New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-11-01


fered. .,ot ~
u,s ordinary way of life was that Oh
-Ich. cultivated country gentleman
u,s poIitical pose was that of farmer
aoger for plain living like the common
.nonle But his plain living required
- hest house in Virginia, with whole
.,ountain for its site, surrounded Dy
-. thousand acres Of land, which he
u,rsd and his slaves cultivated Tor
81, II also required a French COOK
nth the best wines, and sweetmeats
sneciaIly imported for his use. his
..d,narv dress was such as became MS
-.otion and when he was Minister IN
vronce he was admired for his courte-
o,s manners no less than for MS
charming hospitality. But when he be-
came President, for reasons not hard
90 conjecture. he lapsed into ostenta-
,ious slovenliness and bad manners,
especially when dealing with the repre-
santatives Of foreign countries He
sharply criticised the social demeanor
of Washington and Adams, his prede-
cessors, and professed for himself a
great eagerness for republican sim
pliclty" and an earnest desire to es-
cape the glare Of royalty and nobil-
ity."
British Minister Astonished.
All this affectation presently brought
him into trouble with no less Il person.
age than the new British Minister who
thus reported it:
Il called on Mr.. Madison, who &C
companied me officially 10 introduce
me TO the President. We went to-
gether 10 the mansion house, / be-
ing in full official costume, as the ell
auette OF my place required on such
formal introduction Of a minister OF
Great Britain TO the President of the
United States. On arriving at the hall
of audience we found II empty, at
which Mr. Madison seemed surprised,
and proceeded to an entry leading To
the Presidents study. ] followed him,
supposing that the introduction was to
take place In an adjoining room. At
this moment Mr.. Jefferson entered the
entry at the other end, and all three Of
us were packed in the narrow space,
from which, 10 make room, I was
obliged TO back out. In this awkward
position my introduction to the Presl-
dent was made by Mr.. Madison.
"Mr. Jefferson's appearance soon eK-
plained to me that the general Circum-
stances Of my reception had not been
accidental but studied. l, in my off,
cial costume. found myself. al the hour
of reception he had himself appointed
introduced to a man as the president
of the United States. not merely in an
undress, but actually standing in slip
pers down at the heels and both panta-
looms, coat and underclothes lndlca-
tive Of utter sloveuliness and indlffer-
ence TO appearances, and In stare OF
negligence actually studied
About the same time he formally In
troduced in his official dinners at the
White House the rule that there should
be no precedence and no assignment OF
seats-that people should go in as they
liked and take what seats they could
find Both the British and Spanish min
listers officially reported offensive stu
atoms in which they found themselves
involved through this rule. Ultimately
the diplomatic corps held meeting on
the subject to express their resentment.
and the French Minister wrote Talley-
rand that Washington society Is
turned upside down" Mr.. jefferson
found himself so annoyed by the bear
ing Of the Spanish Minister. Senior
Yruio, that he asked his recall ana
had to submit TO a snub from the
Spanish government, which took no
notice Of his request. These and other
troubles in which this affected Sim
plicity Of life" involved him were prob
ably what led to his complete reversal
Of these habits toward the middle OF
his second Administra ton. From that
time he became again the courtly hos.
and courteous gentleman Of Monticello
or Of the French mission.
Views Concerning England.
Mr.. Jeffersons expressions Of opinion
concerning England were so conflicting
at different periods as to suggest that
they were uncandld and for a purpose
Thus he wrote at one time: mo two
countries upon earth have so many
points Of common interest and friend
ship; and their rulers must be great
bunglers indeed II with such disposi-
tions they break them asunder." At
another time, only a few months be-
fore the Declaration, he wrote: There
IL not in the British Empire man
who more cordially loves g union with
Great Britain than / do" Some years
later he wrote to Mr.. Monroe, I'VE
have more reason TO hate England
than any nation on earth" and 70
William Carmichael, Il considered the
English as our natural enemy, and as
the only nation on earth that wish us
Ill from the bottom OF their souls.
And to Lafayette, "England's selfish
principles render her incapable If hon
orable patronage or disinterested CO.
operation" Then he discovered that
Napoleon had outwitted him in secur-
ing from Spain the recession Of Louisi-
ana; and instantly he was in love again
with England He wrote to Living
ston in France: The day that France
takes possession Of New Orleans {.
seals the union Of two nations who, In
conjunction, can maintain exclusive
possession of the ocean. From THAI