The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-10-27
FROM JEFFERSON TO CLEVELAND.
A Living Statesman Who Has Seen
All But Two Presidents.

Extracts from the Memoirs of Colonel
Richard w. Thompson-Jeferson as
an Old Man-Personal Acquaintance
With All but Four Presidents.
new and admirable political history,
of the United States, in two large octave
volumes. has just been written by Col.
Richard ", Thompson, who is best
know n as Secretary OF the Navy during
the Hayes administration, though he
is distinguished in many other ways.
Col. Thomson was born in Culpepper
Coul ty, Va, in 1909, and is therefore in
his s6th year. He removed to louisville.
KY, in 1881, where he was clerk, and
soon afterward to Lawrence County,
Ind. where he was school teacher, and
studied law. He was admitted to the
bar in 1884. and practiced in Bedford,
Ind, He was su bseqeutIy member of
both branches of the Indiana legislature,
Harrison Presidential Elector in 1910,
a Wing mem Der of Congress in 1S41-43
and 1S47-49 Circuit Court Judge in the
Eighteenth Indiana District and Secre-
tary of the Navy from 1877 to 1881 and
president of the Panama Commission.
As Col. Thompson throughout his
long and eventful career has been thrown
in contact with the greatest men in the
Nation, his position as historian is
unique and remarkable. He is the Oldest
living member of the Indiana legisla-
ture of 1884, and the oldest survivor of
the Twenty-seventh Congress-, except
Robert G. Winthrop, of Boston. He has
seen every President of the United States,
except George Washington and John Ad-
ans and was personally acquainted with
all of them except Washington, Adams.
Jefferson and Madison. He was also &C.
quainted with many other Revolutionary
leaders including Lafayette. His history
OF Am rican politics, therefore. ia al
most wholly book of "reminiscences.
RECALLS SIXTEEN PRESIDENTS.
Col. Thompson calls his book Person
al Recollections of Sixteen Presidents.
But without detracting from the merits
of the work it must be said the title
is misleading. The sixteen presidents
referred to begin with Washington and
end with Lincoln, and out of the 436
pages of the work, there are not moro
than ten pages of personal "reminiscences
of these men. Of Washington, John
Adams, Van Buren,, Tyler. Polk. Pierce,
Buchanan and Lincoln there are none
at all. But the pictures drawn of the
characters of the sixteen are mastery
and intensely interesting, and each of
the sketches is enhanced no little by a
new photogravure likeness.
AS the book is advertised as thorough
and exhaustive as to the origin and
growth of political parties, "it is a sim
gular fact that the word "Whig" is not
In it, though the author himself was a
Wing, Neither are the rise and fall of
the Wing party described except Incl
dentally. The prominent feature and the
merit of the work is the connected and
profound portrayal of the development
of the slave oligalchy in the South.
But every word of Col. Thompson is his
story is strongly ana beautifully written
and deeply interesting. Indeed the book
is certainly fascinating one for the
intelligent American citizen.
~ y &c THOMAS JEFFERSON.
In giving excerpts from it's brilliant
pa es the passages most easily bearing
dislocation are, the remin iscnees. begin
lining, with the. following glimpse OF
Thomas Jefferson. which Col. Thompson
neglects to say was only year before
his death:
"In the spring of 1895 / visited Char
| lottesyille, ALTERNATE county, Virginia,
where the State University is located,
and here had an opportunity to observe
| Jefferson, somewhat closely, but for a
| much shorter time than desired. He
| had come to town from Monticello o,
| which is near by, in light covered car
| rage, drawn by two horses, and driver
by an old negro man. The object of hi
visit seemed to be the purchase of goods
as found him in store thus engaged
| was scarcely old enough to form intell
gent conclusions regarding him from
observation so casual, especially as b
was engaged in such commonplace bust
ness AS purchasing supplies, yet to
youth like me it appeared somethi n
more than a mere privilege that shout
be permitted to look upon the author o
the Declaration of Independence, VIII
was one of the foremost men in tn
country, and who had reflected homo
upon his and my own native State, q
we'll as upon the nation. I scrutinizet
him SO closely that the scene was pht
toaraphed upon my mind and memor
every now and then has summoned hi
before me
He was then two years younger tina
am as l now write, but bore the marx
of decrepitude, the wearing away of tt
vigorous energies of manhood. Notwitl
standing the thoughts that crowded N
youthful mind could not avoid obser
ing the plainness and almost simp
rusticity of his dress His clothing WI
| evidently home made, probably wove
upon domestic loom, and there WI
nothing about it's cut or makeup to ind