Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-05-03


ALLIE or THOMAS JEFFERSON.
has been known to us for some time thatthe Hon.
Henry s. Randall L. L. D., formerly Secretary Of
State and superintendent Of Pahhs Instruction has
in preparation life Of Jefferson the materials OF
which are derived from inaccessible % any
other gentlemen Mr. Randalls unique resources
for his fgurthcoming memoir pleasantly described
in letter, portion Of which subjoin, from on
Of the most eminent literary Of the country, IN
the e0n6denos Of friendship 20 literary friend
The letter win vel pay perusa for while prehgurlng
what the biography will be in Mr.. Randall hands, It
lets the reader incdently into TIE habits and char
aetsr Of Jefferson greater extent than anything
yet published i contain indeed the promis Of far
more complete and worthy life Of Jefferson than has
yet appeared than could be written By any other
man:
His industry in collecting materials has been
remarkably successful. Piles Of books lay stacked
up il every corner Of the library, to give up the
shelves to authorities But it is in the original de-
partmen that his success has been the most peculiar
The library is perfect magazine Of personal mem
entos Of Mr.. Jefferson, manuscripts, pictures, views
Of Monticello ground plans Of Its garden, grounds
and other surroundings in the days Of its uusrious
owner personal relics, and things not to be elassed
Here was list Of texts in ''JefeTson's Bible"
drawn up for publication; there list Of the pedl-
grees Of his horses, not drawn up for publication;
here was the poeket-book referred to in the 'Notes
on Virginia" for the original copy Of Logan's
speech, there neat drawing Of JefeasOns 'ploW Of
the least resistance with specifications for con-
struetion; here loekets Of hair, there his MSS,
copies Of fayOrite songs and ballads; and so on ad
iEfHitum. And so queer a collection Of tables, kept
by one man, surely never was heard of!s There are
tables of hisannual and monthly expenses private
and q President; Of his receipts as lawyer;
of his observaOnsin various departments Of science
and natural history; Of his farming and garden
ing operations Of the births, deaths, occupations,
ETC., Of his slaves; Of the slaves horses and farm
urodueto rind eff bufohnrad and dpstroyyad nv
CORVALLIS; OF his nail making Of his manufactures
of domestic WOOllens and linens; Of distances be-
tween this place and that, aseertained by pedOme-
ter attached to his person equivalent machine
registering the rotations of carriage wheel; and Of
innumerable other things.
You will judge Of the minueness Of his observations
in natural history when inform you that among the
tables inthat department one giving the
ageearliest and Ofa the vegetables
(perhaps thirty kinds sold in the Washington mar
ket during the entire eight years Of his Presidency
Most Of the original collections
of facts on which these generalizations were made
also In Mr.. Randall possession. The minutest
accounts you ever saw Of expenses and receipts,
thing and gven his cases; his daily Obser
vatiOns IN science; his farm and garden books; his
detailed exhibits in all the manufacturing branches
and memoranda OF Journeys, &c, &c. These drawn
up in Mr.. JefersOn's formally handsome handWrit-
ing-and all deliberately indeXed by him, extend
over a space Of from twenty to fifty years.
my wondering inquiry why none Ofthese things
had ever come to light, Mr.. Randall informed me
that nearly quite all of these volumes and manu-
seripts-and have enumerated but a small portion
| Of them-Were found by Mr.. JeffersOn's family in
1851, in dark and entirely forgotten receptacle,
where they had lain since Mr. Jefferson's death.
At Tor not long after that time, they doubtless
removed to E-,aniongst the old cast-aside account
books and other trumpery Of closet connected
with Mr.. Jeffersons bedroom. you will remember
it the alcoVe, with its two eye-Gke holes open
ing into the bed-rOOm.) The lower tiers Of these
papers had remained undisturbed and forgotten time
out Of mind. Randall thinks 1t impossible that Mr.
jefferson remembered their existence when he wrote
his own photographed memoir In proof Of this
| Randall showed me several MSS volumes written by
Mr. Jeersons father and pointed out facts in them
| which I, too, am well satisfied no son would have
ever omitted in giving the most meagre account of
! his family.
So much for what may be termed the physical de-
/ partment Now for the esOrteric one. And pray
| you mark my specifications for their bearing on a
j point where 1 think Randall all right, and you all
| wrong. He has Mr. Jefferson's lily correspon-
| dence comprising three hundred or more letters,
written to his two daughters from their childhood
down TO the death Of the youngest Mrs Eppes. He
has entire, every extant letter Mr.. jefferson ever
wrote the latter his private letters TO her husband
John W. Eppes; quantity addressed to Mr.. Eppes,
| senior, (WhO was his brOther'in-aW) running back
| to l775, and portion Of those written from Con-
greSS IN lttOy UelOIe Lue DCCldIAuOu OF luQepeQQ-
| ence. You of course aware that not one Of Mr..
Jeffersons family letters have ever been published
| 2. Randall has all the written recOlectious which
Mrs Randolph left of her father. These are not ex-
tensye, but far as they 60 precious from the
uncOmmOnly intelligent and candid character of the
| writer. 8 He has contempOraneOus narratives and
diaries of Mr.. Jetferson's descendants Of the next
| generation, who however, grew up to man and Wo-
manhood under the same roof with him I forgot
their extent, but one, I remember is long, giving
| records of numerous conversations. 4. He has
pretty minute recoections Of various of Mr. Jefer-
| sons intimate personal friends, including DR..
/ D-'s journal Of his last ILLNESS and death. 8.
He narratives, TeeollectOns descriptions explain
ations opinions; in word, answers to inquiries on
| every topic where an intelligent biographer would
| seek information furnished to him by nearly all of
| Mr.. Jeferson's grandchildren-au who were old
enough to have destinct recOlleCtiOns Of the facts
| l should judge from seeing into deep drawer or
two that these letters extend to some thousands of
| manuscript pages, and Randall himself said that
they were worth far than any other one class of
| his original materials He says happily the family
started on the profoundly sensible idea that their
grandfather would "pass-muster with posterity
eIactly as he tcas that exaggeration would both
injure and disCredit the whole picture He turned
me to passage in letterfrOm Mrs.--of--
| in answer to the question under what name Mr..
Jefferson should be religiOusly oassed; the querist
(R) having asserted that he in no sense of the
word an infdel The reply is splendidly character
istic 3" Class my grandfather nowhere my dear
! Mr. Randall tell the world exactly what he
| thought" You may be sure 1 saw with pleasure a
thick package of letters from this gifted women and
| another almost as thick from the Misses, of
- Randall drew forth and put in my hands
| two or three letters. / read them with moistened
| eyes! Commend me to WOman's love to religious
ly collect the digetG Hgemtra Of biography, and to
present them with religious scrupulousness! Ran
dali is also under infinite obligations to the grand
| sons, of both branches.
Now ask you what in the name of common sense
| induced you and Dr. D. to advise Randall to make
a short life of this If the object was to get up
" sensation book " to meet the wants of some en-
| terprising" boOkseller-to ''make money" for the
| author could better understand you Would you
| have Randall reduce his vastness Of materials
particularly original materials, to a summary
Ten or fifteen years would have buried most of the