us again among our new and old friends. Among these we were honored by a visit from Mr Jefferson ... It was the first time I had ever seen the sage of Monticello, though I had heard of him often through friends and foes, through good...