Who Was Thomas Jefferson 托马斯·杰斐逊 Chapter 7 Last Years at Monticello

Jefferson was nearly sixty-six when he retired¹ to Monticello. He spent the last seventeen years of his life at the home he loved.

The year her father returned, Patsy moved to Monticello with her husband and children. Of Patsy’s twelve sons and daughters, all but one reached adulthood². Jefferson’s daughter Maria had died. But her son, Francis, who was seven years old when Jefferson retired, was often at Monticello.

Jefferson loved nothing more than to pass the time with his grandchildren. Grandpapa Jefferson played the violin for them while they danced. He ran races with them on the lawn. He enjoyed giving them books and other presents. His granddaughter Ellen received a special gift. Jefferson gave her the portable desk on which he had written the Declaration of Independence.

When away from his grandchildren, Jefferson wrote to them. In a letter to his granddaughter Cornelia, he pointed³ out that she should remember her periods and capital letters while writing. He included a little rhyme to show what he meant:

I’ve seen the sea all in a blaze of fire

I’ve seen a house high as the moon and higher

I’ve seen the sun at twelve o’clock at night

I’ve seen the man who saw this wondrous⁴ sight.

Jefferson wanted his granddaughter to see that this only makes sense if punctuated⁵ properly:

I’ve seen the sea. All in a blaze of fire

I’ve seen a house. High as the moon and higher

I’ve seen the sun. At twelve o’clock at night

I’ve seen the man who saw this wondrous sight.

Nine-year-old Cornelia Jefferson Randolph wrote back to her grandfather:

Dear Grandpapa

I hope you will excuse my bad writing, for it is the first letter I ever wrote, there are a number of faults, in it I know but those you will excuse; I am reading a very pretty little book, I am very much pleased with it. all the children send their love to you we all want to see you very much. adieu my dear Grandpapa, believe me to be your most affectionate Granddaughter. C.R.

Jefferson complained to his grandchildren if they didn’t answer his letters. In turn, they teased him if he didn’t answer theirs. In 1813, eleven-year-old Francis wrote:
Dear Grandpapa     April 1813
I wish to see you very much I am very sorry that you wont⁶ write to me this leter will make twice I have wrote to you and if you dont answer this leter I shant write to you any more …

Actually, Jefferson rarely failed to answer a letter. He wrote 36,000 letters in his lifetime. In those days, most people made copies of their letters by hand. Jefferson had a device that made copies for him as he wrote. It was a special desk with several pens attached by wires. As he used one pen, the others moved automatically and copied his letter. Although he hadn’t invented this device, he did make improvements to it.

THE EARLY POST OFFICE

IN 1789, CONGRESS CREATED THE UNITED STATES POST OFFICE AS PART OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. POSTAGE RATES WERE FIXED⁷ ACCORDING TO THE DISTANCE THAT THE MAIL TRAVELED AND THE NUMBER OF PAGES BEING SENT. MOST PEOPLE COLLECTED THEIR MAIL AT THE NEAREST POST OFFICE (OFTEN THE LOCAL TAVERN⁸ OR GENERAL STORE), BUT A 1794 ACT DID PERMIT HOME DELIVERY FOR TWO CENTS EXTRA PER LETTER. IN EITHER CASE, THE PERSON WHO RECEIVED THE MAIL WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING THE POSTAGE, RATHER THAN THE SENDER.

Many of his letters were to another former President. By 1811, Jefferson and John Adams hadn’t spoken in ten years. Friends convinced them to make up. In 1812, when Adams was seventy-six and Jefferson sixty-eight, they began exchanging letters. The two men discussed religion, politics, even whether they would want to go back in time and live their lives differently. Across 500 miles—John Adams was in Massachusetts and Jefferson in Virginia—they wrote back and forth⁹ until nearly the end of their lives.

In his last years, Jefferson also achieved an old dream. He had long planned to start a new university in Virginia. For the school’s site, he chose Charlottesville, near his home. He helped raise money for the school, chose most of its teachers, and planned its courses. Jefferson was a fine architect. Now, with his granddaughter Cornelia helping¹⁰ him, he designed the buildings for the new university. Cornelia, a gifted artist, was only about twenty at the time. Jefferson was almost eighty-two when the school he founded, the University of Virginia, opened in 1825. Its campus is still one of the most beautiful in the United States.

Yet, unfortunately, throughout these years Jefferson had money trouble. Upon retiring as President, he had borrowed $8,000 to pay his debts in Washington. Things got worse at Monticello. In 1815, he raised money by selling his books to the government. The 6,000 volumes became the core for the Library of Congress.

The book sale helped for a while. But crop failures, a flood, and a loan to a friend hurt his finances. By January 1826, Jefferson couldn’t pay his grocery bills. He was $100,000 in debt. That would be equal to about $2 million in today’s money. It appeared that he might have to sell Monticello. Donations from friends and even from strangers prevented his total ruin.

Still, as long as his family was nearby and he had books to read, Jefferson was satisfied. And he remained in good health into his early eighties. He rode his horse, Eagle, for an hour or two on most days. But as his eighty-third birthday approached, Jefferson was slipping. By February, he was in bed much of the time. His family could see that he didn’t have much longer to live.

On July 2, Jefferson gathered his loved ones to his bedside. They must live honest and good lives in his memory, he said. But he still had one last wish. He wanted to live until a special day. As the hours passed he kept asking, “Is this the Fourth? Is this the Fourth?”

The day he was awaiting finally arrived. Early that afternoon, eighty-three-year-old Thomas Jefferson took his last breath. By an amazing coincidence, that same day ninety-year-old John Adams also passed away in Massachusetts.

Both men died on July 4, 1826—the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

5 punctuated   

v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物

参考例句：

• Her speech was punctuated by bursts of applause. 她的讲演不时被阵阵掌声打断。
• The audience punctuated his speech by outbursts of applause. 听众不时以阵阵掌声打断他的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 wont   

adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯

参考例句：

• He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
• It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。

7 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

8 tavern   

n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店

参考例句：

• There is a tavern at the corner of the street.街道的拐角处有一家酒馆。
• Philip always went to the tavern,with a sense of pleasure.菲利浦总是心情愉快地来到这家酒菜馆。

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。