Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-05-18

anu h0fnlrltlOn. anu
amount of announcements evidently regas It
ed him in the licht of mere boy. NotWltn-
standing his own bitter disappolntmeht'
the disappointed lover did not lose inter-
eet in tha love fairs of his friends, and he
soon after,vard writes. IF there Is any
news stirring in town or country, such as
deaths, courtships, or marriages, III sno ~ !,
Gle OF my acquaintance ,et nv ~" =.
Again: This letter will be conv9 9S w
you By the assistance OF our ir,e1q uai d,.a
Lewis. Poor fellow Never uiu see III ~
more sincerely captivlted in my Ire. ne
walked TO the Indian camp with her yester-
day. bv which means be bad an opPoteu-
nitY Of giving two or three love sques,nes
by the hand; and, like q true ArcauIHu
swain. has been so enraptured, ever since
that he is company for no one. ,,.
The glimpses Of the past are oroushe
very wildly before the readers mlna oy
some Of those old yellow letters. and they
become all the more interesting oevauso
they were written in the early youth OF one
who subsequently became famous. lnsre
is n pleasing air of mirth and ABANDON
about this picture which IL very entrahclhg,
and we can almost see rise M before us
these our stately sires with their powdered
hair. silk stockings. laces. and ge~-gaWs
making love TO our great-grandmothefso %
walking with them to the Indian camp
beneath the azure sky or the soft light OF
the southern moon. Before passing on
to a later period in Jeferson's ca
reer am tempted 10 give one
more extract from his ooylsh let-
tiers. This very dav. TO others OF great
est mirth and jollity,n he writes. sees me
overwhelmed with more and greater ms
fortunes than have befallen descennahy
of Adam for thee thousand years past
am sure; and, perhaps, after excepting
IL ion Of 1
think his misfortunes were somewhat
greater than nine; for, although we may
be pretty nearly on a level IN otner re-
spects, vet ! thank my God ] have the al
vantage OF brother Job in this, that Satan
has not yet put forth his hand to load me
with bodily Affections You must know
am now in house surrounded with enemies
who take counsel together against my soul,
and when lav me down TO rest they say
among themselves. Come, let US destroy
him. am sure if there Is such thing, as
devil in this world he must have been here
last night and have had some hand IN con-
irving what happened TO me. DO you
think the cursed rats Cat his instlgatlon,
supposed did not eat up my pocket-book,
which was in my pocket within foot or
nv head? And not contented with plenty
for the present. they carried away my
fancy-worked silk carriers and half n dozen
new minuets ! had Just got, TO serve,
suppose, az provision for the winter. But
| Of this should not have accused the devil
(because YOU know rats Will be rats. ana
hunger. without the addition Of hls instiga..
tions. might have urged them to do this) If
something worse and from different
quarter had not happened. You know 1t
Tained last night OF if you do not know
il. I am sure do. When ! went 10 bed |
laid my watch III the usual place, and going
TO take her up after / arose this morning |
found her IN the same place, it's true, but
O,,1nfiin p,tlldfiis db no. all afOatin water,
! LEI in at a leak in the roof ofthe house, and
as silent ana still as the rats that had eat
nv pocketbOOk. Now, you know, IL chance
! has anything to do in this matter there
were a thousand other spots Wnere II might
have CHANGED TO leak as well rs this ono
which was perpe1diculsrlyo over my watch.
But I'll tell Won: it's my opinion that the
devil came and bored the hole over 1t on
purpose Well, as | was saying, my
poor watch has lost her speech: |
should not have cared much for this, but
something worse attended, II; the subtle
particles Of the water with which the case
was filled had. by then. penetration, to
overcome the cOhesion.O the particles OF
the paper, of which my dear picture and
watch paper were composed. that. in at
tempting to take them out to dry them
good Godl Mems hoi7e ret'TTe my cursed
fingers gave them such q rent as | fear /
never shall get over. This. cried |, was
the last stroke Satan had in reserve for me-
he knew ! cared not for anything else he
could do TO mo. and was determined to try
this last most fatal expedient.
However. whatever misfortunes may attend
the picture or lover, my hearty prayers
shall be that all the health and happiness
which Heaven can send may oe
the portion Of the original, and that
50 much goodness may ever meet with
what NAV be most agreeable in this world
a. / am sure it must be IN the next. And
now. although the picture be dofaced,
there is go lively an image of her imprinted
on my mind that | shall think Of her too
often fear, for my peace of mind, and
too often. | am sure. TO get through old
Coke this winter. for God knows / have
not seen him since | packed him up in
my trunk in Williamsburg Well. |
do wish the devil had old Coke,
for am sure I never was so tired OF IN
old dull scoundrel in my life. What! Are
there so few inquietudes tackled 10 this
momentary life of ours that We must need
be loading ourselves with thousand
more? Or, ms brother Job says who, by
the by, think. began to whine o little I'M
der his afflictiOns): Are not my DAYS few 2
Cease, then, that | may take comfort "a
little before ! 90 whenceI shall not return,
even 10 the land of darkness and the
shadow Of death But the old fellows say
we must read to gain knowledge, and gain
knowledge TO make Us happy and be al
mred. Mere iargon! Is there any such
thing as happiness in this world No.
And so for admiration. ! am sure the man
who powders most, perfumes most, en-
broiders most. and talks most nonsense is
most admired"
Thomas jefferson, Esquire, counsellor
at-law. is the next stage we reach IN his ca
reer. He is no longer the signing, lovesick
youth bewaiiing the loss of watch
paper" and his Belinda too. Is apparently
forgotten. We find him at this period
grieying over the loss of his library, which
was destroyed by fire, together with the
homestead at Shadwell. la speaking Of
the loss of his books, he says; Would to
God II had been tho money, then had it
never cost me a sigh" Once more he be-
comes an interested )ooker on at the do
nestle happiness of his friends. In speak
ing of his brother-in-law, Dabney Carr,
the husband of his sister Martha, with
whom, during his early life, he was
very intimate, and whose dust mingles
with his in the quiet graveyard at Monu-
cello, he writes "a follows: He speaks,
thinks. dreams of nothing but his young
son. This friend Of ours, in very small
house with q table, half dozen chairs, and
one or two servants, is the happiest man
in the universe" There is a tinge ofirony
about these remarks which rises to the
surface and would lead one to believe that
jefferson, with his poetic, sympathetic ma
ture, together with great deal Of senti-
ment, viewed this little freside with
curious glances; and thus the pleasure Of
home life, which upon every side surround
ed him. made him long for presiding ge-
MUS for Monticello, which at that time was
in course of erection. But he was soon to
meet his fate in the person of young,
beautiful, and fascinating widow.
1t was in 177l that Jefferson the lover re-
appears. The object of his admiration
this time was Martha SHELTON. widow of
Bathurst SHELTON, and daughter of John
Wales. Left a widow at the early age Of
nineteen. she is described IA very beauti-
full and surrounded by suitors when Jetfer-
son entered the list and bore of the prize.
little above the average height. with an
exquisitely formed figure, she was model
OF graceful and queen-iike carriage, and
nature added TO her many personal at
fractions a mind OF no ordinary calibre:
She was a most daring rider. a graceful