首页 >出版文学> LETTERS>第66章

第66章

  ButIhopeitwillbesuchanoneasmaybeaccepted。ThearrivaloftheHornetinFranceissorecentlyknown,thatitwillyetbesometimebeforewelearnourprospectsthere。Notwithstandingtheeffortsmadehere,andmadeprofessedlytoassassinatethatnegotiationinembryo,ifthegoodsenseofBuonaparteshouldprevailoverhistemper,thepresentstateofthingsinEuropemayinducehimtorequireofSpainthatsheshoulddousjusticeatleast。ThatheshouldrequirehertosellusEastFlorida,wehavenorighttoinsist:yettherearenotwantingconsiderationswhichmayinducehimtowishapermanentfoundationforpeacelaidbetweenus。Inthistreaty,whateveritshallbe,ouroldenemiesthefederalists,andtheirnewfriends,willfindenoughtocarpat。Thisisathingofcourse,andIshouldsuspecterrorwheretheyfoundnofault。Thebuzzardfeedsoncarriononly。Theirrallyingpointis`warwithFranceandSpain,andalliancewithGreatBritain:’andeverythingiswrongwiththemwhichcheckstheirnewardortobefightingforthelibertiesofmankind;ontheseaalwaysexcepted。Thereonenationistomonopoliseallthelibertiesoftheothers。
  Iread,withextremeregret,theexpressionsofaninclinationonyourparttoretirefromCongress。Iwillnotsaythatthistime,morethanallothers,callsfortheserviceofeveryman;butIwillsay,thereneverwasatimewhentheservicesofthosewhopossesstalents,integrity,firmnessandsoundjudgment,weremorewantedinCongress。SomeoneofthatdescriptionisparticularlywantedtotaketheleadintheHouseofRepresentatives,toconsiderthebusinessofthenationashisownbusiness,totakeitupasifheweresinglychargedwithit,andcarryitthrough。Idonotmeanthatanygentleman,relinquishinghisownjudgment,shouldimplicitlysupportallthemeasuresoftheadministration;butthat,wherehedoesnotdisapproveofthem,heshouldnotsufferthemtogooffinsleep,butbringthemtotheattentionoftheHouse,andgivethemafairchance。Wherehedisapproves,hewillofcourseleavethemtobebroughtforwardbythosewhoconcurinthesentiment。ShallI
  explainmyideabyanexample?TheclassificationofthemilitiawascommunicatedtoGeneralVarnumandyourselfmerelyasaproposition,which,ifyouapproved,itwastrustedyouwouldsupport。Iknew,indeed,thatGeneralVarnumwasopposedtoanythingwhichmightbreakupthepresentorganizationofthemilitia:butwhensomodifiedastoavoidthis,Ithoughthemight,perhaps,bereconciledtoit。AssoonasIfounditdidnotcoincidewithyoursentiments,Icouldnotwishyoutosupportit;butusingthesamefreedomofopinion,Iprocuredittobebroughtforwardelsewhere。Itfailedtherealso,andforatimeperhaps,maynotprevail:butamilitiacanneverbeusedfordistantserviceonanyotherplan;andBuonapartewillconquertheworld,iftheydonotlearnhissecretofcomposingarmiesofyoungmenonly,whoseenthusiasmandhealthenablethemtosurmountallobstacles。Whenagentleman,throughzealforthepublicservice,undertakestodothepublicbusiness,weknowthatweshallhearthecantofbackstairscounsellors。Butweneverheardthiswhilethedeclaimerwashimselfabackstairsman,ashecallsit,butintheconfidenceandviewsoftheadministration,asmaymoreproperlyandrespectfullybesaid。Butifthemembersaretoknownothingbutwhatisimportantenoughtobeputintoapublicmessage,andindifferentenoughtobemadeknowntoalltheworld;iftheexecutiveistokeepallotherinformationtohimself,andtheHousetoplungeoninthedark,itbecomesagovernmentofchanceandnotofdesign。Theimputationwasoneofthoseartificesusedtodespoilanadversaryofhismosteffectualarms;andmenofmindwillplacethemselvesaboveagabbleofthisorder。ThelastsessionofCongresswasindeedanuneasyoneforatime:butassoonasthememberspenetratedintotheviewsofthosewhoweretakinganewcourse,theyralliedinassolidaphalanxasIhaveeverseenacttogether。IndeedIhaveneverseenaHouseofbetterdispositions。Theywantonlyamanofbusiness&inwhomtheycanconfidetoconductthingsinthehouse;andtheyareasmuchdisposedtosupporthimascanbewished。Itisonlyspeakingatruthtosaythatalleyeslooktoyou。Itwasnotperhapsexpectedfromanewmember,athisfirstsession,&beforetheforms&styleofdoingbusinesswerefamiliar。Butitwouldbeasubjectofdeepregretwereyoutorefuseyourselftotheconspicuouspartinthebusinessofthehousewhichallassignyou。PerhapsIamnotentitledtospeakwithsomuchfrankness;butitproceedsfromnomotivewhichhasnotarighttoyourforgiveness。Opportunitiesofcandidexplanationaresoseldomaffordedme,thatImustnotlosethemwhentheyoccur。
  TheinformationIreceivefromyourquarteragreeswiththatfromthesouth;thatthelateschismhasmadenotthesmallestimpressiononthepublic,andthatthesecedersareobligedtogivetoitothergroundsthanthosewhichweknowtobethetrueones。
  Allwehavetowishis,thatattheensuingsession,everyonemaytakethepartopenlywhichhesecretlybefriends。Irecollectnothingnewandtrue,worthycommunicatingtoyou。Asforwhatisnottrue,youwillalwaysfindabundanceinthenewspapers。Amongotherthings,arethoseperpetualalarmsastotheIndians,fornooneofwhichhasthereeverbeentheslightestground。Theyarethesuggestionsofhostiletraders,alwayswishingtoembroiluswiththeIndians,toperpetuatetheirownextortionatecommerce。Isaluteyouwithesteemandrespect。
  GARDENSFORMONTICELLO
  _ToWilliamHamilton_
  _Washington,July,1806_
  Yourfavorofthe7’thcamedulytohandandtheplantyouaresogoodastoproposetosendmewillbethankfullyrec’d。ThelittleMimosaJulibrisinyouweresokindastosendmethelastyearisflourishing。Iobtainedfromagardenerinthisnbh’d[neighborhood]2plantsofthepapermulberry;buttheparentplantbeingmale,wearetoexpectnofruitfromthem,unlessyour[trees]
  shouldchancetobeofthesexwanted。atafutureday,saytwoyearshenceIshallaskfromyousomeseedsoftheMimosaFarnesianaorNilotica,ofwhichyouwerekindenoughbeforetofurnishmesome。
  buttheplantshavebeenlostduringmyabsencefromhome。I
  rememberseeinginyourgreenhouseaplantofacoupleoffeetheightinapotthefragranceofwhichfromit’sgummybudifIrecollectrightlywaspeculiarlyagreeabletomeandyouweresokindastoremarkthatitrequiredonlyagreenhouse,andthatyouwouldfurnishmeonewhenIshouldbeinasituationtopreserveit。butit’snamehasentirelyescapedme&Icannotsupposeyoucanrecollectorconjectureinyourvastcollectionwhatparticularplantthismightbe。Imustacquiesethereforeinaprivationwhichmyowndefectofmemoryhasproduced,unlessindeedIcouldsomeofthesedaysmakeanimpromptuvisittoPhila。&recogniseitmyselfattheWoodlands。
  Havingdecisivelymadeupmymindforretirementattheendofmypresentterm,myviewsandattentionsareallturnedhomewards。I
  havehithertobeenengagedinmybuildingswhichwillbefinishedinthecourseofthepresentyear。Theimprovementofmygroundshasbeenreservedformyoccupationonmyreturnhome。ForthisreasonitisthatIhaveputofftothefalloftheyearafternextthecollectionofsuchcurioustreesaswillbearourwintersintheopenair。
  ThegroundswhichIdestinetoimproveinthestyleoftheEnglishgardensareinaformverydifficulttobemanaged。Theycomposethenorthernquadrantofamountainforabout2/3ofitsheight&thenspreadfortheupperthirdoveritswholecrown。Theycontainaboutthreehundredacres,washedatthefootforaboutamile,byariverofthesizeoftheSchuylkill。Thehillisgenerallytoosteepfordirectascent,butwemakelevelwalkssuccessivelyalongit’sside,whichinit’supperpartencirclethehill&intersecttheseagainbyothersofeasyascentinvariousparts。Theyarechieflystillintheirnativewoods,whicharemajestic,andverygenerallyacloseundergrowth,whichIhavenotsufferedtobetouched,knowinghowmucheasieritistocutawaythantofillup。Theupperthirdischieflyopen,buttotheSouthiscoveredwithadensethicketofScotchbroomSpartiumscopariumLin。whichbeingfavorablyspreadbeforethesunwilladmitofadvantageousarrangementforwinterenjoyment。Youaresensiblethatthisdispositionofthegroundtakesfrommethefirstbeautyingardening,thevarietyofhill&dale,&leavesmeasanawkwardsubstituteafewhanginghollows&ridges,thissubjectissouniqueandatthesametimerefractory,thattomakeadispositionanalogoustoitscharacterwouldrequiremuchmoreofthegeniusofthelandscapepainter&gardenerthanIpretendto。IhadoncehopedtogetParkinstogoandgivemesomeoutlines,butIwasdisappointed。
  CertainlyIcouldneverwishyourhealthtobesuchastorendertravellingnecessary;butshouldajourneyatanytimepromiseimprovementtoit,thereisnooneonwhichyouwouldbereceivedwithmorepleasurethanatMonticello。ShouldIbethereyouwillhaveanopportunityofindulgingonanewfieldsomeofthetastewhichhasmadetheWoodlandstheonlyrivalwhichIhaveknowninAmericatowhatmaybeseeninEngland。
  Thitherwithoutdoubtwearetogoformodelsinthisart。
  Theirsunlessclimatehaspermittedthemtoadoptwhatiscertainlyabeautyoftheveryfirstorderinlandscape。Theircanvasisofopenground,variegatedwithclumpsoftreesdistributedwithtaste。Theyneednomoreofwoodthanwillservetoembracealawnoraglade。
  Butunderthebeaming,constantandalmostverticalsunofVirginia,shadeisourElysium。Intheabsenceofthisnobeautyoftheeyecanbeenjoyed。Thisorganmustyieldit’sgratificationtothatoftheothersenses;withoutthehopeofanyequivalenttothebeautyrelinquished。TheonlysubstituteIhavebeenabletoimagineisthis。Letyourgroundbecoveredwithtreesoftheloftieststature。
  Trimuptheirbodiesashighastheconstitution&formofthetreewillbear,butsoasthattheirtopsshallstillunite&yeilddenseshade。Awood,soopenbelow,willhavenearlytheappearanceofopengrounds。Then,whenintheopengroundyouwouldplantaclumpoftrees,placeathicketofshrubspresentingahemispherethecrownofwhichshalldistinctlyshowitselfunderthebranchesofthetrees。Thismaybeeffectedbyadueselection&arrangementoftheshrubs,&willIthinkofferagroupnotmuchinferiortothatoftrees。Thethicketsmaybevariedtoobymakingsomeofthemofevergreensaltogether,ourredcedarmadetogrowinabush,evergreenprivet,pyrocanthus,Kalmia,Scotchbroom。Hollywouldbeelegantbutitdoesnotgrowinmypartofthecountry。
  OfprospectIhavearichprofusionandofferingitselfateverypointofthecompass。Mountainsdistant&near,smooth&
  shaggy,single&inridges,alittleriverhidingitselfamongthehillssoastoshewinlagoonsonly,cultivatedgroundsundertheeyeandtwosmallvillages。Topreventasatietyofthisistheprincipaldifficulty。Itmaybesuccessivelyoffered,&indifferentportionsthroughvistas,orwhichwillbebetter,betweenthicketssodisposedastoserveasvistas,withtheadvantageofshiftingthescenesasyouadvanceonyourway。
  YouwillbesensiblebythistimeofthetruthofmyinformationthatmyviewsareturnedsosteadfastlyhomewardthatthesubjectrunsawaywithmewheneverIgetonit。Isatdowntothankyouforkindnessesreceived,&tobespeakpermissiontoaskfurthercontributionsfromyourcollection&Ihavewrittenyouatreatiseongardeninggenerally,inwhichartlessonswouldcomewithmorejusticefromyoutome。
  DISCONTENTSINTHEWEST
  _ToJohnDickinson_
  _Washington,Jan。13,1807_
  MYDEARANDANCIENTFRIEND,——Ihavedulyreceivedyourfavorofthe1stinst。,andameverthankfulforcommunicationswhichmayguidemeinthedutieswhichIwishtoperformaswellasIamable。
  ItisbuttootruethatgreatdiscontentsexistintheterritoryofOrleans。ThoseoftheFrenchinhabitantshavefortheirsources,1,theprohibitionofimportingslaves。ThismaybepartlyremovedbyCongresspermittingthemtoreceiveslavesfromtheotherStates,which,bydividingthatevil,wouldlessenitsdanger;2,theadministrationofjusticeinourforms,principles,&language,withallofwhichtheyareunacquainted,&arethemoreabhorrent,becauseoftheenormousexpense,greatlyexaggeratedbythecorruptionofbankrupt&greedylawyers,whohavegonetherefromtheUdS。&
  engrossedthepractice;3,thecallonthembythelandcommissionerstoproducethetitlesoftheirlands。Theobjectofthisisreallytorecord&securetheirrights。Butasmanyofthemholdonrightssoancientthatthetitlepapersarelost,theyexpectthelandistobetakenfromthemwherevertheycannotproducearegulardeductionoftitleinwriting。Inthistheywillbeundeceivedbythefinalresult,whichwillevincetothemaliberaldispositionofthegovernmenttowardsthem。AmongtheAmericaninhabitantsitistheolddivisionoffederalists&republicans。Theformerareashostilethereastheyareeverywhere,&arethemostnumerous&wealthy。