ith occasional visits to his
more retired estate at Poplar Forest, and to the homes of his friends, but
never going beyond the confines of Virginia. Just before leaving
Washington, he had written: "Never did a prisoner released from his chains
feel such relief as I shall on shaking off the shackles of power. Nature
intended me for the tranquil pursuits of science by rendering them my
supreme delight. But the enormities of the times in which I have lived
have forced me to take a part in resisting them, and to commit myself on
the boisterous ocean of political passions."

Though no longer in office, Jefferson remained till his death the chief
personage in the United States, and his authority continued to be almost
supreme among the leaders as well as among the rank and file of the
Republican party. Madison first, and Monroe afterward, consulted him in
all the most important matters which arose during the sixteen years of
their double terms as President. Long and frequent letters passed between
them; and both Madison and Monroe often visited Jefferson at Monticello.

The Monroe doctrine, as it is called, was first broached by Jefferson. In
a letter of August 4, 1820, to William Short, he said: "The day is not far
distant, when we may formally require a meridian through the ocean which
separates the two hemispheres on the hither side of which no European gun
shall ever be heard, nor an American on the other;" and he spoke of "the
essential policy of interdicting in the seas and territories of both
Americas the ferocious and sanguinary contests of Europe." Later, when
applied to by Monroe himself, in October, 1823, Jefferson wrote to him:
"Our first and fundamental maxim should be never to entangle ourselves in
the broils of Europe. Our second, never to suffer Europe to meddle in
cisatlantic affairs." The whole letter, a long one, deserves to be read as
the first exposition of what has since become a famous doctrine.

The darling object of Mr. Jefferson's last years was the founding of the
University of Virginia at Charlottesville. For this purpose he gave $1000;
many of his neighbors in Albemarle County joined him with gifts; and
through Jefferson's influence, the legislature appropriated considerable
sums. But money was the least of Jefferson's endowment of the University.
He gave of the maturity of his judgment and a great part of his time. He
was made regent. He drew the plans for the buildings, and overlooked their
con