Jefferson's Daughters by Catherine Kerrison

Author:Catherine Kerrison
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2018-01-30T05:00:00+00:00

AS SHE MADE HER WAY to work each day, Harriet Hemings walked the path that led down the slope from the south dependency. Connecting Mulberry Row to the main house, the path ended directly across from the cottage that was now Jefferson’s textile manufactory. Did she ever pause there, looking up to measure the short distance that separated her workday from that of her half sister Martha’s? From the bottom of the slope, she could see the graceful curve of the brick wall that was the exterior of Jefferson’s library. Above the library one of Monticello’s four great chimneys was visible, rising behind the ornamental spindle railing that trimmed the roofline of the house. She could see, too, the pediment that crowned the four massive pillars at the east entrance of the mansion, covering the portico. It was barely twenty-four paces to the top. But it might have been a world away.

In his study, which he called his cabinet, Jefferson had started his day before breakfast. Just before the sun’s rising he, too, had risen, bathed his feet in cold water as was his habit (he believed it staved off sickness), dressed, and sat at his desk to attend to his voluminous correspondence. Taking breakfast with Martha and her children at eight, he returned to his desk for a morning of reading and writing. His cabinet is furnished today much as it was in his own day: A tall handsome clock chimed the passing of each hour, which Jefferson could track in any event as the light that flooded his work space moved from the south windows on his left to the west-facing windows in front of him. His desk held a polygraph copying machine to create a duplicate of each letter he wrote, a book stand that permitted him to work with five books at a time, a copious supply of ink, and his spectacles. Two candles were rigged to his chair to provide light for evening reading, and a long upholstered bench allowed him to elevate his feet while he read.

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