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Event: Visit to the Tower of LondonDates: 1786-04-13 - 1786-04-13Short Description: TJ paid 8/6 to see the tower and its menagerie, which he later compared to the courts of Europe (Papers, XIII, 269-70) [footnote 90,Memorandum Books, p. 621]. By menagerie, he was talking about their collection of wild animals, which included lions, tigers, and hyenas. TJ compared these wild animals to the actions of courtiers in the courts of Europe: “He advised some travelling Americans to view the courts of Europe as they would "the tower of London or Menagerie of Versailles with their Lions, tygers, hyaenas and other beasts of prey, standing in the same relation to their fellows. . . . Under the most imposing exterior, they are the weakest and worst part of mankind."” (TJ Wiki, Jefferson and Exhibitions). Sanders also footnotes that there is a good contemporary description of the tower in “Sophie in London: 1786”, which is the Diary of Sophie La Roche, a German woman visiting at the same time. This book has proved impossible to find here, however. Part of her description is also found in the TJ wiki from Monticello: [La Roche] included in her long condemnation of the menagerie a lament for the eagles bound to their perches by leather thongs. N.B. This site only gives the line as being from another London visitor, but the use of the pronoun “she,” combined with the footnote from Sanders, lead me to believe it is La Roche quoted. Event Type:'Tourist' Visit Record created by Lauren Schmidt Connected EvidenceMemorandum BookThomas Jefferson Wiki Short Biography of Sophie La Roche |