Not in fifty years, said Thomas Jefferson in the last days of his life, had the sun caught him in bed. On this morning, having said good-by to the man to whose hands he had entrusted the dearest enterprise of all his life, he turned back to his desk in the little office-room, and throughout the long and heated day, following a night spent wholly without sleep, he remained engaged in his usual labors, which were the heavier in his secretary's absence.
He was an old man now, but a giant in frame, a giant in mind, a giant in industry as well. He sat at his desk absorbed, sleepless, with that steady application which made possible the enormous total of his life's work. He was writing in a fine, delicate hand--legible to this day--certain of those thousands of letters and papers which have been given to us as the record of his career.
In what labor was the President of the United States engaged on this particularly eventful day? It seems he found more to do with household matters than with affairs of state. He was making careful accounts of his French cook, his Irish coachman, his black servants still remaining at his country house in Virginia.
All his life Thomas Jefferson kept itemized in absolute faithfulness a list of all his personal expenses--even to the gratuities he expended in traveling and entertainment. We find, for instance, that "John Cramer is to go into the service of Mr. Jefferson at twelve dollars a month and twopence for drink, two suits of clothes and a pair of boots." It seems that he bought a bootjack for three shillings; and the cost of countless other household items is as carefully set down.
We may learn from records of this date that in the past year Mr. Jefferson had expended in charity $1,585.60. He tells us that in the first three months of his presidency his expenses were $565.84--and he was wrong ten cents in his addition of the total! In his own hand he sets down "A View of the Consumption of Butchers' Meat from September 6, 1801, to June 12, 1802." He knew perfectly well, indeed, what all his household expenses were, also what it cost him to maintain his stables. He did all this bookkeeping himself, and at the end of each year was able to tell precisely where his funds had gone.
We may note one such annual statement, that of the year ended five months previous to the time when Captain Lewis set forth into the West: Provisions $4,059.98 Wines 1,296.63 Groceries 1,624.76 Fuel 553.68 Secretary 600.00 Servants 2,014.89 Miscellaneous 433.30 Stable 399.06 Dress 246.05 Charities 1,585.60 Pres. House 226.59 Books 497.41 Household expenses 393.00 Monticello--plantation 2,226.45 " --family 1,028.79 Loans 274.00 Debts 529.61 Asquisitions--lands bought 2,156.86 " --buildings 3,567.92 " --carriages 363.75 " --furniture 664.10 Total $24,682.45 Mr. Jefferson says in rather shamefaced fashion to his diary: I ought by this statement to have cash in hand $183.70 But I actually have in hand 293.00 So that the errors of this statement amt to 109.20 The whole of the nails used for Monticello and smithwork are omitted, because no account was kept of them. This makes part of the error, and the article of nails has been extraordinary this year.