nfusion of those selfsame fragrant
leaves is of service medicinally."

He met the careless glance accompanying my words with deepened interest
in his thoughtful eyes. Having had the greater part of my attention thus
far fixed upon the noble horse, I had not gone beyond my first
impression that the man was an overseer from some near-by plantation on
the Potomac. Now, roused to closer observation by his gaze, I perceived
that behind his homely features lay the brain of a man of much thought
and learning. With this I gave heed to the fact that his clothes, for
all their carelessness of cut and condition, were of the finest
materials.

I swept him the best of the bows I had acquired from the French creoles
of New Orleans.

"Can it be, sir, that chance has favored me with the acquaintance of a
fellow physician in what Mr. Gouverneur Morris has so aptly termed the
spoiled wilderness of Washington?" I asked. "If so, permit me to
introduce myself as a young but aspiring practitioner of the healing
art. My name, sir, is one often in the mouths of men,--Robinson,--Dr.
John H. Robinson."

Smiling at my attempt at wit, the gentleman swung to the ground before
me, and twitched the reins over the head of his spirited mount.

"You were walking toward the Capitol?" he inquired. I nodded assent.
"Then, by your leave, I will accompany you part of the way,--not that I
can claim the honor of membership in your most useful profession. I am
no more than a browser in the lush fields of philosophy. My name, sir,
is Thomas Jefferson."

For a moment I stood like a dolt. My hand went up to jerk off my
coonskin cap, and knocked smartly against the stiff brim of my beaver.
The touch recalled me to my dignity, and I flattered myself that my bow
and words would alike prove acceptable: "Your Excellency will pardon me!
Had I been aware--"

"You would have known that there are few things I hold in greater
detestation than such high-flown, aristocratic terms of address and such
undemocratic bendings," he cut in upon me, with a touch of asperity in
his quiet voice.

"I stand corrected, sir," I replied, straightening to my full six feet,
and seeking to cover my confusion with a smile. "It is not necessarily
proof of sycophancy that one has acquired his manners in New Orleans."

"True--true, and that is full explanation of what I must confess puzzled
me. You are from the far West, if I do not mistake, and our
frontiersmen, as a rule, are as defi