In the same connection Bassett quotes a letter to William B. Lewis, which, though not dated, is placed sometime in 1819. It reads, in part:
“Sir, Mr. Wilson who was employed by Mr. Decker to paint my house has disappointed me, he was to have been here on the 15th he has not arrived. I will therefore now engage with the gentleman you spoke to me about, I have a Dearborn waggon in Town to day to bring up the tubes to convey water from my roof, and the ballance of the paint. will you have the goodness to see him for me. get him to go to Mr. Berkmans examine the bill of paints laid in, and if any wanting to add them, and to say to Mr. Berkman whether he prefers the Whitelead in oil or dry, and let it be brought up to day.
“I shall be down to day, to ride, but I am taken with an acute soreness in my left side, I cannot say pain, that is very troublesome when I bend, or is touched, perhaps it may with exercise disappear.
“I heard last evening that Mr. Rhea is in town I wish to see him, and if I can ride without great inconvenience I will be down for that purpose....”
The Nashville Whig and Tennessee Advertiser, of May 15, 1819, carried the announcement that the Hon. John Rhea was a candidate for Congress from the First District—it may have been that he was in Nashville at the time. The connection between his announcement and Jackson’s letter is somewhat vague, but it may prove a small link in the chain which will eventually establish the date of the completion of this building.
Bassett mentions also a receipted bill for china and silver plate to the amount of $200, dated June 12, 1818, which, in 1922, was in the possession of Albert M. and Andrew Jackson, of Los Angeles. This, Jackson’s letter about the paint, and Sir John’s letter about the English gardener, indicate that the Hermitage household was to be conducted upon a more elaborate scale.
There is a strongly prevalent local tradition that the artist, R. E. W. Earl, laid out the Hermitage garden. It is quite possible that he worked with the English gardener in laying it out. He was established in Nashville as early as the latter part of the year 1817, for in the announcement of the Eighth of January Ball, 1818, some of his portraits were used in the decorations. The Nashville Whig of January 10, in describing the event, states:
“The Ballroom was decorated with much taste, elegance and splendor. At the upper end of the room, were suspended three paintings, the portraits of Generals Jackson, Carroll and Coffee. Two of which, Generals Jackson and Coffee, were executed by a young artist now in this place, which, for boldness of design, accuracy of execution, judiciousness, and delicacy of shading would not lose in comparison with the finest paintings of modern times....”
An important visitor at the Hermitage that year was Isaac Shelby, “late governor of Kentucky,” who stopped with the Jacksons while he and the General were preparing to go into the Chickasaw country to hold a treaty. Both men were popular, and their proposed mission was important enough to offer a sufficient incentive for an elaborate public dinner at the Nashville Inn.
At this dinner Col. Edward Ward, president, proposed the toast: “Isaac Shelby, late governor of Kentucky. The only governor in our Union who, during our late war, showed himself qualified for both the cabinet and the field.”
John H. Eaton, Esq., vice president, proposed: “General Jackson, His military greatness commands our admiration—his private virtues our esteem.”