Lewis D. Belair to Thomas Jefferson, 24 August 1822
From Lewis D. Belair
Philada August 24th 1822
Respected Sir
Permit me Through your Goodness to Inclose The Within Small Packege for your Friend Captain Philip Slaughter of Culpepper County Virginia, It is a Small Book “The Imitation of Christ”1 ⅌ de Kempeeis Which Mrs Slaughter Expressed a Desire to have, all Tho Scarce In English I have Procured it, and now Take The Liberty to Present it to her as a mark of my Great Esteem and Friendship,
It is more Than Three months Since I have had it and for The Want of a Safe Conveyance It [ha]s been Detained In my hands, I Thierfore take This Liberty and Desire your Indulgence?
Permit me at The Same time to Tender you The assurance of my Great Respects, and of The pleasure I Should have to be Informed of The State of your helth, and of The Progrssed State of your University “That Most Splendid Edifice!,” I had The Honor to Call at your mansion, In march Last, but unfortunately you Was not at home, I Was on my Return from The French Settlement In Alabama,
| Lewis D Belair |
| Foreign Bookseller |
RC (MHi); mutilated; endorsed by TJ as received 4 Sept. 1822 and so recorded in SJL. RC (DLC); address cover only; with Dft of TJ to Francis W. Gilmer, 4 Dec. 1824, on verso; addressed: “Honble Thomas Jefferson Esqr Montecelo Near Charlottes Ville Va”; franked; postmarked Philadelphia, 28 Aug. Enclosure: unidentified English-language edition of De Imitatione Christi (Imitation of Christ), the fifteenth-century work by Thomas à Kempis (Thomas Hammerken or Hemerken).
1. Omitted closing quotation mark editorially supplied, here and below.
Index Entries
- Alabama (state); French settlement in search
- Belair, Lewis Descoins; and University of Virginia search
- Belair, Lewis Descoins; letters from search
- Belair, Lewis Descoins; sends book through TJ search
- Belair, Lewis Descoins; visits Monticello search
- De Imitatione Christi (Thomas à Kempis) search
- Monticello (TJ’s Albemarle Co. estate); Visitors to; Belair, Lewis D. search
- religion; works on search
- Slaughter, Elizabeth Towles (Philip Slaughter’s wife) search
- Slaughter, Philip; work sent to search
- Thomas à Kempis (Thomas Hammerken [Hemerken]); De Imitatione Christi search
- Virginia, University of; Construction and Grounds; progress of search