The Magnificent Adventure

"Tut, tut!" said William Clark gravely. "Come, let us see."

"Look here, and here! Will, you know that I am a man of no great fortune. You also know that I have made certain enemies in this country. But now I am not supported by my own government. I am ruined--I am a broken man! Did you think that this country could do that for either of us?"

"But Merne, you, the soul of honor----"

"Some enemy has done this! What influences have been set to work, I cannot say; but here are the bills, and there are others out in other hands--also protested, I have no doubt. I am publicly discredited, disgraced. I know not what has been said of me at Washington."

"That is the trouble," said William Clark slowly. "Washington is so far. But now, you must not let this trouble you. 'Tis only some six-dollar-a-week clerk in Washington that has done it. You must not consider it to be the deliberate act of any responsible head of the government. You take things too hard, Merne. I will not have you brooding over this--it will never do. You have the megrims often enough, as it is. Come here and kiss the baby! He is named for you, Meriwether Lewis--and he has two teeth. Sit down and behave yourself. Judy will be here in a minute. You are among your friends. Do not grieve. 'Twill all come well!"

This was in the year 1809. Mr. Jefferson's embargo on foreign trade had paralyzed all Western commerce. Our ships lay idle; our crops rotted; there was no market. The name of Jefferson was now in general execration. In March, when his second term as President expired, he had retired to private life at Monticello. He had written his last message to Congress that very spring, in which he said of the people of his country: I trust that in their steady character, unshaken by difficulties, in their love of liberty, obedience to law, and support of the public authorities, I see a sure guarantee of the permanence of our republic; and retiring from the charge of their affairs, I carry with me the consolation of a firm persuasion that Heaven has in store for our beloved country long ages to come of prosperity and happiness.

Whatever the veering self-interest of others led them to think or do regarding the memory of that great man, Meriwether Lewis trusted Thomas Jefferson absolutely, and relied wholly on his friendship and his counsel. Now, in the hour of trouble, he resolved to journey to Monticello to ask the advice of his old chief, as he had always done.