The camp is still in use at times. Cabinet members and other government officials enjoy its stream and mountain beauties, but not to the extent of former times. Charlottesville and Albemarle County THE FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA Every school child knows the outstanding facts about Thomas Jefferson. He will rattle off quickly that he was born near Charlottesville in Albemarle County, in 1743, that he was at William and Mary College when only seventeen and played his fiddle which he had carried as he rode the long miles between Charlottesville and Williamsburg. He graduated there and was admitted to the bar. Thomas Jefferson drafted, at the request of the Committee, the Declaration of Independence. He was Governor of Virginia during the trying years of the Revolutionary War. We shall not give all the offices which he held, except to mention that he spent some years abroad in France as United States Minister. For almost forty years he served his country, having been President of it from 1801 to 1809. It is from the quaint letters of his granddaughter, Ellenora Randolph, that one may read of the tenderness, the lovable disposition and the human side of this great American. She was said to be his favorite grandchild and she writes of how she sat on his knee and played with his huge watch chain. He never went to Philadelphia without bringing her little luxuries which it was impossible to buy in Virginia. He brought her a Bible, a lady's side saddle, a Leghorn hat, and a set of Shakespeare. [Illustration:--_Courtesy Virginia Conservation Commission_ "MONTICELLO", NEAR CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.] She tells how Jefferson's wife had died when his daughters were quite young and that he had been so kind and sympathetic in "shaping their lives." There is an interesting love story here, too, for Ellenora met and fell in love with Joseph Coolidge of Boston. He came a-wooing the Virginia beauty, and according to the custom of that day, he wrote Mr. Jefferson of his intentions to marry his granddaughter before he proposed to her. The following is Jefferson's reply to Joseph Coolidge: "MONTICELLO, _October 24, 1824_. "I avail myself of the first moment of my ability to take up a pen to assure you that nothing would be more welcome to me than the visit proposed and its object.... I assure you no union could give me more satisfaction if your wishes are mutual. Your visit to Monticello and at the time of your convenience will be truly welcome, and your stay, whatever may suit yourself. My gratification will be measured by the time of its continuance....