Thomas Jefferson to John Wayles Eppes, 19 January 1821
To John Wayles Eppes
Mon[ticello] Jan. 19. 21.
Dear Sir
Your favor of the 7th has been recieved & I sincere[ly] congratulate you on the resolution of all your complaints into a regular & fixed gout. a severe fit now [and]1 then with clear intervals of health is certainly preferable to a perpetual half sickness. it will relieve you too from medecine, as we all know there is none for the gout but patience and flannel.
I really think your allowance to Francis is abundant. of the expence of clothing I am not a judge; but experience has reduced to an axiom with teachers that with students their progress in learning is in the inverse proportion of their pock[et]-money. yet I think Francis will be more likely to lay out his surplus in books than in objects of dissipation. I am sorry they hav[e] lost Elliot; but the favor in which he seems to be with Dr Cooper, will fill all his time with what is useful. whether we shall open at the end of this year or 7. years hence will depend on the determination of the legislature to give us what is wanting, or throw it away on an impracticable plan of primary schools. We have a severe winter. 33.I. of snow have already fallen, and the thermometer was this morning at 12½. ever & affectionately yours
Th: Jefferson
PoC (CSmH: JF); on verso of a reused address cover from Thomas Appleton to TJ; dateline faint; edge trimmed; at foot of text: “J. W. Eppes esq.”; endorsed by TJ.
Eppes’s missing favor of the 7th Jan. 1821 is recorded in SJL as received four days later from Mill Brook.
1. Omitted word editorially supplied.
Index Entries
- Cooper, Thomas (1759–1839); professor at South Carolina College search
- Elliott, Stephen; and South Carolina College search
- Eppes, Francis Wayles (TJ’s grandson); clothing for search
- Eppes, Francis Wayles (TJ’s grandson); education of, at South Carolina College search
- Eppes, Francis Wayles (TJ’s grandson); relationship with father search
- Eppes, John Wayles (TJ’s son-in-law); and University of Virginia search
- Eppes, John Wayles (TJ’s son-in-law); health of search
- Eppes, John Wayles (TJ’s son-in-law); letters from accounted for search
- Eppes, John Wayles (TJ’s son-in-law); letters to search
- Eppes, John Wayles (TJ’s son-in-law); relationship with son search
- flannel; as medical treatment search
- gout search
- health; gout search
- medicine; flannel search
- schools and colleges; elementary search
- scientific instruments; thermometers search
- South Carolina College (later University of South Carolina); and F. W. Eppes search
- thermometers; and meteorological observations search
- Virginia, University of; Establishment; and General Assembly search
- Virginia, University of; Establishment; opening of search
- Virginia; General Assembly search
- weather; snow search
- weather; temperature readings search