there seemed to be some unusual commotion, a suppressed excitement, about the new and stately american legation at paris on the morning of the 3d of february in the year of grace (but not for france—her days and years of grace were over!) 1789. the handsome mansion at the corner of the grande route des champs elysées and the rue neuve de berry, which had lately belonged to monsieur le comte de l'avongeac and in which mr. jefferson had installed himself as accredited minister to france after the return of dr. franklin to america, presented an appearance different from its usual quiet.
across the courtyard, covered with snow fallen during the might, which glittered and sparkled in the brilliant wintry sunshine, grooms and stable-boys hurried between écuries and remises, currying mr. jefferson's horses and sponging off mr. jefferson's handsome carriage, with which he had provided himself on setting up his establishment as minister of the infant federation of states to the court of the sixteenth louis. at the porter's lodge that functionary frequently left his little room, with its brazier of glowing coals, and walked up and down beneath the porte-cochère, flapping his arms vigorously in the biting wintry air, and glancing between the bars of the great outer gate up and down the road as if on the lookout for some person or persons. in the hotel itself, servants moved quickly and quietly about, setting everything in the most perfect order.
at one of the windows which gave upon the extensive gardens, covered, like all else, with the freshly fallen snow, mr. jefferson himself could now and then be seen as he moved restlessly about the small, octagonal room, lined with books and littered with papers, in which he conducted most of his official business. a letter, just finished, lay upon his desk. 'twas to his daughter in her convent of panthemont, and full of that good advice which no one ever knew how to give better than he. the letter being folded and despatched by a servant, mr. jefferson was at liberty to indulge his restless mood. this he did, walking up and down with his hands clasped behind his back, as was his fashion; but, in spite of the impatience of his manner, a smile, as of some secret contentment or happy anticipation, played about his lips. at frequent intervals he would station himself at one of the windows which commanded the entrance of the hotel, and, looking anxiously out at the wintry scene, would consult the splendid new watch just made for him, at great cost, by monsieur l'epine.
it was on the stroke of twelve by monsieur l'epine's watch when mr. jefferson, gazing out of the window for the twentieth time that morning of february 3d, saw a large travelling berline turn in at the big grille and draw up under the porte-cochère in front of the porter's lodge. in an instant he was out of the room, down the great stairway, and at the entrance of the rez-de-chaussée, just as the postilion, dismounting, opened the door of the carriage from which emerged a large, handsome man of about thirty-five or six, who moved with surprising agility considering the fact that he boasted but one good leg, the other member being merely a wooden stump. he was followed by a younger man, who sprang out and waited respectfully, but eagerly, until mr. jefferson had welcomed his companion.
"mr. morris!—my dear sir! welcome to paris! welcome to this little spot of america!" said mr. jefferson, shaking the older man cordially by the hand again and again and drawing him toward the open door. and then passing quickly out upon the step to where the young man still stood looking on at this greeting, mr. jefferson laid a hand affectionately on his shoulder and looked into the young eyes.
"my dear boy, my dear calvert!" he exclaimed with emotion, "i cannot tell you how welcome you are, nor how i thank you for obeying my request to come to me!"
"the kindest command i could have received, sir," replied the young man, much moved by mr. jefferson's affectionate words and manner.
turning, and linking an arm in that of each of his guests, mr. jefferson led them into the house, followed by the servants carrying their travelling things.
"ah! we will bring back virginia days in the midst of this turbulent, mad paris. 'tis a wild, bad place i have brought you to, ned," he said, turning to the young gentleman, "but it must all end in good—surely, surely." mr. jefferson's happy mood seemed suddenly to cloud over, and he spoke absently and almost as if reassuring himself. "but come," he added, brightening up, "i will not talk of such things before we are fairly in the house! welcome again, mr. morris! welcome, mr. secretary!"—he turned to calvert—"it seems strange, but most delightful, to have you here." talking in such fashion, he hurried them up the great stairway as fast as mr. morris's wooden leg would permit, and into his private study.
"ha! a fire!" said mr. morris, sinking down luxuriously in a chair before the blazing logs. "i had almost forgot what the sight of one was like, and i was beginning to wish that this"—he looked down and tapped his sound leg, laughing a little whimsically, "were wood, too. i would have suffered less with the cold!"
"i am sure you must have had a bitter journey from havre," rejoined mr. jefferson. "'tis the coldest winter france has known for eighty years—the hardest, cruellest winter the poor of this great city, of this great country, can remember. would to god it were over and the spring here!"
"i should imagine that it had not been any too pleasant even for the rich," said mr. morris, shivering slightly. but mr. jefferson paid no attention to the sufferings of the rich suggested by mr. morris, and only stirred the blazing logs uneasily.
"at any rate it serves to make our welcome here seem the warmer, sir," said calvert, from where he stood divesting himself of his many-caped top-coat.
"ah! that is spoken like you, ned! but stand forth, sir! let me see if you are changed, if four years at the college of princeton have made another fellow of my old calvert of strathore." he went over to the young man and drew him into the middle of the room, where the cold, brilliant sunshine struck full on the fine young face. there was no shadow or line upon it.
"you are much grown," said mr. jefferson, thoughtfully, "much taller, but 'tis the same slender, athletic figure, and the eyes and brow and mouth are not changed, thank god!"
"is there no improvement, sir? can you note no change for the better?" said calvert, laughing, and attempting to cover his embarrassment, at the close scrutiny he was undergoing. "but i fear not. i fear my college life has left as little impress on my mind as on my body. i shall never be a scholar like you, sir," he added, with a sigh.
"and yet, in spite of your disinclination to study, you have gone through college, and most creditably. dr. witherspoon himself has written me of your career. does that say nothing in your favor?"
"to be sure it does," broke in mr. morris, laughing. "there is no merit in being a scholar like mr. jefferson here, who was born a student. he couldn't have helped being a scholar if he had tried. but for you, mr. calvert, who dislike study, to have made yourself stick to the college curriculum for four years, i consider a great and meritorious achievement!"
"i agree with you entirely, mr. morris," said mr. jefferson, joining in the laugh, "and as for that, ned has done more than merely stick to the curriculum of the college. dr. witherspoon, in writing me of his progress, was pleased to say many complimentary things of several excursions into verse which he has made. he especially commended his lines on 'a view of princeton college,' written something after the manner of mr. gray's 'ode on a distant prospect of eton college.'"
"what!" said mr. morris, "an ode on 'a view of princeton college'! my dear mr. calvert, couldn't a young man of your years find a more inspiring theme than a college building to write upon? instead of an alma mater, you should have chosen some filia pulchra to make verses to," and he gave mr. jefferson a quizzical look.
"i agree with you again, mr. morris," said that gentleman, laughing heartily, "and i think that you and i would have made no such mistake at ned's age," and he sighed a little as he thought of the gay pleasures of his own youth, the dances and walks and talks with "belinda," and his poetic effusions to her and many another.
"nor even at our own," objected mr. morris. "i assure you i feel myself quite capable of composing verses to fair ones yet, mr. jefferson." and indeed he was, and rhymed his way gayly to the heart of many a lady in the days to come.
as for calvert, he only smiled at the light banter at his expense, scarcely understanding it, indeed, for as yet he carried a singularly untouched heart about in his healthy young body.
mr. morris arose: "i must be going," he said. "i have sent my things on to the hotel de richelieu—" but mr. jefferson pressed him back into his seat.
"you are my guest for the day," he declared, interrupting him, "and must take your first breakfast with ned and myself here at the legation. i will send you around to the rue de richelieu in my carriage later on. i have a thousand questions to ask you. i must have all the news from america—how fares general washington, and my friend, james madison, and pretty miss molly crenshawe?—there's a lovely woman for you, ned, in the bud, 'tis true, but likely to blossom into a perfect rose. there is but one beauty in all paris to compare with her, i think. and that is the sister of your old friend d'azay. and what does patrick henry and pendleton these days? i hear that hamilton holds strange views about the finances and has spoken of them freely in congress. what are they? my letters give me no details as yet." and more and more questions during the abundant breakfast which had been spread for them in the morning-room adjoining mr. jefferson's library. now it was a broadside of inquiries aimed at mr. gouverneur morris concerning the newly adopted constitution which he had helped fashion for the infant union of states and the chances of electing general washington as first president of that union; now it was question after question regarding dr. franklin's reception in america on his return from france and release from his arduous duties and the vexatious persecutions to which he had been subjected by his former colleagues—the most outrageous and unprovoked that ever man suffered—and there were endless inquiries about personal, friends, about the currency in america, and about the feeling of security and tranquillity of the states.
the breakfast, generous as it was, was over long before mr. jefferson had tired of his questioning, and they were still sitting around the table talking when a visitor was announced. it was monsieur le vicomte de beaufort, lafayette's young kinsman and officer in the american war, who came in directly, bowing to mr. morris, whom he had known well in america, and embracing calvert with a friendly fervor that almost five years of separation had not diminished. he had known of his coming through mr. jefferson, and, happening to pass the hotel, had stopped to inquire at the porter's lodge whether the travellers had arrived.
"'tis a thousand pities d'azay is not here to welcome you, too, my dear calvert," he said, regretfully, "but he will be back to-morrow with his aunt, the old duchess, and his sister. he is gone down to azay-le-roi, his chateau near tours, to fetch them. but come! i am all impatience to show you a little of my paris. we won't wait for d'azay's return to begin, and i am sure mr. jefferson and mr. morris will excuse you for a few hours. is it not so, gentlemen?" he looked around at the two older men. "calvert has shown me virginia. i long to return the compliment and show him this little piece of france!"
"but first," objected mr. jefferson, "i should like to show him the embassy. come, gentlemen, we will make a rapid tour of the apartments before you set out on your larger explorations." and, leading the way, he began to point out the public and private apartments, the state dining-room, with its handsome service of silver plate, the view of the large gardens from the windows, the reception-hall, the doorways, the great staircase ornamented with sculptured salamanders, for monsieur de l'avongeac's ancestors had built the house during the reign of fran?ois i. and had adorned it everywhere with the king's insignia. 'twas a very magnificent hotel, for mr. jefferson had been unwilling to jeopardize the fortunes of the new republic by installing its legation in mean quarters, and it was eminently well arranged for the entertainment of the brilliant society that gathered so frequently by his invitation.
when they had made the tour of the establishment and had reached the head of the great stairway again, mr. jefferson dismissed the two young men with a final injunction to return soon, as he had much to talk over with calvert. as the clanging door shut upon them, the two older men turned and went into mr. jefferson's study.
"i have to thank you, mr. jefferson," said mr. morris, seating himself once more before the crackling fire, "for a most pleasant acquaintance. i will confess now that when you wrote me suggesting that your new secretary should make the journey to france with me, i was scarcely pleased. 'tis a long trip to make in the company of one who may not be wholly congenial. but from the moment mr. calvert presented himself to me in philadelphia, on the eve of our sailing, until now, i can truly say i have enjoyed every instant of his companionship. i had heard something of him—much, indeed—from general washington and mr. hamilton, but i was wholly unprepared to find so sincere, so intelligent a young gentleman. there is a strength, a fine reserve about him which appeals greatly to me."
"i thank you," said mr. jefferson, gratefully. "i love him as though he were my son, and any praise of him is dear to me. do you wonder that i want him near me? besides, 'tis imperative that i have a private secretary. mr. short, our secretary of legation, who is now in italy travelling for his health, like myself, is overworked; there are a thousand affairs to be attended to each day, and so little method in our arrangements as yet; our instructions and remittances from congress are so irregular, our duties so confounded with mere courtesies, that we make but little progress. besides which the state of affairs in this country renders all diplomatic and business relations very slow and uncertain—i might say hazardous—" he stopped and looked thoughtfully into the fire.
"i am sorry to hear that," said mr. morris, quickly. "i came over on business myself. and on business not only for myself, but on behalf of mr. robert morris and of constable & co., of new york city. as you probably know, we have made large shipments of tobacco, contracted for by several farmers-general, but such has been the delay in delivery and payment after reaching this country that we deemed it absolutely necessary to have someone over here to attend to the matter. at havre i found affairs irregular and prices low and fluctuating. i was hoping the markets would be steadier and quieter in paris."
"i am afraid you will not find it so," replied mr. jefferson, shaking his head. "i am persuaded that this country is on the eve of some great change—some great upheaval. i see it in the faces of those i meet in the salons of the rich and noble; i see it in the faces of the common people in the streets—above all, i see it in the faces of the people in the streets."
again he stopped and looked thoughtfully into the blazing fire. mr. morris's keen eyes fastened themselves on the finely chiselled face opposite him, aglow with a prophetic light. "i would be obliged," he said at length, "if you would give me some detailed account of the state of this government and country. i should like to know just where i stand. at the distance of three thousand miles, and with slow and irregular packets as the only means of communication, we in america have but an imperfect and tardy conception of what is going on in this country." he poured out a small glass of cognac from a decanter which stood on a table at his elbow, and, settling himself comfortably in his chair, prepared to listen.
it was a long story that mr. jefferson had to tell him—a story with many minute details touching the delicate relations between france and america, with many explanations of the events which had just taken place in paris and the provinces, with many forecastings of events shortly to take place in the kingdom of louis xvi. perhaps it was in the forecasting of those events so soon to take place, of those acts of the multitude, as yet undreamed of by the very doers of them, that mr. jefferson most deeply impressed his listener. for there was no attribute of mr. jefferson's mind so keen, so unerring, so forceful as that peculiar power of divining the drift of the masses. it was this power which later made him so greatly feared and greatly respected in his own land. forewarned and forearmed, he had but to range himself at the head of multitudes, whose will he knew almost before they were aware of it themselves, or else to stand aside, and, unscathed, let it pass him by in all its turbulence and strength. but though he could foresee the trend of events, his judgment was not infallible as to their values and consequences. even as he spoke of the disquieting progress of affairs, even as he predicted the yet more serious turn they were to take, his countenance expressed a boundless, if somewhat vaguely defined, belief and happiness in the future.
the glow of enthusiasm was not at all reflected in the keen, attentive face of the younger man opposite him, whose look of growing disquietude betrayed the fact that he did not share mr. jefferson's hopes or sympathies. indeed, it was inevitable that these two men of genius should hold dissimilar views about the struggle which the one had so clearly divined was to come and of which the other so clearly comprehended the consequences. it was inevitable that the man who had the sublime audacity to proclaim unfettered liberty and equality to a new world should differ radically from the man whose supreme achievement had been the fashioning and welding of its laws. they talked together until the wintry sun suddenly suffered an eclipse behind the mountains of gray clouds which had been threatening to fall upon it all the afternoon, and only the light from the crackling logs remained to show the bright enthusiasm of mr. jefferson's noble face and the sombre shadow upon mr. morris's disturbed one.
