erable reading matter whose author is Dr. Woodrow Wilson. There are five bulky volumes of this stuff, and on p. 164 of vol. ii the learned President of Princeton finds space for one sentence on the rebellion in North Carolina. Think of it! Nearly two thousand pages of alleged history and just one short sentence to the tragic chapter in the story of the South! And what is that one sentence?

"In North Carolina there was next year a sudden blaze of open rebellion against the extravagant exactions of William Tryon, the adventurer who was royal governor there, and only blood extinguished it." Cold, cold is the pen which thus traces the heart-breaking struggles of a gallant people toward their liberties.

The "sudden blaze" had lasted more than three years; the "open rebellion" was resistance to armed invaders who were laying waste the crops and burning the homes of the people.

The battle of Alamance, where three thousand men fought aud artillery was used, is not so much as mentioned in Dr. Woodrow Wilson's book.

The Boston street row, where a handful rioted and three were killed, not only gets chronicled under its historic name of the "Boston Massacre," but occupies six pages with illustrative matter and half a page of Dr. Wilson's text!

CHAPTER VI

MARRIAGE AND MONTICELLO

In common with the vast majority of young men, Mr. Jefferson had known what it was to fall in love with handsome girls. At college he had tenderly nursed a passion for a sweetheart or two, and while he was studying law he had been sorely smitten. Just how many of these adventures the young man had weathered before he met the charming Widow Skelton is not clear, but there were several. How far he had gone in the direction of formal offers and pledges is likewise uncertain. Letters written to his bosom friend, John Page, indicated that he was deeply involved with a Miss Burwell, who was one of the beauties with whom he danced in the Apollo room of the Raleigh. If he proposed to her at all, it would seem that his offer was cautious-conditioned upon his making a three-year tour of Europe. If he really asked the lady's hand in such a way, he was rejected, for Miss Burwell, preferring a man who was ready, accepted Mr. Ambler and married him.

But the young, handsome, prospectively wealthy widow, Martha Skelton, caught his roving fancy in 1770 and held it. She was the childless widow,

87 JON JOHN SHELTON D.S.P.

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of Bathurst Skelton,, and the daughter of John Wayles, a lawyer who owned an immense estate in land. For two years the courtship lastedJefferson's fiddle and the widow's spinet making sweet music together much of the time. They played together, they sang together, greatly to the discomfort of other suitors who had no fiddles and no voice for song. It is related that two of these suitors, each believing there was hope in the old land yet, approached the widow's door one day, upon marital propositions bent, when their ears were invaded by sounds from within the housesounds which, upon closer attention, seemed to be those of human voices, male and female, singing in harmony to violin and spinet. These belated suitors listened and looked, looked and listened; and the more they considered the sights and the sounds within the house, the deeper became their conviction that the harmony was too sweet to be interrupted. So they silently stole away-leaving Jefferson in possession of the field and of the fair.

On New Year's day, 1772, Thomas Jefferson and Martha Skelton were married, at the residence of Mr. John Wayles, near Williamsburg. In his faithful account-book, the bridegroom itemized the expenses, including tips to servants and pay to the musicians. He set down the amount he paid the parson who officiated, and also how much of the sum he borrowed back from the parson that

same evening. The groom had been so free with his purse, feeing two clergymen, tipping quite a lot of servants, and the fiddlers who furnished the music, that he probably ran short of cash, hence his recourse to the parson. The frequent absence of ready money among wealthy people in those days would seem to have been shown in one of his entries in the faithful account-book. He notes that he loaned the Widow Skelton a small sum of money two days before the wedding.

There were joyous festivities at "The Forest," the home of Mr. Wayles, the nuptials being celebrated in the old-fashioned way, and the young couple spent some days there afterward; but they were eager to be together in their own house, and they soon set out for Monticello. Snow was on the ground, and during the journey a storm set in. The road soon became impassable and they were forced to leave their carriage at a friend's house, and to mount the horses. The last eight miles were passed in this manner and it was far into the night when they had made good the ascent of the little mountain and stood at their own door.

The negroes had long since given them up, and had gone to their cabins to sleep. No lights cheerily gleamed welcome to the bride; no voices greeted her; wintry midnight wrapped the solitary pavilion with "a horrible dreariness." But they were young, they were happy, they were sufficient

unto themselves; a light was soon struck, a halffilled bottle of wine found, and the best of the situation was soon made by even-tempered Thomas and his winsome bride. Mr. James Parton-wonderful writer in his way-suggests that they spent the remainder of the night reading Ossian.1

Mr. Jefferson's marriage was one of the most successful known to biographical literature. In the harmony of the relation between himself and wife there never seems to have been a discord. No shadow ever fell between them chilling their perfect, trustful devotion. She was, and she continued to be, his ideal of a woman, his pride and joy as a wife, an inspiration, a helpmeet, the good angel of the fireside. She was beautiful; with luxuriant auburn hair, brilliant complexion, lustrous hazel eyes. In person she was above the medium height, exquisitely formed, slender, graceful. On horseback, in the ballroom, in the parlor she commanded admiration; she sang sweetly and played well on spinet and harpsichord. She was fond of books, her education was good, and she conversed agreeably. She was warm-hearted, impulsive, frank, and loyal. And it is said that she was a good housekeeper.

1 Mr. Curtis with characteristic inaccuracy, but with an eye to the comfort of the young couple, allows them to complete their journey in the carriage. But Mr. Curtis is not the merciful man who is merciful to his beast, for he compels one horse to pull the carriage loaded with two people up the steep mountainside through a three-foot snowdrift. Such cruelty to animals should not go unpunished even in books.