I don't know whether this is something that every American learns on his
mother's knee, but is it true that Thomas Jefferson wrote one of his drafts
of the Declaration of Independence in a tavern? I have read this more than
once in an American newspaper, but have been unable to verify it from the
sources available here in Britain. Does it belong to history or to legend?
And, if the former, is it known which tavern? Was he drinking beer or wine
at the time? If true, what does it tell us about present-day restrictions
on drinking during working hours (which have now spread, like so many
things, from America to Britain)?
 
Andrew Barr,
51 Donaldson Road,
London NW6 6NE,
England
(telephone and fax + 44 171 625 5409)
(email [log in to unmask])