Peter Laporte to Thomas Jefferson, 28 July 1819
From Peter Laporte
Charlottesville le 28 Juillet 1819
Monsieur
À la requête de mes pentionaires, j’ai L’honneur de m’addresser à vous, pour vous prier de leur préscrire des Regles, qui Les obligent à parler francais dans ma maison.
ils m’ont demandé d’abord de les faire moi même, mais je n’ay pas Cru Etre en1 droit de le faire.
En me les Envoyant le plus tôt possible vous leur ferez plaisir et vous obligerez infiniment Celui qui a L’honneur D’etre
p. Laporte
Editors’ Translation
Charlottesville 28 July 1819
Sir
At the request of my boarders, I have the honor of writing to ask you to prescribe some rules that will require them to speak French in my house.
They first asked me to draw them up myself, but I did not believe I had the right to do so.
Your sending them to me as soon as possible would please them and infinitely oblige one who has the honor to be
p. Laporte
RC (MHi); endorsed by TJ as received 4 Aug. 1819 and so recorded in SJL. RC (ViU: TJP); address cover only; with PoC of TJ to Rowland Reynolds, 29 Aug. 1819, on verso; addressed: “Thomas Jefferson esqr poplar forest Bedford Cy Va”; stamp canceled; franked; postmarked Charlottesville, 1 Aug. Translation by Dr. Genevieve Moene.
1. Manuscript: “en En.”
Index Entries
- education; French language search
- French language; letters in, from; P. Laporte search
- French language; spoken in boardinghouses search
- French language; study of search
- Laporte, Peter; letters from search
- Laporte’s boardinghouse (Charlottesville); French language spoken at search
- Virginia, University of; Students; academic preparation for search