AS VENEZUELA COMMISSIONER-1895-1896 129 



Jefferson s peculiarities, also, came out in various parts 

 of the house. Perhaps the most singular was his bed, 

 occupying the whole space of an archway between two 

 rooms, one of which, on the left, served as a dressing- 

 room for him, and the other, on the right, for Mrs. Jeffer 

 son; and, there being no communication between them 

 save by a long circuit through various rooms, it was 

 evident that the ex-President had made up his mind that 

 he would not have his intimate belongings interfered with 

 by any of the women of the household, not even by his 

 wife. 



But most attractive of all was the view through the 

 valleys and over the neighboring hills as we sat at our 

 picnic-tables on the lawn. Having read with care every 

 line of Jefferson s letters ever published, and some writ 

 ings of his which have never been printed, my imagination 

 was vivid. It enabled me to see him walking through the 

 rooms and over the estate, receiving distinguished guests 

 under the portico, discussing with them at his dinner-table 

 the great questions of the day, and promulgating his theo 

 ries, some of which were so beneficent and others so nox 

 ious. 



The only sad part of this visit was to note the destruc 

 tion, by the fire not long before, of the columns in front 

 of the rotunda of the university. I especially mourned 

 over the calcined remains of their capitals, for into these 

 Jefferson had really wrought his own heart. With a pas 

 sion for the modern adaptation of classic architecture, he 

 had poured the very essence of his artistic feelings into 

 them. He longed to see every stroke which his foreign 

 sculptors made upon them. Daily, according to the chroni 

 cle of the time, he rode over to see how they progressed, 

 and, between his visits, frequently observed them through 

 his telescope; and now all their work was but calcined 

 limestone. Fortunately, the burning of the old historical 

 buildings aroused public spirit ; large sums of money were 

 poured into the university treasury ; and the work was in 

 process which, it is to be hoped, will restore the former 



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