American Annual Register

fied with objects of science and taste, so classed and arranged as to produce their finest effect. On one side, specimens of sculpture set out, in such order, as to exhibit at a coup d'œil, the historical progress of that art; from the first rude attempts of the aborigines of our country, up to that exquisite and finished bust of the great patriot himself, from the master hand of Caracci. On the other side, the visiter sees displayed a vast collection of specimens of Indian art, their paintings, weapons, ornaments, and manufactures; on another, an array of the fossil productions of our country, mineral and animal; the polished remains of those colossal monsters that once trod our forests, and are no more; and a variegated display of the branching honors of those monarchs of the waste,' that still people the wilds of the American continent.

"From this hall he was ushered into a noble saloon, from which the glorious landscape of the west again burst upon his view; and which, within, is hung thick around with the finest productions of the pencil-historical paintings of the most striking subjects from all countries, and all ages; the portraits of distinguished men and patriots, both of Europe and America, and medallions and engravings in endless profusion.

"While the visiter was yet lost in the contemplation of these treasures of the arts and sciences, he was startled by the approach of a strong and sprightly step, and turning with instinctive reverence to the door of entrance, he was met by the tall, and animated, and stately figure of the patriot himself-his countenance beaming with intelligence and benignity, and his out

stretched hand, with its strong and cordial pressure, confirming the courteous welcome of his lips. And then came that charm of manner and conversation that passes all description--so cheerful-so unassuming so free, and easy, and frank, and kind, and gay-that even the young, and overawed, and embarrassed visiter at once forgot his fears, and felt himself by the side of an old and familiar friend. There was no effort, no ambition in the conversation of the philosopher. It was as simple and unpretending as nature itself. And while in this easy manner he was pouring out instruction, like light from an inexhaustible solar fountain, he seemed continually to be asking, instead of giving information. The visiter felt himself lifted by the contact, into a new and nobler region of thought, and became surprised at his own buoyancy and vigor. He could not, indeed, help being astounded, now and then, at those transcendant leaps of the mind, which he saw made without the slightest exertion, and the ease with which this wonderful man played with subjects which he had been in the habit of considering among the argumenta crucis of the intellect. And then there seemed to be no end to his knowledge. He was a thorough master of every subject that was touched. From the details of the humblest mechanic art, up to the highest summit of science, he was perfectly at his ease, and, every where at home. There seemed to be no longer any terra incognita of the human understanding: for, what the visiter had thought so, he now found reduced to a familiar garden walk; and all this carried off so lightly, so playfully, so gracefully, so engagingly, that he won every heart that

approached him, as certainly as he astonished every mind."

Mr. Jefferson was in stature tall and erect, and active in his movements. He possessed a taste for some of the polite accomplishments, particularly for music, and in younger life performed occasionally on the violin. He was an elegant scholar, an accomplished linguist, a proficient in several parts of natural science, and a great patron of literary enterprise. He presided for many years over the American Philosophical society at Philadelphia. While president of the United States, he projected the expedition of Lewis and Clarke across the continent, and much of the success of that well conducted expedition is due to his counsels.

The remarkable parallel, which may be traced between the lives of Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Adams, from their entrance on public life, to their departure from this world, makes it proper to record the renewed intercourse of their declining years. Their early friendship and co-operation in the public service, their temporary separation, and subsequent revived intimacy, have been a natural theme of reflection to the numerous eulogists, that have celebrated their lives and characters. It has been most beautifully observed, "that the streams of their lives were united near their sources, and, joined in one current, had forced their way through mounds of earth, and swept over appalling barriersbut at length divided in their course by a rough island of rock, they rushed by its opposing sides with turbulent and emulous rapidity, until at last their waters were commingled in peace, and flowed on tranquil and majestic into the ocean of eternity." (Vide, Mr. Sprague, of Hallowell.)

But

It is gratifying to reflect, that, in the most violent periods of political contention, and while Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Adams were regarded as the heads of the two great parties in the country, and were rival candidates for the chair of state, the courtesies of private life were not neglected between them. The biographer of Mr. Pitt informs us, that for twentyfour years that eminent statesman never met Mr. Fox, in a private room. On the very eve of the election, in 1800, Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Adams were in the exchange of all the offices of social life, and good neighborhood. That they may, in moments of excitement, have felt and spoken, in reference to each other, in the character of the leaders of opposite parties, is matter of course. whatever estrangement, at any time existed, it was transitory in its duration; and a correspondence arose between them, in their latter years, which, "if it ever be given to the world," says Mr. Wirt," I speak from knowledge when I say, will be found to be one of the most interesting and affecting, the world has ever seen. It resembles, more than any one thing else, one of those conversations in the elysium of the ancients, which the shades of the departed great were supposed by them to hold. There are the same playful allusions to the points of difference, that had divided their parties; the same mutual, and light, and unimpassioned raillery on their own past misconceptions and mistakes; the same mutual and just admiration and respect for their many virtues and services to mankind. That correspondence was to them both, one of the most genial employments of their old age, and it reads

a lesson of wisdom on the bitterness of party spirit, by which the wise and the good will not fail to profit."

If any thing were wanting to convince this generation of the unutterable importance of the American revolution, it would be the closing scene of the lives of Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Adams. Passing over the long succession of great and memorable scenes, with which their after lives were filled, their minds, in the very moments of dissolution, went back, and dwelt on the first struggles of American liberty.

On the morning of the 4th of July, Mr. Adams, then evidently near his death, awoke at the ringing of bells, and the firing of cannon. The servant who watched with him, asked him, if he knew what day it was? "O yes," he replied, "it is the glorious 4th of July -God bless it, God bless you all." In the forenoon, the orator of the day, the Rev. Mr. Whitney, the parish minister of Mr. Adams, called to see him, and found him seated in an arm chair. In the course of the interview, Mr. Whitney asked him for a sentiment, to be given at the public table. He replied, "I will give you, independence for ever!" After a few moments had elapsed, a lady asked him, if he wished to add any thing to the toast? and he said "not a syllable." This passed an hour or too, only, before he breathed his last. In the course of the day, he said, "it is a great and a good day." That his thoughts were dwelling on the scene of 1776, is evident from the last words which he uttered, "Jefferson survives,"* which were

spoken about the time that Jefferson expired.

In like manner, Mr. Jefferson, in the short intervals of delirium which occurred in his last hours, seemed to dwell exclusively on the events of the revolution. He talked in broken sentences of the committee of safety. One of his exclamations was, "Warn the committee to be on their guard ;" and he instantly rose in his bed, with the help of his attendants, and went through the act of writing a hurried note. But for the greater part of the time, during the last days of his life, he was blessed with the enjoyment of his reason. The only anxious wish he uttered for himself was, that he might live to breathe the air of the fiftieth anniversary of independence. When that day arrived, he was repeatedly heard to murmur, nunc dimittis Domine, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace!

When,since the death of Socrates, can any thing be found, that will bear a comparison with the deathbed scene of these two great men ?

One circumstance only remains to be noticed in the biography of Mr. Jefferson. In a private memorandum, found among some other obituary papers and relics of Mr. Jefferson, is a suggestion, in case a monument to his memory should ever be proposed, that it should be a granite obelisk, of small dimensions, with the following inscription :

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