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 "Kcv, curious it is that 50 years ago just this March the then 
 owner of Monticelio, whose name was Uriah P. Levy, should have 
 died in the city of New York and before dying should have made a 
 wonderful will, a will to secure Monticello to the people of the 
 United States." 
 
 MRS. MARTIN W. LITTLETON 
 
 OF NEW YORK 
 
 Printed in the Congressional Record at the request of 
 
 Hon. Richard W. Austin, of Tennessee 
 
 April 13, 1912 
 
 ^ 
 
 ".0701 lOSOG 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 1912 
 
j^SHsl 
 
 
ONE WISH 
 
 r.v 
 
 MRS. MARTIN W. LITTLETON. 
 
 THOMAS J EFFEBSON. 
 
 Mr. AUSTIN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to ad- 
 dress the House for one minute. 
 
 The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Aus- 
 tin] asks unanimous consent to address the House for one 
 minute. Is there objection. [After a pause.] The Chair hears 
 nonet 
 
 Mr. AUSTIN. Mr. Speaker, this is the anniversary of (he 
 birth of Thomas Jefferson, the 13th day of April. He was born 
 on the 13th day of April, 1743—169 years ago. I know of no 
 public man to whom the American people owe a creator debl 
 of gratitude than Thomas Jefferson. [Applause.] As a south- 
 ern Republican Representative I desire this House to pause 
 and consider for 'a moment what a debt we owe to him and 
 what a debt the American people will for all time owe to his 
 genius and his patriotism in drafting the immortal Declaration 
 of Independence. [Applause.] I love and revere his memory 
 as much as any man in this House, and I entertain the fond 
 hope that before the adjournment of this Congress we will all 
 see the wisdom and the justice of not only procuring his his- 
 toric home— Monticello, in Virginia — but erect in this magnifi- 
 cent Capital City a fitting tribute in the way of a monument to 
 his illustrious career and his great and invaluable services to 
 the Republic. [Applause.] 
 
 The SPEAKER. The time of the gentleman has expired. 
 
 Mr. AUSTIN. Mr. Speaker, I ask permission to print in the 
 Re< obd '• One wish," by a gifted and patriotic American woman, 
 the wife of our distinguished colleague from New York [Mr. 
 Littleton], a publication which is a patriotic labor of love. 
 [Applause.] 
 
 The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. 
 Austin] asks leave to extend his remarks in the Regobd. Is 
 there objection? [After a pause. | The Chair hoars none. 
 30701—10896 3 
 
ont: wish. 
 
 [A copy of a letter from Mrs. Martin \V. Littleton to her Long Island 
 
 friends.] 
 
 " LlTTLECOTE, 
 
 " Poht Washington, Long Island, 
 
 "Xcw York, August 30, 1911. 
 
 "My Dear Friends: This letter was written to you in Wash- 
 ington, and somebody forgot to mail it, till now I am afraid it 
 is too late. But it is not really a letter, anyway, for there is 
 nothing personal between you and me in it, or anything newsy; 
 nor is it an essay, for there is not enough learning in it. The 
 only thing I can call it is a wish, my one wish. But you must 
 wait till the end, like shutting your eyes aud waiting for the 
 wagonload of hay to pass out of sight, before you can know 
 what my one wish is. I hope you have made the same wish, 
 and that they both may come true. My wish is about Thomas 
 Jefferson. 
 
 "It seems when the Nation was very young, and first start- 
 ing out, its Government was without a home. It was worn- 
 out from fighting battles, and could hanlly see through the 
 smoke. Those whom it had fought were hoping it would come 
 to grief. Its own friends were quarrelling. States were ar- 
 rayed against States. Constantly the North and South were 
 picking at each other, as some brothers do. Its friends were 
 jealous of the affections of each other for it, and it could not 
 stay in the house of any of them. It was without money. The 
 Treasury was empty. The wars had cost a lot. Soldiers were 
 without pay, and were clamoring for the price of its freedom. 
 Weary and faint, young and all alone in the world, there was 
 no place to rest. Almost out of breath, it hardly had strength 
 to go on doing the great things it had to do. Like a fugitive, 
 it wandered from place to place, through stormy times, witli 
 not a roof to over i!s head. And the clouds were dark and 
 threatening ahore it. Some said they were war clouds. They 
 looked black and angry. A shelter mtisl lie found. A seat of 
 government. A capital city. The North wanted the honor of 
 being its birthplace. The South wanted it just as much. Con- 
 gress must settle the dispute. It had its hands full. Speeches 
 were made, claims were urged, inducements offered, bills 
 passed, amendments added, decision delayed. Still there was 
 no seat of government, no site chosen, until Jefferson and Ham- 
 ilton agreed about it. Alexander Hamilton was Secretary of 
 the Treasury, and was much troubled over the debts for our 
 war with England There was nothing to pay them with, lie 
 39701 l os-jo - 
 
 ^\° 
 
 
hardly knew which way to (urn. There seemed no way out of 
 i !•< able. The tiling he most feared was that the Union might be 
 dissolved on account of them. Ho could think of nothing to 
 prevent it, except that the Southern states would consent that 
 tli.so debts should ho assumed by the Federal Government. 
 This he confided to Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was Secretary 
 of State. He could not bear to see the Union dissolved, any 
 more than Hamilton could. So, to avert this disaster, he would 
 do anything. He would not even object if Congress passed a 
 'funding act,' permitting the Federal Government to pay these 
 debts. Hamilton, not less patriotic, said he would not object to 
 the cause Jefferson had espoused. A cause he had espoused 
 with his whole heart, as a bridegroom bis bride. The cause 
 was that of locating the Capital City in his beloved South. One 
 day it was agreed to. An act of Congress was then passed 
 to establish the seat of government in a 'district or territory 
 noi exceeding 10 miles square, to be located on the river 
 Potomac' 
 
 "What a precious gift to the South! May it never cease to 
 be grateful to Thomas Jefferson ; 
 
 " Then and there a city was born. A Capital City for all time 
 to come. It was born in the brain of man, and it found a place 
 in the hearts of all men. It was held in the encircling arms of 
 a mighty river. It was nursed in the lap of a valley, sweet and 
 soli as a mother's. It was fed by fertile fields, rich in yellow 
 corn and wheat that in snnshine turned to solid gold. Clear, 
 cool springs watered it. Hills of royal colors sheltered it with 
 their forests on top, glistening like crowns. It was protected 
 by cordons of mountains going around, their walls a thick 
 barrier between it and harm. In the blue, blue distance they 
 looked like brave soldiers covered with smoke from belching 
 cannon. 
 
 "That was just a little more than a hundred years ago. 
 
 "Then began a labor of love. Washington! Jefferson! 
 L'Enfant! Laborers! Master builders ! Masterminds! 
 
 "They made maps; they made surveys; they studied architec- 
 ture and laid out parks, avenues, and streets; and budded a city. 
 A city of every nation, a world's shrine. 
 
 "They built it in the heart of a great, deep, dark forest; a 
 heart warm and tender with a soft place in it big enough to 
 hold all who wish to enter. Its goodness is above everything else 
 in the world. 
 
 "Its woods have become peopled with tall, gray monuments 
 of giant heroes, and children that laugh and play with their 
 images in its clear pools, filling it full of sounds of music. It 
 39701— 1089G 
 
G 
 
 p. sweet ami sylvan with the notes of mocking birds, and sounds 
 of bluebirds and redbirds. Gay little squirrels scamper and run 
 about through the leaves of the trees, lively as recollections that 
 sometimes go running through one's head. Its dark nooks and 
 recesses are lighted up with the white marble buildings of the 
 Government. They look like noble Greek palaces. Myriads of 
 their white pillars gleam through the black woods like lighted 
 candles in a solemn cathedral. The religious sound of silvery 
 church bells hallows it and gives to everyone a sense of com- 
 fort. Its gray-paved streets are cut through wooded paths 
 edged with shrubbery and leafiness. All of them lead to yonder 
 green hill whereon rests our Capitol Building, wdiite, pure 
 white, with not a shadow across it. It sits as a light on a hill. 
 
 "Tucked away under branches and vines are the houses sur- 
 rounded by hedges. Window boxes seem to grow from them 
 everywhere, with flowers tumbling down from them to touch 
 the earth. Most of the houses are new and fine. Some look 
 proud and fat. They crush between them tiny little old 
 cottages, and keep the sun from shining in their gardens of 
 vines and flowers. But the tiny cottages are not afraid or 
 ashamed for they enjoy the distinction id' history and quaint- 
 noss of age which the newer ones must enviously wait for. 
 
 "The city covers about G,000 acres; nearly 4,000 of this they 
 thought best to lay out in parks and streets. They knew in 
 building a Capital City in the South thai plenty and plenty of 
 room was needed for air and breezes; and they believed every 
 house would be healthier to have gardens. Streets were made 
 miles long and acres wide and beautiful with great, long vistas. 
 Tall trees grew along their sides, and when passershy come 
 underneath them they bend their heads over to shade them from 
 the sun. 
 
 "Not long ago I attended the unveiling of a monumqnt to 
 the memory of I/Enfant, one of the master builders. It was 
 at Arlington, once the home of Eoberl 1'.. Lee, general of the 
 Confederacy, a soldier among soldiers. The house is big and 
 white, and empty now. Booms and halls are quiet as death, 
 except for the noise the silence makes. The windows are closed 
 like eyes thai can not see and sunken deep in like hollow 
 caverns. The rooms seem to want to push out of the cold and 
 dark into the warm sunshine. The ceilings hang high above 
 the floor and are full of echoes thai answer every whisper. 
 The walls are covered with zigzag cracks that look like mys- 
 terious writing, and l wondered if there were anyone who 
 could read them. These cracks must lie very old and able to 
 ; lot. I loved the old floors made of broad, thick wooden 
 39701 1089G 
 
boards. Dim, dusky shadows lay across them, and wfien I 
 walked over them 1 thought I could hear other footsteps fol- 
 lowing falling softly and quietly. I was even sure of hearing 
 breathing. And I could not help looking to see if some one 
 were coming back of me. I was wondering all the time if the 
 dead are really gone. If life is not death, and if death is not 
 resurrection. Great spirits seem to live -seem always to live 
 among us — even though their bodies have left us. They seem to 
 live in their works and in the seeds they have planted and in 
 all around us. I walked out on the portico and stood between 
 two great while pillars. 1 could look across the hills with 
 lovely valleys in between and see the ground covered with lit He 
 white headstones like flakes of snow fallen from the sky. The 
 graves were lying in beds of tender grass and covered with 
 blankets of moss soft as down. Over them were bent forest 
 frees. The stirring and swaying of their loaves sounded like 
 sad voices whispering to each other. Sounds of other voices 
 made me look around and I saw crowds of people. In the mid- 
 dle of them was a monument covered with bunting streaming in 
 red, white, and blue mixed with the colors of France. Then I 
 heard the voice of the President of the United States, the voice 
 of Ambassador Jusserand, and the voice of Senator Root dedi- 
 cating this monument to the memory of L'Enfant and laying at 
 his feet the praise and thanks of an appreciative .Nation. And 
 a little farther on I could see the river at the foot of the bill 
 winding about like a silver thread. Willow trees garlanded and 
 wreathed its banks. Their tender branches streamed into the 
 water without making a sound like tears that flow without a 
 sob. 
 
 "Yet in the slid farther distance from us I could see a 
 tall marble shaft. It was of heavenly white without a blemish. 
 It rose far away and above us in the luminous sunshine and 
 beautiful blue sky like a gigantic, glorious ghost. 
 
 "A grateful Nation had erected it to the memory of George 
 Washington, one of the master builders. I listened and listened 
 to the voices to hear the name of Jefferson, the other master 
 builder. And as I stood on that hill and looked from Arlington 
 to Mount Vernon, from Mount Vernon to Charlottesville, and 
 from Charlottesville to Washington, I thought of these three 
 great men. They were all in my mind together. And as I 
 looked there in the city of 20,000 dead and looked across at 
 another city of 200,000 living I thought of Jefferson. And I 
 could not see a monument or a shaft or a tombstone in his honor, 
 In all this glorious temple of trees and marble there was no 
 niche reserved for him. Jefferson's impress upon the city aud 
 39701— 10S9G 
 
upon the world is broader than that of any other man — and 
 though he has gone out of our lives, not one of the things he did 
 is gone; all remain, all live, all ours, except his sleeping body. 
 Montieello, his beloved mountain, holds that high above all 
 other monuments, lifting it into the clear, pure air above us. 
 Ho was born at its bottom, and while he lies dead in its sum- 
 mit democracy lives. 
 
 " It was he who had faith in man. It was he who fought for a 
 now Government, founded upon the belief that all men are 
 equal. It was he who budded an asylum for the oppressed of all 
 nations. It was he who had the laws of primogeniture and 
 entail abolished, and made the young son eerual with the elder 
 brother. It was he who caused the separation of church and 
 state, and made it possible for all men to profess their religious 
 belief, without fear of oppression, whether Protestant, Catholic, 
 or Jew. It was he who spoke the first words in behalf of tlie 
 freedom of the Negroes before any other American statesman, 
 and if this bill, the ' Ordinance of the Northwestern Territory,' 
 prohibiting slavery after 1S00, had passed, our great Civil War 
 would never have been fought. He drew the bill establishing 
 our present system of coinage and currency on the decimal 
 basis. Everyone knows that the last work his hands found to 
 do, when he was an old, old man, was to inaugurate and build 
 a great democratic university for Virginia, the first real uni- 
 versity in America. He believed that in a representative democ- 
 racy education and intellectual freedom were necessary. 
 
 " Without sword and with only his pen he took over from 
 Napoleon Bonaparte for the United States the great Southwest- 
 ern Territory, known as the Louisiana Purchase, and added 11 
 Slates to the Union. He created and wrote five great State 
 papers, from which Americans have learned their lessons of 
 freedom. 
 
 " The sublimest one of all he wrote was the Declaration of 
 American Independence. It brought to all people free gifts of 
 conscience, free gifts of thought, free gifts of speech, free gifts 
 of education, free gifts of ballot, free gifts of press, free gifts 
 of religion, and free gifts to all men of the ' rights to life, lib- 
 erty, and the pursuit of happiness.' The only one thing he was 
 too poor to give free to the people, for whom he had already 
 done so much, was Montieello, containing his birthplace, his 
 home, and his own dead body. That he had to leave to be sold at 
 auction to the highest bidder. / 
 
 "Sixty-one years of public service lefl him on the auction 
 block. Just at this time I could not help but remember about 
 all these things. I also remembered his dislike of hero worship. 
 39701 — 10S0G 
 
Tt was so extreme thai he begged his followers not to celebrate 
 the anniversary of his birth. 
 
 "But God did not intend for him to be forgotten — this man 
 who was a disciple of goodness to all humanity. And when 
 Jefferson's work was done and God received him unto Himself, 
 Ho chose to do it on the clay of July 4, 1826, the anniversary 
 day of the declaration of American independence. So we can 
 never forget. On the day of his death there was found written 
 on the torn hack of an old letter, in his own handwriting, the 
 following directions for his monument and inscription : 
 
 " On a grave, a plain die or cube of 3 feet, without any moldings, 
 surmounted by an obelisk of 6 feet height, each of a single stone ; on 
 the face of the obelisk the following inscription, and not a word more : 
 
 " Here was buried 
 
 " Thomas Jefferson 
 
 "Author of the 
 
 "Declaration of American Independence 
 
 " Of tbe statute of Virginia 
 
 " Religious freedom 
 
 "And father of the University of Virginia 
 
 " Because of these as testimonials that I have lived I wish most to 
 be remembered. It to be of the coarse stone of which my columns are 
 made, that no one may be tempted hereafter to destroy it for the value 
 of the materials. My bust, by Carracchi, with the pedestal and trun- 
 cated column on which it stands, might be given to the university if 
 they would place it in the dome room of the rotunda." 
 
 "His great-granddaughter, Sarah N. Randolph, writes this: 
 'Jefferson's efforts to save his monument from mutilation by 
 having it made of coarse stone have been futile. His grandson, 
 Col. Randolph, followed his directions in erecting the monument 
 which is placed over him. He lies buried between his wife and 
 his daughter, Mary Eppes. Across the head of these three graves 
 lies the remains of his eldest daughter. Martha Randolph. This 
 group lies in front of a gap in the high brick wall which sur- 
 rounds the whole graveyard, the gap being filled by a high iron 
 grating, giving a full view of the group, that there might be no 
 excuse for forcing open the high iron gates which close the en- 
 trance to the graveyard. But all precautions have been in vain. 
 The gates have been again and again broken open, the graves 
 entered, and the tomb desecrated. The edges of the granite obe- 
 lisk over Jefferson's grave have been chipped away until it now 
 stands a misshapen column. Of the slabs placed over the graves 
 of Mrs. Jefferson and Mrs. Eppes not a vestige remains, while 
 of the one over Mrs. Randolph only fragments are left' 
 
 "And I thought how much more in keeping with his sense of 
 freedom and love of nature if, instead of erecting a statue to 
 him in Washington, the Nation whom he loved so well were to 
 39701—10306 
 
10 
 
 purchase and preserve forever to his memory the house and 
 grounds and graveyard at Monticello, new owned by Mr. Jeffeb- 
 son Levy, of New York. 
 
 " He is not one man's man. He belongs to the people who love 
 hiin, for that be first loved tbern. He belongs not only to us 
 and our people but to the people of all the world wherever 
 liberty is. And their one wish is to be free to lay upon his 
 grave a Nation's tears. It is my one wish, too. 
 
 QUOTATION FROM THE WRITINGS OF COKNBLIS DB WITT. 
 
 The nobler emotions of Democracy are of short duration ; it soon 
 forgets its most faithful servants. Six months had not elapsed when 
 Jefferson's furniture was sold at auction to pay his debts, when Monti- 
 cello and Poplar Forest were advertised for sale at the street corners, 
 and when the daughter of him whom America had called " the father of 
 Democracy " had no longer a place to rest her bead. (Thomas Jeffer- 
 son, Etude Ilistorique sur la Democratic Americaine; par Cornells De 
 Witt, p. 3b0.,» 
 
 MR. JEFFERSON'S LETTER TO MR. MADISON. 
 
 You will have seen in the newspapers some proceedings in the legis- 
 lature which have cost me much mortification. * * * Still, sales 
 at a fair price would leave me competently provided. Had crops and 
 prices for several years been such as to maintain a steady competition 
 of substantial bidders at market all would have been safe. But the 
 long succession of years of stunted crops, of reduced prices, the general 
 prostration of the farming business under levies for the support of 
 manufacturers, etc.. with the calamitous fluctuations of value in our 
 paper medium, have kept agriculture in a state of abject depression, 
 which has peopled the Western States by silently breaking up those on 
 the Atlantic, and glutted the land market while it drew off its bidders. 
 In such a state of things property has lost its character of being a 
 resource for debts. Highland in Bedford, which, in the days of our 
 plethory, sold readily for from $50 to $100 the acre (and such sales 
 were many then), would not now sell for more than from $10 to $20, 
 or one-quarter or one-fifth of its former price. Reflecting on these 
 things, the practice occurred to me of selling on fair valuation, and by 
 way of lottery, often resorted to before the Revolution to effect large 
 sales, and still in constant usage in every State for individual as well 
 as corporation purposes. If it is permitted in my case, my lands here 
 alone, with the mills, etc., will pay everything and will leave me 
 Monticello and a farm free. If refused, I must sell every thing here, 
 perhaps considerably in Bedford, move thither with my family, where 
 1 have not even a log hut to put my head into (the house at Poplar 
 Foresl had passed out of his possession), and where ground for burial 
 will depend on the depredations which, under the form of sales, shall 
 have been committed on my properly. 
 
 The question, then, witli me was utrum horum. But why afflict you 
 with these details Indeed, I can not tell, unless pains are lessened by 
 communication with a friend. The friendship which has subsisted be- 
 tween us, now half a century, and the harmony of our political prin- 
 ciples and pursuits have been sources of constant happiness to me 
 through that long period. And if I remove beyond the reach of atten- 
 tions to the university, or beyond the bourne of life itself, as I soon 
 39701 10S9G 
 
11 
 
 must, it is a comfort to leave that institution under your cam, and an 
 assurance that it will not be wanting. It has also been a great solace 
 to me to believe that you are engaged in vindicating to posterity the 
 course we have pursued for preserving to them in all their purity the 
 blessings of self-government, which we had assisted, too, in acquiring 
 for (hem. If ever the earth has beheld a system of adminlsti 
 conducted with a single and steadfast eye to the general interest and 
 happiness of those committed to it — one which, protected by truth, can 
 never know reproach — it is that to which our lives have beeB de 
 To myself you have been a pillar of support through life. Take care 
 of me when dead, and be assured that I shall leave with you my last 
 affections. 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF MONTICELLO. 
 (By Due de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt.) 
 
 Monticello is situated 3 miles from Milton, in that chain of moun- 
 tains which stretches from James River to the Rappahannock, 28 
 miles in front of the Blue Ridge, and in a direction parallel to those 
 mountains. This chain, which runs uninterrupted in its small extent, 
 assumes successively the names of the West, South, and Green Moan 
 tains. 
 
 It is in the part known by the name of the South Mountains that 
 Monticello is situated. The house stands on the summit of the moun- 
 tain, and the taste and arts of Europe have been consulted in the 
 formation of its plan. Mr. Jefferson had commenced its construction 
 before the American Revolution; since that epoeha his life has been 
 constantly engaged in public affairs, and he has not been able to com- 
 plete the execution of the whole extent of the project which it seems 
 he had at first conceived. That part of the building which was fin- 
 ished has suffered from the suspension of the work, and Mr. Jefferson, 
 who two years since resumed the habit s and leisure of -private life, is 
 now employed in repairing the damage, occasioned by this interruption 
 and still more by his absence; he continues his original plan, and even 
 improves on it by giving to his buildings more elevation and extent. 
 He intends that they shall consist only of one story, crowned with bal- 
 ustrades; and a dome is to be constructed in the center of the struc- 
 ture. The apartments will be large and convenient; the decoration, 
 both outside and inside, simple yet regular and elegant. Monticello, 
 according to its first plan, was infinitely superior to all other houses in 
 America in point of taste and convenience, but at that time Mr. Jeffer- 
 son had studied taste and the fine arts in books only. His travels in 
 Europe have supplied him with models; he has appropriated them to 
 his design; and bis new plan, the execution of which is already much 
 advanced, will be accomplished before the end of next year, and then 
 his house will certainly deserve to be ranked with the most pleasant 
 mansions in France and England. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson's house commands one of the most extensive prospects 
 you can meet with. On the east side, the front of the building, the eye 
 is not clicked by any object, since the mountain on which the house is 
 seated commands all the neighboring heights as far as the Chesapeake. 
 The Atlantic might be seen, were it not for the greatness of the dis- 
 tance, which renders that prospect impossible. On the right and left 
 the eye commands the extensive valley that separates the Green, South, 
 and West Mountains from the Blue Ridge, and has no other bounds but 
 these high mountains, of which, on a clear day, you discern the chain 
 on tiie right upward of a hundred miles, far beyond James River; and 
 30701 - 10800 
 
12 
 
 on the left as far as Maryland, on (ho other side of the Potomac. 
 Through some intervals formed by the irregular summits of the Blue 
 Mountains, you discover the Peaked Ridge, a chain of mountains placed 
 
 i c: \ o the Blue and North Mountains, another more distant ridge. 
 
 But in the back part the prospect is soon interrupted by a mountain 
 more elevated than that on which the house is seated. The hounds of 
 the view on this point, at so small a distance, form a pleasant resting 
 place, as the immensity of prospect it enjoys is perhaps already too 
 vast. A considerable number of cultivated tields, houses, and barns, 
 enliven and variegate the extensive landscape, still more embellished by 
 the beautiful and diversified forms of mountains in the whole chain of 
 which not one resembles another. 
 
 DEScnirTiON of monticello. 
 
 (By Lieut. Hall, of the British Army.) 
 
 Having- an introduction to Mr. Jefferson (Mr. Hall writes), I as- 
 cended his little mountain on a line morning, which gave the situation 
 its due effect. The whole of the sides and base are covered with forest, 
 through which roads have been cut circularly, so that the winding may 
 be shortened at pleasure ; the summit is an open lawn, near to the south 
 side of which the house is built, with its garden just descending the 
 brow; the salon, or central hall, is ornamented with several pieces of 
 antique sculpture, Indian arms, mammoth bones, and other curiosities 
 collected from various parts of the Union. I found Mr. Jefferson tall iu 
 person, bul stooping and lean with old age, thus exhibiting the fortu- 
 nate mode of bodily decay which strips the frame of its most cumber- 
 some parts, leaving it still strength of muscle and activity of limb. 
 His deportment was exactly such as the Marquis de Chastellux describes 
 il above 30 years ago. "At first serious, nay, even cold," but in a very 
 short time relaxing into a most agreeable amenity, with an unabated 
 How of conversation on the most interesting topics discussed in the 
 most gentlemanly and philosophical manner. 
 
 I walked with him round his grounds, to visit his pet trees and 
 improvements of various kinds. During the walk he pointed out to 
 my observation a conical mountain, rising singly at the edge of the 
 southern horizon of the landscape; its distance, he said, was -10 miles, 
 and its dimensions those of the greater Egyptian pyramid; so that it 
 actually represents the appearance of the pyramid at the same distance. 
 There is a small cleft visible on the summit, through which the true 
 meridian of Monticello exactly passes; its most singular property, how- 
 ever, is that on different occasions it looms or alters its appearance, 
 becoming sometimes cylindrical, sometimes square, and sometimes 
 assuming the form of an inverted cone. Mr. Jefferson had not been 
 able to connect this phenomenon with any particular season or state of 
 the atmosphere, except that it most commonly occurred in (he forenoon. 
 He observed that it was not only wholly unaccounted for by the laws 
 of vision, (ml thai it bad not as yet engaged the attention of philoso- 
 phers, so far as to acquire a name; that of •'looming" being, in fact, 
 a term applied by sailors to appearances of a similar kind at sea. The 
 Blue Mountains are also observed to loom, though not in so remark- 
 able a degree. * * * 
 
 I slept a night at Monticello, and left it in the morning, with such 
 n feeling as the traveler quits the moldering remains of a Grecian 
 temple, or the pilgrim a fountain in the desert. It would, indeed, argue 
 a great torpor, both of understanding and heart, to have looked with- 
 out veneration or interest on the man who drew up the Declaration of 
 yM7»il 1089G 
 
13 
 
 American Independence, who shared in the councils hy which her free- 
 dom was established; whom the unbought voice of his fellow citizens 
 called to the exercise of a dignity from which his own moderation im- 
 pelled him, when such an example was most salutary, to withdraw ; and 
 who, while he dedicates the evening of his glorious days to the pursuits 
 of science and literature, shuns none of the humbler duties of private 
 life; but, having a seat higher than that of kings, succeeds with 
 
 graceful dignity to that of the good neighbor, and tx oes the friendly 
 
 adviser, lawyer, physician, and even gardener of his vicinity. This is 
 the still small voice of philosophy, deeper and holier than the lightnings 
 and earthquakes which have preceded it. What monarch would venture 
 thus to exhibit himself in the nakedness of his humanity? On what 
 royal brow would the laurel replace the diadem? But they who are 
 born and educated to be kings are not expected to be philosophers. 
 This is a just answer, though no great compliment, cither to the gov- 
 ernors or the governed. 
 
 ONE WISH AND A W1T.L. 
 
 (The day of Thomas Jefferson's birth, April IP., 1743.) 
 
 " Since writing down my wish, I was running over some 
 volumes the other day, when my eyes fell upon an old record 
 showing that I am not the only one who believed the people 
 of the United States should own Monticello, the birthplace, 
 home, and burial place of Thomas Jefferson, author of the 
 Declaration of Independence. 
 
 "My wish, I find, is supported by the wish and will of the 
 ancestor of the present owner. 
 
 "How curious it is that HO years ago just this March the 
 then owner of Monticello, whose name was Uriah P. Levy, 
 should have died in the city of New York, and before dying 
 should have made a wonderful will, a will to secure Monti- 
 cello to the people of the United States. Part of this will I 
 found is in the Reports of New York Court of Appeals, vol- 
 ume 33, page 97, and in Barbour's Reports, 40. Here is what 
 the report says: 
 
 " Uriah P. Levy, the testator, died in the city of New York, where, 
 he was domiciled, in March, 1852, leaving surviving a widow, brothers 
 and sisters, nephews and nieces, his heirs at law and next of kin. He 
 died seized of real estate in the city of New York of the value of 
 §200,000, and his personal property was inventoried at 8131,000. lie 
 also was the owner of a farm at Monticello, in Virginia, containing 
 between 2,000 and 3,000 acres (formerly the residence of President 
 Jefferson), and another estate, called the Washington farm, of about 
 1,100 acres, with the tanning Implements, cattle, etc., on both prop- 
 erties. 
 
 " By his will, after other provisions, the testator devised his farm 
 and estate at Monticello, together with the residue of his- estate, real 
 and personal, 'to the people of the United States, or such persons 
 as Congress shall appoint to receive it, in trust, for the sole and only 
 purpose of establishing and maintaining at said farm of Monticello, 
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 in Virginia, an agricultural school for the purpose of educating as 
 practical farmers children of the warrant officers of the United States 
 Navy whose fathers are dead,' etc. But should the Congress of the 
 United States refuse to accept the bequest or to take the necessary 
 s;.j^ to any out the testator's intention, then he devised the same 
 'to the people of the Slate of Virginia, instead 1 of the people of the 
 United States, provided they, by acts of their legislature, accept it 
 and carry it out, as herein directed.' And should the people of Vir- 
 ginia, by the neglect of their legislature, decline to accept the said 
 bequest, then he gave the same to certain Hebrew congregations in the 
 cities of New York, Philadelphia, and Richmond, 'provided they pro- 
 cure the necessary legislation to entitle them to bold said estate and 
 stablisb an agricultural school at said Montioello for the children 
 aid societies who are between the ages of 12 and 10 years and 
 whose fathers are dead, and also similar children of any other de- 
 nomination, Hebrew or Christian.' 
 
 "Item: I direct m; rs, hereinafter named, or such of them 
 
 as shall qualify, lo invest the funds as fast as they accumulate, and 
 to hold the whole of the property and estate hereby devised and uc- 
 qucathed for said school and in their hands until the proper steps have 
 l een taken by Congress or the Legislature of Virginia or the said 
 Hebrew benevolent congregations to receive the same and discharge 
 said executors. 
 
 "Lastly. I appoint the Hon. Benjamin F. Butler, David V. S. Cod 
 dington, Ashel S. Levy, Lsq., and Joseph II. Patten, Esq., counselor at 
 in the city of New Y/ork; Dr. Joshua Cohen, and Jacob I. Cohen, 
 his brother, of Baltimore; George Carr, Esq., attorney at law, Char- 
 lottesville, Va. ; and Dr. .John P.. Blacke, of Washington City, executors 
 (f this my said will and testament and trustees of said estate, and 
 in case of the death of either of my executors or trustees or their 
 relinquishment or inability to a..t I direct that the remaining qualified 
 :iors or trustees act without them.'' 
 
 "Uriah P. Levy died March 122. LS62. His will was admitted 
 to probate .Tunc 9, 1S62. The executors qualified June V2, 1862. 
 Resolution (S. No. 137) \\ . duced in Congress and con- 
 
 curred in by both Houses on March ::. 1S63, the lasl day of the 
 session. In the Congressional Globe of that date we read: 
 
 "Mr. Fessexdex. I wish to introduce a joint resolution to which 
 nobody Kill object; it will explain itself on being read. It is very 
 necessary to pass it immediately. 
 
 "By unanimous consent leave was given to introduce the joint reso- 
 lution ( S. Xo. 137) in relation to erty devised to the people 
 of the United States by Capt. Uriah P. Levy, deceased, and it was read 
 the first time. 
 
 "It proposes to accept the devise and bequest of Capt. Levy of his 
 Monticello farm in Virginia and his real estate in New York City in 
 trust, to establish and maintain at Monticello an agricultural school 
 for the education of the children of warrant officers of the Navy and 
 to appoint William M. Eva. its. Erastus Corning, and Lewis P.. Woodruff, 
 of New York, to receive the property and report their proceedings to 
 the next Congress. 
 
 "Mr. Fesskndex. It will be observed that this will bequeaths a con- 
 siderable amount of property — it is said to amount to about $."00,000, 
 including an estate at Monticello and a considerable estate in the city 
 39701— 1089G 
 
15 
 
 of New York- to the Government of the Doited States. The whole 
 amount bequeathed, I am told, will reach that sum. The only question 
 is whether Congress will accept it for the purposes therein named. It 
 L for the consideration of Congress. I understand that if the United 
 Stairs refuse to accept it. then it is devised to the State of Virginia; 
 and if they refuse to accept it, then to somebody else. 
 
 " .Mr. Harris. We must accept a lawsuit with it. I understand the 
 heirs are contesting the validity of the will. 
 
 " .Mr. Fi:ssr;.\"Di:\. I submit it to the consideration of the Senate. 
 
 " Mr. Latham. I should like to inquire of the Senator from Maine 
 whether there is any limitation as to the time within which the bequest 
 must be accepted? 
 
 "Mr. Fessenden. All I know about it is precisely what appears In the 
 resolution itself. It was brought into the committee by the district 
 attorney of New York. We had no time to examine it. He said to me 
 that it was believed the estate devised would amount to about $300,000. 
 I was not aware that there was any litigation about it. 
 
 "Mr. COLLAMER. I understand that the form of the devise is this: 
 The property is given first to the United States: if riot accepted by 
 them, then to the State of Virginia; and so on.- I suppose that under. 
 such a devise the United States ought to manifest their intention to 
 receive it in some reasonable time. 1 will ask bow long it is since the 
 man died? I do not know, but I think it is within a short time. 
 
 "Mr. GRIMES. About a year, I think. 
 
 "Mr. Collamer. It seems to me that Congress should at the earliest 
 session after being informed of the fact manifest its willingness to 
 receive the devise or not. Perhaps it might be construed by the 
 courts as rejecting it if they did not accept if at the first session 
 after they were informed of the fact. Perhaps not. however. I give 
 no opinion on that i idea would be thai uc had hdler accept 
 
 it at any rate. 
 
 "Mr. Harris. The Senate, in acting upon this resolution, ought to 
 understand the precise position ,>f the property in question. The heirs 
 of ('apt. Levy have already commenced a sail in equity for the purpose 
 of having this icill declared void. That suit is now pending in the 
 courts of New York, and if the Government accept this donation un- 
 doubtedly we shall have to take with it a severe litigation in the courts 
 of New York in reference to it. I have no objection at all to accept- 
 ing it. pu1 it should be understood that the matter is to he litigated, 
 and will be litigated, with great severity by the heirs of Capt. Levy. 
 
 " Mi-. DOOLITTLE. I suppose this would be the rule. It is for us to 
 determine whether to accept it. and we ought to have a reasonable time 
 for that purpose. For the first lime this morning, as I understand, it 
 is brought to the atb Qtion of the Committee on Finance and presented 
 to the Senate. Now. if we should, under these circumstances, lay it 
 over until the next session of Congress, it could not he said that we 
 were asking any unreasonable time. * * * 
 
 '• So while the joint resolution in relation to the property de- 
 vised to the people of the United Stales by Commodore Levy 
 was still pending, and in less than a year, before the United 
 States could take steps to accept or refuse the devise, though 
 Commodore Levy had plainly directed in his will that his 
 executors hold the whole of the property and estate devised 
 and bequeathed in their hands until proper steps could be taken 
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 16 
 
 by Congress to receive the same and discharge the executors, 
 
 the executors of the will, it seems, brought an action ' to obtain 
 
 a judicial construction of the testator's will ' and to construe 
 
 its meaning. Of course, to you and me, the meaning does not 
 
 seem in doubt at all. But, any way, the case went to the 
 
 court, and there it was decided on the technical ground of ' in- 
 
 definiteness,' in New York general term, November 30, 1SC0, 
 
 that Uriah P. Levy's wish, which was solemnly written in his 
 
 will, must go for nothing, and the outcome of it was that Mon- 
 
 ticello came into the possession of Jeffekson M. Levy, instead 
 
 of the people of the United Stales, to whom it had been left iu 
 
 trust. - ' 
 
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