4116. JEFFERSON (Thomas), Offices held by.—[further continued]..
I received it[appointment
as Secretary of State] with real regret.
My wish had been to return to Paris, where
I had left my household establishment, as if
there myself, and to see the end of the Revolution,
which I then thought would be certainly
and happily closed in less than a year.
I then meant to return home, to withdraw
from political life, into which I had been impressed
by the circumstances of the times, to
sink into the bosom of my family and friends,
and devote myself to studies more congenial
to my mind. In my answer of December
15th I expressed these dispositions candidly
to the President, and my preference of a return
to Paris; but assured him that if it was
believed I could be more useful in the administration
of the government, I would sacrifice
my own inclinations, without hesitation
and repair to that destination; this I left to
his decision. I arrived at Monticello on the
23rd of December, where I received a second
letter from the President, expressing his continued
wish that I should take my station
there, but leaving me still at liberty to continue
in my former office, if I could not reconcile
myself to that now proposed. This si
lenced my reluctance, and I accepted the new
appointment.—
Autobiography. Washington ed. i, 108.
Ford ed., i, 149.
(1821)
