The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1875-08-21
Interesting "reminiscences of Jefferson

Interesting "reminiscences of Jefferson
| From Prof. Geo. Longs letter read at the Semi
Centennial of the University of virginia.
| Early in December, 1924. travelled
from Washington to Fredericksburg,
where I stayed all night. do not know
how I was known, but a gentleman
called on me and asked me to his house;
and I spent pleasant evening. saw
some young Virginia ladies there, and I
thought they were very charming. I
was amused with the curiosity which
my new friends showed to hear some
news about England. A gentleman came
up to me and asked how I left Mr..
Campbell, the poet. Luckily I had
| lately called on him in London on some
business about relation of his who
| thought of emigrating to America, and
could therefore give satisfactory
| answer. At fredericksburg I first
tasted corn bread, and used il all the
time that lived in Virginia. wish that
I could have it now. From Fredericks-
| burg had two days rather unpleas
| ant Journey to Charlottesville in the
stage coach. The roads were bad, the
| accommodation not good, and the COM
| pany rather Indifferent. The young men
of the present day can hardly conceive
what this road was then, for suppose
| that there is now a railroad the whole
| distance.
at the university I lived at least two
months in the house which was assigned
| to me in great solitude, and during bad
weather it would have been still worse
| if had not experienced the kindness of
whose wife's sister I afterward married.
| N,I,o o4bor ho1 no RI al II,
an English vessel for Norfolk, and they
had very long passage. The ship was
| described to me as something like an
| old hay stack. 1t could just float and go
| before the wind. I had more wisely en-
| barked in one of the New York Ameri
can packets from Liverpool. Since that
! time the English have learned to build
good ships for the American trade.
When my bratber professors arrived at
the university, they found me eating
corn bread. and already Virginian in
taste, and habits. Things were rather
rough, but I have always had and still
have the faculty of making myself hap
| Ply under any circumstances. A few days
after my arrival at the university I
walked up to Monticello to see Mr..
Jefferson. I made myself known to his
servant, and was introduced into his
great room. In few minutes tall, dig
nifed old man entered, and after look
ing at me a moment, said: care you
the new professor of ancient languages?"
I replied that I was. He observed,
You are very young" to which I OBJ
served that would grow older. He
smiled and said that was true. He
was evidently somewhat startled at my
youthful aud boyish appearance, and
could plainly see that he was disap-
pointed. We fell to talking, and stayed
to dine with him. He was grave and
rather cold in his manner, but he was
very polite; and was pleased with his
simple Virginian dress, and his CONVEX
sation, free from all affectation. re-
member the interview as if it took place
yesterday.
During my solitary residence before
the university opened I visited Month
cello several times, aud occasionally
passed the night there. thought Mr..
Jefferson became better satisfied with
the boy professor, and we talked on all
subjects. He saw that I took great in
terest in the geography of America and
in the story of the revolution, and he
told me much about it, but in a very
modest way as to himself. He showed me
the original draft of the declaration of in
dependence, andh could clearly see that
I was in habits, as have always been
and still am, man who preferred plain
republican institutions to the outward
show and splendor of European king
doms-when I say republican institu-
tions, 1 mean genuine republican, for
republic may have the name, end very
little besides that value.
1 often saw Mr.. Jefferson between
this time and his death. When he
came on his horse to the university he
4 generally called on me. His thoughts
were always about this new place of
education, of which he was really the |
founder and though the first few years |
of the university were not quite salts |
factory, he confidently looked forward |
to the future and to the advantages |
which the state would derive from the
young men who were educated in the |
University of Virginia.
remember well long conversation
which 1 once had with Mr.. Jefferson on
George Washington. He spoke of him
freely and generously, as of a man of
great and noble character. Mr.. Tuck
er, in his life of Jefferson, has given
the character of Washington as Jeffer-
son wrote it, and it is, perhaps, certain
that character was written at the time
when Mr.. Jefferson spoke of Washing
ton to me, though he told me something
more than the written character contains,
but nothing that is contradictory to it.
The character is exceedingly we'll writ
ten. and it proves that as mere writer
Jefferson might have excelled most men
of his day.
1 discovere that Mr.. Jefferson was
we'll acquainted with Polybius, who is
not good writer, but a man of excel
lent sense and the soundest Judgment.
The last time that saw Mr.. Jefferson,
when he was suffering from complaint
which caused his death, he was reading
Pliny s letters, and we had a converse
ton about a passage. A few weeks
after, when 1 was at the Sweet Spring
during the summer vacation, 1 heard of
his death. There was much foolish
display in Virginia, and some extrava-
CANT bombastic orations. Those who
had more sense showed their feeling in
another way. The man who had done
so much for Virginia and the United
States was honored for his services, for
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