4746. LIFE, Jefferson's habits of.—
I
am retired to Monticello, where, in the bosom
of my family, and surrounded by my books, I
enjoy a repose to which I have been long a
stranger. My mornings are devoted to correspondence.
From breakfast to dinner, I am
in my shops, my garden, or on horseback among
my farms; from dinner to dark, I give to society
and recreation with my neighbors and
friends; and from candle light to early bedtime,
I read. My health is perfect; and my
strength considerably reinforced by the activity
of the course I pursue; perhaps it is as great as
usually falls to the lot of near sixty-seven years
of age. I talk of ploughs and harrows, of
seeding and harvesting, with my neighbors, and
of politics, too, if they choose, with as little reserve
as the rest of my fellow citizens, and
feel, at length, the blessing of being free to
say and do what I please, without being responsible
for it to any mortal. A part of my
occupation, and by no means the least pleasing,
is the direction of the studies of such young
men as ask it. They place themselves in the
neighboring village, and have the use of my
library and counsel, and make a part of my society.—
To General Kosciusko. Washington ed. v, 508.
(M.
1810)
