Calvert of Strathore | Page 4

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 François 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