Helen Topping Miller

“ How well life was organized, he thought, as he found a softer spot in the pillow. Old age crept on a man unaware, bringing its own opiate to dull any lingering sense of loss.
At length, letting the weight of weariness have its way with him, Thomas Jefferson fell asleep. Martha Randolph, tiptoeing in later, shading a candle with her hand, saw his face upturned, eyes closed, nose pinched a little, some brown freckles standing out on the gray, drained cheeks, and caught the eagle look about him. ”

“ Definitely, she was thinking, grandfather could at times be a bit tiresome. “And a penny saved is a penny earned.”
“But not one of us ever sees a penny!”
“A sad situation,” remarked Jefferson, rummaging through the pocket of his worn old green breeches. “Ah, I do seem to have a few pennies. Let me count. There must be one apiece. Now”—he announced as he laid a coin in each warm eager palm—“you have each the foundation for a fortune. Guard it well, for there are long years ahead of you.” ”

“ So saddle horses had been brought, his own tired team stabled, and the slave who had driven the chaise sent to bed with orders to drive to Monticello in the morning. Jefferson recalled now his dubious concern when he discovered that the snow on the mountain road was eighteen inches deep.
He had ridden ahead, breaking a track for Martha’s horse, trying to shield her as best he could from the storm that stung their eyelids and sifted inside collars and up sleeves. But Martha had been undismayed. ”

“ Daughter, a great man is like a pillar that stands a little higher than the commonalty. There is always an itch in the crowd of lesser humanity to throw rocks and mud at it. It was the new laws he wrote for Virginia that started that infidel canard. The law freed the people of the state from being taxed to support the Church. It left them free to worship and pay tithes where they pleased, and naturally the bishops and other clergy resented it. So the story was circulated that Thomas Jefferson had no religion, and to my knowledge he has never spoken one word to refute that libel. ”

“ Your pet steward, Petit, is getting really fractious, Papa, and I have to keep the people cooking practically night and day. They look at this handsome house and believe that Thomas Jefferson is a rich man, that he can afford to entertain them—people we’ve never seen before and will likely never see again—and, Papa, you know it isn’t true. You aren’t rich enough to afford housing and feeding so many. The farms don’t pay as they should, and we are often hard pressed to feed and clothe our own people. ”

“ Thomas Jefferson had never been a harsh master, but now he became a stern and demanding one. Nails must be made and bricks burned, both for his own building plans and for sale in the market. His French friend, Du Pont de Nemours, on his last visit had brought him a small flock of merino sheep. Jefferson enjoyed supervising the shearing of these sheep, and the washing of the wool, and watched the carding, spinning, and weaving going on under Martha’s supervision. ”

“ The bulbs Thomas Jefferson and his lost wife Martha had planted so long ago pushed up through the damp earth and the children came running excitedly to call him whenever a bud showed, tight and green-sheathed above its protecting sword blades.
“Grandfather, come quick! The Roman Empress tulip has a big bud showing and a teeny one.”
“Fine, Virginia.” She was one of the younger ones, still small enough so that he could toss her on his shoulder. “We’ll go and see but not touch.”
“We know. They turn brown and don’t open out to be flowers. ”

“ Every time he had to pass through this room he’d have nightmares.”
“Nice polish on this floor, Patsy,” commended Jefferson, artfully turning her mind away from criticism of one of his favorite paintings by complimenting the gleam of the parquet floor. It was the first such oak floor laid in America and he was very proud of the way it reflected the glitter of the gilt chairs and sofas he had brought from Paris. They had cost fabulous amounts too, more than he could afford, but in his philosophy the things a man wanted and admired, that made life richer, were worth whatever they cost. ”

“ Polly’s young husband, Jack Eppes, still lived at Eppington not far away, but Francis spent a great deal of time at Monticello with Martha’s healthy, noisy brood.
“Come here, Francis,” Jefferson called gently. “Come here and let your grandfather look at you.”
“He’s always moping and looking out windows,” volunteered a young Randolph. “It’s because he hasn’t any mother.”
“Come and talk to me, Francis,” urged Jefferson. “You and I should be friends. I have no mother either.” ”

“ Women running up and down the steep, narrow curving stairways at either end of the house carrying pitchers of hot water and clean sheets, and heating irons in the rooms below to press voluminous dresses for the young misses. Trula, the laundress, kept a whole row of sadirons heating on the hearth of her little brick-floored room, and in the warming kitchens were rows of clean scrubbed bricks heating too, ready to be wrapped in flannel and carried upstairs should some members of the family find the clean linen sheets too icy for their feet. ”

“ She had a hearty laugh. “Well, my bed will have a stout chore to do if it hoists me to the ceiling tonight. For Heavens’ sake, Tom, get yourself elected governor again so we can have some decent roads in Virginia. Even on that turnpike the mud was hub deep and my horses traveled grunting like oxen. But if you do get elected, Tom,” she gave him an amiable prod with her knuckles, “get yourself a haircut! What’s the matter with Burwell? Has old age caught up with him too?” ”

“ We cannot turn people away. There is no inn anywhere near where they can buy food or lodging.”
“Why not put up some barriers?” suggested young Jefferson Randolph. “Charge everyone a shilling to come in. We might make enough to pay the taxes.”
“A poor joke, my son. We would outrage every tradition of Southern hospitality. But I do wish that some part of this house that I built for my family could be private and belong only to us. They invade every corner without leave or apology. Yesterday they were all over my study. They wanted to see everything. ”

“ If you can throw away stays when you are back at Monticello, I shall discard all fancy boots and slippers, stocks and tight cravats, and those confounded, silly lacy affairs down my front. You haven’t given away my good green breeches, I hope?”
“Everything of yours is exactly as you left it, Papa. The moths got at that awful old homespun coat but I suppose you’ll wear it anyway.” ”

“ All those letters that her father wrote, she thought impatiently, probably half of them were invitations to people in Philadelphia or Washington or New York to come to Monticello for long visits.
“Where shall I sleep thirty-one people?” she worried, on a July night. “And, Papa, we had better plan on having a lot more linen woven right away. The woman washed fifty sheets yesterday. They’ll wear out fast at that rate.”
Jefferson sighed. “I came home to find peace and there is no peace. What have I done in my past, my dear, that such hordes of admirers should descend upon me? ”

“ No one was more surprised than I when your mother agreed to marry me. There she was—a beautiful and gracious woman with a fortune of her own—and I a struggling young lawyer, a long-legged shide-poke of a fellow, freckled and coarse-maned as a lion, with 42 no grace except that I could fiddle. And you know I was an unpopular president. The number of them that hated me was legion.”
“Not the good plain people. Not these people who come up here in old carts or riding raw-boned nags just to get a glimpse of Thomas Jefferson, champion of the people,” his daughter said. ”

“ Jefferson assured her. “The people have all been busy. They are bound this shall be the most elaborate Christmas ever celebrated in Albemarle County.”
“Time there was some life in this house,” she said bluntly. “One thing you must never do is shut yourself up here like a hermit. He will, Patsy, unless you keep after him. He’ll read ten thousand books and never know his stockings are bagging down around his ankles.”
“Papa,” began Martha, hesitantly, “there’s a Christmas Eve service at the church tonight. It’s not snowing—and it’s only three miles. Would you go, Papa?” ”

“ Jefferson circled the lad with an arm. All about, clustered close to the fire, the young Randolphs were abruptly and amazingly quiet.
“That’s so,” the old man agreed. “I did write that paper, didn’t I? And after I’d written it, four other men sat around in Philadelphia for about a week and picked it to pieces and made changes in it and couldn’t make up their minds whether to adopt it or not. I guess they never would have made up their minds and we’d still be British subjects and paying taxes to the king. ”

“ Too many visitors came to Monticello. They came uninvited to see the man who had written the Declaration of Independence. They came from miles away, some on horseback, some in carriages, some even in ox-drawn wagons. Patsy, who had hoped to return to her own place at Bedford long enough to see to the preservation of the vegetables and fruits for winter, abandoned the idea and stayed on with her children.
“These people, these strangers—what are we to do with them?” she worried. “Some of them come great distances. 39 They have to be kept for the night; they must be fed. ”

“ A world full of people, and if he had his way he would free and feed all of them. In the meantime he was dubious about spending the money for a new pair of spectacles, but bent close to his desk peering through an old pair that had one bow mended with black thread stiffened with glue.
“You’d better have a new cushion in that old chair, Papa,” she suggested. “If you sit on that thin one in those wool breeches, they’ll be worn to a shine and show thin spots mighty quickly. I’ll tell one of the women to stitch up a stout canvas cover and stuff it with plenty of feathers.” ”

“ Jefferson jumped up. “I was just sitting here thinking about old times. I’ll ride now as soon as I change my breeches.”
“Yes, suh, Mister Tom. I done looked everywhere for you. Then I seen this little bitty smoke comin’ out this yere chimney. Ain’t been nobody in this little room for a time now ’cept Miss Martha. She fetch the gals in here to clean it up good before you come home.”
“There won’t be anybody in here from now on, Burwell. Cover this fire so it will be safe. This place is too full of ghosts and ghosts are sad company when you are getting old.” ”

“ This baggage will be taken off the barge at Shadwell, Father, and we’ll have wagons sent down to carry it to Monticello.”
“Nothing must be lost!” worried Jefferson. “Nothing! 16 Every paper and pamphlet I’ve saved is important. They contain the history of an era, the story of the birth of this nation.”
“Then,” said Martha, “it would seem that most of them should be in the Library of Congress.”
“Never, while they house that library in such makeshift quarters,” he argued. “Patsy, my dear, I beg of you, go on to Monticello as we planned. I shall arrive later with everything I own intact. ”

“ Burwell, see that my satin breeches and the broadcloth coat are well aired before you pack them. It will be a long day before I shall want to be dressed up and elegant again.”
“You were quite the beau at that dance last night,” Martha remarked. “Several women said to me that they had never before seen you so witty and gay. And more than one remarked that it was a great pity that you were leaving Washington.” ”

“ He was Jefferson who belonged to the people, but what was in his heart and mind belonged only to himself. Now, at Monticello, he belongs to himself and he is just learning how to live with himself.”
Martha sighed as she bent to rescue a falling pine cone that had shattered down on the hearth. “The children haven’t secured these wreaths very well,” she remarked, “and that one in the drawing room is hung too low. The fire will dry it out and it might begin to burn. I’ll tell Burwell to do something about it. ”

“ Courteously Jefferson explained the working of the device. “It has never talked back in all the years it has been in operation,” he said, “so we call it a dumb-waiter.”
“These rich people got it mighty fine,” commented the stranger. “My old lady took a fancy to that bed he’s got in yonder,” said the intruder blandly, “one pulls up out of the way in daytime. We only got a two-room house. Be mighty handy to have one of them there, put the young-uns in it, and haul ’em out of sight when we get tired of their racket. All these young-uns ain’t Jefferson’s, I figure? ”

“ Martha gave a little surprise shriek. “Papa! Pantaloons! I never would have believed you would give up those old knee breeches and long stockings.”
“They’re warmer,” Jefferson turned and posed naively, “and the London papers that still come through in spite of the embargo say that they are the new style in England. Jemmy Madison wrote that he had a pair made—black broadcloth. Every hair and bit of lint sticks to that stuff. I’m sending Jemmy enough of this goods to have himself a suit made. With the president wearing it, we might be able to sell more in Washington. ”

“ Tomorrow he would look over his lands, his farms; he would see how Randolph’s management had benefited them, and study what more must be done to the still unfinished house. Martha, catching his roving look, interrupted it with a protest.
“Papa, please! Don’t begin right away tearing down something and building it over. The house is fine as it is and we all love it—and you are so tired.”
“My dear, I should be even more tired with no occupation,” 23 he argued. “Of course it will take me some little time to arrange and dispose of all my books and papers. ”

“ Beside the library fireplace stood a high-backed leather chair, a pompous and official looking piece of furniture. Jefferson glared at it.
“And how came that thing here?” he demanded.
“Why, Papa, don’t you recognize it? It’s the chair you sat in all the time you were vice-president. Mr. Madison had it sent up by the barge. He thought you would like to have it,” explained Martha.
He snorted. “I have spent more eternal hours of boredom in that miserable chair than in any seat whereon a man has ever rested his breeches!” he grumbled. “Stick it in a dark 24 corner somewhere. ”