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 PATRICK HENRY. 
 

 THE LIFE OF 
 
 PATRICK HENRY 
 
 By WILLIAM WIRT 
 
 EDITED WITH NOTES 
 
 By henry KETCHAM 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 - 
 
 ^ A^JL. BURT COMPANY, jfc ^ jfc jt 
 j» ^ jt PUBLISHERS. NEW YORK 
 
/.- ^' 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF 
 CONGkESS, 
 
 Two Copies Received 
 
 JUL 18 1903 
 
 Copyiight Entry 
 j CLASS CL XXc No. 
 
 ^^ ^^ 3) a- ; 
 
 L COPY u . 
 
 ItWI \ T 11 " T ■Willi I 
 
 Copyright, 1903, 
 By A. L. BUET COMPANY. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAQ* 
 
 I. Early Life. 1736-1763 13 
 
 II. Enters the House of Burgesses. 1763-1765 44 
 
 III. Events Leading to the Continental Congress. 1766- 
 
 1774 75 
 
 IV. The Virginia Convention and Henry's Great Speech. 
 
 1775 110 
 
 V. The First Uprising in Virginia. 1775 130 
 
 VI. Open Breach Between Governor Dunmore and the 
 
 Colony of Virginia. Mr. Henry Withdraws from 
 
 Military Life. Is Elected Governor. 1775-1776.. 149 
 
 VII. Governor of Virginia. Member of Legislature. 
 
 Resumes Practice of Law. 1776-1788 198 
 
 VIII. Member of the Virginia Assembly. Ratification of 
 
 the Constitution. 1788-1791 257 
 
 IX. Case of the British Debts. General Law Practice. 
 
 1791-1794 813 
 
 X. Closing Years. 1794-1799 883 
 
 XI. Personal Traits. Conclusion 406 
 
 1 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The reader has a right to know what degree of 
 credit is due to the followinsi; narrative ; and it is the 
 
 ^to ^^"XXt^t^X, V. , 
 
 object of this preface to give him that satisfaction. 
 
 It was in the summer of 1805, that the design of 
 writing this biography was first conceived. It was 
 produced by an incident of feeling, which, however it 
 affected the author at the time, might now be thought 
 light and trivial by the reader ; and he shall not, 
 therefore, be detained by the recital of it. The 
 author knew nothing of Mr. Henry, personally. He 
 had never seen him ; and was of course compelled to 
 rely wholly on the information of others. As soon, 
 therefore, as the design was formed of writing his 
 life, aware of the necessity of losing no time in col- 
 lecting, from the few remaining contemporaries of 
 Mr, Henry, that personal knowledge of the subject 
 which might ere long be expected to die with them, 
 the author despatched letters to every quarter of the 
 state in which it occurred to him as probable that 
 interesting matter might be found ; and he was grati- 
 fied by the prompt attention which was paid to his 
 inquiries. 
 
 There were, at that time, living in the county of 
 Hanover, three gentlemen of the highest standing, 
 
 3 
 
4: PRQii^CEo 
 
 who had been the companions of Mr. Henry's child- 
 hood and youth; these were, Col. Charles Dabney, 
 Capt. George Dabney, and Col. William O. Winston ; 
 the two first of whom are still living. Not having 
 the pleasure of a personal acquaintance with these 
 gentlemen, the author interested the late Mr. ISTa- 
 thanial Pope in his object, and, by his instrumen- 
 tality, procured all the useful information which was 
 in their possession. Mr. Pope is well known to have 
 been a gentleman of uncommonly vigorous and dis- 
 criminating mind ; a keen observer of truth, and a 
 man of the purest sense of honor. The author cannot 
 recall the memory of this most amiable and excellent 
 man, to whom (if there be any merit in this work) 
 the friends of Mr. Henry and the state of Virginia 
 owe so many obligations, without paying to that 
 revered memory the tribute of his respect and affec- 
 tion. Mr. Pope was one of those ardent young Vir- 
 ginians, who embarked before they had attained their 
 maturity, in the cause of the American revolution, he 
 joined a cavalry company and distinguished himself 
 by an impetuous gallantry, which drew upon him the 
 eyes and the applause of his commander. In peace, 
 he was as mild as he had been brave in war; his 
 bosom was replete with the kindest affections ; he 
 was, in truth, one of the best of companions, and one 
 of the warmest of friends. The fact that he was the 
 acknowledged head of the several bars at which he 
 practised in the country, may assure the reader of 
 his capacity for the commission which he so cheer- 
 fully undertook, in regard to Mr. Henry, and the un- 
 blemished integrity of his life may assure him also 
 of the fidelity with which that commission was exe- 
 
PREFACE. 5 
 
 cuted. So many important anecdotes in the following 
 work depend on the credit of this gentleman as a 
 witness, that the slight sketch which has been given of 
 his character, will not, it is hoped, be thought foreign 
 to the purpose of this preface. Mr. Pope did not con- 
 fine his inquiries to the county of Hanover: he w^as 
 indefatigable in collecting information from every 
 quarter ; which he never accepted, however, but from 
 the most trustworthy sources ; and his authority for 
 every incident was given with the most scrupulous 
 accuracy. The author had hoped to have, had it in 
 his power to gratify this gentleman, by submitting to 
 his view the joint result of their labors, and obtaining 
 the benefit of his last corrections ; but he was disap- 
 pointed by his untimely and melancholy death. He 
 fell a, victim to the savage practice of dueling, which, 
 under the false name of honor, continued to prevail 
 too long ; and his death is believed to have been highly 
 instrumental in hastening that system of legislation 
 in restraint of this practice, which now exists in Vir- 
 ginia. 
 
 Besides the contributions furnished by Mr. Pope, 
 the wTiter derived material aid from various other 
 quarters. The widow of Mr. Henry was still living, 
 and had intermarried with Judge Winston ; from this 
 gentleman, who was also related to Mr. Henry by 
 blood, and had been intimately acquainted with him 
 through the far greater part of his life, the author 
 received a succinct, but extremely accurate and com- 
 prehensive memoir. 
 
 Col. Meredith, of Amherst, was a few years older 
 than Mr. Henry, had been raised in the same neigh- 
 borhood, and had finally married one of his sisters. 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 Having known Mr. Henry from his birth to his 
 death, he had it in his power to supply very copious 
 details, which were taken down from his narration 
 by the present Judge Cabell, and forwarded to the 
 author. 
 
 One of the most intimate and confidential friends 
 of Mr. Henry was the late Judge Tyler. The judge 
 had a kind of Roman frankness, and even bluntness, 
 in his manners, together with a decision of character 
 and a benevolence of spirit, which had attached Mr. 
 Henry to him, from his first appearance on the public 
 stage. They were, for a long time, members of the 
 House of Delegates together, and their friendship 
 continued until it was severed by death. From 
 Judge Tyler the author received a very minute and 
 interesting communication of incidents, the whole of 
 which had either passed in his OAvn presence, or had 
 been related to him by Mr. Henry himself. 
 
 The writer is indebted to Judge Tyler for two or 
 three of his best incidents ; one of them will probably 
 be pronounced the most interesting passage of the 
 work. He owes to the same gentleman, too, the full- 
 est and liveliest description of the person of Mr. 
 Henry, which has been furnished from any quarter ; 
 and he stands further indebted to him for a rare and 
 (to the purpose of this work) a very important book 
 — the Journals of the House of Burgesses for the 
 years 1763-4-5-6 and 7. 
 
 From Judge Roane the author has received one 
 of the fairest and most satisfactory communications 
 that has been made to him ; and the vigor and ele- 
 gance with which that gentleman writes, has fre- 
 
PREFACE. 7 
 
 quently enabled the author to relieve the dulness of 
 his own narrative, by extracts from his statements. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson, too, has exercised his well-known 
 kindness and candor on this occasion; having not 
 only favored the author with a very full communica- 
 tion in the first instance; but assisted him, subse- 
 quently and repeatedly, with his able counsel, in rec- 
 onciling apparent contradictions, and clearing away 
 difficulties of fact. 
 
 Besides these statements, drawn from the memory 
 of his correspondents, the writer was favored, by the 
 late Governor Page, with the reading of a pretty ex- 
 tended sketch, which the latter had himself prepared, 
 of the life of Mr. Henry ; and he has, furthermore, 
 availed himself of the kind permission of Mr. Pey- 
 ton Eandolph, to examine an extremely valuable 
 manuscript history of Virginia, written by his father, 
 the late Mr. Edmund Randolph ; which embraces the 
 whole period of Mr. Henry's public life. 
 
 In addition to these stores of information, the 
 author has had the good fortune to procure complete 
 files of the public newspapers, reaching from the 
 vear 1765 down to the close of the American revolu- 
 tion ; by these he has been enabled to correct, in some 
 important instances, the memory of his correspon- 
 dents, in relation not only to dates, but to facts them- 
 selves. 
 
 He has been fortunate, too, in having procured 
 several original letters, which shed much light on im- 
 portant and hitherto disputed facts, in the life of Mr. 
 Henry. 
 
 The records of the General Court, and the archives 
 of the state, having been convenient to the author, 
 
8 PRl^ACE. 
 
 and always open to him, he has endeavored assid- 
 uously and carefully to avail himself of that certain 
 and permanent evidence which they afford; and has 
 been enabled, by this means, as the reader will dis- 
 cover, to correct some strange mistakes in reference to 
 historical facts. 
 
 The author's correspondents will find, that he has 
 departed, in some instances, from their respective 
 statements ; and he owes them an explanation for 
 having done so: the explanation is this — their state- 
 ments were, in several instances, diametrically op- 
 posed to each other ; and were sometimes all con- 
 tradicted by the public prints, or the records of the 
 state. It ought not to be matter of surprise, that 
 these contradictions should exist, even among those 
 most respectable gentlemen, relying, as they did, 
 solely upon memory ; and speaking of events so very 
 remote, without a previous opportunity of communi- 
 cating with one another. It will be seen by them, 
 that the author has been obliged, in several instances, 
 to contradict even the several histories of the times, 
 concerning which he writes ; but this he has never 
 done without the most decisive proofs, which he has 
 always cited ; nor has he ever departed from the nar- 
 ratives of his several correspondents, except under the 
 direction of preponderating evidence. As among 
 those contradictory statements, all could not be true, 
 he has sought the correction by public documents, 
 when such correction was attainable ; and when it was 
 not, he has selected, among his narrators, those whose 
 opportunities to laiow the fact in question seemed to 
 be the best. This he has done, without the slightest 
 intention to throw a shadow of suspicion on the credit 
 
PREFACE. 9 
 
 of any gentleman who has been so obliging as to an- 
 swer his inquiries ; but merely from the necessity 
 which he was under, either of making some selection, 
 or abandoning the work altogether ; and he knows of 
 no better rule of selection, than that which he 
 adopted. 
 
 Although it has been so long since the collection of 
 these materials was begun, it was not until the sum- 
 mer of 1814 that the last communication was re- 
 ceived. Even then, when the author sat down to' the 
 task of embodying his materials, there were so many 
 intricacies to disentangle, and so many inconsisten- 
 cies, from time to time, to explain and settle, and 
 that, too, through the tedious agency of cross-mails, 
 that his progress was continually impeded, and has 
 been, to him, most painfully retarded. 
 
 Other causes, too, have contributed to delay the 
 publication. The author is a practising lawyer ; and 
 the courts which he attends, keep him perpetually and 
 exclusively occupied in that attendance through ten 
 months of the year ; nor does the summer recess of 
 two months afford a remission from professional la- 
 bor. In Virginia, the duties of attorney, counsellor, 
 conveyancer, and advocate, are all performed by the 
 same individual ; hence the summer vacation, instead 
 of being a time of leisure, is not only the season of 
 preparation for the approaching courts, but is subject, 
 moreover, to a perpetual recurrence of what are here 
 called office duties, which renders a steady applica- 
 tion to any other subject impossible. 
 
 These sketches are now submitted to the public, 
 with unaffected diffidence ; not of the facts which they 
 detail, for on them the author has the firmest re- 
 
lO PREFACE. 
 
 liance ; but of the manner in which he has been able 
 to accomplish his undertaking. For (to say nothing 
 of his inexperience and want of ability for such a 
 work) he has been compelled to write (when he was 
 suffered to write at all) amid that incessant profes- 
 sional annoyance which has been mentioned, and 
 which is known by every man who has ever made the 
 trial, to forbid the hope of success in any composi- 
 tion of this extent. Could the writer have looked 
 forward, with any reasonable calculation, to a period 
 of greater ease, his respect for the memory of Mr. 
 Henry, as Avell as his regard for himself, would have 
 induced him to suspend this undertaking until that 
 period should arrive. But having no ground for any 
 hope of this kind, he has thought it better to hazard 
 even this crude sketch, than to suffer the materials, 
 wdiich he had accumulated with so much toil, and for 
 an object which he thought so laudable, to perish on 
 his hands. 
 
 These remarks are not made with the view of de- 
 23recating the censures of critics ; but merely to be- 
 speak the candor of that larger portion of readers, 
 who are willing to be pleased with the best efforts 
 that can be reasonably expected from the circum- 
 stances of the case. The author, however, is well sat- 
 isfied that the most indulgent reader (although benev- 
 olently disposed to overlook defects of execution) will 
 be certainly disappointed in the matter itself of this 
 work ; for, notwithstanding all his exertions, he is en- 
 tirely conscious that the materials, which he has been 
 able to collect, are scanty and meager, and utterly 
 disproportionate to the great fame of Mr. Henry. It 
 is probable, that much of what was once known of 
 
PREFACE. It 
 
 iiiin had perished before the author commenced his 
 researches ; and it is also possible that much may still 
 be known which he has not been able to discover, be- 
 cause it lies in unsuspected sources, or with persons, 
 for some reason or other unwilling to communicate 
 their information. It is the conviction, that he has 
 not been able to inform himself of the whole events 
 of Mr. Henry's life, and that his collection can be con- 
 sidered only as so many detached sketches. If, in 
 this humble and unassuming character, it shall give 
 any pleasure or benefit to the numerous admirers of 
 Mr. Henry, the author will have attained all that he 
 has a right to expect. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 CHAPTEK I. 
 
 EAELY LIFE, 1736-1763. 
 
 Patrick Henry, the second son of John and 
 Sarah Henry, and one of nine children, was born on 
 the 29th of May, 1736, at the family seat, called Stud- 
 ley, in the county of Hanover and colony of Virginia. 
 In his early childhood, his parents removed to another 
 seat, in the same county, then called Mount Brilliant, 
 now the Retreat ; at which latter place Patrick Henry 
 was raised and educated. His parents, though not 
 rich, were in easy circumstances ; and, in point of 
 personal character, were among the most respected 
 inhabitants of the colony. 
 
 Patrick's father. Col. John Henry, was a native of 
 Aberdeen in Scotland. He came over to Virginia, in 
 quest of fortune, some time prior to the year 1730, 
 and the tradition is, that he enjoyed the friendship 
 and patronage of Mr. Dinwiddle, afterward the gov- 
 ernor of the colony. By this gentleman, it is re- 
 ported, that he was introduced to the elder Col. Syme 
 of Hanover, in whose family, it is certain, that he 
 became domesticated during the life of that gentle- 
 
 13 
 
14 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 man ; after whose death h^narried his widow, and 
 resided on the estate which he had left. It is con- 
 sidered as a fair proof of the personal merit of Mr. 
 John Henry, that, in those days, when offices were 
 bestowed with peculiar caution, ho was the colonel of 
 his regiment, the principal surveyor of the county, 
 and for many years, the presiding magistrate of the 
 county court. He was a man of liberal education, 
 possessed a plain, yet solid understanding, and lived 
 long a life of irreproachable integrity and exemplary 
 piety. His brother Patrick, a clergyman of the 
 church of England, followed him to this country some 
 years afterward ; and became, by his influence, the 
 minister of St. PauFs parish in Hanover, the func- 
 tions of which office he sustained throughout his life. 
 Both the brothers were zealous members of the es- 
 tablished church, and warmly attached to the reign- 
 ing family. Col. John Henry was conspicuously so. 
 " There are those yet alive," says a correspondent,* 
 " who have seen him at the head of his regiment, cele- 
 brating the birthday of George the III. with as much 
 enthusiasm as his son Patrick afterward displayed in 
 resisting the encroachments of that monarch.'^ f 
 
 Mrs. Henry, the widow of Col. Syme, as we have 
 seen, and the mother of Patrick Henry, was a native 
 of Hanover county, and of the family of Winstons. 
 She possessed, in an eminent degree, the mild and be- 
 
 ♦Mr. Pope, in 1805. 
 
 t Mr. Burk's account of Mr. Henry is extremely careless 
 and full of errors. He begins by making him the son of 
 his uncle: — ''Patrick Henry, the son of a Scotch gentle- 
 man of the same name" &c. — 3d vol. of the History of 
 Virginia, page 300, 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 15 
 
 nevolent disposition, the undeviating probity, the cor- 
 rect understanding, and easy elocution, by which that 
 ancient family has been so long distinguished. Her 
 brother William, the father of the present Judge 
 Winston, is said to have been highly endowed with 
 that peculiar cast of eloquence, for which Mr. Henry 
 became, afterward, so justly celebrated. Of this gen- 
 tleman, I have an anecdote from Mr. Pope, which I 
 shall give in his own words : " I have often heard my 
 father, who was intimately acquainted with this Wil- 
 liam Winston, say, that he was the greatest orator 
 whom he ever heard, Patrick Henry excepted. Dur- 
 ing the last French and Indian war, and soon after 
 Braddocks' defeat, when the militia were marched 
 to the frontiers of Virginia against the enemy, this 
 William Winston was the lieutenant of a company. 
 The men, who were indifferently clothed, without 
 tents, and exposed to the rigor and inclemency of the 
 weather, displayed great aversion to the service, and 
 were anxious and even clamorous to return to their 
 families. At this crisis this William Winston, 
 mounting a stump, (the common rostrum of the field- 
 orator of Virginia,) addressed them with such keen- 
 ness of invective, and declaimed with such force of 
 eloquence, on liberty and patriotism, that when he 
 concluded, the general cry was, ' Let us march on ; 
 lead us against the enemy ! ' and they were now will- 
 ing, nay, anxious to encoimter all those difficulties 
 and dangers which, but a few moments before had al- 
 most produced a mutiny." 
 
 Thus much I have been able to collect of the par- 
 entage and family of Mr. Henry; and this, I pre- 
 sume, is quite sufficient in relation to a man, who 
 
16 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 owed no part of his greatness to the lustre of his pedi- 
 gree, but was in truth the sole founder of his own for- 
 tunes. 
 
 Until ten years of age, Patrick Henry was sent to a 
 school in the neighborhood, where he learned to read 
 and write, and made some small progress in arithme- 
 tic. He was then taken home and, under the direc- 
 tion of his father, who had opened a grammar-school 
 in his own house, he acquired a superficial knowledge 
 of the Latin language, and learned to read the char- 
 acter, but never to translate Greek. At the same 
 time, he made a considerable proficiency in the math- 
 ematics, the only branch of education for which, it 
 seems, he showed in his youth the slightest predilec- 
 tion. But he was too idle to gain any solid advantage 
 from the opportunities which were thrown in his way. 
 He was passionately addicted to the sports of the 
 field, and could not support the confinement and toil 
 which education required. Hence, instead of system 
 or any semblance of regularity in his studies, his ef- 
 forts were always desultory, and became more and 
 more rare, until at length, when the hour of his school 
 exercises arrived, he was scarcely ever to be found. 
 He was in the forest with his gun, or over the brook 
 with his angle-rod ; and, in these frivolous occupa- 
 tions, when not controlled by the authority of his 
 father, (which was rarely exerted,) he would, it is 
 said, spend w^hole days and weeks, with an appetite 
 rather whetted than cloyed by enjoyment. 
 
 Patrick's school-fellows, having observed his grow- 
 ing passion for these amusements, and having re- 
 marked that its progress was not checked eitlier by the 
 want of companions or the want of success, f requentlj^ 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 17 
 
 "watched his movements to discover, if they could, the 
 secret sources of that delight which they seemed 
 to afford him. But they made no discovery which led 
 them to any other conclusion than (to use their own 
 expression) " that he loved idleness for its own sake." 
 They frequently observed him lying along, under the 
 shade of some tree that overhung the sequestered 
 stream watching, for hours, at the same spot, the mo- 
 tionless cork of his fishing-line, without one encourag- 
 ing symptom of success, and without any apparent 
 source of enjoyment, unless he could find it in the 
 ease of his posture, or in the illusions of hope, or, 
 which is most probable, in the stillness of the scene 
 and the silent workings of his own imagination. This 
 love of solitude, in his youth, was often observed. 
 Even w^hen hunting with a party, his choice was not 
 to join the noisy band that drove the deer; he pre- 
 ferred to take his stand, alone, where he might wait 
 for the passing game, and indulge himself, mean- 
 while, in the luxury of thinking. Isot that he was 
 averse to society ; on the contrary, he had, at times, a 
 very high zest for it. But even in society, his enjoy- 
 ments, while young, were of a peculiar cast; he did 
 not mix in the wild mirth of his equals in age; but 
 sat, quiet and demure, taking no part in the conver- 
 sation, giving no responsive smile to the circulating 
 jest, but lost, to all appearance, in silence and ab- 
 straction. This abstraction, however, was only ap- 
 parent ; for on the dispersion of a company, when in- 
 terrogated by his parents as to what had been passing, 
 he was able, not only to detail the conversation, but to 
 sketch with strict fidelity, the character of every 
 speaker. 'None of these early delineations of char- 
 
18 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 acter are retained by his contemporaries and, indeed, 
 they are said to have been more remarkable for their 
 justness, than for any peculiar felicity of execution. 
 
 I cannot learn that he gave, in his youth, any evi- 
 dence of that precocity which sometimes distinguishes 
 genius. His companions recollect no instance of pre- 
 mature wit, no striking sentiment, no flash of fancy, 
 no remarkable beauty or strength of expression; and 
 no indication, however slight, either of that impas- 
 sioned love of liberty, or of that adventurous daring 
 and intrepidity, which marked, so strongly, his future 
 character. So far was he, indeed, from exhibiting 
 any one prognostic of this greatness, that every omen 
 foretold a life, at best, of mediocrity, if not of insig- 
 nificance. His person is represented as having been 
 coarse, his manners uncommonly awkward, his dress 
 slovenly, his conversation very plain, his aversion to 
 study invincible, and his faculties almost entirely be- 
 numbed by indolence. 'No persuasion could bring 
 him either to read or to work. On the contrary, he 
 ran wild in the forest, and divided his life between 
 the dissipation and uproar of the chase and the lan- 
 guor of inaction. 
 
 His propensity to observe and comment upon the 
 human character was, so far as I can learn, the only 
 hopeful trait which distinguished him from his youth- 
 ful companions. This propensity seems to have been 
 born with him, and instinctively to have exerted itself 
 the moment a new subject was presented to his view. 
 Its action was incessant, and it became, at length, al- 
 most the only intellectual exercise in which he seemed 
 to take delight. To this cause may be traced that con- 
 summate knowledge of the human heart which he 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRt. 19 
 
 finally attained, and which enabled him, when he 
 came upon the public stage, to touch the springs of 
 passion with a master-hand, and to control the resolu- 
 tions and decisions of his hearers, with a power, al- 
 most more than mortal. 
 
 From what has been already stated, it will be seen 
 how little education had to do with the fo™«tj^?" ^J 
 this great man's mind. He was, indeed, a mere child of 
 Nature, and Nature seems to have been too proud and 
 too jealous of her work, to permit it to be touched by 
 the hand of art. She gave him Shakespeare s genius 
 and bade him, like Shakespeare, to depend on that 
 alone. Let not the youthful reader, however, deduce, 
 from the example of Mr. Henry, an ff^^'^^''^ 
 favor of indolence and the contempt of study Let 
 him remember that the powers which surmounted the 
 disadvantage of those early habits were such as very 
 rarely appear upon this earth. Let him remember 
 too, howbng the genius, even of Mr. Henry was 
 kept down and hidden from the public view, by the 
 sorcery of those pernicious habits; through what 
 years of poverty and wretchedness they doomed him 
 to struggle; and, let him remember, that at length, 
 Ih n tn'th; zenith of his glory, Mr. Henry himself 
 had frequent occasions to deplore the consequences of 
 his early neglect of literature, and to bewail the 
 ghosts of his departed hours." 
 
 His father, unable to sustain, with convenience, the 
 expense of so large a family as was "°^ J^^Jlf ^^^f 
 on his hands, found it necessary to q^^^'^y JJ J"^ ; 
 at a verv early age, to support themselves. With this 
 v ew Patrick'wal placed, at the age of fifteen, behind 
 Ihe Counter of a country merchant. How he cou- 
 
20 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 ducted himself in this situa^n, I have not been able 
 to learn. There could not, however, have been any 
 flagrant impropriety in his conduct, since, in the next 
 year, his father considered him qualified to carry on 
 business on his own account. Under this impression, 
 he purchased a small adventure of goods for his two 
 sons, William and Patrick, and, according to the lan- 
 guage of the country, " set them up in trade." Wil- 
 liam's habits of idleness were, if possible, still more 
 unfortunate than Patrick's. The chief management 
 of their concerns devolved, therefore, on the younger 
 brother, and that management seems to have been 
 most wretched. 
 
 Left to himself, all the indolence of his character 
 returned. The habits of idleness which he had 
 formed, and whose spell was already too strong to be 
 broken, comported very poorly with that close atten- 
 tion, that accuracy and persevering vigor, which are 
 essential to the merchant. The drudgery of retailing 
 and of book-keeping soon became intolerable ; yet he 
 was obliged to preserve appearances by remaining 
 continually at his stand. Besides his unpropitious 
 habits, there was still another obstacle to his success, 
 in the natural kindness of his temper. ^' He could 
 not find it in his heart " to disappoint any one who 
 came to him for credit ; and he was very easily satis- 
 fied by apologies for non-payment. He condemned, 
 in himself, this facility of temper, and foresaw the 
 embarrassments with which it threatened him; but 
 he was unable to overcome it. Even with the best 
 prospects, the confinement of such a business would 
 have been scarcely supportable ; but with those which 
 now threatened him, his store became a prison. To 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 21 
 
 make the matter still worse, the joys of the chase, joys 
 now to him forbidden, echoed around him every 
 morning, and by their contrast, and the longings 
 which they excited, contributed to deepen his disgust 
 for his employments. 
 
 From these painful feelings he sought, at first, a 
 refuge in music, for which it seems he had a natural 
 taste, and he learned to play well on the violin and on 
 the flute. From music he passed to books, and, hav- 
 ing procured a few light and elegant authors, ac- 
 quired for the first time, a relish for reading. 
 
 He found another relief, too, in the frequent oppor- 
 tunities now afforded him of pursuing his favorite 
 study of the human character. The character of 
 every customer underwent this scrutiny; and that, 
 not with reference either to the integrity or solvency 
 of the individual, in which one would suppose that 
 a merchant would feel himself most interested, but in 
 relation to the structure of his mind, the general 
 cast of his opinions, the motives and principles of 
 his actions, and what may be called the philosophy 
 of character. In pursuing these investigations, he is 
 said to have resorted to arts, apparently so far above 
 his years, and which looked so much like an after- 
 thought, resulting from his future eminence, that I 
 should hesitate to make the statement, were it not 
 attested by so many witnesses, some of whom had not 
 the capacity for fabricating the fact. Their account 
 of it, then, is this : — that whenever a company of his 
 customers met in the store, (which frequently hap- 
 pened on the last day of the week,) and were them- 
 selves sufficiently gay and animated to talk and act 
 as nature prompted, without concealment, without 
 
22 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 reserve, he would take no part in their discussions, 
 hut listen with a silence as deep and attentive as if 
 under the influence of some potent charm. If, on the 
 contrary, they were dull and silent, he would, with- 
 out betraying his drift, task himself to set them in 
 motion, and excite them to remark, collision, and ex- 
 clamation. With this view he would state a hypo- 
 thetic case and call for their opinions, one by one, as 
 to the conduct which would be proper in it. If they 
 differed, he would demand their reasons, and enjoy 
 highly the debates in which he would thus involve 
 them. By multiplying and varying those imaginary 
 cases at pleasure, he ascertained the general course 
 of human opinion, and formed, for himself, as it 
 were, a graduated scale of the motives and conduct 
 which are natural to man. Sometimes he would en- 
 tertain them with stories, gathered from his reading, 
 or, as was more frequently the case, drawn from his 
 own fancy, composed of heterogeneous circumstances, 
 calculated to excite, by turns, pity, terror, resentment, 
 indignation, contempt ; pausing, in the turns of his 
 narrative, to observe the effect ; to watch the different 
 modes in which the passions expressed themselves, 
 and learn the language of emotion from those chil- 
 dren of nature. 
 
 In these exercises, Mr. Henry could have had noth- 
 ing in view beyond the present gratification of a nat- 
 ural propensity. The advantages of them, however, 
 were far more permanent, and gave the brightest 
 color to his future life. For those continual efforts to 
 render himself intelligible to his plain and unlettered 
 hearers, on subjects entirely new to them, taught him 
 that clear and simple style which forms the best ve- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 23 
 
 hide of thought to a popular assembly ; while his at- 
 tempts to interest and affect them, in order that he 
 might hear from them the echo of nature s voice in- 
 structed him in those topics of persuasion by which 
 men were the most certainly to be moved, and m the 
 kind of imagery and structure of language, which 
 ^ere the best fitted to strike and agitate their hearts 
 These constituted his excellencies as an orator; and 
 never was there a man, in any age, who possessed, in 
 a more eminent degree, the lucid and nervous style of 
 argument, the command of the most beautiful and 
 striking imagery, or that language of passion which 
 burns from soul to soul. 
 
 In the meantime, the business of the store was 
 rushing headlong to its catastrophe. One year put an 
 end to it. William was then thrown loose upon so- 
 ciety to which he was never afterward usefully at- 
 tached • * and Patrick was engaged for the two or 
 three following years, in winding up this disastrous 
 experiment as well as he could. , j v.. 
 
 His misfortunes, however, seem not to have had the 
 effect either of teaching him prudence or of chilling 
 his affections. For, at the early age of eighteen, we 
 
 . I have seen an original letter from Col Jo^n Henry 
 to his son William, in which he remonstrates with him 
 :; hfs Z,Zna dissipated course of life. JHere^s reason 
 to helieve, however, that at a later period, he may have 
 reformed, since a gentleman, to whom the manuscript of 
 this work was submitted, notes on this P^^^ase that w^en 
 he was at college at Williamsburg, he ^^^o^'f ^^o have 
 seen William Henry a member of the assembly, from the 
 county^ of Fluvanna; that he was called colonel, and was 
 he atlerward understood, pretty well provided as to for- 
 
24 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 find him married to a Miss Shelton, the daughter of 
 an honest farmer in the neighborhood, but in circum- 
 stances too poor to contribute effectually to her sup- 
 port. By the joint assistance of their parents, how- 
 ever, the young couple were settled on a small farm, 
 and here, with the assistance of one or two slaves, Mr. 
 Henry had to delve the earth, with his own hands, for 
 subsistence. Such are the vicissitudes of human life I 
 It is curious to contemplate this giant genius, des- 
 tined in a few years to guide the councils of a mighty 
 nation, but unconscious of the intellectual treasures 
 which he possessed, encumbered, at the early age of 
 eighteen, "with the cares of a family; obscure, un- 
 known, and almost unpitied ; digging, with wearied 
 limbs and with an aching heart, a small spot of bar- 
 ren earth, for bread, and blessing the hour of night 
 which relieved him from toil. Fortunately for him, 
 there never was a heart which felt the consolations 
 of family affection with greater force, l^o man ever 
 possessed the domestic virtues in a higher degree, or 
 enjoyed, more exquisitely, those pure delights which 
 flow from the endearing relations of conjugal life. 
 
 Mr. Henry's want of agricultural skill, and his 
 unconquerable aversion to every species of systematic 
 labor, drove him, necessarily, after a trial of two 
 years, to abandon this pursuit altogether. His next 
 step seems to have been dictated by absolute despair ; 
 for, selling off his little possessions, at a sacrifice for 
 cash, he entered, a second time, on the inauspicious 
 business of merchandise. Perhaps he flattered him- 
 self that he would be able to profit by his past exper- 
 ience, and conduct this experiment to a more success- 
 ful issue. But if he did so, he deceived himself. He 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 25 
 
 soon found that he had not changed his character, by 
 changing his pursuits. His early habits still clung to 
 him. The same lack of method, the same facility of 
 temper, soon became apparent by their ruinous ef- 
 fects. He resumed his violin, his flute, his books, his 
 curious inspection of human nature; and not unfre- 
 quently ventured to shut up his store, and indulge 
 himself in the favorite sports of his youth. 
 
 His reading, hov^^ever, began to assume a more 
 serious character. He studied geography, in which it 
 is said that he became an adept. He read, also, the 
 charters and history of the colony. He became fond 
 of historical works generally, particularly those' |^ 
 Greece and Rome ; and, from the tenacity of his mem- 
 ory and the strength of his judgment, soon made him^ 
 self a perfect master of their contents. Livy was his 
 favorite; and having procured a translation, he be- 
 came so much enamored of the work, that he made it 
 a standing rule to read it through, once at least, in 
 every year, during the early part of his life.* The 
 grandeur of the Roman character, so beautifully ex- 
 hibited by Livy, filled him with surprise and admira- 
 tion ; and he was particularly enraptured with those 
 vivid descriptions and eloquent harangues with which 
 the work abounds. Fortune could scarcely have 
 thrown in his way, a book better fitted to foster his 
 republican spirit, and awaken the dormant powers of 
 his genius; and it seems not improbable, that the 
 lofty strain in which he himself afterward both spoke 
 and acted, was, if not originally inspired, at least 
 highly praised, by the noble models set before him by 
 this favorite author. 
 
 * Judge Nelson had this statement from Mr. Heary him- 
 self. 
 
26 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 This second mercantile experiment was even more 
 unfortunate than the first. In a few years it left him 
 a bankrupt, and placed him in a situation than \vhich 
 it is difficult to conceive one more wretched. Every 
 atom of his property was now gone, his friends were 
 unable to assist him any further ; he had tried every 
 means of support, of which he could suppose himself 
 capable, and every one had failed ; ruin was behind 
 him ; poverty, debt, want, and famine, before ; and, 
 as if his cup of misery were not already full enough, 
 here were a suffering wife and children to make it 
 overflow. 
 
 But with all his acuteness of feeling, Mr. Henry 
 possessed great native firmness of character ; and, let 
 me add, great reliance, too, on that unseen arm which 
 never deserts the faithful. Thus supported, he was 
 able to bear up under the heaviest pressure of mis- 
 fortune, and even to be cheerful, under circumstances 
 which would sink most other men into despair. 
 
 It was at this period of his fortunes, that Mr. Jef- 
 ferson became acquainted with him ; and the reader, 
 I am persuaded, will be gratified with that gentle- 
 man's own account of it. These are his v/ords: — 
 " My acquaintance with Mr. Henry commenced in 
 the winter of 1T59-60. On my way to the college, I 
 passed the Christmas-holydays at Col. Dandridge's, 
 in Hanover, to whom Mr. Henry was a near neighbor. 
 During the festivity of the season, I met him in so- 
 ciety every day, and we became well acquainted, al- 
 though I was much his junior, being then in my 
 seventeenth year, and he a married man. His man- 
 ners had something of coarseness in them ; his pas- 
 sion was music, dancing, and pleasantry. He ex- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 27 
 
 celled in the last, and it attached every one to him. 
 You ask some account of his mind and information 
 at this period; but you will recollect that we were 
 almost continually engaged in the usual revelries of 
 the season. The occasion, perhaps, as much as his 
 idle disposition, prevented his engaging in any con- 
 versation which might give the measure either of his ^ 
 mind or information. Opportunity was not, indeed, 
 wholly wanting; because Mr. John Campbell was 
 there, who had married Mrs. Spotswood, the sister of 
 Col. Dandridge. He was a man of science, and often 
 introduced conversation on scientific subjects. Mr. 
 Henry had, a little before, broken up his store, or 
 rather it had broken him up; but his misfortunes 
 were not to be traced, either in his countenance or 
 conduct." 
 
 This cheerfulness of spirit, under a reverse of for- 
 tune so severe, is a striking indication of his charac- 
 ter. It is not, indeed, easy to conceive that a mind 
 like Mr. Henry's could finally sink under any pres- 
 sure of adversity. Such a mind must always possess a 
 consciousness of power sufficient to himj it above de- 
 spondency. Of Mr. Henry it was certainly true, as 
 Dr. Johnson has observed of Swift, that ^* he was not 
 one of those who, having lost one part of life in idle- 
 ness, are tempted to throw away the remainder in 
 despair." 
 
 It was now, when all other experiments had failed, 
 that, as a last effort, he determined, of his own ac- 
 cord, to make a trial of the law. No one expected 
 him to succeed. His unfortunate habits were, by no 
 means, suited to so laborious a profession: and even 
 if it were not too late in life for him to hope to master 
 
28 LIFE OF PA;fRICK HENRY. 
 
 its learning, the situation of his affairs forbade an 
 extensive course of reading. In addition to these ob- 
 stacles, the business of the profession, in that quar- 
 ter, Avas already in hands from which it was not eas- 
 ily to be taken; for (to mention no others) Judge 
 Lyons, the late president of the court of appeals, was 
 then at the bar of Hanover, and the adjacent coun- 
 ties, with an unrivalled reputation for legal learning ; 
 and Mr. John Lewis, a man, also, of very respectable 
 legal attainments, occupied the whole field of forensic 
 eloquence. Mr. Henry himself seems to have hoped 
 for nothing more from the profession than a scanty 
 subsistence for himself and his family, and his prep- 
 aration was suited to these humble expectations; for 
 to the study of a profession, which is said to require 
 the lucubrations of twenty years, Mr. Henry devoted 
 not more than six weeks.* On this preparation, how- 
 ever, he obtained a license to practise the law. How 
 he passed with two of the examiners, I have no intelli- 
 gence, but he himself used to relate his interview with 
 the third. This was no other than Mr. John Ran- 
 dolph, who was afterward the king^s attorney-general 
 for the colony ; a gentleman of the most courtly ele- 
 gance of person and manners, a polished wit, and a 
 profound lawyer. At first, he was so much shocked 
 by Mr. Henry's very ungainly figure and address, 
 that he refused to examine him : understanding, how- 
 ever, that he had already obtained two signatures, he 
 
 * So say Mr. Jefferson and Judge 'Wmston. Mr. Pope says 
 nine months. Col. Meredith and Capt. Dabney, six or eight 
 months. Judge Tyler, one month; and he adds: "This I 
 had from his own lips. In this time, he read Coke upon 
 Littleton, and the Virginia laws." 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 29 
 
 entered, with manifest reluctance, on the business. 
 A very short time was sufficient to satisfy him of the 
 erroneous conclusion which he had drawn from the 
 exterior of the candidate. With evident marks of in- 
 creasing surprise (produced no doubt by the peculiar 
 texture and strength of Mr. Henry's style, and the 
 boldness and originality of his combinations,) he 
 continued the examination for several hours : interro- 
 gating the candidate, not on the principles of muni- 
 cipal law, in which he no doubt soon discovered his 
 deficiency, but on the laws of nature and of nations, 
 on the policy of the feudal system, and on general 
 history, which last he found to be his stronghold. 
 During the very short portion of the examination 
 which was devoted to the common law, Mr. Randolph 
 dissented, or affected to dissent, from one of Mr. 
 Henry's answers, and called upon him to assign the 
 reasons of his opinion. This produced an argimaent ; 
 and Mr. Randolph now played off on him the same 
 arts which he himself had so often practised on his 
 country customers; drawing him out by questions, 
 endeavoring to puzzle him by subtleties, assailing 
 him with declamation, and watching continually the 
 defensive operations of his mind. After a consider- 
 able discussion, he said : " You defend your opinions 
 well, sir; but now to the law and to the testimony." 
 Hereupon, he carried him to his office, and opening 
 the authorities, said to him : " Behold the face of 
 natural reason ; you have never seen these books, nor 
 this principle of the law; yet you are right and I 
 am wrong ; and from the lesson which you have given 
 me (you must excuse me for saying it) I will never 
 trust to appearances again. Mr. Henry, if your in- 
 
30 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 dustry be only half equal to your genius, I augur tliat 
 you will do well, and become an ornament and an 
 honor to your profession." It was always Mr. 
 Henry's belief that Mr. Randolph had affected this 
 difference of opinion, merely to afford him the pleas- 
 ure of a triumph, and to make some atonement for 
 the wound which his first repulse had inflicted. Be 
 this as it may, the interview was followed by the most 
 marked and permanent respect on the part of Mr. 
 Randolph, and the most sincere good-will and grati- 
 tude on that of Mr. Henry.* 
 
 It was at the age of four and twenty that Mr. 
 Henry obtained his license. Of the science of law, 
 he knew almost nothing : of the practical part he was 
 
 ♦This account of Mr. Henry's examination is given by 
 Judge Tyler, who states it as having come from Mr. Henry 
 himself. It was written before I had received the follow- 
 ing statement from Mr. Jefferson; and although there is 
 some difference in the circumstances, it has not been 
 thought important enough to make an alteration of the 
 text necessary. This is Mr. Jefferson's statement: — " In 
 the spring of 1760, he came to Williamsburg to obtain 
 a license as a lawyer, and he called on me at college. 
 He told me he had been reading law only six weeks. Two 
 of the examiners, however, Peyton and John Randolph, 
 men of great facility of temper, signed his license with 
 as much reluctance as their dispositions would permit 
 them to show. Mr. Wythe absolutely refused. Robert C. 
 Nicholas refused also at first; but, on repeated importun- 
 ities and promises of future reading, he signed. These 
 facts I had afterward from the gentlemen themselves; the 
 two Randolphs acknowledging he v/as very ignorant of 
 the law, but that they perceived him to be a young man 
 of genius, and did not doubt that he would soon qualify 
 himself." 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. SI 
 
 so wholly ignorant, that he was not only unable to 
 draw a declaration or a plea, but incapable, it is said, 
 of the most common or simple business of his profes- 
 sion, even of the mode of ordering a suit, giving a 
 notice, or making a motion in court. It is not at all 
 wonderful, therefore, that such a novice, opposed as 
 he was by veterans covered with the whole armor of 
 the law, should linger in the background for three 
 years.* 
 
 During this time, the wants and distresses of his 
 family were extreme. The profits of his practice 
 could not have supplied them even with the neces- 
 saries of life ; and he seems to have spent the greatest 
 part of his time, both of his study of the law and the 
 practice of the first two or three years, ^vith his 
 father-in-law, Mr. Shelton, who then kept th^ tavern 
 at Hanover court-house. Whenever Mr. Shelton was 
 from home, Mr. Henry supplied his place in the 
 tavern, received the guests, and attended to their en- 
 tertainment. All this was very natural in Mr. 
 Henry^s situation, and seems to have been purely the 
 voluntary movement of his naturally kind and oblig- 
 ing disposition. From this, however, a story has 
 arisen, that in the early part of his life, he was a 
 barkeeper by profession. 
 
 About the time of Mr. Henry's coming to the bar, 
 a controversy arose in Virginia, which gradually pro- 
 duced a very strong excitement, and called to it, at 
 length, the attention of the whole state. This was the 
 famous controversy between the clergy on the one 
 
 * " He was not distinguished at the bar for near four 
 years." — Judge Winston; yet Mr. Burk intimates that he 
 took the lead in his profession at once. — Vol. 2d, 301, 
 
32 LIFE OF PAJpiCK HENRY. 
 
 hand, and the legislature of the people of the colony 
 on the other, touching the stipend claimed by the 
 former. As this was the occasion on which Mr. 
 Henry's genius first broke forth, it will be of interest 
 to give here an account of the nature and grounds of 
 the dispute. It will be borne in mind, that the 
 church of England was at this period the established 
 church of Virginia ; and by an act of assembly, passed 
 as far back as the year 1696, each minister of a 
 parish had been provided with an annual stipend of 
 sixteen thousand pounds of tobacco. This act was 
 re-enacted, w^ith amendments, in 1748, and in this 
 form had received the royal assent. The price of to- 
 bacco had long remained stationary at two pence in 
 the pound, or sixteen shillings and eight pence per 
 hundred. According to the provisions of the law, the 
 clergy had the right to demand, and were in the prac- 
 tice of receiving, payment of their stipend in the 
 specific tobacco ; unless they chose, for convenience, 
 to commute it for money at the market-price. In 
 the year 1755, however, the crop of tobacco having 
 fallen short, the legislature passed " an act to enable 
 the inhabitants of this colony to discharge their to- 
 bacco-debts in money for the present year : " by the 
 provisions of which, ^' all persons, from whom any 
 tobacco was due, were authorized to pay the same 
 either in tobacco or in money, after the rate of six- 
 teen sJiillings and eight pence per hundred, at the 
 option of the dehtorJ^ This act was to continue in 
 force for ten months and no longer, and did not con- 
 tain the usual clause of suspension, until it should 
 receive the royal assent. Whether the scarcity of to- 
 bacco was so general and so notorious, as to render 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 33 
 
 this act a measure of obvious liiimanity and necessity, 
 or whether the clergy were satisfied by its generality, 
 since it embraced sheriffs, clerks, attorneys, and all 
 other tobacco-creditors, as well as themselves, or 
 whether they acquiesced in it as a temporary expe- 
 dient, which they supposed not likely to be repeated, 
 it is certain that no objection was made to the law at 
 that time. They could not, indeed, have helped ob- 
 serving the benefits which the rich planters derived 
 from the act ; for they were receiving from fifty to 
 sixty shillings per hundred for their tobacco, while 
 they paid off their debts, due in that article, at the 
 old price of sixteen shillings and eight pence. ISToth- 
 ing, however, was then said in defence either of the 
 royal prerogative or of the rights of the clergy, but 
 the law was permitted to go peaceably through its ten 
 months' operation. 
 
 The great tobacco-planters had not forgotten the 
 fruits of this act, when, in the year 1758, upon a sur- 
 mise that another short crop was likely to occur, the 
 provisions of the act of 1755 were re-enacted, and 
 the new law, like the former, contained no suspend- 
 ing clause. The crop, as had been anticipated, did 
 fall short, and the price of tobacco rose immediately 
 from sixteen and eight pence to fifty shillings per 
 hundred. The cler2:v now took the alarm, and the act 
 w^as assailed by an indignant, sarcastic, and vigorous 
 pamphlet, entitled, ^^ The Two-Penny Act " from the 
 pen of the Rev. John Camm, the rector of York- 
 Hampton parish, and the Episcopalian commissary 
 for the colony.* He was answered by two pamphlets, 
 
 ♦The governor of Virginia represented the king; the 
 council, the house of lords, and the Episcopalian commis- 
 
34 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 written, the one by CoL Richard Bland, and the 
 other by Col. Landon Carter, in both which the com- 
 missary was very roughly handled. He replied, in a 
 still severer pamphlet, under the ludicrous title of 
 " The Colonels Dismounted." The Colonels re- 
 joined ; and this war of pamphlets, in which, with 
 some sound argument, there was a great deal of what 
 Dryden has called " the horseplay of raillery," was 
 kept up, until the whole colony, which had at first 
 looked on for amusement, kindled seriously in the 
 contest from motives of interest. Such was the ex- 
 citement produced by the discussion, and at length so 
 strong the current against the clergy, that the printers 
 found it expedient to shut their presses against them 
 in this colony and Mr. Camm had at last to resort to 
 Maryland for publication. 
 
 These pamphlets are still extant ; and it seems im- 
 possible to deny, at this day, that the clergy had much 
 the best of the argument. The king in his council 
 took up the subject, denounced the act of 1758 as a 
 usurpation, and declared it utterly null and void. 
 Thus supported, the clergy resolved to bring the 
 question to a judicial test ; and suits were accordingly 
 brought by them, in the various county courts of the 
 colony, to recover their stipends in the specific to- 
 bacco. They selected the county of Hanover as the 
 place of the first experiment ; and this was made in a 
 suit instituted by the Rev. James Maury, against the 
 collector of that county and his sureties. The record 
 of this suit is now before me. The declaration is 
 
 sary (a member of the council) represented the spiritual 
 part of that house; the house of burgesses was, of course, 
 the house of commons. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 35 
 
 founded on the act of 1748, wliich gives the tobacco ; 
 the defendants pleaded specially the act of 1758, 
 which authorizes the commutation into money, at 
 sixteen and eight pence ; to this plea the plaintiff de- 
 murred ; assigning for causes of demurrer, first, that 
 the act of 1758, not having received the royal assent, 
 had not the force of a law ; and, secondly, that the 
 king, in council, had declared the act null and void. 
 The case stood for argument on the demurrer to the 
 November term, 1763, and was argued by Mr. Lyons 
 for the plaintiff, and Mr. John Lewis for the de- 
 fendants; when the court, very much to the credit 
 of their candor and firmness, breasted the popular 
 current by sustaining the demurrer. 
 
 Thus far, the clergy sailed before the wind, and 
 concluded, with good reason, that their triumph was 
 complete: for the act of 1758 having been declared 
 void by the judgment on the demurrer, that of 1748 
 was left in full force, and became, in law, the only 
 standard for the finding of the jury. Mr. Lewis was 
 so thoroughly convinced of this, that he retired from 
 the cause ; informing his clients that it had been, in 
 effect, decided against them, and that there remained 
 nothing more for him to do. In this desperate situa- 
 tion, they applied to Patrick Henry, and he under- 
 took to argue it for them before a jury, at the ensuing 
 term. Accordingly, on the first day of the following 
 December, he attended the court, and, on his arrival, 
 found in the courtyard such a concourse as would 
 have appalled any other man in his situation. They 
 were not the people of the county merely who were 
 there, but visitors from all the counties, to a consid- 
 erable distance around. The decision upon the de- 
 
36 LIFE OF PAT^K HENRY. 
 
 miirrer had produced a violent ferment among the 
 people, and equal exultation on the part of the clergy ; 
 who attended the court in a large body, either to look 
 down opposition, or to enjoy the final triumph of this 
 hard-fought contest, which they now considered as 
 perfectly secure. Among many other clergymen, who 
 attended on this occasion, came the Reverend Patrick 
 Henry, who was the plaintiff in another cause of the 
 same nature, then pending in court. Wlien Mr. 
 Henry saw his imcle approach, he walked up to his 
 carriage, accompanied by Col. Meredith, and ex- 
 pressed his regret at seeing him there. " Why so ? " 
 inquired the uncle. " Because, sir,'' said Mr. Henry, 
 " you know that I have never yet spoken in public, 
 and I fear that I shall be too much overawed by your 
 presence, to be able to do my duty to my clients; 
 besides, sir, I shall be obliged to say some hard things 
 of the clergy, and I am very unwilling to give pain 
 to your feelings.'' His uncle reproved him for hav- 
 ing engaged in the cause; which Mr. Henry excused 
 by saying, that the clergy had not thought him 
 worthy of being retained on their side, and he knew 
 of no moral principle by which he was bound to re- 
 fuse a fee from their adversaries ; besides, he con- 
 fessed, that in this controversy, both his heart and 
 judgment, as well as his professional duty, were on 
 the side of the people ; he then requested that his 
 uncle would do him the favor to leave the ground. 
 ''^ Why, Patrick," said the old gentleman, with a good- 
 natured smile, " as to your saying hard things of the 
 clergy, I advise you to let that alone: take my word 
 for it, you will do more harm to yourself than to 
 them, As to my leaving the ground, I fear, my boy, 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 87 
 
 that my presence could neither do you harm nor good 
 in such a cause. However, since you seem to think 
 otherwise, and desire it of me so earnestly, you shall 
 be gratified." Whereupon, he entered his carriage 
 again, and returned home. 
 
 Soon after the opening of the court, the cause was 
 called. It stood on a writ of inquiry of damages, no 
 plea having been entered by the defendants since the 
 judgment on the demurrer. The array before Mr. 
 Henry's eyes was now most fearful. On the bench 
 sat more than twenty clergymen, the most learned 
 men in the colony, and the most capable, as well as 
 the severest, critics before whom it was possible for 
 him to have made his debut. The court-house was 
 crowded with an overwhelming multitude, and sur- 
 rounded with an immense and anxious throng, who, 
 not finding room to enter, were endeavoring to listen 
 without, in the deepest attention. But there was 
 something still more awfully disconcerting than all 
 this; for in the chair of the presiding magistrate sat 
 no other person than his own father. Mr. Lyons 
 opened the cause very briefly : in the way of argument 
 he did nothing more than explain to the jury, that the 
 decision upon the demurrer had put the act of 1758 
 entirely out of the way, and left the law of 1748 as 
 the only standard of their damages; he then con- 
 cluded with a highly-wrought eulogium on the benev- 
 olence of the clergy. 
 
 Now came on the first trial of Patrick Henry's 
 strength. No one had ever heard him speak, and 
 curiosity was on tiptoe. He rose very awkwardly, 
 and faltered much in his exordium. The people 
 hung their heads at so unpromising a commencement j 
 
38 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 the clergy were observed to exchange sly looks withi 
 each other; and his father is described as having al- 
 most sunk with confusion from his seat. But these 
 feelings were of short duration, and soon gave place 
 to others, of a very different character. For now 
 were those wonderful faculties which he possessed, 
 for the first time, developed ; and now was first wit- 
 nessed that mysterious and almost supernatural trans- 
 formation of appearance, which the fire of his own 
 eloquence never failed to work in him. For as his 
 mind rolled along, and began to glow from its own 
 action, all the exnvice of the clown seemed to shed 
 themselves spontaneously. His attitude became erect 
 and lofty. The spirit of his genius awakened all his 
 features. His countenance shone with a nobleness 
 and grandeur which it had never before exhibited. 
 There was a lightning in his eyes which seemed to 
 rive the spectator. His action became graceful, bold, 
 and commanding ; and in the tones of his voice, but 
 more especially in his emphasis, there was a peculiar 
 charm, a magic, of which any one who ever heard him 
 will speak as soon as he is named, but of which no one 
 can give any adequate description. They can only 
 say that it struck upon the ear and upon the heart, 
 " in a manner which language cannot tell." Add to 
 all those, his wonder-working fancy, and the peculiar 
 phraseology in which he clothed its images; for he 
 painted to the heart with a force that almost petrified 
 it. In the language of those who heard him on this 
 occasion, " he made their blood run cold, and their 
 hair to rise on end." 
 
 It will not be difficult for any one who ever heard 
 this most extraordinary man, to believe the whole ac- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 39 
 
 count of this transaction, which is given hj his sur- 
 viving hearers; and from their account, the court- 
 house of Hanover county must have exhibited, on 
 this occasion, a scene as picturesque, as has been ever 
 witnessed in real life. They say that the people, 
 whose countenance had fallen as he arose, had heard 
 but a very few sentences before they began to look up ; 
 then to look at each other with surprise, as if doubt- 
 ing the evidence of their own senses ; then, attracted 
 by some strong gesture, struck by some majestic at- 
 titude, fascinated by the spell of his eye, the charm of 
 his emphasis, and the varied and commanding ex- 
 pression of his countenance, they could look away no 
 more. In less than twenty minutes, they might be 
 seen in every part of the house, on every bench, in 
 every window, stooping forward from their stands, 
 in deathlike silence; their features fixed in amaze- 
 ment and awe ; all their senses listening and riveted 
 upon the speaker, as if to catch the last strain of some 
 heavenly visitant. The mockery of the clergy was 
 soon turned into alarm; their triumph into confu- 
 sion and despair ; and at one burst of his rapid and 
 overwhelming invective, they fled from the bench in 
 precipitation and terror. As for the father, such was 
 his surprise, such his amazement, such his rapture, 
 that forgetting where he was, and the character which 
 he was filling, tears of ecstacy streamed down his 
 cheeks, without the power or inclination to repress 
 them. 
 
 The jury seem to have been so completely bewil- 
 dered, that they lost sight, not only of the act of 1748, 
 but that of 1758 also; for thoughtless even of the ad- 
 mitted right of the plaintiff, they had scarcely left 
 
40 LIFE OF PAJ^ICK HENRY. 
 
 the bar, when thej returned with a verdict of one 
 'penny damages. A motion was made for a new trial ; 
 but the court, too, had now lost the equipoise of their 
 judgment, and overruled the motion by a unanimous 
 vote. The verdict and judgment overruling the mo- 
 tion, were followed by redoubled acclamations, from 
 within and without the house. The people, who had 
 with difficulty kept their hands off their champion, 
 from the moment of closing his harangue, no sooner 
 saw the fate of the cause finally sealed, than they 
 seized him at the bar, and in spite of his own exer- 
 tions, and the continued cry of ^' order '^ from the 
 sheriffs and the court, they bore him out of the court- 
 house, and raising him on their shoulders, carried 
 him about the yard, in a kind of electioneering tri- 
 umph. 
 
 What a scene was this for a father's heart ! so sud- 
 den ; so unlooked for ; so delightfully overwhelming ! 
 At the time, he was not able to give utterance to any 
 sentiment ; but, a few" days after, when speaking of it 
 to Mr. Winston, he said, with the most engaging 
 modesty, and with a tremor of voice which showed 
 how much more he felt than he expressed, ^' Patrick 
 spoke in this cause near an hour ! and in a manner 
 that surprised me ! and showed himself well informed 
 on a subject, of which I did not think he had any 
 knowledge ! " 
 
 I have tried much to procure a sketch of this cele- 
 brated speech. But those of Mr. Henry's hearers 
 who survive, seem to have been bereft of their senses. 
 They can only tell you, in general, that they were 
 taken captive; and so delighted with their captivity, 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 41 
 
 that they followed implicitly, whithersoever he led 
 them: that, at his bidding, their tears flowed from 
 pity, and their cheeks flushed with indignation : that 
 when it was over, they felt as if they had just awaked 
 from some ecstatic dream, of which they were unable 
 to recall or connect the particulars. It was such a 
 speech as they believe had never before fallen from 
 the lips of man; and to this day, the old people of 
 that county cannot conceive that a higher compli- 
 ment can be paid to a speaker, than to say of him, in 
 their own homely phrase : — " He is almost equal to 
 Patrick, wlien he plead against the parsons.^^ 
 
 The only topic of this speech of which any authen- 
 tic account remains, is the order of the king in coun- 
 cil, whereby the act of 1758 had been declared void. / 
 This subject had in truth been disposed of by the de- 
 murrer ; and, in strictness of proceeding, neither Mr. 
 Henry nor the jury had any thing to do with it. The 
 laxity of the county-court practice, however, indulged 
 him in the widest career he chose to take, and he laid 
 hold of this point, neither with a feeble nor hesitating 
 hand ; but boldly and vigorously pressed it upon the 
 jury, and that, too, with very powerful effect. He 
 insisted on the connection and reciprocal duties be- 
 tween the king and his subjects; maintained that gov- 
 ernment was a conditional compact, composed of 
 mutual and dependent covenants, of which a violation 
 by one party discharged the other; and intrepidly 
 contended that the disregard which had been shown, 
 in this particular, to the pressing wants of the colony, 
 was an instance of royal misrule, which had thus far 
 dissolved the political compact, and left the people at 
 
42 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 liberty to consult tlieir own safety; that they had 
 consulted it by the act of 1758, which, therefore, not- 
 withstanding the dissent of the king and his counsel, 
 ought to be considered as the law of the land, and 
 the only legitimate measure of the claims of the 
 clergy. 
 
 Immediately on the decision of this cause, he was 
 retained in all the cases, within the range of his 
 practice, which depended on the same question. But 
 no other case was ever brought to trial. They were, 
 all throughout the colony, dismissed by the plaintiffs ; 
 nor was any appeal ever prosecuted in the case of Mr. 
 Maury. The reason assigned for this by Mr. Camm 
 is, that the legislature had voted money to support the 
 appeal on the part of the defendants, and that the 
 clergy were not rich enough to contend against the 
 whole wealth and strength of the colony.* 
 
 The clergy took their revenge in an angry pam- 
 phlet from the pen of Mr. Camm, in which a very con- 
 temptuous account is given both of the advocate and 
 the court. Mr. Henry is stigmatized in it as an ob- 
 scure attorney: and the epithet was true enough as to 
 the time past, but it was now true no longer. His 
 
 * Mr. Camm is right as to the interference of the legis- 
 lature. We have not been able, however, to find any reso- 
 lution of the legislature to this effect, earlier than the 
 7th of April, 1767: whereas Mr. Maury's case was decided 
 in Hanover, on the 1st December, 1763. The following is 
 extracted from the journal of the day first mentioned: — 
 
 " On a motion made — 
 
 "Resolved, that the committee of correspondence be di- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 43 
 
 sun had risen with a splendor which had never before 
 been witnessed in that colony; and never afterward 
 did it disgrace this glorious rising. 
 
 rected to write to the agent, to defend the parish collectors 
 from all appeals from judgments here given, in suits 
 brought by the clergy, for recovering their salaries, paya- 
 ble on or before the last day of May, 1759; and that this 
 house will engage to defray the expense thereof." 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 ENTERS THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES, 1763-1765. 
 
 It is almost unnecessary to say that the display 
 which Mr. Henry had made in " the parsons' cause/' 
 as it was popularly called, placed him at once at the 
 head of his profession, in that quarter of the colony 
 in which he practised. He became the theme of every 
 tongue. He had exhibited a degree of eloquence, 
 which the people had never before witnessed ; a 
 species of eloquence, too, entirely new at the bar, and 
 altogether his own. He had formed it on no living 
 model, for there vras none such in the country. He 
 had not copied it from books, for they had described 
 nothing of the kind ; or if they had, he was a stranger 
 to their contents. 'Not had he formed it himself, by 
 solitary study and exercise; for he was far too indo- 
 lent for any such process. It was so unexampled, so 
 unexpected, so instantaneous, and so transcendent in 
 its character, that it had, to the people, very much the 
 appearance of supernatural inspiration. He was 
 styled '• iJie orator cf nature; '^ and was, on that ac- 
 count, much more revered by the people than if he 
 had been formed by the severest discipline of the 
 schools ; for they considered him as bringing his cre- 
 dentials directly from heaven, and owing no part of 
 his greatness to human institutions. 
 
 U 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 45 
 
 There were other considerations, also, which drew 
 him still more closely to the hosom of the people. 
 The society of Virginia was at that time pretty 
 strongly discriminated. A gentleman who lived in 
 those days, and who had the best opportunities of 
 judging on the subject, has furnished the following 
 interesting picture of it : — 
 
 " To state the differences between the classes of 
 society, and the lines of demarcation which separated 
 them, would be difficult. The law, you know, admit- 
 ted none, except as to the twelve counsellors. Yet in 
 a country insulated from the European world, insu- 
 lated from its sister colonies, with whom there was 
 scarcely any intercourse, little visited by foreigners, 
 and having little matter to act upon within itself, 
 certain families had risen to splendor by wealth, and 
 by the preservation of it from generation to genera- 
 tion, under the law of entails ; some had produced a 
 series of men of talents ; families in general had re- 
 mained stationary on the grounds of their forefath- 
 ers, for there was no emigration to the westward in 
 those days; the Irish, who had gotten possession of 
 the valley between the Blue Ridge and the I^orth 
 Mountain, formed a barrier over which none ven- 
 tured to leap ; and their manners presented no attrac- 
 tion to the lowlanders to settle among them. In such 
 a state of things, scarcely admitting any change of 
 station, society would settle itself down into several 
 strata, separated by no marked lines, but shading off 
 imperceptibly from top to bottom, nothing disturbing 
 the order of their repose. There were, then, first, 
 aristocrats, composed of the great landholders, who 
 bad seated themselves below tidewater on the main 
 
46 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 rivers, and lived in a stpe of luxury and extrava- 
 gance insupportable by the other inhabitants, and 
 which, indeed, ended in several instances in the ruin 
 of their own fortunes. I^ext to these were what 
 might be called half-breeds ; the descendants of the 
 younger sons and daughters of the aristocrats, who 
 inherited the pride of their ancestors, without their 
 wealth. Then came the pretenders, men who, from 
 vanity or the impulse of growing wealth, or from that 
 enterprise which is natural to talents, sought to de- 
 tach themselves from the plebeian ranks, to Avhich 
 they properly belonged, and imitated, at some dis- 
 tance, the manners and habits of the great. Next to 
 these, were a solid and independent yeomanry, look- 
 ing askance at those above, yet not venturing to jostle 
 them. And last and lowest, a feculum of beings, the 
 very dregs of society, called overseers, the most ab- 
 ject, degraded, unprincipled race ; always cap in hand 
 to the dons who employed them, and furnishing ma- 
 terials for the exercise of their pride, insolence, and 
 spirit of domination.'' 
 
 It was from the body of the yeomanry, whom my 
 correspondent represents as '^ looking askance '' at 
 those above them, that Mr. Henry proceeded. He 
 belonged to the body of the people. His birth, educa- 
 tion, fortune, and manners, made him one of them- 
 selves. They regarded him, therefore, as their own 
 property, and sent to them expressly for the very pur- 
 pose of humbling the pride of the mighty, and exalt- 
 ing the honor of his own class. 
 
 Mr. Henry had too much sagacity not to see this 
 advantage, and too much good sense not to improve it. 
 He seems to have formed to himself, very early in 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 47 
 
 life, just views of society, and to have acted upon 
 them with the most laudable system and perseverance. 
 He regarded government as instituted solely for the 
 good of the people, and not for the benefit of those 
 who had contrived to make a job of it. He looked 
 upon the body of the people, therefore, as the basis of 
 society, the fountain of all power, and, directly or in- 
 directly, of all offices and honors, which had been in- 
 stituted originally for their use. He made it no 
 secret, therefore; nay he made it his boast, that on 
 every occasion, " he bowed to the majesty of the peo- 
 ple.'' With regard to himself, he saw very distinctly 
 that all his hopes rested on the people's favor. He 
 therefore adhered to them with unshaken fidelity. 
 He retained their manners, their customs, all their 
 modes of life, with religious caution. He dressed 
 as plainly as the plainest of them; ate only the 
 homely fare, and drank the simple beverage of the 
 country; mixed with them on a footing of the most 
 entire and perfect equality, and conversed with them, 
 even in their own vicious and depraved pronuncia- 
 tion.* 
 
 Middleton, in his life of Cicero, tells us, that the 
 first great speech of that orator, his defence of Ros- 
 cius of America, was made at the age of twenty- 
 
 * Governor Page relates, that he once heard him express 
 the following sentiments, in this vicious pronunciation: — 
 '' Naiteral parts is better than all the larnin upon yearth;"' 
 but the accuracy of Mr. Page's memory is questioned in 
 this particular, by the acquaintances of Mr. Henry, who 
 say, that he was too good a grammarian to have uttered 
 such a sentence, although they admit the inaccuracy of 
 his pronunciation, in some of the words imputed to him. 
 
48 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 seven; the same age, be aods, at which the learned 
 have remarked, that Demosthenes distinguished him- 
 self in the assembly of the Athenians : — " as if this 
 were the age/' I quote his own words, ^' at which 
 these great genios regularly bloomed toward matur- 
 ity." It is rather curious, than important, to ob- 
 serve, that Mr. Henry furnishes another instance in 
 support of this theory; since it was precisely in the 
 same year of his life, that his talents first became 
 known to himself and to the world. 'Nor let the ad- 
 mirer of antiquity revolt at our coupling the name of 
 Plenry with those of Cicero and Demosthenes : it can 
 be no degradation to the orator either of Greece or 
 Rome, that his name stands enrolled on the same page 
 with that of a man of whom such a judge of eloquence 
 as Mr. Jefferson has said, that '^ he was the greatest 
 orator that ever lived.^^ 
 
 But the taste of professional fame which Mr. Henry 
 had derived frem the '^ parsons' cause," exquisite as it 
 must have been, was not sufficient to inspire him with 
 a thirst for the learning of his profession. He had 
 an insuperable aversion to the old black-letter of the 
 law-hoohs, (which was often a topic of raillery with 
 him,) and he was never able to conquer it, except for 
 preparation in some particular cause. ISTo love of dis- 
 tinction, no necessity, however severe, were strong 
 enough to bind him down to a regular course of read- 
 ing. He could not brook the confinement. The rea- 
 soning of the law was too artificial, and too much 
 cramped for him. While unavoidably engaged in it, 
 he felt as if manacled. His mind was perpetually 
 struggling to break away. His genius delighted in 
 liberty and space, in which it might roam at large, 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 49 
 
 and feast on every variety of intellectual enjoyment. 
 Hence, he was never profound in the learning of the 
 law. On a question merely legal, his inferiors, in 
 point of talents, frequently embarrassed and foiled 
 him ; and it required all the resources of his extraor- 
 dinary mind to support the distinction which he had 
 now gained. 
 
 The most successful practice in the county courts 
 was, in those days, but a slender dependence for a 
 family. ISTotwithstanding, therefore, the great addi- 
 tion to his business, which we have noticed, Mr. 
 Henry seems still to have been pressed by Avant. 
 With the hope of improving his situation, he re- 
 moved, in the year 1764, to the county of Louisa, and 
 resided at a place called the Roundabout. Here I 
 have learned nothing remarkable of him, unless it 
 may be thought so, that he pursued his favorite 
 amusement of hunting with increased ardor. " After 
 his removal to Louisa,'^ says my informant, ^^ he has 
 been known to hunt deer, frequently for several days 
 together, carrying his provision with him, andatnight 
 encamping in the woods. After the hunt was over he 
 would go from the ground to Louisa court, clad in a 
 coarse cloth coat, stained with all the trophies of the 
 chase, greasy leather breeches, ornamented in the same 
 way, leggings for boots, and a pair of saddlebags on 
 his arm. Thus accoutred, he ^ould enter the court- 
 house, take up the first of his causes that chanced to 
 be called ; and if there was any scope for his peculiar 
 talent, throw his adversary into the background, and 
 astonish both court and jury, by the powerful effu- 
 sions of his natural eloquence. 
 
 There must have been something irresistibly cap- 
 
50 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 tivating in Mr. Henry's mode of speaking, evenontte 
 most trivial subjects. The late Judge Lyons has been 
 heard to say of himself, while practising with Mr. 
 Henry, that ^* he could write a letter, or draw a dec- 
 laration or plea at the bar, with as much accuracy, as 
 he could in his office, under all circumstances, except 
 when Patrich rose to speak; but that whenever he 
 rose, although it might be on so trifling a subject as a 
 summons and petition for twenty shillings, he was 
 obliged to lay down his pen, and could not write an- 
 other word, until the speech was finished." Such was 
 the charm of his voice and manner, and the interest- 
 ing originality of his conceptions ! 
 
 In the fall of 1764, Mr. Henry had an opportunity 
 of exhibiting himself on a new theatre. A contest 
 occurred in the house of burgesses, in the case of Mr. 
 James Littlepage, the returned member for the 
 county of Hanover. The rival candidate and peti- 
 tioner was Nathaniel West Dandridge. The charge 
 against Mr. Littlepage was bribery and corruption. 
 The parties were heard by their counsel, before the 
 committee of privileges and elections, and Mr. Henry 
 was on this occasion employed by Mr. Dandridge. 
 
 Williamsburg, then the seat of government, was 
 the focus of fashion and high life. The residence of 
 the governor, (the immediate representative of the 
 sovereign,) the royal state in which he lived, the 
 polite and brilliant circle which he always had about 
 him, diffused their influence through the city and the 
 circumjacent country, and filled Williamsburg with 
 a degree of emulation, taste, and elegance, of which 
 we can form no conception by the appearances of the 
 present day. During the session of the house of bur- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 61 
 
 gesses, too, these stately modes of life assumed their 
 richest forms ; the town was filled with a concourse of 
 visitors, as well as citizens, attired in their gayest 
 colors; the streets exhibited a continual scene of ani- 
 mated and glittering tumult; the houses, of costly 
 profusion. 
 
 Such was the scene in which Mr. Henry was now 
 called upon, for the first time, to make his appear- 
 ance. He made no preparation for it, but went down 
 just in the kind of garb which he had been accus- 
 tomed to wear all his life, and is said to have worn on 
 this occasion particularly, a suit which had suffered 
 very considerably in the service. The contrast which 
 he exhibited with the general elegance of the place, 
 was so striking, as to call upon him the eyes of all the 
 curious and the mischievous ; and, as he moved awk- 
 wardly about, in his coarse and threadbare dress, with 
 a countenance of abstraction and total unconcern as 
 to what was passing around him, interesting as it 
 seemed to every one else, he was stared at by some as 
 a prodigy, and regarded by others as an unfortunate 
 being, whose senses were disordered. When he went 
 to attend the committee of privileges and elections, 
 the matter was still worse. " The proud airs of aris- 
 tocracy,'' says Judge Tyler, detailing this incident of 
 Mr. Henry's life, added to the dignified forms of 
 that truly august body, were enough to have deterred 
 any man possessing less firmness and independence of 
 spirit than Mr. Henry. He was ushered with great 
 state and ceremony into the room of the committee, 
 whose chairman was Col. Bland.* Mr. Henry was 
 
 * Mr. Tyler says, " that enlightened and amiable man, 
 John Blair; " but in this he is corrected by the journal, 
 
52 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 dressed in very coarse apparel; no one knew any 
 thing of him ; ^ and scarcely was he treated with de- 
 cent respect by any one except the chairman, who 
 could not do so much violence to his feelings and 
 principles, as to depart, on any occasion, from the del- 
 icacy of the gentleman. But the general contempt 
 was soon changed into as general admiration ; for Mr. 
 Henry distinguished himself by a copious and bril- 
 liant display on the great subject of the rights of suf- 
 frage, superior to any thing that had been heard be- 
 fore within those walls. Such a burst of eloquence, 
 from a man so very plain and ordinary in his appear- 
 ance, struck the committee with amazement ; so that a 
 deep and perfect silence took place during the speech, 
 and not a sound but from his lips was to be heard in 
 the room." So far, Judge Tyler. Judge Winston, 
 relating the same incident, says : " Some time after, 
 a member of the house, speaking to me of this occur- 
 rence, said, he had, for a day or two, observed an ill- 
 dressed 3' oung man sauntering in the lobby ; that he 
 seemed to be a stranger to every body, and he had not 
 the curiosity to inquire his name; but that, attend- 
 ing when the case of the contested election came on, 
 he was surprised to find this same person counsel for 
 one of the parties ; and still more so, when he deliv- 
 ered an argument superior to anything he had ever 
 heard." The case, according to the report of the com- 
 
 which shows that Mr. Bland was the chairman of the com- 
 mittee of privileges and elections for that year. 
 
 * That is, I presume, of his person; for after the very 
 splendid exhibition which he made in the parsons' cause, 
 his name could not have been wholly unknown: the text, 
 however, gives the words of my correspondent faithfully. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 53 
 
 •mittee of privileges and elections, is not one .vhicli 
 ^ems to present Veh scope for a very interesting 
 Sssion- but Mr. Henry's was -eo those -„ds 
 
 which impart interest to every ^^^f,*^' .^^^^ *;"tin- 
 The same year, 1764, is "memorable for the o«g;^ 
 ation of that great question which led finally to the 
 Xendence 'of theVited States. It h- been -d 
 hy a'gentleman, at least as well ^uaMed^^^ 
 any other now alive,* that iur. -n-eui.y J^ 
 
 gave the first impulse to the ball of the revolution 
 Torder to show'the correctness of .tl- PO^^' ^ 
 is proper to ascertain the precise point to which the 
 controversy with Great Britain had advanced, when 
 Mr HenrJ first presented himself in the character of 
 
 ' In STh, 1764, the British parliament had passed 
 resolutions, preparatory to the levying a revenue on 
 resouuiuii=>, 1 1" •' Thp«p resolutions were 
 
 the colonies by a stamp tax. Ihese ^esoiui 
 communicated to the house of burgesses of Virginia 
 through their committee of correspondence, by the 
 CO o2l agent ; and having been maturely considered 
 resulted in the appointment of a special committee to 
 nrepare an address to the king, a memorial to the 
 fords and a remonstrance to the house of commons. 
 On the 18th of December, 1764, these papers were 
 Sported and (after various amendments, which con- 
 B der S dilu ed their spirit) received the concur- 
 te of'the council. It is evident that, .vhi e they 
 affirm, in clear and strong te™s, he const t„tona^ 
 exemption of the colony from taxation l>ythe British 
 parliament, they breathe, nevertheless, a tone so sup- 
 
 ♦Mr. Jefferson. 
 
54 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 pliant, and exhibit such a picture of anticipated suf- 
 fering from the pressure of the tax on the exhausted 
 resources of the colony, as to indicate that no oppo- 
 sition beyond remonstrance was, at this time, medi- 
 tated. Remonstrance, however, was vain. In Jan- 
 uary, 1765, the famous stamp act was passed, to take 
 effect in the colonies on the first of IS'ovember follow- 
 ing. The annunciation of this measure seems at first 
 to have stunned the continent from one extremity to 
 the other. The presses, Avhich spread the intelligence 
 among the people, were themselves manifestly con- 
 founded ; and so far from inspiring the energy of re- 
 sistance, they seemed rather disposed to have looked 
 oiit for topics of consolation, under submission.* The 
 truth is, that all ranks of society were confounded. 
 ISTo one knew what to hope, w^hat more to fear, or 
 what course was best to be taken. Some, indeed, were 
 fond enough to entertain hopes that the united re- 
 monstrances of the colonial legislatures, the fate of 
 which had not yet been heard, might induce the 
 mother-country to change her policy; these hopes, 
 however, w^ere faint ; and few there were that enter- 
 tained them. Many considered submission, in the 
 present state of the colonies, as unavoidable; and 
 that this was the opinion of Doctor Franklin himself, 
 is apparent from the remark with which he took leave 
 
 * Thus in the Pennsylvania Gazette of the 30th of May, 
 1765, — " We hear the sums of money arising from the 
 new stamp duties in North America, for the first five 
 years, are chiefly to be applied toward making commo- 
 dious post-roads from one province to another, erecting 
 bridges where necessary, and other measures equally im- 
 portant to facilitate an extensive trade." 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 55 
 
 of Mr. Ingersoll, on his departure for America.* 
 The idea of resistance, by force, was nowhere glanced 
 at in the most distant manner ; no heart seems to have 
 been bold enough, at first, to conceive it. Men, on 
 other occasions marked for intrepidity and decision, 
 now hung back, unwilling to submit, and yet afraid 
 to speak out in the language of bold open defiance. 
 It was just at this moment of despondency in some 
 quarters, suspense in others, and surly and reluctant 
 submission wherever submission appeared, that Pat- 
 rick Henry stood forth to raise the drooping spirit of 
 the people, and to unite all hearts and hands in the 
 cause of his country. With the view of making way 
 for him, and placing him in the public councils of 
 his country, Mr. William Johnson, who had been 
 elected a member of the house of burgesses for the 
 county of Louisa, vacated his seat by accepting the 
 commission of coroner. The writ of election to sup- 
 ply his place was awarded on the first of May, 1765, 
 and on the 20th day of that month, it appears by the 
 journals, that Mr. Henry was added to the committee 
 for courts of justice. 
 
 Here, again, he was upon a new theatre, and per- 
 sonally unknown, except to those few who might have 
 hear<l his argument on the contested election of Mr. 
 Littlepage, the preceding winter. His dress and man- 
 ners were still those of the plain planter, and, in his 
 personal appearance, there was nothing to excite cu- 
 riosity, or awaken expectation. The forms of the 
 house, of which he was now for the first time a mem- 
 ber, were, as has been stated, most awfully dignified ; 
 
 * " Go home, and tell your countrymen to get children 
 as fast as they can." — Gordon. 
 
56 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 its active members were composed of the landed aris- 
 tocracy and their adherents; and amongst them were 
 men to whose superiority of talents, as well as in- 
 fluence and power, the yeomanry of the country had 
 long been accustomed to bow with tacit and submis- 
 sive deference. 
 
 Among those whom Patrick Henry was destined to 
 meet in the arena of debate, w^ere the following: John 
 Kobinson, speaker of the house, one of the wealthiest 
 men of the colony, and acknowledged head of the 
 landed aristocracy; Peyton Randolph, the king's at- 
 torney-general, eminent as a lawyer and parliament- 
 arian; Richard Bland, one of the most enlightened 
 and highly educated men of the colony; Edmund 
 Pendleton, the lawyer and statesman with few equals 
 and no superiors ; George Wythe, the elegant classical 
 scholar; and Richard Henry Lee, the Cicero of the 
 house. 
 
 These were some of the stars of first magnitude 
 that shone in the house of burgesses in the year 1765. 
 There was yet a cluster of minor luminaries, which 
 it were endless to delineate, but whose blended rays 
 contributed to form that uncommon galaxy in which 
 the plebeian Henry was now called upon to take his 
 place. What had he to enable him to cope with all 
 this lustre of talents and erudition ? Very little more 
 than the native strength of his character ; a constancy 
 of soul, which no array of power could shake ; a gen- 
 ius that designed with all the boldness of Angelo, and 
 an imagination that colored with all the felicity of 
 Titian. 
 
 It has been already stated, that Mr. Henry was 
 elected with express reference to an opposition to the 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 57 
 
 stamp act. It was not, however, expected by his 
 constituents, or meditated by himself, that he should 
 lead the opposition. The addresses of the preceding 
 year, made to the king, lords, and commons, in which 
 so strong a truth had been stated, as that the stamp 
 act, if persisted in, would reduce the colony to a 
 state of slavery, founded a hope that those who had 
 commenced the opposition by remonstrance, would 
 continue to give it the eclat of their high names, by 
 resistance of a bolder character, if bolder should be 
 necessary. Mr. Henry waited, therefore, to file in 
 under the first champion that should raise the banner 
 of colonial liberty. In the meantime, another subject 
 unexpectedly occurred to call him up, and it was on 
 this other that he made his dehut in the house. 
 
 The incident has been stated to me in the following 
 terms, by Mr. Jefferson who heard the debate: — 
 " The gentlemen of this country had, at that time, 
 become deeply involved in that state of indebtment 
 which has since ended in so general a crush of their 
 fortunes. Mr. Kobinson, the speaker, was also the 
 treasurer, an officer always chosen by the assembly. 
 He was an excellent man, liberal, friendly, and rich. 
 He had been drawn in to lend, on his own account, 
 great sums of money to persons of this description ; 
 and especially those who were of the assembly. He 
 used freely for this purpose the public money, con- 
 fiding for its replacement in his own means, and the 
 securities he had taken on those loans. About this 
 time, however, he became sensible that his deficit to 
 the public was become so enormous, as that a discov- 
 ery must soon take place, for as yet the public had no 
 suspicion of it. He devised, therefore, with his 
 
58 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 friends in the assembly, a plan for a public loan 
 office, to a certain amount, from which moneys might 
 be lent on public account, and on good landed security 
 to individuals. I find, in Rowle's Virginia Gazette 
 of the 17th of May, 1765, this proposition for a loan 
 office presented, its advantages detailed, and the plan 
 explained. It seems to have been done by a borrow- 
 ing member, from the feeling with which the motives 
 are expressed, and to have been preparatory to the 
 intended motion. Between the 17th and 30th, (the 
 latter being the date of Mr. Henry's resolutions on 
 the stamp act,) the motion for a loan office was ac- 
 cordingly brought forward in the house of burgesses ; 
 and had it succeeded, the debts due to Kobinson on 
 these loans would have been transferred to the public, 
 and his deficit thus completely covered. This state of 
 things, however, was not yet known : but Mr. Henry 
 attacked the scheme on other general grounds, in that 
 style of bold, grand, and overwhelming eloquence, 
 for which he became so justly celebrated afterward. 
 I had been intimate with him from the j'Car 1759-60, 
 and felt an interest in what concerned him ; and I can 
 never forget a particular exclamation of his in the 
 debate which electrified his hearers. It had been 
 urged, that, from certain unhappy circumstances of 
 the colony, men of substantial property had con- 
 tracted debts, which, if exacted suddenly, must ruin 
 them and their families, but with a little indulgence 
 of time, might be paid with ease. ^ What, sir,' ex- 
 claimed Mr. Henry, in animaderting on this, ^ is it 
 proposed then, to reclaim the spendthrift from his 
 dissipation and extravagance, by filling his pockets 
 ■with money ? ' These expressions are indelibly im- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 59 
 
 pressed on my memory. He laid open with so much 
 energy the spirit of favoritism, on which the proposi- 
 tion was founded, and the abuses to which it would 
 lead, that it was crushed in its birth. He carried 
 with him all the members of the upper counties, and 
 left a minority composed merely of the aristocracy of 
 the country. From this time his popularity swelled 
 apace ; and Mr. Robinson dying the year afterward, 
 his deficit was brought to light, and discovered the 
 true object of the proposition." * 
 
 The exclamation above quoted by my correspon- 
 dent as having electrified Mr. Henry's hearers, is a 
 
 * In reply to this communication, I stated my surprise 
 that no evidence of this motion was to be found on the 
 journals of the day, and begged my correspondent to ex- 
 plain it, which he does very satisfactorily in the following 
 terms: — "Abortive motions are not always entered on the 
 journals, or rather they are rarely entered. It is the 
 modern introduction of yeas and nays which has given 
 the means of placing a rejected motion on the journals: 
 and it is likely that the speaker, who, as treasurer, was 
 to be the loan officer, and had the direction of the jour- 
 nals, would choose to omit an entry of the motion in this 
 case. This accounts sufficiently for the absence of any 
 trace of the motion on the journals. There was no sus- 
 picion then, (so far at least as I knew), that Mr. Robinson 
 had used the public money in private loans to his friends, 
 and that the secret object of this scheme was to transfer 
 those debtors to the public, and thus clear his accounts. 
 I have diligently examined the names of the members on 
 the journals of 1764, to see if any were still living, to 
 whose memory we might recur on this subject; but I find 
 not a single one now remaining in life. This debate must 
 have been in 17G5 instead of 1764. The only surviving 
 member of that year is Paul Carrington, sen., esq., who 
 took his seat in the house after the debate in question. 
 
60 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 striking specimen of one oi his great excellences in 
 speaking; which was, the power of condensing the 
 substance of a long argument, into one short pithy 
 question. The hearer was surprised, in finding him- 
 self brought so suddenly and so clearly to a just con- 
 clusion. He could scarcely conceive how it was ef- 
 fected, and could not fail to regard, w^ith high admi- 
 ration, the power of that intellect which could come 
 at its ends by so short a course ; and work out its pur- 
 poses w^ith the quickness and certainty of magic. 
 
 The aristocracy were startled at such a phenome- 
 non from the plebeian ranks. They could not be 
 ' otherwise than indignant at the presumption of an 
 obscure and unpolished rustic, who, without asking 
 the support or countenance of any patron among 
 themselves, stood upon his own ground, and bearded 
 them even in their den. That this rustic should have 
 been able, too, by his single strength, to baffle their 
 whole phalanx and put it to rout, was a mortification 
 too humiliating to be easily borne. They affected to 
 ridicule his vicious and depraved pronunciation, the 
 homespun coarseness of his language, and his hypo- 
 critical canting in relation to his humility and igno- 
 rance. But they could not help admiring and envying 
 his wonderful gifts ; that thorough knowledge of the 
 human heart which he displayed ; that power of 
 throwing his reasoning into short and clear aphor- 
 isms ; which, desultory as they were, supplied, in a 
 great degree, the place of method and logic ; that im- 
 agination so copious, poetic, and sublime; the irresis- 
 tible power with which he caused every passion to 
 rise at his bidding; and all the rugged might and 
 majesty of his eloquence. From this moment, he had 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 61 
 
 no friends on the aristocratic side of the house. They 
 looked upon him with envy and with terror. They 
 were forced at length to praise his genius; but that 
 praise was wrung from them, with painful reluc- 
 tance. They would have denied it if they could. 
 They would have overshadowed it; and did at first 
 try to overshadow it, by magnifying his defects; but 
 it would have been as easy for them to eclipse the 
 splendor of the sun, by pointing to his spots. 
 
 If, however, he had lost one side of the house by 
 his undaunted manner of blowing up this aristocratic 
 project, he had made the other side his fast friends 
 Tliey had listened with admiration, unmixed with 
 envy. Their souls had been struck with amazement 
 and rapture, and thrilled with unspeakable sensa- 
 tions which they had never felt before. The man, 
 too, who had produced these effects, was one of them- 
 selves. This was balm to them; for there is a wide 
 difference between that distant admiration, which we 
 pay as a tax, due to long-standing merit, in superior 
 rank, and that throbbing applause which rushes spon- 
 taneouslv and warm, from the heart, toward a new 
 man and an equal. There is always something of 
 latent repining, approaching to resentment, mingled 
 with that respect which is exacted from us by rank; 
 and we feel a secret gratification in seeing it hum- 
 bled. In the same proportion, we love the man who 
 has given us this gratification, and avenged, as it 
 were, our own past indignities. Such was precisely 
 the state of feeling which Mr. Henry produced, on 
 the present occasion. The lower ranks of the house 
 beheld and heard him with gratitude and veneration. 
 After this victorious sally upon their party, the 
 
62 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 former leaders of the house were not very well dis- 
 posed to look with a favorable eye on any proposition 
 which he should make. They had less idea of con- 
 tributing to foster the popularity and pamper the 
 power of a man, who seemed born to be their scourge, 
 and to drag down their ancient honors to the dust. 
 It was in this unpropitious state of things, after hav- 
 ing waited in vain for some step to be taken on the 
 other side of the house, and when the session was 
 within three days of its expected close, that Mr. 
 Henry introduced his celebrated resolutions on the 
 stamp act. 
 
 I will not withhold from the reader a note of this 
 transaction from the pen of Mr. Henry himself. It 
 is a curiosity, and highly worthy of preservation. 
 After his death, there was found among his papers 
 one sealed, and thus endorsed : " Enclosed are the 
 resolutions of the Virginia assembly in 1765, con- 
 cerning the stamp act. Let my executors open this 
 paper.'' Within was found the following copy of the 
 resolutions, in Mr. Henry's handwriting: — 
 
 '^ Resolved, That the first adventurers and settlers 
 of this, his majesty's colony and dominion, brought 
 with them, and transmitted to their posterity, and all 
 other his majesty's subjects, since inhabiting in this, 
 his majesty's said colony, all the privileges, fran- 
 chises, and immunities, that have at any time been 
 held, enjoyed and possessed bj^ the people of Great 
 Britain. 
 
 ^' Resolved, That by two royal charters, granted by 
 King James the first, the colonists, aforesaid, are de- 
 clared entitled to all the privileges, liberties, and 
 immunities of denizens and natural-born subjects, to 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 63 
 
 all intents and purposes, as if they had been abiding 
 and born within the realm of England. 
 
 " Resolved, That the taxation of the people by 
 themselves, or by persons chosen by themselves to rep- 
 resent them, who can only know what taxes the peo- 
 ple are able to bear, and the easiest mode of raising 
 them, and are equally affected by such taxes them- 
 selves, is the distinguishing characteristic of British 
 freedom, and without which the ancient constitution 
 cannot subsist. 
 
 '^ Resolved, That his majesty's liege people of this 
 most ancient colony, have uninterruptedly enjoyed 
 the right of being thus governed by their o^\ti assem- 
 bly, in the article of their taxes and internal police, 
 and that the same hath never been forfeited, or any 
 other way given up, but hath been constantly recog- 
 nized by the king and people of Great Britain. 
 
 " Resolved, therefore, That the general assembly 
 of this colony have the sole right and power to lay 
 taxes and impositions upon the inhabitants of this 
 colony ; and that every attempt to vest such power in 
 any person or persons whatsoever, other than the gen- 
 eral assembly aforesaid, has a manifest tendency to 
 destroy British as well as American freedom." 
 
 On the back of the paper containing those resolu- 
 tions, is the following endorsement, which is also in 
 the handwriting of Mr. Henry himself : — '^ The with- 
 in resolutions passed the house of burgesses in May, 
 1765. They formed the first opposition to the stamp 
 act, and the scheme of taxing America by the British 
 parliament. All the colonies, either through fear, or 
 want of opportunity to form an opposition, or from 
 influence of some kind or other, had remained silent. 
 
64 LIFE OF P^RICK HENRY. 
 
 I had been for the first time elected a burgess, a few 
 days before ; was young, inexperienced, unacquainted 
 with the forms of the house, and the members that 
 composed it. Finding the men of weight averse to 
 opposition, and the commencement of the tax at hand, 
 and that no person was likely to step forth, I deter- 
 mined to venture, and alone, unadvised, and un- 
 assisted, on a blank leaf of an old law-book * wrote 
 the within. Upon offering them to the house, violent 
 debates ensued. Many threats were uttered, and 
 much abuse cast on me, by the party for submission. 
 After a long and warm contest, the resolutions passed 
 by a very small majority, perhaps of one or two only. 
 The alarm spread throughout America with astonish- 
 ing quickness, and the ministerial party were over- 
 whelmed. The great point of resistance to British 
 taxation was universally established in the colonies. 
 This brought on the war, which finally separated the 
 two countries, and gave independence to ours. 
 Whether this will prove a blessing or a curse will 
 depend upon the use our people make of the blessings 
 which a erracious God hath bestowed on us. If thev 
 are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are 
 of a contrary character, they will be miserable. Right- 
 eousness alone can exalt them as a nation. 
 
 " Reader ! whoever thou art, remember this ; and in 
 thy sphere, practise virtue thyself, and encourage it 
 in others. — P. Henry." 
 
 Such is the short, plain, and modest account which 
 Mr. Henry has left of this transaction. But other in- 
 teresting particulars have been handed down by tra- 
 dition, and live still in the recollection of one, at 
 
 * Judge Tyler says, "an old Coke upon Littleton." 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 65 
 
 least, now in life, as the reader will presently see by 
 his own statement. 
 
 The resolutions having been prepared in the man- 
 ner which has been mentioned, were shown by Mr. 
 Henry to two members only, before they were offered 
 to the house; these were John Fleming, a most re- 
 spectable member for the county of Cumberland, and 
 George Johnston, for that of Fairfax.'' * 
 
 The reader will remark that the first four resolu- 
 tions, as left by Mr. Henry, do little more than re- 
 affirm the principles advanced in the address, memo- 
 rial, and remonstrance of the preceding year ; that is, 
 they deny the right assumed by the British parlia- 
 ment, and assert the exclusive right of the colony to 
 tax itself. There is an important difference, however, 
 between those state papers and the resolutions, in the 
 point of time and the circumstances under which they 
 were brought forward, for the address and other state 
 
 * Judge Winston, on the authority of Mr. Henry himself. 
 The report of the day, that Mr. Johnston drew the reso- 
 lutions, is certainly unfounded. Mr. Johnston, now only 
 known from the circumstances of his having seconded Mr. 
 Henry's resolutions, is one of those many friends of liberty 
 who are sliding fast from the recollection of their coun- 
 try, and who deserve to be rescued from oblivion, by a 
 more particular notice than it is in my power to bestow 
 upon them. Of Mr. Johnston, I can learn only, that he 
 was a lawyer in the Northern Neck, highly respected in 
 his profession; a scholar, distinguished for vigor of intel- 
 lect, cogency of argument, firmness of character, love of 
 order, and devotion to the cause of rational liberty — in 
 chort, exactly calculated by his love of the cause, and the 
 broad and solid basis of his understanding to uphold the 
 magnificent structure of Henry's eloquence. 
 
66 I^IFE OF P^IRICK HENRY, 
 
 papers were prepared before the stamp act had 
 passed ; they do nothing more, therefore, than call in 
 question, by a course of respectful and submissive 
 reasoning, the propriety of exercising the right, be- 
 fore it had been exercised ; and they are, moreover, 
 addressed to the legislature of Great Britain, hy the 
 way of prevention^ and in a strain of decent remon- 
 strance and argument. But at the time v^hen Mr. 
 Henry offered his resolutions, the stamp act had 
 passed; and the resolutions were intended for the 
 people of the colonies. It will also be observed, that 
 the fifth resolution, as given by Mr. Henry, contains 
 the bold assertion, that every attempt to vest the 
 power of taxation over the colonies in any person or 
 persons whatsoever, other than the general assembly, 
 had a manifest tendency to destroy British, as well 
 as American freedom ; which was asserting, in effect, 
 that the act which had passed was an encroachment 
 on the rights and liberties of the people, and 
 amounted to a direct charge of tyranny and despotism 
 against the British king, lords, and commons. 
 
 It is not wonderful that even the friends of colonial 
 rights who knew the feeble and defenceless situa- 
 tion of this country, should be startled at a step so 
 bold and daring. That effect was produced ; and the 
 resolutions were resisted, not only by the aristocracy 
 of the house, but by many of those who were after- 
 ward distinguished among the brightest champions 
 of American liberty. 
 
 The following is Mr. Jefferson's account of this 
 transaction : 
 
 " Mr. Henry moved and Mr. Johnston seconded 
 these resolutions successively. They were opposed by 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 67 
 
 Messrs. Randolph, Bland, Pendleton, Wythe, and all 
 the old members, whose influence in the house had, 
 till then, been unbroken. They did it, not from any 
 question of our rights, but on the ground that the 
 same sentiments had been, at their preceding session, 
 expressed in a more conciliatory form, to which the 
 answers were not yet received. But toiTents of sub- 
 lime eloquence from Henry,, backed by the solid rea- 
 soning of Johnston, prevailed. The last, however, 
 and strongest resolution w^as carried but by a single 
 vote. The debate on it was most bloody. I was then 
 but a student, and stood at the door of communica- 
 tion between the house and the lobby (for as yet 
 there was no gallery) during the whole debate and 
 vote ; and I well remember that, after the numbers 
 on the division were told and declared from the chair, 
 Peyton Randolph (the attorney-general) came out at 
 the door where I was standing, and said, as he en- 
 tered the lobby : ' By God, I would have given 500 
 guineas for a single vote : ' for one would have di- 
 vided the house, and Robinson was in the chair, who 
 he knew would have negatived the resolution. Mr. 
 Henry left town that evening; and the next morn- 
 ing before the meeting of the house, Col. Peter Ran- 
 dolph, then of the coimcil, came to the hall of bur- 
 gesses, and sat at the clerk's table till the house-bell 
 rang, thumbing over the volumes of journals, to find 
 a precedent for expunging a vote of the house, which, 
 he said, had taken place while he was a member or 
 clerk of the house, I do not recollect which. I stood 
 by him at the end of the table, a considerable part of 
 the time, looking on, as he turned over the leaves ; but 
 I do not recollect whether he found the erasure. In 
 
68 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 the meantime, some of the timid members, who had 
 voted for the strongest resolution, had become 
 alarmed ; and as soon as the house met, a motion was 
 made and carried to expunge it from the journals. 
 There being at that day but one printer, and he en- 
 tirely under control of the governor, I do not 
 know that this resolution ever appeared in print. I 
 write this from memory : but the impression made on 
 me at the time was such as to fix the facts indelibly in 
 my mind. I suppose the original journal was among 
 those destroyed by the British or its obliterated face 
 might be appealed to. And here I will state, that 
 Burk's statement of Mr. Henry's consenting to with- 
 draw two resolutions, by way of compromise with his 
 opponents, is entirely erroneous." 
 
 The manuscript journal of the day is not to be 
 found, whether it was suppressed, or casually lost, 
 must remain a matter of uncertainty ; it disappeared, 
 however, shortly after the session,* and therefore 
 could not have been among the documents destroyed 
 by the British during the revolutionary war, as con- 
 jectured by Mr. Jefferson. 
 
 In the interesting fact of the erasure of the fifth 
 resolution, Mr. Jefferson is supported by the distinct 
 recollection of Mr. Paul Carrington, late a judge of 
 the court of appeals of Virginia, and the only sur- 
 viving member, it is believed, of the house of bur- 
 gesses of 1765. The statement is also confirmed, if 
 indeed further confirmation were necessary, by the 
 
 * " The manuscript journal was missing ten years before 
 hostilities between the two countries; therefore could not 
 have been destroyed as you supposed probable." — Pavi, 
 Careington, senr. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. ^^ 
 
 circumstance, that instead of the five resolutions, so 
 solemnly recorded by Mr. Henry, as having passed 
 the house, the journal of the day exhibits only the 
 following four : — 
 
 " Resolved, That the first adventurers and set- 
 tlers of this his majesty's colony and dominion of 
 Virginia, brought with them and transmitted to their 
 posterity, and all others his majesty's subjects, since 
 inhabiting in this his majesty's said colony, all the 
 liberties, privileges, franchises, and immunities, that 
 have at any time been held, enjoyed, and possessed by 
 the people of Great Britain. 
 
 ^^ Eesolved, That by two royal charters, granted 
 by King James I., the colonists aforesaid are de- 
 clared entitled to all liberties, privileges, and im- 
 munities of denizens and natural subjects to all in- 
 tents and purposes, as if they had been abiding and 
 born within the realm of England. 
 
 " Resolved, That the taxation of the people, by 
 themselves, or by persons chosen by themselves to 
 represent them, who can only know^ what taxes the 
 people are able to bear, or the easiest method of rais- 
 ing them ; and must, themselves, be affected by every 
 tax laid on the people, is the only security against a 
 burdensome taxation, and the distingiaishing charac- 
 teristic of British freedom, without which the an- 
 cient constitution cannot exist. 
 
 " Resolved, That his majesty's liege people of this 
 his most ancient and loyal colony have, without in- 
 terruption, enjoyed the inestimable right of being 
 governed by such laws respecting their internal polity 
 and taxation, as are derived from their own consent, 
 with the approbation of their sovereign, or his sub- 
 
^0 LIFE OF pa;j|iick henry. 
 
 stitiite ; and that the same hath never been forfeited 
 or yielded up, but hath been constantly recognised by 
 the kings and people of Great Britain.''^ * 
 
 * Such are the resolutions, as they were amended and 
 passed by the house, with the exception of that which was 
 rescinded on the next day. — Journals of 1765, page 150. 
 Several historical mistakes have been committed in rela- 
 tion to these resolutions. Judge Marshall, in his life of 
 Washington, (vol. 2d, note 4th, of the appendix), gives an 
 erroneous copy of them, from the book called Prior Doc- 
 uments; in this, he is set right by the journals: he repre- 
 sents six as having been offered, and two rejected; his 
 authority for this, again, is the Prior Documents: but he 
 is contradicted by Mr. Henry himself, who represents five 
 only as having been offered and passed, and Mr. Henry's 
 written statement accords with the clear and strong recol- 
 lection both of Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Carrington. Mr. 
 Burk gives the same erroneous copy with Judge Marshall, 
 and adds to them several mistakes of his own: he says 
 the resolutions passed, by a large majority, forty only 
 having voted against them. Mr. Burk did not know the 
 number of the members, or he would have known that 
 a vote of forty, in the negative, would not have left a 
 large majority in favor of the resolutions. But we have 
 the authority of Mr. Henry himself, (as we have seen), of 
 Mr. Jefferson, and of Mr. Carrington, for saying that the 
 resolutions were carried by a majority of one only; on 
 what authority Mr. Burk speaks, we are not informed. 
 His w^hole account of Mr. Henry's proposal on the next 
 day, to secede, and of his finally giving up two resolutions, 
 for the sake of unanimity, is contradicted again by Mr. 
 Henry, Mr. Jefferson, and Mr. Carrington; there is no 
 such statement in the papers of the day, and the author 
 does not condescend to give us his authority. Mr. Burk's 
 skeleton of Mr. Henry's speech, on that occasion, is be- 
 lieved to be equally apocrychal; the author of these sketches 
 has not been able to procure a single authentic trace 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 71 
 
 " By these resolutions/' says Mr. Jefierson, " and 
 his manner of supporting them, Mr. Henry took the 
 lead out of the hands of those who had, theretofore, 
 guided the proceedings of the house ; that is to say, 
 of Pendleton, Wythe, Bland, Randolph." It was, 
 indeed, the measure which raised him to the zenith of 
 his glory. He had never before had a subject which 
 entirely matched his genius, and was capable of draw- 
 ing out all the powers of his mind. It was remarked 
 of him, throughout his life, that his talents never 
 failed to rise with the occasion, and in proportion 
 with the resistance which he had to encounter. The 
 nicety of the vote, on his last resolution, proves that 
 this was not a time to hold in reserve any part of 
 his forces. It was, indeed, an Alpine passage under 
 circumstances even more unpropitious than those of 
 Hannibal ; for he had not only to fight, hand to hand, 
 the powerful party who w^ere already in possession of 
 the heights, but at the same instant to cheer and ani- 
 mate the timid band of followers, that were trem- 
 
 of that speech, except the anecdote presently given in the 
 text. Mr. Burk concludes his account of this affair thus: 
 " Struck with the alarming tendency of these proceedings, 
 the governor suddenly dissolved the assembly," &c. — Vol. 
 3d, page 310. In opposition to this statement, we are told 
 by Mr. Henry himself, that when he offered his resolu- 
 tions, the session was near its regular close; and the 
 journals prove the fact to have been so. Mr. Henry left 
 town for home on the evening of the day on which his 
 resolutions were adopted; it was on the next day (conse- 
 quently in his absence) that the motion to rescind was 
 made; and the printed journals show that day and the 
 day following to have been occupied with the usual busi- 
 ness which closes a legislative session. 
 
72 LIFE OF PATJPICK HENRY. 
 
 bling, and f aintingj and drawing back below him. It 
 was an occasion that called upon him to put forth all 
 his strength, and he did put it forth, in such a man- 
 ner as man never did before. The cords of argument 
 with which his adversaries frequently flattered them- 
 selves that they had bound him fast, became pack- 
 threads in his hands. He burst them with as much 
 ease as the unshorn Samson did the bands of the 
 Philistines. He seized the pillars of the temple, 
 shook them terribly, and seemed to threaten his op- 
 ponents with ruin. It was an incessant storm of 
 lightning and thunder, which struck them aghast. 
 The faint-hearted gathered courage from his counte- 
 nance, and cowards became heroes while they gazed 
 upon his exploits. 
 
 It was in the midst of this magnificent debate, 
 while he was descanting on the tyranny of the obnox- 
 ious act, that he exclaimed in a voice of thunder, and 
 with the look of a god : ^^ Caesar had his Brutus — 
 Charles the First, his Cromwell, — and George the 
 Third — (/Treason!' cried the speaker — ^Treason, 
 treason ! ' echoed from every part of the house. It 
 was one of those trying moments which is decisive of 
 character. Henry faltered not for an instant; but 
 rising to a loftier attitude, and fixing on the speaker 
 an eye of the most determined fire, he finished his 
 sentence with the firmest emphasis) — may profit by 
 their example. If this be treason, make the most of 
 it." * 
 
 * I had frequently heard the above anecdote of the cry 
 of treason, but with such variations of the concluding 
 words, that I began to doubt whether the whole might not 
 be fiction. With a view to ascertain the truth, therefore. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK: HENRY. ^^ 
 
 This was the only expression of defiance which 
 escaped him during the debate. He was, throughout 
 life, one of the most perfectly and uniformly decor- 
 ous speakers that ever took the floor of the house. He 
 was respectful even to humility; and the provoca- 
 tion must be gross indeed which would induce him to 
 notice it. Yet, when he did notice it, better were it 
 for the man never to have been born, than to fall into 
 the hands of such an adversary. One lash from his 
 scourge was infamy for life ; his look of anger or con- 
 tempt was almost death. 
 
 After this debate, there was no longer a question 
 among the body of the people, as to Mr. Henry's 
 being the first statesman and orator in Virginia. 
 Those, indeed, whose ranks he had scattered, and 
 whom he had thrown into the shade, still tried to 
 brand him with the names of declaimer and dema- 
 gogue. But this was obviously the effect of envy and 
 mortified pride. A mere declaimer and demagogue 
 could never have gained, much less have kept for 
 more than thirty years, that ground which Mr. Henry 
 held ; with a people, too, so cool, judicious, firm, and 
 virtuous, as those who achieved the American revolu- 
 tion. 
 
 From the period of which we have been speaking, 
 Mr. Henry became the idol of the people of Virginia ; 
 nor was his name confined to his native state. His 
 
 I submitted it to Mr. Jefferson as it had been given to me 
 by Judge Tyler, and this is his answer: — "I well remem- 
 ber the cry of treason, the pause of Mr. Henry at the name 
 of George HI., and the presence of mind with which he 
 closed his sentence, and baffled the charge vociferated." 
 The incident, therefore, becomes authentic history. 
 
74 LIFE OF PATifcK HENRY. 
 
 light and heat were seen and felt throughout the con- 
 tinent ; and he was everywhere regarded as the great 
 champion of colonial liberty. 
 
 The impulse thus given by Virginia, was caught by 
 the other colonies. Her resolutions were every where 
 adopted with progressive variations. The spirit of 
 resistance became bolder and bolder, until the whole 
 continent was in a flame, and by the first of ]^ovem- 
 ber, when the stamp act was, according to its pro- 
 visions, to have taken effect, its execution had be- 
 come utterly impracticable.* 
 
 * The chronicles of the day exhibit, in a manner very 
 curious and interesting, the progress of these feelings. 
 We have already given a specimen of the drooping spirit of 
 the Pennsylvania Gazette, on the first annunciation of the 
 stamp act; but after Mr. Henry had touched with his 
 match the train of American courage, its scintillations 
 were seen, sparkling and flashing, on every page of this 
 paper. Thus, in the paper of June 20th, 1775: — "We learn 
 from the northward, that the stamp act is to take effect 
 in America on all Saints' day, the first of November next. 
 In the year 1755, on the 1st of November, happened that 
 dreadful and memorable earthquake which destroyed the 
 city of Lisbon." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 EVENTS LEADING TO THE CONTINENTAL COIS^GSESS. 
 
 1766-1774. 
 
 At the opening of the next session, the speaker an- 
 nounced the repeal of the stamp act ; and the house 
 of burgesses, in a paroxysm of feeling, voted a statue 
 to the king, and an obelisk to the British patriots by 
 whose exertions the repeal had been effected. But 
 before these monuments of national gratitude could 
 be executed the effervescence subsided; and on the 
 9th of December, 1766, the bill which had been pre- 
 pared for that purpose, was postponed to the first day 
 of the next session; after which, we hear of it no 
 more. 
 
 At the session of 1766, a question of great interest 
 in those days, and one of real importance to the col- 
 ony, came on to be discussed in the house of bur- 
 gesses. Mr. Robinson, who had so long held the 
 joint ofiices of speaker and treasurer, was now dead. 
 The general fact of his delinquency as treasurer was 
 understood, although the sum was not yet ascer- 
 tained ; and that delinquency, whatever it might be, 
 was alleged to have arisen principally from loans 
 made to members of the house of burgesses. As the 
 speaker, although elected in the first instance by the 
 
 ^5 
 
76 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 house, could not act until approved by the governor, 
 and, when so approved, was in office for seven years, 
 re-eligible indefinitely — and, as in the recent instance 
 of Mr. Robinson, it had been discovered, that an office 
 so held was too apt to generate a devotion to the pur- 
 poses of the British court — it was considered by the 
 patriots in the house, as a measure of sound policy, to 
 take out of the hands of the speaker so formidable an 
 engine of corruption and power as the treasury of the 
 colony.* A motion was therefore made to separate 
 the office of treasurer from the speaker's chair, which 
 was supported by Mr. Henry with his usual ability. 
 An arduous struggle ensued. Innovations, however 
 correct in themselves, never fail to startle those who 
 have grown gray in a veneration for the existing order 
 of things. They fancy that they see in every impor- 
 tant change an indirect blow at the established govern- 
 ment, and at the foundations of their own property. 
 This union of the speaker's chair with the office of 
 treasurer, was one of those errors in policy which 
 time had consecrated, and it required a hand both 
 steady and skilful to remove the veil and expose its 
 deformity. That hand was furnished by Mr. Henry. 
 
 * A correspondent furnishes the following note on this 
 passage: — "There was but one clear and sound bottom 
 on which the separation of the chair and the treasury was 
 decided. The legislature made all the levies of money- 
 payable into the hands of their speaker, over whom they 
 had control. The only hold the governor had on him was, 
 a negative on his appointment as speaker at every new 
 election, which amounted, consequently, to a negative on 
 him as treasurer, and disposed him, so far, to be obse- 
 quious to the governor." 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 77 
 
 The union of boldness and decency which composed 
 his character, of decisive energy in the support of his 
 own opinions, and respectful tenderness toward those 
 of others, fitted him peculiarly for the discharge of 
 this duty. The house admired, on this occasion, the 
 facility with which he could adapt himself to any 
 subject. He had that foundation of strong natural 
 sense, without which genius is a misfortune; an in- 
 stinctive accuracy of judgment, which always pro- 
 portioned his efforts to the occasion. He was never 
 guilty of the ridiculous and common error among 
 young members, of attempting to force the subject 
 bej^ond its nature — of swelling trifles into conse- 
 quence, and working the ocean into tempest, 
 
 " To waft a feather, or to drown a fly." 
 
 It is almost superfluous to add, that such a cause, in 
 the hands of such an advocate, did not fail of success. 
 The motion for separating the two offices being car- 
 ried, a committee was appointed to examine the ac- 
 counts of the late treasurer, and their report dis- 
 closed an enormous deficit, exceeding a hundred thou- 
 sand pounds. 
 
 On the separation of the offices of speaker and 
 treasurer, Peyton Kandolph, the attorney-general, 
 was elected to the chair ; and Kobert C. ISTicholas, an 
 eminent lawyer and a most virtuous man, to the office 
 of treasurer. 
 
 After having tried his strength for several years on 
 the legislative floor, against some of the brightest 
 champions of the bar, Mr. Henry came, in the year 
 1769, to the bar itself of the general court. " The 
 
78 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 profits of his practice, theretofore/' says Judge Win- 
 ston, " must have been very moderate. For about 
 this time, he informed me that he thought his prop- 
 erty was not worth more than fifteen hundred 
 pounds ; adding, that if he could only make it double 
 that sum, he should be entirely content." 
 
 At this bar, he entered into competition with all 
 the first legal characters in the colony, some of whom 
 had been educated at the Temple.* Mr. Pendleton 
 and Mr. Wythe have been already mentioned : but, in 
 addition to these, he had to encounter Mr. John Ran- 
 dolph, Mr. Thompson Mason, Mr. Robert C. Nicho- 
 las,* Mr. Mercer, Mr. Blair, and Mr. Jefferson, all of 
 them masters of the learning of their profession, and 
 all of them men of pre-eminent abilities. 
 
 It cannot be expected from Mr. Henry's legal prep- 
 aration, that he was able to contend with these gentle- 
 men on a mere question of law. He wanted that 
 learning whose place no splendor of genius can supply 
 to the lawyer; and he wanted those habits of steady 
 
 * The Temple is the center of the district of the courts of 
 law in London. It is the joint property of the two Inns of 
 Court known as the Society of the Inner Temple and of the 
 Middle Temple. Each of these societies has the right of call- 
 ing properly qualified persons to the degree of barrister, a 
 right, however, which is shared by Gray's Inn and Lincoln's 
 Inn, The Inns of the Temple are located in or near Chancery 
 Lane, in the heart of the busiest part of London, and yet they 
 are '* as secluded as the cloister of a cathedral." Among the 
 former residents of the Inns of the Temple were Goldsmith, 
 Addison, and Steele. With American readers the interest in 
 the institution is largely connected with the fictitions char- 
 acters in the writings of Dickens and Thackeray. The Temple 
 got its name from the fact that the Knights Templar had a 
 branch in that part of the city. 
 
I 
 
 LIFE OF PATRICK HENEY. 79 
 
 and persevering application, without which that 
 
 ^f :!r;::t:St a iur,, that he was in 
 ..^tLl client The.e,^W^^^^^^^^ 
 
 irof"m riefliting e.pre.ion. 
 
 Tthe countenance, as to what was^P-.ng .n the 
 
 hearts of his hearers, availed him fully, ihe ]u / 
 
 ;„V,t V ooniiiosed of entire strangers, yet he rareiy 
 
 uil to knrthem, man hy man, hefore the evidence 
 
 w closed There was no studied fixture of features 
 
 That eo'w io"s hi'i'^ '''' ''''''''''' ''°" ''"rrr,™ 
 
 td^^perienceV-iew T.^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 •ItXtro^th^rrromt L ohservm. Or 
 fhe doubted whether his conclusions were correc , 
 from thTcxhibitions of countenance during the nar- 
 ratL of the evidence, he had a mode of playing a 
 piSe as it were, upon the pjy, in his exordium 
 Ihkh never failed to " wake into life each silent 
 Ttr ng'^His style of address, on these occasions,_is 
 saVd to have resembled very much that of the scrip- 
 i 1 was strongly marked with the same sin. 
 pi cky, the same energy, the same pathos. He 
 founded no alarm; he made no parade, to put the 
 u y on their guard. It was all so natural, so hum- 
 E u— ming, that they were carried im W" 
 Hhiv ak.ng and attuned to his purpose, until some 
 master to"Si dissolved them into tears. His language 
 of tassVon was perfect. There was no word 'of 
 learned length or. thundering sound," to break the 
 charm I* ^ad almost all the stillness of solitary 
 h nSng. It was a sweet revery, a delicious trance. 
 
80 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 His voice, too, had a wonderful effect. He had a 
 singular power of infusing it into a jury, and mixing 
 its notes with their nerves, in a manner which it is 
 impossible to describe justly; but which produced a 
 thrilling excitement, in the happiest concordance 
 with his designs, l^o man knew so well as he did 
 what kind of topics to urge to their understandings ; 
 nor what kind of simple imagery to present to their 
 hearts. His eye, which he kept riveted upon them, 
 assisted the process of fascination, and at the same 
 time informed him what theme to press, or at what 
 instant to retreat, if by rare accident he touched an 
 unpropitious string. And then he had such an ex- 
 uberance of appropriate thoughts of apt illustrations, 
 of apposite images, and such a melodious and varied 
 roll of the happiest words, that the hearer was never 
 wearied by repetition, and never winced from an ap- 
 prehension that the intellectual treasures of the 
 speaker would be exhausted. 
 
 A striking example of this witchery of his elo- 
 quence, even on common subjects, was related by the 
 late Major Joseph Scott, the marshal of this state. 
 This gentleman had been summoned, at great incon- 
 venience to his private affairs, to attend as a witness 
 a distant court, in which Mr. Henry practised. The 
 cause which had carried him thither having been dis- 
 posed of, he was setting out in great haste to return, 
 when the sheriff summoned him to serve on a jury. 
 He was alarmed at the prospect of a long detention, 
 and made an unavailing effort with the court to get 
 himself discharged from the jury. He was compelled 
 to take his seat. When his patience had been nearly 
 exhausted by the previous speakers, Mr. Henry rose 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. gl 
 
 to conclude the cause, and having much matter to 
 answer, the major stated that he considered himself a 
 prisoner for the evening, if not for the night. But, 
 to his surprise, Mr. Henry appeared to have con- 
 sumed not more than fifteen minutes in the reply; 
 and he would scarcely believe his own watch, or those 
 of the other jurymen, when they informed him that 
 he had in reality been speaking upward of two hours. 
 
 The defence of criminal causes was his great pro- 
 fessional forte. It seems that the eighth day of the 
 general court was formerly set apart for criminal 
 business. Mr. Henry made little or no figure during 
 the civil days of the court ; but on the eighth day he 
 was the monarch of the bar. These causes brought 
 him into direct collision wdth Mr. John Randolph, 
 who had now succeeded Peyton as the attorney-gen- 
 eral. * 
 
 Mr. Randolph was, in person and manners, among 
 the most elegant gentlemen in the colony, and in his 
 profession one of the most splendid ornaments of the 
 bar. He was a polite scholar, as well as a profound 
 lawyer, and his eloquence also was of a high order. 
 His voice, action, style, were stately, and uncom- 
 monly impressive ; but gigantic as he was in relation 
 to other men, he was but a pigmy, when opposed in a 
 criminal trial to the arch magician, Henry. In those 
 cases Mr. Henry was perfectly irresistible. He 
 adapted himself, without effort, to the character of 
 the cause ; seized, with the quickness of intuition, its 
 defensible point, and never permitted the jury to 
 lose sight of it. Sir Joshua Reynolds has said of 
 Titian, that, by a few strokes of his pencil, he knew 
 how to mark the image and character of whatever ob- 
 
8fi UFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 ject he attempted; and produced by this means a 
 truer representation than any of his predecessors, who 
 finished every hair. In like manner, Mr. Henry, by 
 a few master-strokes upon the evidence, could in gen- 
 eral stamp upon the cause whatever image or charac- 
 ter he pleased ; and convert it into tragedy or comedy, 
 at his sovereign will, and with a power which no ef- 
 forts of his adversary could counteract. He never 
 wearied the jury by a dry and minute analysis of the 
 evidence ; he did not expend his strength in finishing 
 the hairs; he produced all his high effect by those 
 rare master-touches, and by the resistless skill with 
 which, in a very few words, he could mould and color 
 the prominent facts of a cause to his purpose. Hence 
 he was, beyond doubt, the ablest defender of crim- 
 inals in Virginia, and will probably never be equalled 
 again. 
 
 It has been observed, that Mr. Henry's knowledge 
 of the common law was extremely defective ; but his 
 attendance upon the general court was calculated to 
 cure that defect, in a considerable degree. Thus im- 
 proving every opportunity, there is reason to believe 
 that a few years must have made him not only a mas- 
 ter of the general canons of property, but of the modi- 
 fications and exceptions of more frequent occurrence, 
 by which those cannons are restrained and governed. 
 In support of this conclusion, I find that in January, 
 1773, Kobert C. Nicholas, who had enjoyed the first 
 practice at the bar, and who, by virtue of his office of 
 treasurer, was forced to relinquish that practice, com- 
 mitted, by a public advertisement, his unfinished busi' 
 ness to Mr. Henry ; a step which a man so remark- 
 ably scrupulous in the discharge of every moral duty] 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 83 
 
 would not have taken, had there been any incompe- 
 tency on the part of his substitute. 
 
 The British ministry, however, did not permit Mr. 
 Henrv to waste himself in forensic exertions. The 
 joy of the Americans, on the repeal of the stamp act, 
 was very short-lived. That measure had not been, 
 on the part of the British parliament, a voluntary 
 sacrifice to truth and right. The ministry and their 
 friends disavowed this ground ; and were forward on 
 every occasion, to convince the colonies that they had 
 nothing to expect from either the clemency or the 
 magnanimity of the British cabinet. Thus on a 
 question of supplies for the army, in the session of 
 parliament of 1766-7, a motion was made in the 
 house of commons, that the revenues arising and to 
 arise in America, be applied to subsisting the troops 
 now there, and those other regiments ivhicli it is pro- 
 posed to send; in sup}X)rt of which, that brilliant po- 
 litical meteor, Charles Townsend, urged, among other 
 things " the propriety of more troops heing sent to 
 America and of their heing quartered in the large 
 towns. He said, that he had a plan preparing, which 
 he would lay before the house, for the raising of sup- 
 plies in America. That the legislative authority of 
 Great Britain extended to every colony in every par- 
 ticular. That the distinction between internal and 
 external taxes was nonsense; and that he voted for 
 the repeal of the stamp act, not because it was not a 
 good act, but because, at that time, there appeared a 
 propriety in repealing it. He added, that he re- 
 peated the sentence, that the galleries might hear him, 
 and after that, he did not expect to have his statue 
 
84 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 erected in America: in all which, Mr. Grenville 
 joined him fully." 
 
 This temper soon manifested itself in open acts, 
 and turned the late joy of the colonies into mourning. 
 
 The first obnoxious measure was a stern demand of 
 satisfaction from the legislatures of the colonies, for 
 the injuries which had been done to the stamp officers 
 and their adherents. The legislature of Massachu- 
 setts, of whom this demand was first made, very re- 
 spectfully, and with good reason, questioned the pro- 
 priety and justice of taxing the whole colony for the 
 excesses of a few individuals, which they had neither 
 prompted nor approved ; for the sake of peace, how- 
 ever, and in the spirit of accommodation, that satis- 
 faction was given ; but they annexed to their vote of 
 satisfaction a grant of pardon to the rioters ; and, in 
 England, according to the usual courtesy of that 
 country, nothing was said of the satisfaction, while 
 the pardon was treated as a most insolent and impu- 
 dent usurpation of the royal authority. 
 
 The next step was that suggested by Mr. Town- 
 send, of quartering large bodies of troops upon the 
 chief towns in the colonies, and demanding of the 
 several colonial legislatures a provision for their 
 comfortable support and accommodation. A more 
 exasperating measure could scarcely have been de- 
 vised. The very presence of those myrmidons was 
 an insult ; for it was a direct reflection on the fidelity 
 of the colonists. Their object was perfectly under- 
 stood : it was to curb the just and honorable spirit of 
 the people; to dragoon them into submission to the 
 parliamentary claim of taxation, and reduce them to 
 the condition of vassals, governed by the right of con- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 85 
 
 quest. The rudeness of the soldiery, too, was well 
 calculated to keep up and increase the irritation, 
 which their presence alone would have been suffi- 
 cient to excite. In Boston, they were in the habit of 
 stopping the citizens in the streets, and compelling 
 them to answer insulting inquiries, or committing 
 them to confinement on their refusal, assigning, as 
 the ground of their conduct, that the town was a gar- 
 risoned town. In ^ew York, they provoked a contest 
 with the people, by making war upon a liberty pole, 
 which was the first object of their earthly devotions, 
 and Avhich the soldiers continually destroyed or at- 
 tempted to destroy, as soon as it could be replaced. 
 And, as if all this insult and humiliation were not 
 enough, the colonies were to be constrained to tax 
 themselves, to foster and cherish those instruments of 
 their degradation. 
 
 The legislature of Xew York, in a tone at least 
 sufficiently submissive for the occasion, and on the 
 false ground of the inability of the colony, begged 
 to be excused from making the provision. For this 
 high offence, the legislative power of that colony was 
 abolished by act of parliament, until they should 
 submit to make the provision which was required, and 
 they did submit. 
 
 A body of British troops, alleged to have been 
 driven by stress of weather into Boston, in the recess 
 of the colonial legislature, had been provided for out 
 of the public moneys, by the governor and his coun- 
 cil. The legislature met shortly afterward, and re- 
 monstrated against this unconstitutional appropria- 
 tion, with that Roman firmness and dignity which 
 marked the character of Massachusetts in every stage 
 
86 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 of the contest. But Governor Bernard, highly indig- 
 nant at what he affected to consider as presumption, 
 made such a communication upon the subject to the 
 British court as had, and was designed to have, no 
 other effect than to widen the breach, and inflame 
 more highly these animosities which already required 
 no new aggravation. 
 
 These military preparations Avere well understood 
 to be the harbingers of some unconstitutional act, the 
 execution of which they were necessary to enforce. 
 Why those preparations were restricted to the north- 
 ern states, and more particularly to Massachusetts, 
 has never been satisfactorily explained. There was 
 no colony which resisted with more firmness and con- 
 stancy the pretensions of the British parliament than 
 that of Virginia; yet no military force was thought 
 necessary, during the lives of the governors Fauquier 
 and Bottetourt, to keep down the spirit of rebellion in 
 this colony. A solution of the difficulty may perhaps 
 be found in the character of the different governors. 
 Virginia had the good fortune, during this period, to 
 be governed by enlightened and amiable men, who 
 saw and did justice to the motives and measure of re- 
 sistance which was meditated. 
 
 These preparatory steps having been taken, an act 
 of parliament was passed, imposing certain duties on 
 glass, white and red lead, painters^ colors, tea, and 
 paper, imported into the colonies. This act was to 
 take effect on the 20th of N^ovember, 1767; and, to 
 insure its oj^eration, another act authorized the king 
 to appoint a board of trade to reside in the colonies, 
 and to instruct them at his pleasure and without 
 limit, as to the mode of executing their duties under 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 87 
 
 this law. A commission accordingly issued, by which 
 the commissioners were armed Avith a power of search 
 and seizure, at their discretion ; with authority to call 
 for aid upon the naval and military establishments 
 within the colony ; and tvith an exemption from 'prose- 
 cution or responsibility before any of the hing's 
 courts, for whatsoever they might do, by any con- 
 struction of their commi^ssion. 
 
 Another measure which gave great offence to the 
 colonies, was the establislnnent of a board of admi- 
 ralty, with extensive powers, supported by large 
 salaries independent of the colonies, yet drawn from 
 the revenues compulsorily levied upon them ; and the 
 appointment, also, of common law judges, to be paid 
 by the croA\T3 out of the revenues of the colony, and 
 to hold their offices during the king's pleasure. 
 
 To all these outrages the legislatures of the colonies 
 answered by petitions, memorials, remonstrances, and 
 letters, addressed to the friends of colonial liberty in 
 England; blending, with the strongest professions of 
 loyalty, the expression of their hope, that those obnox- 
 ious measures would be reconsidered and reversed, 
 and the colonies protected in their ancient and un- 
 alienable rights. In reply, they received from the 
 kindest of their English friends, only exhortations to 
 patience under their sufferings; by the court-party, 
 menaces and anathemas were brandished over their 
 heads; and the commissioners of the revenue, to- 
 gether with their auxiliaries, the naval and military 
 officers and soldiery, continued to outrage and insult 
 them, both in their persons and property. 
 
 The people of Massachusetts, with the view of frus- 
 trating the new revenue bill, entered into an associa- 
 
88 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 tion, by whicli they bound themselves not to import 
 from Great Britain, or use any of the articles taxed ; 
 and included in the resolution every article of British 
 manufacture which was not of the first and most in- 
 dispensable necessity. The legislature of that state 
 also resolved on a circular-letter to their sister-colon- 
 ies, inviting their concurrence and co-operation to- 
 ward procuring relief, in a constitutional way, from 
 the grievances under which they were all suffering. 
 This measure having been reported by Governor Ber- 
 nard, with his usual embellishments, to the Earl of 
 Hillsborough, the British minister for the American 
 department, that minister required the governor to 
 demand of the legislature an immediate rescission of 
 their resolution, on pain of being forthwith dissolved. 
 They refused to rescind, and were dissolved accord- 
 ingly. The same minister also addressed a circular- 
 letter to the governors of the other colonies, exhort- 
 ing them to crush this correspondence and concert 
 amongst the colonial legislatures in the bud, by exact- 
 ing from them an assurance that they would not 
 answer the circular of Massachusetts. They refused 
 to give such assurance, and were in their turn dis- 
 solved. 
 
 These violent measures, however, produced an ef- 
 fect very different from that which was expected to 
 flow from them. The dissolution of their legislatures 
 swelled the catalogue of their wrongs, and ministered 
 additional fuel to the resentments of the people. The 
 non-importation agreement became general ; and, by 
 means of committees established in the several colon- 
 ies, its execution was guarded with a vigilance which 
 could not be eluded. A breach of it was infamy, in- 
 evitable and unpardonable. Its observance was a 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 89 
 
 badge of honor, by which the patriot-colonist was 
 proud to be distinguished. The privation was, in- 
 deed, in many respects severe, but the sufferers were 
 upheld by that kind of holy fortitude which enabled 
 the Christian martyrs to smile amidst the flames, and 
 to triumph, even in the agonies of death. Every 
 grade of society, all ages, and both sexes, kindled in 
 this sacred competition of patriotism. The ladies of 
 the colonies, in the dawn, and throughout the whole 
 progress of the revolution, shone with pre-eminent 
 lustre in this war of fortitude and self-denial. They 
 renounced, without a sigh, the use of the luxuries and 
 even of the comforts to which they had been accus- 
 tomed ; and felt a nobler pride in appearing dressed 
 in the simple productions of their own looms, than 
 they had ever experienced from glittering in the 
 brightest ornaments of the east. 
 
 The British court looked upon this trial of virtuous 
 fortitude with surly and inexorable rigor. They 
 seemed determined to carry the point, at every haz- 
 ard. The sufferings of their own merchants and man- 
 ufacturers were forgotten, in the barbarous pleasure 
 with which they contemplated the sufferings of the 
 colonists. It is not in human nature to continue long 
 to return good for evil, affection for cruelty. The ad- 
 miration and devotion of the colonies for the parent- 
 country became gradually weaker. This transition of 
 feeling is most interestingly marked in the chronicles 
 of the day. The epithets, " our kind and indulgent 
 mother," with which she was wont to be greeted, were 
 progressively changed into " unnatural parent^ — cruel 
 stepmother — proud, merciless oppressor — haughty, 
 unfeeling, and unrelenting tyrant.'' This state of 
 
90 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 feeling was aggravated bj the collisions whicli were 
 perpetually occurring between the king's soldiery and 
 the people of the towns in which they were quartered. 
 The streets of I^ew York and of Boston were the 
 theatres of continual riots, ending almost invariably 
 in blood, and not unfrequently in death. The news- 
 papers of the day teem with the detail of scenes of 
 this sort ; and from the effect which they produce on 
 the reader at this distance of time, it is not very diffi- 
 cult to conceive what must have been their operation 
 on the people of that day, already goaded to madness 
 by previous injuries. 
 
 It is not my purpose to record the series of meas- 
 ures which led to the dismemberment of the British 
 empire. This is the function of the historian. My 
 business is only with Mr. Henry ; and, for my pur- 
 pose, nothing more is necessary than to recall the gen- 
 eral character of the contest, for the purpose of show- 
 ing the part which he bore in it. The revolution may 
 be truly said to have commenced with his resolutions 
 in 1765. From that period not an hour of settled 
 peace had existed between the two countries. It is 
 true, that the eruption produced by the stamp act 
 had subsided with its repeal ; and the people had 
 resumed their ancient settlements and occupations; 
 but there was no peace of the heart or of the mind. 
 
 The house of burgesses of Virginia, which had led 
 the opposition to the stamp act, kept their high ground 
 during the Avhole of the ensuing contest. Mr. Henry, 
 having removed again from Louisa to his native 
 county, in the year 1761 or 1768, continued a mem- 
 ber of the public councils till the close of the revolu- 
 tion ; and there could be no want of boldness in any 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 91 
 
 T,n^v of whicli he was a member. The session of 
 1768-9 Vis marked by a set of resolutions so strong 
 L to have excited even the amiable and popular Bo - 
 tit to displeasure. By those resouUons they e 
 asserted, in the most emphatic terms, the exclusive 
 r fht of the colony to tax themselves in all cases wnat- 
 eS complained'of the recent acts of parliament, as 
 Tmanv violations of the British constiUition; and 
 remonstrated, vigorously, against the right of trans 
 porting the f eeborn subjects of these colonies to Eng- 
 hnito take their trial before prejudiced tribunals, 
 f" ices alleged to be committed in the colonies. 
 The tradition with regard to these ''e^^]" ;^' *\'' 
 they were agreed to in a committee of the whole on 
 one dly, but not reported to the house, with the view 
 ofprev uting their appearance on the journal of the 
 next dav, before they could be completely passed 
 °hrou<^hVhe forms of the house; apprehending from 
 the fate of the Massachusetts legislature that a 
 knowledge of these resolutions, on the part of the gov- 
 ernor ^^uld produce an immediate dissolution of 
 the house. When the house rose for the evening, 
 however, the fact of their having passed such resolu- 
 tions wis whispered to the governor; and he en- 
 deavored in vain to procure a copy of them from Mr. 
 Wythe the clerk. On the next day, the house, fore- 
 seeing the event, met on the instant of the ringing of 
 he bell, and with closed doors received the report of 
 their r;solutions, considered, adopted a^d ordered 
 them to be entered upon their journals; which they 
 had scarcely done when they were summoned to a - 
 tend the governor, and were dissolved Mr 
 
 Speaker," said he, " and gentlemen of the house of 
 
92 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 representatives^ I iiave heard of your resolves, and 
 augur ill of their effects ; you have made it my duty 
 to dissolve you, and you are accordingly dissolved/' 
 
 But the dissolution of the house of burgesses did 
 not change the materials of which it had been com- 
 posed. The same members were re-elected without a 
 single exception, and the same determined spirit of 
 resistance continued to diffuse itself from the legisla- 
 ture over the colony which they represented, and to 
 animate by sympathy the neighboring colonies. This 
 house had the merit of originating that powerful en- 
 gine of resistance, corresponding committees between 
 the legislatures of the different colonies.* The meas- 
 ure was brought forward by Mr. Dabney Carr, a new 
 member from the county of Louisa, in a committee of 
 the whole house, on the 12th of March, 1773 ; and the 
 resolutions, as adopted, now stood upon the journals 
 of the day, in the following terms : — 
 
 " Whereas, the minds of his majesty's faithful sub- 
 jects in this colony have been much disturbed by 
 various rumors and reports of proceedings, tending 
 to deprive them of their ancient, legal, and constitu- 
 tional rights ; 
 
 " And whereas, the affairs of this colony are fre- 
 quently connected with those of Great Britain, as 
 
 ♦The state of Massachusetts is entitled to equal honor: 
 the measures were so nearly coeval in the two states, as 
 to render it impossible that either could have borrowed it 
 from the other. The messengers, who bore the propositions 
 from the two states, are said to have crossed each other 
 on the way. This is Mr. Jefferson's account of it; and Mrs. 
 Warren, in her very interesting history of the revolution 
 admits, that the measure was original on the part of Vir- 
 ginia. See the note to page 110 of her first volume. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 93 
 
 well as tlie neighboring colonies, which renders a 
 communication of sentiments necessary: in order, 
 therefore, to remove the uneasiness, and to quiet the 
 minds of the people, as well as for the other good pur- 
 poses above mentioned : — 
 
 " Be it resolved. That a standing committee of 
 correspondence and inquiry be appointed, to consist 
 of eleven persons, to wit : the Honorable Peyton Ran- 
 dolph, esquire, Robert C ^Nicholas, Richard Bland, 
 Richard H. Lee, Benjamin Harrison, Edmund Pen- 
 dleton, Patrick Henry, Dudley Digges, Dabney Carr, 
 Archibald Cary, and Thomas Jefferson, esquires, any 
 six of whom to be a committee, whose business it shall 
 be to obtain the most early and authentic intelligence 
 of all such acts and resolutions of the British parlia- 
 ment, or proceedings of administration, as may relate 
 to, or affect the British colonies in America; and to 
 keep up and maintain a correspondence and commu- 
 nication with our sister-colonies, respecting those im- 
 portant considerations ; and the result of such of their 
 proceedings, from time to time, to lay before this 
 house. 
 
 " Resolved, That it be an instruction to the said 
 committee, that they do, without delay, inform them- 
 selves particularly of the principles and authority on 
 which was constituted a court of inquiry, said to 
 have been lately held in Rhode Island, with powers 
 to transport persons accused of offences committed in 
 America, to places beyond the seas, to be tried. 
 
 " The said resolutions being severally read a sec- 
 ond time, were upon the question severally put 
 thereupon, agreed to by the house, nemine contradi- 
 cente. 
 
94 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 '^ Resolved, That the speaker of this house do 
 transmit to the speakers of the different assemblies 
 of the British colonies on the continent, copies of the 
 said resolutions, and desire that they will lay them 
 before their respective assemblies, and request them 
 to appoint some person or persons of their respective 
 bodies, to communicate from time to time with the 
 said committee." 
 
 Mr. Carres resolutions were supported successively 
 by Mr. Henry, and Mr. Richard Henry Lee, with 
 their usual ability. 
 
 It is not improbable, as it has been suggested, that 
 the strongly-marked distinction of ranks which pre- 
 vailed in this country, and the resentment, if not 
 envy, with which the poorer classes looked up to the 
 splendor and ostentation of the landed aristocracy, 
 had a considerable agency in inflaming Mr. Henry's 
 hostility to the British court. He probably regarded 
 the untitled nobles of Virginia as a sort of spurious 
 emanation from the royal stock ; connected them in 
 his resentments, and transferred from the effect to 
 the cause, the larger stream of his indignation. He 
 had a rooted aversion and even abhorrence to everv 
 thing in the shape of pride, cruelty, and tyranny ; and 
 could not tolerate that social inequality from which 
 they proceeded, and by which they were nourished. 
 The principle which he seems to have brought with 
 him into the world, and which certainly formed the 
 guide of all his public actions, was, that the whole 
 human race was one family, equal in their rights, and 
 their birthright liberty. 
 
 The elements of his character were most happily 
 mingled for the great struggle which was now com- 
 
LIFE OF Px\TRICK HENRY. 95 
 
 ing on. His views were not less steady tlian tliey 
 were bold. His vision pierced deeply into futurity ; 
 and long before a whisper of independence had been 
 beard in this land, he had looked through the whole 
 of the approaching contest, and saw, with the eye and 
 the rapture of a prophet, his country seated aloft 
 among the nations of the earth. A striking proof of 
 this prescience, is given in an anecdote communicated 
 to me by Mr. Pope. These are his words : — ^^ I am 
 informed by Col. John Overton, that before one drop 
 of blood was shed in our contest with Great Britain, 
 he was at Col. Samuel Overton's, in company with 
 Mr. Henry, Col. Morris, John Hawkins, and Col. 
 Samuel Overton, when the last-mentioned gentleman 
 asked Mr. Henry, ' whether he supposed Great Brit- 
 ain would drive her colonies to extremities ? — And if 
 she should, what he thought would be the issue of the 
 war ? ' When Mr. Henry, after looking round to see 
 who were present, expressed himself confidentially 
 to the company in the following manner : — " She ivill 
 drive us to extremities — no accommodation will take 
 place — ^hostilities will soon commence — and a des- 
 perate and bloody touch it will be.' ' But,' said Col. 
 Samuel Overton, ' do you think, Mr. Henry, that an 
 infant nation as we are, without discipline, arms, am- 
 munition, ships of war, or money to procure them — 
 do you think it possible, thus circumstanced, to op- 
 pose successfully the fleets and armies of Great Brit- 
 ain ? ' ^ I will be candid with you,' replied Mr. 
 Henry. ' I doubt whether we shall be able, alone, to 
 cope with so powerful a nation. But,' continued he, 
 (rising from his chair, with great animation,) 
 * where is France ? Where is Spain ? Where is Hoi- 
 
96 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 land ? the natural enemies of Great Britain. — Where 
 will they be all this while ? Do you suppose they 
 will stand by, idle and indifferent spectators to the 
 contest ? Will Louis XVI. be asleep all this time ? 
 Believe me, no I When Louis XVI. shall be satisfied 
 by our serious opposition, and our Declaration of In- 
 dependence, that all prospect of a reconciliation is 
 gone, then, and not till then, will he furnish us with 
 arms, ammunition, and clothing; and not with these 
 only, but he will send his fleets and armies to fight 
 our battles for us ; he will form with us a treaty of- 
 fensive and defensive, against our unnatural mother. 
 Spain and Holland will join the confederation ! Our 
 independence will be established! and we shall take 
 our stand among the nations of the earth ! ' Here he 
 ceased ; and Col. John Overton says, he shall never 
 forget the voice and prophetic manner with which 
 these predictions were uttered, and which have been 
 since so literally verified. Col. Overton says, at the 
 word independence J the company appeared to be 
 startled; for they had never heard any thing of the 
 kind before even suggested.'^ 
 
 It was anticipated, that the establishment of corre- 
 sponding committees would lead eventually to a con- 
 gress of the colonies, and that measure was brought 
 about by the following circumstances : — 
 
 The people of Boston having thrown into the sea 
 a vessel load of tea, which was attempted to be forced 
 upon them,"^ were punished by an act of parliament, 
 
 * This act is known in history as " The Boston Tea 
 Party." Consignments of tea were also refused in one way 
 or another, at New York, Philadelphia, Annapolis, and 
 Charleston. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 97 
 
 which shut up their port, from and after the first day 
 of June, 1774. The house of burgesses of Virginia 
 being in session when this act arrived, passed an 
 order, which stands upon their journal in the follow- 
 ing terms : — 
 
 " Tuesday, the 2Uh of May, 14 Geo, III, 1774. 
 
 " This house, being deeply impressed with appre- 
 hension of the great dangers to be derived to British 
 America, from the hostile invasion of the city of Bos- 
 ton, in our sister-colony of Massachusetts bay, whose 
 commerce and harbor are, on the first day of June 
 next, to be stopped by an armed force, deem it highly 
 necessary that the said first day of June next be set 
 apart, by the members of this housCj as a day of fast- 
 ing, humiliation, and prayer, devoutly to implore the 
 Divine interposition for averting the heavy calamity 
 which threatens destruction to our civil rights, and 
 the evils of civil war; to give us one heart and one 
 mind, firmly to oppose, by all just and proper means, 
 every injury to American rights; and that the minds 
 of his majesty and his parliament may be inspired 
 from above with wisdom, moderation, and justice, 
 to remove from the loyal people of America all cause 
 of danger from a continued pursuit of measures preg- 
 nant with their ruin. 
 
 " Ordered, therefore. That the members of this 
 house do attend in their places, at the hour of ten in 
 the forenoon, on the said first day of June next, in 
 order to proceed with the speaker and the mace to the 
 church in this city, for the purposes aforesaid ; and 
 that the Reverend Mr. Price be appointed to read 
 
98 I'IFE OF PAT^pCK HENRY. 
 
 prayers, and to preach a sermon suitable to the occa- 
 
 sion.'^ 
 
 In consequence of this order, Governor Dunmore, 
 on the following day, dissolved the house, with this 
 speech : — 
 
 ^^ Mr. Speaker, and gentlemen of the house of bur- 
 gesses: I have in my hand a paper published by 
 order of your house conceived in such terms as reflect 
 highly upon his majesty and the parliament of Great 
 Britain, which makes it necessary to dissolve you, and 
 you are dissolved accordingly." 
 
 The members immediately withdrew to the Ral- 
 eigh tavern, where they formed themselves into a 
 committee to consider of the most expedient and 
 necessary measure to guard against the encroach- 
 ments which so glaringly threatened them ; and im- 
 mediately adopted the following spirited associa- 
 tion : — 
 
 ''^ An association, signed by 89 members of the late 
 house of burgesses. We, his majesty's most dutiful 
 and loyal subjects, the late representatives of the good 
 people of this country, having been deprived, by the 
 sudden interposition of the executive part of this gov- 
 ernment, from giving our countrymen the advice we 
 wished to convey to them, in a legislative capacity, 
 find ourselves under the hard necessity of adopting 
 this, the only method we have left, of pointing out to 
 our countrymen such measures as, in our opinion, are 
 best fitted to secure our dear rights and liberty from 
 destruction, by the heavy hand of power now lifted 
 against North America. With much grief we find, 
 that our dutiful applications to Great Britain for the 
 security of our just, ancient, and constitutional 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 99 
 
 rights, have been not only disregarded, but that a 
 determined system is formed and pressed, for reduc- 
 ing the inhabitants of British America to slavery, by 
 subjecting them to the payment of taxes imposed 
 without the consent of the people or their representa- 
 tives ; and that, in pursuit of this system, we find an 
 act of the British parliament, lately passed, for stop- 
 ping the harbor and commerce of the town of Boston, 
 in our sister-colony of Massachusetts bay, until the 
 people there submit to the payment of such unconsti- 
 tutional taxes ; and which act most violently and arbi- 
 trarily deprives them of their property, in wharves 
 erected by private persons, at their own great and 
 proper expense ; which act is, in our opinion, a most 
 dangerous attempt to destroy the constitutional lib- 
 erty and rights of all l^orth America. It is further our 
 opinion, that as tea, on its importation into America, 
 is charged with a duty imposed by parliament, for 
 the purpose of raising a revenue without the consent 
 of the people, it ought not to be used by any person 
 who wishes well to the constitutional rights and lib- 
 erties of British America. And whereas the India 
 company have ungenerously attempted the ruin of 
 America, by sending many ships loaded with tea into 
 the colonies, thereby intending to fix a precedent in 
 favor of arbitrary taxation, we deem it highly proper 
 and do accordingly recommend it strongly to our 
 countrymen, not to purchase or use any kind of East 
 India commodity whatsoever, except saltpetre and 
 spices, until the grievances of America are redressed. 
 We are further clearly of opinion, that an attack 
 made on one of our sister-colonies, to compel submis- 
 sion to arbitrary taxes, is an attack made on all Brit- 
 
100 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 ish America, and threatens ruin to tlie rights of all, 
 unless the united wisdom of the whole be applied. 
 And for this purpose it is recommended to the com- 
 mittee of correspondence, that they communicate 
 with their several corresponding committees, on the 
 expediency of appointing deputies from the several 
 colonies of British America, to meet in general con- 
 gress, at such place, annually, as shall he thought 
 most convenient ; there to deliberate on those general 
 measures which the united interests of America may 
 from time to time require. 
 
 ^^ A tender regard for the interest of our fellow- 
 subjects, the merchants and manufacturers of Great 
 Britain, prevents us from going further at this time ; 
 most earnestly hoping that the unconstitutional prin- 
 ciple of taxing the colonies without their consent will 
 not be persisted in, thereby to compel us, against our 
 will, to avoid all commercial intercourse with Brit- 
 ain. Wishing them and our people free and happy, 
 we are their affectionate friends, the late representa- 
 tives of Virginia. 
 
 " The 27th day of May, 1774.^' 
 
 To give effect to the recommendation of a congress 
 on the part of this colony, delegates were shortly after 
 elected by the several counties, to meet in Williams- 
 burg on the first of August following, to consider fur- 
 ther of the state of public affairs, and, more particu- 
 larly, to appoint deputies to the general congress, 
 which was to be convened at Philadelphia, on the 
 5th of September following. The clear, firm, and 
 animated instructions given by the people of the sev- 
 eral counties to their delegates, evince the thorough 
 knowledge of the great parliamentary question which 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. lOl 
 
 now pervaded the country, and the determined spirit 
 of the colonists to resist the claim of British taxa- 
 tion.^ 
 
 * The following extracts are the Instructions from the 
 county of Hanover: — 
 
 To John Byrne and Patrick Henry, Jun., Esquires. 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 You have our thanks for your patriotic, faithful, and 
 spirited conduct, in the part you acted in the late assembly, 
 as our burgesses, and as we are greatly alarmed at the 
 proceedings of the British parliament respecting the town 
 of Boston, and the province of Massachusetts bay, and as 
 we understand a meeting of delegates from all the coun- 
 tries in this colony is appointed to be in Williamsburg on 
 the first day of next month, to deliberate on our public 
 affairs, we do hereby appoint you, gentlemen, our dele- 
 gates; and we do request you, then and there, to meet, 
 consult, and advise, touching matters as are most likely 
 to effect our deliverance from the evils with which our 
 country is threatened. . . . 
 
 We read our intended doom in the Boston port bill, in 
 that for altering the mode of trial in criminal cases, and, 
 finally, in the bill for altering the form of government in 
 the Massachusetts bay. These several acts are replete 
 with injustice and oppression, and strongly expressive of 
 the future policy of Britain toward all her colonies; if a 
 full and uncontrolled operation is given to this detestable 
 system in its earlier stages, it will probably be fixed upon 
 us for ever. 
 
 Let it, therefore, be your great object to obtain a speedy 
 repeal of those acts: and for this purpose we recommend 
 the adoption of such measures as may produce the hearty 
 union of all our countrymen and sister-colonies. United 
 
 WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL. 
 
 To obtain this wished-for union, we declare our readi- 
 ness to sacrifice any lesser interest arising from a soil, 
 climate, situation, or productions peculiar to us. . , , 
 
102 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 On the first of August, accordingly, the first con- 
 vention of Virginia delegates assembled in Williams- 
 burg ; and gave a new proof of the invincible energy 
 by which they were actuated, in a series of resolu- 
 tions, whereby they pledged themselves to make com- 
 mon cause with the people of Boston in every extrem- 
 ity ; and broke off all commercial connection with the 
 mother country, until the grievances of which they 
 complained should be redressed. By their last reso- 
 lution they empowered their moderator, Mr. Peyton 
 Randolph, or in case of his death, Robert C. Nicho- 
 las, esquire, on any future occasion that might in his 
 opinion require it, to convene the several delegates 
 of the colony, at such time and place as he might 
 judge proper. 
 
 They then appointed as deputies to congress on the 
 part of this colony, Messrs. Peyton Randolph, Rich- 
 ard Henry Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, 
 Richard Bland, Benjamin Harrison, and Edmimd 
 
 The African trade for slaves we consider as most dan- 
 gerous to the virtue and welfare of this country; we there- 
 fore most earnestly wish to see it totally discouraged. . . 
 
 While prudence and moderation shall guide your coun- 
 cils, we trust, gentlemen, that firmness, resolution, and 
 zeal, will animate you in the glorious struggle. The arm 
 of power, which is now stretched forth against us, is in- 
 deed formidable; but we do not despair. Our cause is 
 good; and if it is served with constancy and fidelity, it 
 cannot fail of success. We promise you our best support, 
 and we will heartily join in such measures as a majority 
 of our countrymen shall adopt for securing the public lib- 
 erty. 
 
 Resolved, That the above address be transmitted to 
 the printers to be published in the gazettes. 
 
 William Pollaed, Clerk. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 103 
 
 Pendleton, and furnislied them with the following 
 firm and spirited letter of instructions : — 
 
 " Instructions for the Deputies appointed to meet in 
 General Congress, on the part of the Colony, of Vir- 
 ginia. 
 
 '^ The unhappy disputes between Great Britain 
 and her American colonies, which began about the 
 third year of the reign of his present majesty, and 
 since continually increasing, have proceeded to 
 lengths so dangerous and alarming, as to excite just 
 apprehensions in the minds of his majesty^s faithful 
 subjects of the colony, that they are in danger of 
 being deprived of their natural, ancient, constitu- 
 tional, and chartered rights, have compelled them to 
 take the same into their most serious consideration ; 
 and being deprived of their usual and accustomed 
 mode of making known their grievances, have ap- 
 pointed us their representatives, to consider what is 
 proper to be done in this dangerous crisis of Ameri- 
 can affairs. It being our opinion that the united V\^is- 
 dom of li^orth America should be collected in a gen- 
 eral congress of all the colonies, we have appointed 
 the Honorable Peyton Randolph, Richard Henry 
 Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard 
 Bland, Benjamin Harrison, and Edmund Pendleton, 
 espuires, deputies to represent this colony in the said 
 congi'ess, to be held at Philadelphia on the first Mon- 
 day in September next. And that they may be the 
 better informed of our settlements touching the con- 
 duct we wish them to observe on this important occa- 
 sion, we desire that they will express, in the first 
 
104 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 place, our faith and true allegiance to his majesty, 
 King George the Third, our lawful and rightful sov- 
 ereign ; and that we are determined, with our lives 
 and fortunes, to support him in the legal exercise of 
 all his just rights and prerogatives. And, however 
 misrepresented, we sincerely approve of a constitu- 
 tional connection with Great Britain, and wish most 
 ardently a return of that intercourse of affection and 
 commercial connection that formerly united both 
 countries; which can only be effected by a removal of 
 those causes of discontent which have of late unhap- 
 pily divided us. 
 
 " It cannot admit of a doubt, but that British sub- 
 jects in America are entitled to the same rights and 
 privileges as their fellow-subjects possess in Britain ; 
 and, therefore, that the power assumed by the British 
 parliament to bind America by their statutes, in all 
 cases whatsoever, is unconstitutional, and the source 
 of these unhappy differences. 
 
 " The end of government would be defeated, by the 
 British parliament exercising a power over the lives, 
 the property, and the liberty of American subjects, 
 who are not, and from their local circumstances can- 
 not, be there represented. Of this nature we consider 
 the several acts of parliament for raising a revenue 
 in America, for extending the jurisdiction of the 
 courts of admiralty, for seizing American subjects, 
 and transporting them to Britain, to be tried for 
 crimes committed in America, and the several late op- 
 pressive acts respecting the town of Boston, and 
 province of Massachusetts bay. 
 
 " The original constitution of the American colon- 
 ies, possessing their assemblies with the sole right of 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HfiNRY. 105 
 
 directing their internal polity, it is absolutely de- 
 structive of the end of their institution, that their 
 legislatures should be suspended, or prevented, by 
 hasty dissolutions, from exercising their legislative 
 
 powers. 
 
 " Wanting the protection of Britain, we have long 
 acquiesced in their acts of navigation, restrictive of 
 our commerce, which we consider as an ample recom- 
 pense for such protection; but as those acts derive 
 their efficacy from that foundation alone, we have 
 reason to expect they will be restrained, so as to pro- 
 duce the reasonable purposes of Britain, and not be 
 injurious to us. 
 
 '' To obtain redress of these grievances, without 
 which the people of America can neither be safe, free, 
 nor happy, they are willing to undergo the great in- 
 convenience that will be derived to them, from stop- 
 ping all imports whatsoever from Great Britain, 
 after the first day of jSTovember next, and also to cease 
 exporting any commodity whatsoever to the same 
 place, after the 10th day of August, 1775. The ear- 
 nest desire we have to make as quick and full payment 
 as possible of our debts to Great Britain, and to avoid 
 the heavy injury that would arise to this country 
 from an earlier adoption of the non-exportation plan, 
 after the people have already applied so much of their 
 labor to the perfecting of the present crop, by which 
 means they have been prevented from pursuing other 
 methods of clothing and supporting their families, 
 have rendered it necessary to restrain you in this arti- 
 cle of non-exportation ; but it is our desire that you 
 cordially co-operate with our sister-colonies in gen- 
 eral congress, in such other just and proper methods 
 
106 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 as they, or the majority shall deem necessary for the 
 accomplishment of these valuable ends. 
 
 " The proclamation issued by General Gage, in the 
 government of the province of the Massachusetts bay, 
 declaring it treason for the inhabitants of that prov- 
 ince to assemble themselves to consider of their griev- 
 ances, and form associations for their common con- 
 duct on the occasion, and requiring the civil magis- 
 trates and officers to apprehend all such persons to be 
 tried for their supposed offences, is the most alarm- 
 ing process that ever appeared in a British govern- 
 ment; the said General Gage has thereby assumed 
 and taken upon himself powers denied by the consti- 
 tution to our legal sovereign ; he not having conde- 
 scended to disclose by what authority he exercises 
 such extensive and unheard-of powers, we are at a 
 loss to determine whether he intends to justify him- 
 self as the representative of the king, or as the com- 
 mander-in-chief of his majesty's forces in America. 
 If he considers himself as acting in the character of 
 his majesty's representative, we would remind him 
 that the statute 25th, Edward III., has expressed and 
 defined all treasonable offences, and that the legisla- 
 ture of Great Britain hath declared that no offence 
 shall be construed to be treason, but such as is pointed 
 out by that statute, and that this was done to take out 
 of the hands of tyrannical kings, and of weak and 
 Avicked ministers, that deadly weapon which construc- 
 tive treason hath furnished them with, and which had 
 drawn the blood of the best and honestest men in the 
 kingdom ; and that the king of Great Britain hath no 
 right by his proclamation to subject his people to im- 
 prisonment, pains, and penalties. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 107 
 
 " That if the said General Gage conceives he is 
 empowered to act in this manner, as the commander- 
 in-chief of his majesty's forces in America, this 
 odious and illegal proclamation must be considered as 
 a plain and full declaration that this despotic viceroy 
 will be bound by no law, nor regard the constitutional 
 rights of his majesty's subjects, whenever they in- 
 terfere with the plan he has formed for oppressing 
 the good people of Massachusetts bay ; and, therefore, 
 that the executing, or attempting to execute, such 
 proclamation, will justify resistance and reprisal." 
 
 On the fourth of September, 1774, that venerable 
 body, the old continental congress of the United 
 States, (toward whom every American heart will bow 
 with pious homage while the name of liberty shall be 
 dear in our land,) met for the first time at Carpen- 
 ter's Hall, in the city of Philadelphia. Peyton Ran- 
 dolph, of Virginia, was chosen president, and the 
 house was organized for business with all the solem- 
 nities of a regular legislature. 
 
 The most eminent men of the various colonies were 
 now, for the first time, brought together. They were 
 known to each other by fame ; but they were person- 
 ally strangers. The meeting was awfully solemn. 
 The object which had called them together was of in- 
 calculable magnitude. The liberties of no less than 
 three millions of people, with that of all their pos- 
 terity, were staked on the wisdom and energy of their 
 councils. No wonder, then, at the long and deep si- 
 lence which is said to have followed upon their or- 
 ganization ; at the anxiety with which the members 
 looked around upon each other; and the reluctance 
 which every individual felt to open a business so 
 
108 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 fearfully momentous. In tffe midst of this deep and 
 deathlike silence, and just when it was beginning to 
 become painfully embarrassing, Mr. Henry arose 
 slowly, as if borne down with the weight of the sub- 
 ject. After faltering, according to his habit, through 
 a most impressive exordium, in which he merely 
 echoed back the consciousness of every other heart, in 
 deploring his inability to do justice to the occasion, 
 he launched gradually into a recital of the colonial 
 "wrongs. Rising, as he advanced, with the grandeur 
 of his subject, and glowing at length with all the 
 majesty and expectation of the occasion, his speech 
 seemed more than that of mortal man. Even those 
 who had heard him in all his glory, in the house of 
 burgesses of Virginia, were astonished at the manner 
 in which his talents seemed to swell and expand them- 
 selves, to fill the vaster theatre in which he was now 
 placed. There was no rant, no rhapsody, no labor of 
 the understanding, no straining of the voice, no con- 
 fusion of the utterance. His countenance was erect, 
 his eye steady, his action noble, his enunciation clear 
 and firm, his mind poised on its centre, his views of 
 his subject comprehensive and great, and his imagina- 
 tion coruscating with a magnificence and a variety, 
 which struck even that assembly with amazement and 
 awe. He sat down amidst murmurs of astonishment 
 and applause ; and as he had been before proclaimed 
 the greatest orator of Virginia, he was now, on every 
 hand, admitted to be the first orator of America. 
 
 He was followed by Mr. Richard Henry Lee, who 
 charmed the house with a different kind of eloquence 
 — chaste, classical, beautiful — his polished periods 
 rolling along without effort, filling the ear with the 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 109 
 
 most bewitching harmony and delighting the mind 
 with the most exquisite imagery. The cultivated 
 graces of Mr. Lee's rhetoric received and at the same 
 time reflected beauty, by their contrast with the wild 
 and grand effusions of Mr. Henry. Two models of 
 eloquence, each so perfect in its kind, and so finely 
 contrasted, could not but fill the house with the high- 
 est admiration; and as Mr. Henry had before been 
 pronounced the Demosthenes, it was conceded on 
 every hand, that Mr. Lee was the Cicero, of America. 
 
CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 THE VIRGINIA CONVENTION AND HENKY^'s GEEAT 
 
 SPEECH. 
 
 1775. 
 
 It is due, however, to historic truth to record that 
 the superior powers of these great men were mani- 
 fested only in debate. On the floor of the house, and 
 during the first days of the session, while general 
 grievances were the topic, they took the undisputed 
 lead in the assembly, and were confessedly, primi 
 inter pares. But when called from the exercise of 
 oratory to that severer test of intellectual excellence, 
 the details of business, they found themselves in a 
 body of cool-headed, reflecting, and able men, by 
 whom they were, in their turn, completely thrown 
 into the shade.. 
 
 A petition to the king, an address to the people of 
 Great Britain, and a memorial to the people of Brit- 
 ish America, were agreed to be drawn. Mr. Lee, Mr. 
 Henry, and others, were appointed for the first; Mr. 
 Lee, Mr. Livingston, and Mr. Jay, for the two last 
 The splendor of their debut occasioned Mr. Henry to 
 be designated by his committee, to draw the petition 
 to the king, with which they 'were charged; and Mr. 
 Lee was charged with the address to the people of 
 
 XIO 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. HI 
 
 England. The last was first reported. On reading 
 it, great disappointment was expressed in every coun- 
 tenance and a dead silence ensued for some minutes. 
 At length, it was laid on the table, for perusal and 
 consideration, till the next day : when first one mem- 
 ber and then another arose, and paying some faint 
 compliment to the composition, observed that there 
 were still certain considerations not expressed, which 
 should properly find a place in it. The address was, 
 therefore, committed for amendment; and one pre- 
 pared by Mr. Jay, and offered by Governor Living- 
 ston, was reported and adopted, with scarcely an al- 
 teration. Mr. Henry^s draught of a petition to the 
 king was equally unsuccessful, and was recommitted 
 for amendment. Mr. John Dickinson (the author of 
 the Farmer's Letters) was added to the committee, 
 and a new draught, prepared by him, was adopted. 
 
 It is a trite remark, that eminent talents for speak- 
 ing and for writing are very rarely found united in 
 the same individual. For Mr. Henry and for the 
 world, it happened unfortunately, that the years of 
 his youth had been wasted in idleness. He had be- 
 come celebrated as an orator before he had learned to 
 compose ; and it is not therefore wonderful, that when 
 withdrawn from the kindling presence of the crowd, 
 he was called upon for the first time to take the pen, 
 all the spirit and flame of his genius were extin- 
 guished. 
 
 But to resume our narrative : congress arose in Oc- 
 tober, and Mr. Henry returned to his native county. 
 Here, as was natural, he was surrounded by his neigh- 
 bors, who were eager to hear not only what had been 
 done, but what kind of men had composed that illus- 
 
112 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 trious body. He answered their inquiries with all 
 his wonted kindness and candor; and having been 
 asked by one of them, '^ whom he thought the great- 
 ets man in congress/' he replied : " If you speak of 
 eloquence, Mr. Rutledge, of South Carolina, is by 
 far the greatest orator ; but if you speak of solid in- 
 formation and sound judgment, Colonel Washington 
 is, unquestionably, the greatest man on that floor." 
 
 On Monday, the 20th of March, 1775, the conven- 
 tion of delegates, from the several counties and cor- 
 porations of Virginia, met for the second time. This 
 assembly was held in the old church in the town of 
 Richmond. Mr. Henry was a member of that body 
 also. The reader will bear in mind the tone of the 
 instructions given by the convention of the preceding 
 year to their deputies in congress. He will remem- 
 ber that, while tliey recite with great feeling the 
 series of grievances under which the colonies had la- 
 bored, and insist with firmness on their constitutional 
 rights, they give, nevertheless, the most explicit and 
 solemn pledge of their faith and true allegiance to his 
 majesty King George III., and avow their determina- 
 tion to support him with their lives and fortunes, in 
 the legal exercise of all his just rights and preroga- 
 tives. He will remember, that these instructions con- 
 tain also, an expression of their sincere approbation 
 of a connection with Great Britain, and their ardent 
 wishes for a return of that friendly intercourse from, 
 which this country had derived so much prosperity 
 and happiness. These sentiments still influenced 
 many of the leading members of the convention of 
 1775. They could not part with the fond hope that 
 those peaceful days would again return which had 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 113 
 
 shed so much light and warmth over the land; and 
 the report of the king's gracious reception of the pe- 
 tition from congress tended to cherish and foster that 
 hope, and to render them averse to any means of vio- 
 lence. But Mr. Henry saw things with a steadier 
 eye and a deeper insight. His judgment was too solid 
 to be duped by appearances; and his heart too firm 
 and manly to be amused by false and flattering hopes. 
 He had long since read the true character of the 
 British court, and saw that no alternative remained 
 for his country but abject submission or heroic resis- 
 tance. It was not for a soul like Henry's to hesitate 
 between these courses. He had offered upon the altar 
 of liberty no divided heart. The gulf of war which 
 yawned before him was indeed fiery and fearful ; but 
 he saw that the awful plunge was inevitable. The 
 body of the convention, however, hesitated. They 
 cast around " a longing, lingering look " on those 
 flowery fields on which peace, and ease, and joy, were 
 still sporting ; and it required all the energies of a 
 Mentor like Henry to push them from the precipice, 
 and conduct them over the stormy sea of the revolu- 
 tion, to liberty and glory. 
 
 The convention being formed and organized tor 
 business, proceeded, in the first place, to express their 
 unqualified approbation of the measures of congress, 
 and to declare that they considered '' this whole con- 
 tinent as under the highest obligations to that resi^ec- 
 table body, for the wisdom of their counsels, and 
 their unremitted endeavors to maintain and preserve 
 inviolate the just rights and liberties of his majesty's 
 dutiful and loyal subjects in America." 
 
 They next resolve, that " the warmest thanks of 
 
134 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 the convention, and of M the inhabitants of this 
 colony, were due and that this tribute of applause be 
 presented to the worthy delegates, deputed by a for- 
 mer convention to represent this colony in general 
 congress, for their cheerful undertaking and faithful 
 discharge of the very important trust reposed in 
 them.'^ 
 
 The morning of the 23d of March was opened, by 
 reading a petition and memorial from the assembly 
 of Jamaica, to the king's most excellent majesty: 
 whereupon it was — ^'Resolved, That the unfeigned 
 thanks and most grateful acknowledgments of the 
 convention be presented to that very respectable as- 
 sembly, for the exceeding generous and affectionate 
 part they have so nobly taken, in the unhappy con- 
 test between Great Britain and her colonies ; and for 
 their truly patriotic endeavors to fix the just claims 
 of the colonists upon the most permanent constitu- 
 tional principles : — that the assembly be assured, that 
 it is the most ardent wish of this colony, [and they 
 were persuaded of the whole continent of I^orth 
 America,] to see a speedy return of those halcyon 
 days, when we lived a free and happy people.'^ 
 
 These proceedings were not adapted to the taste 
 of Mr. Henry ; on the contrary, they were " gall and 
 wormwood '' to him. The house required to be 
 wrought up to a bolder tone. He rose, therefore, and 
 moved the following manly resolutions : — 
 
 " Resolved, That a well-regulated militia, com- 
 posed of gentlemen and yeomen, is the natural 
 strength and only security of a free government ; that 
 such a militia in this colony would for ever render it 
 unnecessary for the mother-country to keep among 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 116 
 
 us, for the purpose of our defence, any standing army 
 of mercenary soldiers, always subversive of the quiet 
 and dangerous to the liberties of the people, and 
 would obviate the pretext of taxing us for their sup- 
 
 " That the establishment of such militia is, at this 
 time, peculiarly necessary, by the state of our laws, 
 for the protection and defence of the country, some 
 of which are already expired, and others will shortly 
 be so- and that the known remissness of government 
 in calling us together in legislative capacity, renders 
 it too insecure, in this time of danger and distress, 
 to rely that opportunity will be given of renewing 
 them in general assembly, or making any provision 
 to secure our inestimable rights and liberties, from 
 those further violations with which they are threat- 
 
 " Eesolved, therefore. That this colony he imme- 
 diately put into a state of defence, and that _ 
 
 he a committee to prepare a plan for im- 
 hodying, arming, and disciplining such a number of 
 men, as may he sufficient for that purpose. 
 
 The alarm which such a proposition must have 
 given to those who had contemplated no resistance of 
 a character more serious than petition, non-importa- 
 tion, and passive fortitude, and who still hung with 
 suppliant tenderness on the skirts of Britain will be 
 readily conceived by the reflecting reader. The shock 
 was painful. It was almost general. The resolu- 
 tions were opposed as not only rash in policy, but as 
 harsh and well nigh impious in point of feeling. 
 Some of the warmest patriots of the convention op- 
 posed them. Richard Bland, Benjamin Harrison, 
 
lie LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 and Edmund Pendleton, w!ro had so lately drunk of 
 the fountain of patriotism in the continental con- 
 gress, and Eobert C. Nicholas, one of the best as well 
 as ablest men and patriots in the state, resisted them 
 with all their influence and abilities. 
 
 They urged the late gracious reception of the con- 
 gressional petition by the throne. They insisted that 
 national comity, and much more filial respect, de- 
 manded the exercise of a more dignified patience. 
 That the sympathies of the parent-country were now 
 on our side. That the friends of American liberty in 
 jjarliament were still with us, and had, as yet, had 
 no cause to blush for our indiscretion. That the 
 manufacturing interests of Great Britain, already 
 smarting under the effects of our non-importation, 
 co-operated powerfully toward our relief. That the 
 sovereign himself had relented, and showed that he 
 looked upon our sufferings with an eye of pity. 
 '^ Was this a moment," they asked, " to disgust our 
 friends, to extinguish all the conspiring sympathies 
 which were working in our favor, to turn their 
 friendship into hatred, their pity into revenge ? And 
 what was there, they asked, in the situation of the 
 colony, to tempt us to this? Were we a great mili- 
 tary people ? Were we ready for war % Where were 
 our stores, where were our arms, where our soldiers, 
 where our generals, where our money, the sinews of 
 war ? They were nowhere to be found. In truth, we 
 were poor, we were naked, we were defenceless. And 
 yet we taJk of assuming the front of war ! of assum- 
 ing it, too, against a nation, one of the most formida- 
 ble in the Avorld ! A nation ready and armed at all 
 points ! Her navies riding triumphant in every sea ; 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 117 
 
 her armies never marching but to certain victory! 
 What was to be the issue of the struggle we were 
 called upon to court ? What could be the issue, in 
 the comparative circumstances of the two countries, 
 but to yield up this country an easy prey to Great 
 Britain, and to convert the illegitimate right which 
 the British parliament now claimed, into a firm and 
 indubitable right, by conquest ? The measure might 
 be brave ; but it was the bravery of madmen. It had 
 no pretension to the character of prudence, and as 
 little to the grace of genuine courage. It would be 
 time enough to resort to measures of despair, when 
 every well founded hope had entirely vanished." 
 
 To this strong view of the subject, supported as it 
 was by the stubborn fact of the well-known helpless 
 condition of the colony, the opponents of those resolu- 
 tions superadded every topic of persuasion which be- 
 longed to the cause. 
 
 " The strength and lustre which we have derived 
 from our connection with Great Britain, the domestic 
 comforts which we had drawn from the same source, 
 and whose value we were now able to estimate by 
 their loss, that ray of reconciliation which was dawn- 
 ing upon us from the east, and which promised so fair 
 and happy a day, with this they contrasted the clouds 
 and storms which the measure now proposed was so 
 well calculated to raise, and in which we should not 
 have even the poor consolation of being pitied by the 
 world, since we should have so needlessly and rashly 
 drawn them upon ourselves." 
 
 These arguments and topics of persuasion were so 
 well justified by the appearance of things, and were 
 moreover so entirely in unison with that love of ease 
 
118 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 and quiet which is natur^to man, and that disposi- 
 tion to hope for happier times, even under the most 
 forbidding circumstances, that an ordinary man, in 
 Mr. Henry's situation, would have been glad to com- 
 pound with the displeasure of the house, by being 
 permitted to withdraw his resolutions in silence. 
 
 Not so Mr. Henry. His was a spirit fitted to raise 
 the whirlwind, as well as to ride in and direct it. 
 His was that comprehensive view, that unerring pres- 
 cience, that perfect command over the actions of men, 
 which qualified him not merely to guide, but almost 
 to create the destinies of nations. 
 
 He rose at this time with a majesty unusual to him 
 in an exordium, and with all that self-possession by 
 which he was so invariably distinguished. ^' No 
 man," he said, ' thought more highly than he did of 
 the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy 
 gentlemen who had just addressed the house. But 
 different men often saw the same subject in different 
 lights ; and, therefore, he hoped it would not bo 
 thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, enter- 
 taining as he did, opinions of a character very oppo- 
 site to theirs, he should speak forth his sentiments 
 freely, and without reserve. This,'' he said, '^ was 
 no time for ceremony. The question before this 
 house was one of awful moment to the country. For 
 his own part, he considered it as nothing less than a 
 question of freedom or slavery. And in proportion 
 to the magnitude of the subject, ought to be the free- 
 dom of the debate. It was only in this way that they 
 could hope to arrive at truth, and fulfil the great re- 
 sponsibility which they held to God and their coun- 
 try. Should he keep back his opinions at such a 
 
Patrick Henry delivering his speech against tyranny before the Virginia con- 
 vention, March 23, 1775.— Page 118. Life of Patrick Henry. 
 
J\ 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 119 
 
 time, througli fear of giving offence, he should con- 
 sider himself as guilty of treason toward his coun- 
 try, and of an act of disloyalty toward the majesty 
 of heaven, which he revered ahove all earthly kings. 
 " Mr. President," said he, " it is natural to man 
 to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to 
 shut our eyes against a painful truth — and listen to 
 the song of that siren, till she transforms us into 
 beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a 
 great and arduous strugle for liberty? Were we 
 disposed to be of the number of those, who haying 
 eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things 
 which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? 
 For his part, whatever anguish of spirit it might cost, 
 he was willing to know the whole truth ; to know the 
 worst, and to provide for it. 
 
 " He had,'' he said, " but one lamp by which his 
 feet were guided ; and that was the lamp of exper- 
 ience. He knew of no way of judging of the future 
 but by the past. And judging by the past, he wished 
 to know what there had been in the conduct of the 
 British ministry for the last ten years, to justify 
 those hopes with which gentlemen had been pleased 
 to solace themselves and the house? Is it that in- 
 sidious smile with Avhich our petition has been lately 
 received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to 
 your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with 
 a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception 
 of our petition comports with those warlike prepara- 
 tions which cover our waters and darken our land. 
 Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and 
 reconciliation ? Have we shown ourselves so unwill- 
 ing to be reconciled, that force must be called in to 
 
120 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 win back our love ? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. 
 These are the implements of war and subjugation — • 
 the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gen- 
 tlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its pur- 
 pose be not to force us to submission ? Can gentle- 
 men assign any other possible motive for it ? Has 
 Great Britain any enemy in this quarter of the world, 
 to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies ? 
 'No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us : they 
 can be meant for no other. They are sent over to 
 bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British 
 ministry have been so long forging. 
 
 " And what have we to oppose to them ? Shall we 
 try argument ? Sir, we have been trying that for the 
 last ten years. Have we any thing new to offer upon 
 the subject ? ^NTothing. We have held the subject up 
 in every light of which it is capable ; but it has been 
 all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble 
 supplication ? What terms shall we find, which have 
 not been already exhausted ? Let us not, I beseech 
 you, sir, deceive ourselves longer. Sir, we have done 
 every thing that could be done, to avert the storm 
 which is now coming on. We have petitioned, we 
 have remonstrated, we have supplicated, we have 
 prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have im- 
 plored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands 
 of the ministry and parliament. Our petitions have 
 been slighted; our remonstrances have produced ad- 
 ditional violence and insult; our supplications have 
 been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with 
 contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after 
 these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace 
 and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY, 121 
 
 lope. If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve 
 inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we 
 have been so long contending, if we mean not basely 
 to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been 
 so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves 
 never to abandon, until the glorious object of our 
 contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, 
 sir, we must fight ! An appeal to arms and to the God 
 of hosts, is all that is left us ! " 
 
 " They tell us, sir," continued Mr. Henry, " that 
 we are weak, unable to cope with so formidable an 
 adversary. But when shall we be stronger ? Will it 
 be the next week or the next year ? Will it be when 
 we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard 
 shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather 
 strength by irresolution and inaction ? Shall we ac- 
 quire'' the means of effectual resistance by lying su- 
 pinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phan- 
 tom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us 
 hand and foot ? Sir, we are not weak, if we make a 
 proper use of those means which the God of nature 
 hath placed in our power. Three millions of people 
 
 * " Imagine to yourself," says Judge Tucker, " this sen- 
 tence delivered with all the calm dignity of Cato, of Utica 
 —imagine to yourself the Roman senate, assembled in the 
 capitol, when it was entered by the profane Gauls, who, at 
 first, were awed by their presence, as if they had entered 
 an assembly of the gods!— imagine that you heard that 
 Cato addressing such a senate— imagine that you saw the 
 handwriting on the wall of Belshazzar's palace— imagine 
 you heard a voice as from heaven uttering the words ' We 
 must ftgu: as the doom of fate, and you may have some 
 idea of the speaker, the assembly to whom he addressed 
 himself, and the auditory, of which I was one." 
 
122 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a 
 country as that which we possess, are invincible by 
 any force which our enemy can send against us. Be- 
 sides, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a 
 just God who presides over the destinies of nations, 
 and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for 
 us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone ; it is 
 to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, 
 we have no election. If we were base enough to de- 
 sire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. 
 There is no retreat but in submission and slavery ! 
 Our chains are forged. Their clanking may be heard 
 on the plains of Boston ! The war is inevitable — and 
 let it come ! ! I repeat it, sir, let it come ! ! ! 
 
 "It is vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentle- 
 men may cry, peace, peace — but there is no peace. 
 The war is actually begun ! The next gale that sweeps 
 from the north will bring to our ears the clash of re- 
 sounding arms ! Our brethren are already in the 
 field ! Why stand we here idle ? Wliat is it that gen- 
 tlemen wish ? What would they have ? Is life so 
 dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price 
 of chains and slavery ? Forbid it. Almighty God ! — 
 I know not what course others may take ; but as for 
 me," cried he, with both his arms extended aloft, his 
 brows knit, every feature marked with the resolute 
 purpose of his soul, and his voice swelled to its bold- 
 est note of exclamation — " give me liberty, or give 
 me death ! " 
 
 He took his seat. "No murmur of applause was 
 heard. The effect was too deep. After the trance 
 of a moment, several members started from their 
 seats. The cry, " to arms ! " seemed to quiver on 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 123 
 
 every lip, and gleam from every eye. Kichard H. 
 Lee arose and supported Mr. Henry, with his usual 
 spirit and elegance. But his melody was lost amid 
 the agitations of that ocean, which the master-spirit 
 of the storm had lifted up on high. That supernat- 
 ural voice still sounded in their ears, and shivered 
 along their arteries. They heard, in every pause, the 
 cry of liberty or death. They became impatient of 
 speech — their souls were on fire for action.* 
 
 * Mr. Randolph, in his manuscript history, has given 
 a most eloquent and impressive account of this debate. 
 Since these sheets were prepared for the press, and at 
 the moment of their departure from the hands of the 
 author, he has received from Chief Justice Marshall, a 
 note in relation to the same debate, which he thinks too 
 interesting to suppress. It is the substance of a statement 
 made to the chief justice (then an ardent youth, feeling 
 a most enthusiastic admiration of eloquence, and panting 
 for war) by his father, who was a member of this con- 
 vention, Mr. Marshall, (the father), after speaking of 
 Mr. Henry's speech, " as one of the most bold, vehement, 
 and animated pieces of eloquence that had ever been de- 
 livered," proceeded to state, that " he was followed by 
 Mr. Richard H. Lee, who took a most interesting view of 
 our real situation. He stated the force which Britain could 
 probably bring to bear upon us, and reviewed our resources 
 and means of resistance. He stated the advantages and 
 disadvantages of both parties, and drew from this state- 
 ment auspicious inferences. But he concluded with say- 
 ing, admitting the probable calculations to be against us, 
 we are assured in holy writ that * the race is not to the 
 swift, nor the battle to the strong; and if the language 
 of genius may be added to inspiration, I will say with our 
 immortal bard: — 
 
 * Thrice is he armed, who hath his quarrel just! 
 And he but naked, though lock'd up in steel. 
 Whose conscience with injustice is oppress'dj ' " 
 
124: LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 The resolutions were adopted ; and Patrick Henry, 
 Kichard H. Lee, Robert C. Nicholas, Benjamin Har- 
 rison, Lemuel Riddick, George Washington, Adam 
 Stevens, Andrew Lewis, William Christian, Edmund 
 Pendleton, Thomas Jefferson, and Isaac Zane, es- 
 quires, were appointed a committee to prepare the 
 plan called for by the last resolution. 
 
 The constitution of this committee proves, that in 
 those days of genuine patriotism there existed a mu- 
 tual and noble confidence, which deemed the op- 
 ponents of a measure no less worthy than its friends 
 to assist in its execution. Thomas Jefferson, Avho 
 bore himself a most distinguished part in our revolu- 
 tion, in speaking of the gentlemen whom I have just 
 named, as having opposed Mr. Henry's resolutions, 
 and of Mr. Wythe who acted with them, says: 
 " These were honest and able men, who had begun the 
 opposition on the same grounds, but with a modera- 
 tion more adapted to their age and experience. Sub- 
 sequent events favored the bolder spirits of Henry, 
 the Lees, Pages, Mason, &c., with whom I went in all 
 points. Sensible, however, of the importance of 
 unanimity among our constituents, although we often 
 wished to have gone on faster, we slackened our pace, 
 that our less ardent colleagues might keep up with 
 us; and they, on their part, differing nothing from 
 us in principle, quickened their gait somewhat be- 
 yond that which their prudence might, of itself, have 
 advised, and thus consolidated the phalnax which 
 breasted the power of Britain. By this harmony of 
 the bold with the cautious, we advanced, with our 
 constituents, in undivided mass, and with fewer ex- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 125 
 
 amples of separation than perhaps existed in any 
 other part of the union." 
 
 The plan for embodying, arming, and disciplining 
 the militia, proposed by the committee which has just 
 been mentioned, was received and adopted, and is in 
 the following terms : — 
 
 " The committee propose that it be strongly rec- 
 ommended to the colony, diligently to put in execu- 
 tion the militia law passed in the j^ear 1738, entitled, 
 ' An act for the better regulating of the militia,' 
 which has become in force by the expiration of all 
 subsequent militia laws. 
 
 " The committee are further of opinion, that as, 
 from the expiration of the above mentioned laws, and 
 various other causes, the legal and necessary disci- 
 plining the militia has been much neglected, and a 
 proper provision of arms and ammunition has not 
 been made, to the evident danger of the community, 
 in case of invasion or insurrection ; that it be recom- 
 mended to the inhabitants of the several counties of 
 this colony, that they form one or more volunteer 
 companies of infantry and troops of horse in each 
 county, and to be in constant training and readiness 
 to act on any emergency. 
 
 " That it be recommended particularly to the coun- 
 ties of Brunswick, Dinwiddle, Chesterfield, Henrico, 
 Hanover, Spotsylvania, King George, and Stafford, 
 and to all counties below these, that, out of such of 
 their volunteers, they form, each of them, one or more 
 troops of horse ; and to all the counties above these, 
 it is recommended that they pay a more particular at- 
 tention to forming a good infantry. 
 
 " That each company of infantry consist of sixty- 
 
126 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 eight, rank and file, to be commanded by one captain, 
 two lieutenants, one ensign, four sergeants, and four 
 corporals ; and that they have a drummer, and be fur- 
 nished Avith a drum and colors; that every man be 
 provided with a good rifle, if to be had, or otherwise 
 with a common firelock, bayonet, and cartouch-bpx, 
 and also with a tomahawk, one pound of gunpowder, 
 and four pounds of ball at least, fitted to the bore of 
 his gun, that he be clothed in a hunting-shirt, by way 
 of uniform ; and that he use all endeavor, as soon as 
 possible, to become acquainted with the military exer- 
 cise for infantry, appointed to be used by his majesty 
 in the year 1764. 
 
 " That each troop of horse consist of thirty, exclu- 
 sive of officers ; that every horseman be provided with 
 a good horse, bridle, saddle, with pistols and holsters, 
 a carbine or other short firelock, with a bucket, a 
 cutting-sword or tomahawk, one pound of gunpowder, 
 and four pounds of ball, at least ; and use the utmost 
 diligence in training and accustoming his horse to 
 stand the discharge of firearms, and in making him- 
 self acquainted with the military exercise for cavalry. 
 
 " That in order to make a further and more ample 
 provision of ammunition, it be recommended to the 
 committees of the several counties, that they collect 
 from their constituents in such manner as shall be 
 most agreeable to them, so much money as will be 
 sufficient to purchase half a pound of gunpowder, one 
 pound of lead, necessary flints and cartridge paper, 
 for every titheable person in their county ; that they 
 immediately take effectual measures for the procur- 
 ing such gunpowder, lead, flints, and cartridge-paper, 
 and dispose thereof, when procured, in such place or 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 137 
 
 places of safety as they may think best : and it is ear- 
 nestly recommended to each individual to pay such 
 proportion of the money necessary for these purposes, 
 as by the respective committees shall be judged re- 
 quisite. 
 
 " That as it may happen that some counties, from 
 their situation, may not be apprized of the most cer- 
 tain and speedy method of procuring the articles be- 
 fore-mentioned, one general committee should be ap- 
 pointed, whose business it should be, to procure for 
 such counties as may make application to them, such 
 articles, and so much thereof, as the moneys where- 
 with they shall furnish the said committee will pur- 
 chase, after deducting the charges of transportation, 
 and other necessary expenses." 
 
 At the same session of the convention, I find that 
 the alert and inquiring spirit of Mr. Henry laid hold 
 of another instance of royal misrule. Governor Dun- 
 more, it seems, by a recent proclamation, had de- 
 clared, that his majesty had given orders for all va- 
 cant lands within this colony to be put up in lots at 
 public sale ; and that the highest bidder for such lots 
 should be the purchaser thereof, and should hold the 
 same, subject to a reservation of one halfpenny per 
 acre, by way of annual quitrent, and of all mines of 
 gold, silver, and precious stones. These terms were 
 deemed an innovation on the established usage of 
 granting lands in this colony ; and this sagacious poli- 
 tician saw in the proceeding, not only an usurpation 
 of power, but a great subduction of the natural wealth 
 of the colony, and the creation, moreover, of a sepa- 
 rate band of tenants and retainers, devoted to the 
 vilest measures of the crowm. With a view, there- 
 
128 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 fore, to defeat this measure, he moved the following 
 resolution, which was adopted : — 
 
 " Kesolved, That a committee be appointed to in- 
 quire whether his majesty may of right advance the 
 terms of granting lands in this colony, and make 
 report thereof to the next general assembly or con- 
 vention ; and that in the meantime it be recommended 
 to all persons whatever, to forbear purchasing or ac- 
 cepting lands on the conditions before mentioned." 
 Of this committee he was of course the chairman; 
 and the other members were Richard Bland, Thomas 
 Jefferson, Robert C. Nicholas, and Edmund Pendle- 
 ton, esquires. 
 
 The convention having adopted a plan for the en- 
 couragement of arts and manufactures in this col- 
 ony, and reappointed their former deputies to the 
 continental congress, with the substitution of Mr. Jef- 
 ferson for Mr. Peyton Randolph, in case of the non- 
 attendance of the latter : * and having also provided 
 for a re-election of delegates to the next convention 
 came to an adjournment. f 
 
 * He v/as speaker of the house of burgesses, a call of 
 which was expected, and did accordingly take place. 
 
 t It is curious to read in the file of papers from which 
 the foregoing proceedings are extracted, and immediately 
 following them this proclamation of his Excellency Lord 
 Dunmore: — 
 
 " Whereas certain persons, styling themselves delegates 
 of several of his majesty's colonies in America, have pre- 
 sumed, without his majesty's authority or consent, to as- 
 semble together at Philadelphia, in the months of Sep- 
 tember and October last, and have thought fit, among 
 other unwarrantable proceedings, to resolve that it will 
 be necessary that another congress should be held at the 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 129 
 
 same place on the 10th of May next, unless redress of cer- 
 tain pretended grievances be obtained before that time: 
 and to recommend that all the colonies of North America 
 should choose deputies to attend such congress: / am 
 commanded by the king, and I do accordingly issue this 
 my proclamation, to require all magistrates and other 
 officers to use their utmost endeavors to prevent any such 
 appointment of deputies, and to exhort all persons what- 
 ever within this government, to desist from such an unjus- 
 tifiable proceeding, so highly displeasing to his majesty." 
 
 This proclamation was published while the convention 
 was in session, and was obviously designed to have an 
 effect on their proceedings. It passed by them, however, 
 " as the idle wind which they regarded not." The age 
 of proclamation was gone, and the glory of regal gover- 
 nors pretty nearly extinguished for ever. 
 
 It ought not to be omitted, however, that this very 
 convention passed resolutions complimentary to Lord Dun- 
 more, and the troops which he had commanded in an 
 expedition of the preceding year against the Indians: a 
 compliment which, as we shall see, was afterward found 
 to be unmerited. As the resolution in regard to Lord Dun- 
 more does honor to the candor of the convention, and 
 shows also how little personality there was in the contest, 
 I take leave to subjoin it: — 
 
 " Resolved, unanimously. That the most cordial thanks 
 of the people of this colony are a tribute, justly due to our 
 worthy governor. Lord Dunmore, for his truly noble, wise, 
 and spirited conduct, on the late expedition against our 
 Indian enemy — a conduct which at once evinces his excel- 
 lency's attention to the true interests of this colony, and a 
 zeal in the executive department which no dangers can 
 divert, or difficulties hinder, from achieving the most im- 
 portant services to the people who have the happiness to 
 live under his administration." 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE FIKST UPRISING IN VIRGINIA. 
 
 1775. 
 
 The storm of the revolution now began to thicken. 
 The cloud of war had actually burst on the 'New En- 
 gland states while as yet the middle and southern 
 colonies were in comparative repose. The calm, how- 
 ever, was deceitful, and of short duration ; and, as 
 far as Virginia was concerned, had been occasioned 
 rather by the absence of Governor Dunmore on an 
 Indian expedition, than any disposition on his part 
 to favor the colony. His return to Williamsburg was 
 the signal for violence. 
 
 It seems to have been a matter of concert among 
 the colonial governors, if indeed the policy was not 
 dictated by the British court, to disarm the people of 
 all the colonies at one and the same time, and thus 
 incapacitate them for united resistance. 
 
 To give effect to this measure, the export of powder 
 from Great Britain was prohibited ; and an attempt 
 was generally made about the same period to seize the 
 powder and arms in the several provincial magazines. 
 Gage, the successor of Hutchinson in the government 
 of Massachusetts, set the example, by a seizure of 
 the ammunition and military stores at Cambridge, 
 
 130 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 131 
 
 and the powder in the magazines at Charlestown, and 
 other places. His example was followed by similar 
 attempts in other colonies to the north. And on 
 Thursday, the 20th of April, 17Y5, Captain Henry 
 Collins, of the armed schooner Magdalen, then lying 
 at Burwell's ferry, on James river, came up at the 
 head of a body of marines and, acting under the 
 orders of Lord Dunmore, entered the city of Wil- 
 liamsburg in the dead of the night, and carried off 
 from the public magazine about twenty barrels of 
 pow^der, which he placed on board his schooner before 
 the break of day. Clandestine as the movement had 
 been, the alarm was given to the inhabitants early on 
 the next morning. Their exasperation may be easily 
 conceived. The town was in tumult. A considerable 
 body of them flew to arms, with the determination to 
 compel Capt. Collins to restore the powder. With 
 much difficulty, however, they were restrained by the 
 graver inhabitants of the town, and by the members 
 of the common council, who assured them that proper 
 measures should be immediately used to produce a 
 restoration of the powder, without the effusion of 
 human blood. The council, therefore, met in their 
 corporate character, and addressed the following let- 
 ter to Governor Dunmore: — 
 
 ' To his Excellency the Eight Hon. John, Earl of 
 Dunmore, his majesty's lieutenant, governor-gen- 
 eral, and commander-in-chief of the colony and 
 dominion of Virginia: — The humble address of 
 the mayor, recorder, aldermen and common coun- 
 cil of the city of Williamsburg: — 
 "My Lord — We, his majesty's dutiful and loyal 
 
132 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 subjects, the mayor, recorder, aldermen and common 
 council of the city of Williamsburg, in common hall 
 assembled, humbly beg leave to represent to your ex- 
 cellency, that the inhabitants of this city were this 
 morning exceedingly alarmed by a report that a large 
 quantity of gunpowder was, in the preceding night, 
 while they were sleeping in their beds, removed from 
 the public magazine in this city, and conveyed, under 
 an escort of marines, on board one of his majesty's 
 armed vessels lying at a ferry on James river. 
 
 ^^ We beg leave to represent to your excellency, 
 that, as the magazine was erected at the public ex- 
 pense of this colony, and appropriated to the safe- 
 keeping of such munition as should be there lodged, 
 from time to time, for the protection and security of 
 the country, by arming thereout such of the militia 
 as might be necessary in cases of invasions and in- 
 surrections, they humbly conceive it to be the only 
 proper repository to be resorted to in times of immi- 
 nent danger. 
 
 " We further beg leave to inform your excellency, 
 that from various reports at present prevailing in dif- 
 ferent parts of the country, we have too much reason 
 to believe that some wicked and designing persons 
 have instilled the most diabolical notions into the 
 minds of our slaves; and that, therefore, the utmost 
 attention to our internal security is become the more 
 necessary. 
 
 ^^ The circumstances of this city, my lord, we con- 
 sider as peculiar and critical. The inhabitants, from 
 the situation of the magazine in the midst of their 
 city, have for a long tract of time, been exposed to 
 all those dangers which have happened in many coun- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 133 
 
 tries from explosions, and other accidents. They 
 have, from time to time, thought it incumbent on 
 them to guard the magazine. For their security they 
 have, for some time past, judged it necessary to keep 
 strong patrols on foot ; in their present circumstances, 
 then, to have the chief and necessary means of their 
 defence removed, cannot but be extremely alarming. 
 
 " Considering ourselves as guardians of the city, 
 we therefore humbly desire to be informed by your 
 excellency, upon what motives, and for what partic- 
 ular purpose, the powder has been carried off in such 
 a manner; and we earnestly entreat your excellency 
 to order it to be immediately returned to the maga- 
 zine." 
 
 To which his excellency returned this verbal an- 
 swer : — 
 
 " That hearing of an insurrection in a neighboring 
 county, he had removed the powder from the maga- 
 zine, where he did not think it secure, to a place of 
 perfect security ; and that, upon his word and honor, 
 whenever it was wanted on any insurrection, it 
 should be delivered in half an hour; that he had re- 
 moved it in the night-time, to prevent any alarm, and 
 that Captain Collins had his express commands for 
 the part he had acted; he was surprised to hear the 
 people were under arms on this occasion, and that he 
 should not think it prudent to put powder into their 
 hands in such a situation." 
 
 This conditional promise of the return of the 
 X)owder, supported by the influence of Mr. Peyton 
 Randolph, Mr. Robert C. Nicholas, and other charac- 
 ters of weight, had the effect, it seems, of quieting the 
 inhabitants for that day. On the succeeding night, 
 
134 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 however, a new alarm took place, on a report tliat a 
 number of armed men had again landed from the 
 Magdalen, about four miles below the city, with a 
 view, it was presumed, of making another visit of 
 nocturnal plunder. The inhabitants again flew to 
 arms; but, on the interposition of the same eminent 
 citizens, the ferment was allayed, and nothing more 
 was done than to strengthen the usual patrol for the 
 defence of the city. On the next day, Saturday, the 
 22d of April, when every thing was perfectly quiet. 
 Lord Dunmore, with rather more heat than discre- 
 tion, sent a message into the city, by one of the magis- 
 trates, and which his lordship had delivered with the 
 most solemn asseverations, that if an}^ insult were 
 offered to Capt. Foy, (a British captain residing at 
 the palace, as his secretary, and considered to be the 
 instigator of the governor to his violences,) or to 
 Capt. Collins, lie tuould declare freedom, to the slaves, 
 and lay the toivn m ashes; and he added, that he 
 could easily depopulate the whole country. At this 
 time, both Capt. Foy and Collins were and had been 
 continually walking the streets, at their pleasure, 
 without the slightest indication of disrespect. The 
 effect of a threat, so diabolically ferocious, directed 
 towards the people who had ever shown him, and his 
 family such enthusiastic marks of respect and at- 
 tention, and following so directly the plunder of the 
 magazine, will be readily conceived. Yet it broke 
 not out into any open act. His lordship remained un- 
 molested even by a disrespectful look. The aug- 
 mented patrol was kept up; but no defensive prepara- 
 tion was made by the inhabitants of the city. 
 
 The transactions which were passing in the metrop- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 135 
 
 olis circulated through the country with a rapidity 
 proportioned to their interest, and with this further 
 aggravation, which was also true in point of fact, that 
 in addition to the clandestine removal of the powder, 
 the governor had caused the muskets in the magazine 
 to be stripped of their locks. 
 
 In the midst of the irritation excited by this intel- 
 ligence, came the news of the bloody battles of Lex- 
 ington and Concord, resulting from an attempt of 
 the governor-general Gage, to seize the military stores 
 deposited at the latter place. The system of colonial 
 subjugation was now apparent : the effect was in- 
 stantaneous. The whole country flew to arms. The 
 independent companies, formed in happier times for 
 the purpose of military discipline, and under the 
 immediate auspices of Lord Dunmore himself, raised 
 the standard of liberty in every county. By the 27th 
 of April, there were assembled at Fredericksburg up- 
 wards of seven hundred men well-armed and disci- 
 plined, " friends of constitutional liberty and Amer- 
 ica. '' Their march, however, was arrested by a let- 
 ter from Mr. Peyton Randolph, in reply to an ex- 
 press, and received on the 29th, by which they were 
 informed that the gentlemen of the city and neighbor- 
 hood of Williamsburg, had had full assurance from 
 his excellency, that the affair of the powder should 
 be accommodated, and advising that the gentlemen of 
 Fredericksburg should proceed no farther. — On the 
 receipt of this letter, a council was held of one hun- 
 dred and two members, delegates of the provincial 
 convention, and officers and special deputies of four- 
 teen companies of light-horse, then rendezvoused on 
 the ground; who, after the most spirited expression 
 
136 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 of their sentiments on the conduct of the governor, 
 and after giving a mutual pledge to be in readiness at 
 a moment's warning, to reassemble, and by force of 
 arms to defend the laws, the liberty, and rights of 
 this or any sister-colony from unjust and wicked in- 
 vasion, advised the return of the several companies to 
 their respective homes ; and also ordered that ex- 
 presses should be despatched to the troops assembled 
 at the Bowling Green, and also to the companies from 
 Frederick, Berkley, Dunmore, and such other coun- 
 ties as were then on their march, to return them 
 thanks for their cheerful offers of service, and to ac- 
 quaint them with the determination then taken. By 
 way of parody on the governor's conclusion of tho 
 proclamations, by which he was striving to keep down 
 the spirit of the country, " God save the king," the 
 council concluded their address with " God save the 
 liberties of America." 
 
 Mr. Henry, however, was not disposed to let this 
 incident pass off so lightly. His was a mind that 
 watched events with the coolness and sagacity of a 
 veteran statesman. He kindled, indeed, in the uni- 
 versal indignation which the conduct of the governor 
 was so well calculated to excite ; seeing clearly the 
 inconvenience which the colony must experience in 
 the approaching contest, from the loss of even that 
 small store of ammunition. This, however, was a 
 minor object in his esteem. What he deemed of much 
 higher importance was, that that hloiu, which must 
 be struck sooner or later, should he struck at once, 
 before an overwhelming force should enter the col- 
 ony ; that that habitual deference and subjection 
 which the people were accustomed to feel toward the 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 137 
 
 governor, as the representative of royalty, and which 
 bound their spirits in a kind of torpid spell, should be 
 dissolved and dissipated ; that the military resources 
 of the country should be developed; that the people 
 might see and feel their strength by being brought out 
 together: that the revolution should be set in actual 
 motion in the colony; that the martial prowess of the 
 country should be awakened, and the soldiery ani- 
 mated by that proud and resolute confidence, which 
 a successful enterprise in the commencement of a 
 contest never fails to inspire. These sentiments were 
 then avowed by him to two confidential friends ; to 
 whom he further declared that he considered the out- 
 rage on the magazine a most fortunate circumstance ; 
 and as one which would rouse the people from north 
 to south. " You may in vain talk to them," said he, 
 " about the duties on tea, &c. These things will not 
 affect them. They depend on principles too ab- 
 stracted for their apprehension and feeling. But 
 tell them of the robbery of the magazine, and that 
 the next step will be to disarm them, you bring the 
 subject home to their bosoms, and they will be ready 
 to fly to arms to defend themselves." 
 
 To make of this circumstance all the advantage 
 which he contemplated, as soon as the intelligence 
 reached him from Williamsburg, he sent express ri- 
 ders to the members of the Independent Company of 
 Hanover, who were dispersed and resided in different 
 parts of the country, requesting them to meet him in 
 arms, at Kew Castle, on the second of May on busi- 
 
 ♦Col. Richard Morris and Captain George Dabney; on 
 the authority of Mr. Dabney. 
 
138 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 ness of the highest impormice to American liberty. 
 In order to give greater dignity and authority to the 
 decisions of that meeting, he convoked to the same 
 place the county committee. When assembled, he ad- 
 dressed them v^ith all the powers of his eloquence; 
 laid open the plan on which the British ministry had 
 fallen to reduce the colonies to subjection, by robbing 
 them of all the means of defending their rights; 
 spread before their eyes, in colors of vivid descrip- 
 tion, the fields of Lexington and Concord, still float- 
 ing with the blood of their countrymen, gloriously 
 shed in the general cause; showed them that the re- 
 cent plunder of the magazine in Williamsburg was 
 nothing more than a part of the general system of 
 subjugation ; that the moment was now come in which 
 they were called upon to decide, whether they chose 
 to live free, and hand down the noble inheritance to 
 their children, or to become hewers of wood, and 
 drawers of water to those lordlings, who were them- 
 selves the tools of a corrujDt and tyrannical ministry ; 
 he painted the country in a state of subjugation, and 
 drew such pictures of wretched debasement and ab- 
 ject vassalage, as filled their souls with horror and 
 indignation ; on the other hand, he carried them, by 
 the powers of his eloquence, to an eminence like 
 Mount Pisgah ; showed them the land of promise, 
 which was to be won by their valor, under the sup- 
 port and guidance of Heaven, and sketched a vision 
 of America, enjoying the smiles of liberty and peace, 
 the rich productions of her agriculture waving on 
 every field, her commerce whitening every sea, in 
 tints so bright, so strong, so glowing, as set the souls 
 of his hearers on fire. He had no doubt, he said^ 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 139 
 
 that that God, who in former ages had hardened 
 Pharoah's heart, that he might show forth his power 
 and glory in the redemption of his chosen people, 
 had, for similar purposes, permitted the flagrant out- 
 rages which had occurred in Williamsburg, and 
 throughout the continent. It was for them now to de- 
 termine, whether thev were worthy of this divine in- 
 terference, whether they w^ould accept the high boon 
 now held out to them by Heaven ; that if they would, 
 though it might lead them through a sea of blood, 
 they were to remember that the same God whose 
 power divided the Red sea for the deliverance of Is- 
 rael, still reigned in all his glory, unchanged and un- 
 changeable — was still the enemy of the oppressor, and 
 the friend of the oppressed ; that he would cover them 
 from their enemies by a pillar of cloud by day, and 
 guide their feet through the night by a pillar of fire ; 
 that for his own part, he was anxious that his native 
 county should distinguish itself in this grand career 
 of liberty and glory, and snatch the noble prize which 
 was now offered to their grasp ; that no time was to 
 be lost ; that their enemies in this colony were now 
 few and weak ; that it would be easy for them, by a 
 rapid and vigorous movement, to compel the restora- 
 tion of the powder which had been carried off, or to 
 make a reprisal on the king^s revenues in the hands 
 of the receiver-general, which would fairly balance 
 the account ; and that the Hanover volunteers would 
 thus have an opportunity of striking the first blow in 
 this colony, in the great cause of American liberty, 
 and would cover themselves with never-fading laurels. 
 These were heads of his harangue. I presume not 
 to give the coloring. That was Mr, Henry's own, and 
 
140 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 beyond the power of any man's imitation. The e:^- 
 fect, however, was equal to his wishes. The meeting 
 was in a flame, and a decision immediately taken, that 
 the powder should be retrieved, or counterbalanced 
 by a reprisal. 
 
 Capt. Samuel Meredith, who had heretofore com- 
 manded the Independent Company, resigned his com- 
 mission in Mr. Henry's favor, and the latter gentle- 
 man was immediately invested with the chief com- 
 mand of the Hanover volunteers. Mr. Meredith ac- 
 cepted the commission of lieutenant ; and the present 
 Col. Parke Goodall was appointed the ensign of the 
 company. Having received orders from the com- 
 mittee, correspondent with his own suggestions, Capt. 
 Henry forthwith took up his line of March for Wil- 
 liamsburg. Ensign Goodall was detached, with a 
 party of sixteen men, to cross the river into King 
 William county, the residence of Richard Corbin, 
 the king's receiver-general ; to demand from him 
 three hundred and thirty pounds, the estimated value 
 of the powder; and, in the event of his refusal, to 
 make him a prisoner. He was ordered, in this case, 
 to treat his person w^ith all possible respect and ten- 
 derness, and to bring him to Doncastle's ordinary, 
 (^. e. tavern) about sixteen miles above Williamsburg, 
 where the ensign was required, at all events, to rejoin 
 the main body. The detachment, in pursuance of 
 their orders, reached the residence of the receiver- 
 general some hours after bedtime, and a guard was 
 stationed around the house until morning. About 
 daybreak, however, the ladies of the family made 
 their appearance, and gave the commanding officer 
 of the detachment the firm and correct assurance, 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 141 
 
 that Col. Corbin was not at home ; but that the 
 house nvertheless, was open to search, if it was the 
 
 "■ Inte meantime, the march of his gallant corps, 
 in arms headed by a man of Mr. Henry's distinction, 
 Trodue^ the mos't striking effects in e-y q-r er 
 Correspondent companies started up on all side», and 
 hastened to throw themselves under the banners of 
 Heiry It is believed that five thousand men at 
 ka t^vere in arms, and were crossing the country 
 rt^d around his standard, and siij^port x with 
 their lives. The march was conducted in the most 
 Srrfect order, and with the most -rupulous -p^e 
 to the country through which they passed. The^^^^^ 
 of the royalists were filled with dismay^ Lady Dun 
 more widi ber family retired to the^o^-|. a man 
 nf war then lying off the town of Little lork. J^ven 
 the patriots L Williamsburg were daunted by he 
 Wdne s, and, as they deemed it, the rashness of the 
 enterprie. Messenger after messenger was de 
 splt hed to meet Mr. Henry on the way, and beg him 
 r£ St from his purpose, and discharge his mem 
 It was-in vain. He was inflexibly --1-d ^o f ef^ 
 ih^ T>urt)ose of his expedition or to perish n the at 
 tempt The messengers were therefore detained, that 
 hTy might not report his strength; and the march 
 tTcondnued with all possible celerity^ The go- 
 ernor issued a proclamation, m which he d«iounced 
 L movement, and called upon the people of the 
 
142 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 country to resist it. He rould as easily have called 
 " spirits from the vasty deep." He himself seems 
 not to have relied much on the efficacy of his procla- 
 mation. The palace was therefore filled v\ath aiTQS, 
 and a detachment of marines ordered up from the 
 Fowey. Before daybreak, on the morning of the 4th 
 of May, Captain Montague, the commander of that 
 ship, landed a party of men, with the following let- 
 ter, addressed to the Honorable Thomas ISTelson, the 
 president of his majesty's council: — 
 
 " Fowey, May 4/7^, 1775. 
 *^Sir:— 
 
 " I have this morning received certain information 
 that his excellency Lord Dunmore, governor of Vir- 
 ginia, is threatened with an attack at daybreak, this 
 morning, at his palace in Williamsburg, and have 
 thought proper to send a detachment from his majes- 
 ty's ship under my command, to support his excel- 
 lency: therefore strongly pray you to make use of 
 every endeavor to prevent the party from being mo- 
 lested and attacked, as in that case I must be under 
 a necessity to fire upon this town. From 
 
 '^ Geoege Montague." 
 
 Lord Dunmore, how^ever, thought better of this 
 subject, and caused Mr. Henry to be met at Don- 
 castle's about sunrise on the same morning, with the 
 receiver-general's bill of exchange, for the sum re- 
 quired. It was accepted as a satisfaction for the 
 powder, and the following receipt was passed by Mr. 
 Henry : — 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 143 
 
 " Doncasiles Ordinary, New Kent, May 4, 1775. 
 ■ — Received from the Hon. Richard Corbin, Esq., his 
 majesty's receiver-general, 330?. as a compensation 
 for the gunpowder lately taken out of the public mag- 
 azine by the governor's order ; which money I prom- 
 ise to convey»to the Virginia delegates at the general 
 congress, to be, under their direction, laid out in gun- 
 powder for the colony's use, and to be stored as they 
 shall direct, until the next colony convention, or gen- 
 eral assembly; unless it shall be necessary, in the 
 meantime, to use the same in the defence of this col- 
 ony. It is agreed, that in case the next convention 
 shall determine that any part of the said money ought 
 to be returned to his majesty's said receiver-general, 
 that the same shall be done accordingly. 
 
 " Patrick Hexey, jun. 
 
 " Test — Samuel Meredith, 
 Pakke Goodall." 
 
 The march of the marines from the Fowey had, 
 however, produced the most violent commotion both 
 in York * and Williamsburg, Mr. Henry himself 
 
 * " The town of York being somewhat alarmed by a let- 
 ter from Captain Montague, commander of his majesty's 
 ship the Fowey, addressed to the Hon. Thomas Nelson, 
 esquire, president of his majesty's council in Virginia; 
 and a copy of said letter being procured a motion was 
 made, that the copy should be laid before the committee 
 and considered. The copy was read, and is as follows: — 
 
 " ' Fowey, May 4, 1775. 
 " ' Sir, 
 
 " ' I have this morning received certain information 
 that his excellency the Lord Dunmore, governor of Vir- 
 ginia, is threatened with an attack at daybreak this morn- 
 
14^ LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 seemed to apprehend thaTthe public treasury would 
 be the next object of depredation, and that a pretext 
 would be sought for it in the reprisal which had just 
 been made. He therefore addressed, from Doncas- 
 tle's, the following letter to Robert Carter Nicholas, 
 esquire, the treasurer of the colony: — 
 
 May 4, 1775. 
 
 " Sir, 
 
 " The affair of the powder is now settled, so as to 
 produce satisfaction to me, and I earnestly wish to 
 the colony in general. The people here have it in 
 
 ing, at his palace in Williamsburg, and have thought prop- 
 er to send a detachment from his majesty's ship under my 
 command to support his excellency; therefore, strongly 
 pray you to make use of every endeavor to prevent the 
 party from being molested and attacked, as in that case 
 I must be under the necessity to fire upon this town. 
 From George Montague. 
 
 " ' To the Eon. Thomas NelsonJ 
 
 " The committee, together with Capt. Montague's letter 
 taking into consideration of the time of its being sent, 
 which was too late to permit the president to use his in- 
 fluence, had the inhabitants been disposed to molest and 
 attack the detachment; and further considering that Col. 
 Nelson, who, had this threat been carried into execution, 
 must have been a principal sufferer, was at that very mo- 
 ment exerting his utmost endeavors in behalf of govern- 
 ment, and the safety of his excellency's person, unani- 
 mously come to the following resolutions: — 
 
 " Resolved, That Capt. Montague, in threatening to fire 
 upon a defencefess town, in case of an attack upon the 
 detachment, in which said town might not be concerned, 
 has testified a spirit of cruelty unprecedented in the annals 
 of civilized times; that, in his late notice to the president, 
 he has added insult to cruelty; and that, considering the 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 14:5 
 
 charge from Hanover committee, to tender their ser- 
 vice to you, as a public officer, for the purpose of es- 
 corting the public treasury to any place in this 
 colony, where the money would be judged more safe 
 than in the city of Williamsburg. The reprisal now 
 made by the Hanover volunteers, though accom- 
 plished in a manner less liable to the imputation of 
 violent extremity, may possibly be the cause of future 
 injury to the treasury. If, therefore, you apprehend 
 the least danger, a sufficient guard is at your service. 
 I beg the return of the bearer may be instant, because 
 the men wish to know their destination. With great 
 regard, I am, sir, your most humble servant, 
 
 " Patrick Henky, jun." 
 
 To this letter an answer was received from Mr. 
 ^Nicholas importing that he had no apprehension of 
 the necessity, or propriety of the proffered service: 
 and Mr. Henry understanding, also, that the private 
 citizens of Williamsburg were in a great measure 
 quieted from their late fears for their persons and 
 
 circumstances already mentioned, of one of the most con- 
 siderable inhabitants of said town, he has discovered the 
 most hellish principles that can actuate a human mind. 
 
 " Resolved, That it be recommended to the inhabitants 
 of this town, and to the country in general, that they do 
 not entertain or show any other mark of civility to Capt. 
 Montague, besides what common decency and absolute nec- 
 essity require. 
 
 " Resolved, That the clerk do transmit the above pro- 
 ceedings to the public printers to be inserted in the Vir- 
 ginia gazettes. 
 
 (A true copy.) 
 
 William Russell, Clk. Com. 
 
146 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 property, judged it proper to proceed no farther. 
 Their expedition having been crowned with success, 
 the volunteers returned in triumph to their respective 
 homes. The committee of Hanover again met ; gave 
 them their warmest thanks for the vigor and pro- 
 priety with which they had conducted the enterprise; 
 and returned their acknowledgments, in suitable 
 terms, to the many volunteers of the different coun- 
 ties, who joined and were marching, and ready to 
 co-operate with the volunteer company of Hanover. 
 
 Two days after the return of the volunteers, and 
 when all was again quiet, the governor thundered 
 the following anathema from the palace: — 
 
 " By his excellency, the Right Hon. John, Earl 
 of Dunmore, his majesty's lieutenant and governor- 
 general of the colony and dominion of Virginia, and 
 vice-admiral of the same : — 
 
 " A PKOCLAMATIOIT. 
 
 " Virginia, to wit : — 
 
 ^^ Whereas, I have been informed, from undoubted 
 authority that a certain Patrick Henry, of the county 
 of Hanover, and a number of deluded followers, have 
 taken up arms, chosen their officers, and styling them- 
 selves an Independent Company, have marched out 
 of their county, encamped and put themselves in a 
 posture of war ; and have written and despatched let- 
 ters to divers parts of the country, exciting the people 
 to join in these outrageous and rebellious practices, 
 to the great terror of all his majesty's faithful sub- 
 jects, and in open defiance of law and government} 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 147 
 
 and have committed other acts of violence, particu- 
 larly in extorting from his majesty's receiver-general 
 the sum of three hundred and thirty pounds, under 
 pretence of replacing the powder I thought proper 
 to order from the magazine : whence it undeniably ap- 
 pears, that there is no longer the least security for 
 the life or property of any man ; wherefore I have 
 thought proper with the advice of his majesty's coun- 
 cil, and in his majesty's name, to issue this my proc- 
 lamation, strictly charging all persons upon their al- 
 legiance, not to aid, abet, or give countenance to the 
 said Patrick Henry, or any other persons concerned 
 in such unwarrantable combinations ; but, on the con- 
 trary, to oppose them and their designs by every 
 means, which designs must otherwise inevitably in- 
 volve the whole country in the most direful calamity, 
 as they will call for the vengeance of offended maj- 
 esty, and the insulted laws, to be exerted here to vin- 
 dicate the constitutional authority of government. 
 " Given under my hand and the seal of the colony, 
 at Williamsburg, this 6th day of May, 1775, 
 and in the 15th year of his majesty's reign. 
 
 " DUNMORE." 
 
 " God save the king." 
 
 But Lord Dunmore's threats and denunciations 
 had no other effect than to render more conspicuous 
 and more honorable the man who was the object of 
 them. Mr. Henry, who had been on the point of set- 
 ting out for congress at the time when he had been 
 called off by the intelligence from Williamsburg, now 
 resumed his journey, and was escorted in triumph 
 by a large party of gentlemen, as far as Hooe's ferry, 
 
148 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 on the Potomac. Messengers were sent after him 
 from all directions, bearing the thanks and the ap- 
 plause of his assembled countrymen, for his recent 
 enterprise; and in such throngs did these addresses 
 come, that the necessity of halting to read and answer 
 them converted a journey of one day into a triumph 
 of many. Thus, the same man, whose genius had in 
 the year 1765 given the first political impulse to the 
 revolution, had now the additional honor of heading 
 the first military movement in Virginia, in support 
 of the same cause. 
 
CHAPTER VL 
 
 OPEN BREACH BETWEEN GOVEKNOR DUNMORE AND 
 THE COLONY OF VIRGINIA. MR. HENRY WITHDRAWS 
 PROM MILITARY LIFE ; IS ELECTED GOVERNOR. 
 
 1775-1776. 
 
 I CANNOT learn that Mr. Henry distinguished him- 
 self peculiarly at this session of congress. The spirit 
 of resistance was sufficiently excited ; and nothing re- 
 mained but to organize that resistance, and to plan 
 and execute the details which were to give it effect. 
 In business of this nature, Mr. Henry, as we have 
 seen, was not efficient. It has been already stated 
 that he was unsuccessful in composition, of which 
 much was done, and eminently done, at this session ; 
 and the lax habits of his early life had implanted in 
 him an insuperable aversion to the drudgery of de- 
 tails. He could not endure confinement of any sort, 
 nor the labor of close and solitary thinking. His 
 habits were all social, and his mind delighted in un- 
 limited range. His conclusions were never reached 
 by an elaborate deduction of thought ; he gained them 
 as it were per saltum ; yet with a certainty not less in- 
 fallible than that of the driest and severest logician. 
 It is not wonderful, therefore, that he felt himself 
 lost amid the operations in which congress was now 
 
 149 
 
150 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 engaged, and that he enjoyed the relief which was af- 
 forded him, by a military appointment from his na- 
 tive state. It will be proper, however, to explain par- 
 ticularly the proceedings which led to this incident in 
 the life of Mr. Henry. 
 
 Shortly after the affair of the gunpowder, Lord 
 ^N^orth's conciliatory proposition, popularly called the 
 Olive Branch arrived in America. Hereupon the 
 governor of Virginia called a meeting of the house of 
 burgesses; and as if the quarrel were now com- 
 pletely over, Lady Dunmore and her family returned 
 from the Fowey to the palace. 
 
 On Thursday, the first of June, the general assem- 
 bly, according to the proclamation of Lord Dunmore, 
 met at the capitol in the city of Williamsburg. He 
 addressed them with great earnestness on the alarm- 
 ing state of the colony ; and exhibited the conciliatory 
 proposition of the British ministry, as an advance on 
 the part of the mother-country, which it was the duty 
 of the colonists to meet with gratitude and devotion. 
 The council answered him in a manner perfectly sat- 
 isfactory ; but before he could receive the answer of 
 the house of burgesses, an incident occurred, which 
 drove his lordship precipitately from his palace, and 
 terminated forever all friendly relations between 
 himself and the people of Virginia. 
 
 It seems, that during the late ferment, produced by 
 the removal of the powder, and while Mr. Henry was 
 on his march toward Williamsburg, some of the in- 
 habitants of the town, to the great offence of the 
 graver citizens, had possessed themselves of a few of 
 the guns which still remained in the magazine. This 
 step gave great displeasure as well as alarm to the 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 151 
 
 governor; and althongh the mayor and council, as 
 tell as all the more respectable inhabitants of the 
 town, condemned it in terms as strong as his own, 
 and sincerely united in the means which were used to 
 recover the arms, yet his lordship continued to brood 
 over it in secret, until, with the aid of the minions 
 of the palace, he hatched a scheme of low and cruel 
 revenge, sufficient of itself to cover him with im- 
 mortal infamy. It was on Monday night the 5th 
 of June, that this scheme discovered itself. l^ast 
 Monday night," says Purdie, " an unfortunate ac- 
 cident happened to two persons of this city, who, 
 with a number of others, had assembled at the mag- 
 azine, to furnish themselves with arms. Upon their 
 entering the door, one of the guns, which had a 
 spring to it, and was charged eight fingers deep with 
 slan-shot, went off, and lodged two balls m one of 
 their shoulders, another entered at his wrist, and is 
 not yet extracted : the other person had one of his 
 fingers shot off, and the next to it so mvich shattered 
 as to render it useless, by which sad misfortune he is 
 deprived of the means of procuring a livelihood by 
 his business. Spring-guns, it seems, were placed at 
 other parts of the magazine, of tuUch the puhhc were 
 totally ignorant; and certainly had any F'-f;^ ^°^^ 
 his life, the perpetrator or perpetrators of this dia- 
 bolical invention might have been justly branded 
 with the opprobrious title of murderers. O tempora . 
 
 O mores ! " .,,,,• •„„o r.f 
 
 The indication naturally excited by this piece of 
 
 deliberate and barbarous treachery, which was at 
 once traced to Lord Dumnore, was farther aggra- 
 vated by a discovery that several barrels of powder. 
 
152 Ltt'E OF PAmiCK HENRY. 
 
 had been buried in the magazine, with the purpose, 
 it was reasonably conjectured, of being used as a 
 mine, and thus producing still more fatal destruction, 
 when the occasion should offer. Early on the next 
 morning, Lord Dimmore with his family, including 
 Captain Foy, ffed from the palace to return to it no 
 more, and took shelter on board the Fowey, from the 
 vengeance which he knew he so justly deserved. ]^o 
 commotion, however, had ensued to justify his re- 
 treat. The people, indeed, were highly indignant, 
 but they were silent and quiet. The suggestions of 
 his lordship's conscience had alone produced his 
 flight. He left behind him a message to the speaker 
 and house of burgesses, in which he ascribed this 
 movement to apprehensions for his personal safety; 
 stated that he should fix his residence on board the 
 Fowey ; that no interruption should be given to the 
 sitting of the assembly ; that he should make the 
 access to him easy and safe ; and thought it would 
 be more agreeable to the house to send to him, from 
 time to time, one or more of their members, as oc- 
 casion might require, than to put the whole body to 
 the trouble of moving to be near him. 
 
 On receiving this message, the house immediately 
 resolved itself into a committee of the whole, and pre- 
 pared an answer, in which they expressed their deep 
 concern at the step which he had taken — assuring 
 him that his apprehensions of personal danger were 
 entirely unfounded ; regretting that he had not ex- 
 pressed them to the house previous to his departure, 
 since, from their zeal and attachment to the preserva- 
 tion of order and good government, they should have 
 judged it their indispensable duty to endeavor to re- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. I53 
 
 move any cause of disquietude. They express the 
 anxiety with which they contemplate the very dis- 
 agreeable situation of his most amiable lady and her 
 family, and assure him, that they should think them- 
 selves happy in being able to restore their perfect 
 tranquillity, by removing all their fears. They re- 
 gret his departure and the manner of it, as tending to 
 keep up the gTeat uneasiness which had of late so 
 imhappily prevailed in this country ; and declare that 
 they will cheerfully concur in any measure that may 
 be proposed, proper for the security of himseK and 
 his family ; they remind him how impracticable it 
 will be to carry on the business of the session with 
 any tolerable degi*ee of propriety, or with that de- 
 spatch which the advanced season of the year re- 
 quired, whilst his lordship was so far removed from 
 them, and so inconveniently situated; and conclude 
 with entreating him, that he would be pleased to re- 
 turn with his lady and family to the palace, which 
 they say, they are persuaded will give the greatest 
 satisfaction, and be the most likely means of quiet- 
 ing the minds of the people. 
 
 This communication was carried down to him by a 
 deputation of two members of the council, and four 
 of the house of burgesses ; and in reply to language 
 so respectful, and assurances so friendly and con- 
 ciliatory, his lordship returned an answer in which 
 he charged them with having slighted his oUers of 
 respect and civility, with giving countenance to the 
 violent and disorderly proceedings of the people, and 
 with a usurpation of the executive power in ordering 
 and appointing guards to mount in the city of Wil- 
 liamsburg, with the view, as was pretended;, to pro- 
 
154 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 tect the magazine, but which might well be doubted, 
 as there then remained nothing therein which re- 
 quired being guarded ; he exhorts them to return 
 within the pale of their constitutional power; to re- 
 dress the many grievances which existed ; to open the 
 courts of justice ; to disarm the independent com- 
 panies, and what was not less essential, by their own 
 example, and every means in their power, to abolish 
 the spirit of persecution which pursued, with men- 
 aces and acts of oppression, all his majesty's loyal 
 and orderly subjects. For the accomplishment of 
 which ends, he invited them to adjourn to the town 
 of York, opposite to which the Foiuey lay, where he 
 promised to meet and remain with them till their 
 business should be finished. But with respect to their 
 entreaty that he would return to the palace, he rep- 
 resents to them that unless they closed in with the 
 conciliatory proposition now offered to them by the 
 British parliament, his return to Williamsburg would 
 be as fruitless to the people, as possibly it might be 
 dangerous to himself. So that he places the event 
 of his returning, on their acceptance of Lord ]^orth's 
 offer of conciliation. 
 
 The house of burgesses now took up that proposi- 
 tion ; and having examined it in every light, with the 
 utmost attention, they conclude with a firm and dig- 
 nified rejection of it and an appeal ^^ to the even- 
 handed justice of that Being who doth no wrong; 
 earnestly beseeching him to illuminate the councils, 
 and prosper the endeavors, of those to whom Amer- 
 ica had confided her hopes, that, through their wise 
 direction, we may again see reunited the blessings of 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 155 
 
 liberty and prosperity, and the most permanent har- 
 mony with Great Britain.'^ * 
 
 A correspondence on another topic was now opened 
 between the council and burgesses, and the governor, 
 Dunmore. The former addressed him with a re- 
 quest, that he would order a large parcel of arms 
 which he had left in the palace to be removed to the 
 public magazine, a place of greater safety. This he 
 peremptorily refused ; and ordered that those arms, 
 belonging to the king, should not be touched without 
 his express permission. In their reply, they say, that 
 the arms may in some sort be considered as belonging 
 to the king, as the supreme head of the government, 
 and that they were properly under his lordship's di- 
 rection ; yet, they humbly conceived, that they were 
 originally provided, and had been preserved for the 
 use of the country in cases of emergency. The pal- 
 ace, they say, had indeed been hitherto much re- 
 spected, but not so much out of regard to the build- 
 ing, as the residence of his majesty's representative. 
 Had his lordship thought fit to remain there, they 
 would have had no apprehensions of danger ; but con- 
 sidering these arms at present as exposed to his lord- 
 ship's servants, and every rude invader, the security 
 derived from his lordship's presence could not now 
 be relied on. They, therefore, again entreat him to 
 order the removal of the arms to the magazine. They 
 then proceed to state, that they cannot decline repre- 
 senting to him, that the important business of the 
 assembly had been much impeded by his excellency's 
 
 * This vigorous and eloquent production is from the 
 same pen which drew the declaration of American Inde- 
 pendence, that of Thomas Jefferson, 
 
156 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 removal from the palac^-that this step had deprived 
 them of that free and necessary access to his lordship, 
 to which they were entitled by the constitution of 
 the country — that there were several bills of the last 
 importance to the country, now ready to be presented 
 to his excellency for his assent. They complain of 
 the inconvenience to which they had been put in send- 
 ing their members twelve miles to wait on his excel- 
 lency, on board of one of his majesty's ships of war, 
 to present their addresses — they state that they think 
 it would be highly improper, and too great a depar- 
 ture from the constitutional and accustomed mode of 
 transacting business, to meet his excellency at any 
 other place than the capitol, to present such bills as 
 were ready for his signature — and, therefore, beseech 
 him to return for this purpose. 
 
 To all this he gave a very short answer ; that, as 
 to the arms, he had already declared his intention, 
 and conceived they were meddling with a subject 
 which did not belong to them; he desired to know 
 whom they designed by the term rude invader; that 
 the disorders in Williamsburg and other parts of the 
 country, had driven him from the palace ; and that, 
 if any inconvenience had arisen to the assembly on 
 that account, he was not chargeable with it ; that they 
 had not been deprived of any necessary or free access 
 to him ; that the constitution undoubtedly vested him 
 with the power of calling the assembly to any place in 
 the colony, which exigency might require; that not 
 having been made acquainted with the whole pro- 
 ceedings of the assembly, he knew of no bills of im- 
 portance, which, if he were inclined to risk his per- 
 son again among the people, the assembly had to 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 157 
 
 present to liim, nor whether they were such as he 
 could assent to. 
 
 In the course of their correspondence he required 
 the house to attend him on board the Fowey, for the 
 purpose of obtaining his signature to the bills; and 
 some of the members to prevent an actual dissolution 
 of the government, and to give effect to the many 
 necessary bills which they had passed, proposed to 
 yield to this extraordinary requisition. The project, 
 however, was exploded by a member's rising in his 
 place, and relating the fable of the sick lion and the 
 fox.* 
 
 The governor having thus virtually abdicated his 
 office, the government was, in effect, dissolved. The 
 house hereupon resolved, '^ That his Lordship's mes- 
 sage, requiring the house to attend him on board one 
 of his- majesty's ships of war, is a high breach of the 
 rights and privileges of this house." — " That the un- 
 reasonable delays thrown into the proceedings of this 
 house by the governor, and his evasive answers to 
 the sincere and decent addresses of the representa- 
 tives of the people, give us gTeat reason to fear, that 
 a dangerous attack may be meditated against the un- 
 happy people of this colony." — " It is, therefore, our 
 
 * The reference is to La Fontaine, Book VI, Fable 14. 
 The king of beasts, being sick in his cave, summoned all 
 the beasts to visit him, promising a good passport and 
 safe defence " against tooth and claw." When Mr. Fox 
 approached the lion's den, he saw large numbers of foot- 
 prints of various animals, but he observed that these foot- 
 prints all led towards the den, and there were none re- 
 turning. This roused his suspicions. No doubt, he re- 
 flected, the passport is perfectly good; and yet I believe 
 that that cave has a good entrance, but I see no exit! 
 
158 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 opinion, they say, that tney prepare for the preser- 
 vation of their property, and their inestimable rights 
 and liberties with the greatest care and attention.'^ — 
 " That we do and will bear faith and true allegiance 
 to our most gracious sovereign, George III., our only 
 lawful and rightful king: that we will, at all times, 
 to the utmost of our power, and at the risk of our 
 lives and properties, maintain and defend his gov- 
 ernment in this colony, as founded on the established 
 laws and principles of the constitution : that it is our 
 most earnest desire to preserve and strengthen those 
 bonds of amity, with all our fellow-subjects in Great 
 Britain, which are so very essential to the prosperity 
 and happiness of both coimtries." Having adopted 
 these resolutions without a dissenting voice they ad- 
 journed themselves to the 12th of October following; 
 and the delegates were summoned to meet in conven- 
 tion at the town of Richmond, on the 17th of July.* 
 
 Immediately on the adjournment of the house of 
 burgesses, a very full meeting of the citizens of Wil- 
 liamsburg convened, on the call of Peyton Randolph, 
 at the court-house in that city, ^^ to consider of the ex- 
 pediency of stationing a number of men there for the 
 public safety; as well to assist the citizens in their 
 nightly watches, as to guard against any surprise 
 
 * On this occasion, Richard H. Lee, standing with two 
 of the burgesses in the porch of the capitol, inscribed with 
 his pencil on a pillar of the capitol, these prophetic lines, 
 from Shakespeare: — 
 
 "When shall we three meet again? 
 
 In thunder, lightning, and in rain; 
 
 When the hurly-burly's done. 
 
 When the battle's lost and toon" 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 159 
 
 from our enemies; whereupon it was unanimonslj 
 agreed (until the general convention should meet) to 
 invite down from a number of counties, to the amount 
 of two hundred and fifty men. Meanwhile, until 
 they arrived, the neighboring counties, they say, were 
 kind enough to lend them their assistance. 
 
 On the 29th of June, the Foivey ship, and Magda- 
 len schooner, sailed from York; on board the latter 
 went Lady Dunmore, and the rest of the governor's 
 family, bound for England ; and the colony was for a 
 short time relieved by the report that the Fowey car- 
 ried Lord Dunmore and Captain Foy on a visit to 
 General Gage, at Boston. This report, however, was 
 unfounded. The Fowey merely escorted the Magda- 
 len to the Capes, and then returned again to her moor- 
 ings, before York. The Otter sloop of war, com- 
 manded by Captain Squire, thereupon fell down to 
 the mouth of York river, with the intention of cruis- 
 ing along the coast, and seizing all provision vessels ; 
 and soon became distinguished at least for the ma- 
 lignity of her attempts. The Fowey was relieved by 
 the ship Mercury, of 24 gims, John Macartney com- 
 mander, and departed for Boston, carrying with her 
 the now obnoxious Captain Foy. The governor's do- 
 mestics left the palace, and removed to his farm at 
 Montibello, about six miles below Williamsburg ; and 
 the governor himself fixed his station at the town of 
 Portsmouth. In this posture of things, on Monday, 
 the 24th of July, 1775, the colonial convention met 
 at the city of Richmond. 
 
 The proceedings of this convention were marked 
 by a character of great decision and vigor. One of 
 their first measures was an ordinance for raising and 
 
160 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 embodying a sufficient lorce for the defence and pro- 
 tection of the colony. By this ordinance it was pro- 
 vided, that two regiments of regulars, to consist of 
 one thousand and twenty privates, rank and file, 
 should be forthwith raised and taken into the pay of 
 the colony; and a competent regular force was also 
 provided for the protection of the western frontier. 
 The whole colony was divided into sixteen military 
 districts; with a provision, that a regiment of six 
 hundred and eighty men, rank and file, should be 
 raised on the eastern shore district, and a battalion of 
 &ve hundred in each of the others; to be forthwith 
 armed, trained, furnished with all military accoutre- 
 ments, and ready to march at a minute's warning. 
 
 A committee, called the committee of safety, was 
 also organized^ with functions and powers analogous 
 to those of the executive department and apparently 
 designed to supply the vacancy occasioned by the gov- 
 ernor's abdication of that branch of the government. 
 
 The convention now proceeded to the appointment 
 of officers to command the regular forces. The lofty 
 stand which Mr. Henry had taken in the American 
 cause, his increasing popularity, and the prompt and 
 energetic movement which he had made in the affair 
 of the gunpowder, brought him prominently before 
 the view of the house ; and he was elected the colonel 
 of the first regiment, and the commander of all the 
 forces raised, and to be raised, for the defence of the 
 colony. Mr. William Woodford, who is said to have 
 distinguished himself in the French and Indian war, 
 was appointed to the command of the second regi- 
 ment. 
 
 The place of rendezvous for the troops was the 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 161 
 
 city of Williamsburg. Mr. Henry was at his post on 
 the 20th of September, examining the grounds adja- 
 cent to the city, for the purpose of selecting an en- 
 campment ; and the place chosen was at the back of 
 William and Mary college. The troops were re- 
 cruited and poured in with wonderful rapidity. The 
 papers of the day teem with the annunciation of com- 
 pany after company, both regulars and minute-men, 
 with the highest encomiums on the appearance and 
 spirit of the troops ; and had the purpose been offen- 
 sive war, Col. Henry was soon in a situation to an- 
 nihilate any force that Lord Dunmore could at that 
 time have arrayed against him. But there was, in 
 truth, something extremely singular and embarrass- 
 ing in the situation of the parties in regard to each 
 other. It was not war, nor w^as it peace. The very 
 ordinance by which these troops were raised, was 
 filled with professions of allegiance and fidelity to 
 George III. — professions, whose sincerity there is 
 the less reason to doubt, because they are confined to 
 the exercise of his constitutional powers, and stand 
 connected with an expression of their firm determina- 
 tion to resist' any attempt on the liberties of the coun- 
 try. The only intelligible purpose, therefore, for 
 which these troops were raised, was a preparation for 
 defence ; and for defence against an attempt to en- 
 force the parliamentary taxes upon this colony. With 
 respect to Lord Dunmore, he was indeed considered 
 as having abandoned the duties of his office : yet still 
 he was regarded as the governor of Virginia, and 
 there seems to have been no disposition to offer vio- 
 lence to his person. 
 
 Dunmore, on his part, considered the colony as in 
 II 
 
162 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 a state of open and general rebellion ; not merely de- 
 signing to resist an attempt to enforce upon them an 
 obnoxious tax, but to subvert the regal government 
 wholly and entirely; and had his power been equal 
 to his wishes, there is no reason to doubt that he 
 would have disarmed the colony, and hung up with- 
 out ceremony, the leaders of this traitorous revolt, 
 as he affected to consider it. His impotence, how- 
 ever, and the aversion of the colonists to act other- 
 wise than defensively, produced a suspense full of the 
 most painful anxiety. 
 
 In the meantime, Capt. Squire commander of his 
 majesty's sloop the Otter^ had been laboring through- 
 out the summer with some success, to change the de- 
 fensive attitude of the colony. He was engaged in 
 cruising continually in James and York rivers, plun- 
 dering the defenceless shores, and carrying off the 
 slaves, wherever seduction or force could place them 
 in his power. These piratical excursions had wrought 
 up the citizens who were not in arms to a very high 
 pitch of resentment ; and an accident soon gave them 
 an opportunity of partial reprisal, which they did 
 not fail to seize. On the 2d of September, the cap- 
 tain, sailing in a tender, on a marauding expedition 
 from James to York river, was encountered by a 
 violent tempest, and his tender was driven on shore, 
 upon Back river, near Hampton. It was night, and 
 the storm still raging: — the captain and his men, dis- 
 trusting (unjustly, as it would seem from the papers) 
 the hospitality of the inhabitants, made their escape 
 through the woods ; the vessel was on the next day dis- 
 covered and burnt by the people of the neighborhood. 
 In consequence of this act, the captain addressed the 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. ~ 163 
 
 following letter to the committee of the town of 
 Hampton : — 
 
 " Otter sloop, Norfolk river, Sept. 10, 1775)^ 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 "Whereas, a sloop tender, manned and armed in 
 his majestj^'s service, w^as, on Saturday the 2d in- 
 stant, in a violent gale of wind, cast on shore in Back 
 river, Elizabeth county, having on board the under- 
 mentioned king's stores, which the inhabitants of 
 Hampton thought proper to seize : I am therefore to 
 desire, that the king's sloop, with all the stores be- 
 longing to her, be immediately returned ; or the peo- 
 ple of Hampton, who committed the outrage, must- 
 be answerable for the consequences. 
 
 " I am, gentlemen, your humble servant, 
 
 " Matthew Squire.'* 
 
 This letter, with a catalogue of the stores, having 
 been communicated to the committee of Williams- 
 burg, and by them having been laid before the com- 
 manding officer of the volunteers of that place, Major 
 James Innes, at the head of a hundred men, who 
 courted the enterprise, flew to Hampton to repel the 
 threatened invasion. Squire, however, satisfied him- 
 self for the present, by falling down to Hampton 
 road, where he seized the passage boats, with the ne- 
 groes in them, by way of reprisal, as he alleged, for 
 the stores, &c., taken out of his tender when driven 
 ashore in the late storm ; " which boats and negroes," 
 adds Purdie's paper of the day, " it is likely he in- 
 tends taking into the king's service, to send out a pi- 
 rating for hogs, fowls, &c. A very pretty occupation 
 for the captain of one of his majesty's ships of war." 
 
"164 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 The next paper announces the movements of Squire 
 by a paragraph, which I extract verbatim^ as showing 
 in an amusing light, the spirit of the times, and as 
 Camden says, '^ the plain and jolly mirth of our an- 
 cestors," even in the midst of misfortunes: — '^ We 
 hear that the renoAvned Captain Squire, of his maj- 
 esty's sloop Otter, is gone up the bay for Baltimore in 
 Maryland ; on his old t7'ade, it is to be presumed, of 
 negro-catching, pillaging the farms and plantations 
 of their stock and poultry, and other illustrious ac- 
 tions, highly becoming a Squire in the king's navy. 
 Some say, his errand was to watch for a quantity of 
 gunpowder intended for this colony ; but that val- 
 uable is now safely landed where he dare not come to 
 smell it." 
 
 The same paper contains the following answer 
 from the committee of Hampton to Squire's letter : — 
 
 " To Matthew Squire, Esq., commander of his majes- 
 ty's sloop Otter, lying in Hampton roads. 
 
 " Hampton, September 16, 1775. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " Yours of the 10th instant, directed to the com- 
 mittee of the town of Hampton, reciting, that a 
 sloop tender on his majesty's service was, on the 2d 
 instant, cast on shore near this place, having on board 
 some of the king's stores, which you say were seized 
 by the inhabitants, and demanding an immediate re- 
 turn of the same, or that the people of Hampton must 
 answer the consequences of such outrage, was this 
 day laid before them, who knowing the above recital 
 to be injurious and untrue, think proper here to men- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. l^ 
 
 tion the facts relative to this matter. The sloop, we 
 apprehend, was not in his majesty's service, as we 
 are well assured that you were on a pillaging or pleas- 
 uring party ; and although it gives us pain to use in- 
 delicate expressions, yet the treatment received from 
 you calls for a statement of facts, in the simple lan- 
 guage of truth, however harsh it may sound. To 
 your own heart we appeal for the candor with which 
 we have stated them — ^to that heart which drove you 
 into the woods in the most tempestuous weather, in 
 one of the darkest nights, to avoid the much injured 
 and innocent inhabitants of this county, who had 
 never threatened or ill used you, and who would at 
 that time have received you, we are assured; with hu- 
 manity and civility, had you made yourself and situa- 
 tion known to them. Neither the vessel nor stores 
 were seized by the inhabitants of Hampton ; the gun- 
 ner, one Mr. Gray, and the pilot, one Mr. Ruth, who 
 were employed by you on this party, are men, we 
 hope, who will still assert the truth. From them, 
 divers of our members were informed that the vessel 
 and stores, together with a good seine, (which you, 
 without cause, so hastily deserted,) were given up 
 as irrecoverably lost, by the officers, and some of the 
 proprietors, to one Finn, near whose house you were 
 driven on shore, as a reward for his entertaining you, 
 &c., with respect and decency. 
 
 " The threats of a person whose conduct hath 
 evinced that he was not only capable, but desirous of 
 doing us, in our then defenceless state, the greatest in- 
 justice, we confess, were somewhat alarming; but 
 with the greatest pleasure we can inform you, our ap- 
 prehensions are now removed. 
 
160 l^IFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 " Althongli we know that we cannot legally be 
 called to account for that which you are pleased to 
 style an outrage, and notwithstanding we have hither- 
 to, by you, been treated with iniquity, we will, as far 
 as in our power lies, do you right upon just and 
 equitable terms. 
 
 ^^ First. We, on behalf of the community, require 
 from you the restitution of a certain Joseph Harris, 
 the property of a gentleman of our town, and all other 
 our slaves whom you may have on board ; which said 
 Harris, as well as other slaves, hath been long har- 
 bored, and often employed, with your knowledge, (as 
 appeared to us by the confession of Ruth and others, 
 and is well known to all your men,) in pillaging us, 
 under cover of night, of our sheep and other live 
 stock. 
 
 " Secondly. We require that you will send on 
 shore all boats, with their hands, and every other 
 thing you have detained on this occasion. 
 
 " And lastly. That you shall not, by your own ar- 
 bitrary authority, undertake to insult, molest, inter- 
 rupt, or detain, the persons or property of any one 
 passing to and from this town, as you have frequently 
 done for some time past. 
 
 " Upon complying with those requisitions, we will 
 endeavor to procure every article left on our shore, 
 and shall be ready to deliver them to your pilot and 
 gunner, of whose good behavior we have had some 
 proofs. 
 
 We are, &:c. 
 " The Committee of Elizabeth City county 
 and town of Hampton,^^ 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 167 
 
 In the meantime, Squire's threat against Hampton 
 was not an empty one, as is proven by the following 
 account of the attempt to execute it ; the article is ex- 
 tracted from a supplement to Purdie's paper of Oc- 
 tober 27th, 1775 :— 
 
 " After Lord Dunmore, with his troops and the 
 navy, had been for several weeks seizing the persons 
 and property of his majesty's peaceable subjects in 
 this colony — On Wednesday night last, a party from 
 an armed tender landed near Hampton, and took away 
 a valuable negro slave and a sail from the owner. 
 JSText morning there appeared off the mouth of Hamp- 
 ton river, a large armed schooner, a sloop, and three 
 tenders, with soldiers on board, and a message was re- 
 ceived at Hampton from Captain Squire, on board 
 the schooner, that he would that day land and burn 
 the towm ; on which a company of regulars, and a 
 company of minute-men, who had been placed there 
 in consequence of former threats denounced against 
 that place, made the best disposition to prevent their 
 landing, aided by a body of militia who v^^ere sud- 
 denly called together on the occasion. The enemy 
 accordingly attempted to land, but were retarded by 
 some boats sunk across the channel for that purpose. 
 Upon this they fired several small cannon at the 
 provincials without any effect, who in return dis- 
 charged their small arms so effectually, as to make 
 the enemy move off, with the loss of several men, as it 
 is believed. But they had, in the meantime burnt 
 down a house belonging to Mr. Cooper, on the river. 
 On intelligence of this reaching Williamsburg, about 
 nine o'clock at night, a company of riflemen was de- 
 
168 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 spatched to the aid of Hampton, and the colonel of 
 the 2d regiment sent to take the command of the 
 whole; who with the company, arrived about eight 
 o'clock next morning. The enemy had in the night 
 cut through the boats sunk, and made a passage for 
 their vessels, which were drawn close up to the town, 
 and began to fire upon it soon after the arrival of the 
 party from Williamsburg; but as soon as our men 
 were so disposed as to give them a few shot, they went 
 off so hastily that our people took a small tender, with 
 five white men, a woman, and two slaves, six swivels, 
 seven muskets, some small arms, a sword, pistols, and 
 other things, and several papers belonging to Lieu- 
 tenant Wright, who made his escape by jumping over- 
 board and swimming away with Mr. King's man, who 
 are on shore, and a pursuit it is hoped may overtake 
 them. There were two of the men in the vessel mor- 
 tally wounded ; one is since dead, and the other near 
 his end. Besides which, we are informed, nine were 
 seen to be thrown overboard from one of the vessels. 
 We have not a man even wounded. The vessels went 
 over to ISTorfolk, and we are informed the whole 
 force from thence is intended to visit Hampton this 
 day. If they should, we hope our brave troops are 
 prepared for them ; and we can with pleasure assure 
 the public, that every part of them behaved with 
 spirit and bravery, and are wishing for another skir- 
 mish.'' 
 
 The next paper ciontains the following card to Cap- 
 tain Squire, which is inserted merely as another 
 specimen of the character of the times : — 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRt-. 1^0 
 
 Williamsburg, November Sd. 
 
 " The riflemen and soldiers of Hampton desire 
 their compliments to Captain Squire and his squad- 
 ron, and wish to know how thej approve the reception 
 they met last Friday. Should he incline to renew 
 his visit, they will be glad to see him ; otherwise, in 
 point of complaisance, they will be under the neces- 
 sity of returning the visit. If he cannot find the ear 
 that was cut off, they hope he will wear a wig to hide 
 the mark ; for perhaps it may not be necessary that all 
 should know chance had effected that which the laws 
 ought to have done." 
 
 In the meantime. Lord Dunmore, with a motley 
 band of tories, negroes, and recruits from St. Augus- 
 tine's, was " cutting such fantastic capers " in the 
 countrv round about ^N^orfolk, as made it necessary to 
 crush him or drive him from the state. With this 
 view, the committee of safety (who, by their consti- 
 tution, were authorized to direct all military move- 
 ments) detached Colonel Woodford, at the head of 
 about eight hundred men to cross James river at 
 Sandy Point, and go in pursuit of his lordship. Col- 
 onel Henry himself had been anxious for this service, 
 and is said to have solicited it in vain. But the com- 
 mittee of safety* seem to have distrusted too much his 
 
 * The committee of safety was composed of the following 
 gentlemen: — Edmund Pendleton, George Mason, Hon. John 
 Page, Richard Bland, Thomas Ludwell Lee, Paul Carring- 
 ton, Dudley Digges, William Cabell, Carter Braxton, James 
 Mercer, and John Tabb, esquires. 
 
 The clause of the ordinance of convention which author- 
 ized this committee to direct all military movements is 
 the following: — 
 
lYO LIJ^E OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 want of military experience, to confide to him so im- 
 portant an enterprise. The disgust which Mr. Henry 
 had conceived at the palpable reflection on his mili- 
 tary capacity, was increased by Colonel Woodford's 
 refusal to acknowledge his superiority in command. 
 This gentleman, after his departure from Williams- 
 burg, on the expedition against Dunmore, considered 
 himself as no longer under Mr. Henry's authority; 
 and consequently addressed all his communications to 
 the convention when in session, and when not so, to 
 the committe of safety. On the 6th December, 1775, 
 Mr. Henry sent an express to Col. Woodford, with the 
 following letter: — 
 
 " On Virginia service. 
 
 " To William Woodford, Esq., colonel of the second 
 
 regiment of the Virginia forces. 
 
 " Headquarters, Dec. 6, 1775. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " Not hearing of any despatch from you for a 
 long time, I can no longer forbear sending to know 
 your situation, and what has occurred. Every one, as 
 well as myself, is vastly anxious to hear how all 
 stands with you. In case you think any thing could 
 
 " And whereas it may be necessary for the public secur- 
 ity, that the forces to be raised by virtue of this ordi- 
 nance should, as occasion may require, be marched to 
 different parts of the colony, and that the officers should 
 be subject to a proper control. Be it ordained hy the au- 
 thority aforesaid, That the officers and soldiers under 
 such command shall in all things, not otherwise particu- 
 larly provided for by this ordinance, and the articles estab- 
 lished for their regulation, be under the control, and sub- 
 ject to the order of the general committee of safety. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 1^1 
 
 be done to aid and forward the enterprise you have in 
 hand, please to write it. But I wish to know your 
 situation, particularly with that of the enemy, that 
 the whole may be laid before the convention now here. 
 The number and designs of the enemy, as you have 
 collected it, might open some prospects to us, that 
 might enable us to form some diversion in your favor. 
 The bearer has orders to lose no time, and return with 
 all possible haste. I am, sir, your most humble ser- 
 vant, 
 
 " P.^IIenby, jun. 
 " P. S. Captain Alexander's company is not yet 
 come. 
 
 ^' Col. Woodford." 
 
 To this letter, on the next day, he received the fol- 
 lowing answer from Col. Woodford : — 
 
 " Great Bridge, 7th Dec, 1775. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " I have received yours per express ; in answer to 
 which must inform you, that, understanding you were 
 out of town, I have not written you before last Mon- 
 day, by the return of the honorable the convention's 
 express, when I referred you to my letter to them for 
 every particular respecting mine and the enemy's 
 situation. I wrote them again yesterday and this 
 morning, which no doubt they will communicate to 
 you, as commanding officer of the troops at Williams- 
 burg. When joined, I shall always esteem myself 
 immediately under your command, and will obey ac- 
 cordingly; but when sent to command a separate 
 and distinct body of troops, under the immediate 
 
172 LIFE OF PATRICK HENUY. 
 
 instructions of the committee of safety — whenever 
 that body or the honorable convention is sitting; I 
 look upon it as my indispensable duty to address my 
 intelligence to them, as the supreme power in this 
 colony. If I judge wrong, I hope that honorable 
 body will set me right. I would wish to keep up 
 the greatest harmony between us, for the good of 
 the cause we are engaged in ; but cannot bear to be 
 supposed to have neglected my duty, when I have 
 done every thing I conceived to be so. The enemy 
 are strongly fortified on the other side the bridge, 
 and a great number of negroes and tories with them ; 
 my prisoners disagree as to the numbers. We are 
 situate here in mud and mire, exposed to every hard- 
 ship that can be conceived, but the want of provis- 
 ions, of which our stock is but small, the men suffer- 
 ing for shoes ; and if ever soldiers deserved a second 
 blanket in any service, they do in this ; our stock 
 of ammunition, much reduced, no bullet-moulds that 
 were good for any thing sent to run up our lead, till 
 those sent the other day by Mr. Page. If these 
 necessaries and better arms had been furnished in 
 time for this detachment, they might have prevented 
 much trouble and great expense to this colony. Most 
 of those arms I received the other day from Williams- 
 burg are rather to be considered as lumber, than fit 
 to be put in men's hands, in the face of an enemy: 
 with much repair, some of them will do ; with those, 
 and what I have taken from the enemy, hope to 
 be better armed in a few days. I have written to the 
 convention, that it was my opinion, the greatest part 
 of the first regiment ought immediately to march 
 to the scene of action with some cannon, and a supply 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. I73 
 
 of ammunition, and every other necessary for war 
 that the colony can muster, that a stop may be put 
 to the enemy's progress. As to the Carolina troops 
 and cannon, they are by no means what I was made 
 to expect : 60 of them are here, and 100 will be here 
 to-morrow ; more, it is said, will follow in a few days, 
 under Col. Howe ; badly armed, cannon not mounted, 
 no furniture to them. How long these people will 
 choose to stay, it is impossible for me to say; 99 in 
 100 of these lower people rank tories. From all 
 these informations, if you can make a diversion in 
 my favor, it will be of service to the colony, and very 
 acceptable to mj'self and soldiers, whom, if possible, 
 I will endeavor to keep easy under their hard duty, 
 but begin to doubt whether it will be the case long." 
 
 In two days after the receipt of this letter came 
 the news of the victory of the Great Bridge, by 
 which Col. Woodford at once threw into the shade 
 the military pretensions of all the other state officers ; 
 a circumstance not very well calculated to gild the 
 pill of contumacy, which he had just presented to 
 the commander-in-chief. The committee of safety 
 had now a delicate part to act between these two 
 officers ; they were extremely anxious to avoid the 
 decision of the question which had arisen between 
 them, seeing very distinctly that their decision could 
 not but disappoint very painfully that gentleman 
 who was their favorite officer. They seem to have 
 been apprehensive that Col. Woodford would be led, 
 by that decision, to resign in disgust ; and were justly 
 alarmed at the idea of losing the services of so val- 
 uable an officer, especially after the distinction which 
 
174 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 he had recently gained at the Great Bridge. Mr. 
 Henry, however, insisted that the committee or con- 
 vention should determine the question, as being the 
 only way to settle the construction of his commission. 
 It was accordingly taken up, and decided by the fol- 
 lowing order of the committee : — 
 
 " In committee — December, mdcclxxv. 
 
 " Resolved, unanimously. That Colonel Woodford, 
 although acting upon a separate and detached com- 
 mand, ought to correspond with Colonel Henry, and 
 make returns to him at proper times of the state and 
 condition of the forces under his command ; and also 
 that he is subject to his orders, when the conven- 
 tion, or the committee of safety, is not sitting, but 
 that while either of those bodies are sitting, he is to 
 receive his orders from one of them.'^ 
 
 The address which was thought necessary in com- 
 municating this resolution to Colonel Woodford, is 
 a proof of the very high estimate in which he was held 
 by the committee, and the same evidence furnishes 
 very decisive proof that Colonel Henry had not owed 
 his military appointment to the suffrage of those 
 members of the committee who maintained the cor- 
 respondence. Thus, on the 13th of December, 1775, 
 a member of the convention addressed a letter to Col- 
 onel Woodford, which seems to have been a prepara- 
 tive for the resolution of the committee, and is cer- 
 tainly suited, with great dexterity, to that object; 
 the writer, among other things, says : — I have talked 
 with Colonel Henry about this matter; he thinks 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 175 
 
 K 
 he has been ill-treated, and insists the officers under 
 
 his command shall submit to his orders. I recom- 
 mended it to him to treat the business with caution 
 and temper ; as a difference at this critical moment be- 
 tween our troops would be attended with the most 
 fatal consequences ; and took the liberty to assure him 
 you would, I was certain, submit to whatever was 
 thought just and reasonable. He has laid the letter 
 before the committee of safety, whose sentiments 
 upon the subject I expect you must have received 
 before this. I hope it will not come before us,* but 
 from what Colonel Henry said, he intimated it must, 
 as it could be no otherwise determined. . . I very 
 cordially congratulate you on the success at the 
 Bridge and the reduction of the fort, which will give 
 our troops the benefit of better and more wholesome 
 ground. 
 
 But the letter from the chairman of the committee, 
 which enclosed the resolution, is a masterpiece of 
 address, so far as relates to the feelings of Col. 
 Woodford; though certainly not well judged to pro- 
 mote the permanent harmony of those officers, by 
 inspiring sentiments of respect and subordination 
 for the superior. The letter bears date on the 24th 
 of December, 1775, it is written in a strain of the 
 most frank and conciliatory friendship — full of de- 
 served eulogy on Colonel Woodford's conduct — and 
 very far from complimentary to the colonel of the 
 first regiment. In relation to this gentleman, (after 
 having mentioned the resolution of raising other 
 regiments,) he says: — " The field-officers to each reg- 
 iment w^ill be named here, and recommended to con- 
 * The Convention. 
 
170 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 gress ; in case our army is taken into continental pay, 
 thej will send commissions. A general officer will 
 be chosen there, I doubt not, and sent us ; with that 
 matter, I hope we shall not intermeddle, lest it should 
 be thought propriety requires our calling or rather 
 recommending our present first officer to that station. 
 Believe me, sir, the unlucky step of calling that 
 gentleman from our councils, where he was useful, 
 into the field, in an important station, the duties of 
 which he must, in the nature of things, be an entire 
 stranger to has given me many an anxious and un- 
 easy moment. In consequence of this mistaken step, 
 which cannot now be retracted or remedied, for he 
 has done nothing worthy of degradation, and must 
 keep his rank, we must be deprived of the service of 
 some able officers, whose honor and former ranks 
 will not suffer them to act under him in this junc- 
 ture, when we so much need their services. 
 
 Mr. Henry had too much sagacity not to perceive 
 the light in which he was viewed by the committee 
 of safety, and too much sensibility not to be wounded 
 by the discovery. His situation was indeed, at this 
 time, most painfully embarrassing. The rank which 
 he had held was full of the promise of honor and dis- 
 tinction ; he was the first officer of the Virginia 
 forces ; the celebrity which he had already attained 
 among his countrymen, not only by his political re- 
 sistance to the measures of the British parliament, 
 but by the bold and daring military enterprise which 
 he had headed the preceding year, in the affair of 
 the gunpowder, led his countrymen to expect, that 
 the appointment which he now held would not be 
 a barren one, but that he would mark it with the 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 1^7 
 
 characters of his extraordinary genius, and become 
 as distinguished in the field as he had been in the 
 senate. He knew that these expectations were en- 
 tertained and had every disposition to realize them; 
 but his wishes and his hopes were perpetually over- 
 ruled by the committee of safety, who commanded 
 over him, and who gratuitously distrusting his capa- 
 city for war, would give him no opportunity of mak- 
 ing trial of it. Yet Mr. Henry, untried, has been 
 most unjustly slighted as a soldier, and spoken of 
 as a mere military cipher 1 If I have not been mis- 
 informed, some of those who composed this very 
 committee did, in aftertimes, frequently allude to 
 this period of his life, to prove the practical inutility 
 of his character, and have applied to him the saying, 
 which Wilkes applied to Lord Catham, that " all his 
 power and efficacy was seated in his tongue." What 
 figure he might have made in war, had the opportu- 
 nity been allowed him, can now be only matter of 
 speculation. His personal bravery, so far as I have 
 heard, has never been called in question ; or if it 
 has, it has been without evidence : and neither his 
 ardor in the public cause, nor his strong natural 
 sense, can with any color of justice be disputed. If 
 we superadd to these qualities that presence of mind, 
 that promptitude, boldness, and novelty of view — 
 that dexterous address, and fertility of expedient, 
 for which he was remarkable — I can see no reason 
 to doubt, that he would have justified the highest ex- 
 pectations of his admirers, had he been permitted 
 to command the expedition which he courted. As 
 to his want of experience, the alleged ground for 
 keeping him so ignominiously confined to head-quar- 
 
 12 
 
17S LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 ters, he possessed pretty^early as mucli experience 
 as Colonel Washington had when he covered the re- 
 treat of Braddock's routed forces ; nor would it seem 
 to comport with that respect which the committee 
 owed to the convention, from whom both Colonel 
 Henry and themselves had received their respective 
 appointments, to arrogate the power of reversing 
 the decree of the convention, and practically degrad- 
 ing the officer of their first choice. It is certain 
 that the committee were severely spoken of at the 
 day, and that the people, as well as the soldiery, did 
 not hesitate openly to impute their conduct toward 
 Mr. Henry to personal envy. 
 
 Other humiliations yet awaited him. Shortly 
 after the aifair of the Great Bridge, Colonel Howe, 
 of North Carolina, at the head of five or six hun- 
 dred men of that state, joined Colonel Woodford; 
 and taking the command of the whole, with the con- 
 sent of the latter gentleman, who yielded to the sen- 
 iority of his commission, marched with their united 
 forces into I^orfolk, which had been evacuated by 
 the British. From this post Colonel Howe contin- 
 ually addressed his communications to the committee 
 of safety, or to the convention ; and Colonel Henry, 
 after having seen his lawful rights and honors trans- 
 ferred, in the first instance, to an inferior officer of 
 his own, had now the mortification of seeing himself 
 completely superseded, and almost annihilated, by 
 an officer from another state of only equal rank. 
 
 But even this w^as not all : six additional regiments 
 had been raised by the convention, and congress had 
 been solicited to take the Virginia troops on con- 
 tinental establishment. They resolved to take the six 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 1T9 
 
 new regiments, passing by the two first ; a discrim- 
 ination which conveys so palpable a reflection on the 
 two first regiments, that it is difficult to account for 
 it, except by the secret influence of that unfriendly 
 star, which had hitherto controlled and obscured Mr. 
 Henry's military destinies. The measure was so 
 exactly adjusted to the wish expressed by Colonel 
 Woodford's correspondent, that congress would not 
 devolve the chief command of the Virginia forces on 
 Colonel Henry, that it is difiicult to avoid the sus- 
 picion that the suggestion came from the same quar- 
 ter. The convention, however, now interfered in 
 behalf of their favorite; and remonstrated against 
 this degradation of the ofiicers of their first choice ; 
 earnestly recommending it to congress, if they ad- 
 hered to their resolution of taking into continental 
 pay no more than six regiments, to suffer the two 
 first to stand first in the arrangement. This course 
 was accordingly adopted ; but, at the same time, com- 
 missions of brigadier-general were forwarded by con- 
 gTess to Colonel Howe, and Colonel Andrew Lewis. 
 The reader, if he knows any thing of the scrupu- 
 lous and even fastidious delicacy with which mili- 
 tary officers watch the most distant reflection upon 
 their competency, will not be surprised that Mr. 
 Henry refused the continental commission of col- 
 onel, which was now offered to him, and immediately 
 resigned that which he held from the state. His res- 
 ignation produced a commotion in the camp, which 
 wore at first an alarming aspect ; and would probably 
 have had an extremely unpropitious effect on the mil- 
 itary efforts of the state, had it not been instantan- 
 eously quelled by his own patriotic exertions. Thq 
 
180 LIFE OF pathick henry. 
 
 following is the notice off his transaction from Pur- 
 die's paper of March 1, 1776 : — 
 
 " Yesterday morning, the troops in this city being 
 informed that Patrick Henry, esquire, commander- 
 in-chief of the Virginia forces, was about to leave 
 them, the whole went into deep mourning, and being 
 under arms, waited on him at his lodgings, when they 
 addressed him in the following manner : — 
 
 (C ( 
 
 To Patrick Henry, jun. Esquire, 
 
 a i 
 
 Deeply impressed with a grateful sense of the 
 obligations we lie under to you, for the polite, hu- 
 mane, and tender treatment manifested to us through- 
 out the whole of your conduct, while we had the honor 
 of being under your command, permit us to offer you 
 our sincere thanks, as the only tribute we have in our 
 power to pay to your real merits. Notwithstanding 
 your withdrawing yourself from the service fills us 
 with the most poignant sorrow, as it at once deprives 
 us of our father and general; yet as gentlemen, we 
 are compelled to applaud your spiritual resentment 
 to the most glaring indignity. May your merit shine 
 as conspicuous to the world in general, as it hath done 
 to us, and may Heaven shower its choicest blessings 
 upon you ! ' 
 
 " To which he returned the following answer : — 
 
 cc c 
 
 CC ( 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 I am exceedingly obliged to you for your ap- 
 probation of my conduct. Your address does me the 
 highest honor. This kind testimony of your regard 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 181 
 
 to me would have been an ample reward for ser- 
 vices much greater than those I have had the power 
 to perform. I return you, and each of you, gentle- 
 men, my best acknowledgments for the spirit, alac- 
 rity, and zeal, you have constantly shown in your sev- 
 eral stations. I am unhappy to part with you. I 
 leave the service, but I leave my heart with you. 
 May God bless you, and give you success and safety, 
 and make you the glorious instrument of saving our 
 country.^ 
 
 " After the officers had received Colonel Henry's 
 kind answer to their address, they insisted upon his 
 dining with them at the Raleigh tavern, before his 
 departure ; and after dinner a number of them pro- 
 posed escorting him out of town, but were prevented 
 in their resolution by some uneasiness getting among 
 the soldiery, who assembled in a tumultuous manner, 
 and demanded their discharge, declaring their un- 
 willingness to serve under any other commander; 
 upon which Col. Henry found it necessary to stay a 
 night longer in town ; Avhich he spent in visiting the 
 several barracks, and used every argument in his 
 power with the soldiery, to lay aside their imprudent 
 resolution, and to continue in the service which he 
 had quitted from motives in which his honor alone 
 was concerned ; and that, although he was prevented 
 from serving his country in a military capacity, yet 
 his utmost abilities should be exerted for the real 
 interest of the united colonies, in support of the 
 glorious cause in which they have engaged. This, 
 accompanied with the extraordinary exertions of Col. 
 Christian and other officers present, happily pro- 
 duced the desired effect, the soldiers reluctantly ac- 
 
182 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 quiescing; and we have now the pleasure to assure 
 the public, that those brave fellows are now pretty 
 well reconciled, and will spend the last drop of their 
 blood in their country's defence." 
 
 This is the man who has been sometimes branded 
 as a turbulent, seditious, factious demagogue ! Had 
 he been of this character, what an occasion was here 
 to have provoked it to action ! This love for the man 
 and the officer, and this resentment of the indignities 
 to which he had been subjected, was not confined to 
 the camp at Williamsburg; they pervaded the whole 
 army, and were felt and expressed by the following 
 address, signed by upwards of ninety officers at 
 Kemp's landing and Suffolk (m Colonel Woodford's 
 camp,) as well as at Williamsburg, and printed by 
 their desire in Purdie's paper of the 22d March, 
 1775 :— 
 
 " Sir, 
 
 " Deeply concerned for the good of our country, we 
 sincerely lament the unhappy necessity of your res- 
 ignation, and with all the warmth of affection assure 
 you, that, w^hatever may have given rise to the in- 
 dignity lately offered to you, we join with the general 
 voice of the people, and think it our duty to make 
 this public declaration of our high respect for your 
 distinguished merit. To your vigilance and judg- 
 ment as a senator this united continent bears ample 
 testimony; while she prosecutes her steady opposi- 
 tion to those destructive ministerial measures which 
 your eloquence first pointed out and taught to resent, 
 and your resolution led forward to resist. To your 
 extensive popularity the service also is greatly in- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 183 
 
 debted, for the expedition with which the troops 
 were raised; and, while they were continued under 
 your command, the firmness, candor, and politeness, 
 which formed the complexion of your conduct toward 
 them, obtained the signal approbation of the wise 
 and virtuous, and will leave upon our minds the most 
 grateful impression. Although retired from the im- 
 mediate concerns of war, we solicit the continuance of 
 your kindly attention. We know your attachment 
 to the best of causes; we have the fullest confidence 
 in your abilities, and in the rectitude of your views ; 
 and however willing the envious may be to under- 
 mine an established reputation, we trust the day will 
 come, when justice shall prevail, and thereby secure 
 you an honorable and happy return to the glorious 
 employment of conducting our councils, and hazard- 
 ing your life in the defence of your country. 
 
 " With the most grateful sentiments of regard and 
 esteem, we are, sir, very respectfully, your most 
 obliged and obedient humble servants.'' 
 
 From the contemporary publications in Mr. Pur- 
 die's paper it is very clear that either the committee 
 as a body, or, what is more probable, some individual 
 or individuals of it, were still believed to have had a 
 secret hand in planning and directing the series of 
 indignities which had driven Mr. Henry from a mili- 
 tary life. It would seem that the truly respectable 
 and venerable chairman of that committee came in 
 at the time for his full proportion of this censure, 
 and that he smarted severely under it : this I infer, 
 from a letter of his to Colonel Woodford some time 
 afterward, in answer to one by which that gentleman 
 had consulted him as to the propriety of his resigning 
 
184 LIFE OP PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 his commission. After mving dissuaded him from 
 this step by other topics, he proceeds thus : — " I am 
 apprehensive that your resignation will be handled 
 to your disadvantage, from a certain quarter, where 
 all reputations are sacrificed, for the sake of one; 
 what does it signify, that he resigned without any 
 such cause, or assigning any reason at all ? it is not 
 without example, that others should be censured for 
 what he is applauded for." This acrimony, so un- 
 usual from a man of Mr. Pendleton^s benevolence and 
 courtesy could have been wrung from him only by the 
 bitterest provocations; and renders it highly prob- 
 able, that the numerous and enthusiastic admirers of 
 Mr. Henry had implicated this gentleman deeply in 
 the indignities which had recently been offered to 
 their favorite. 
 
 It demands, however, no uncommon measure of 
 charity to believe, that what was imputed to envy at 
 the time, proceeded, so far as Mr. Pendleton was 
 concerned, from a single eye to the public good, and 
 a sincere belief on his part, (an opinion in which he 
 was by no means singular,) that Mr. Henry's inex- 
 perience in military affairs made it unsafe to com- 
 mit to his management the infancy of our war. The 
 people required to be animated by success in the on- 
 set ; and it was therefore very natural in the com- 
 mittee of safety, on whom the responsibility for the 
 management of the war devolved, to select, for the 
 first enterprises, the most experienced commander. 
 Mr. Pendleton was too virtuous a man, and too faith- 
 ful a patriot, to yield consciously to any other motive 
 of action than the public good. His country has 
 fixed its seal upon his exalted character, and the 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 186 
 
 writer of these sketches is much more disposed to 
 brighten than to efface the impression. 
 
 The motives of Mr. Henry's resignation of his 
 commission which have been stated, are very easily 
 and clearly deducible from the papers of the day, and 
 were expressly avowed by him to his confidential 
 friend and brother-in-law, Colonel Meredith.* To 
 other friends, however, he stated that he was the more 
 reconciled to the necessity which had compelled him 
 to resign, because he believed that he could perhaps 
 serve the cause of his country more effectually in the 
 public councils than in the field. f 
 
 Immediately upon his resignation he was elected 
 a delegate to the convention for the county of Han- 
 over. The session of that body, which was now com- 
 ing on, was pregnant with importance. Dunmore 
 had abdicated the chair of government, and the royal 
 amthority in the colony was seen and felt no longer, 
 but in acts of hostility. The king had declared from 
 his throne, that the colonists must be reduced by force 
 to submit to the British claim of taxation ; and the 
 colonists, on their part, had avowed that they never 
 
 ♦These are Colonel Meredith's words: — "P. H. in a 
 communication to Col. M. stated his motives for resign- 
 ing his commission as colonel. He conceived himself ne- 
 glected, by younger officers having been put above him, 
 and preferred to him; particularly in the affair of the 
 Great Bridge, where he had wished to command; but Col- 
 onel Woodford received that appointment. He disliked his 
 being kept in and about Williamsburg, and not appointed 
 to some Important post or expedition. He was thus in- 
 duced to think he was neglected by those who had the 
 power of appointment. He therefore resigned." 
 
 t Judge Tyler, and Captain George Dabney. 
 
186 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 would submit to this prostration of their rights ; but, 
 on the contrary, that they would hand down to their 
 children the birthright of liberty which they had en- 
 joyed, or perish in the attempt. On this quarrel arms 
 had been taken up on both sides, and the appeal had 
 been made to the God of battles. The war had as- 
 sumed a regular and settled form, blood had been 
 profusely shed in various parts of the continent and 
 reconciliation had become hopeless. 
 
 The people being thus abandoned by their king, 
 put out of his protection, declared in a state of open 
 rebellion, and treated as enemies, the social compact 
 which had united the monarch with his subjects was 
 at an end; the colonial constitution, which could be 
 set and kept in motion only by the presence and 
 agency of the king or his representative was of course 
 dissolved ; and all the rights and powers of govern- 
 ment reverted, of necessity, to their source, the peo- 
 ple. These causes produced the convention. It was 
 the organ by which the people chose to exercise the 
 fundamental rights thus thrown back upon them, by 
 the- dissolution of the regal government. It was the 
 substitute for the whole government which had been 
 withdrawn — legislative, executive, and judiciary. It 
 represented the whole political power of the people; 
 and had been expressly elected to take care of the 
 republic. The means of accomplishing this object 
 were left to themselves, without limitation or re- 
 striction on the part of the people. Hitherto, while 
 any hope of a restoration of the original government 
 on just terms could be entertained, the convention 
 had been satisfied with temporary expedients ; the 
 first convention, however, had exercised the power of 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 187 
 
 the people in their highest capacity, by adopting a 
 species of constitution, and organizing a government 
 under it; thus they erected an executive, under the 
 name of a committee of safety, which the people rec- 
 ognized as flowing directly from themselves. Be- 
 fore the meeting of the convention of 17T6, however, 
 it was seen and well understood on every hand, that 
 the contest could not be maintained by the people, 
 without the aid of regular government ; and that the 
 political malady of which they complained, could 
 be extirpated in no other way than by applying the 
 knife to the root. The newspapers of the preceding 
 year contain frequent suggestions of this kind ; the 
 impression had now become universal ; and the pa- 
 pers present specimens of explicit instructions from 
 the people to their delegates to this effect. Thus in- 
 structed in the sentiments of their constituents, and 
 representing the people in their highest sovereign 
 capacity, the convention met on the 6th of May, 1776, 
 in the old capitol in the city of Williamsburg. Mr. 
 Pendleton having been elected president, after hav- 
 ing thanked the house for the honor done him, ad- 
 dressed them with great solemnity, in the following 
 terms : — " We are now met in general convention ac- 
 cording to the ordinance for our election, at a time 
 truly critical, when subjects of the most important 
 and interesting nature require our serious attention. 
 " The administration of justice, and almost all the 
 powers of government, have now been suspended for 
 near two years. It will become us to reflect whether 
 we can longer sustain the great struggle we are mak- 
 ing in this situation." Having then directed their 
 attention to certain specific subjects which required 
 
188 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 attention, he concluded ms short, but impressive ad- 
 dress, by exliorting the members to calmness, unan- 
 imity, and diligence. 
 
 On the fifteenth of May, Mr. Cary reported from 
 the committee of the whole house on the state of the 
 colony, the following preamble and resolutions, which 
 were unanimously adopted : — 
 
 ^' Forasmuch as all the endeavors of the United 
 Colonies, by the most decent representations and pe- 
 titions to the king and parliament of Great Britain, 
 to restore peace and security to America under the 
 British government, and a reunion with that people 
 upon just and liberal terms, instead of a redress of 
 grievances, have produced, from an imperious and 
 vindictive administration, increased insult, oppres- 
 sion, and a vigorous attempt to effect our total de- 
 struction. By a late act, all these colonies are declared 
 to be in rebellion, and out of the protection of the 
 British crown ; our properties subjected to confisca- 
 tion ; our jxiople, when captivated, compelled to join 
 in the murder and plunder of their relations and 
 countrymen ; and all former rapine and oppression 
 of Americans declared legal and just. Fleets and 
 armies are raised, and the aid of foreign troops en- 
 gaged to assist these destructive purposes. The king's 
 representative in this colony hath not only withheld 
 all the powers of government from operating for our 
 safety, but, having retired on board an armed ship, 
 is carrying on a piratical and savage war against us, 
 tempting our slaves, by every artifice, to resort to 
 him, and training and employing them against their 
 masters. In this state of extreme danger, we have no 
 alternative left, but an abject submission to the will 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 189 
 
 of those overbearing tyrants, or a total separation 
 from the crown and government of Great Britain: 
 uniting and exerting the strength of all America for 
 defence, and forming alliances with foreign powers 
 for commerce and aid in war. Wherefore, appealing 
 to the Searcher of hearts or the sincerity of former 
 declarations, expressing oiir desire to preserve the 
 connection with that nation, and that w^e are driven 
 from that inclination by their wicked councils, and 
 the eternal laws of self-preservation, 
 
 " Resolved, unanimously. That the delegates ap- 
 pointed to represent this colony in general congress, 
 be instructed to propose to that respectable body, to 
 
 DECLAEE THE UNITED COLONIES FREE AND INDEPEN- 
 DENT STATES, absolved from all allegiance to, or de- 
 pendance upon, the crown or parliament of Great 
 Britain ; and that they give the assent of this colony 
 to such declaration, and to whatever measures may be 
 thought proper and necessary by the congress for 
 forming foreign alliances, and a confederation of 
 THE COLONIES, at such time, and in the manner, as 
 to them shall seem best. Provided, that the power 
 of forming government for, and the regulation of, 
 the internal concerns of each colony, be left to the 
 respective colonial legislatures. 
 
 " Resolved, unanimously, That a committee be ap- 
 pointed to prepare a declaration of rights, and 
 such a plan of government as will be most likely to 
 maintain peace and order in this colony, and secure 
 substantial and equal liberty to the people." 
 
 This measure was followed by the most lively dem- 
 onstrations of joy. Purdie's paper of the 17th of 
 
J90 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 May, which immediatel^succeeds the annunciation 
 of the resolutions, said : — 
 
 " In consequence of the ahove resolutions, uni- 
 versally regarded as the only door which will lead to 
 safety and prosperity, some gentlemen made a hand- 
 some collection for the purpose of treating the sol- 
 diery, who next day were paraded in Waller's grove, 
 before Brigadier-General Lewis, attended by the gen- 
 tlemen of the committee of safety, the members of 
 the general convention, the inhabitants of this city, 
 &c,, &c. The resolutions being read aloud to the 
 army, the following toasts were given, each of them 
 accompanied by a discharge of the artillery and small 
 arms, and the acclamations of all present : — 
 
 '^ 1. The American Independent States. 
 
 " 2. The grand Congress of the United States, and 
 their respective legislatures. 
 
 " 3. General Washington, and victory to the 
 American arms. 
 
 ^^ The Union Flag of the American states waved 
 upon the capitol during the whole of this ceremony ; 
 which being ended, the soldiers partook of the refresh- 
 ments prepared for them by the affection of their 
 countrymen, and the evening concluded with illumi- 
 nations, and other demonstrations of joy; every one 
 seeming pleased that the domination of Great Britain 
 was now at an end, so wickedly and tyrannically ex- 
 ercised for these twelve or thirteen years past, not- 
 withstanding our repeated prayers and remonstrances 
 for redress." 
 
UFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 191 
 
 Mr. Henry was a member of the committee, whicli 
 consisted of thirty-four men, appointed to prepare 
 the declaration and plan of government, called for by 
 the last resolution. 
 
 On Wednesday, the 12th of June following, that 
 declaration of rights which stands prefixed to our 
 statutes, was reported and adopted without a dissent- 
 ing voice; as was also, on Saturday, the 29th of the 
 same month, the present plan of our government.* 
 
 * The striking similitude between the recital of wrongs 
 prefixed to the constitution of Virginia, and that which 
 was afterward prefixed to the Declaration of Independence 
 of the United States, is of itself suflicient to establish the 
 fact that they are from the same pen. But the Constitu- 
 tion of Virginia preceded the Declaration of Independence 
 by nearly a month; and was wholly composed and adopted 
 while Mr. Jefferson is known to have been out of the state, 
 attending the session of congress at Philadelphia. From 
 these facts alone, a doubt might naturally arise whether 
 he was, as he has always been reputed, the author of that 
 celebrated instrument, the Declaration of American Inde- 
 pendence, or at least the recital of grievances which ushers 
 it in; or whether this part of it, at least, had not been 
 borrowed from the preamble to the constitution of Vir- 
 ginia. To remove this doubt, it is proper to state, that 
 there now exists among the archives of this state an orig- 
 inal rough draught of a constitution for Virginia, in the 
 handwriting of Mr. Jefferson, containing this identical pre- 
 amble, and which was forwarded by him from Philadel- 
 phia, to his friend Mr. Wythe, to be submitted to the com- 
 mittee of the house of delegates. The body of the con- 
 stitution is taken principally from a plan proposed by 
 Mr. George Mason; and had been adopted by the committee 
 before the arrival of Mr, Jefferson's plan: his preamble, 
 however, was prefixed to the instrument; and some of th© 
 modifications proposed by him introduced into ^e body 
 of it. 
 
192 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 The salary of the governor to be appointed under 
 the new constitution was immediately fixed by a reso- 
 lution of the house at one thousand pounds per an- 
 num ; and the house proceeded to elect forthwith the 
 first republican governor for the commonwealth of 
 Virginia. This was the touchstone of public favor. 
 The office was of the first importance ; and the whole 
 state was open to the choice of the house. The ques- 
 tion was decided on the first ballot. The vote stood 
 thus : — 
 
 For Patrick Henry, jun. Esq. . . 60 
 Thomas ISTelson, Esq. ... 45 
 John Page, Esq 1 
 
 Thereupon it was " Resolved, That the said Pat- 
 rick Henry, jim. Esq., be governor of this common- 
 wealth, to continue in that office until the end of the 
 succeeding session of assembly after the last of March 
 next; and that Mr. Mason, Mr. Henry Lee, Mr. 
 Digges, Mr. Blair, and Mr. Dandridge, be a commit- 
 tee to wait upon him, and notify such appointment.'' 
 
 On Monday, the 1st of July, Mr. George Mason, 
 of this committee, reported, that they had performed 
 the duty assigned them, and that the governor had 
 been pleased to return the following answer to the 
 convention : — 
 
 " To the Honorable the President and House of Con- 
 vention: 
 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " The vote of this day, appointing me governor of 
 the commonwealth, has been notified to me in the 
 most polite and obliging manner, by George Mason, 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. I93 
 
 Henry Lee, Dudley Digges, John Blair, and Bar- 
 tholomew Dandridge, esquires. 
 
 " A sense of the high and unmerited honor con- 
 ferred upon me by the convention, fills my heart with 
 gratitude, which I trust my whole life will manifest. 
 I take this earliest opportunity to express my thanks, 
 which I wish to convey to you, gentlemen, in the 
 strongest terms of acknowledgment. 
 
 ^^ When I reflect that the tyranny of the British 
 king and parliament hath kindled a formidable war, 
 now raging throughout this wide extended continent, 
 and in the operations of which this commonwealth 
 must bear so great a part ; and that, from the events 
 of this war, the lasting happiness or misery of a great 
 proportion of the human species will finally result; 
 that, in order to preserve this commonwealth from 
 anarchy, and its attendant ruin, and to give vigor to 
 our councils, and effect to all our measures, govern- 
 ment hath been necessarily assumed, and new-mod- 
 elled; that it is exposed to numberless hazards, and 
 perils, in its infantine state ; that it can never attain 
 to maturity, or ripen into firmness, unless it is 
 guarded by an affectionate assiduity, and managed 
 by great abilities; I lament my want of talents; I 
 feel my mind filled with anxiety and uneasiness, to 
 find myself so unequal to the duties of that important 
 station, to which I am called by the favor of my 
 fellow-citizens at this truly critical conjuncture. The 
 errors of my conduct shall be atoned for, so far as 
 I am able, by unwearied endeavors to secure the free- 
 dom and happiness of our common country. 
 
 " I shall enter upon the duties of my ofiice, when- 
 ever you, gentlemen, shall be pleased to direct ; rely- 
 
 13 
 
194 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 ing upon the known wisoom and virtue of your hon- 
 orable house to supply my defects, and to give perma- 
 nency and success to that system of government which 
 you have formed, and which is so wisely calculated 
 to secure equal liberty, and advance human happi- 
 ness. 
 
 " I have the honor to be, gentlemen, 
 " Your most obedient and very humble servant, 
 
 P. Henry, jun.'' 
 
 a 
 
 Mr. Henry was also immediately greeted with the 
 following affectionate address, from the two regi- 
 ments which he had recently commanded : — 
 
 " To his excellency Patrick Henry, jun. Esq., gov- 
 ernor of the commonwealth of Virginia: — The 
 humble address of the first and second Virginia 
 regiments : — 
 
 " May it please your excellency, 
 
 " Permit us, with the sincerest sentiments of re- 
 spect and joy, to congratulate your excellency upon 
 your unsolicited promotion to the highest honors a 
 grateful people can bestow. 
 
 " Uninfluenced by private ambition, regardless of 
 sordid interest, you have uniformly pursued the gen- 
 eral good of your country ; and have taught the world, 
 that an ingenuous love of the rights of mankind, an 
 inflexible resolution, and a steady perseverance in 
 the practice of every private and public virtue, lead 
 directly to preferment, and give the best title to the 
 honors of our uncorrupted and vigorous state. 
 
 " Once happy under your military command, we 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 195 
 
 hope for more extensive blessings from your civil ad- 
 ministration. 
 
 '" Intrusted as your excellency is, in some measure, 
 with the support of a young empire, our hearts are 
 willing, and arms ready, to maintain your authority 
 as chief magistrate ; happy that we have lived to see 
 the day, when freedom and equal rights, established 
 by the voice of the people, shall prevail through the 
 land. We are, may it please your excellency, your 
 excellency's most devoted and most obedient ser- 
 vants.'^ 
 
 To which he returned the following exquisite an- 
 swer : — 
 
 Gentlemen of the first and second Virginia regi- 
 ments, 
 
 " Your address does me the highest honor. Be 
 pleased to accept my most cordial thanks for your 
 favorable and kind sentiments of my principles and 
 conduct. 
 
 " The high appointment to which my fellow-citi- 
 zens have called me, was, indeed, unmerited, unso- 
 licited. I am, therefore, under increased obligations 
 to promote the safety, dignity, and happiness of the 
 commonwealth. 
 
 '^ While the civil powers are employed in estab- 
 lishing a system of government, liberal, equitable, in 
 every part of which the genius of equal liberty 
 breathes her blessed influence, to you is assigned the 
 glorious task of saving, by your valor, all that is dear 
 to mankind. Go on, gentlemen, to finish the great 
 work you have so nobly and successfully begun. Con- 
 
196 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 vince the tyrants again, that they shall bleed, that 
 America will bleed to her last drop, ere their wicked 
 schemes find success. 
 
 " The remembrance of my former connection with 
 you shall ever be dear to me. I honor your profes- 
 sion, I revere that patriot virtue, which, in your con- 
 duct, hath produced cheerful obedience, exemplary 
 courage, and contempt of hardship and danger. Be 
 assured, gentlemen, I shall feel the highest pleasure 
 in embracing every opportunity to contribute to your 
 happiness and welfare ; and I trust the day will come, 
 when I shall make one of those that will hail you 
 among the triumphant deliverers of America. 
 " I have the honor to be, gentlemen, 
 " Your most obedient and very humble servant, 
 
 " P. Henry, jun." * 
 
 The first council appointed under the constitution 
 were, John Page, Dudley Digges, John Taylor, John 
 Blair, Benjamin Harrison, of Berkeley, Bartholo- 
 mew Dandridge, Thomas Nelson, and Charles Car- 
 ter, of Shirley, esquires. Mr. Nelson (the same gen- 
 tleman who had received so honorable a vote as gov- 
 ernor) declined the acceptance of the office, on ac- 
 count of his age and infirmities; and his place was 
 supplied by Mr. Benjamin Harrison, of Brandon. 
 
 * When it is said that Mr. Henry was not successful as 
 a writer the remark must be understood as applicable 
 only to those extended compositions in which it was neces- 
 sary to digest and arrange a mass of arguments with skill 
 and effect, and to give them beauty as well as order. In 
 his short effusions, when excited by strong feelings, he 
 was sometimes very happy; of which the above answer 
 is a very pleasing specimen. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 197 
 
 The governor's palace, together with the out-build- 
 ings belonging to it in Williamsburg, having, by a 
 previous resolution, been appropriated as a public 
 hospital, was, by a resolution of the first of July, 
 restored to its original destination ; and the committee 
 who had been appointed to notify the governor of 
 his election, were now directed to inform him of the 
 desire of the convention, that he would make the 
 palace his place of residence. On the fifth of July 
 the sum of one thousand pounds was directed by the 
 house to be laid out in furniture for the palace, in- 
 cluding the furniture already there, belonging to the 
 country; and, on the same day, the governor and 
 members of the privy council took their respective 
 oaths of office, and entered at once upon the dis- 
 charge of their constitutional duties. 
 
CHAPTEK Vn. 
 
 GOVEKlSrOR or VIRGIN^IA. MEMBER OF LEGISLATURE. 
 RESUMES PRACTICE OF LAW. 
 
 17Y6-1788. 
 
 Shortly after Mr. Henry's election as governor, 
 Lord Dunmore was driven from Gwinn's island, and 
 from the state, to return to it no more ; and Virginia 
 was left in repose from every external enemy. 'No 
 opportunity, therefore, was afforded to the governor 
 to distinguish himself in the exercise of that im- 
 portant constitutional power which created him the 
 commander-in-chief of the forces of the state. Du- 
 ties, however, of more importance than lustre, re- 
 mained for the executive of the state : — keeping up 
 the ardor of the commonwealth in the public cause ; 
 furnishing and forwarding their quota of military 
 supplies to the grand continental army ; awakening 
 the spirit of the state to the importance of discipline, 
 and preparing the militia for the effectual discharge 
 of their routine of duty ; watching and crushing the 
 intrigues of the tories who still infested the state, and 
 went about clandestinely, preaching disaffection to 
 the patriot cause, and submission to Great Britain; 
 counteracting the schemes of speculating monopolists 
 and extortioners, who sought to avail themselves of 
 
 198 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 199 
 
 the necessities of the times, and to grow rich by 
 preying on the misfortunes of the people; in short, 
 eradicating and removing those numerous moral dis- 
 eases, which spring up with so much fecundity, and 
 flourish so luxuriantly, amid the calamities of a revo- 
 lution, and keeping the body politic pure and healthy 
 in all its parts. The numerous and well-directed 
 proclamations with which the papers of the day 
 abound, attest the vigilance and energy with which 
 these duties were performed. To enter upon a de- 
 tail of them, would be to write the history of Virginia 
 during this period, instead of the life of Mr. Henry. 
 The fall of the year 1776 was one of the darkest 
 and most dispiriting periods of the revolution.* The 
 disaster at Long Island had occurred, by which a con- 
 siderable portion of the American army had been cut 
 otf — a garrison of between three and four thousand 
 men had been taken at Fort Washington — and the 
 American general, with the small remainder, dis- 
 heartened, and in want of every kind of comfort, was 
 retreating through the Jerseys f before an over- 
 
 * The disasters of that fateful autumn may be catalogued 
 as follows: — 
 
 August 27, the battle of Long Island; August 29, 
 Washington's Retreat across East River; September 15, 
 the panic among the American troops at Kipp's Bay, and 
 the American retreat from New York; September 16, the 
 battle of Harlem Plains; September 20, the burning of 
 New York; October 28, the battle of White Plains; Novem- 
 ber 16, the surrender of Fort Washington; November 20, 
 the abandonment of Fort Lee, followed by Washington's 
 retreat across the Jerseys. 
 
 t The New Jersey of later date was then called " the 
 Jerseys," that is, East Jersey and West Jersey. On this 
 
200 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 whelming power which spread terror, desolation, and 
 death, on every hand. This was the period of which 
 Paine, in his Crisis, used that memorable expression: 
 — " These are the times which try the souls of men ! " 
 For a short time the courage of the country fell. 
 Washington alone remained erect, and surveyed with 
 godlike composure the storm that raged around him. 
 Even the heroism of the Virginia legislature gave 
 way; and, in a season of despair, the mad project of 
 a dictator was seriously meditated. That Mr. Henry 
 was thought of for this office, has been alleged, and 
 is highly probable ; but that the project was suggested 
 by him, or even received his countenance, I have met 
 with no one who will venture to affirm. There is a 
 tradition that Col. Archibald Cary, the speaker of 
 the senate, was principally instrumental in crushing 
 this project ; that meeting Col. Syme, the step-brother 
 of Col. Henry, in the lobby of the house, he accosted 
 him very fiercely in terms like these : — " I am told 
 that your brother wishes to be dictator ; tell him 
 from me, that the day of his appointment shall be the 
 day of his death — for he shall feel my dagger in his 
 heart before the sunset of that day : " and the tradi- 
 tion adds, that Col. Syme, in great agitation, de- 
 clared, " that if such a project existed, his brother 
 had no hand in it, for that nothing could be more 
 foreign to him, than to countenance any office which 
 could endanger, in the most distant manner, the lib- 
 erties of his country." 
 
 The intrepidity and violence of Col. Cary^s char- 
 constricted territory the war of the Revolution was chiefly 
 fought out, for there were no less than thirty-eight battles 
 fought on its soil. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 201 
 
 acter renders the tradition probable ; but it furnishes 
 no proof of Mr. Henry's implication in the scheme. 
 It is most certain, that both himself and his friends 
 have firmly and uniformly persisted in asserting his 
 innocence ; and there seems to be neither candor nor 
 justice in imputing to him, without evidence, a 
 scheme which might just as well have originated in 
 the assembly itself. It was not more than a month 
 afterward, that congress actually did, with relation 
 to General Washington, very nearly what the Vir- 
 ginia legislature are said to have contemplated in re- 
 gard to Mr. Henry; they invested him with powers 
 very little short of dictatorial : yet no one ever sus- 
 pected General Washington of having prompted the 
 measure. Why then shall Mr. Henry be suspected ? 
 Neither General Washington himself, nor any other 
 patriot, had maintained the principles of the revolu- 
 tion with more consistency and uniformity than Pat- 
 rick Henry ; and it will certainly never satisfy a fair 
 inquirer, to attempt to balance a suspicion, without 
 the shadow of proof, against the whole course of a 
 long and patriotic life. The charge, moreover, seems 
 preposterous. What advantage could a rational man 
 promise himself from the dictatorship of a single 
 state, embarked with twelve other sovereigTi and in- 
 dependent states, in one common cause ; a cause, too, 
 now so well understood by the whole body of the 
 American people, and in which all their souls were so 
 intensely engaged? The man who was at the head 
 of the armies of the imion, might have played the 
 part of Caesar or Cromwell, had he possessed their 
 wicked spirit j but what could the dictator of a single 
 
202 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 state do, and that, too, a state of firm and enligMened 
 patriots? 
 
 It is impossible to believe that the legislature them- 
 selves could have entertained a doubt of Mr. Henry's 
 innocence; since at the next annual election for gov- 
 ernor, which took place on the 30th of May, 1777, 
 he was re-elected unanimously ; the house being com- 
 posed of nearly the same members, and the same Col- 
 onel Gary being speaker of the senate. This honor- 
 able proof of confidence, by those who best knew the 
 whole case — who watched, with a scrutiny so severely 
 jealous, the conduct of our prominent men — and 
 among whom were some who derived no pleasure 
 from the public honors of Mr, Henry — will be de- 
 cisive of this question, with every man who is dis- 
 passionately searching for the truth. 
 
 This very honorable mark of the confidence of the 
 legislature, in re-electing him unanimously to the 
 office of governor, affected Mr. Henry most sensibly ; 
 and to the committee who announced it to him, he 
 gave the following answer: — 
 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " The signal honor conferred on me by the general 
 assembly in their choice of me to be the governor of 
 this commonwealth, demands my best acknowledg- 
 ments, which I beg the favor of you to convey to 
 them in the most acceptable manner. 
 
 " I shall execute the duties of that high station, to 
 which I am again called by the favor of my fellow- 
 citizens, according to the best of my abilities, and I 
 shall rely upon the candor and wisdom of the as- 
 sembly, to excuse and supply my defects. The good 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 203 
 
 of the commonwealtli shall be the only object of my 
 pursuit, and I shall measure my happiness according 
 to the success which shall attend my endeavors to 
 establish the public liberty. I beg to be presented to 
 the assembly ; and that they and you will be assured, 
 that I am, with every sentiment of the highest regard, 
 their and your most obedient and very humble ser- 
 vant, 
 
 " P. Heney." 
 
 It was in the course of this year's administration 
 of the government by Mr. Henry, that that memor- 
 able plot wdiich disgraces our history, was formed to 
 supplant General Washington. This is said to have 
 proceeded from the glory which General Gates had 
 gained by the capture of Burgoyne and his army at 
 Saratoga, and was believed to have been suggested 
 by General Gates himself. The plot is said to have 
 been an extensive one, and to have embraced some 
 of the members of congress, and many officers of the 
 army. The high estimate which Mr. Henry had 
 formed of the abilities of General Washington, while 
 that illustrious man w^as comparatively unknown to 
 his countrymen, has been already stated. This esti- 
 mate, instead of having been lowered, had been con- 
 firmed and raised by subsequent events. Mr. Henry 
 was too cool and judicious an observer of events, to 
 have imputed to the commander-in-chief the disasters 
 of the autumn of 1776. His masterly retreat through 
 the Jerseys, the brilliant strokes of generalship ex- 
 hibited at Trenton and Princeton, and above all, that 
 singular constancy of soul with which he braved ad- 
 versity, had excited his grateful admiration, and es- 
 
204 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 tablished Washington in his heart as one of the first 
 of human beings. He not only admired him as a 
 general, but revered him as a patriot, and loved him 
 as a friend. Feeling for General Washington senti- 
 ments like these, the reader may judge of the indig- 
 nation and horror with which he read the following- 
 anonymous letter, addressed to him by one of the con- 
 spirators against that father of his country : — 
 
 " Yorhtown, January 12tli^ 1778. 
 ^' Dear Sir, 
 
 " The common danger of our country first brought 
 you and me together. I recollect with pleasure the 
 influence of your conversation and eloquence upon 
 the opinions of this country, in the beginning of the 
 present controversy. You first taught us to shake off 
 our idolatrous attachment to royalty, and to oppose 
 its encroachments upon our liberties with our very 
 lives. By these means you saved us from ruin. The 
 independence of America is the offspring of that lib- 
 eral spirit of thinking and acting which followed the 
 destruction of the sceptres of kings, and the mighty 
 power of Great Britain. 
 
 " But, sir, we have only passed the Red sea. A 
 dreary wilderness is still before us, and unless a 
 Moses or a Joshua are raised up in our behalf, we 
 must perish before we reach the promised land. We 
 have nothing to fear from our enemies on the way. 
 General Howe, it is true, has taken Philadelphia; 
 but he has only changed his prison. His dominions 
 are bounded on all sides, by his out-sentries. Amer- 
 ica can only be undone by herself. She looks up to 
 her councils and arms for protection ; but alas ! what 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 205 
 
 are thej? Her representation in congress dwindled 
 to only twenty-one members — her Adams — ^her Wil- 
 son — her Henry, are no more among them. Her 
 councils weak — and partial remedies applied con- 
 stantly for universal diseases. Her army — what is 
 it ? a major-general belonging to it, called it a few 
 days ago, in my hearing, a mob. Discipline unknown 
 or wholly neglected. The quarter-master and com- 
 missary's departments filled with idleness, ignorance, 
 and peculation — our hospitals crowded with six thou- 
 sand sick, but half provided with necessaries or ac- 
 commodations, and more dying in them in one month, 
 than perished in the field during the whole of the last 
 campaign. The money depreciating, without any ef- 
 fectual measures being taken to raise it — the country 
 distracted with the Don Quixote attempts to regu- 
 late the price of provisions — an artificial famine 
 created by it, and a real one dreaded from it — the 
 spirit of the people failing through a more intimate 
 acquaintance with the causes of our misfortunes — 
 many submitting daily to General Howe — and more 
 wishing to do it, only to avoid the calamities which 
 threaten our country. But is our case desperate ? by 
 no means. We have wisdom, virtue, and strength 
 enough to save us, if they could be called into action. 
 The northern army has shown us what Americans are 
 capable of doing, with a general at their head. The 
 spirit of the southern army is no way inferior to the 
 spirit of the northern. A Gates, a Lee, or a Conway, 
 would in a few weeks render them an irresistible body 
 of men. The last of the above officers has accepted 
 of the new office of inspector-general of our army, in 
 order to reform abuses ; but the remedy is only a pal- 
 
206 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 liative one. In one of hi^etters to a friend, he says, 
 ' a great and good God hath decreed America to be 
 free — or the * * ^ * ^ * and weak coun- 
 sellors, would have ruined her long ago.' You may 
 rest assured of each of the facts related in this let- 
 ter. The author of it is one of your Philadelphia 
 friends. A hint of his name, if found out bv the 
 handwriting, must not be mentioned to your most 
 intimate friend. Even the letter must be thrown in 
 the fire. But some of its contents ought to be made 
 public, in order to awaken, enlighten, and alarm our 
 country. I rely upon your prudence, and am, dear 
 air, with my usual attachment to you, and to our be- 
 loved independence, yours sincerely. 
 " His Excellency P. Henry.^^ 
 
 Mr. Henry did not hesitate a moment as to the 
 course which it was proper for him to take with this 
 perfidious letter: he enclosed it forthwith to General 
 Washington, in the following frank and high-minded 
 communication : — 
 
 " Williamsburg, February 20, 1778. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " You will, no doubt, be surprised at seeing the 
 enclosed letter, in which the encomiums bestowed on 
 me are as undeserved, as the censures aim*i at you 
 are unjust. I am sorry there should be one man who 
 counts himself my friend, who is not yours. 
 
 ^^ Perhaps I give you needless trouble in handing 
 you this paper. The writer of it may be too insig- 
 nificant to deservfe any notice. If I knew this to be 
 the case, I should not have intruded on your time, 
 which is so precious. But there may possibly be some 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENEY. 207 
 
 scheme or party forming to your prejudice. The 
 eii'-losed leads to such a suspicion. Believe me, sir, 
 I have too high a sense of the obligations America has 
 to you, to abet or countenance so unworthy a proceed- 
 ing The most exalted merit hath ever been found to 
 attract em-v. But I please myself with the hope 
 that the same fortitude and greatness of mmd which 
 have hitherto braved all the difficulties and dangers 
 inseparable from your station, will rise superior to 
 every attempt of the envious partisan. 
 
 " I really cannot tell who is the writer of this 
 letter, which not a little perplexes me. The hand- 
 writing is altogether strange to me. 
 
 " To give you the trouble of this gives me pain. 
 It would suit' my inclination better to give you some 
 assistance in the great business of the war But J. 
 will not conceal any thing from you by which you 
 mav be affected; for I really think, your personal 
 welfare and the happiness of America are intimately 
 connected. I beg you will be assured of that high 
 regard and esteem, with which I ever am, dear sir, 
 vour affectionate friend and very humble servant, 
 •^ " P. Henry. 
 
 " His Excellency General Washington." 
 
 Not having received any answer, to this letter, and 
 being filled with solicitude by the wicked conspiracy, 
 he again wrote to General Washington, as follows:— 
 
 " Williamsburg, March &th, 1T78. 
 
 a Dear Sir 
 
 "By an express which Colonel Finnie sent to 
 camp, I enclosed you an anonymous letter, which I 
 
208 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 hope got safe to liand.#ff am anxious to hear some- 
 thing that will serve to explain the strange affair, 
 which I am now informed is taken up respecting you. 
 Mr. Custis has just paid us a visit, and by him I 
 learn sundry particulars concerning General Mifflin, 
 that much surprised me. It is very hard to trace the 
 schemes and windings of the enemies to America. I 
 really thought that man its friend: however, I am 
 too far from him to judge of his present temper. 
 
 " Wliile you face the armed enemies of our liberty 
 in the field, and by the favor of God, have been kept 
 unhurt, I trust your country will never harbor in her 
 bosom the miscreant who would ruin her best sup- 
 porter. I wish not to flatter ; but when arts, un- 
 worthy honest men, are used to defame and traduce 
 you, I think it not amiss, but a duty, to assure you of 
 that estimation in which the public hold you. Not 
 that I think any testimony I can bear is necessary 
 for your support, or private satisfaction ; for a bare 
 recollection of what is past must give you sufficient 
 pleasure in every circumstance of life. But I cannot 
 help assuring you, on this occasion, of the high sense 
 of gratitude which all ranks of men, in this your na- 
 tive country, bear to you. It will give me sincere 
 pleasure to manifest my regards, and render my best 
 services to you or 3^ours. I do not like to make a 
 parade of these things, and I know you are not fond 
 of it : however, I hope the occasion wdll plead my 
 excuse. 
 
 " The assembly have, at length, empowered the 
 executive here, to provide the Virginia troops serving 
 with you with clothes, &c. I am making provision 
 accordingly, and hope to do something toward it. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRT. 209 
 
 Every possible assistance from government is af- 
 forded the commissary of provisions, ^vhose depart- 
 211 has not been attended to. It was taken up by 
 re too late to do much. Indeed, the load of bn.ness 
 devolved on me is too great to be managed well. A 
 French ship mounting thirty gtms, that has been long 
 chased by the English cruisers, has got into Carolina, 
 
 as I hear last night. i ' „:^ 
 
 « Wishing you all possible felicity, I am, my dear sir, 
 " Your ever affectionate friend, 
 " And very humble servant, 
 
 " P. Heney. 
 
 « His Excellency General Washington." 
 
 In reply, Mr. Henry received shortly afterward 
 
 the two following very cordial letters from the gen- 
 
 eral : — 
 
 " Valley Forge, March 27th, 1778. 
 
 " Dear Sir 
 
 " About 'eigiit days past, I was honored withyour 
 favor of the 20th ultimo. Your friendship, sir, m 
 transmitting me the anonymous letter you had re- 
 ce veT lays me under the most grateful obligations; 
 and, i any thing could give a still further claim to 
 nw acknowledgments, it is the very polite and deli- 
 cate terms in w^iich you have been pleased to make 
 
 the communication. _ .v,„t T l,olrl 
 
 " I have ever been happy m supposing that i held 
 a place in your esteem, and the proof of it you have 
 afforded on this occasion makes me peculiarly so 
 The favorable light in which you hold me is tru y 
 flattering; but I should feel much regret if I thought 
 the happiness of America so intimately connected 
 
210 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY, 
 
 with my personal welfa^, as you obligingly seem to 
 consider it. All I can say is, that she has ever had, 
 and I trust she ever will have, my honest exertions to 
 promote her interest. I cannot hope that my ser- 
 vices have been the best, but my heart tells me 
 they have been the best that I could render. 
 
 " That I may have erred in using the means in 
 my power for accomplishing the objects of the ar- 
 duous, exalted station with which I am honored, I 
 cannot doubt ; nor do I wish my conduct to be ex- 
 empted from the reprehension it may deserve. Error 
 is the portion of humanity, and to censure it, whether 
 committed by this or that public character, is the 
 prerogative of freemen. 
 
 ^^ This is not the only secret, insidious attempt 
 that has been made to wound my reputation. There 
 have been others equally base, cruel, and ungenerous ; 
 because conducted with as little frankness, and pro- 
 ceeding from views perhaps, as personally interested. 
 
 " I am, dear sir, &c. 
 
 " Geo. Washington. 
 
 " To his Excellency Patrich Henry, Esq.^ 
 " Governor of Virginia,'^ 
 
 " Camp, March 28th, 1778o 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " Just as I was about to close my letter of yester- 
 day, your favor of the 5th instant came to hand. I 
 can only thank you again in the language of the most 
 undissembled gratitude for your friendship, and as- 
 sure you, the indulgent disposition which Virginia 
 in particular, and the states in general, entertain to- 
 wards me, gives me the most sensible pleasure. Th© 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY, 211 
 
 approbation of my country is what I wish ; and as far 
 as my abilities and opportunity will permit, I hope I 
 shall endeavor to deserve it. It is the highest reward 
 to a feeling mind ; and happy are they who so con- 
 duct themselves as to merit it. 
 
 " The anon^^ous letter with which you were 
 pleased to favor me, was written by ... so 
 far as I can judge from the similitude of hands. . . 
 
 " My caution to avoid every thing that could injure 
 the service, prevented me from communicating, ex- 
 cept to a very few of my friends, the intrigues of a 
 faction which I knew was formed against me, since 
 it might serve to publish our internal dissensions; 
 but their own restless zeal to advance their views has 
 too clearly betrayed them, and made concealment on 
 my part fruitless. I cannot precisely mark the ex- 
 tent of their views ; but it appeared, in general, that 
 General Gates was to be exalted on the ruin -.of my 
 reputation and influence. This I am authorized to 
 say from undeniable facts in my own possession — 
 from publications, the evident scope of which could 
 not be mistaken — and from private detractions in- 
 dustriously circulated. , it is conmionly sup- 
 posed, bore the second part in the cabal ; and General 
 Conway, I know, was a very active and malignant 
 partisan ; but I have good reason to believe, that their 
 machinations have recoiled most sensibly upon them- 
 selves. 
 
 "I am, dear sir, &e., 
 
 " Geo. Washingtois-. 
 " His Excellency Patriclc Henry, Esq., 
 " Governor of Virginia/* 
 
21^ LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 The plot did recoil on its contrivers, and left 
 General Washington more firmly established than 
 ever in the confidence of his countrymen. 
 
 At the spring session of 1778, Mr. Henry was 
 again unanimously re-elected to the office of governor. 
 Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Dandridge, and Mr. Page, the 
 committee appointed to announce to him that event, 
 received and reported the following answer: — • 
 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " The general assembly in again electing me gov- 
 ernor of this commonwealth, have done me very sig- 
 nal honor. I trust that their confidence thus con- 
 tinued in me, will not be misplaced. 
 
 " I beg you will be pleased, gentlemen, to present 
 me to the general assembly, in terms of grateful 
 acknowledgment for this fresh instance of their favor 
 toward me ; and to assure them, that my best endeav- 
 ors shall be used to promote the public good, in that 
 station to which they have once more been pleased 
 to call me." 
 
 At this same session an act was passed, on account 
 of which both Mr. Henry and the legislature have 
 been, it is thought, improperly censured. I mean 
 the act to attaint Josiah Philips. This man, in the 
 summer of 1777, at the head of a gang of bandits, 
 commenced a course of crimes in the counties of E^or- 
 folk and Princess Anne, which spread terror and con- 
 sternation on every hand. Availing himself of the 
 disaffection which prevailed in that quarter, and tak- 
 ing refuge from occasional pursuit in the fastnesses 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY, 213 
 
 of tHe Dismal Swamp, he had carried on a species of 
 war against the innocent and defenceless, at the bare 
 mention of which humanity shudders. Scarcely a 
 night passed without the shrieks of women and chil- 
 dren, flying by the light of their own burning houses, 
 from the assaults of these merciless wretches; and 
 every day was marked by the desolation of some farm, 
 by robberies on the highway, or the assassination of 
 some individual whose patriotism had incurred the 
 displeasure of this fierce and bloody leader of the 
 bandits. Every attempt to take them had hitherto 
 proved abortive; when, in May, 1778, the governor 
 received the following letter from Col. John Wil- 
 son: — 
 
 '' Norfolk County, May 20th, 1778. 
 " Honorable Sir, 
 
 " I received your letter the 14th inst. of the 12th 
 April, respecting the holding of the militia in read- 
 iness, and my attention to the arms and accoutre- 
 ments, which I shall endeavor to comply with as far 
 as in my power : that much, however, may not be ex- 
 pected from this county, I beg to observe, that the 
 militia, of late, fail much in appearing at musters, 
 submitting to the trifling fine of five shillings, which, 
 they argue, they can afford to pay, by earning more 
 at home; but I have reason to fear, through disaffec- 
 tion. With such a set of men, it is impossible to 
 render any Service to country or county. A few days 
 since, hearing of the ravages committed by Philips 
 and his notorious gang, I ordered fifty men to be 
 raised out of four companies, consisting of upward 
 
214 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 of two hundred: of those only ten appeared, and it 
 being at a private muster, I compelled twenty others 
 into duty, putting them under the command of Capt. 
 Josiah Wilson, who immediately marched after the 
 insurgents; and that very night, one fourth of his 
 men deserted. Capt. Wilson still pursued, but to no 
 purpose : they were either taken to their secret places 
 in the swamp, or concealed by their friends, so that 
 no intelligence could be obtained. He then returned, 
 his men declaring they could stay no longer, on ac- 
 count of their crops. I considered, therefore, that 
 rather than that they should wholly desert, it might 
 be better to discharge them, and wait the coming of 
 the E'ansemond militia, when I trusted something 
 might be done: but of those men I can hear no tid- 
 ings ; and unless they or some other better men do 
 come, it will be out of my power to effect any thing 
 with the militia of this country ; for such is their cow- 
 ardly disposition, joined to their disaffection, that 
 scarce a man, without being forced, can be raised to 
 go after the outlyers. We have lost Capt. Wilson since 
 his return : having some private business at a neigh- 
 bor's, within a mile of his own house, he w^as fired on 
 by four men concealed in the house, and wounded in 
 such a manner that he died in a few hours ; and this 
 will surely be the fate of a few others, if their re- 
 quest of the removal of the relations and friends of 
 those villains be not granted, which I am again 
 pressed to solicit for, and in w^hich case neither as- 
 sistance, pay, nor plunder, is expected ; conceiving 
 that to distress their supporters is the only means 
 by which we can root those wretches from us, and 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 216 
 
 thereby establish peace and security to ourselves and 
 families. 
 
 " I am, with great respect, 
 ^^ Honorable sir, 
 
 " Your most obedient humble servant, 
 " John Wilson." 
 
 " May 24. 
 " A company of about fifty men are now come 
 from l^ansemond ; but I am informed by the captain, 
 that they will not be kept above two days, five having 
 deserted already. 
 
 " Jno. Wilson.'^ 
 The governor immediately enclosed this letter to 
 the house of delegates, with the following communi- 
 cation : — 
 
 " Tlie Honorable Benjamin Harrison^ Esq., Spealcer 
 of the House of Delegates. 
 
 " Williamshurg, May 27, 1778. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " I was always unwilling to trouble the general 
 assembly with any thing that seemed of too little con- 
 sequence for deliberation. In that view I have 
 for some time considered the insurrection in Princess 
 Anne and Norfolk. I have from time to time given 
 orders to the commanding officers of those counties, 
 to draw from the militia a force sufficient to quell it. 
 These officers have often complained of the difficulty 
 of the business, arising partly from the local cir- 
 cumstances attending it, but chiefly from the back- 
 wardness and even disaffection of the people. In 
 
216 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 order to remove the latter obstacle, I gave orders for 
 one hundred men to be drawn out into this service, 
 from Nansemond county; but I am sorry to say, the 
 almost total want of discipline in that and too many 
 other militias in the state, seems to forbid the hope of 
 their doing much to effect. 
 
 " Col. Wilson, whose letter I enclose, has several 
 times given me to understand, that, in his opinion, 
 the removal of such families as are in league w^th 
 the insurgents, was a step absolutely necessary, and 
 has desired me to give orders accordingly. But think- 
 ing that the executive power is not competent to such 
 a purpose, I must beg leave to submit the whole mat- 
 ter to the assembly, who are the only judges how far 
 the methods of proceeding directed by law are to b© 
 dispensed with on this occasion. 
 
 " A company of regulars, drawn from the several 
 stations, will be ordered to co-operate with the militia, 
 though indeed their scanty numbers will not permit 
 it to be done without hazard. But I cannot help 
 thinking this ought to be encountered ; for an appar- 
 ent disposition to disturb the peace of this state has 
 been manifested by these people during the whole 
 course of the present war. It seems, therefore that 
 no effort to crush these desperadoes should be spared. 
 
 " My duty would no longer suffer me to withhold 
 these several matters from the view of the general as- 
 sembly, to whom I beg leave to refer them through 
 you. 
 
 " With great regard, 
 
 " I have the honor to be, sir, 
 
 " Your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 "P. Henry." 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 217 
 
 This letter was communicated to the house on the 
 day of its date, and was immediately referred to a 
 committee of the whole house, on the state of the 
 commonwealth. That committee was immediately 
 formed; but not having time to go through the sub- 
 ject, had leave to sit again. On the next day the 
 house again resolved itself into a committee of the 
 whole, and after some time spent therein, the speaker 
 resumed the chair, and Mr. Carter reported on the 
 subject of Philips, as follows : — 
 
 " Information being received, that a certain 
 Philips, with divers others, his associates and con- 
 federates have levied war against this commonwealth 
 within the counties of ISTorfolk and Princess Anne, 
 committing murders, burning houses, wasting farms, 
 and doing other acts of enormity in defiance of the 
 officers of justice — 
 
 " Resolved, That it is the opinion of this com- 
 mittee, that if the said Philips, his as- 
 sociates, and confederates, do not render themselves 
 to some officer, civil or military, within this common- 
 wealth, on or before day of June, in this 
 present year, such of them as fail so to do, ought to 
 be attainted of high treason ; and that, in the mean- 
 time, and before such render, it shall be lawful for 
 any person, with or without orders, to pursue and 
 slay, or otherwise to take and deliver to justice, the 
 said Philips, his associates and confeder- 
 ates.'^ 
 
 Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Tyler, were the 
 committee appointed to prepare and bring in a bill, 
 
218 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY, 
 
 pursuant to this resolution, which was reported on 
 the same day, and read the first time. On the two 
 succeeding days it was read a second and third time ; 
 and thus regularly passed through the forms of the 
 lower house. It was communicated to the senate by 
 Mr. Jefferson, on the 30th day of the month, and re- 
 turned, passed by them, without amendment, on the 
 first day of June, which was the last day of the ses- 
 sion. 
 
 Philips "was apprehended in the course of the au- 
 tumn, and indicted by Mr. Edmund Randolph, at- 
 torney-general, for highway-robbery, simply. On 
 this charge he was tried at the October term of the 
 general court, convicted, and executed: so that the 
 act of attainder was never brought to bear upon him 
 at aU. This is the whole case of Josiah Philips. 
 The reader will judge whether Mr. Henry deserves 
 censure for having communicated to the legislature 
 the letter of Col. Wilson ; or whether that body acted 
 with too much severity toward a wretch, who had 
 not only set the laws of his country at defiance, but 
 was waging a cruel and dastardly war upon men with- 
 out arms, upon women and children ; and acting, not 
 the part of a brave and open enemy but that of an 
 enemy of the human family. 
 
 Just at the close of Mr. Henry's administration, 
 Virginia suffered an invasion of a few days, under 
 the British officers Collin and Matthew. They seized 
 Fort Kelson, near Norfolk, destroyed the naval stores 
 at Gosport, burnt Suffolk, and disappeared before the 
 militia could be rallied to chastise their insolence. 
 This occurred in the month of May, 1779 ; and the 
 facility and impunity with which the enterprise was 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 219 
 
 accomplished, very probably suggested the more se- 
 rious invasion of the state, which afterward took 
 place under the traitor Arnold. 
 
 It would seem, that a wish was entertained to re- 
 elect Mr. Henry to the office of governor a fourth 
 time, although the constitution declared him ineligi- 
 ble after the third year. The impression seems to 
 have been that his appointment for the first year, not 
 having been made by delegates who had themselves 
 been elected under the constitution, ought not to be 
 counted as one of the constitutional years of service. 
 Mr. Henry, however, had too scrupulous a respect 
 for that instrument to accept the office, even in a 
 doubtful case ; and, therefore, addressed the follow- 
 ing letter to the speaker : — 
 
 " May 2Sth, 1779. 
 " Sir, 
 
 '^ The term for which I had the honor to be elected 
 governor by the late assembly being just about to 
 expire, and the constitution, as I tliink, making me 
 ineligible to that office, I take the liberty to com- 
 municate to the assembly through you, sir, my in- 
 tention to retire in four or five days. 
 
 " I have thought it necessary to give this notifi- 
 cation of my design, in order that the assembly may 
 have the earliest opportunity of deliberating upon 
 the choice of a successor to me in office. With great 
 regard, 
 
 " I have the honor to be, sir, 
 
 " Your most obedient servant, 
 
 " P. Hei^ey." 
 
220 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 Thus closed Mr. Helll^'s administration: and al- 
 though he had not an opportunity of distinguishing 
 it by any splendid achievements, it is honor enough 
 that he had given universal satisfaction, and that he 
 retired with a popularity confirmed and increased. 
 
 It has been thought best not to break the chain of 
 the narrative, as to his public character, by noticing 
 the changes which had before this time occurred in 
 his domestic relations. It may be proper to pause 
 here for the purpose of supplying this omission. 
 
 His wife, the partner of his youth, and the solace 
 of his early adversities, had died in the year 1775, 
 after having made him the father of six children. 
 The anguish of this blow was mitigated by the cir- 
 cumstance of her having been, for several years, in 
 a state of ill health and of suffering, from which 
 there was no hope of recovery ; and to her, therefore, 
 death indeed ^^ came like a friend to relieve her from 
 pain." 
 
 Neither had the father lived to witness the promo- 
 tion of his son to the highest honors of the republic. 
 He had lived, however, long enough to enjoy the first 
 bloom of his fame, and to see him the most celebrated 
 and rising character in the state. He had died about 
 the year 1770, and left behind him a name highly 
 respectable for every private and social virtue. 
 
 His uncle, for whom he seems to have had a strong 
 affection, had died during his government, and in 
 token of his affection and respect, had appointed him 
 the executor of his will. 
 
 His tender and indulgent mother still survived, 
 and felt all that pure and exquisite delight, which the 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 221 
 
 r 
 
 well-deserved honors of her son were calculated to 
 inspire. 
 
 After the death of his wife, Mr. Henry sold the 
 farm called Scotch Town on which he had resided in 
 Hanover, and purchased eight or ten thousand acres 
 of valuable land in the county of Henry ; a county 
 which had been erected during his government, and 
 which had taken its name from him, as did after- 
 wards its neighboring county of Patrich. In the 
 year 1777, he married Dorothea, the daughter of 
 Mr. Nathaniel W. Dandridge, with whom, after the 
 resignation or expiration of his office, he removed to 
 his newly-acquired estate, called Leatherwood, and 
 there resumed the practice of the law. In the year 
 1780, we find him again in the assembly, and one of 
 the most active members in the house. 
 
 During the winter session of this year, General 
 Gates entered the city of Richmond from his south- 
 ern campaign, where he had most wofully fulfilled 
 General Lee's prediction."^ His total defeat at Cam- 
 den, and a series of subsequent ill fortune, had left 
 South Carolina completely in the hands of the vic- 
 torious British ; and to increase his humiliation, 
 congress had not only superseded him in that com- 
 mand, by the substitution of General Greene, but had 
 passed a resolution requiring the commander-in-chief 
 to order a court of inquiry on his conduct. Under 
 these accumulated disgraces, the unfortunate general 
 entered the city of Richmond, when Mr. Henry 
 
 * When Gen. Charles Lee heard of Gen. Gates's appoint- 
 ment to the command of the southern army, he foretold 
 that " his northern laurels would be turned into southern 
 willows.'' 
 
222 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 moved a resolution whicn displays, in a most engag- 
 ing light, the delicate and generous sensibility of his 
 character ; it was as follows : — 
 
 " Resolved, That a committee of four be appointed 
 to wait on Majoi^-general Gates, and to assure him of 
 the high regard and esteem of this house; that the 
 remembrance of his former glorious services cannot 
 be obliterated by any reverse of fortune; but that 
 this house, ever mindful of his great merit, will omit 
 no opportunity of testifying to the world, the grati- 
 tude which, as a member of the American union, this 
 country owes to him in his military character." 
 
 " Richmond, December ^8th, 1780. 
 
 " I shall ever remember with the utmost gratitude, 
 the high honor this day done me by the honorable the 
 house of delegates of Virginia. When engaged in 
 the noble cause of freedom and the United States, I 
 devoted myself entirely to the service of obtaining 
 the great end of their union. That I have been once 
 unfortunate is my great mortification ; but let the 
 event of my future services be what they may, they 
 will, as they always have been, be directed by the 
 most faithful integrity, and animated by the truest 
 zeal for the honor and interest of the United States. 
 
 " Horatio Gates. '^ 
 
 The spring and summer of the next year presented 
 a period of even deeper darkness than the autumn of 
 1776. Virginia had not, hitherto, been the theatre 
 of hostile operations of a very serious character ; her 
 
Major-General Horatio Gates.— Page 222. 
 
 Life of Patriclc Henry. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 223 
 
 sufferings had been rather those of sympathy with her 
 northern and southern sisters; but in this year the 
 calamities of war were brought home to her own. 
 bosom. Arnold's invasion took place in January: 
 having carried his ravages as high up as Richmond 
 and Westham, he retired to Portsmouth, where he 
 rested till April, when General Philips succeeded to 
 the command, and paid another visit of desolation to 
 Manchester. In the next month came Lord Corn- 
 wallis, with his victorious army from the south, 
 driving every thing before him, and striking terror 
 into whatsoever quarter he approached. Having 
 formed a junction between his forces and those under 
 the command of General Philips, there was no longer 
 a military force in the state which had the power to 
 resist him. The inferior body of republican troops, 
 under Lafayette, moved before him, without the 
 ability to strike a blow ; and Cornwallis roamed at 
 pleasure, and without any apprehension, through the 
 interior of the state. 
 
 The seventh of May was the day appointed by law 
 for the meeting of the assembly at Richmond. A few 
 members met and took the oaths prescribed by law; 
 but the number not being sufficient to proceed to 
 business, the house was adjourned from day to day 
 until the 10th ; when, upon information of the ap- 
 proach of the enemy, they adjourned to the 24th, to 
 meet at Charlottesville. It was not until the 28th, 
 that a house was formed to proceed to business at 
 this place; when Mr. Benjamin Harrison was elected 
 speaker, and after making the usual acknowledg- 
 ments for that honor, proceeded to address the fol- 
 
224: LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 lowing remarks to tlio^oiise ; which I quote, not be- 
 cause they are a very favorable specimen of Mr. Har- 
 rison's oratory, but to show the panic which prevailed 
 even among the first men of the country : — " The crit- 
 ical and dangerous situation of our country leads me 
 to hope, that my recommending it to you to despatch 
 the weighty matters that will be under your consid- 
 eration, with all convenient speed, will not be taken 
 amiss; the people expect that effectual and decisive 
 measures will be taken to rid them of an implacable 
 enemy, that are now roaming at large in the very 
 bowels of our country, and I have no doubt of your 
 answering their expectations ; the mode of doing this 
 may indeed be difficult : but it not being my province 
 to point it out, I shall leave it to your wisdom, in. 
 full confidence that every thing that is necessary for 
 quieting the minds and dispelling the fears of our 
 constituents, will be done." 
 
 Eight days after this address, Mr. John Jouett, a 
 citizen of the place, entered the town on horseback, 
 at full speed, and announced the near and rapid 
 approach of Tarlton,* at the head of three hundred 
 
 * Colonel Banastre Tarlton (1754-1833), served under 
 T ord Cornwallis in the war of the Revolution. While 
 lie was undoubtedly both skilful and brave, he was also 
 bloodthirsty and brutal, and pursued the methods of 
 brigandage rather than of honorable warfare. His name 
 was justly execrated by those who in Virginia suffered 
 from the scourge of his cruelty. In his mother country, 
 however, he was honored, and on his return to England 
 he was elected to Parliament, and created K.C.B. His one 
 literary venture was entitled " A history of the Cam- 
 paigns of 1780-1781 in the Southern Provinces of North 
 America," and the book is not without merit. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 225 
 
 cavalry and mounted infantry. The house had just 
 met, and was about to commence business, when the 
 alarming cry of ^^ Tarlton and the British,'' was 
 spread through the village ; and they had scarcely 
 taken time to adjourn informally to Staunton, when 
 Tarlton rushed like a thunderbolt into the village, in 
 the confident expectation of seizing the whole assem- 
 bly ; but the birds had flo^^al. He made seven of 
 them only prisoners. The rest reassembled in Staun- 
 ton, on the 7th of June. On the 10th of June, a false 
 report of his approach produced another panic ; and 
 the house having merely taken time to resolve that 
 they would meet at the Warm Springs, if it should be 
 found dangerous to meet in Staunton on the next 
 day; and on their failure so to do, that the speaker 
 might call a meeting, when and where he pleased, 
 again broke up and dispersed. 
 
 It was at this period of almost hopeless darkness, 
 w^hen the energies of the state seemed to have been 
 pretty nearly paralyzed, that the project of a dic- 
 tator was again revived ; and it is again highly prob- 
 able, that Mr. Ilcnry was the character who was in 
 view for that office. Inquiries have been made of 
 the surviving members of that assembly to ascertain 
 whether the project could be traced to him, or whether 
 he had any kind of participation in the proposal ; but 
 those inquiries have resulted in a conviction of his 
 entire innocence. The project came from other quar- 
 ters, and seems to have been the last refuge of that 
 general despair which for a short time pervaded the 
 whole commonwealth. 
 
 But this period of deep darkness was the harbinger 
 of breaking day. The morning dawned with the arri- 
 
226 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 val of those aids from France, which Mr. Henry had 
 so long ago predicted; and the sim of American in- 
 dependence arose to set no more. He lived to witness 
 the glorious issue of that revolution which his 
 genius had set in motion; and (to repeat his own 
 prophetic language, before the commencement of the 
 struggle) ^^ to see America take her stand among the 
 nations of the earth.'^ The contest closed with the 
 capture of Cornwallis, at Little York, on the 19th 
 of October, 1781 ; and thus the ball of the revolution 
 rested in the same state in which it had received the 
 first impulse. 
 
 This enlightened and patriotic statesman, how- 
 ever, was not yet inclined to indulge himself in that 
 repose to which he was so well entitled. The consti- 
 tution of the state had as yet been tried only in war, 
 when the sense of common danger, and their ardor in 
 the common cause, might of themselves have been 
 sufficient to keep the people together, and to supply, 
 in a good degree, the place of government. 
 
 It was necessary to see how the instrument would 
 work in peace ; what assurance it gave of public order 
 and well-regulated liberty ; or whether any, and what 
 defects in the plan required amendment. 
 
 There were other considerations, too, which called 
 loudly for attention. The war had left the country 
 in a most deplorable situation ; poor and in debt ; its 
 warriors unrequited ; its finances wholly deranged ; 
 its jurisprudence unsettled; and all its faculties 
 weak, disordered, and exhausted. This was no time 
 for the patriot to quit his post. It demanded all his 
 vigilance to guard the infant republic against the 
 machinations of its enemies, both abroad and at 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 227 
 
 home; it required all his care and all his skill to 
 heal the numerous disorders which had flowed from 
 the war ; to nurse the new-born nation into health 
 and strength ; to develop its resources, moral and 
 physical; and thus to give security and permanence 
 to its liberties. 
 
 With the view of contributing his aid to those great 
 objects, Mr. Henry still continued to represent the 
 county of his residence, in the legislature of the state, 
 and controlled the proceedings of that body, with a 
 weight of personal authority, and a power of elo- 
 quence, which it was extremely difficult, and indeed 
 almost impossible, to resist. A striking evidence of 
 this power Avas given, immediately on the close of the 
 revolution, in his advocating the return of the British 
 refugees. The measure was most vehemently op- 
 posed. There was no class of human beings against 
 whom such violent and deep-rooted prejudices ex- 
 isted. The name of ^^ British tory " was of itself 
 enough, at that period, to throw almost any company 
 in Virginia into flames, and was pretty generally a 
 signal for a coat of tar and feathers ; a signal which 
 was not very often disobeyed. Mr. Henry's propo- 
 sition in favor of a class of people so odious could not 
 fail to excite the strongest surprise ; and was, at first, 
 received with a repugnance apparently insuperable. 
 
 The late Judge Tyler, then the speaker of the 
 house, opposed it in the committee of the whole, with 
 great warmth ; and in the course of the discussion, 
 turning from the chairman to Mr. Henry, he asked 
 him, " how lie, above all other men, could think of 
 inviting into his family, an enemy, from whose in- 
 sults and injuries he had suffered so severely ? " To 
 
228 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 this Mr. Henry answered, that ^^ the personal feelings 
 of a politician ought not to be permitted to enter those 
 walls. The question (he said) was a national one, 
 and in deciding it, if they acted wisely, nothing 
 wouki be regarded but the interest of the nation. On 
 the altar of his country's good he was willing to sac- 
 rifice all personal resentments, all private wrongs — 
 and he flattered himself, that he was not the only man 
 in the house who was capable of making such a sac- 
 rifice. We have, sir, (said he,) an extensive country, 
 without ijopulation — what can be a more obvious pol- 
 icy than that this country ought to be peopled ? — peo- 
 ple, sir, form the strength, and constitute the wealth 
 of a nation. I want to see our vast forests filled up 
 by some process a little more speedy than the ordinary 
 course of nature. I wish to see these states rapidly 
 ascending to that rank which their natural advan- 
 tages authorize them to hold among the nations of the 
 earth. Cast your eyes, sir, over this extensive coun- 
 try — observe the salubrity of your climate ; the va- 
 riety and fertility of your soil — and see that soil in- 
 tersected in every quarter by bold, navigable streams, 
 flowing to the east and to the west, as if the finger of 
 Heaven were marking out the course of your settle- 
 ments, inviting you to enterprise, and pointing the 
 way to wealth. Sir, you are destined, at some time 
 or other, to become a great agricultural and commer- 
 cial people ; the only question is, whether you choose 
 to reach this point by slow gradations, and at some 
 distant period — lingering on through a long and 
 sickly minority — subjected meanwhile, to the machi- 
 nations, insults, and oppressions of enemies, foreign 
 and domestic, without sufficient strength to resist and 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 229 
 
 chastise them — or whether you choose rather to rush 
 at once, as it were, to the full enjoyment of those high 
 destinies, and be able to cope, single-handed, with 
 the proudest oppressor of the old world. " If you pre- 
 fer the latter course, as I trust you do, encourage em- 
 igration — encourage the husbandmen, the mechanics, 
 the merchants of the old world, to come and settle in 
 this land of promise — make it the home of the skilful, 
 the industrious, the fortunate and happy, as well as 
 the asylum of the distressed — fill up the measure of 
 your population as speedily as you can, by the means 
 which Heaven hath placed in your power — and I 
 venture to prophesy there are those now living, who 
 will see this favored land amongst the most powerful 
 on earth — able, sir, to take care of herself, without 
 resorting to that policy which is always so dangerous, 
 though sometimes unavoidable, of calling in foreign 
 aid. Yes, sir — they will see her great in arts and in 
 arms — her golden harvests waving over fields of un- 
 measurable extent — her commerce penetrating the 
 most distant seas, and her cannon silencing the vain 
 boasts of those who now proudly affect to rule the 
 waves. But, sir, you must have men — you cannot get 
 along without them— those heavy forests of valuable 
 timber, under which your lands are groaning, must be 
 cleared away — those vast riches which cover the face 
 of your soil, as well as those which lie hid in its 
 bosom, are to be developed and gathered only by the 
 skill and enterprise of men — ^your timber, sir, must 
 be worked up into ships, to transport the productions 
 of the soil from which it has been cleared — then, you 
 must have commercial men and commercial capital, 
 to take off your productions, and find the best mar- 
 
230 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 kets for them abroad — ^yonr great want, sir, is the 
 want of men ; and these yon must have, and will have 
 speedily, if you are wise. 
 
 ^' Do you ask how you are to get them ? — Open 
 your doors, sir, and they will come in — the popula- 
 tion of the old world is full to overflowing — that pop- 
 ulation is ground, too, by the oppressions of the gov- 
 ernments under which they live. Sir, they are al- 
 ready standing on tiptoe upon their native shores and 
 looking to your coasts with a wishful and longing eye 
 — they see here a land blessed with natural and po- 
 litical advantages, which are not equalled by those 
 of any other country upon earth — a land on which 
 a gracious Providence hath emptied the horn of abun- 
 dance — a land over Avhich peace hath now stretched 
 forth her white wings, and where content and plenty 
 lie down at every door ! Sir, they see something still 
 more attractive than all this — they see a land in 
 which liberty hath taken up her abode — that liberty, 
 whom they had considered as a fabled goddess, exist- 
 ing only in the fancies of poets — they see her here a 
 real divinity — ^her altars rising on every hand 
 throughout these happy states — her glories chanted 
 by three millions of tongues — and the whole region 
 smiling under her blessed influence. Sir, let but this 
 our celestial goddess, Liberty, stretch forth her fair 
 hand toward the people of the old world — tell them 
 to come, and bid them welcome — and you will see 
 them pouring in from the north, from the south, 
 from the east, and from the Avest — yovir wildernesses 
 will be cleared and settled — ^your deserts will smile 
 — ^your ranks will be filled — and you will soon be in a 
 condition to defy the powers of any adversary. 
 
Oh "f* 
 
 CO H^ 
 
 5S ^ 
 
 
 e8 
 
^ 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 231 
 
 "But gentlemen object to any accession from 
 Great Britain — and particularly to the return of the 
 British refugees. Sir, I feel no objection to the 
 return of those deluded people — they have, to be sure, 
 mistaken their own interests most wofully, and most 
 wofully have they suffered the punishment due to 
 their offences. But the relations which we bear to 
 them and to their native country are now changed — 
 their king hath acknowledged our independence — 
 the quarrel is over — peace hath returned, and found 
 us a free people. Let us have the magnanimity, sir, 
 to lay aside our antipathies and prejudices, and con- 
 sider the subject in a political light. Those are an 
 enterprising, moneyed people — they will be service- 
 able in taking off the surplus produce of our lands, 
 and supplying us with necessaries, during the infant 
 state of our manufactures. Even if they be inimical 
 to us in point of feeling and principle, I can see no 
 objection, in a political view, in making them tribu- 
 tary to our advantage. And as I have no prejudices 
 to prevent my making this use of them, so, sir, I 
 have no fear of any mischief that they can do us. 
 Afraid of them! — what, sir," — said he, rising to one 
 of his loftiest attitudes, and assuming a look of the 
 most indignant and sovereign contempt, — " shall we, 
 who have laid the proud British lion at our feet, now 
 be afraid of his lulielps? ^^ 
 
 The force of this figure, and the energy with which 
 it was brought out, are said to have produced an 
 effect that made the house start simultaneously. It 
 continued to be admired, long after the occasion 
 which gave it birth had passed away, and was fre- 
 quently quoted by Mr. Wythe to his students, while 
 
232 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 professor of law at William and Mary college, as a 
 happy specimen of those valuable figures, which unite 
 the beauty of decoration with the effect of argument. 
 
 Judge Tyler, to whom I am indebted for the pre- 
 ceding incident, has favored me also with the follow- 
 ing one, which I shall give in his own words : — 
 
 " Mr. Henry espoused the measure which took off 
 the restraints on British commerce, before any treaty 
 was entered into ; in which I opposed him on this 
 ground, that that measure would expel from this 
 country the trade of every other nation, on account 
 of our habits, language, and the manner of conducting 
 business on credit between us and them : also on this 
 ground, in addition to the above, that if we changed 
 the then current of commerce, we should drive away 
 all competition, and never perhaps should regain it, 
 (which has literally happened). In reply to these 
 observations, he was beyond all expression eloquent 
 and sublime. After painting the distresses of the 
 people, struggling through a perilous war, cut off 
 from commerce so long that they were naked, and un- 
 clothed, he concluded with a figure, or rather with a 
 series of figures, which I shall never forget, because, 
 beautiful as they were in themselves, their effect was 
 heightened beyond all description, by the manner in 
 which he acted what he spoke : — ^ Why,' said he, 
 ^ should we fetter commerce ? If a man is in chains, 
 he droops and bows to the earth, for his spirits are 
 broken, (looking sorrowfully at his feet:) but let him 
 twist the fetters from his legs, and he will stand 
 erect/ — straightening himself, and assuming a look 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 233 
 
 of proud defiance. — ^ Fetter not commerce, sir — let 
 her be as free as air — she will range the whole crea- 
 tion, and return on the wings of the four winds of 
 heaven, to bless the land with plenty.' 
 
 In the fall session of 1784, Mr. Henry proposed 
 and advocated several measures which deserve par- 
 ticular mention : — one of them, on account of the 
 originality and boldness of mind from which it pro- 
 ceeded ; and others, because they have sometimes been 
 made the subjects of censure against him. The first 
 respects the Indians. Those unfortunate beings, ene- 
 mies of the white people, whom they regarded as 
 lawless intruders into a country set apart for them- 
 selves by the Great Spirit, had continued, from their 
 first landing, to harass the white settlements, and 
 hang, like a pestilence on their frontier, as it ad- 
 vanced itself toward the west. The story of their 
 accumulated wrongs, handed down by tradition from 
 father to son, and emblazoned with all the colors of 
 Indian oratory, had kept their Avar-fires smoking 
 from age to age, and the hatchet and scalping-knife 
 perpetually bright. They had long since abandoned 
 the hope of being able, by their single strength, to 
 exterminate the usurpers of their soil ; but either 
 from the spirit of habitual and deadly revenge, or 
 from the policy of checking, as far as they could, the 
 perpetually extending encroachments of the white 
 men, they had waged an unremitting war upon their 
 borders, marked with horrors which eclipse the wild- 
 est fictions of the legendary tale.* These people, too, 
 
 * The stories of these border skirmishes, which yet live 
 in the traditions of the west, are highly wprthy of coUec- 
 
234 I^IFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 besides the miscliiefs to which they were prompted by 
 their own feelings and habits, were an ever-ready and 
 a most terrific scourge, in the hands of any enemy 
 with wdiom this country might be at variance. Dun- 
 more, although thanked at the time for his services, 
 was afterward believed, by the house of burgesses, to 
 have made use of them in the years 1774-5, in order 
 to draw off the attention of the colonists from the 
 usurpation of the British court : and, in the recent 
 war of the revolution, that merciless enemy had been 
 again let loose upon our frontier, with all the terrors 
 of savage warfare. The return of peace with Britain 
 had given us but a short respite from their hostilities. 
 I perceive, by the journal of the house of delegates, 
 that on the 5th of November, 1784, it was, on the 
 motion of Mr. Henry, 
 
 " Resolved, That the governor, with the advice of 
 council, be requested to adopt such measures as may 
 
 tion. They exhibit scenes of craft, boldness, and feroc- 
 ity, on the part of the savages, and of heroic and desperate 
 defence by the semi-barbarous men, women, and children, 
 who were the objects of these attacks, which mark the 
 characters of both sides in a most interesting manner. 
 Those tales of the long, obstinate, and bloody defence of 
 log-cabins; of the almost incredible achievements of women 
 and little boys; of the sometimes total and sometimes par- 
 tial havoc of families; of the captivity, tortures, and 
 death of some; and the miraculous escape, wanderings, 
 and preservation of others — would form a book of interest. 
 They would furnish the subject of many a novel, drama, 
 and painting. The adventure of Captain Smith and Poca- 
 hontas, if you put aside the dignity of their characters, 
 is cold and tame, when compared with some which are re- 
 lated among the western inhabitants of this state. 
 
- LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 235 
 
 be found necessary to avert the danger of hostilities 
 with the Indians, and to incline them to treat with 
 the commissioners of congress; and for that purpose 
 to draw on the treasury for any sum of money not 
 exceeding one thousand pounds, which shall stand 
 charged to the account of money issued for the con- 
 tingent charges of government/' 
 
 A treaty with the Indians, however, was well 
 known to be a miserable expedient; the benefits of 
 which would scarcely last as long as the ceremonies 
 that produced it. The reflecting politician could not 
 help seeing, that, in order to remove the annoyance 
 ejffectually, the remedy must go to the root of the dis- 
 ease — that that inveterate and fatal enmity which 
 rankled in the hearts of the Indians must be eradi- 
 cated — that a common interest and congenial feelings 
 between them and their white neighbors must be 
 created — and humanity and civilization gradually 
 superinduced upon the Indian character. The diffi- 
 culty lay in devising a mode to effect these objects. 
 The white people who inhabited the frontier, from 
 the constant state of warfare in which they lived with 
 the Indians, had imbibed much of their character; 
 and learned to delight so highly in scenes of crafty, 
 bloody, and desperate conflict, that they as often gave 
 as they received the provocation to hostilities. 
 
 Hunting, which was their occupation, became dull 
 and tiresome, unless diversified occasionally by the 
 more animated and piquant amusement of an Indian 
 skirmish ; just as " the blood more stirs to rouse a 
 lion than to start a hare." The policy, therefore, 
 which was to produce the deep and beneficial change 
 
236 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 that was meditated, raus^ave respect to both sides, 
 and be calculated to implant kind affections in 
 bosoms which at present were filled only with re- 
 ciprocal and deadly hatred. The remedy suggested 
 by Mr. Henry was to encourage marriages between 
 these conterminous enemies; and having succeeded, 
 in the committee of the whole house, in procuring the 
 report of a resolution to this effect, he prepared a 
 bill which he is said to have advocated with irresisti- 
 ble earnestness and eloquence. The inducements held 
 out by this bill, to promote these marriages, were, pe- 
 cuniary bounties to be given on the certificate of mar- 
 riage, and to be repeated at the birth of each child ; 
 exemption from taxes ; and the free use of a seminary 
 of learning, to be erected for the purpose, and sup- 
 ported at the expense of the state. 
 
 While Mr. Henry continued a member of the 
 house, the progress of this bill was unimpeded. It 
 passed through a first and second reading, and was 
 engrossed for its final passage, when his election as 
 governor took effect, and displaced him from the 
 floor : on the third clay after which event the bill was 
 read a third time and rejected. 
 
 It were a useless waste of time to speculate on the 
 probable effects of this measure, had it succeeded. It 
 is considered, however, as indicative of great human- 
 ity of character, and as marked with great boldness, 
 if not soundness of policy. Mr. Henry is said to have 
 been extremely sanguine as to its efficacy, and to have 
 supported it by some of the highest displays of his 
 eloquence. 
 
 The other two measures to which I have adverted, 
 as having been patronized by Mr. Henry, at this 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 237 
 
 session, were, the incorporation of the Protestant 
 Episcopal church, and what is called " a general as- 
 sessment." These measures have been frequently 
 stated, in conversation, as proofs of a leaning on the 
 part of Mr. Henry, toward an established church, and 
 that, too, the aristocratic church of England. To 
 test the justness of this charge, the journals of the 
 house of delegates have been examined, and this is 
 the result of the evidence which they furnish : on the 
 I7th of JSTovember, 1784, Mr. Matthews reported 
 from the committee of the whole house, on the state 
 of the commonwealth, the following resolution : — 
 
 ^^ Resolved, That it is the opinion of this com- 
 mittee, that acts ought to pass for the incorporation 
 of all socieiies of the Christian religion^ which may 
 apply for the same.^ 
 
 77 
 
 The ays and noes having been called for, on the 
 passage of this resolution, were ays, sixty-two, noes, 
 twenty-three; Mr. Henry being with the majority. 
 
 The principle being thus established in relation to 
 all religious societies, which should desire a legal exis- 
 tence for the benefit of acquiring and holding prop- 
 erty to the use of their respective churches, leave was 
 given, on the same day, to bring in a bill to incor- 
 porate the clergy of the Protestant Episcopal church, 
 which had brought itself within that principle by 
 having applied for an act of incorporation ; and Mr. 
 Henry was one of the committee * appointed to bring 
 
 ♦The chairman was Mr. Carter H. Harrison; the rest 
 of the committee were, Mr. Henry, Mr. Thomas Smith, 
 Mr. William Anderson, and Mr. Tazewell. 
 
238 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 in that bill. How a measure which holds out to all 
 religious societies, equally, the same benefit, can be 
 charged with partiality, because accepted by one only, 
 it is not very easy to discern. 
 
 The other measure, the general assessment, pro- 
 ceeded from a nu.mber of petitions from different 
 counties of the commonwealth, which prayed, that as 
 all persons enjoyed the benefits of religion, all might 
 be required to contribute to the expense of supporting 
 some form of worship or other. The committee to 
 whom these petitions were referred, reported a bill 
 whose preamble sets forth the grounds of the pro- 
 ceeding, and furnishes a conclusive refutation of the 
 charge of partiality to any particular form of re- 
 ligion. The bill is entitled, " A bill, establishing a 
 provision for teachers of the Christian religion ; " 
 and its preamble is in the following words : — 
 " Whereas the general diffusion of Christian knowl- 
 edge hath a natural tendency to correct the morals 
 of men, restrain their vices, and preserve the peace 
 of society ; which cannot be effected without a com- 
 petent provision for learned teachers who may be 
 thereby enabled to devote their time and attention to 
 the duty of instructing such citizens as, from their 
 circumstances and want of education, cannot other- 
 w^ise attain such knowledge ; and it is judged such 
 provision may be made by the legislature, without 
 counteracting the liberal principle heretofore adopted 
 and intended to be preserved, by abolishing all dis- 
 tinctions of pre-eminence amongst the different so- 
 cieties or communities of Christians." 
 
 The provisions of the bill are in the strictest con- 
 formity with the principles announced in the close of 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 239 
 
 the preamble; the persons subject to taxes are re- 
 quired, at the time of giving in a list of their tithe- 
 ables, to declare to what particular religious society 
 they chose to appropriate the sums assessed upon 
 them, respectively ; and, in the event of their failing 
 or declining to specify any appropriation, the sums 
 thus circumstanced are directed to be paid to the 
 treasurer, and applied by the general assembly to the 
 encouragement of seminaries of learning, in the coun- 
 ties where such sums shall arise. If there be any evi- 
 dence of a leaning toward any particular religious 
 sect in this bill, or any indication of a desire for an 
 established church, the author of these sketches has 
 not been able to discover them. Mr. Henry was a 
 sincere believer in the Christian religion, and had 
 a strong desire for the successful propagation of the 
 gospel, but there was no taint of bigotry or intoler- 
 ance in his sentiments ; nor have I been able to learn 
 that he had a punctilious preference for any particu- 
 lar form of worship. His faith regarded the vital 
 spirit of the gospel, and busied itself not at all with 
 external ceremonies or controverted tenets. 
 
 Both these bills, '^ for incorporating the Protestant 
 Episcopal church,'' and " establishing a provision for 
 teachers of the Christian religion," were reported af- 
 ter Mr. Henry had ceased to be a member of the 
 house ; but the resolutions on which they were founded 
 were adopted while he continued a member, and had 
 his warmest support. The first bill passed into a law ; 
 the last was rejected by a small majority, on the third 
 reading. 
 
 The same session afforded Mr. Henry a double op- 
 portunity of gratifying, in the most exquisite man- 
 
240 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 ner, that naturally bland and courteous spirit, which 
 so eminently distinguished his character. General 
 Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette, both of 
 them objects of the warmest love and gratitude to 
 this country, visited Richmond in November. They 
 arrived on different days. The general entered the 
 city on the 15th, and the journal of the next morning 
 exhibits the following order : — 
 
 " The house being informed of the arrival of Gen- 
 eral Washington in this city. Resolved^ nemine con- 
 tradicente,^ that as a mark of their reverence for his 
 character, and affection for his person, a committee of 
 ^YQ members be appointed to wait upon him, with the 
 respectful regard of this house, to express to him the 
 satisfaction they feel in the opportunity afforded by 
 his presence of offering this tribute to his merits ; and 
 to assure him, that as they not only retain the most 
 lasting impressions of the transcendent services ren- 
 dered in his late public character, but have, since his 
 return to private life, experienced proofs that no 
 change of situation can turn his thoughts from the 
 welfare of his country, so his happiness can never 
 cease to be an object of their most devout wishes and 
 fervent supplications. 
 
 " And a committee was appointed of Mr. Henry, 
 Mr. Jones (of King George,) Mr. Madison, Mr. 
 Carter H. Harrison and Mr. Carrington.'' 
 
 To this spontaneous and unanimous burst of feel- 
 ing, General Washington returned an answer marked 
 
 * Without dissent. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 24l 
 
 tvith his characteristic modesty, and full of the most 
 touching sensibility. It is worthy of insertion, as 
 showing, in a soft and winning light, a character with 
 which we are apt to associate only the images of a 
 dignity and reserve, approaching to sternness. " Gen- 
 tlemen," said he, ^'my sensibility is deeply affected by 
 this distinguished mark of the affectionate regard of 
 your honorable house. I lament, on this occasion, 
 the want of those powers which would enable me to 
 do justice to my feelings, and shall rely upon your 
 indulgent report to supply the defect ; at the same 
 time, I pray you to present for me, the strongest 
 assurances of unalterable affection and gratitude, 
 for this last pleasing and flattering attention of my 
 country/' 
 
 The marquis, who had been to France since the 
 close of hostilities, made his entree on the morning 
 of the 17th of November ; and the house, immediately 
 on its meeting, came to the following resolution : — 
 
 " The house being informed of the arrival, this 
 morning, of the Marquis de la Fayette in this city, 
 Resolved, nemine contradicente, that a committee of 
 five be appointed, to present to him the affectionate 
 respects of this house, to signify to him their sensi- 
 bility to the pleasing proof given by this visit to the 
 United States, and to this state in particular, that 
 the benevolent and honorable sentiments which or- 
 iginally prompted him to embark in the hazardous 
 fortunes of America, still render the prosperity of its 
 affairs an object of his attention and regard j and to 
 
242 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 assure him, that thej^^annot review the scenes of 
 blood and danger through which we have arrived at 
 the blessings of peace, without being touched, in the 
 most lively manner, with the recollection, not only 
 of the invaluable services for which the United States 
 at large are so much indebted to him, but of that con- 
 spicuous display of cool intrepidity and wise con- 
 duct, during his command in the campaign of 1781, 
 which, by having so essentially served this state in 
 particular, have given him so just a title to its par- 
 ticular acknowledgments. That, impressed as they 
 thus are with the distinguished lustre of his char- 
 acter, they cannot form a wish more suitable, than 
 that the lesson it affords may inspire all those whose 
 noble minds may emulate his glory, to pursue it by 
 means equally auspicious to the interests of human- 
 ity. 
 
 ^^ And a committee was appointed of Mr. Henry, 
 Mr. Madison, Mr. Jones, (of King George,) Mr. 
 Matthews, and Mr. Brent.'' 
 
 To this address, the marquis made the following 
 polite and feeling answer : — 
 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " With the most respectful thanks to yoar honor- 
 able body, permit me to acknowledge, not only the 
 flattering favor they are now pleased to confer, but 
 also the constant partiality, and unbounded confi- 
 dence of this state, which, in trying times, I have so 
 happily experienced. Through the continent, gen- 
 tlemen, it is most pleasing for me to join with my 
 friends in mutual congratulations j and I need not 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 243 
 
 add what my sentiments must be in Virginia, where 
 step by step have I so keenly felt for her distress, 
 so eagerly enjoyed her recovery. Our armed force 
 was obliged to retreat, but your patriotic hearts stood 
 unshaken ; and, while either at that period, or in our 
 better hours, my obligations to you are numberless; 
 I am happy in this opportunity to observe, that the 
 excellent services of your militia were continued with 
 unparalleled steadiness. Impressed with the neces- 
 sity of federal union, I was the more pleased in the 
 command of an army so peculiarly federal; as Vir- 
 ginia herself freely bled in defence of her sister 
 states. 
 
 " In my wishes to this commonwealth, gentlemen, 
 I will persevere with the same zeal, that once and 
 for ever has devoted me to her. May her fertile soil 
 rapidly increase her wealth — may all the waters 
 which so luxuriantly flow within her limits, be happy 
 channels of the most extensive trade — and may she 
 in her wisdom, and the enjoyment of prosperity con- 
 tinue to give the world unquestionable proofs of her 
 philanthropy and her regard for the liberties of all 
 mankind. 
 
 ^' La Fayette." 
 
 Time had now brought forward several new politi- 
 cal characters, who had risen high in the public es- 
 timation : but Mr. Henry and Mr. Lee still kept their 
 ground far in the van. A gentleman of great dis- 
 tinction, who began his public career in 1783, found 
 both these eminent men in the house of delegates, and 
 heard them for the first time in debate: he served 
 through the two sessions of that and those of the fol- 
 
244 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY* 
 
 lowing year, and has coiHmunicated to me so vivid 
 and interesting a comparison of their merits, as they 
 struck his young and ardent mind, that I cannot con- 
 sent to withhold it from the reader. 
 
 " I met with Patrick Henry in the assembly in 
 May, 1783. I also then met with Richard H. Lee. 
 I lodged with Mr. Lee one or two sessions, and was 
 perfectly acquainted with him, while I was yet a 
 stranger to Mr. Henry. These two gentlemen were 
 the great leaders in the house of delegates, and were 
 almost constantly opposed : there were many other 
 great men who belonged to that body ; but, as orators, 
 they cannot be named with Henry or Lee. Mr. Lee 
 was a polished gentleman : he had lost the use of 
 one of his hands, but his manner was perfectly grace- 
 ful. His language was always chaste, and although 
 somewhat too monotonous, his speeches were al- 
 ways pleasing ; yet he did not ravish your senses, nor 
 carry away your judgment by storm. His was the 
 mediate class of eloquence described by Rollin in his 
 belles lettres; he was like a beautiful river, meander- 
 ing through a flowery mead, but which never over- 
 flowed its banks. It was Henry w^ho was the moun- 
 tain torrent that swept away every thing before it : it 
 was he alone who thundered and lightened : he alone 
 attained that sublime species of eloquence also men- 
 tioned by Rollin. 
 
 " It has been one of the greatest pleasures of my 
 life to hear these two great masters, almost con- 
 stantly opposed to each other, for several sessions. I 
 had no relish for any other speaker. Henry was al- 
 most always victorious. He was as much superior to 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 246 
 
 Lee in temper as in eloquence ; for while, with a mod- 
 esty approaching almost to humility, he would apolo- 
 gize to the house for heing so often ' obliged to differ 
 from the honorable gentleman, which he assured 
 them, was from no want of respect for him,' Lee 
 was frequently much chafed by the opposition ; and 
 I once heard him say aloud, and petulantly, after 
 sustaining a great defeat, that 'if the votes were 
 weighed instead of being counted, he should not have 
 
 lost it/ * 
 
 " Mr. Henry was inferior to Mr. Lee in the grace- 
 fulness of his action, and perhaps also the chaste- 
 ness of his language; yet his language was seldom 
 incorrect, and his address always striking. He had a 
 fine blue eye, and an earnest manner which made it 
 impossible not to attend to him. His speaking was 
 unequal, and always rose with the subject and the 
 eminency. In this respect he differed entirely from 
 Mr. Lee, who was always equal, and therefore less 
 interesting. At some times Mr. Henry would seem 
 to hobble, (especially at the beginning of his 
 speeches,) and at others, his tones would be almost 
 disagreeable : yet it was by means of his tones, and the 
 happy modulation of his voice, that his speaking had 
 perhaps its greatest effect. He had a happy articu- 
 
 *Was this thought original in Mr. Lee, or had he un- 
 consciously borrowed it from the younger Pliny? "Yet 
 these reflections, it seems, made no impression upon the 
 majority. Votes go by number, not weight; nor can it 
 he otherwise in assemblies of this kind, where nothing is 
 more unequal than that equality which prevails in them; 
 for though every member has the same weight of suffrage, 
 every member has not the same strength of judgment."— 
 Melmoth's Translation of Pliny. London, 1748. 
 
246 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 lation, a clear, bold, st^mg voice, and every syllable 
 was distinctly uttered. He was always very unas- 
 suming, and very respectful toward his adversaries; 
 the consequence was, that no feeling of disgust or an- 
 imosity was arrayed against him. He was great at 
 a reply, and greater in proportion to the pressure 
 which was bearing upon him ; and it seemed to me, 
 from the frequent opportunities of observation af- 
 forded me during the period of which I have spoken, 
 that the resources of his mind and of his eloquence 
 were equal to any drafts which could possibly be 
 made upon them.'^ 
 
 This inequality in the speeches of Mr. Henry was 
 imputed by some of his observers to art. He always 
 spoke, they say, for victory, and wishing to carry 
 every one with him, adapted the different parts of his 
 discourse to their different capacities. A critic of 
 a higher order would sometimes think him trifling, 
 when in truth he was making a most powerful im- 
 pression on the weaker members of the house. By 
 these means, it is said, he contrived to worm his 
 way through the whole body, and to insinuate his 
 influence into every mind. When he hobbled, it was 
 like the bird that thus artfully seeks to decoy away 
 the foot of the intruder from the precious deposite of 
 her brood ; and at the moment when it would be 
 thought that his strength was almost exhausted, he 
 would spring magnificently from the earth, and tower 
 above the clouds. 
 
 He knew all the local interests and prejudices of 
 every quarter of the state, and of every county in it ; 
 and whether these prejudices were rational or ir- 
 rational, it is said that he would appeal to them with- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY, 247 
 
 out hesitation, and, whenever he found it necessary, 
 enlist them in his cause. His address on these oc- 
 casions has been highly admired even by those who 
 have censured the course as deficient in dignity and 
 candor. It was executed with so much delicacy and 
 adroitness, and covered under a countenance of such 
 apostolic solemnity, that the persons on whom^ he 
 was operating were unconscious of the design. Wind- 
 ing his way thus artfully through the house, from 
 county to county, from prejudice to prejudice, with 
 the power of moving them, when he pleased, from 
 tears to laughter, from laughter to tears, of astonish- 
 ing their imaginations, and overwhelming their judg- 
 ments and hearts, it is easy to conceive how irresisti- 
 ble he must have been. When with these prodigious 
 faculties the reader connects his engaging deportment 
 out of the house, the uncommon kindness and gentle- 
 ness of his nature, the simplicity, frankness, and 
 amenity of his manners, the innocent playfulness and 
 instruction of his conversation, the integrity of his 
 life, and the high sense of the services which he had 
 rendered to the cause of liberty and his country, he 
 wall readily perceive, that the opinions and wishes 
 of such a man would be, of themselves, almost de- 
 cisive of any question. 
 
 The artifice of resorting to erroneous local preju- 
 dices, in a legislative debate, is certainly not to^ be 
 commended. Truth stands in need of no such aids. 
 It must be admitted that there is more purity, as 
 well as dignity, in supporting a sound measure by 
 sound arguments only : and we must be prepared to 
 become Jesuits, before we can justify a resort to 
 wrong means to promote even a right end. In excuse 
 
24:8 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 of Mr. Henry, we hav^^othing to urge except im- 
 memorial and almost universal usage ; and it is more- 
 over liiglily probable, that many of the instances, 
 in which he was accused of resorting improperly to 
 local prejudices, were cases in which the questions 
 were, from their nature, to be decided in a great 
 measure by local interests. Of this description is 
 the following one, now furnished, at my request, in 
 writing, by Judge Archibald Stuart, from whom I 
 had the pleasure to hear it in conversation several 
 years ago : — 
 
 " At your request, I attempt a narrative of the ex- 
 traordinary effects of Mr. Henry's eloquence in the 
 Virginia legislature, about the year 1784, when I was 
 present as a member of that body. 
 
 " The finances of the country had been much de- 
 ranged during the war, and public credit was at a low 
 ebb ; a party in the legislature thought it then high 
 time to place the character and credit of the state on 
 a more respectable footing, by laying taxes commen- 
 surate with all the public demands. With this view, 
 a bill had been brought into the house, and referred 
 to a committee of the whole ; in support of which the 
 then speaker, (Mr. Tyler,) Henry Tazewell, Mann 
 Page, William Ronald, and many other members of 
 great respectability, (including, to the best of my 
 recollection, Richard H. Lee, and, perhaps, Mr. Mad- 
 ison,) took an active part. Mr. Henry, on the other 
 hand, was of opinion that this was a premature at- 
 tempt ; that policy required that the people should 
 have some repose after the fatigues and privations to 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 249 
 
 which they had been subjected, during a long and 
 arduous struggle for independence. 
 
 " The advocates of the bill, in committee of the 
 whole house, used their utmost efforts, and were suc- 
 cessful in conforming it to their views, by such a 
 majority ( say thirty) as seemed to ensure its passage. 
 When the committee rose, the bill was instantly re- 
 ported to the house ; when Mr. Henry, who had been 
 excited and roused by his recent defeat, came for- 
 ward again in all the majesty of his power. For some 
 time after he commenced speaking, the countenances 
 of his opponents indicated no apprehension of danger 
 to their cause. 
 
 " The feelings of Mr. Tyler, which were some- 
 times warm, could not on that occasion be concealed, 
 even in the chair. His countenance was forbidding, 
 even repulsive, and his face turned from the speaker. 
 Mr. Tazewell was reading a pamphlet; and Mr. 
 Page was more than usually grave, xlfter some time, 
 however, it was discovered that Mr. Tyler's counte- 
 nance gradually began to relax ; he would occasion- 
 ally look at Mr. Henry ; sometimes smile : his atten- 
 tion by degrees became more fixed ; at length it be- 
 came completely so : — he next appeared to be in good 
 humor; he leaned toward Mr. Henry — appeared 
 charmed and delighted, and finally lost in wonder and 
 amazement. The progress of these feelings was legi- 
 ble in his countenance. 
 
 '^ Mr. Henry drew a most affecting picture of the 
 state of poverty and suffering in which the people of 
 the upper counties had been left by the war. His 
 delineation of their wants and wretchedness was so 
 minute, so full of feeling, and withal so true, that 
 
250 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 he could scarcely fail to enlist on his side every 
 sympathetic mind. He contrasted the severe toil by 
 which tliey had to gain their daily subsistence, with 
 the facilities enjoyed by the people of the lower coun- 
 ties. The latter, he said, residing on the salt rivers 
 and creeks, could draw their supplies at pleasure, 
 from the waters that flowed by their doors ; and then 
 he presented such a ludicrous image of the members 
 who had advocated the bill, (the most of whom were 
 from the lower counties,) peeping and peering along 
 the shores of the creeks, to pick up their mess of crabs, 
 or addling off to the oyster-rocks, to rake for their 
 daily hread,^ as filled the house w^ith a roar of merri- 
 ment. Mr. Tazewell laid down his pamphlet, and 
 shook his sides with laughter; even the gravity of 
 Mr. Page was affected ; a corresponding change of 
 countenance prevailed through the ranks of the ad- 
 vocates of the bill, and you might discover that they 
 had surrendered their cause. In this they were not 
 disappointed ; for on a division, Mr. Henry had a 
 majority of upward of thirty against the bilL'^ 
 
 If this be a fair specimen of the cases (as probably 
 it is) in which Mr. Henry was accused of appealing 
 improperly to local prejudices, the censure seems un- 
 deserved. It is obvious that the considerations urged 
 by him, on this occasion, belonged properly to the 
 subject, and that the appeal to local circumstances 
 was fairly made. Candor will justify us in looking, 
 
 ♦At that day, (and perhaps still,) the poorer people 
 on the salt creeks, lived almost exclusively on fish; pass- 
 ing whole days and sometimes weeks, without seeing a 
 grain of bread. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 251 
 
 with great distrust, to the censures cast on this ex- 
 traordinary man, by rivals whom he had obscured. 
 
 On the 17th of November, 1784, Mr. Henry was 
 acrain elected governor of Virginia, to commence hi& 
 service from the 30th day of the same month. ^ The 
 communication made by him to the first legislature 
 which met after his election, is inserted m the Ap- 
 pendix; it is given at large, as a specimen of Mr. 
 Henry's style in more extended compositions than 
 have vet been submitted to the reader, and for the 
 further purpose of showing, that the objects with 
 which a governor of Virginia, acting within the pale 
 of the constitution, is conversant in time of peace, 
 are not such as to shed much lustre on his character, 
 or to solicit very powerfully the attention of his 
 
 biographer. 
 
 In examining the public archives of this date, 
 there is a circumstance whose frequent and indeed 
 constant recurrence presses itself most painfully on 
 the attention : I mean the resignation of state officers, 
 on the plea of a necessity to resort to some more ef- 
 fectual means of subsistence. It is not generally 
 known, that the councils of Virginia were, during the 
 period of which we are now speaking, enlightened 
 and adorned by some of the brightest of her sons: 
 much less is it known that they were driven from 
 those councils, by that wretched policy which has 
 always regulated the salaries of officers m Virginia. 
 The letters of resignation, during the years^ 1784, 
 1785, and 1786, which now stand on the public files, 
 afford the best comment on this policy. Virginia 
 lost, during those years, the services of such men as 
 have rarely existed in this or any other country. 
 
252 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 In the fall of 1786, while yet a year remained of 
 his constitutional term, Mr. Henry was under the 
 necessity of retiring from the office of governor. 
 There never was a man whose style of living was 
 more perfectly unostentatious, temperate, and sim- 
 ple; yet the salary had been inadequate to the sup- 
 port of his family; and, at the end of two years, he 
 found himself involved in debts which, for the mo- 
 ment, he saw no hope of paying, but by the sacrifice 
 of a part of his estate. 
 
 In consequence of Mr. Henry's declining a re- 
 election, the legislature proceeded to appoint his suc- 
 cessor; and then, on the succeeding 25th of J^ovem- 
 ber, the house of delegates came to the following reso- 
 lution : — 
 
 " Resolved unanimously. That a committee be ap- 
 ponited to wait on his excellency the governor, and 
 present him the thanks of this house, for his wis.e, 
 prudent, and upright administration, during his last 
 appointment of chief magistrate of this common- 
 wealth, assuring him that they retain a perfect sense 
 of his abilities, in the discharge of the duties of that 
 high and important office, and wish him all domestic 
 happiness, on his return to private life." 
 
 To this resolution, Mr. Corbin, one of the com- 
 mittee, reported the following answer from Mr. 
 Henry : — 
 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " The house of delegates have done me distin- 
 guished honor, by the resolution they have been 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY* 263 
 
 pleased to communicate to me through you. I am 
 happy to find my endeavors to discharge the duties of 
 my station, have met with their favorable acceptance. 
 
 " The approbation of my country is the highest 
 reward to which my mind is capable of aspiring, and 
 I shall return to private life, highly gratified in the 
 recollection of this instance of regard shown me by 
 the house ; having only to regret that my abilities to 
 serve my country have come so short, of my wishes. 
 
 " At the same time that I make my best acknowl- 
 edgments to the house for their goodness, I beg leave 
 to express my particular obligations to you, gentle- 
 men, for the polite manner in which this communi- 
 cation is made to me." 
 
 On the fourth of December, in the same year, Mr. 
 Henry was appointed by the legislature, one of seven 
 deputies from this commonwealth to meet a conven- 
 tion proposed to be held in Philadelphia, on the fol- 
 lowing May, for the purpose of revising the federal 
 constitution. On this list of deputies, his name 
 stands next to that of him, who stood of right before 
 all others in America ; the order of appointment as 
 exhibited by the journals being as follows: George 
 Washington, Patrick Henry, Edmund Randolph, 
 John Blair, James Madison, George Mason, and 
 George Wythe. 
 
 The same cause, however, which had constrained 
 Mr. Henry's retirement from the executive chair of 
 '.he state, disabled him now from obeying this hon- 
 orable call of his country. On his resigning the gov- 
 ernment, he retired to Prince Edward county, and 
 endeavored to cast about for the means of extricating 
 
i354 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 himself from his debts. #lLt the age of fifty years, 
 worn down by more than twenty years of arduous 
 service in the cause of his country, eighteen of which 
 had been occupied by the toils and tempests of the 
 revolution, it w^as natural for him to wdsh for rest, 
 and to seek some secure and placid port in which he 
 might repose himself from the fatigues of the storm. 
 This however was denied him ; and after having de- 
 voted the bloom of youth and the maturity of man- 
 hood to the good of his country, he had now in his 
 old age to provide for his family. 
 
 " He had never," says Judge Winston, ** been in 
 easy circumstances; and soon after his removal to 
 Prince Edward county, conversing with his usual 
 frankness with one of his neighbors, he expressed his 
 anxiety under the debts which he was not able to 
 pay ; the reply was to this effect : ^ Go back to the bar ; 
 your tongue will soon pay your debts. If you will 
 promise to go, I will give you a retaining fee on the 
 spot.' 
 
 ^^ This blunt advice determined him to return to 
 the practice of the law^ ; which he did in the beginning 
 of 1788, and during six years he attended regularly 
 the district courts of Prince Edward and New Lon- 
 don." 
 
 Direful must have been the necessity which drove 
 a man of Mr. Henry's disposition and habits, at his 
 time of life, and tempest-beaten as he was, to resume 
 the practice of such a profession as the law. He 
 would not, however, undertake the technical duties 
 of the profession ; his engagements were confined to 
 the argument of the cause ; and his clients had of 
 course to employ other counsel, to conduct the plead- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 255 
 
 ings, and ripen their cases for hearing. Hence his 
 practice was restricted to difficult and important 
 cases ; but his great reputation kept him constantly 
 engaged ; he was frequently called to distant courts ; 
 the light of his eloquence shone in every quarter of 
 the state, and thousands of tongues were every where 
 employed in repeating the fine effusions of his gen- 
 ius. 
 
 The federal constitution, the fruit of the conven- 
 tion at Philadelphia, had now come forth, and pro- 
 duced an agitation Avhich had not been felt since the 
 return of peace. The friends and the enemies to its 
 adoption were equally zealous and active in their 
 exertions to promote their respective wishes; the 
 presses throughout the continent teemed with essays 
 on the subject ; and the rostrum, the pulpit, the field, 
 and the forest, rung with declamations and discus- 
 sions of the most animated character. Every assem- 
 blage of people, for whatsoever purpose met, either 
 for court or church, muster or barbecue, presented an 
 arena for the political combatants : and in some quar- 
 ters of the union, such was the public anxiety of the 
 occasion, that gentlemen in the habit of public speak- 
 ing, converted ' themselves into a sort of itinerant 
 preachers, going from county to county, and from 
 state to state, collecting the people by distant ap- 
 pointments, and challenging all adversaries to meet 
 and dispute with them the propriety of the adoption 
 of the federal constitution. All who sought to dis- 
 tinguish themselves by public speaking, all candidates 
 for popular favor, and especially the junior mem- 
 bers of the bar, flocked to these meetings from the 
 remotest distances, and entered the lists with all the 
 
266 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 ardor and gallantry of tne knights of former times at 
 their tilts and tournaments. Never was there a 
 theme more fruitful of discussion, and never was 
 there one more amply or ably discussed. 
 
 Of the convention which was to decide the fate 
 of this instrument in Virginia, Mr. Henry was 
 chosen a member for the county of Prince Edward. 
 Although the constitution had come forth with the 
 sanction of the revered name of Washington, and 
 carried with it all the weight of popularity which that 
 name could not fail to attach to any proposition, it 
 had not the good fortune to be approved by Mr. 
 Henry. He was (to use his own expression) ^' most 
 awfully alarmed " at the idea of its adoption ; for 
 he considered it as threatening the liberties of his 
 country ; and he determined, therefore, to buckle on 
 once more the armor which he had hung up in the 
 temple of peace, and try the fortune of this, the last 
 of his political fields. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 MEMBER OF THE VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY. RATIFICATION 
 OF THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 1788-1791. 
 
 The convention met in Eiehmond, on the 2cl of 
 June, 1788, and exhibited such an array of varie- 
 gated talents, as had never been collected before 
 within the limits of the state, and such a one as it may 
 well be feared we shall never see again. The powers 
 of the most eminent of these statesmen, and the pecu- 
 liar characters of their intellectual excellence, are so 
 well known, that their names will be sufficient to 
 speak their respective eulogies. We may mention, 
 therefore, Mr. Madison, afterwards president of the 
 United States; Mr. Marshall, the first chief-justice 
 and the interpreter of the constitution ; and Mr. Mon- 
 roe, the president. What will the reader think of a 
 body, in which men like these were only among their 
 equals! Yet such is the fact; for there were those 
 sages of other days, Pendleton and Wythe ; there was 
 seen displayed the Spartan vigor and compactness of 
 George IN'icholas; and there shone the radiant genius 
 and sensibility of Grayson ; the Roman energy and 
 the Attic wit of George Mason was there; and there, 
 also, the classic taste and harmony of Edmund Ran- 
 
 257 
 
258 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 dolph ; " the splendid conflagration '^ of the high- 
 minded Innis; and the matchless eloquence of the 
 immortal Henry ! 
 
 It was not until the 4th, that the preliminary ar- 
 rangements for the discussion were settled. Mr. Pen- 
 dleton had been unanimously elected the president of 
 the convention ; but it having been determined that 
 the subject should be debated in committee of the 
 whole, the house on that day resolved itself into com- 
 mittee, and the venerable Mr. Wythe was called to 
 the chair. In conformity with the order which had 
 been taken, to discuss the constitution, clause by 
 clause, the clerk now read the preamble, and the two 
 first sections; and the debate was opened by Mr. 
 George Nicholas. He confined himself strictly to 
 the sections under consideration, and maintained 
 their policy with great cogency of argument. Mr. 
 Henry rose next, and soon demonstrated that his ex- 
 cursions were not to be restrained by the rigor of 
 rules. Insteal of proceeding to answer Mr. Nicholas, 
 he commenced by sounding an alarm calculated to 
 produce a most powerful impression. The effect, 
 however, will be entirely lost upon the reader, unless 
 he shall associate with the speech which I am about to 
 lay before him, that awful solemnity and look of 
 fearful portent, by which Mr. Henry could imply 
 even more than he expressed ; and that slow, distinct, 
 emphatic enunciation, by which he never failed to 
 move the souls of his hearers. 
 
 ^ " Mr. Chairman — The public mind, as well as 
 my own, is extremely uneasy at the proposed change 
 of government. Give me leave to form one of the 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 259 
 
 number of those wlio wish to be thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with the reasons of this perilous and uneasy 
 situation, and why we are brought hither to decide 
 on this great national question. I consider myself as 
 the servant of the people of this commonwealth, as 
 a sentinel over their rights, liberty, and happiness. I 
 represent their feelings when I say, that they are ex- 
 ceedingly uneasy, being brought from that state of 
 full security which they enjoyed, to the present dey/' 
 lusive appearance of things. A year ago, the minds 
 of our citizens were at perfect repose. Before the 
 meeting of the late federal convention at Philadel- 
 phia, a general peace and a universal tranquillity pre- 
 vailed in this country ; but since that period, they are 
 exceedingly uneasy and disquieted. When I wished 
 for an appointment to this convention, my mind was 
 extremely agitated for the situation of public affairs. 
 I conceive the republic to be in extreme danger. If 
 our situation be thus uneasy, whence has arisen this 
 fearful jeopardy ? It arises from this fatal system : 
 arises from a proposal to change our government, a 
 proposal that goes to the utter annihilation of the 
 most solemn engagements of the states, a proposal of 
 establishing nine states into confederacy, to the 
 eventual exclusion of four states. It goes to the an- 
 nihilation of those solemn treaties we have formed 
 with foreign nations. The present circumstances of 
 France — the good offices rendered us by that king- 
 dom — require our most faithful and most punctual 
 adherence to our treaty with her. We are in alliance 
 with the Spaniards, the Dutch, the Prussians: those 
 treaties bound us as thirteen states, confederated to- 
 gether. Yet here is a proposal to sever that confed- 
 
260 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 eracj. Is it possible that we shall abandon all our 
 treaties and national engagements ? And for what ? 
 I expected to have heard the reasons of an event, so 
 unexpected to my mind and many others. Was our 
 civil polity or public justice endangered or sapped? 
 Was the real existence of the country threatened, or 
 was this preceded by a mournful progression of 
 events ? This proposal of altering our federal govern- 
 ment is of a most alarming nature. Make the best of 
 this new government — say it is composed by anything 
 but inspiration — you ought to be extremely cautious, 
 w^atchful, jealous of your liberty: for instead of se- 
 curing our rights, you may lose them for ever. If 
 a wrong step be now made, the republic may be 
 lost for ever. If this new government will not come 
 up to the expectation of the people, and they should 
 be disappointed, their liberty will be lost, and tyr- 
 anny must and will arise. I repeat it again, and I 
 beg gentlemen to consider, that a wrong step made 
 now, will plunge us into misery, and our republic 
 will be lost. It will be necessary for this convention 
 to have a faithful historical detail of the facts that 
 preceded the session of the federal convention, and 
 the reasons that actuated its members in proposing 
 an entire alteration of government, and to demon- 
 strate the dangers that aw^aited us: if they were of | 
 such awful magnitude, as to w^arrant a proposal so \ 
 extremelj'^ perilous as this, I must assert, that this 
 convention has an absolute right to a thorough dis- 
 covery of every circumstance relative to this great 
 event. And here I would make this inquiry of those 
 worthy characters who composed a part of the late 
 federal convention. I am sure they were fully im- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 261 
 
 pressed with the necessity of forming a great con- 
 solidated government, instead of a confederation. 
 That this is a consolidated government is demonstra- 
 bly clear ; and the danger of such a government is to 
 my mind very striking. .'^ have the highest venera- 
 tion for those gentlemen : but, sir, give me leave to 
 demand, v^hat right had they to say, we, the people ?/^ 
 " My political curiosity, exclusive of my anxious 
 solicitude for the public welfare, leads me to ask, 
 ^^ho authorized them to speak the language of, we the 
 people, instead of, lue, the states? States are the 
 characteristics, and the soul of a confederation. If 
 the states be not the agents of this compact, it must 
 be one great, consolidated, national, government of 
 the people of all the states/ I have the highest re- 
 spect for those gentlemen who formed the conven- 
 tion ; and were some of them not here, I would ex- 
 press some testimonial of esteem for them. America 
 had, on a former occasion, put the utmost confidence 
 in them ; a confidence which was well placed ; and I 
 am sure, sir, I would give up any thing to them ; I 
 would cheerfully confide in them as my representa- 
 tives. But, sir, on this great occasion, I would de- 
 mand the cause of their conduct. Even from that il- 
 lustrious man, who saved us by his valor, I would 
 have a reason for his conduct. That liberty which he 
 has given us by his valor, tells me to ask this reason, 
 and sure I am, were he here, he would give us that 
 reason : but there are other gentlemen here who can 
 give us this information.. T/?e people gave them no 
 power to use their name. That they exceeded their 
 power is perfectly clea^r ' It is not mere curiosity that 
 actuates me ; I wish to hear the real, actual^ existing 
 
262 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 danger, which should lead us to take those steps so 
 dangerous in my conception. Disorders have arisen 
 in other parts of America ; but here, sir, no dangers, 
 no insurrection, or tumult, has happened, every thing 
 has been calm and tranquil. But, notwithstanding 
 this, we are wandering on the great ocean of human 
 affairs. I see no landmark to guide us. We are run- 
 ning we know not whither. Difference in opinion has 
 gone to a degree of inflammatory resentment, in dif- 
 ferent parts of the country, which has been occasioned 
 by this perilous innovation. The federal convention 
 ought to have amended the old system. For this pur- 
 pose they were solely delegated: the object of their 
 mission extended to no other consideration. You 
 must therefore forgive the solicitation of one un- 
 worthy member, to know what danger could have 
 arisen under the present confederation, and what are 
 the causes of this proposal to change our govern- 
 ment ? " 
 
 This inquiry was answered by an eloquent speech 
 from Mr. Randolph, and the debate passed into other 
 hands, until on the next day, when General Lee, in 
 reference to Mr. Henry's opening speech, addressed 
 the chair, as follows : — 
 
 " Mr. Chairman — I feel every power of my mind 
 moved by the language of the honorable gentleman, 
 yesterday. The eclat and brilliancy which have dis- 
 tinguished that gentleman, the honors with which 
 he has been dignified, and the brilliant talents which 
 he has so often displayed, have attracted my respect 
 and attention. On so important an occasion, and be- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 263 
 
 fore so respectable a body, I expected a new display 
 of his powers of oratory : but, instead of proceeding 
 to investigate the merits of the new plan of govern- 
 ment, the worthy character informed us of horrors 
 which he felt, of apprehensions in his mind, which 
 made him tremblingly fearful of the fate of the com- 
 monwealth. Mr. Chairman, was it proper to appeal 
 to the fear of this house ? The question before us 
 belongs to the judgment of this house ; I trust he is 
 come to judge and not to alarm. I trust that he, and 
 every other gentleman in this house, comes with a 
 firm resolution, coolly and calmly to examine, and 
 fairly and impartially to determine.'' 
 
 In the further progress of his speech, General Lee 
 again said, rather tauntingly, of Mr. Henry — " The 
 gentleman sat down as he began, leaving us to rumi- 
 nate on the horrors with which he opened." 
 
 Mr. Henry, rising immediately after these sar- 
 castic remarks, gave a striking specimen of that dig- 
 nified self-command, and that strict and uniform de- 
 corum, by which he was so pre-eminently distin- 
 guished in debate. Far from retorting the sarcasms of 
 his adversary, he seemed to have heard nothing but 
 the compliments Avith which they stood connected, 
 and rising slowly from his seat, with a countenance 
 expressive of unaffected humility, he began with the 
 following modest and disqualifying exordium : " Mr. 
 Chairman — I am much obliged to the very worthy 
 gentleman for his encomium. I wish I was possessed 
 of talents, or possessed of anything, that might enable 
 me to elucidate this great subject. I own, sir, I am 
 
264: LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 not free from suspic^i. I am apt to entertain 
 doubts. I rose, on yesterday, not to enter upon the 
 discussion, but merely to ask a question which had 
 arisen in my own mind. When I asked that question, 
 I thought the meaning of my interrogation was ob- 
 vious. The fate of America may depend on this ques- 
 tion. Have they said, we the states? Have they 
 made a proposal of a compact between states ? If 
 they had, this would be a confederation ; it is, other- 
 wise, most clearly a consolidated government. The 
 whole question turns, sir, on that poor little thing, 
 the expression, we the people^ instead of, the states of 
 x^merica." 
 
 He then proceeded to set forth, in terrible array, 
 his various objections to the constitution ; not con- 
 fining himself to the clauses under debate, but rang- 
 ing through the whole instrument, and passing from 
 objection to objection, as they followed each other in 
 his mind. This departure from the rule of the house, 
 although at first view censurable, was insisted upon 
 by himself and his colleagues, as being indispensa- 
 ble to a just examination of the particular clause 
 under consideration ; because the policy or impolicy 
 of any provision did not always depend upon itself 
 alone, but on other provisions with which it stood con- 
 nected, and, indeed, upon the whole system of powers 
 and checks that were associated with it in the same 
 instrument, and thus formed only parts of one entire 
 whole. The truth of this position, in relation to some 
 of the provisions, could not be justly denied ; and a 
 departure once made from the rigor of the rule, the 
 debate became at large^ on every part of the constitu- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 265 
 
 tion ; the disputants at every stage looking forward 
 and backward throughout the whole instrument, with- 
 out any control other than their own discretion. 
 Thus freed from restraints, under which his genius 
 was at all times impatient, uncoupled and let loose 
 to range the whole field at pleasure, Mr. Henry 
 seemed to have recovered, and to luxuriate in all the 
 powers of his youth. He had, indeed, occasion for 
 them all ; for while he was supported by only three 
 effective auxiliaries, opposed to him stood a phalanx, 
 most formidable both for talents and weight of char- 
 acter; and several of whom it might be said, with 
 truth, that each, was " in himself a host ; '' for at the 
 head of the opposing ranks stood Mr. Pendleton, Mr. 
 Wythe, Mr. Madison, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Nicholas, 
 Mr. Randolph, Mr. Innis, Mr. Henry Lee, and Mr. 
 Corbin. Fearful odds ! and such as called upon him 
 for the most strenuous exertion of all his faculties. 
 !N'or did he sink below the occasion. For twenty days, 
 during which this great discussion continued without 
 intermission, his efforts were sustained, not only with 
 undiminished strength, but with powers which seemed 
 to gather new force from every exertion. All the fac- 
 ulties useful for debate were found united in him, 
 with a degree of perfection, in which they are rarely 
 seen to exist, even separately, in different individuals : 
 irony, ridicule, the purest wit, the most comic humor, 
 exclamations that made the soul start, the most af- 
 fecting pathos, and the most sublime apostrophes, lent 
 their aid to enforce his reasoning, and to put to flight 
 the arguments of his adversaries. 
 /The objection that the constitution substituted a 
 Consolidated in lieu of a confederated government, 
 
^QQ ' LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 and that this new consofidated government threatexied 
 the total annihilation of the state sovereignties-j-^was 
 pressed by him with most masterly power: he said 
 there was no necessity for a change of government so 
 entire and fundamental, and no inducement to it, 
 unless it was to be found in this splendid government, 
 which we were told was to make us a great and 
 mighty people. ^' We have no detail," said he, '^ of 
 those great considerations, which, in my opinion, 
 ought to have abounded, before we should recur to a 
 government of this kind. Here is a revolution as rad- 
 ical as that which separated us from Great Britain. 
 ^/It is as radical, if in this transition our rights and 
 privileges are endangered, and the sovereignty of the 
 states be relinquished : and cannot we plainly see, that 
 this is actually the case ? The rights of conscience, 
 trial by jury, liberty of the press, all your immunities 
 and franchises, all pretensions to human rights and 
 privileges, are rendered insecure, if not lost, by this 
 change so loudly talked of by some, and so inconsid- 
 erately by others. Is this tame relinquishment of 
 rights worthy of freemen ? Is it worthy of that 
 manly fortitude that ought to characterize republi- 
 cans ? It is said eight states have adopted this plan : 
 I declare, that if twelve states and a half had adopted 
 it, I would with manly firmness, and in spite of an 
 erring world, reject it. 'You are not to inquire how 
 your trade may be increased, nor how you are to be- 
 come a great and poAverful people, but how your lib- 
 erties can be secured ; for liberty ought to be the di- 
 rect end of your government. Is it necessary for your 
 liberty, that you should abandon those great rights by 
 the adoption of this system ? Is the relinquishment 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 267 
 
 of the trial by jury, and the liberty of the press, 
 necessary for your liberty ? Will the abandonment of 
 your most sacred rights tend to the security of your 
 liberty ? Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings 
 — give us that precious jewel, and you may take every 
 thing else !/•'' But I am fearful I have lived long 
 enough to become an old-fashioned fellow. Perhaps 
 an invincible attachment to the dearest rights of man, 
 may, in these refined, enlightened days, be deemed 
 old-fashioned : if so, I am contented to be so : I say, 
 the time has been, when every pulse of my heart beat 
 for American liberty, and which, I believe, had a 
 counterpart in the breast of every true American ; but 
 suspicions have gone forth — suspicions of my in- 
 tegrity; it has been publicly reported that my pro- 
 fessions are not real; twenty-three years ago was I 
 supposed a traitor to my country ; I was then said to 
 be a bane of sedition because I supported the rights 
 of my country ; I may be thought suspicious, when I 
 say our privileges and rights are in danger; but, sir, 
 a number of the people of this country are weak 
 enough to think these things are too true. I am 
 happy to find, that the gentleman on the other side 
 declares they are groundless : but, sir, suspicion is a 
 virtue, as long as its object is the preservation of the 
 public good, and as long as it stays within proper 
 bounds : should it fall on me, I am contented ; con- 
 scious rectitude is a powerful consolation : I trust 
 there are many who think my professions for the 
 public good to be real. Let your suspicion look to 
 both sides : there are many on the other side, who 
 l^ossibly may have been persuaded of the necessity of 
 these measures, which I conceive to be dangerous to 
 
268 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 your liberty, xtjiiard with^^lous attention the public 
 liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that 
 jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but 
 downright force : whenever you give up that force, 
 you are inevitably ruined. I am answered by gen- 
 tlemen, that though I might speak of terrors, yet 
 the fact was, that we were surrounded by none of 
 the dangers I apprehended. I conceive this new 
 government to be one of those dangers: it has pro- 
 duced those horrors which distress many of our best 
 citizens. We are come hither to preserve the poor 
 commonwealth of Virginia, if it can be possibly done: 
 something^uust be done to preserve your liberty and 
 mine. The confederation, this same despised govern- 
 ment, merits, in my opinion, the highest encomium: 
 it carried us through a long and dangerous war; it 
 rendered us victorious in that bloody conflict Avith a 
 powerful nation; it has secured us a territory greater 
 than any European monarch possesses : and shall a 
 government which has been thus strong and vigorous, 
 be accused of imbecility, and abandoned for want of 
 energy ? Consider what you are about to do, before 
 you part with this government. Take longer time in 
 reckoning things ; revolutions like this have happened 
 in almost every country of Europe : similar examples 
 are to be found in ancient Greece and ancient Rome : 
 instances of the people losing their liberty by their 
 own carelessness and the ambition of a few. We are 
 cautioned, by the honorable gentleman who presides, 
 against faction and turbulence: I acknowledge that 
 licentiousness is dangerous, and that it ought to be 
 provided against : I acknowledge, also, the new form 
 of government may effectually prevent it : yet there 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 269 
 
 is another thing it will as effectually do — it will op- 
 press and ruin the people. There are sufficient guards 
 placed against faction and licentiousness: for Avhen 
 power is given to this government to suppress these, 
 or for any other purpose, the language it assumes is 
 clear, express, and unequivocal: but when this con- 
 stitution speaks of privileges, there is an ambiguity. 
 Sir, a fatal ambiguity, an ambiguity which is very 
 astonishing ! " 
 
 The adoption of the instrument had been main- 
 tained upon the ground that it would increase our 
 military strength, and enable us to resist the lawless 
 ambition (>f foreign princes : it had been urged, too, 
 that if the convention should rise without adopting 
 the instrument, disunion and anarchy would be the 
 certain consequences. In answer to these topics he 
 said — '' Happy will you be, if you miss the fate of 
 those nations, who, omitting to resist their oppressors, 
 or negligently suffering their liberty to be wrested 
 from them, have groaned under intolerable despot- 
 ism ! Most of the human race are now in this de- 
 plorable condition. And those nations who have 
 gone in search of grandeur, power, and splendor have 
 also fallen a sacrifice, and been the victims of their 
 own folly. While they acquired those visionary 
 blessings, they lost their freedom. 
 
 " My great objection to this government is, that it 
 does not leave us the means of defending our rights, 
 or of waging w^ar against tyrants. It is urged by 
 some gentlemen, that this new plan will bring us an 
 acquisition of strength, an army, and the militia of 
 the states. This is an idea extremely ridiculous : gen- 
 
270 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 tlemen cannot be in esffiest. This acquisition will 
 trample on your fallen liberty ! Let my beloved 
 Americans guard against that fatal lethargy that has 
 pervaded the universe. Have we the means of resist- 
 ing disciplined armies, when our only defence, the 
 militia, is put into the hands of congress ? The hon- 
 orable gentleman said, that great danger would ensue, 
 if the convention rose without adopting this system. 
 I ask, where is that danger ? I see none. Other gen- 
 tlemen have told us within these walls, that the union 
 is gone, or, that the union will be gone. Is not this 
 trifling with the judgment of their fellow-citizens ? 
 Till they tell us the ground of their fears, I will con- 
 sider them as imaginary. I rose to make inquiry 
 where those dangers were; they could make no an- 
 swer: I believe I never shall have that answer. Is 
 there a disposition in the people of this country to 
 revolt against the dominion of laws ? Has there been 
 a single tumult in Virginia ? Have not the people 
 of Virginia, when laboring under the severest pres- 
 sure of accumulated distresses, manifested the most 
 cordial acquiescence in the execution of the laws ? 
 What could be more lawful than their unanimous ac- 
 quiescence under general distresses ? Is there any 
 revolution in Virginia ? Whither is the spirit of 
 America gone ? Whither is the genius of America 
 fled ? It was but yesterday when our enemies 
 marched in triumph through our country. Yet the 
 people of this country could not be appalled by their 
 pompous armaments : they stopped their career, and 
 victoriously captured them ! Where is the peril now 
 compared to that ? Some minds are agitated by for- 
 eign alarms. Happily for us, there is no real danger 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 271 
 
 from Europe : that country is engaged in more ar- 
 duous business : from that quarter there is no cause of 
 fear : you may sleep in safety for ever for them. 
 Where is the danger ? If, Sir, there was any, I 
 would recur to the American spirit to defend us — 
 ♦that spirit which has enabled us to surmount the 
 greatest difficulties: to that illustrious spirit I ad- 
 dress my most fervent prayer, to prevent our adopt- 
 ing a system destructive to liberty. Let not gentle- 
 men be told that it is not safe to reject this govern- 
 ment. Wherefore is it not safe ? We are told there 
 are dangers ; but those dangers are ideal ; they cannot 
 be demonstrated. To encourage us to adopt it, they 
 tell us that there is a plain, easy way of getting 
 amendments. When I come to contemplate this part, 
 I suppose that I am mad, or, that my countrymen are 
 so. The way to amendment is, in my conception, 
 shut. Let us consider this plain, easy way." 
 
 He then proceeds to demonstrate, that as the con- 
 stitution required the concurrence of three-fourths 
 of the states to any amendment, it followed that six- 
 tenths of the people, in four of the smallest states, 
 (not containing collectively one-tenth part of the pop- 
 ulation of the United States,) would have it in their 
 power to defeat the most salutary amendments ; and 
 then asks, " Is this, Sir, an easy mode of securing the 
 public liberty? It is. Sir, a most fearful situa- 
 tion, when the most contemptible minority can pre- 
 vent the alteration of the most oppressive govern- 
 ment : for it may, in many respects, prove to be such. 
 Is this the spirit of republicanism? What, Sir, is 
 the genius of democracy ? Let me read that clause of 
 
272 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. j 
 
 the bill of rights of '\''<ii^inia, which relates to this: 
 3d Art. ^ That government is, or ought to be, in- 
 stituted for the common benefit, protection, and se- 
 curity of the people, nation, or community; of all 
 the various modes and forms of government, that is 
 best which is capable of producing the greatest degree 
 of happiness and safety, and is most effectually se- 
 cured against the danger of mal-administration ; and 
 that whenever any government shall be found inad- 
 equate, or contrary to these purposes, a majority of 
 the com,munity hath an indubitable, unalienable, and 
 indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it, in 
 such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the 
 public weal.' This, Sir, is the language of democ- 
 racy, that a majority of the community have a right 
 to alter their government when found to be oppres- 
 sive ; but how different is the genius of your new 
 constitution from this ? How different from the sen- 
 timents of freemen, that a contemptible minority can 
 prevent the good of the majority ? If, then, gentle- 
 men, standing on this ground, are come to that point, 
 that they are willing to bind themselves and their 
 posterity to be oppressed, I am amazed, and inex- 
 pressibly astonished ! If this be the opinion of the 
 majority, I must submit ; but to me. Sir, it appears 
 perilous and destructive; I cannot help thinking so; 
 perhaps it may be the result of my age ; these may be 
 feelings natural to a man of my years, when the 
 American spirit has left him, and his mental powers, 
 like the members of the body, are decayed. If, Sir, 
 amendments are left to the twentieth, or to the tenth 
 part of the people of America, your liberty is gone for 
 ever. We have heard that there is a great deal of 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 273 
 
 bribery practised in the bouse of commons in Eng- 
 land ; and that many of the members raised them- 
 selves to preferments by selling the rights of the peo- 
 ple. But, sir, the tenth part of that body cannot con- 
 tinue oppressions on the rest of the people. English 
 liberty is, in this case, on a firmer foundation than 
 American liberty. It will be easily contrived to pro- 
 cure the opposition of one tenth of the people to any 
 alteration, however judicious." 
 
 Mr. Pendleton had repelled the idea of danger 
 from the adoption of the constitution, on the ground 
 of the facility with which the people could recall their 
 delegated powers, and change their servants. — " We 
 will assemble in convention," said Mr. Pendleton, 
 " wholly recall our delegated powers, or reform them 
 so as to prevent such abuse, and punish our servants." 
 In reply to this, Mr. Henry said : — " The honorable 
 gentleman who presides told us, that, to prevent 
 abuses in our government, we will assemble in con- 
 vention, recall our delegated powers, and punish 
 our servants for abusing the trust reposed in them. 
 Oh, sir, we should have fine times, indeed, if to 
 punish tyrants, it were only necessary to assemble the 
 people ! Your arms, wherewith you could defend 
 yourselves, are gone ! and you have no longer an aris- 
 tocratical, no longer a democratical spirit. Did you 
 ever read of any revolution in any nation, brought 
 about by the punishment of those in power, inflicted 
 by those who had no power at all ? You read of a 
 riot act in a country which is called one of the freest 
 in the world, where a few neighbors cannot assemble, 
 without the risk of being shot by a hired soldiery, the 
 engines of despotism. We may see such an act in 
 
274 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 America. A standing ^pmy we shall have also, to exe- 
 cute the execrable commands of tyranny ; and how are 
 you to punish them ? Will you order them to be 
 punished ? Who shall obey these orders ? Will your 
 mace bearer be a match for a disciplined regiment? 
 In what situation are we to be ? The clause before 
 you gives a power of direct taxation, unbounded and 
 unlimited ; exclusive power of legislation, in all 
 cases whatsoever, for ten miles square ; and over all 
 places purchased for the erection of forts, magazines, 
 arsenals, dock-yards, &c. What resistance could be 
 made ? The attempt Avould be madness. You will 
 find all the strength of this country in the hands of 
 your enemies ; those garrisons will naturally be the 
 strongest places in the country. Your militia is given 
 up to congress, also, in another part of this plan ; they 
 will, therefore, act as they think proper; all power 
 will be in their own possession ; you cannot force them 
 to receive their punishment." 
 
 He continued to ridicule very successfully the al- 
 luring idea of the expected splendor of the new gov- 
 ernment, and the imaginary checks and balances 
 which were said to exist in this constitution : ^^ If we 
 admit," said he, " this consolidated government, it 
 will be because we like a great splendid one. Some 
 way or other we must be a great and mighty em- 
 pire, we must have an army, and a navy, and a num- 
 ber of things ! When the American spirit was in its 
 youth, the language of America was different : liberty, 
 sir, was then the primary object." And again : " This 
 constitution is said to have beautiful features; when 
 I come to examine these features, sir, they appear to 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 275 
 
 me horribly frightful! Among other deformities, it 
 has an awful squinting : it squints towards monarchy ! 
 And does not this raise indignation in the breast _ot 
 every true American ? Your president may easily 
 become king; your senate is so imperfectly con- ^ 
 strueted, that your dearest rights may be sacrificed ^ 
 by what may be a small minority ; and a very small 
 minority may continue, for ever, unchangeable, this 
 government, although horridly defective; where are 
 your checks in this government? Your strongholds 
 will be in the hands of your enemies ; it is on a sup- 
 position that your American governors shall be 
 honest, that all the good qualities of this government 
 are founded; but its defective and imperfect con- 
 struction puts it in their power to perpetrate the 
 worst of mischiefs, should they be bad men; and, sir, 
 would not all the world, from the eastern to the wes- 
 tern hemisphere, blame our distracted folly m resting 
 our rights upon the contingency of our rulers being 
 good or bad ? Show me that age and country, where 
 the rights and liberties of the people were placedon 
 the sole chance of their rulers being good men, with- 
 out a consequent loss of liberty ? I say, that the loss 
 of that dearest privilege has ever followed, with ab- 
 solute certainty, every such mad attempt If your 
 American chief be a man of ambition and abilities, 
 how easy is it for him to render himself absolute! 
 The army is in his hands; and, if he be a man of ad- 
 dress, it will be attached to him; and it will be the 
 subject of long meditation with him to seize the first 
 auspicious moment to accomplish his design; and, 
 sir will the American spirit, solely, relieve you when 
 this happens? I would rather infinitely, and I am 
 
276 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 sure most of this convent!^ are of the same opinion, 
 have a king, lords, and commons, than a government 
 so replete with such insupportable evils. If we make 
 a king, we may prescribe the rules by which he shall 
 rule his people, and interpose such checks as shall 
 prevent him from infringing them ; but the president 
 in the field, at the head of his army, can prescribe 
 the terms on which he shall reign master, so far that 
 it will puzzle any American ever to get his neck from 
 under the galling yoke. I cannot, with patience, 
 think of this idea. If ever he violates the laws, one 
 of two things will happen : he will come at the head 
 of his army to carry every thing before him ; or he 
 will give bail, or do what Mr. Chief-Justice will 
 order him. If he be guilty, will not the recollection 
 of his crimes teach him to make one bold push for 
 the American throne ? Will not the immense differ- 
 ence between being master of every thing, and being 
 ignominiously tried and punished, powerfully excite 
 him to make this bold push ? But, sir, where is the 
 existing force to punish him ? Can he not, at the 
 head of his army, beat down every opposition ? Away 
 with your president ; we shall have a king : the army 
 will salute him monarch ; your militia will leave you 
 and assist in making him king, and fight against you : 
 and what have you to oppose this force ? What will 
 then become of you and your rights ? Will not abso- 
 lute despotism ensue ? [Here Mr. Henry strongly 
 and pathetically expatiated on the probability of the 
 president's enslaving America, and the horrid con- 
 sequences that must result.] 
 
 After the frank admission of the reporter, exhib- 
 ited by the words contained within those brackets, 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 277 
 
 that he had not attempted to follow Mr. Henry in 
 this pathetic excursion, the reader will perceive, that 
 it would be doing injustice to the memory of that 
 eminent man, to multiply extracts from this book, as 
 specimens of his eloquence. The stenographer who 
 should be able to take down Mr. Henry's speeches, 
 word for word, must have other qualities besides the 
 perfect mastery of his art : he must have the perfect 
 mastery of himself, and be able, for the moment, to 
 play the mere automaton ; for without such self-com- 
 mand, no man, who had a human heart in his bosom, 
 could listen to his startling exclamations, or horror- 
 breathing tones, without keeping his eyes immovably 
 riveted upon the speaker. His dominion over his 
 hearers was so absolute, that it was idle to think of 
 resisting him ; you would as soon think of resisting 
 the lightning of heaven. The very tone of voice, in 
 which he would address the chairman, when he felt 
 the inspiration of his genius rising — ^^ Mr. Chair- 
 man ! " — and the awful pause which followed this 
 call — fixed upon him at once every eye in the assem- 
 bly : and then his own rapt countenance ! — those eyes 
 which seemed to beam with light from another world, 
 and under whose fiery glance the crest of the proud- 
 est adversary fell! his majestic attitudes, and that 
 bold, strong, and varied action, which spohe forth, 
 with so much power, the energies of his own great 
 spirit, rendered his person a spectacle so sublime, 
 and so awfully interesting, that to look in any other 
 direction when the spell was upon him was not to be 
 expected from any man who had eyes to see and ears 
 to hear. Little cause have we, therefore, to wonder 
 or to complain, that a gentleman of Mr. Robertson's 
 
fTQ 
 
 278 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 lively admiration of genius, and of his quick and 
 kindling sensibility, was sometimes bedimmed by his 
 own tears, and as others torn from his task by those 
 master-fliehts, w^hich rushed like a miffhtv whirlwind 
 from the earth, and carried up every thing in their 
 vortex. 
 
 / The chief objections taken to the constitution are 
 educible to the following heads : — 
 
 I. That it was a consolidated, instead of a con- 
 federated government : that in making it so, the del- 
 egates at Philadelphia had transcended the limits of 
 their commission : changed fundamentally the rela- 
 tions which the states had chosen to bear to each 
 other: annihilated their respective sovereignties, de- 
 stroyed the barriers which divided them, and con- 
 verted the whole into one solid empire. To this lead- 
 ing objection, almost all the rest had reference, and 
 were urged principally with the view to illustrate and 
 enforce it. 
 
 II. The vast and alarming array of specific powers 
 given to the general government, and the wide door 
 opened for an unlimited extension of those poAvers, 
 by the clause which authorized congress to pass all 
 laws necessary to carry the given powers into effect. 
 It was urged that this clause rendered the previous 
 specification of powers an idle illusion ; since, by the 
 force of construction arising from that clause, con- 
 gress might easily do any thing and every thing it 
 chose, under the pretence of giving effect to some 
 specified power. 
 
 III. The unlimited power of taxation of all kinds ; 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 279 
 
 the states were no longer to be required, in their 
 federative characters, to contribute their respective 
 proportions tov^^ard the expenses and engagements of 
 the general government : but congress were authorized 
 to go directly to the pockets of the people, and to 
 sweep from them en masse, from north to south, what- 
 ever portion of the earnings of the industrious poor 
 the rapacity of the general government, or their 
 schemes of ambitious grandeur, might suggest. It was 
 contended, that such a power could not be exercised,^ 
 without just complaint, over a country so extensive, 
 and so diversified in its productions and the pursuits 
 of its people : that it was impossible to select any sub- 
 ject of general taxation which would not operate un- 
 equally on the different sections of the union, produce 
 discontent and heart-burnings among the people, and 
 most probably terminate in open resistance to the 
 laws: that the representatives in congress were too 
 few to carry with them a knowledge of the wants and 
 capacities of the people in the different parts of a 
 large state, and that the representation could not be 
 made full enough to attain that object without be- 
 coming oppressively expensive to the country: that 
 hence taxation ought to be left to the states them- 
 selves, whose representation was full, who best knew 
 the habits and circumstances of their constituents, 
 and on what subjects a tax could be most conveniently 
 laid. Mr. Henry said that he was willing to grant 
 this power conditionally ; that is, upon the failure of 
 the states to comply with requisitions from congress : 
 but that the absolute and unconditional grant of it, 
 in the first instance, filled his mind with the most 
 awful anticipations. It was resolved, he saw clearly, 
 
280 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 that we must be a great and splendid people; and 
 that in order to be so, immense revenues must be 
 raised from the people: the people were to be bowed 
 down under the load of their taxes, direct and in- 
 direct ; and a swarm of federal tax-gatherers were to 
 cover this land, to blight every blade of grass, and 
 every leaf of vegetation, and consume its productions 
 for the enrichment of themselves and their masters: 
 it was not contended, he supposed, but that the state 
 legislature, also might impose taxes for their own 
 internal purposes : thus the people were to be doubly 
 oppressed, and between the state sheriffs and the fed- 
 eral sheriffs to be ground to dust : on this subject he 
 drew such a vivid and affecting picture of these offi- 
 cers, entering in succession the cabin of the broken- 
 hearted peasant, and the last one rifling the poor re- 
 mains which the first had left as is said to have drawn 
 tears from every eye. 
 
 IV. The power of raising armies and building 
 navies, and still more emphatically, the control given 
 to the general government over the militia of the 
 states, was most strenuously opposed. The power 
 thus given was a part of the means of that aggrandize- 
 ment which was obviously meditated, and there could 
 be no doubt that it would be exercised : so that this 
 republic, whose best policy was peace, was to be sad- 
 dled with the expense of maintaining standing armies 
 and navies, useless for any other purpose than to in- 
 sult her citizens, to afford a pretext for increased 
 taxes, and an augmented public debt, and finally to 
 subvert the liberties of her people : her militia, too, 
 her last remaining defence, was gone. /" Congress," 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 281 
 
 said Mr. Henry, " by the power of taxation — by that 
 of raising an army and navy — and by their control 
 over the militia — have the sword in the one hand, and 
 the purse in the other. Shall we be safe without 
 either? Congress have an unlimited power over 
 both ; they are entirely given up by us. Let him (Mr. 
 Madison) candidly tell me where and when did free- 
 dom exist, when the sword and purse were given up 
 from the people ? Unless a miracle in human affairs 
 shall interpose, no nation ever did or ever can retain 
 its liberty, after the loss of the sword and the purse.'/ 
 The unlimited control over the militia was vehe- 
 mently opposed, on the ground, that the marching 
 militia from distant states to quell insurrection, and 
 repel invasions, and keeping the free yeomanry of 
 the country under the lash of martial law, would, in 
 the first instance, produce an effect extremely inimical 
 to the peace and harmony of the union ; and in the 
 next, harass the agTicultural body of the people so 
 much, as to reconcile them, as a less evil, to that curse 
 of nations, and bane of freedom, a standing army : — 
 and secondly, this power was opposed, on the ground 
 that congress, under the boundless charter of construc- 
 tive power which it possessed, might transfer to the 
 president the power of calling forth the militia, and 
 thus enable him to disarm all opposition to his 
 schemes. 
 
 V. The several clauses providing for the federal 
 judiciary were objected to, on the ground of the 
 clashing jurisdictions of the state and federal courts ; 
 and secondly, because infinite power was given to 
 congress to multiply inferior federal courts at pleas- 
 
282 LIFE OF PATRICK HENHY. 
 
 lire ; a power which they would not fail to exercise in 
 order to swell the patronage of the president, to their 
 own emolument ; and thus enable him to reward their 
 devotion to his views, by bestowing on them and their 
 dependants those offices which they had themselves 
 created. 
 
 VI. It was contended that the trial by jury was 
 gone in civil cases, by that clause which gives to the 
 supreme court appellate power over the law and the 
 fact in every case ; and which thereby enabled that 
 tribunal to annihilate both the verdict and judgment 
 of the inferior courts : and that in criminal cases also, 
 the trial by jury was worse than gone, because it was 
 admitted, that the common law, which alone gave 
 the challenge for favor, Avoiild not be in force as to 
 the federal courts ; and hence a jury might, in every 
 instance, be packed to suit the purpose of the prosecu- 
 tion. 
 
 VII. The authority of the president to take the 
 command of the armies of the United States, in per- 
 son, was warmly resisted, on the ground, that if he 
 were a military character, and a man of address, he 
 might easily convert them into an engine for the 
 worst of purposes. 
 
 VIII. The cession of the whole treaty making- 
 power to the president and senate, was considered as 
 one of the most formidable features in the instru- 
 ment, inasmuch as it put it in the power of the pres- 
 ident and any ten senators, who might represent the 
 five smallest states, to enter into the most ruinous 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. * 283 
 
 foreign engagements, and even to cede away by treaty 
 ajiy portion of the territory of the larger states : it 
 was insisted, that the lower house, who were the im- 
 mediate representatives of the people, instead of be- 
 ing excluded as they were by the constitution from 
 all participation in the treaty making power, ought 
 at least to be consulted, if not to have the principal 
 agency in so interesting a national act. 
 
 IX. The immense patronage of the president was 
 objected to : because it placed in his hands the means 
 of corrupting the congress, the navy, and army, and 
 of distributing, moreover, throughout the society, a 
 band of retainers in the shape of judges, revenue of- 
 ficers, and tax-gatherers, which would render him 
 irresistible in any scheme of ambition that he might 
 meditate against the liberties of his country. 
 
 X. The irresponsibility of the whole gang of fed- 
 eral officers (as they were called) was objected to: 
 there was indeed, in some instances, a power of im- 
 peachment pretended to be given, but it was mere 
 sham and mockery ; since, instead of being tried by 
 a tribunal, zealous and interested to bring them to 
 justice, they were to try each other for offences, in 
 which, probably, they were all mutually implicated. 
 
 XL It was insisted, that if we must adopt a con- 
 stitution ceding away such vast powers, express and 
 implied, and so fraught with danger to the liberties 
 of the people, it ought at least to be guarded by a bill 
 of rights : that in all free governments, and in the es- 
 timation of all men attached to liberty, there were 
 
284 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 certain rights unalienable, imprescriptible, and of so 
 sacred a character, that they could not be guarded 
 with too much caution : among these were the liberty 
 of speech and of the press. What security had we, 
 that even these sacred privileges would not be in- 
 vaded ? Concjress mieiht think it necessarv, in order 
 to carry into effect the given powers, to silence the 
 clamors and censures of the people ; and, if they med- 
 itated views of lawless ambition, they certainly will 
 so think: what then would become of the liberty of 
 speech and of the press ? 
 
 Several objections of a minor character were urged, 
 such as: 
 
 1. That the ambiguity with which the direction for 
 publishing the proceedings of congress was expressed, 
 " from time to time,'' pvit it in their power to keep 
 the people in utter ignorance of their proceedings ; 
 and thus to seize the public liberties ^' by ambuscade." 
 
 9. That the 9th section of the 1st article, profess- 
 ii^g to set out restrictions upon the power of congress, 
 gave them, by irresistible implication, the sovereign 
 power over all subjects not excepted, and thus en- 
 larged their constructive powers, ad infinitum, 
 
 3. That congress had the power of involving the 
 southern states in all the horrors which would result 
 from a total emancipation of their slaves ; and that 
 the northern states, uninterested in the consequences 
 of such an act, had a controlling majority, which 
 possessed the power, and would not probably want the 
 inclination to effect it. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 285 
 
 4. That the pay of the members was by the con- 
 stitution to be fixed by themselves, without limitation 
 or restraint. " They may, therefore," said Mr. 
 Henry, " indulge themselves in the fullest extent. 
 They will make their compensation as high as they 
 please. I suppose, if they be good men, their own 
 delicacy will lead them to be satisfied with moderate 
 salaries. But there is no security for this, should 
 they be otherwise inclined."^ 
 
 These objections, and many others which it were 
 tedious to enumerate, were pressed upon the house 
 day after day, with all the powers of reasoning and 
 of eloquence ; and where argument and declamation 
 were found unavailing, the force of ridicule was 
 freely resorted to. Thus, in relation to the objection 
 of consolidation, Mr. Madison had said : — ^^ There 
 
 * The American people have always been supersensi- 
 tive of the salaries of officials. A striking instance of 
 this occurred in the 42d Congress, at the beginning of 
 President Grant's second term of service. A bill was in- 
 troduced by General N. P. Banks, increasing the paj ^f 
 Congressmen, Senators, Judges, and the President. The 
 only real objection to the bill was that it was retroactive, 
 — a feature that is well nigh universal in military com- 
 missions and is common in some classes of laws. In all 
 other respects the bill was without fault. Nevertheless, 
 the public greeted it with a storm of indignation, and the 
 law is to this day known as the Salary Grab. Many of 
 the Congressmen who voted for the bill were defeated 
 for re-election on that account solely; for the general pub- 
 lic did not reflect that congress was the only body that 
 had power to order the needed increase of pay. The 
 Salary Grab contributed also to impair the popularity of 
 President Grant who signed the bill. 
 
286 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 are a number of opinic^ as to the nature of the gov- 
 ernment ; but the principal question is, whether it be 
 a federal or consolidated government. In order to 
 judge properly of the question before us, we must 
 consider it minutely in its principal parts. I con- 
 ceive, myself, that it is of a mixed nature : — it is, 
 in a manner, unprecedented : we cannot find one ex- 
 press example in the experience of the world — it 
 stands by itself. In some respects, it is a government 
 of a federal nature; in others, it is of a consolidated 
 nature." He then proceeds to point out and dis- 
 criminate its federal from its national features. Mr. 
 Corbin, on the same side, expressed himself satisfied 
 with Mr. Madison's definition of the instrument ; 
 but begged leave to call it by another name, viz., ^'a 
 representative federal government, as contradistin- 
 guished from a confederacy.'^ 
 
 Mr. Henry, in replying to these gentlemen, says: 
 — " This government is so new, it wants a name ! I 
 wish its other novelties were as harmless as this. We 
 are told, however, that collectively taken it is with- 
 out an example ! — that it is national in this part, and 
 federal in that part, &c. We may be amused, if we 
 please, by a treatise of political anatomy. In the 
 brain it is national : the stamina are federal — some 
 limbs are federal, others national. The senators are 
 voted for by the state legislatures, so far it is federal. 
 Individuals choose the members of the first branch, 
 here it is national. It is federal in conferring gen- 
 eral powers; but national in retaining them. It is 
 not to be supported by the states, the pockets of in- 
 dividuals are to be searched for its maintenance. 
 What signifies it to me, that you have the most cu- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 287 
 
 rious anatomical description of it in its creation ? To 
 all the common purposes of legislation, it is a great 
 consolidation of government. You are not to have 
 the right to legislate in any but trivial cases ; you are 
 not to touch private contracts : you are not to have the 
 right of having armies in your own defence: you 
 cannot be trusted with dealing out justice between 
 man and man. What shall the states have to do? 
 Take care of the poor, repair and make highways, 
 erect bridges, and so on, and so on! Abolish the 
 state legislatures at once. What purposes should they 
 be continued for ? Our legislature will indeed be a 
 ludicrous spectacle — 180 men, marching in solemn 
 farcical procession, exhibiting a mournful proof .of 
 the lost liberty of their country, without the power of 
 restoring it. But, sir, we have the consolation, that it- 
 is a mixed government ! that is, it may work sorely in 
 your neck; but you will have some comfort by say- 
 ing, that it was a federal government in its origin! '^ 
 ilotwithstanding this ridicule, however, thrown 
 on some of their arguments, Mr. Henry did not fail, 
 on every proper occasion, to do justice to the great 
 abilities and merits of his adversaries. To the elo- 
 quence of Col. Innis he paid a memorable tribute; 
 and in one short sentence sketched a picture of it so 
 vivid, and so faithful, that it would be injustice to 
 both gentlemen not to give it a place : — " That hon- 
 orable gentleman is endowed with great eloquence — 
 eloquence splendid, magnificent, and sufficient to 
 shake the human mind ! " No circumlocution could 
 have described with half the spirit and truth, that 
 rare union of pomp and power which distinguished 
 Col. Innis; whose car of triumph was always a 
 
288 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 chariot of war; pugnce vel pompce, pariter aptus 
 (equally fitted for pomp and struggle.) 
 
 One of the most singular instances on record of 
 the fallacy of the human memory, occurred in the 
 course of these dehates : this was in relation to the 
 case of Josiah Philips, which has been already men- 
 tioned. Mr. Randolph, in answer to Mr. Henry's 
 panegyrics on the constitution of the state of Vir- 
 ginia, brought forward that case in the following 
 terms: — " There is one example of this violation (of 
 the state constitution) in Virginia, of a most strik- 
 ing and shocking nature ; an example so horrid, that 
 if I conceived my country would passively permit a 
 repetition of it, dear as it is to me, I would seek 
 means of expatriating myself from it. A man, who 
 was then a citizen, was deprived of his life thus: — 
 from a mere reliance on general reports, a gentle- 
 man in the house of delegates informed the house, 
 that a certain man (Josiah Philips) had committed 
 several crimes, and was running at large perpetrating 
 other crimes; he, therefore, moved for leave to at- 
 taint him ; he obtained that leave instantly ; no sooner 
 did he obtain it, than he drew from his pocket a 
 bill ready written for that effect; it was read three 
 times in one day, and carried to the senate ; I will not 
 say that it passed the same day through the senate; 
 but he was attained very speedily and precipitately 
 without any proof better than vagTie reports I With- 
 out being confronted with his accusers and witnesses ; 
 without the privilege of calling for evidence in his 
 behalf, he was sentenced to death, and was after- 
 wards actually executed. Was this arbitrary depriva- 
 tion of life, the dearest gift of God to man, consistent 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 289 
 
 with the genius of a republican government ? Is this 
 compatible with the spirit of freedom ? This, sir, has 
 made the deepest impression in my heart, and I can- 
 not contemplate it without horror.'' 
 
 JSTow the reader, by adverting to the statement 
 which has been already given of Philip's case,* and 
 which is founded on record, will find that there is not 
 one word of this eloquent invective that is consistent 
 with the facts. What makes the case still more 
 strange is, that Mr. Randolph, at the happening of 
 the occurrence to which he alludes, held the double 
 office of clerk of the house of delegates, and attorney- 
 general of the commonwealth ; in the first character, 
 he had, only ten years before, been officially informed, 
 that the bill of attainder had not been founded on 
 report, but on a communication of the governor, en- 
 closing the letter of the commanding officer of the 
 militia in the quarter which was the theatre of 
 Philip's ravages; that that letter had been in due 
 form committed to the whole house on the state of the 
 commonwealth, whose resolutions led to the bill in 
 question ; and that the bill, instead of being read 
 three times in one day, had been regularly, and ac- 
 cording to the forms of the house, read on three sev- 
 eral days ; while in his character of attorney-general, 
 he had himself indicted and prosecuted Philip for 
 highway robbery — confronted him with the witnesses, 
 whose names are given at the foot of the indictment, 
 still extant among our records, and endorsed in Mr. 
 Randolph's own hand-writing ; convicted him on that 
 charge, on which charge, and on which alone, Philips 
 
 * See above, p. 218. 
 19 
 
290 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 was regularly sentenced^Rid executed. Yet, not only 
 Mr. Kandolph, but all the other members who had oc- 
 casion to advert to the circumstance, and even Mr. 
 Henry, on whom it is supposed to have been designed 
 to bear, proceed in their several criminations and de- 
 fences, upon the admission that Philips had fallen a 
 victim to the bill of attainder. Had the incident been 
 of a common character, there would have been noth- 
 ing strange in its having been forgotten ; but it is one 
 of so singular and interesting a nature, that this total 
 oblivion of it by the principal actors themselves be- 
 comes a matter of curious history. 
 
 The convention had been attended, from its com- 
 mencement, by a vast concourse of citizens of all 
 ages and conditions. The interest so universally felt 
 in the question itself, and not less the transcendent 
 talents which were engaged in its discussion, pre- 
 sented such attractions as could not be resisted. In- 
 dustry deserted its pursuits, and even dissipation 
 gave up its objects, for the superior enjoyments which 
 were presented by the hall of the convention, ^ot 
 only the people of the town and neighborhood, but 
 gentlemen from every quarter of the state, were seen 
 thronging to the metropolis, and speeding their eager 
 way to the building in Avhich the convention held 
 its meetings. Day after day, from morning till night, 
 the galleries of the house were continually filled with 
 an anxious crowd, who forgot the inconvenience of 
 their situation in the excess of their enjoyment ; and 
 far from giving any interruption to the course of the 
 debate, increased its interest and solemnity by their 
 silence and attention. 'No bustle, no motion, no 
 sound was heard among them, save only a slight move- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 291 
 
 ment when some new speaker arose, whom they were 
 all eager to see as well as to hear; or when some 
 masterstroke of eloquence shot thrilling along their 
 nerves, and extorted an involuntary and inarticulate 
 murmur. Day after day was this banquet of the 
 mind and of the heart spread before them, with a 
 delicacy and variety which could never cloy. There 
 every taste might find its peculiar gratifications, the 
 man of wit, the man of feeling, the critic, the philoso- 
 pher, the historian, the metaphysician, the lover of 
 logic, the admirer of rhetoric; every man who had 
 an eye for the beauty of action, or an ear for the har- 
 mony of sound, or a soul for the charms of poetic 
 fancy — in short, every one who could see, or hear, or 
 feel, or understand, might find in the wanton pro- 
 fusion and prodigality of that attic feast, some deli- 
 cacy adapted to his peculiar taste. Every mode of at- 
 tack and of defence, of which the human mind is ca- 
 pable, in decorous debate — every species of weapon 
 and armor, offensive and defensive, that could be 
 used with advantage, from the Roman javelin to the 
 Parthian arrow, from the cloud of x^neas to the 
 shield of Achilles — all that could be accomplished by 
 human strength and almost more than human activ- 
 ity, was seen exhibited on that celebrated floor. 'Nov 
 did the debate become oppressive by its unvarying 
 formalitv. The stateliness and sternness of extended 
 argument were frequently relieved by quick and ani- 
 mated dialogue. Sometimes the conversation would 
 become familiar and friendly. The combatants them- 
 selves would seem pleased with this relief; forget 
 that they were enemies, and by a sort of informal 
 truce put off their armor, and sit down amicably to- 
 
292 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 gether to repose, as it were, in the shade of the same 
 tree. By this agreeable intermixture of colloquial 
 sprightliness and brilliancy with profound, and 
 learned, and vigorous argument, of social courtesy 
 with heroic gallantry, the audience, far from being 
 fatigued with the discussion, looked with regret to 
 the hour of adjournment. 
 
 In this great competition of talents, Mr. Henry^s 
 powers of debate still shone pre-eminent. They were 
 now exhibiting themselves in a new aspect. Hitherto 
 his efforts, however splendid, had been comparatively 
 short and occasional. In the house of burgesses in 
 1765, in the congress of 1774, and the state conven- 
 tion of 1775, he had exhibited the impetuous charge 
 of the gallant Francis the First : * but now, in com- 
 bination with this fiery force, he was displaying all 
 the firm and dauntless constancy of Charles the 
 Fifth. f 'No shock of his adversaries could move him 
 from his ground. His resources never failed. His 
 eloquence was poured from inexhaustible fountains, 
 
 ♦Francis I. (1494-1547), King of France, and Charles 
 V. (1500-58), King of Spain, came into collision in 1519, 
 as candidates for the empire of Germany. Shortly after 
 this, Charles V., Henry VIH., and Pope Leo X., formed a 
 league against Francis and reduced him to submission. 
 The decisive battle was fought at Pavia in 1525, where 
 Francis commanded in person, was twice wounded, and 
 was taken prisoner. It was after this catastrophe that he 
 wrote to his mother the famous letter: "Madame, all is 
 lost save honor." 
 
 t The empire of Charles V. was the largest empire since 
 that of Charlemagne, and the emperor became noted for 
 his cruel persecution of the Protestants. In 1555 he ab- 
 dicated in favor of his more cruel son, Philip II. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 293 
 
 and assumed every variety of hue and form and mo- 
 tion, which could delight or persuade, instruct or as- 
 tonish. Sometimes it was the limpid rivulet spark- 
 ling down the mountain's side, and winding its silver 
 course between margins of moss, then gradually swell- 
 ing to a holder stream, it roared in the headlong cat- 
 aract, and spread its rainbows to the svm ; now, it 
 flowed on in tranquil majesty, like a river of the west, 
 reflecting from its polished surface, forest, and cliff, 
 and sky ; anon, it was the angry ocean, chafed by the 
 tempest, hanging its billows, with deafening clamors, 
 among the cracking shrouds, or hurling them in sub- 
 lime defiance at the storm that frowned above. 
 
 Toward the close of the session, an incident oc- 
 curred of a character so extraordinary as to deserve 
 particular notice. The question of adoption or re- 
 jection was now approaching. The decision was still 
 uncertain, and every mind and every heart was filled 
 with anxiety. Mr. Henry partook most deeply of this 
 feeling; and while engaged, as it were in his last 
 effort, availed himself of the strong sensations which 
 he knew to pervade the house, and made an appeal 
 to it which, in point of sublimity, has never been sur- 
 passed in any age or country of the world. After 
 describing, in accents which spoke to the soul, and to 
 which every other bosom deeply responded, the awful 
 immensity of the question to the present and future 
 generations, and the throbbing apprehensions with 
 which he looked to the issue, he passed from the house 
 and from the earth, and looking as he said, " beyond 
 that horizon which binds mortal eyes," he pointed, 
 with a countenance and action that made the blood 
 run back -upon the aching heart, to those celestial 
 
294 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 beings who were hovering over the scene, and waiting 
 with anxiety for a decision which involved the hap- 
 piness or misery of more than half the human race. 
 To those beings — with the same thrilling look and 
 action, he had jnst addressed an invocation that made 
 every nerve shudder with supernatural horror, when, 
 lo ! a storm at that instant arose, which shook the 
 whole building, and tlie spirits whom he had called 
 seemed to have come at his bidding. Xor did his 
 eloquence, or the storm, immediately cease; but 
 availing himself of the incident, with a master's art, 
 he seemed to mix in the fight of his ethereal auxil- 
 iaries, and '' rising on the wings of the tempest, to 
 seize upon the artillery of Heaven, and direct its 
 fiercest thunders against the heads of his adversaries." 
 The scene became insupportable ; and the house rose 
 without the formality of adjournment, the members 
 rushing from their seats with precipitation and con- 
 fusion."^ 
 
 But all his efforts were in vain. Either the justice 
 of the opposing cause, or the powers of his adver- 
 saries, or the prejudged opinions and instnictions of 
 the members, rendered his reasoning and his elo- 
 quence equally imavailing. Out of a house, composed 
 
 * The words above quoted are those of Judge Archibald 
 Stewart, a gentleman who was present, a member of the 
 convention, and one of those who voted against the side 
 of the question supported by Mr. Henry. The incident, 
 as given in the text, is wholly founded on the statements 
 of those who were witnesses of the scene; and by compar- 
 ing it with the corresponding passage in the printed de- 
 bates the reader may decide how far these are to be relied 
 on as specimens of Mr. Henry's eloquence. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 295 
 
 of one liundred and sixty-eight members, tbe question 
 of ratiiication was carried by a majority of ten. Mr. 
 Henry himself seemed to have a presage of this result. 
 After the storm which has been mentioned, Colonel 
 Innis, who, in his character of attorney-general, had 
 been hitherto attending a court of oyer and terminer, 
 came into the house, and the debate Avas renewed. 
 Mr. Henry, in answering him, closed the last speech 
 which he delivered on the floor, with the following 
 remarks : — 
 
 ^' I beg pardon of this house for having taken up" 
 more time than came to my share ; and I thank them 
 for the patience and polite attention with which I 
 have been heard. If I shall be in the minoritv, I 
 shall have those painful sensations which arise from a 
 conviction of being overpowered in a good cause. 
 Yet, I will be a peaceable citizen I My head, my hand, 
 and my heart, shall be free to retrieve the loss of 
 liberty, and remove the defects of that system, in a 
 constitutional way. I wish not to go to violence, but 
 will wait with hopes that the spirit which predomi- 
 nated in the revolution is not yet gone : nor the cause 
 of those who are attached to the revolution yet lost. 
 I shall therefore patiently wait, in expectation of 
 seeing that government changed, so as to be compati- 
 ble with the safety, liberty, and happiness of the 
 people.'' 
 
 The objections, however, which had been urged, 
 and the arguments by which they had been supported, 
 although they had not succeeded in preventing the rat- 
 ification of the constitution, had produced a very 
 serious effect on the house. Before their final dissolu- 
 tion, they agreed to a bill of rights, and a series of 
 
296 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 amendments (twenty ilKiumber) embracing and pro- 
 viding for the objections of Mr. Henry and his asso- 
 ciates. A copy of these amendments, engrossed on 
 parchment, and signed by the president of the con- 
 vention, was ordered to be transmitted to congress, 
 together with the instrument of ratification. Similar 
 copies were ordered to be transmitted to the executives 
 and legislatures of the several states ; and fifty copies 
 of the ratification and proposed amendments were 
 ordered to be struck for the use of each county in this 
 commonwealth. 
 
 Mr. Henry lost no ground with the people, at the 
 time, for the part which he had take» on this oc- 
 casion ; and when afterward the constitution began 
 to develop its tendencies by practical operation, so 
 many of his predictions were believed by a majority 
 of the people of Virginia to be fulfilled, and so many 
 more in a rapid progress of fulfilment, that his char- 
 acter for political penetration rose higher than ever. 
 That he had lost no ground at the time, two signal 
 proofs w^ere given in the session of assembly imme- 
 diately following that of the convention. The latter 
 body rose on the 27th of June, and the assembly met 
 on the 20th of October following. This interval had 
 been too short to permit the subsidence of that high 
 excitement, which the canvass of the constitution had 
 provoked ; and the assembly was consequently dis- 
 criminated by feelings of party as strong and de- 
 termined, as those which had characterized the con- 
 vention itself. 
 
 The constitution having been adopted by a suffi- 
 cient number of states to carry it into effect, it be- 
 came necessary at this session to provide for its or- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 297 
 
 ganization, and, among other measures, to choose two 
 senators to represent this state, in the congress of the 
 United States. For this office, Mr. Madison was pre- 
 sented by those who were at that time distinguished 
 by the appellation of federalists; by which nothing 
 more was then meant, than that they were advocates 
 for the adoption of the new federal constitution. The 
 anti-federalists, on the contrary, who were alarmed 
 by the vast powers which they considered as granted 
 by the constitution, regarded it as a salutary check 
 on the constructive extension of those powers, and as 
 the best means of securing those amendments which 
 they deemed essential to the liberties of the people, 
 that the first congress should be composed of men of 
 their own sentiments. In opposition to Mr. Madison, 
 therefore, Mr. Henry took the unusual liberty of \ 
 nominating two candidates, Mr. Richard H. Lee and r 
 Mr. Grayson ; and, notw^ithstanding the great acces- j 
 sion of character which Mr. Madison had acquired by I 
 the ability with which he had espoused the ratifica- ! 
 tion of the constitution, those gentlemen were elected ' 
 by a considerable majority. 
 
 At the same session of the assembly, Mr. Henry, 
 whose mind seems to have been filled with the most 
 oppressive solicitude by the unconditional adoption 
 of the constitution, and who brooded with corre- 
 spondent anxiety over the most effective means of 
 procuring amendments, moved, in the committee of 
 the whole house, the following preamble and resolu- 
 tions : — 
 
 " Whereas the convention of delegates of the peo- 
 ple of this commonwealth did ratify a constitution 
 
298 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 or form of government^r the United States, referred 
 to themvfor their consideration, and did also declare 
 that sundry amendments to exceptionable parts of the 
 same ought to be adopted, and whereas the subject- 
 matter of the amendments agreed to by the said con- 
 vention involves all the great, essential, and unalien- 
 able rights, liberties, and privileges of freemen ; 
 many of which, if not cancelled, are rendered inse- 
 cure under the said constitution, until the same shall 
 \ be altered and amended : — 
 
 " Resolved, That it is the opinion of this com- 
 mittee, that, for quieting the minds of the good citi- 
 zens of this commonwealth, and securing their dearest 
 rights and liberties, and preventing those disorders 
 which must arise under a government not founded in 
 the confidence of the people, application be made to 
 the congress of the United States, as soon as they 
 shall assemble under the said constitution, to call a 
 convention for proposing amendments to the same, ac- 
 cording to the mode therein directed. 
 
 " Eesolved, That it is the opinion of this com- 
 mittee, that a committee ought to be appointed to 
 draw up and report to the house, a proper instrument 
 of writing, expressing the sense of the general as- 
 sembly, and pointing out the reasons which induce 
 them to urge their application thus early, for the call- 
 ing the aforesaid convention of the states. 
 
 " Resolved, That it is the opinion of this com- 
 mittee, that the said committee ought to be instructed 
 /to prepare the draft of a letter, in answer to one re- 
 ' ceived from his excellency George Clinton, Esq., pres- 
 ident of the convention of I^ew York — and a circular 
 letter, on the aforesaid subject, to the other states in 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 299 
 
 the union, expressive of the wish of the general as- 
 seml 'y of this commonwealth, that they may join in 
 au application to the new congress, to appoint a con- 
 vention of the states so soon as the congress shall as- 
 semble under the new constitution." ^ 
 
 These were carried in committee, and immediately 
 reported to the house; when a motion was made to 
 amend them, by striking out from the word 
 '^ whereas," and substituting, in lieu of the original, 
 the following preamble and resolutions : — 
 
 " Whereas, the delegates appointed to represent the 
 good people of this commonwealth, in the late con- 
 vention held in the month of June last, did by their 
 act of the 25th of the same month, assent to and 
 ratify the constitution, recommended on the 17th day 
 of September, 178Y, by the federal convention for 
 the government of the United States, declaring them- 
 selves, with a solemn appeal to the Searcher of 
 hearts for the purity of their intentions, under the 
 conviction, ' that whatsoever imperfections might ex- 
 ist in the constitution, ought rather to be examined 
 in the mode prescribed therein, than to bring the 
 Union into danger by a delay, with a hope of obtain- 
 ing amendments previous to the ratification.' And 
 whereas, in pursuance of the said declaration, the 
 same convention did, by their subsequent act of the 
 27th June, aforesaid, agree to such amendments to the 
 said constitution of the government for the United 
 States, as were by them deemed necessary to be recom- 
 mended to the consideration of the congress which 
 shall first assemble under the said constitution, to 
 be acted upon according to the mode prescribed iu 
 
300 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 the fifth article thereol^ at the same time enjoia- 
 ing it upon their representatives in congress, to exert 
 all their influence, and use all reasonable and legal 
 methods, to obtain a ratification of the foregoing 
 alterations and provisions, in the manner provided 
 by the fifth article of the said constitution, and in all 
 congressional laws to be passed in the meantime, 
 to conform to the spirit of those amendments as far as 
 the said constitution would admit. 
 
 '' Kesolved, therefore, that it is the opinion of this 
 committee, that an application ought to be made, in 
 the name and on the behalf of the legislature of this 
 commonwealth, to the congress of the United States, 
 so soon as they shall assemble under the said con- 
 stitution, to pass an act recommending to the legisla- 
 tures of the several states, the ratification of a bill 
 of rights, and of certain articles of amendment, pro- 
 posed by the convention of this state, for the adop- 
 tion of the United States; and that, until the said 
 act shall be ratified in pursuance of the fifth article 
 of the said constitution of the government for the 
 United States, congress do conform their ordinances 
 to the true spirit of the said bill of rights and articles 
 of amendment. 
 
 ^^ Resolved, that it is the opinion of this committee, 
 that the executive ought to be instructed to transmit 
 a copy of the foregoing resolution to the congress of 
 the United States, so soon as they shall assemble, and 
 to the legislatures and executive authorities of each 
 state in the union." 
 
 On this proposal of amendment a very animated 
 debate ensued, which resulted in its rejection, and 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 301 
 
 the adoption of the original report, by a majority of 
 more than two for one. 
 
 These two measures— the election of the senators 
 named by Mr. Henry, in opposition to so formidable 
 a competitor as Mr. Madison, and the carrying so 
 strong a measure as the call of a new continental con- 
 tention, for the purpose of revising and altering 
 the constitution— certainly furnish the most decisive 
 proof, that his influence remained unimpaired by the 
 part which he had taken in the convention of the 
 
 It was in the course of the debate which has been 
 just mentioned, that Mr. Henry was driven from his 
 usual decorum into a retaliation, that became a theme 
 of great public merriment at the time, and has con- 
 tinued ever since one of the most popular anecdotes 
 that relate to him. He had insisted, it seems, with 
 great force, that the speedy adoption of the amend- 
 ments was the only measure that could secure the 
 great and unalienable rights of the freemen of this 
 country, that the people w^ere known to be exceedingly 
 anxious for this measure, that it was the only step 
 wdiich could reconcile them to the new constitution, 
 and assure that public contentment, security, and 
 confidence, which were the sole objects of government, 
 and w^ithout w^hich no government could stand ; that 
 whatever might be the individual sentiments of gen- 
 tlemen, yet the wishes of the people, the foundation 
 of all authority, being known, they w^ere bound to 
 conform to those wishes; that, for his own part, he 
 considered his opinion as nothing, w^hen opposed to 
 those of his constituents ; and that he was ready and 
 willing at all times and on all occasions, "to bow, 
 
S02 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 with the utmost defere^p^, to the majesty of the peo- 
 ple/' — A young gentleman, on the federal side of tlie 
 house, who had been a member of the late convention, 
 and had in that body, received, on one occasion, a 
 slight touch of Mr. Henry's lash, resolved now, in an 
 ill-fated moment, to make a set charge upon the vet- 
 eran, and brave him to the combat. He possessec 
 fancy, a graceful address, and an easy, sprightly elo- 
 cution ; and had been sent by his father, (an opulent 
 man, and an officer of high rank and trust under the 
 regal government) to finish his education in the col- 
 leges of England, and acquired the polish of the court 
 of St. James ; where he had passed the whole period of 
 the American revolution. Returning with advantages 
 which were rare in this country, and with the con- 
 fidence natural to his years, presuming a little too 
 far upon those advantages, he seized upon the words, 
 " bow to the majesty of the people," which Mr. 
 Henry had used, and rung the changes upon them 
 with considerable felicity. He denied the solicitude of 
 the people for the amendments, so strenuously urged 
 on the other side ; he insisted that the people thought 
 their '^ great and unalienable rights " sufficiently se- 
 cured by the constitution which they had adopted: 
 that the preamble of the constitution itself, which 
 was now to be considered as the language of the peo- 
 ple, declared its objects to be, among others, the se- 
 curity of those very rights ; the people then declare 
 the constitution the giiarantee of their rights, while 
 the gentleman, in opposition to this public declara- 
 tion of their sentiments, insists upon his amend7nents 
 as furnishing that guarantee; yet the gentleman tells 
 lis, that ^' he bows to the majesty of the people ; " 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 303 
 
 these words he accompanied with a most graceful 
 bow\ " The gentleman/' he proceeded, '^ had set 
 himself in opposition to the will of the people, 
 throughout the whole course of this transaction : the 
 people approved of the constitution : the suffrage of 
 their constituents in the last convention had proved 
 it, the people wished, the most anxiously wished, the 
 adoption of the constitution, as the only means of 
 saving the credit and the honor of the country, and 
 producing the stability of the union : the gentleman, 
 on the contrary, had placed himself at the head of 
 those who opposed its adoption — ^yet, the gentleman 
 is ever ready and willing, at all times and on all oc- 
 casions, to bow to the majesty of the people," (with 
 another profound and graceful bow). Thus he pro- 
 ceeded, through a number of animated sentences, 
 winding up each one with the same words, sarcas- 
 tically repeated, and the accompaniment of the same 
 graceful obesiance. Among other things, he said : " It 
 was of little importance whether a country ruled 
 by a despot, Avitli a tiara on his head, or by a dema- 
 gogue in a red cloak, a caul-bare wig," &c., (describ- 
 ing Mr. Henry's dress so minutely, as to draw every 
 eye upon him,) '^although he should profess on all 
 occasions to bow to the majesty of the people." 
 
 A gentleman who was present, and who, struck 
 with the singularity of the attack, had the curiosity 
 to number the vibrations on those words, and the ac- 
 companying action, states, that he counted thirteen 
 of the most graceful bows he had ever beheld. The 
 friends of Mr. Henry considered such an attack on a 
 man of his years and high character as very little 
 short of sacrilege ; on the other side of the house, there 
 
304 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 was, indeed, a smotli^|^l sort of dubious laugli, in 
 which there seemed to be at least as much apprehen- 
 sion as enjoyment. Mr. Henry had heard the whole 
 of it without any apparent mark of attention. 
 
 The young gentleman having finished his philipic, 
 very much at least to his own satisfaction, took his 
 seat, with the gayest expression of triumph in his 
 countenance — " Heul Nescia mens JiomiJium fati, 
 soriisque futuroe!^'''^ Mr. Henry raised himself up, 
 heavily, and with affected awkwardness — '^ Mr. 
 Speaker," said he, ^^ I am a plain man, and have 
 been educated altogether in Virginia. My whole life 
 has been spent among planters, and other plain men 
 of similar education, who have never had the advan- 
 tage of that polish which a court alone can give, and 
 which the gentleman over the way has so happily ac- 
 quired ; indeed, sir, the gentleman's employments and 
 mine (in common with the great mass of his country- 
 men) have been as widely different as our fortunes; 
 for while that gentleman was availing himself of the 
 opportunity which a splendid fortune afforded him, 
 of acquiring a foreign education, mixing among the 
 great, attending levees and courts, basking in the 
 beams of royal favor at St. James', and exchanging 
 courtesies with crowned heads, I was engaged in the 
 arduous toils of the revolution ; and was probably as 
 far from thinking of acquiring those polite accom- 
 plishments which the gentleman has so successfully 
 cultivated, as that gentleman then was from sharing 
 in the toils and dangers in which his unpolished 
 
 * Whew! The human mind doesn't know the fate and 
 fortune of the future. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 305 
 
 countrymen were engaged. I will not, therefore, pre- 
 sume to vie with the gentleman in those courtly ac- 
 complishments, of which he has just given the house 
 so agreeable a specimen; yet such a bow as I can 
 make, shall be ever at the service of the people/' — 
 Herewith, although there was no man who could 
 make a more graceful bow than Mr. Henry, he made 
 one so ludicrously awkward and clownish, as took the 
 house by surprise, and put them into a roar of laugh- 
 ter. — " The gentleman, I hope, will commiserate the 
 disadvantages of education under which I have la- 
 bored, and will be pleased to remember, that I have 
 never been a favorite with that monarch, whose gra- 
 cious smile he has had the happiness to enjoy.'' He 
 pursued this contrast of situations and engagements, 
 for fifteen or twenty minutes, without a smile, and 
 without the smallest token of resentment, either in 
 countenance, expression, or manner. ^^ You would 
 almost have sworn," says a correspondent, " that he 
 thought himself making his apology for his own awk- 
 wardness, before a full drawing-room at St. James\ 
 I believe there was not a person that heard him, the 
 sufferer himself excepted, who did not feel every risi- 
 ble nerve affected. His adversary meantime hung 
 down his head, and sinking lower and lower, until 
 he was almost concealed behind the interposing 
 forms, submitted to the discipline as quietly as a 
 Russian malefactor, who had been beaten with the 
 knout, till all sense of feeling was lost." 
 
 , The documents reported and adopted by the house 
 of delegates, in consequence of the foregoing resolu- 
 
306 t-IFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 tions, are the followif^ — which are given because 
 they are said to be from the pen of Mr. Henry : — 
 
 " Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, 
 that an application ought to be made, in the name 
 and on behalf of the legislature of this common- 
 wealth, to the congress of the United States, in the 
 following words, to wit : — 
 
 " The good people of this commonwealth, 
 
 " In convention assembled, having ratified the con- 
 stitution submitted to their consideration, this legis- 
 lature has, in conformity to that act, and the reso- 
 lutions of the United States in congress assembled, 
 to them transmitted, thought proper to make the ar- 
 rangements that were necessary for carrying it into 
 effect. Having thus shown themselves obedient to 
 the voice of their constituents, all America will find 
 that so far as it depends on them, that plan of govern- 
 ment will be carried into immediate operation. But 
 the sense of the people of Virginia would be but in 
 part complied with, and but little regarded, if we 
 went no further. In the very moment of adoption, 
 and coeval with the ratification of the new plan of 
 government, the general voice of the convention of 
 this state pointed to objects no less interesting to the 
 people we represent, and equally entitled to your at- 
 tention. At the same time that, from motives of af- 
 fection for our sister states, the convention yielded 
 their assent to the ratification, they gave the most un- 
 equivocal proofs that they dreaded its operation 
 under the present form. 
 
 " In acceding to a government under this impres- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. SOY 
 
 sion, painful must have been the prospect, had they 
 not derived consolation from a full expectation of its 
 imperfections being speedily amended. In this re- 
 source, therefore, they placed their confidence — a 
 confidence that will continue to support them, while 
 they have reason to believe they have not calculated 
 upon it in vain. 
 
 " In making kno^vn to you the objections of the 
 people of this commonwealth to the new plan of gov- 
 ernment, we deem it unnecessary to enter into a par- 
 ticular detail of its defects, which they consider as 
 involving all the great and unalienable rights of 
 freemen: For their sense on this subject, we refer 
 you to the proceedings of their late convention, and 
 the sense of this general assembly, as expressed in 
 their resolutions of the day of . 
 
 " We think proper, however, to declare that, in 
 our opinion, as those objections were not founded on 
 speculative theory, but deduced from principles 
 which have been established by the melancholy ex- 
 ample of other nations, in different ages, so they 
 never will be removed, until the cause itself shall 
 cease to exist. The sooner, therefore, the public ap- 
 prehensions are quieted, and the government is pos- 
 sessed of the confidence of the people, the more salu- 
 tary will be its operations, and the longer its dura- 
 tion. 
 
 " The cause of amendments we consider as a com- 
 mon cause ; and since concessions have been made 
 from political motives, which we conceive may en- 
 danger the republic, we trust that a commendable 
 zeal will be showTi for obtaining those provisions, 
 which experience has taught us are necessary to se- 
 
308 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 cure from danger the ilflalienable rights of human 
 nature. 
 
 " The anxiety with which our countrymen press 
 for the accomplishment of this important end, will 
 ill admit of delay. The slow forms of congressional 
 discussion and recommendation, if indeed thev should 
 ever agree to any change, would we fear be less cer- 
 tain of success. Happily for their wishes, the con- 
 stitution hath presented an alternative, by submit- 
 ting the decision to a convention of the states. To 
 this, therefore, we resort, as the source from whenco 
 they are to derive relief from their present appre- 
 hensions. We do, therefore, in behalf of our con- 
 stituents, in the most earnest and solemn manner, 
 make this application to congress, that a convention 
 be immediatly called, of deputies from the several 
 states, with full power to take into their consideration 
 the defects of this constitution* that have been sug- 
 gested by the state conventions, and report such 
 amendments thereto as they shall find best suited to 
 j)romote our common interests, and secure to our- 
 selves, and our latest posterity, the great and unalien- 
 able rights of mankind." 
 
 Draft of a letter to Governor Clinton on the same 
 subject : — 
 
 '' Sir, 
 
 " The letter from the convention of the state of 
 New York hath been laid before us since our present 
 session. The subject which it contemplated was 
 taken up, and we have the pleasure to inform you of 
 the entire concurrence in sentiment, between that 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 309 
 
 honorable body and the representatives in senate and 
 assembly of the freemen of this commonwealth. The 
 propriety of immediately calling a convention of the 
 states, to take into consideration the defects of the 
 constitution was admitted ; and in consequence 
 thereof, an application agreed to, to be presented to 
 the congress, so soon as it shall be convened for the ac- 
 complishment of that important end. We herewith 
 transmit to your excellency, a copy of this applica- 
 tion, which we request may be laid before your as- 
 sembly at their next meeting. We take occasion to 
 express our most earnest wishes that it may obtain 
 the approbation of I^ew York, and of all other sister 
 states." 
 
 Draft of a letter to the several states on the same 
 subject : — 
 
 ^^The freeman of this commomvealth, in conven- 
 tion assembled, having, at the same time that they 
 ratified the federal constitution, expressed a desire 
 that many parts, which they considered as exception- 
 able parts, should be amended — the general assem- 
 bly, as well from a sense of duty as a conviction of 
 its defects, have thought proper to take the earliest 
 measures in their power, for the accomplishment of 
 this important object. They have accordingly agreed 
 upon an application to be presented to the congress, 
 so soon as it shall be assembled, requesting that hon- 
 orable body to call a convention of deputies from the 
 several states, to take the same into their considera- 
 tion, and report such amendments as they shall find 
 best calculated to answer the purpose. As we con- 
 
310 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 ceive that all the good ^ople of the United States 
 are equally interested in obtaining those amendments 
 that have been proposed, we trust that there will be 
 a harmony in their sentiments and measures, upon 
 this very interesting subject. We herewith transmit 
 to you a copy of this application, and take the liberty 
 to subjoin our earnest wishes that it may have your 
 concurrence." 
 
 In the two remaining years during which Mr. 
 Henry continued a member of the assembly, I find 
 nothing worthy of particular remark. In the spring 
 of 1791, he declined a re-election, with the purpose 
 of bidding a final adieu to public life : and although 
 the tender of the most honorable appointments, the 
 solicitations of his numerous friends and admirers, 
 and ultimately his own wishes conspired to draw him 
 from his retreat, he never again made his appearance 
 in a public character. 
 
CHAPTEK IX. 
 
 CASE OF THE BRITISH DEBTS. GENERAL LAW PRAC- 
 TICE. 
 
 1791-1794. 
 
 Mr. Henry still continued, however, rather 
 through necessity than choice, the practice of the. 
 law, and in the fall of this year, 1791, a cause came 
 on to be argued before the circuit court of the United 
 States, in which he made what has been considered 
 his most distinguished display of professional tal- 
 ents. This was the celebrated case of the British 
 debts; a case in which, from its great and extensive 
 interest, the whole power of the bar of Virginia was 
 embarked, and which was discussed with so much 
 learning, argument, and eloquence, as to have placed 
 that bar, in the estimation of the federal judges, (if 
 the reports of the day may be accredited,) above all 
 others in the United States. 
 
 The cause was argued first in 1791, before Judges 
 Johnson and Blair, of the supreme court, and Grif- 
 fin, judge of the district; and afterwards in 1793, 
 before Judges Jay and Iredell, and the same dis- 
 trict judge. Mr. Henry was one of the counsel for 
 the defendant, and argued the cause on both occa- 
 sions. The deep interest of the question, in a na- 
 tional point of view, and the manner in which it in- 
 
 311 
 
312 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 volved more particularly the honor of the state of 
 Virginia, and the fortunes of her citizens, had ex- 
 cited Mr. Henry to a degree of preparation which 
 he had never before made ; and he came forth, on this 
 occasion, a perfect master of every principle of law, 
 national and municipal, w^hich touched the subject 
 of investigation in the most distant point. 
 
 Of the first argument, a manuscript report is still 
 extant, taken in shorthand by Mr. Robertson, the 
 same gentleman who reported the debates of the con- 
 vention of Virginia in 1788. The second argument 
 was not reported; because, as Mr. Robertson states, 
 he was informed by the counsel, that it would be noth- 
 ing more than a repetition of the first ; and he adds, 
 that he was afterward told it was . much inferior. 
 What must we conclude, then, as to the powers dis- 
 played by Mr. Henry in the first argument, when, 
 in the course of the second and inferior one, he ex- 
 torted from Judge Iredell, as he sat on the bench, 
 the exclamation : " Gracious God ! — He is an orator 
 indeed I " 
 
 The report of the first argument, as deciphered by 
 Mr. Robertson, from his stenographic notes, has been 
 obligingly submitted to the author of these sketches, 
 and he has extracted from it an imperfect analysis 
 of Mr. Henry^s speech. The report may unques- 
 tionably be relied on, so far as it professes to state 
 the principles of law, and the suhsiance of the ar- 
 guments urged by the very eminent counsel engaged 
 in the cause ; and in this point of view, it is to be 
 lamented that so valuable a work should still exist 
 only in the form of a manuscript. But, as a sample 
 of Mr. Henry^s peculiar and inimitable eloquence, it 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 313 
 
 is subject to all the objections which have been al- 
 ready urged to the printed debates of the Virginia 
 convention. This manuscript report bears upon its 
 face the most conchisive proof of its inaccuracy in 
 those passages in which it attempts to exhibit either 
 the captivating flights of Mr. Henry's fancy, or those 
 unexpected and overwhelming assaults which he made 
 upon the hearts, of his judges; for in all such pas- 
 sages, (it is believed, without an exception,) the pen 
 has been drawn through the sentence, as originally 
 written, in such a manner, however, as to leave the 
 words still legible; while the same thought, or some- 
 thing like it, has been interlined in other words ; and 
 even the interlineations themselves are oftener than 
 otherwise erased, altered, and farther interlined, for 
 the purpose of seeking to amend the expression: so 
 that, in casting one's eyes over the manuscript report 
 of Mr. Henry's speech, in order to single out the 
 most brilliant passages, those which are the most 
 blotted and blurred by erasures and interlineations 
 may be selected at once, without the hazard of mis- 
 take. Hence, it is obvious, that the reporter had not 
 in his stenographic notes, the very expression of the 
 speaker ; but some hint merely of the thought, which 
 he was afterward unable to fill up to his own satis- 
 faction. If further evidence on this Subject were 
 required, it is found in this circumstance, that, on 
 reading Mr. Eobertson's imitations of the splendid 
 parts of Mr. Henry's speech to several of those who 
 heard it delivered, there has not been one who has not 
 turned off from the recital with the strongest ex- 
 pressions of disappointment, and in several instances 
 corrected by memory the language of the reporter. 
 
314 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 This explanation is equally due to the memory of 
 Mr. Henry, to the reader, and to the author ; for the 
 author is fully aware, that if the truth of the gen- 
 eral character which he has attempted to give of Mr. 
 Henry's eloquence shall he tested by those imperfect 
 specimens to which, for want of more accurate ones, 
 he has been compelled to resort, discredit will be 
 thrown upon the whole work, and it will be regarded 
 rather as romance than history. But the ingenuous 
 and candid reader will look beyond those poor and 
 wretched imitations, and my own equally poor and 
 wretched descriptions, to that proof of Mr. Henry's 
 eloquence which is furnished by its practical effects. 
 Can there be any doubt of the supreme eloquence of 
 that man who awakened and hushed at his pleasure, 
 " the stormy wave of the multitude ? " who, by his 
 powers of speech, roused the whole American people 
 from north to south ? who put the revolution into 
 motion, and bore it upon his shoulders, as Atlas is 
 said to do the heavens ? to whose charms of persua- 
 sion, not the rabble merely, but all ranks of society, 
 have borne the most unanimous evidence ? who moved 
 not merely the populace, the rocks, and stones of the 
 field, but, '' by the summit took the moimtain-oak, 
 and made him stoop to the plain ? " Instead, then, 
 of comparing our descriptions of Mr. Henry's elo- 
 quence with the specimens which his reporters have 
 made of it, let the reader compare that description 
 with the effects which it actually wrought, and the 
 universal testimony which is borne to it, by the rap- 
 turous admiration of every one who ever had the hap- 
 piness to hear him ; and the author, so far from being 
 afraid of the charge of exaggeration, will be appre- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 315 
 
 tensive only of that of presumption, in attempting 
 a description of powers so perfectly indescribable. 
 
 But to return to his argument in the case of the 
 British debts. In order to render intelligible the 
 analysis which we propose to give to the reader, it 
 will be necessary to prefix to it a statement of the 
 case, of the pleadings, and the points made in argu- 
 ment, by the opening counsel. 
 
 William Jones, a British subject, as surviving 
 partner of the mercantile house of Farrell and Jones, 
 brought an action of debt, in the federal circuit court 
 at Richmond, against Doctor Thomas Walker, of 
 the county of Albemarle, in Virginia, on a bond 
 which bore date before the revolutionary war; to 
 wit, on the 11th of May, 1772. To this action the de- 
 fendant pleaded five several pleas: — 
 
 1. The first was, the plea of payment generally, on 
 which the plaintiff took issue; but it was not tried, 
 the cause having gone off on the demurrers growing 
 out of the subsequent pleadings. 
 
 2. In his second plea, the defendant relies on the 
 act of sequestration, passed by the legislature of Vir- 
 ginia during the revolutionary war, to wit, on the 
 20th of October, 1777 ; by which it was enacted, that 
 " it should be lawful for any citizen of this common- 
 wealth, owing money to a subject of Great Britain, 
 to pay the same, or any part thereof, from time to 
 time, as he should think fit, into the loan office of 
 the state ; taking thereout a certificate for the same in 
 the name of the creditor, with an endorsement under 
 the hand of the commissioner of the loan office, ex- 
 
316 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 pressing the name of We payee, delivering such cer- 
 tificate to the governor and council, whose receipt 
 should discharge him from so much of the deht:'^ — 
 and the defendant exhibits the governor's receipt for 
 2151Z. 18s. vv^hich he offers in bar to so much of the 
 plaintiff's demand. 
 
 3. In his third plea, he sets out the act of for- 
 feiture, passed by the assembly on the third of May, 
 1779, v^^hereby it was, among other things, enacted, 
 '^ that all the property, real and personal, within the 
 commonwealth, belonging at that time to any British 
 subject, should be deemed to be vested in the common- 
 wealth ; " as also the act of the 6th of May, 1782, 
 whereby it was enacted, " that no demand whatso- 
 ever, originally due to a subject of Great Britain, 
 should be recoverable in any court of this common- 
 wealth, although the same might be transferred to a 
 citizen of this state, or to any other person capable of 
 maintaining such action, unless the assignment had 
 been or might be made for a valuable consideration 
 hona fide paid before the first of May, 1777 : " and 
 the plea insists that the debt, in the declaration men- 
 tioned, was personal property of a British subject, 
 forfeited to the commonwealth under the first-men- 
 tioned act, and a demand, whose recovery in the 
 courts of the commonwealth was barred by the last. 
 
 4. The fourth plea takes the ground, that the king 
 of Britain and his subjects were still alien enemies, 
 and that the state of war still continued, on the 
 ground of several direct violations of the definitive 
 treatj^ of peace, which follow : — 1. In continuing to 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 317 
 
 carry off the negroes in his possession, the property of 
 American citizens, and refusing to deliver them, or 
 permit the owners to take them, according to the ex- 
 press stipulations of that treaty : — 2. In the forcible 
 retention of the forts Niagara and Detroit, and the 
 adjacent territory: — 3. In supplying the Indians, 
 who were at war with the United States, with arms 
 and ammunition, furnished within the territories of 
 the United States, to wit, at the forts Detroit and 
 Niagara, and at other forts and stations forcibly held 
 by the troops and armies of the king, within the 
 United States; and in purchasing from the Indians, 
 within the territories aforesaid, the plunder taken 
 by them in war from the United States, and the per- 
 sons of American citizens made prisoners ; wdiich sev- 
 eral infractions, the plea contends, had abolished the 
 treaty of peace, and placed Great Britain and the 
 United States in a state of war ; and that hence, the 
 plaintiff, being an alien enemy, had no right to sue 
 in the courts of the United States. 
 
 5. The fifth plea sets forth, that at the time of con- 
 tracting the debt in the declaration mentioned, the 
 plaintiff and the defendant were fellow-subjects of 
 the same king and government ; that on the fourth of 
 July, 1776, the government of the British monarch 
 in this counj;ry was dissolved, and the coallegiance of 
 the parties severed ; whereby the plea contends, that 
 the debt in the declaration mentioned was annulled. 
 
 To the second plea the plaintiff replied, insisting 
 on the treaty of peace of 1783, whereby it was stipu- 
 lated, that creditors on either side should meet with 
 no lawful impediment to the recovery of the full 
 
318 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 value, in sterling mon^, of all bona fide debts there- 
 tofore contracted ; and also on the constitution of the 
 United States of 178Y, by which it had been expressly 
 declared, that treaties which were then made, or 
 which should thereafter be made, under the author- 
 ity of the United States, should be the supreme law 
 of the land, any thing in the constitution, or the laws 
 of any state, to the contrary notivithstariding. 
 
 The defendant rejoined, that the treaty had been 
 annulled by the infractions of it on the part of Great 
 Britain, and so could not aid the cause of the plaint- 
 iff ; and further, that the debt in the declaration men- 
 tioned was not bona fide due, and owing to the plaint- 
 iff at the date of the treaty, insomuch as the same (or 
 at least 2151?. 18s. of it) had been discharged by 
 the payment set forth in the second plea ; and hence, 
 that it was not a subsisting debt, within the terms 
 and provisions of the treaty. 
 
 To this rejoinder, as also to the third, fourth, and 
 fifth pleas of the defendant, the plaintiff demurred ; 
 and the cause came on to be argued, on these demur- 
 rers, at Richmond, on the 24th of ISTovember, 1791. 
 
 The Virginian reader will readily estimate the 
 splendor and power of the discussion in this case, 
 when he learns the names of the counsel engaged in 
 it; on the part of the plaintiff, then, were Mr. Ronald, 
 Mr. Baker, Mr. Wickham, and Mr. Starke; and on 
 that of the defendant, Mr. Henry, Mr. Marshall, 
 (later chief justice of the United States,) Mr. Alex- 
 ander Campbell, and Mr. Innis, the attorney-general 
 of Virginia: I mention their names in the order in 
 which they spoke on their respective sides. 
 
 The cause was opened with great fairness and abil- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 319 
 
 ity, by Mr. Roland and Mr. Baker, in succession; 
 they were answered by all the counsel of the defen- 
 dant ; and Mr. Wickham, Mr. Starke, and Mr. Baker, 
 were heard in the reply. 
 
 The opening counsel made the following points : — 
 
 First, That debts were not a subject of confiscation 
 in war. 
 
 Secondly, That if they were, Virginia, at the time 
 of passing the acts relied on by the defendant, was 
 not a sovereign and independent state, Great Britain 
 not having at that time assented to her independence ; 
 and hence, that she had not the power of legislating 
 away the debts of fellow-subjects not represented in 
 her legislative councils — which councils, were them- 
 selves a usurpation in the eye of the law. 
 
 Thirdly, That if debts were subject to confiscation, 
 and Virginia w^ere competent to pass laws to that ef- 
 fect, she had not done so ; and Mr. Baker particularly 
 entered into a minute and ingenious scrutiny of the 
 language of the several acts of assembly, to prove 
 that, so far from having been forfeited, the debts 
 were recognized as existing British debts down to the 
 year 1782. 
 
 Fourthly, That if all these points were against the 
 plaintiff, the right of recovering those debts was re- 
 stored by the treaty of 1783, and the constitution of 
 the United States, which recognized that treaty as 
 the supreme law of the land ; and, 
 
320 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 Fifthly, That the ailiged infractions of the treaty 
 on the part of Great Britain did not produce the 
 effect of abolishing the treaty; that this was a na- 
 tional concern, with which the individual plaintiff 
 and defendant had nothing to do ; that the question of 
 infraction was one to be decided by the supreme 
 power of the nation only, and one of which the court 
 could not, with any propriety take cognizance. 
 
 Mr. Baker closed his opening speech on Thursday 
 evening, the 24th of ISTovember, and it was publicly 
 understood that Mr. Henry was to commence his re- 
 ply on the next day. The legislature was then in 
 session ; but when 11 o'clock, the hour for the meet- 
 ing of the court, arrived, the speaker found himself 
 without a house to do business. All his authority and 
 that of his sergeant-at-arms were unavailing to keep 
 the members in their seats; every consideration of 
 public duty yielded to the anxiety which they felt, in 
 common with the rest of their fellow-citizens, to hear 
 this great man on this truly great and extensively-in- 
 teresting question. Accordingly, when the court was 
 ready to proceed to business, the court-room of the 
 capitol, large as it is, was insufficient to contain the 
 vast concourse that was pressing to enter it. The 
 portico, and the area in which the statue of Washing- 
 ton stands, were filled with a disaj^pointed crowd, 
 wdio, nevertheless, maintained their stand without. 
 In the court-room itself, the judges, through conde- 
 scension to the public anxiety, relaxed the rigor of 
 respect which they were in the habit of exacting, and 
 permitted the vacant seats of the bench, and even the 
 windows behind it, to be occupied by the impatient 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 321 
 
 multitude. The noise and tumult, occasioned by 
 seeking a more favorable station, were at length 
 hushed, and the profound silence which reigned 
 within the room gave notice to those without, that the 
 orator had risen, or was on the point of rising. Every 
 eye in front of the bar was riveted upon him with the 
 most eager attention ; and so still and deep was the 
 silence, that every one might hear the throbbing of 
 his own heart. Mr. Henry, however, appeared 
 wholly unconscious that all this preparation was on 
 his account, and rose with as much simplicity and 
 composure, as if the occasion had been one of ordi- 
 nary occurrence, l^othing can be more plain, modest, 
 and unaffected, than his exordium : — " I stand here, 
 may it please your honors, to support, according to 
 my power, that side of the question which respects 
 the American debtor. I beg leave to beseech the pa- 
 tience of this honorable court; because the subject is 
 very great and important, and because I have not 
 only the greatness of the subject to consider, but those 
 numerous observations which have come from the op- 
 posing counsel to answer. Thus, therefore, the mat- 
 ter proper for my discussion is unavoidably accumu- 
 lated. Sir, there is a circumstance in this case, that 
 is more to be deplored than that which I have just 
 mentioned, and that is this : those animosities which 
 the injustice of the British nation hath produced, 
 and which I had well hoped would never again be the 
 subject of discussion, are necessarily brought forth. 
 The conduct of that nation, which bore so hard upon 
 us in the late contest, becomes once more the subject 
 of investigation. I know, sir, how well it becomes a 
 liberal man and a Christian to forget and to forgive. 
 
322 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 As individuals professing a holy religion it is our 
 bounden duty to forgive injuries done us as individ- 
 uals. But when to the character of Christian you add 
 the character of patriot, you are in a different situa- 
 tion. Our mild and holy system of religion incul- 
 cates an admirable maxim of forbearance. If your 
 enemy smite one cheek, turn the other to him. But 
 you must stop there. You cannot apply this to your 
 country. As members of a social community, this 
 maxim does not apply to you. When you consider in- 
 juries done to your country, your political duty tells 
 you of vengeance. Forgive as a private man, but 
 never forgive public injuries. Observations of this 
 nature are exceedingly unpleasant, but it is my duty 
 to use them." 
 
 With the same primeval simplicity, he enters upon 
 the argument ; not making a formal division of the 
 whole subject, but merely announcing the single prop- 
 osition which he was about to maintain for the time ; 
 thus, immediatelv after the exordium which has been 
 quoted he proceeds thus : — 
 
 " The first point which I shall endeavor to estab- 
 lish will be, that debts in common wars become sub- 
 ject to forfeiture; and if forfeited in common wars, 
 much more must they be so in a revolution war, as the 
 late contest was. In considering this subject, it will 
 be necessary to define what a debt is. I mean by it 
 an engagement, or promise by one man to pay an- 
 other, for a valuable consideration, an adequate price. 
 By a contract thus made, for a valuable considera- 
 tion there arises what, in the law phrase, is called a 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 323 
 
 lien on the body and goods of the promissor or debtor. 
 This interest, which the creditor becomes entitled to, 
 in the goods and body of his debtor, is such as may be 
 taken for the creditor, if he be found the subject of 
 a hostile country. This position is supported by the 
 following authorities." He then cites and reads co- 
 pious extracts from Grotius and Vattel, which seem 
 to support his position decisively, and then proceeds 
 thus : — '^ This authority decides in the most clear 
 and satisfactory manner, that, as a nation, we had 
 powers as extensive and unlimited as any nation on 
 earth. This great writer, after stating the equality 
 and independence of nations, and who are, and who 
 are not enemies, does away the distinction between 
 corporeal and incorporeal rights, and declares that 
 war gives the same right over the debts, as over the 
 other goods of an enemy. He illustrates his doctrine 
 by the instance of Alexander's remitting to the Thes- 
 salians, a debt due by them to the Theban common- 
 wealth : this is a case in point — for supposing the 
 subjects of Alexander had been indebted to the The- 
 bans, might he not have remitted the debts due by 
 them to that people, as well as the debts due them by 
 his allies, the Thessalians ? Let me not be told that 
 he was entitled to the goods of the Thebans, because 
 he had conquered them. If he could remit a debt due 
 by those whose claim of friendship was so inferior, 
 those who were only attached to him by the feeble ties 
 of contingent and temporary alliance — if his Mace- 
 donians, his immediate and natural subjects, were in- 
 debted to the Thebans, could he not have remitted 
 their debts ? This author states in clear, unequivocal 
 terms, by fair inference and unavoidable deduction^ 
 
324 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 that when two nations are at war, either nation has 
 a right, according to the laws of nature and nations, 
 to remit to its own citizens debts which they may 
 owe to the enemy. If this point wanted further elu- 
 cidation, it is pointedly proved by the authority 
 which I first quoted from Grotius, that it is an in- 
 separable concomitant of sovereign power, that debts 
 and contracts similar to those which existed in Amer- 
 ica, at the time the war with Great Britain broke out, 
 may, in virtue of the eminent domain, or right, be 
 cancelled and destroyed. ^ A Icing has a greater right 
 in the goods of his subjects, for the public advantage, 
 than the proprietors themselves. And when the exi- 
 gency of the state requires a supply, every man is 
 more obliged to contribute toivard it, than to satisfy 
 his creditors. The sovereign may discharge a debt- 
 or from the obligation of paying, either for a cer- 
 tairi time, or for ever.' What language can be more 
 expressive than this ? Can the mind of man conceive 
 any thing more comprehensive ? Rights are of two 
 sorts, private and inferior, or eminent and superior, 
 such as the community hold over the persons and 
 estates of its members for the common benefit. The 
 latter is paramount to the former. A king or chief 
 of a nation has a greater right than the owner him- 
 self over any property in the nation. The individual 
 who owns private property cannot dispose of it, con- 
 trary to the will of his sovereign, to injure the public. 
 This author is known to be no advocate for tyranny, 
 yet he mentions that a king has a superior power over 
 the property in his nation, and that by virtue thereof 
 he may discharge his subjects for ever from debts 
 which they owe to aai enemy. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 325 
 
 " The instance whicli our author derives from the 
 Roman history, affords a striking instance of the 
 length to which the necessities and exigencies of a 
 nation will warrant it to go. It was a juncture crit- 
 ical to the Roman affairs. But their situation was 
 not more critical or dangerous than ours at the time 
 these debts were confiscated. It was after the total 
 defeat and dreadful slaughter at Cannae, when the 
 state was in the most imminent danger. Our situa- 
 tion in the late war was equally perilous. Every 
 consideration must give way to the public safety. 
 That admirable Roman maxim, salus populi suprema 
 lex,^ governed that people in every emergency. It 
 is a maxim that ought to govern every community. 
 It was not peculiar to the Roman people. The im- 
 pression came from the same source from which we 
 derive our existence. Self-preservation, that great 
 dictate implanted in us by nature, must regulate our 
 conduct ; w^e must have a power to act according to 
 our necessities, and it remains for human judgment 
 to decide what are the proper occasions for the exer- 
 cise of this power. Call to your recollection onr 
 situation during the late arduous contest. Was it 
 not necessary in our day of trial, to go to the last 
 iota of human right ? The Romans fought for their 
 altars and household gods. By these terms they 
 meant every thing dear and valuable to men. Was 
 not our stake as important as theirs % But many 
 other nations engage in the most bloody wars for the 
 most trivial and frivolous causes. If other nations 
 who carried on wars for a mere point of honor, or a 
 
 * " The welfare of the people is the supreme law," 
 
326 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY, 
 
 punctilio of gallantrj,4^ere warranted in the exer- 
 cise of this power, were not we, who fought for every 
 thing most inestimable and valuable to mankind, jus- 
 tified in using it? Our finances were in a more dis- 
 tressing situation than theirs at this awful period of 
 our existence. Our war was in opposition to the 
 most grievous oppression — we resisted, and our resis- 
 tance was approved and blessed by Heaven. The 
 most illustrious men who have considered human af- 
 fairs, when they have revolved human rights, and 
 considered how far a nation is warranted to act in 
 cases of emergency, declare that the only ingredient 
 essential to the rectitude and validity of its measures 
 is, that they be for the public good. I need hardly 
 observe that the confiscation of these debts was for 
 the public good. Those who decided it were constitu- 
 tionally enabled to determine it. Grotius shows that 
 you have not only power over the goods of your ene- 
 mies, but according to the exigency of affairs, you 
 may seize the property of your citizens." After read- 
 ing the apposite passage from Grotius, he says: — 
 " I read these authorities to prove, that the property 
 of an enemy is liable to forfeiture, and that debts are 
 as much the subject of hostile contest as tangible 
 property. And Vattel, p. 484, as before mentioned, 
 pointedly enumerates rights and debts among such 
 property of the enemy as is liable to confiscation. To 
 this last author I must frequently resort in the course 
 of my argument. I put great confidence in him, from 
 the weight of his authority — for he is universally re- 
 spected by all the wise and enlightened of mankind, 
 being no less celebrated for his great judgment and 
 knowledge, than for his universal philanthropy. One 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 327 
 
 of his first principles of the law of nations is, a per- 
 fect equality of rights among nations ; that each na- 
 tion ought to be left in the peaceable enjoyment of 
 that liberty it has derived from nature. I refer your 
 honors to his preliminary discourse from 6th to the 
 12th page; and as it will greatly elucidate the sub- 
 ject, and tend to prove the position I have attempted 
 to support, I will read sections 17, 18, 19, and 20, of 
 this discourse.'^ Having read these sections, he 
 touches transiently, but powerfully, the objection to 
 the want of national independence to pass the laws of 
 forfeiture, till that independence was assented to by 
 the king of Great Britain. "When the war com- 
 menced," said he, " these things, called British debts, 
 lost their quality of external obligation, and became 
 matters of internal obligation, because the creditors 
 had no right of constraint over the debtors. They 
 were before the war, matters of perfect external ob- 
 ligation, accompanied by a right of constraint; but 
 the war having taken away this right of constraint 
 over the debtors, they ivere changed into an internal 
 obligation, binding the conscience only. For it will 
 not surely be denied, that the creditor lost the right 
 of constraint over his debtor. 
 
 " From the authority of this respectable author, 
 therefore — from the clearest principles of the laws 
 of nature and nations, these debts became subject to 
 forfeiture or remission. Those authors state, in lan- 
 guage as emphatic and nervous as the human mind 
 can conceive, or the human tongue can utter, that 
 independent nations have the power of confiscating 
 the property of their enemies ; and so had this gal- 
 lant nation. America, being a sovereign and com- 
 
328 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 plete nation, in all its forms and departments, pos- 
 sessed all the rights of the most powerful and ancient 
 nations. Respecting the power of legislation, it was 
 a nation complete, and without human control. Re- 
 specting public justice, it was a nation blessed by 
 Heaven, with the experience of past times ; not like 
 those nations, whose crude systems of jurisprudence 
 originated in the ages of barbarity and ignorance of 
 human rights. America was a sovereign nation, 
 when her sons stepped forth to resist the unjust hand 
 of oppression, and declared themselves independent. 
 The consent of Great Britain was not necessary (as 
 the gentlemen on the other side urge) to create us a 
 nation. Yes, sir, we were a nation, long before the 
 monarch of that little island in the Atlantic ocean 
 gae his 'puny assent to it.'' — These words he accom- 
 panied by a most significant gesture — rising on tip- 
 toe — pointing as to a vast distance, and half-closing 
 his eyelids, as if endeavoring with extreme difficulty, 
 to draw a sight on some object almost too small for 
 vision — and blowing out the words puny assent, with 
 lips curled with unutterable contempt. — " America 
 was, long before that time, a great and gallant na- 
 tion. In the estimation of other nations we were so : 
 the beneficent hand of Heaven enabled her to tri- 
 umph, and secured to her the most sacred rights 
 mortals can enjoy. When these illustrious authors, 
 these friends to human nature, these kind instructors 
 of human errors and frailties,* contemplate the ob- 
 ligations and corresponding rights of nations, and 
 
 * In the second argument, he eulogized the writers on 
 the laws of nations, as " benevolent spirits, who held up the 
 torch of science to a benighted world." 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. $29 
 
 define the internal right, which is without constraint 
 and not binding, do they not understand such rights 
 as these, which the British creditors now claim? 
 Here this man tells us what conscience says ought to 
 be done, and what is compulsory. These British 
 debts must come within the grasp of human power, 
 like all other human things. They ceased to have 
 that external quality, and fell into that mass of power 
 which belong to our legislature by the law of na- 
 tions." 
 
 He comes now to a very serious obstacle, which it 
 required both address and vigor to remove. Vattel, 
 whom he had cited to support his position of the for- 
 feitable character of debts, and who, so far as Mr. 
 Henry had read him, does support him explicitly, an- 
 nexes a qualification to the principle which had been 
 pressed with great power by the gentlemen who 
 opened the cause. The curiosity of the reader will be 
 gratified by seeing the manner in which he sur- 
 mounted the objection. " But we are told, that ad- 
 mitting this to be true in the fullest latitude, yet the 
 customary law of Europe is against the exercise of 
 this power of confiscation of debts; in support of 
 which position, they rely on what is added by Vattel, 
 p. 484. Let us examine what he says : — ^ The sov- 
 ereign has naturally the same right over what his 
 subjects may be indebted to enemies : therefore, he 
 may confiscate debts of this nature, if the term of 
 payment happen in the time of war, or at least he 
 may prohibit his subjects from paying while the war 
 lasts. But at present, in regard to the advantage and 
 safety of commerce, all the sovereigns of Europe have 
 
330 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 departed from this ri^r. And as this custom has 
 generally been received, he who should act contrary 
 to it, would injure the public faith; for strangers 
 trusted his subjects only, from a firm persuasion, that 
 the general custom Avould be observed.' Excellent 
 man 1 and excellent sentiments ! The principle can- 
 not be denied to be good : but when you apply it to 
 the case before the court, does it warrant their con- 
 clusions ? The author says, that although a nation 
 has a right to confiscate debts due by its people to 
 an enemy, yet, at present the custom of Europe is 
 contrary. It is not enough for this author to tell us 
 that this custom is contrary to the right. He admits 
 the right. Let us see w^hether this custom has ex- 
 istence here. Vattel, having spoken of the necessary 
 law of nations, which is immutable, and the obliga- 
 tions whereof are indispensable, proceeds to distin- 
 guish the several other kinds of natural law in the 
 same preliminary discourse, pp. 11 and 12, thus: — 
 
 "^Certain maxims and customs consecrated by long 
 use, and observed by nations, between each other, as 
 a kind of law, form this customary law of nations, or 
 the custom of nations. This law is founded on a 
 tacit consent, or, if you will, on a tacit convention of 
 the nations that observe it with respect to each other. 
 Whence, it appears, that it is only binding to those 
 nations that have adopted it, and that is not univer- 
 sal, any more than conventional laws. It must be 
 here also observed of this customary law, that the 
 particulars relating to it do not belong to a systematic 
 treatise on the law of nations, but that we ought to 
 confine ourselves to the giving a general theory of it, 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 331 
 
 that is, to the rules which here ought to be observed, 
 as well with respect to its effects, as in relation to 
 the matter itself : and in this last respect, these rules 
 will serve to distinguish the lawful and innocent cus- 
 toms, from those that are unjust and illegal! 
 
 '^ ^ When a custom is generally established, either 
 between all the polite nations in the world, or only be- 
 tAveen those of a certain continent, as of Europe for 
 example ; or those who have a more frequent corre- 
 spondence; if that custom is in its own nature indif- 
 ferent, and much more, if it be a wise and useful one, 
 it ought to be obligatory on all those nations who are 
 considered as having given their consent to it. And 
 they are bound to observe it, with respect to each 
 other, while they have not expressly declared that 
 they will not adhere to it. But if that custom con- 
 tains any thing unjust or illegal, it is of no force; 
 and every nation is under an obligation to abandon 
 it, nothing being able to oblige or permit a nation to 
 violate a natural law. 
 
 " ^ These three kinds of the law of nations, volun- 
 tary, conventional, and customary, together, compose 
 the positive law of nations. For they all proceed 
 from the volition of nations ; the voluntary law, from 
 their presumed consent : the conventional law, from 
 an express consent ; and the customary law, from a 
 tacit consent : and as there can be no other manner of 
 deducing any law from the will of nations, there are 
 only these three kinds of the positive law of nations.' 
 
 " This excellent author, after having stated the 
 voluntary law of nations to be the result of the equal- 
 ity of nations, and the conventional law to be partic- 
 ular compacts or treaties, binding only on the con- 
 
332 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 tracting parties, declarea(^hat the customary law of 
 nations is only binding to those nations that have 
 adopted it ; that it is a particular and not a universal 
 law ; that it applies only to distinct nations. The 
 case of Alexander and the Thebans is founded on the 
 general law of nations, applicable to nations at war. 
 It is enough for me then, to show that America, being 
 at war, w^as entitled to the privilege of national law. 
 But, says Vattel, the present state of European re- 
 finement controls the general law (of which he had 
 been before speaking). We know that the customary 
 law of nations can only bind those who are parties 
 to the custom. In the year 1776, when America an- 
 nounced her will to be free, or in the year 1777, when 
 the law concerning British debts passed, was there a 
 customary law of America to this effect ? Or were 
 the customary laws of Europe binding on America ? 
 Were we a party to any such customary law ? Was 
 there any thing in our constitution or laws which tied 
 up our hands ? No, sir. To make this customary 
 law obligatory, the assent of all the parties to be 
 bound by it is necessary. There must be an inter- 
 change of it. It is not for one nation or community 
 to say to another, you are bound by this law, because 
 our kingdom approves of it. It must not only be re- 
 ciprocal in its advantages and principles, but it must 
 have been reciprocal in its exercise. Virginia could 
 not, therefore, be bound by it. Let us see w^hether 
 it could be a hard case on the British creditors, that 
 this customary law of nations did not apply in their 
 favor. Were these debts contracted from a persua- 
 sion of its observance ? Did the creditors trust to 
 this customary law of nations ? ISTo, sir. They 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 333 
 
 trusted to what they thought as firm, the statute and 
 trusieu lu -p, ^_j Victorious and successful 
 
 common law 01 J^ngiana. vii^tuii u ^ 
 
 as their nation had lately been, when they in their 
 
 Side and inconsiderate self-confidence, stretched out 
 
 L hand of oppression, their subjects placed no re- 
 
 liance on the customs of particular nations ihey 
 
 purconMence in those barriers of right, which were 
 
 derived from their own nation. Their reliance was 
 
 th the tribunals established in this country, under 
 
 t same royal authority as -.E^Sl--^' ^^^S 
 them justice. If we were not willing, they possessed 
 he power of compelling us to do them justice. The 
 debts having, therefore, not been contracted from any 
 reliance on' he customary law of nations were they 
 contracted from a regard 'to the rights of com- 
 Zrce « ' From a view of promoting the commerce of 
 Those little things called colonies 1 This -gard could 
 lot have been the ground they -«« «°f ^^f^,^ ^^^ 
 for their conduct evinced that they wished to take the 
 ri'ht of commerce from us. What other ingredient 
 rem ins to show the operation of this custom in the« 
 favor" The book speaks of strangers trusting sub- 
 •ects of a different nation, from a reliance on the ob- 
 jects 01 a a J The fact here was, 
 
 :ra;^Tlotsli:rtTu7ed u. on the footing just 
 Ltd; trusting^o the e-sting compu W P-ess of 
 Inw not relying on a passive inert custom. A tear 
 m' plodding, sagacious trader, would not rely on so 
 fl nisv so uf ert^in a dependance. Something simi- 
 t to' what he thought positive satisfaction, he r. 
 lied on. Were we not subject to the same king ? ihe 
 cases are then at variance. He states the cus om to 
 exist for the advantage of commerce, and that a ae- 
 
334 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 parture from it would i^ire the public faith. Pub- 
 lic faith is iu this case out of the question. The 
 public faith was not pledged — it could not therefore 
 be injured. I have already read to your honors from 
 the 11th page of the preliminary discourse of Yattel, 
 ^ that the customary law of nations is only binding 
 on those who have adopted it, and that it is not uni- 
 versal, any more than conventional laws.' It is evi- 
 dent we could not be bound by any convention or 
 treaty to which we ourselves were not a party : and 
 from this authority it is equally obvious, that we 
 could not be bound by any customary law to which 
 we were not parties. 
 
 " I think, therefore, with great submission to the 
 court, that the right for which I contended, that is, 
 that in common wars between independent nations, 
 either of the contending parties has a right to con- 
 fiscate or remit debts due by its people to the enemy, 
 is not shaken by the customary laAV of nations, as far 
 as it regards us, because the custom could not affect 
 us. But the gentlemen say we were not completely 
 independent till the year 1783 ! To take them on 
 their own ground, their arguments will fail them. 
 There is a customary law which will operate pretty 
 strongly on our side of the question. What were the 
 inducements of the debtor ? On what did the Ameri- 
 can debtor rely ? Sir, he relied for protection on 
 that system of common and statute law on which the 
 creditors depended. Was he deceived in that reli- 
 ance? That he was most miserably deceived, I be- 
 lieve will not admit of a doubt. The customary law 
 of nations will only apply to distinct nations, mu- 
 tually consenting thereto. When tyranny attempted 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 335 
 
 to rivet her chains upon us, and we boldly broke them 
 asunder, we were remitted to that amplitude of free- 
 dom which the beneficent hand of Nature gave us. 
 We were not bound by fetters which are of benefit 
 to one party, while they are destructive to the other. 
 Would it be proper that we should be bound, and they 
 unrestrained ? '' As a still further answer to the ob- 
 jection, and as giving the only rule of restraint in 
 operating on the property of a belligerent, he cites 
 the following principle from Vattel, and applies it 
 to the actual state of America : " Vattel, book the 
 3d, ch. 8, sect. 137, says, that ' the lawful end gives 
 a true right only to those means which are necessary 
 for obtaining such end. Whatever exceeds this, if^ 
 censured by the laws of nature as faulty, and Avill be 
 condemned at the tribunal of conscience. Hence it 
 is, that the right to such or such acts of hostility 
 varies according to their circumstances. What is 
 just and perfectly innocent in a war, in one particu- 
 lar situation, is not always so in another. Right goes 
 hand in hand with necessity, and the exigency of the 
 case ; but never exceeds it.' This, sir, is the first dic- 
 tate of nature, and the practice of nations; and if 
 your misfortunes and distresses should be sad and 
 dreadful, you are let loose from those common re- 
 straints which may be proper on common occasions, 
 in order to preserve the great rights of human na- 
 ture. 
 
 ^' This is laid down by that great writer in clear 
 and unequivocal terms. If then, sir, it be certain, 
 from a recurrence to facts, that it was necessary for 
 America to seize on British property, this book war- 
 rants the legislature of this state in passing those con- 
 
336 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 fiscating and prohibitoiy laws. I need only refer to 
 your recollection, for onr pressing situation during 
 the late contest ; and liappy am I, that this all-im- 
 portant question comes on, before the heads of those 
 who were actors in the great scene are laid in the 
 dust. An uninformed posterity would be unac- 
 quainted with the awful necessity which impelled us 
 on. If the means were within reach, we were war- 
 ranted by the laws of nature and nations to use them. 
 The fact was, that we were attacked by one of the 
 most formidable nations under heaven ; a nation that 
 carried terror and dread with its thunder to both 
 hemispheres." — [This illustration of the power of 
 Great Britain was, if we may trust respectable tra- 
 dition, much more expanded than we find it in the re- 
 port ; and such was the force of his imagination, and 
 the irresistible energy of his delivery and action, that 
 the audience now felt themselves instinctively recoil- 
 ing from the tremendous power of that very nation, 
 which but a short time before had been exhibited as 
 a mere dot in the Atlantic, a point so microscopic as 
 to be scarcely visible to the naked eye : he proceeds to 
 close the first member of his first point thus:] — 
 " Our united property enabled us to look in the face 
 that mighty people. Dared we to have gone in op- 
 position to them bound hand and foot ? Would we 
 have dared to resist them fettered ? for we should 
 have been fettered, if we had been deprived of so con- 
 siderable a part of our little stock of national re- 
 sources. In that most critical and dangerous emer- 
 gency, our all was but a little thing. Had we a treas- 
 ury — an exchequer ? Had we commerce ? Had we 
 any revenue ? Had we any thing from which a iia- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. SSf 
 
 tion could draw wealth? 'No, sir. Our credit be- 
 came the scorn of our foes. However, the efforts of 
 certain patriotic characters (there were not a few of 
 them, thank Heaven) gave us credit among our own 
 people. But we had not a farthing to spare. We 
 were obliged to go on a most grievous anticipation, 
 the weight of which we feel at this day. Kecur to 
 our actual situation, and the means we had of de- 
 fending ourselves. The actual situation of America 
 is described here, where this author says, ' that right 
 goes hand in hand with necessity/ The necessity be- 
 ing great and dreadful, you are warranted to lay 
 hold of every atom of money within your reach, es- 
 pecially if it be the money of your enemies. It is 
 prudent and necessary to strengthen yourselves and 
 weaken your enemies. Vattel, book 3d, ch. 8, sect. 
 138, says, ' The business of a just war being to sup- 
 press violence and injustice, it gives a right to com- 
 pel, by force, him who is deaf to the voice of justice. 
 It gives a right of doing against the enemy, whatever 
 is necessary for weakening him — for disabling him 
 from making any farther resistance in support of his 
 injustice — and the most effectual, the most proper 
 methods may be chosen, provided they have nothing 
 odious, be not unlawful in themselves, or exploded by 
 the law of nature/ Here let me pause for a moment, 
 and ask, whether it be odious in itself, or exploded by 
 the law of nature, to seize those debts ? 
 
 " No ! because the money was taken from the very 
 offenders. We fought for the great, unalienable, he- 
 reditary rights of human nature. An unwarrantable 
 attack was made upon us. An attack, not only not 
 congenial with motherly or parental tenderness, but 
 
338 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 incompatible with the j^nciples of humanity or civ- 
 ilization. Our defence then was a necessary one. 
 What says Vattel, book 3d, ch. 8, sect. 136 ?— ' The 
 end of a just war is to revenge or prevent injury; 
 that is, to procure by force the justice which cannot 
 otherwise be obtained ; to compel an unjust person to 
 repair an injury already done, or to give securities 
 against any wrong threatened by him. On a dec- 
 laration of war, therefore, this nation has a right of 
 doing against the enemy whatever is necessary to this 
 justifiable end of bringing him to reason, and ob- 
 taining justice and security from him.' We have 
 taken nothing in this necessary defence, but from the 
 very offenders — those who unjustly attacked us : for 
 we had a right of considering every individual of the 
 British nation as an enemy. This I prove by the 
 same great writer, p. 519, sect. 139, of the same 
 book : — ^ An enemy attacking me unjustly gives an 
 undoubted right of repelling his violences ; and he 
 who opposes me in arms, when I demand only my 
 right, becomes himself the real aggressor, by his un- 
 just resistance. He is the first author of the violence, 
 and obliges me to make use of force, for securing my- 
 self against the wrongs intended me either in my 
 person or possessions ; for if the effects of this force 
 proceed so far as to take away his life, he owes the 
 misfortune to himself; for, if by sparing him, 1 
 should submit to the injury, the good would soon be- 
 come the prey of the wicked. Hence the right of 
 killing enemies in a just war is derived ; when their 
 resistance cannot be suppressed — when they are not 
 to be reduced by milder methods, there is a right of 
 taking aAvay their life. Under the name of enemies, 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 339 
 
 as we have already shown, are comprehended not only 
 the first author of the war, but likewise all who join 
 him, and fight for his cause.' Thus I think the first 
 part of my position confirmed and unshaken ; that in 
 common wars, a nation not restrained by the custo- 
 mary law of nations, has a right to confiscate debts." 
 
 In the second member of that point, he is released 
 from the servility of quotation ; and, to borrow a 
 phrase of his own, " remitted to the amplitude '' of 
 his natural genius, the reader will therefore be 
 amused by a more copious extract : — " From this I 
 will go on to the other branch of my position : that if, 
 in common wars, debts be liable to forfeiture, a 
 fortiori, must they be so in a revolution War. Let 
 me contrast the late war with wars in common. Ac- 
 cording to those people called kings, wars in common 
 are systematic and produced for trifles ; for not con- 
 forming to imaginary honors ; because you have not 
 lowered your flag before him at sea ; or for a supposed 
 affront to the person of an ambassador. ^Nations are 
 set by the ears, and the most horrid devastations are 
 brought on mankind, for the most frivolous causes. 
 If then, when small matters are a contest, debts be 
 forfeitable, what must have accrued to us, as engaged 
 in the late revolution war — a war commenced in at- 
 tainder, perfidy, and confiscation ? If we take with 
 us this great principle of Vattel, that right goes in 
 hand with necessity, and consider the peculiar situa- 
 tion of the American people, we will find reason more 
 than sufficient to give us a right of confiscating those 
 debts. 
 
 "The most striking peculiarity attended the Amer- 
 
340 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 ican war. In the first of f^we were stripped of every 
 municipal right. Rights and obligations are corre- 
 spondent, co-extensive, and inseparable — they must 
 exist together, or not at all. We were, therefore, 
 when stripped of all onr municipal rights, clear of 
 every municipal obligation, burden, and onerous en- 
 gagement. If then the obligation be gone, what is 
 become of the correspondent right ? They are mu- 
 tually gone.'' — These little words, " they are mu- 
 tually gone,'' which would have made no figure in the 
 pronunciation of an ordinary speaker, are said to 
 have formed a beautiful picture, as delivered by Mr. 
 Henry: his eyes seemed to have pursued these asso- 
 ciated objects to the extremest verge of mortal sight, 
 while the fall of his voice, and correspondent fall of 
 his extended hand, with the palm downward, de- 
 picted the idea of evanescence with indescribable 
 force ; the audience might imagine, that they saw the 
 objects at the very instant when they vanished in the 
 distance, and became commingled with the air: and 
 all this, too, without any affected pause to give it 
 effect ; without any apparent effort on his part ; but 
 with all the quickness of thought and all the ease of 
 nature. — " The case of sovereign and independent 
 nations at war is far different ; because, there private 
 right is respected and domestic asylum held sacred. 
 Was it the case in our war. 'No, sir. Daggers were 
 planted in your chambers, and mischief, death, and 
 destruction, might meet you at your fireside. 
 
 ^* There is an essential variance between the late 
 war and common wars. In common wars, children 
 are not obliged to fight against their fathers, nor 
 brothers against brothers, nor kindred against kin- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 34:1 
 
 dred. Our men were compelled, contrary to the most 
 sacred ties of humanity, to shed the blood of their 
 dearest connections. In common wars, contending 
 parties respect municipal rights, and leave even to 
 those they invade, the means of paying debts, ^ and 
 complying with obligations; they touch not private 
 property. For example, when a British army lands 
 in France, they plunder nothing: they pay for what 
 they have, and respect the tribunals of justice, unless 
 they have a mind to be called a savage nation. Were 
 we thus treated ? Were we permitted to exercise in- 
 dustry and to collect debts, by which we might be 
 enabled to pay British creditors ? Had we a power 
 to pursue commerce ? Ko, sir. What became of our 
 ao-riculture ? Our inhabitants were mercilessly and 
 brutallly plundered, and our enemies professed to 
 maintain their army by those means only. Our 
 slaves carried away, our crops burnt, a^ cruel war 
 carried on against our agriculture — disability to pay 
 debts produced by pillage and devastation, contrary 
 to every principle of national law. From that series 
 of plenty in which we had been accustomed to live 
 and to revel, we were plunged into every species of 
 human calamity. Our lives attacked, charge of reb- 
 els fixed upon us, confiscation and attainder de- 
 nounced against the whole continent ; and he that was 
 called king of England sat judge upon our case ; he 
 pronounced his judgment, not like those to whom 
 poetic fancy has given existence — not like him who 
 sits in the infernal regions, and dooms to the Stygian 
 lake those spirits who deserve it, because he spares 
 the innocent, and sends some to the fields of Elysium 
 — not like Mm who sat in ancient imperial Home, 
 
3-1:2 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 and wished the people nad but one neck, that he 
 might at one blow strike off their heads, and spare 
 himself the trouble of carnage and massacre, because 
 one city would have satisfied his vengeance — not like 
 any of his fellow-men, for nothing would satiate his 
 sanguinary ferocity, but the indiscriminate destruc- 
 tion of a whole continent, involving the innocent with 
 the guilty. Yes, he sat in judgment with his coadju- 
 tors, and pronounced proscription, attainder, and for- 
 feiture, against men, women, and even children at 
 the breast. Is not this description pointedly true in 
 all its parts ? And wJio were his coadjutors and exe- 
 cutioners in this strange court of judicature ? Like 
 the fiends of poetic imagination — Hessians, Indians, 
 and Negroes, were his coadjutors and executioners. 
 Is there any thing in this sad detail of offences which 
 is unfounded 1 any thing not enforced by the act of 
 parliament against America ? We were thereby 
 driven out of their protection, and branded by the 
 epithet rebels. The term rehel may not now appear 
 in all its train of horrid consequences. We know that 
 when a person is called rehel by that government, his 
 goods and life are forfeited, and his very blood pro- 
 nounced to be corrupted, and the severity of the pun- 
 ishment entailed on his posterity. To whom may we 
 apply for the verity of this ? The jurisprudence and 
 history of that nation prove, that, when they speak 
 of rebels, nothing but blood will satisfy them. Is 
 there nothing hideous in this part of the portrait ? 
 It is unparalleled in the annals of mankind. Though 
 I have respect for individuals of that nation, my 
 duty constrains me to speak thus, 
 
 " When we contemplate this mode of warfare, and 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 343 
 
 the sentiments of the writers on natural law on this 
 subject, we are justified in saying, that in this revolu- 
 tion war, we had a right to consider British debts as 
 ^^ubject to confiscation, and to seize the property of 
 those who originated that war. As to the injuries 
 done to agriculture, they appear in a diminutive 
 view, when compared to the injuries and indignities 
 offered to persons, and mansions of abode. Sir, from 
 your seat you might have seen instances of the most 
 grievous hostility: not only private property wan- 
 tonly pillaged, but men, women, and children, 
 dragged publicly from their habitations, and indis- 
 criminately devoted to destruction. The rights of 
 humanity Vere sacrificed. We were then deprived 
 not only of the benefits of municipal, but natural 
 law. If there shall grow out of these considerations 
 a palpable disability to pay those debts, I ask if the 
 claim be just ? For that disability was produced by 
 those excesses, by those very men who come on us now 
 for payment. Here give me leave to say, that they 
 sold us a bad title in whatever they sold us, in real 
 as well as in personal property. Describe the nature 
 of a debt : it is an engagement or promise to pay, but 
 it must be for a valuable consideration. If this be 
 clear, was not the title, to whatever property they 
 sold us, bad in every sense of the word, when the war 
 followed ? What can add value to property ? Force. 
 Notwithstanding the equity and fairness of the debt 
 when incurred, if the security of the property re- 
 ceived was afterward destroyed, the title has proved 
 defective. Suppose millions were contracted for and 
 received, those millions give you no advantage, with- 
 out force to protect them. This necessary protection 
 
344: LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 is withdrawn by the vei|f men who were bound to 
 afford it, and who now demand payment. ^N^either 
 lands, slaves, nor other property are worth a shilling, 
 without protecting force. This title was destroyed, 
 when the act of parliament, putting us out of their 
 protection, passed against iimerica. I say, sir, the 
 title was destroyed by the very offenders who come 
 here now and demand payment. Justice and equity 
 cancel the obligation as to the price that was to be 
 given for it, because the tenure is destroyed, and the 
 effects purchased have no value. Such a claim is un- 
 supported by the plainest notions of right and wrong. 
 For this long catalogue of offences committed against 
 the citizens of America, every individual of the Brit- 
 ish nation is accountable. How are you to be com- 
 pensated for those depredations on persons and prop- 
 erty ? x\re you to go to the kingdom of England, to 
 find tJie very individual who did you the outrage, and 
 demand satisfaction of him ? To tell you of such a 
 remedy as this, is adding insult to injury. Every in- 
 dividual is chargeable with national offences." 
 
 To maintain this last position, he cites an authority 
 expressly in point, from Yattel, and proceeds thus : — 
 " These observations of Vattel amount to this : that 
 a king or conductor of a nation is considered as a 
 moral person, by means of whom the nation acquires 
 or loses its rights, and subjects itself to penalties. 
 The individuals, and the nation which they compose, 
 are one. I will therefore take it for granted, that 
 whatever violences and excesses were committed on 
 this continent are chargeable to the plaintiff in this 
 very action. Eecollect our distressed situation. We 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 345 
 
 had no exchequer, no finances, no army, no navy, no 
 common means of defence. Our necessity, dire neces- 
 sity compelled us to throw aside those rules which re- 
 spect private property, and to make impresses on our 
 own citizens to support the war. Right and necessity 
 being co-extensive, we were compelled to exert a right 
 the most eminent over the whole community. The 
 salus populi demanded what we did. If we had a 
 right to disregard the legal fences thrown round the 
 property of our citizens, had we not a greater right 
 to take British property ? 
 
 ^' Another peculiarity contributes to aid our de- 
 fence. The want of an exchequer obliged us to emit 
 paper money, and compel our citizens to receive it for 
 gold. In the ears of some men this sounds harshly. 
 But they are young men, who do not know and feel 
 the irresistible necessity that urged us. Would your 
 armies have been raised, clothed, maintained, or kept 
 together without paper money ? Without it, the war 
 would have stood still, resistance to tyranny would 
 have stopped, and despotism, with all its horrid train 
 of appurtenances, must have depressed your country. 
 We compelled the people to receive it in payment of 
 all debts, we induced and invited them (if we did not 
 compel them) to put it into the treasury, as a com- 
 plete discharge from their debts. Sir, I trust I shall 
 not live to see the day, when the public councils of 
 America will give ground to say that this was a 
 state trick, contrived to delude and defraud the citi- 
 zens. What must it be ostensibly, when, by the com- 
 pact of your nation, they had publicly bound and 
 pledged themselves, that it was and should be money, 
 if afterward, in the course of human events, when 
 
346 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 temptations present themselves, tliey shall declare 
 that it is not money ? Sir, the honest planter is un- 
 skilled in political tricks and deceptions. His in- 
 terest ought never to be sacrificed. The law is his 
 guide. The law compelled him to receive it, and his 
 countrymen would have branded him with the name 
 of enemy if he had refused it. The laws of the 
 country are as sacred as the imaginary sanctity of 
 British debts. Sir, national engagements ought to 
 be held sacred ; the public violation of this solemn 
 engagement will destroy all confidence in the govern- 
 ment. If you depart from the national compact one 
 iota, you give a dangerous precedent, which may im- 
 perceptibly and gradually introduce the most de- 
 structive encroachment on human rights." 
 
 '&' 
 
 He then proceeds to notice more directly the objec- 
 tion, that we were not a people competent for legis- 
 lation till the assent of the British king was given to 
 our independence : — ^^ I will beg leave here to dissent 
 from the position of the gentleman on the other side, 
 which denied that we were a people, till our enemies 
 were pleased to say we were so. That we were a 
 people, and had a right to do every thing which a 
 great and a royal — nay, an imperial people could do, 
 is clear and indisputable. Though under the humble 
 appearance of republicanism, our government and 
 national existence, when examined, are as solid as a 
 rock — not resting on the mere fraud and oppression 
 of rulers, nor the credulity, nor barbarous ignorance 
 of the people ; but founded on the consent and con- 
 viction of enlightened human nature. That Ave had 
 every right that completely independent nations can 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 347 
 
 liave, will be satisfactorily proved to your honors, by 
 again referring to Vattel." He then cites and reads 
 a passage from Vattel, the effect of which is, that 
 during a civil war, the parties, acknowledging no 
 common judge on earth are to be considered as two 
 distinct peoples ; and to govern themselves in the con- 
 duct of the war by the general laws of nations. After 
 which he proceeds thus : — 
 
 " Here then, sir, is proof abundant, that before the 
 acknowledgment of American independence by Great 
 Britain, we had a right to be considered as a nation ; 
 because, on earth we had no common superior, to 
 give a decision of the dispute between us and our 
 sovereign. After declaring ourselves a sovereign 
 people, we had every right a nation can claim as an 
 independent community. But the gentlemen on the 
 other side greatly rely upon this principle, that a 
 contract cannot be dissolved without the consent of 
 all the contracting parties: the inference is, that the 
 consent of the king of Great Britain was necessary to 
 the dissolution of the government. Tyranny has too 
 often, and too successfully, riveted its chains, to war- 
 rant a belief, that a tyrant will ever voluntarily re- 
 lease his subjects from the governmental compact. 
 Rather might it be expected, that the last iota of hu- 
 man misery would be borne, and the oppression 
 would descend from father to son, to the latest period 
 of earthly existence. The despotism of our sovereign 
 ought to be considered as an implied consent, on his 
 part, to dissolve the compact between us ; and he and 
 his subjects must be considered as one — there can be 
 no distinction. For, in any other view, his consent 
 
348 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 could not have been oWained without force. There 
 is such a thing, indeed, as tyranny from free choice. 
 Sweden not long ago surrendered its liberties in one 
 day, as Denmark had done formerly ; so that this 
 branch of the human family is cut off from every 
 possible enjoyment of human rights. But the right 
 to resist oppression is not denied. The gentlemen's 
 doctrine cannot therefore apply to national communi- 
 ties. If any additional force was wanting to confirm 
 wdiat I advance, it would be derived from the treaty 
 of peace, .which further proves, that we were entitled 
 to all the privileges of independent nations. The 
 consent of all the people of Europe said we were 
 free. Our former master withheld his consent till a 
 few unlucky events compelled him. And when he 
 gave his fiat, it gave us, by relation back to the time 
 of the declaration of independence, all the rights and 
 privileges of a completely sovereign nation : our inde- 
 pendence was acknowledged by him, previous to the 
 completion of the treaty of peace. It was not a con- 
 dition of the treaty, but was acknowledged, by hi*:; 
 own overture, preparatory to it. View the conse- 
 quences of their fatal doctrine. There would not 
 only have been long arrears of debts to pay, but a 
 long catalogue of crimes to be punished. If the ulti- 
 mate acknowledgment of our independence by Great 
 Britain had no relation back to the time of the dec- 
 laration of independence, all the intermediate acts 
 of legislation would be void — and every decision and 
 act, consequent thereon, would be null. But, sir, we 
 were a complete nation on every principle, according 
 to the authorities I have already read ; in addition to 
 which I will refer your honors to Vattel, book iv. ch. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 349 
 
 vii. sect. 88, to sliow we were entitled to the benefits 
 of national law, and to use all the resources of the 
 community : ^ From the equality of all nations really 
 sovereign and independent, it is a principle of the 
 voluntary law of nations, that no nation can control 
 another in its internal municipal legislation.' If we 
 consider the business of confiscation according to the 
 immemorial usages of Great Britain, we will find, 
 that the law and practice of that country support my 
 position. In the wars which respect revolutions 
 which have taken place in that island — life, fortune, 
 goods, debts, and every thing else were confiscated. 
 The crimen Iwsce majestatis, (the crime of treason) 
 as it is called, involved every thing. Every possible 
 punishment has been inflicted on suffering humanity 
 that it could endure, by the party which had the su- 
 periority in those wars, over the defeated party, 
 which was charged with rebellion. 
 
 " What would have been the consequences, sir, if 
 we had been conquered ? Were we not fighting 
 against that majesty ? W^ould the justice of our op- 
 position have been considered ? The most horrid for- 
 feitures, confiscations, and attainders, would have 
 been pronounced against us. Consider their history, 
 from the time of William the First till this day. 
 Were not his xQ^ormans gratified with the confiscation 
 of the richest estates in England ? Read the excessive 
 cruelties, attainders, and confiscations, of that reign. 
 England depopulated, its inhabitants stripped of the 
 dearest privileges of humanity, degraded with the 
 most ignominious badges of bondage, and totally de- 
 prived of the power of resistance to usurpation and 
 tyranny. This inability continued to the time of 
 
350 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 Henry the Eighth. In J|^ reign, the business of con- 
 fiscation and attainder, made considerable havoc. 
 After his reign, some stop was put to that effusion of 
 blood which preceded and happened under it. Re- 
 collect the sad and lamentable effects of the York and 
 Lancastrian wars. Remember the rancorous hatred 
 and inveterate detestations of contending factions — 
 the distinction of the white and red roses. To come 
 a little lower — what happened in that island in the 
 rebellions of 1715 and 1745 ? If we had been con- 
 quered,^ would not our men have shared the fate of the 
 people of Ireland ? A great part of that island was 
 confiscated, though the Irish people thought them- 
 selves engaged in a laudable cause. What confisca- 
 tion and punishments were inflicted in Scotland ? 
 The plains of Culloden, and the neighboring gibbets, 
 would show you. I thank Heaven that the spirit of 
 liberty, under the protection of the Almighty, saved 
 us from experiencing so hard a destiny. But had we 
 been subdued, would not every right have been 
 wrested from us ? What right would have been 
 saved ? Would debts have been saved ? Would it not 
 be absurd, to save debts, while they should burn, 
 hang, and destroy ? Before we can decide with pre- 
 cision, we are to consider the dangers we should have 
 been exposed to had we been subdued. After pre- 
 senting to your view this true picture of what would 
 have been our situation, had we been subjugated, 
 surely a correspondent right will be found, growing 
 out of the law of nations, in our favor. Had our sub- 
 jugation been effected, and we pleaded for pardon, 
 represented that we defended the most valuable 
 rights of human nature, and thought they were 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 351 
 
 wrong, would our petition have availed ? I feel my- 
 self impelled, from what has passed, to ask this ques- 
 tion. I would not wish to have lived to see the sad 
 scenes we should have experienced. Needy avarice, 
 and savage cruelty, would have had full scope. Hun- 
 gry Germans, blood-thirsty Indians, and nations of 
 another color, would have been let loose upon us. 
 The sad effects of such warfare have had their full 
 influence on a number of our fellow-citizens. Sir, if 
 you had seen the sad scenes which I have known ; if 
 you had seen the simple but tranquil felicity of help- 
 less and unoffending women and children, in little log- 
 huts on the frontiers, disturbed and destroyed by the 
 sad effects of British warfare and Indian butchery, 
 your soul would have been struck with horror ! Even 
 those helpless women and children were the objects of 
 the most shocking barbaritv. 
 
 " Give me leave again to recur to Yattel, p. 9 : — 
 ^ Nations being free, independent, and equal, and 
 having a right to judge, according to the dictates of 
 conscience, of what is to be done in order to fulfil its 
 duties ; the effect of all this is, the producing, at least 
 externally and among men, a perfect equality of 
 rights between nations, in the administration of their 
 affairs, and the pursuit of their pretensions, without 
 regard to the intrinsic justice of their conduct, of 
 which others have no right to form a definitive judg- 
 ment : so that what is permitted in one, is also per- 
 mitted in the other ; and they ought to be considered 
 in human society as having an equal right' If it 
 be allowed to the British nation to put to death, to 
 forfeit and confiscate debts and every thing else, may 
 we not (having an equal right) confiscate — not lif^ 
 
352 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 for we never desire it — Tat that which is the common 
 object of confiscation — property, goods, and debts, 
 which strengthen ourselves and weaken our enemies ? 
 I trnct that this short recapitulation of events shows, 
 that if there ever was in the history of man a case 
 requiring the full use of all human means, it was 
 our case in the late contest ; and we were therefore 
 warranted to confiscate the British debts.'' 
 
 He now takes another gi'ound to establish the con- 
 fiscation. I shall give his whole argument on this 
 point in his own words : — 
 
 " I beg leave to add that these debts ere lost on an- 
 other principle. By the dissolution of the British 
 government, America went into a state of nature — 
 on the dissolution of that of which we had been mem- 
 bers, there being no government antecedent, we went 
 necessarily into a state of nature. To prove this, I 
 need only refer to the declaration of independence, 
 pronounced on the fourth day of July, 1776, and 
 our state constitution." — Here Mr. Henry read part 
 of the constitution. — " It recites many instances of 
 misrule by the king of England — it asserts the right 
 and expediency of dissolving the British government, 
 and going into a state of nature ; or, in other words, 
 to establish a new government. The right of dis- 
 solving it, and forming a new system, had preceded 
 the fourth day of July, 1776. A recapitulation of 
 the events of the tyrannical acts of government, 
 w^ould demonstrate a right to dissolve it. But I may 
 go further, and even say, that the act of parliament 
 which declared us out of the king's protection, dis- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 353 
 
 solved it. For what is government ? It is an express 
 or implied compact between the rulers and ruled, stip- 
 ulating reciprocal protection and obedience. That 
 protection was withdrawn, solemnly withdrawn from 
 us. Of consequence, obedience ceased to be due. 
 Our municipal rights were taken away by one blow. 
 Municipal obligations and government were also 
 taken away by the same blow. Well, then, there 
 being no antecedent government, we returned into a 
 state of nature. Unless we did so, our new compact 
 of government could only be a usurpation. In a 
 state of nature there is no legal lien in the person or 
 property of any one. If you are not clear of every 
 antecedent engagement, what is the legality or 
 strength of the present constitution of government? 
 If any antecedent engagements are to bind, how far 
 are they to reach ? You had no right to form a new 
 government, if the old system existed ; and if it did 
 not exist, you were necessarily and inevitably in a 
 state of nature. In my humble opinion, by giving 
 validity to such claims, you destroy the very idea of 
 the right to form a new government. Vattel calls 
 government the totality of persons, estates, and ef- 
 fects, formed by every individual of the new society, 
 and that totality represented by the governing power. 
 How can the totality exist while an antecedent right 
 exists elsewhere? See Grotius, p. 4, which I have 
 already read, and note 29: because the design and 
 good of civil society necessarily require, that the nat- 
 ural and acquired rights of each member should 
 admit of limitations several ways, and to a certain de- 
 gree, by the authority of him or them, in whose hands 
 the sovereign authority is lodged. When we formed 
 
S54r LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY„ 
 
 a new government, did mere exist any authority that 
 limited our rights? How can the totality exist, if 
 any other person or persons have an existing claim 
 upon you ? It appears to me, that that equality which 
 is involved in a state of nature cannot exist while such 
 claim exists. The court will recollect what I have al- 
 ready read out of Yattel, in the sections 15 and 18. 
 The equality here ascribed to independent nations is 
 equally ascribed to men in a state of nature. A 
 moral society of persons cannot exist without this ab- 
 solute equality. The existence of individuals in a 
 state of nature, depends in like manner upon, and is 
 inseparable from such equality. 
 
 ^'" Rights, as before-mentioned, Vattel, pp. 8 and 9, 
 are divided into interiml and external: of external 
 rights, he makes the distinction of perfect and im- 
 i:)erfect. I beseech your honors to fix this distinction 
 in your minds. The perfect external right only is 
 accomjoanied with the right of constraint. The im- 
 perfect right loses that quality, and leaves it to the 
 party to comply or not to comply with it. When the 
 former government was dissolved, the American peo- 
 ple became indebted to nobody. You either owe 
 every thing or nothing — and every contract and en- 
 gagement must be done away, if any. In a state of 
 nature you are free and equal. But how are you free, 
 if another have a lien on your body ? Where is your 
 freedom, or your equality with that person who has 
 the right of constraining you ? This right of con- 
 straint implies a complete authority over you, but not 
 however to enslave you. This constraint is always 
 adequate to the right or obligation. Where can you 
 find the possibility of this equality which nature 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 355 
 
 gives her sons, if we admit an existing right of con- 
 straint ? If it be a fact, that on the dissolution of 
 the government we did enter into a state of nature, 
 (and that we did, I humbly judge, cannot be denied, 
 as at that time no government existed at all,) it de- 
 stroys all claim to one farthing. This will be found 
 to be true, as well upon the ground of equity and good 
 coiiscience as in law, when it is considered, that when 
 we went into a state of nature, the means of paying- 
 debts were taken away from us by them ; because, so 
 far as they had power over us, they prevented us from 
 getting money to pay debts. They interdicted us 
 from the pursuit of profitable commerce; from get- 
 ting gold and silver, the only things they would take 
 — they unjustly drove us to this extremity. By the 
 concession of the worthy gentlemen, their attack upon 
 us was unjust. 
 
 ^^ But, then, debts are not subject to confiscation, 
 say gentlemen, because there were no inquests, no 
 office found for the commonwealth. Has a debt an 
 ear-mark ? Is it tangible or visible ? Has it any dis- 
 criminating quality ? Unless tangible or visible, how 
 is it to be ascertained or distinguished ? What does 
 an inquest mean ? A solemn inquiry by a jury, by 
 ocular examination, with other proofs. If an in- 
 quest of office were to be had of land, a jury could tell 
 the lines and boundaries of it, because they may be 
 distinguished from others, and its identity may 
 thereby be ascertained. If a horse be the object of 
 inquiry, he can be easily distinguished from any other 
 horse. In like manner every other article of visible 
 property may be subject to inquests ; but such a thing 
 as an inquest of a debt never existed, as far as my; 
 
356 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 legal knowledge extencre. What are to be the con- 
 sequences, if this proceeding be requisite ? You must 
 set up a court of inquisition, summon the whole na- 
 tion, and ask every man liow much do you owe? 
 This would be productive of endless confusion, per- 
 plexity and expense, without the desired effect. 
 
 " The laws of war and of nations require no more 
 than that the sovereign power should openly signify 
 its will, that the debts be forfeited. There is no par- 
 ticular forensic form necessary. The question here is 
 not, whether this confiscation be traversed in all the 
 forms of municipal regulations. There is a question 
 between Great Britain and America similar to that 
 between Alexander and the Thebans : Has the sov- 
 ereign signified his pleasure that debts be remitted? 
 A sign is completely sufficient, if it be understood by 
 the people. There is a necessity of thus speaking the 
 legislative will, that the other party may know it, 
 and retaliate ; for what is allowed to one, is allowed 
 to both parties. This was different from the nature 
 of a solemn war. War is lawful or unlawful, accord- 
 ing to the manner of conducting it. In the prosecu- 
 tion of a lawful solemn war, it is necessary that you 
 do not depart from certain rules of moderation, 
 honor, and humanity, but act according to the usual 
 practice of belligerent powers. 
 
 ^^ Did the mother-country conduct the war against 
 us in this manner ? We did openly say, we mean to 
 confiscate your debts, and modify them, because they 
 have lost their perfect external quality — they are im- 
 perfect — we claim that right, as a sovereign people, 
 over that species of your property. Sir, it was not 
 done in a corner. It was understood by our ene- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 357 
 
 mies. They had a right to retaliate on any species of 
 our property they could find. The right of retalia- 
 tion, or just retortion, for equivalent damage on any 
 part of an enemy's property, is permitted to every 
 nation. What right has the British nation (for if 
 the nation have not the right, none of its people have) 
 to demand a breach of faith in the American govern- 
 ment to its citizens. I have already mentioned the 
 engagement of the government with its citizens re- 
 specting the paper-money — // you take it, it shall he 
 money. Shall it be judged now not to be money? 
 Shall this compact be broken for the sake of the 
 British nation ? No, sir, the language of national 
 law is otherwise. Sir, the laws of confiscation and 
 paper-money made together one system, connected 
 and sanctioned by the legislature, on which depended 
 once the fate of our country, and on which depend 
 now the happiness, the ease, and comfort of thou- 
 sands of your fellow-citizens. 
 
 " Will it not be a breach of the compact with your 
 people, to say that the money is not to keep up its 
 original standard in the quality given it by law? 
 Wliat were the effects of this system ? What would 
 have been the effects, had your citizens been apprized 
 that British debts must be paid ? Would they have 
 taken the money? Would they have deposited the 
 money in the loan-office, if they had been warned by 
 law, that they must deposit it, subject to the future 
 regulations of peace ; that it should not release them 
 from the creditors? However right it may appear 
 now to decry the paper-money, it would have been 
 fatal then; for America might have perished, with- 
 out the aid and effect of that medium. Your citizens, 
 
368 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 trusting to this compaff, submitted to a number of 
 things almost intolerable — impressments and vio- 
 lences on their property — it encouraged them to exert 
 themselves in defence of their property against the 
 enemy during the war. If the debt in the declaration 
 mentioned be recovered, the compact is subverted, as 
 respecting the paper-money. And this subversion is to 
 take effect for the interest of those men, whom, by 
 all laws human and divine, we were obliged to con- 
 sider as enemies ; men who were obliged to comply 
 with the regulations and requisitions of their king; 
 and our people will have been laboring, not for them- 
 selves, but for the benefit of the British subject. 
 
 " When a vessel is in danger in a storm, those who 
 abide on board of her, and encoimter the dangers of 
 the sea to save her, are allowed some little compensa- 
 tion for salvage ; for their fidelity and gallantry in 
 endeavoring to prevent her loss; while those who 
 abandon her are entitled to nothing. But, in oppo- 
 sition to this wise and politic principle, we, who have 
 withstood the storms and dangers, receive no com- 
 pensation ; but those who left the political ship, and 
 joined those on the other side of the water who 
 wished to sink her, and who caused her to fight eight 
 long years for her preservation, shall come in at last, 
 and get their full share of this vessel, and yet will 
 have been exonerated from every charge. 
 
 " For whom, then, were the people of America en- 
 gaged in wa-r ? ^ot for themselves, I am sure — the 
 property that they saved will not be for themselves, 
 but for those whom they had a right to call enemies. 
 I am not willing to ascribe to the meanest American 
 the love of money, or desire of eluding the payment 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 359 
 
 of his debts, as the motive of engaging in the war. 
 !N"o, sir. He had nobler and better views. But he 
 thinks himself well entitled to those debts, from the 
 laws and usages of nations, as a compensation for the 
 injuries he has sustained. There is a sad drawback 
 on this property saved. A national debt for seven- 
 teen years, considerable taxes, which were profusely 
 laid during the war on lands and slaves; and, since 
 the peace, we have been loaded with a heavy taxa- 
 tion. 
 
 " I know that I advocate this cause on a very ad- 
 vantageous ground, when I si^eak of the right of 
 salvage. The cargo on board the wrecked vessel be- 
 longs to the British, it will have been saved for them ! 
 but the salvage is due to us only. If you take it on 
 the ground of interest — you may hold as a pledge, 
 you may retain for salvage. If you take it on the 
 scale of the common law, or of national law — you 
 may oppose damages to debts, retain the debts, to 
 retribute and compensate for the injuries they have 
 done you. I have now got over and I trust estab- 
 lished the first point; that is, that debts in common 
 wars are subject to forfeiture, and much more so in 
 a revolution war like the American war.'' * 
 
 Having established his first position, he presents 
 
 * These copious extracts from the report on Mr. Henry's 
 first point are deemed necessary to give the reader an idea 
 of his mode of argumentation, so far as it can be furnished 
 by this report It would be trespassing on the indulgence 
 of the proprietor of the manuscript (which has never 
 been published,) and trespassing too, perhaps, on the 
 patience of that portion of my. readers who can find no 
 enjoyment in legal discussion, to pursue any farther this 
 extended mode of analysis. 
 
 Mk, 
 
360 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 his next point thus:— ^Mj next point is, that the 
 British debts being so forfeited (as I conceive) can 
 only be revived by the treaty ; and unless they be so 
 revived, they are gone for ever. I will then consider 
 how this matter stands under the treaty." He pro- 
 ceeds then to show by authority, the rules by which 
 treaties are to be construed ; and demonstrates, that a 
 treaty can confer no benefit unless it be mutually ob- 
 served with good faith ; that perfidy, on either side, 
 is a forfeiture of all its advantages ; that the stipula- 
 tions of a treaty are in the nature of conditions 
 precedent ; that a breach on either side dissolves the 
 covenant altogether, and places the parties on the 
 general ground which they occupied before the 
 treaty; that Great Britain had violated the treaty, 
 in the moment of its ratification, by carrying off our 
 slaves, and detaining with an armed force those posts 
 of which she had stipulated the immediate surrender ; 
 that the pretence of her having acted thus as a re- 
 taliatory measure for the non-payment of the debts, 
 was an insult to common understanding, because she 
 began her infractions before any experiment had been 
 made of a recovery of the debts ; that the notion of a 
 reprisal, preceding any injury — and a retaliation, in 
 advance, of any wrong on the opposite side, was so 
 far from mitigating her offence, that it was a daring 
 insult on the honor and good faith of this nation! 
 Having, by a series of authorities directly in point, 
 established the right of the American nation to re- 
 gard the treaty as abolished by any perfidious infrac- 
 tion of it, on the part of Great Britain, he shows next, 
 that those infractions were established by the plead- 
 ings in the cause; because the defendant by his sev- 
 
LiFIi OF PATRICK HENRY. 301 
 
 eral pleas had specified those infractions, and the 
 plaintiff, by demurring to the pleas, had admitted the 
 truth of their averments. 
 
 Great Britain, then, as a nation, having by her 
 own perfidy forfeited all right to insist upon the 
 treaty, and that treaty, as between the nations, being 
 annulled, the next question was, whether any individ- 
 ual of the British nation could claim any advan- 
 tage under the treaty ? This he shows could not be 
 done, because in making the treaty, the sovereigns of 
 the two nations acted for all the individuals of their 
 respective nations ; the individuals were bound by all 
 the acts of those sovereigns, whether in making or 
 abolishing a treaty. " Here,'^ said he, " are two 
 moral persons, Great Britain and America, making a 
 contract. The plaintiff claims and the defendant de- 
 fends under and through them ; and if either nation 
 or moral person has no right to benefits from such 
 contract, individuals claiming under them can have 
 none. The plaintiff then claims under his nation, but 
 if that nation have committed perfidy respecting the 
 observance of the compact, no right can be carried 
 therefrom to the plaintiff. It puts him back in the 
 same situation he was in before the treaty.'^ He 
 shows the absurdity of considering the treaty as an- 
 nulled, in relation to all the individuals, in their col- 
 lective character of a nation, and yet as in full force 
 for the benefit of each individual separately, -for if 
 this plaintiff had a right to all the beneficial effects of 
 the treaty, every man in England had the same right ; 
 and he cites and reads from Vattel, a conclusive au- 
 thority, to show, that the conventional law of nations 
 could take its effect only from universal right, ex- 
 
362 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 tending equally to all me citizens or individuals of a 
 nation. But to say, that America had a right to con- 
 sider the treaty as void against all the individuals of 
 the British nation collectively, while each and every 
 individual of that nation separately, could enforce it 
 upon her, was to offer to the understanding a paradox- 
 ical absurdity, as insulting to common sense, as the 
 conduct of Great Britain had been to the honor of 
 the American nation. 
 
 He contended further on this point, that if the 
 treaty had been observed by Great Britain, and were 
 of consequence still obligatory, it did not and could 
 not operate where moneys had been actually paid 
 into the treasury under the laws of the state ; for the 
 provision of the treaty is, " that creditors on either 
 side should meet with no lawful impediment to the re- 
 covery of all bona fide debts heretofore contracted." 
 The defendant, he said, having paid the money into 
 the treasury according to the act of assembly, and the 
 truth of the payment being admitted in the record, 
 this article of the treaty could not support the plain- 
 tiff's claim. '■ To derive a benefit from the treaty, 
 the plaintiff must demand a bona fide debt ; that is, a 
 debt bona fide due. The word debt implies that the 
 thing is due ; for if it be not due, how can it be a 
 debt? To give to these words, all debts heretofore 
 contracted, a strictly literal sense, would be to au- 
 thorize a renewed demand for debts which had been 
 actually paid off to the creditor; for these were cer- 
 tainly within the words of the treaty, being debts 
 heretofore contracted : — to avoid this absurd and dis- 
 honest consequence, you must look at the intention of 
 the thing ; and the intention certainly was to embrace 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 363 
 
 those cases where there had not been a legal payment. 
 I ask," said he, '' why a payment made in gold and 
 silver is a legal payment ? Because the coin of those 
 metals is made current by the laws of this country. 
 If paper be made current by the same authority, why 
 should not a payment in it be equally valid? The 
 British subject cannot demand payment, because I 
 confront his demand with a receipt. Why will a re- 
 ceipt discharge in any instance? — because it is 
 founded on the laws of the country. A receipt given 
 in consequence of a payment in coin, is a legal dis- 
 charge, only because the laws of the country make it 
 so. I ask then, why a receipt given in consequence of 
 a payment into the treasury, be not of equal validity, 
 since it has precisely the same foundation? It is 
 expressly constituted a discharge by a legislature 
 having competent authority. This debt, therefore, 
 having been legally paid by the contractor, was not 
 due from him at the time of making the treaty, and 
 therefore is not within the intention of that instru- 
 ment. ' But,' say the gentlemen on the other side, 
 the one payment has the consent of the creditor, and 
 the other has not : he who paid coin has the creditor's 
 consent to the discharge, but he who paid money into 
 the treasury wants it.' Have we not satisfied this 
 honorable court, that the governing power had a right 
 to put itself in the place of the British subjects? 
 Having had an unquestionable right to confiscate, se- 
 quester, or modify those debts as they pleased, they 
 had an equally indubitable right to substitute them- 
 selves in the stead of the plaintiff; otherwise, those 
 authorities have been quoted in vain." He then cites 
 authorities to prove, that the law of the place governs 
 
364 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 the contract; and con^des, that the payment 
 into the treasury having in this instance been made in 
 consequence of a law of this commonwealth, which 
 was strictly consonant with the laws of nations, and 
 which had declared that such payment should operate 
 as a complete and final discharge, this was not a sub- 
 sisting debt, W'ithin the contemplation of the treaty, 
 and remained, therefore, wholly unaffected by it. 
 
 " The next question was, whether this court could 
 take notice of this infraction of the treaty, on the 
 part of Great Britain, and found their judgment 
 upon it. On this question, he observes that the court 
 were not called upon to step out of their appropriate 
 sphere, in order to invade the province of the jury by 
 trying facts ; the facts were all agreed by the plead- 
 ings ; the court were merely called upon to say what 
 was the law arising on those facts. 
 
 " The existence or non-existence of the treaty, was 
 a legal inference from the facts agreed ; which the 
 court alone w^ere competent to decide. The plaintiff 
 himself had forced this question on the court, by rely- 
 ing in his replication on the treaty, as restoring his 
 right to recover this debt. He sets up his right under 
 this instrument expressly, and then questions the 
 jurisdiction of the court to decide upon the instru- 
 ment ! The treaty, quoad Jioc, is the covenant of the 
 parties in this suit : the question presented by the 
 pleadings is, whether the plaintiff who, by that cov- 
 enant, has taken upon himself the performance of a 
 precedent condition, can claim any benefit under it, 
 until he shall show that this precedent condition has 
 been performed. On this question, said he, the gen- 
 tleman's argument is that the court have no power 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 365 
 
 « 
 
 to decide on the construction of the covenant, which 
 he himself has brought before them ; that they have 
 nothing to do with the dependence or independence of 
 the stipulations, or the reciprocal rights of the par- 
 ties, to claim under the covenant, without showing a 
 previous performance on their respective parts ! 
 
 " He, on the contrary, insisted that, under the con- 
 stitution of the United States, the question belonged, 
 peculiarly and exclusively, to the judicial depart- 
 ment ; that by the constitution it was expressly pro- 
 vided, that the judicial power should extend to all 
 cases arising imder treaties; that the law of treaties 
 embraced the whole extent of natural and national 
 law ; that the constitution therefore, by referring all 
 cases arising under treaties to the judiciary, had of 
 necessity invested them with the power of appealing 
 to that code of laws by which alone the construction, 
 the operation, the efficacy, the legal existence or non- 
 existence of treaties, must be tested : and by this code, 
 they were told in the most emphatic terms, that he 
 who violates one article of a treaty, releases the other 
 party from the performance of any part of it ; that 
 the reference of all cases arising under treaties, to 
 the judicial department, carried with it every power 
 near or remote, direct or collateral, which was es- 
 sential to a fair and just decision of those cases; — 
 that in every such case, the very first question was, 
 Is there a treaty or not ? — not whether there has been 
 a treaty — but whether there is an existingj obliga- 
 tory, operative treaty. 
 
 " To decide this question, the court must bring tho 
 facts to the standard of the laws of nations; and by 
 this standard it had been shown, that in the case at 
 
366 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 bar, there existed no t#kty from which a British 
 subject could claim any benefit. That if the judicial 
 department had not the power of deciding this ques- 
 tion, there was no department in the American gov- 
 ernment which did possess it : the state governments 
 have nothing to do with it, congress cannot touch the 
 subject — they may indeed declare war for a viola- 
 tion ; but a nation was not to be forced to this ex- 
 tremity on every occasion ; there were other modes of 
 redress, short of a declaration of war, to which na- 
 tions had a right to resort ; and one of them, as he 
 had shown, was the power of v/ithholding from the 
 perfidious violator of a treaty, those benefits which 
 he claimed under it. 'Now congress could not by a 
 law declare a treaty void ; it is not among those grants 
 of power which the constitution makes to them ; they 
 cannot, therefore, meddle with the subject in any 
 other way than by a declaration of war ; neither can 
 the president and senate touch it. They can make 
 treaties ; but the constitution gives them no power to 
 expound a treaty; much less to declare it void: they 
 can only unite with the house of representatives, in 
 punishing an infraction by a declaration of war. To 
 the judiciary alone then, belongs this pacific powder 
 of withholding legal benefits, claimed under a treaty, 
 because of the mala fides [bad faith] of the party 
 claiming them. 
 
 " Now, what will be the situation of this country, 
 compared with that of Great Britain, if you deny 
 this power to the judiciary ? If you have not ob- 
 served the treaty with good faith, and go to England, 
 claiming any benefit imder the treaty, there is a 
 power there, called royal prerogative, which will tell 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 367 
 
 you : ^ N'o ; go home and act honestly, and you shall 
 have your rights under the treaty.^ Your breach of 
 faith will not drive them to a declaration of war; 
 there is a power there which obtains redress by with- 
 holding your rights, until you act with good faith : 
 but where is the reciprocal and corresponding power 
 in our government, if it be not in the judiciary '? It 
 is noAvhere ; w^e have no redress short of a declaration 
 of war. Is this one of the precious fruits of the adop- 
 tion of the federal constitution, to bind us hand and 
 foot with the fetters of technicality, and leave us no 
 way of bursting them asunder, but by a declaration 
 of war, and the effusion of human blood ! It was 
 never intended. The wisdom and virtue which 
 framed the constitution could never have intended to 
 place the country in this humiliating and awful pre- 
 dicament. Give to this power of deciding on treaties, 
 which is delegated to the federal judiciary, a liberal 
 construction ; give them all the incidental powers 
 necessary to carry it into effect; open to them the 
 whole region of natural and national law, which fur- 
 nishes the only rule of expounding those national 
 compacts, called treaties, and your government is un- 
 mutilated, its measure of power is full up to the ex- 
 igencies of the nation, and you treat on equal terms : 
 but upon the opposite construction, much better 
 would it be that America should have no treaties at 
 all, than that having them, she should want those 
 means of enforcement and redress which all other 
 nations possess.'' 
 
 Having thus established that debts are subject to 
 confiscation in common wars, and much more so in 
 
368 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 the war of the revoluti^; that Virginia was an in- 
 dependent nation, and as such, competent to the exer- 
 cise of this right of eminent domain — of taking to 
 herself the debts of her enemies ; that she had in fact 
 exercised this right, and that this debt had, under 
 one of her laws of that character, been legally dis- 
 charged ; that the treaty had no effect in reviving the 
 claim, because the treaty had been annulled by the in- 
 fractions of it on the part of Great Britain — and be- 
 cause if it had not, this was not a subsisting debt, 
 within the purview of the treaty; and finally, that 
 the court's jurisdiction extended to every question 
 touching the consequence or annulment of treaties. 
 He said he had now finished his own view of the sub- 
 ject, and should have taken his seat, but for the neces- 
 sity of giving a particular answer to the various ob- 
 jections to these principles, which had been so ably 
 urged by the counsel for the plaintiff. In this part of 
 his subject he shows the most masterly acuteness, ad- 
 dress, and vigor. The late Mr. Hardin Burnley, who 
 was present, has described some of the circumstances 
 of his manner, with a very interesting minuteness : — 
 " Mr. Henry," he said, " had taken ample notes of 
 the arguments of his adversaries : the people would 
 give him his own time to examine his notes, and select 
 the argument or remark that he meant to make the 
 subject of his comments, observing in these pauses 
 the most profound silence. If the answer wdiich he 
 was about to give was a short one, he would give it 
 without removing his spectacles from his nose ; but if 
 he was ever seen to give his spectacles a cant to the 
 top of his wig, it was a declaration of war, and his 
 adversaries must stand clear.'' 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 369 
 
 I propose to give a few specimens only of his mode 
 of answering the arguments of the opposing counsel. 
 It had been urged by them, that the laws of nations 
 had declared only the estate of an alien enemy liable 
 to confiscation, but that debts were mere rights — 
 clioses in action — and therefore not of a confiscable 
 character. His answer to this is a happy mixture of 
 ridicule and argument. It is short, and I shall give 
 it in his own words : — 
 
 " But a cliose in action is not liable to forfeiture. 
 Why ? Because it is too terrible to be done. There 
 is such a thing as straining at a gnat and swallowing 
 a camel. Things much more terrible have been done 
 — things, from which our nature, where it has any 
 pretensions to be pure and correct, must recoil with 
 horror. Show me those laws which forfeit your life, 
 attaint your blood, and beggar your wife and chil- 
 dren. Those sanguinary and inhuman laws to which 
 every thing valuable must yield, are to be found in 
 the code of that people, under whom the plaintiff now 
 claims. Is it so terrible to confiscate debts, when they 
 forfeit life, and corrupt the very source of your 
 blood ? Though every other thing dear to humanity 
 is forfeitable, yet debts, it seems, must be spared ! 
 Debts are too sacred to be touched ? It is a mercan- 
 tile idea that worships Mammon instead of God. A 
 cliose in action shall pass, it is without your reach. 
 What authority can they adduce in support of such 
 conclusive pre-eminence for debts ? No political or 
 human institution has placed them above other 
 things. If debt be the most sacred of all earthly ob- 
 ligations, I am uninformed from whence it has de- 
 
370 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 rived that eminence. Ult^ principle is to be found in 
 the daybooks, journals, and ledgers of merchants ; not 
 in the writings or reasonings of the wise and well- 
 informed, the enlightened instructers of mankind. 
 Can any gentleman show me any instance, where the 
 life or property of a gentleman or plebeian in Eng- 
 land is forfeited, and yet his debts spared ? The 
 state can claim debts due to one guilty of high 
 treason. Are they not subject to confiscation ? I 
 concur in that sound principle, that good faith is 
 essential to the happiness of mankind ; that its want 
 stops all human intercourse, and renders us miser- 
 able. This principle is permanent, and universal. 
 Look to what point of the compass you will, you will 
 find it pervading all nations. Who does not set down 
 its sacred influence as the only thing that comforts 
 human life? Does the plaintiff claim through good 
 faith ? How does he derive his claim ? Through 
 perfidy : through a polluted channel. Every thing of 
 that kind would have come better from our side of 
 the question, than from theirs." 
 
 Mr. Honald had insisted, strenuously, that there 
 could be no forfeiture or escheat without the inquest 
 of a jury; and that no act of the legislature had, in 
 fact, directly forfeited these debts. In answer to 
 this, Mr. Henry says, " but the gentleman has ob- 
 served, that neither the declaration of the legis- 
 lature, by the act of 1Y79, that the British subjects 
 had become aliens, and their property vested in the 
 commonwealth, nor any other act passed on the sub- 
 ject, could divest the debts out of the British credi- 
 tors. It cannot be done without the solemnity of aa 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 371 
 
 inquiry by a jury. The debt of A or B cannot be 
 given to C without this solemnity. Is the little legal- 
 ity of forms, which are necessary .when you speak 
 of estates and titles, requisite on such mighty occa- 
 sions as these? Wien the fate of a nation is con- 
 cerned, you are to speak the language of nature. 
 When your very existence is at stake, are you to 
 speak the technical language of books, and to be con- 
 fined to the limited rules of technical criticism ?^ to 
 those tricks and quirks — those little twists and twirls 
 of low chicanery and sophistry, which are so benefi- 
 cial to professional men? Alexander said, in the 
 style of that mighty man, to the Thessalians, ' You 
 are free from the Thehans/ and the debts they owed 
 them were thereby remitted. 
 
 " Every other sovereign has the same right to use 
 the same natural, manly, and laconic language ; not 
 when he is victorious only, but in every situation, if 
 he be in a state of hostility with other nations. The 
 acts use not the language of technicality, they speak 
 not of releases, discharges, and acquittances ; but they 
 speak the legislative will, in simple speech, to the 
 human understanding— a style better suited to the 
 purpose, than the turgid and pompous phraseology of 
 many great writers." 
 
 Mr. Ronald, who was a native of Scotland, and at 
 the commencement of the revolutionary war at least, 
 had been suspected of being not very warm in the 
 American cause, had urged the objection to the 
 national competency of Virginia, at the time of the 
 passage of those laws of confiscation and forfeiture, 
 on which the defendant relied ; and in the course of 
 his observations, had unfortunately used the remark, 
 
37-3 i^IFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 that Virginia was, at thlB^time, nothing more than 
 a revolted colony. When Mr. Henry came to notice 
 this remark, he gave his spectacles the war cant: — 
 ^^ But another observation,'^ said he, ^^ was made ; 
 that by the law of nations we had not a right to 
 legislate on the subject of British debts, we were not 
 an independent nation ; and I thought," said he, rais- 
 ing himself aloft, while his frame dilated itself be- 
 yond the ordinary size, ^' that I heard the word re- 
 voU!^^ At this w^ord, he turned upon Mr. Eonald 
 his piercing eye, and knit his brows at him, with an 
 expression of indignation and contempt, which 
 seemed almost to annihilate him. It was like a stroke 
 of lightning. Mr. Ronald shrunk from the withering 
 look : and, pale and breathless, cast down his eyes, 
 " seeming,'' says my informant, '' to be in quest of 
 an auger hole, by which he might drop through the 
 floor, and escape for ever from mortal sight." Mr. 
 Henry perceived his suffering, and his usual good- 
 nature immediately returned to him. He raised his 
 eyes gently toward the court, and shaking his head 
 slowly, with an expression of regret, added, ^^ I wish 
 I had not heard it: for although innocently meant, 
 (and I am sure that it was so, from the character of 
 the gentleman wdio mentioned it,) yet the sound dis- 
 pleases me — it is unpleasant." Mr. Ronald breathed 
 again, and looked up, and his generous adversary dis- 
 missed the topic, to resume it no more. 
 
 It may give the reader some idea of the amplitude 
 of this argument, when he is told that Mr. Henry 
 was engaged three days successively in its delivery; 
 and some faint conception of the enchantment which 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 373 
 
 he threw over it, when he learns that although it 
 turned entirely on questions of law, yet the au- 
 dience, mixed as it was, seemed so far from being 
 wearied, that they followed him throughout with in- 
 creased enjoyment. The room continued full to the 
 last ; and such was " the listening silence '' with 
 which he was heard that not a syllable that he ut- 
 tered is believed to have been lost. When he finally 
 sat down, the concourse rose with a general murmur 
 of admiration ; the scene resembled the breaking up 
 and dispersion of a great theatrical assembly, which 
 had been enjoying for the first time the exhibition 
 of some new and splendid drama : the speaker of the 
 house of delegates was at length able to command a 
 quorum for business; and every quarter of the city, 
 and, at length, every part of the state, was filled with 
 the echoes of Mr. Henry's eloquent speech. 
 
 His practice during these last years, of which we 
 are now speaking, was confined pretty generally to 
 cases of consequence. He did not like the profession, 
 and was not willing to embark in any case for the or- 
 dinary fees. I have an interesting sketch of him, in 
 his professional character, during those years, from 
 the same elegant pen,* which in a former page, ex- 
 hibits the parallel between him and Mr. Lee in 1784. 
 It is as follows : — 
 
 " x\t the bar, Mr. Henry was eminently successful. 
 When I saw him there, he must, from the course of 
 his life, which had been chiefly political, have become 
 somewhat rusty in the learning of his profession : yet 
 
 * The name of this writer is not given. See above, 
 p.244ff. 
 
374: LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 I considered him as a gom lawyer ; he seemed to be 
 well acquainted with the rules and canons of prop- 
 erty. He would not, indeed, undergo the drudgery 
 necessary for complicated business; yet I am told, 
 that in the British debt cause, he astonished the public 
 not less by the matter than the manner of his speech. 
 It was however as a criminal lawyer that his eloquence 
 had the fairest scope, and in that character I have 
 seen him. He was perfect master of the passions of 
 his auditory, whether in the tragic or comic line. 
 The tones of his voice, to say nothing of his matter 
 and gesture, were insinuated into the feelings of his 
 hearers, in a manner that baffles all description. It 
 seemed to operate by mere sympathy; and by his 
 tones alone, it seemed to me, that he could make you 
 cry or laugh at pleasure. I will endeavor to give 
 you some account of this tragic and comic effect in 
 two instances, which I witnessed. 
 
 " About the year 1792, one Holland killed a young 
 man in the county of Botetourt. The young man was 
 popular, and lived, I think, with Mr. King, a wealthy 
 merchant in Fincastle, who employed Mr. John 
 Brackenridge to assist in the prosecution of Holland. 
 This Holland had gone up from the county of Louisa 
 as a schoolmaster, but had turned out badly, and was 
 unpopular. The killing w^as in the night, and w^as 
 generally believed to be murder. He was the son of 
 one Doctor Holland, who was yet living in Louisa, 
 and had been one of Mr. Henry's juvenile friends 
 and acquaintances. It was chiefly at the instance of 
 the father, and for a very moderate fee, that Mr. 
 Henry undertook to go out to the district court of 
 Greenbrier^ to defend the prisoner. Such were the 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 375 
 
 prejudices there, that the people had openly and re- 
 peatedly declared that even Patrick Henry need not 
 come to defend Holland, unless he brought a jury 
 with him. On the day of trial, the court-house was 
 crowded. I did not move from my seat for fourteen 
 hours ; and had no wish to do so. The examination 
 of the witnesses took up great part of the time, and 
 the lawyers were probably exhausted. Brackenridge 
 was eloquent ; but Henry left no dry eye in the court- 
 house. The case I believe was murder ; though, pos- 
 sibly, manslaughter only. Mr. Henry laid hold of 
 this possibility with such effect as to make all forget 
 that Holland 'had killed the storekeeper at all; and 
 presented the deplorable case of the jury killing Hol- 
 land, an innocent man. By that force of description 
 which he possessed in so wonderful a degree, he ex- 
 hibited, as it were, at the clerk's table, old Holland 
 and his wife, who were then in Louisa ; but the draw- 
 ing was so powerful, and so true to nature, that we 
 seemed to see them before us, and to hear them asking 
 of the jury, ' Where is our son ? What have you done 
 
 with him ? ' 
 
 ^^ All this was done in a manner so solemn and 
 touching, and a tone so irresistible, that it was impos- 
 sible for the stoutest heart not to take sides with the 
 criminal: as for the jury, they lost sight of the mur- 
 der they were trying, and wept most profusely, with 
 old Holland and his wife, whom Mr. Henry painted, 
 and perhaps proved to be very respectable. During the 
 examination of the evidence, the bloody clothes had 
 been brought in. Mr. Henry objected to their ex- 
 hibition, and applied most forcibly and pathetically 
 Antony's remark on Caesar's wounds, on those dumb 
 
376 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 mouths which would raisaifhe stones of Rome to mu- 
 tiny. He urged that this sight would totally deprive 
 the jury of their judgment, which would be merged 
 in their feelings. The court were divided, and the 
 motion fell. The result of the trial was, that after 
 the retirement of a half or quarter of an hour, the 
 jury brought in a verdict of not guilty ; but on being 
 reminded by the court that they might find a degree 
 of homicide, inferior to murder, they altered their 
 verdict to guilty of manslaugliter.'^^ 
 
 " Mr. Henry was not less successful in the comic 
 line, when it became necessary to resort to it. You 
 have no doubt heard how he defeated John Hook, by 
 raising the cry of heef against him. I will give you 
 a similar instance. In the year 1792, there were 
 many suits on the south side of James river, for in- 
 flicting Lynches law.^' A verdict of five hundred 
 pounds had been given in Prince Edward district 
 court, in a case of this kind. This alarmed the de- 
 fendant in the next case, who employed Mr. Henry 
 to defend him. The case was, that a wagoner and the 
 plaintiff were travelling to Richmond together, when 
 the wagoner knocked down a turkey, and put it into 
 his wagon. Complaint was made to the defendant, 
 a justice of the peace ; both the parties were taken up, 
 and the wagoner agreed to take a whipping rather 
 than be sent to jail: but the plaintiff refused: the 
 
 * Thirty-nine lashes, inflicted without trial or law, on 
 mere suspicion of guilt, which could not be regularly 
 proved. This lawless practice which, sometimes by the 
 order of the magistrate, sometimes without, prevailed ex- 
 tensively in the upper counties on James river, took its 
 name from the gentleman who set the first example of it. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 377 
 
 justice, however, gave him also a small flagellation ; 
 and for this the suit was brought. The plaintiff, by 
 way of taking off the force of the defence, insisted 
 that he was wholly innocent of the act committed. 
 Mr. Henry on the contrary contended, that he was a 
 party present, aiding and assisting. In the course of 
 his remarks, he expressed himself thus : — ^ But, gen- 
 tlemen of the jury, the plaintiff tells you he had 
 nothing to do with the turkey — I dare say, gentle- 
 men, not until it was roasted,' &c. He pronounced 
 this word roasted with such rotundity of voice, such 
 a ludicrous whirl of the tongue, and in a manner so 
 indescribably comical, that it threw every one into a 
 fit of laughter at the plaintiff, who stood up in the 
 place usually allotted to criminals ; and the defendant 
 was let off, with little or no damages.'' 
 
 The case of John Hook, to which my correspondent 
 alludes, is worthy of insertion. Hook was a Scotch- 
 man, a man of wealth, and suspected of being un- 
 friendly to the American cause. During the dis- 
 tresses of the American army consequent on the joint 
 invasion of Cornwallis and Phillips, in 1781, a Mr. 
 Venable, an army commissary, had taken two of 
 Hook's steers for the use of the troops. The act had 
 not been strictly legal; and on the establishment of 
 peace. Hook, under the advice of Mr. Cowan, a gen- 
 tleman of some distinction in the law, thought proper 
 to bring an action of trespass against Mr. Venable, in 
 the district court of 'New London. Mr. Henry ap- 
 peared for the defendant, and is said to have dis- 
 ported himself in this cause to the infinite enjoyment 
 of his hearers, the unfortunate Hook always ex- 
 cepted. After Mr. Henry became animated in the 
 
378 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 cause, says Judge StuartJ^e appeared to have com- 
 plete control over the passions of his audience : at 
 one time he excited their indignation against Hook: 
 vengeance was visible in every countenance : again, 
 when he chose to relax and ridicule him, the whole 
 audience was in a roar of laughter. He painted the 
 distresses of the American army, exposed almost 
 naked to the rigor of a winter's sky, and marking 
 the frozen ground over which they marched, with the 
 blood of their unshod feet : " where was the man," 
 he said, " who had an American heart in his bosom, 
 who would not have thrown open his fields, his barns, 
 his cellars, the doors of his house, the portals of his 
 breast, to have received with open arms, the meanest 
 soldier in that little band of famished patriots ? 
 Wliere is the man ? There he stands ! But whether 
 the heart of an American beats in his bosom, you, 
 gentlemen, are to judge.'' He then carried the jury, 
 by the powers of his imagination, to the plains around 
 York, the surrender of which had followed shortly 
 after the act complained of: he depicted the sur- 
 render in the most glowing and noble colors of his elo- 
 quence ; the audience saw before their eyes the hu- 
 miliation and dejection of the British, as they 
 marched out of their trenches, they saw the triumph 
 which lighted up every patriot face, and heard the 
 shouts of victory, and the cry of Washington and lib- 
 erty, as it rung and echoed through the American 
 ranks, and was reverberated from the hills and shores 
 of the neighboring river ; " but hark ! what notes of 
 discord are these which disturb the general joy, and 
 silence the acclamations of victory : they are the notes 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 379 
 
 of John Hook, hoarsely bawling through the Ameri- 
 can camp, Beef! beef ! beef! " 
 
 The whole audience were convulsed: a particular 
 incident will give a better idea of the effect, than any 
 general description. The clerk of the court, unable 
 to command himself, and unwilling to commit any 
 breach of decorum in his place, rushed out of the 
 court-house, and threw himself on the grass, in the 
 most violent paroxysm of laughter, where he was 
 rolling, when Hook, with very different feelings, 
 came out for relief into the yard also. ^' Jemmy 
 Steptoe,'^ said he to the clerk, '^ what the devil ails 
 ye, mon ? " Mr. Steptoe was only able to say, that he 
 could not help it. " Xever mind ye," said Hook, 
 " wait till Billy Cowan gets up : he'll show him the 
 la'." Mr. Cowan, however, was so completely over- 
 whelmed by the torrent which bore upon his client, 
 that when he rose to reply to Mr. Henry, he was 
 scarcely able to make an intelligible or audible re- 
 mark. The cause was decided almost by acclamation. 
 The jury retired for form sake, and instantly re- 
 turned with a verdict for the defendant. Xor did 
 the effect of Mr. Henry's speech stop here. The 
 people were so highly excited by the tory audacity of 
 such a suit, that Hook began to hear around him a 
 cry more terrible than that of beef : it was the cry of 
 tar and feathers: from the application of which it is 
 said, that nothing saved him but a precipitate flight 
 and the speed of his horse. 
 
 I have not attempted, in the course of these 
 sketches, to follow Mr. Henry through his profes- 
 sional career. I have no materials to justify such an 
 attempt. It has been, indeed, stated to me in gen- 
 
380 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 eral, that he appeared i9 such and such a case, and 
 that he shone with great lustre; but neither his 
 speeches in those cases, nor any point of his argu- 
 ment, nor even any brilliant passage has been com- 
 municated, so that the sketch that could be given of 
 them must be either confined to a meagre catalogue 
 of the causes, or the canvass must be filled up by my 
 own fancy, Avhich would at once be an act of injustice 
 to Mr. Henry, and a departure from that historical 
 veracity, which it has been my anxious study, in 
 every instance, to observe. 
 
 I have been told, for example, that in the year 
 1T74, Mr. Henry appeared at the bar of the general 
 court, in defence of a married man, by the name of 
 Henry Bullard, indicted for the murder of a beauti- 
 ful girl, who lived in his house, to whom he had un- 
 fortunately become attached, and whom in a moment 
 of frantic despair, he sacrificed to his hopeless pas- 
 sion. The defence is said to have been placed on the 
 ground of insanity ; and it is easy to conceive, in gen- 
 eral, the figure which Mr. Henry must have made in 
 such a course. Those pathetic powers of eloquence, 
 in which he was so pre-eminently great, had ampfe 
 scope for their exercise in this case; and we can 
 credit, without difficulty, the assertion, that he del- 
 uged the house with tears, and effected the acquittal 
 of his client. But this is all that we know of the 
 case.* 
 
 * If this is the case of Henry Bullard, who was indicted 
 at the April term of 1774, for the murder of Mary Pinner, 
 this honor claimed by my correspondent for Mr. Henry 
 is not due; for the records of the general court show, 
 that the indictment, although originally drawn for the 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 381 
 
 So also I learn that, on some occasion after the 
 war, he appeared at the bar of the house of delegates, 
 in support of a petition of the officers of the Virginia 
 line, who sought to be placed on the footing of those 
 who had been taken on continental establishment: 
 and that, after having depicted their services and 
 their sufferings, in colors which filled every heart 
 with sympathy and gratitude, he dropped on his 
 knees, at the bar of the house, and presented such an 
 appeal as might almost have softened rocks, and bent 
 the knotted oak. Yet no vestige of this splendid 
 speech remains ; nor have I been able, after the most 
 diligent inquiries, to ascertain the year in which it 
 occurred ; similar petitions having been presented for 
 several successive sessions. 
 
 It was in the year 1Y94, that he bade a final adieu 
 to his profession, and retired to the bosom of his own 
 family. He retired, loaded with honors, public and 
 professional: and carried with him the admiration, 
 the gratitude, the confidence, and the love of his 
 country. 'No man had ever passed through so long 
 a life of public service, with a reputation more per- 
 fectly unspotted, ^or had Mr. Henry, on any oc- 
 casion, sought security from censure, by that kind 
 of prudent silence and temporizing neutrality, which 
 politicians so frequently observe. On the contrary, 
 his course had been uniformly active, bold, intrepid, 
 and independent. On every great subject of public 
 interest, the part which he had taken was open, de- 
 charge of murder, was reduced to manslaughter by the 
 grand jury; of which offence the prisoner was convicted. 
 There is, probably, some mistake in the name. 
 
883 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY* 
 
 cided, manly ; his countm saw his motives, heard his 
 reasons, approved his conduct, rested upon his virtue 
 and his vigor ; and contemplated with amazement, the 
 evolution and unremitted display of his transcendent 
 talents. For more than thirty years he had now stood 
 before that country — open to the scrutin}^ and the 
 censure of the invidious — ^yet he retired, not only 
 without spot or blemish, b\it with all his laurels 
 blooming full and fresh upon him — followed by the 
 blessings of his almost adoring countrymen, and 
 cheered by that most exquisite of all earthly posses- 
 sions — the consciousness of having, in deed and in 
 truth, played well his part. He had now, too, be- 
 come disembarrassed of debt; his fortune was afflu- 
 ent ; and he enjoyed in his retirement that ease and 
 dignity which no man ever more richly deserved. 
 
CHAPTEK X. 
 
 CLOSING YEARS. 
 
 1794-1799. 
 
 Whatever difference of opinion may exist as to 
 other parts of his character, in this the concurrence 
 is universal : that there never was a man better consti- 
 tuted than Mr. Henry to enjoy and adorn the retire- 
 ment on which he had now entered. Xothing can be 
 more amiable, nothing more interesting and attach- 
 ing, than those pictures which have been furnished 
 from every quarter, without one dissentient stroke of 
 the pencil, of this great and virtuous man in the 
 bosom of private life. Mr. Jefferson says, that '^ he 
 was the best-humored companion in the world." 
 His disposition was indeed all sweetness; his affec- 
 tions were warm, kind, and social ; his patience in- 
 vincible; his temper ever unclouded, cheerful, and 
 serene; his manners plain, open, familiar, and sim- 
 ple ; his conversation easy, ingenuous, and unaffected, 
 full of entertainment, full of instruction, and irra- 
 diated with all those light and softer graces, which his 
 genius threw, without effort, over the most common 
 r y subjects. It is said that there stood in the court, be- 
 fore his door, a large walnut-tree, under whose shade 
 it was his delight to pass his summer evenings, sur- 
 
 383 
 
 I 
 
384: LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 rounded by his affectioi^e and happy family, and by 
 a circle of neighbors who loved him almost to idola- 
 try. Here he would disport himself with all the care- 
 less gayety of infancy. Here, too, he would some- 
 times warm the bosoms of the old, and strike fire 
 from the eyes of his younger hearers, by recounting 
 the tales of other times ; by sketching with the bold- 
 ness of a master's hand, those great historic incidents 
 in which he had borne a part ; and by drawing to the 
 life, and placing before his audience, in colors as 
 fresh and strong as those of nature, the many illus- 
 trious men in every quarter of the continent, with 
 whom he had acted a part on the public stage. Here, 
 too, he would occasionally discourse with all the wis- 
 dom and all the eloquence of a Grecian sage, of the 
 various duties and offices of life ; and pour forth those 
 lessons of practical utility, with which long ex- 
 perience and observation had stored his mind. 
 Many were the visitors from a distance, old and 
 young, who came on a kind of pious pilgrimage, to 
 the retreat of the veteran patriot, and found him thus 
 delightfully and usefully employed. The old came 
 to gaze upon him with long-remembered affection, 
 and ancient gratitude — the young, the ardent, and 
 the emulous, to behold and admire with swimming 
 eyes the champion of other days, and to look with a 
 sigh of generous regret upon that height of glory 
 which they could never hope to reach. Blessed be 
 / the shade of that venerable tree, ever hallowed the 
 ^ spot which his genius has consecrated ! 
 
 Mr. Henry received these visits with all his char- 
 acteristic plainness and modesty; and never failed 
 to reward the fatigue of the journey by the warmest 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 335 
 
 welcome, and by the unceremonious and fascinating 
 familiarity, with which he would at once enter into 
 conversation with his new guests, and cause them to 
 forget that they were strangers, or abroad. ISTor 
 must the reader suppose that in these conversations 
 he assumed any airs of superiority; much less that 
 his conversation was, as in some of our conspicuous 
 men, a continued imperious and didactic lecture. 
 On the contrary he carried into private life, all those 
 principles of equality which had governed him in 
 public. That ascendency, indeed, which proceeded 
 from the superior energy of his mind, and the weight 
 of his character, would manifest itself unavoidably, 
 in the deference of his companions; but there was 
 nothing in his manner which would have ever re- 
 minded them of it. On the contrary, it seemed to be 
 his study to cause them to forget it, and to decoy them 
 into a free and equal interchange of thought. If he 
 took the lead in conversation, it was not because he 
 sought it; but because it was forced upon him, by 
 that silent delight with which he perceived that his 
 company preferred to listen to him. 
 
 But it was in the bosom of his own family, where 
 the eye of every visitor and even every neighbor was 
 shut out, where neither the love of fame, nor the fear 
 of censure, could be suspected of throwing a false 
 light upon his character — it was in that very scene, in 
 which it has been said that " no man is a hero," that 
 Mr. Henry's heroism shone with the most engaging 
 beauty. It was to his wife, to his children, "to his 
 servants, that his true character was best known : to 
 this grateful, devoted, happy circle, were best known 
 the patient and tender forbearance, the kind indul- 
 
3S6 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 gence, the forgiving mimness, and sweetness of his 
 spirit, those pure and warm affections, which were al- 
 ways looking out for the means of improving their 
 felicity, and that watchful prudence and circum- 
 spection, which guarded them from harm. What can 
 be more amiable than the playful tenderness with 
 which he joined in the sports of his little children, 
 and the boundless indulgence with which he received 
 and returned their caresses ? "^ His visitors," says 
 one of my correspondents, '^ have not infrequently 
 caught him lying on the floor, with a group of these 
 little ones, climbing over him in every direction ; or 
 playing his violin while they danced around him with 
 obstreperous mirth, while the only contest seemed to 
 be who should make the most noise.'' If there be any 
 bachelor so cold of heart as to be offended at this 
 anecdote, I can only remind him of the remark of 
 the great Agesilaus to the friend who found him rid- 
 ing on a stick among his children : '^ Don't mention it, 
 till you are yourself a father." 
 
 Such were the scenes of domestic and social bliss, 
 such the delicious tranquillity, in which Mr. Henry 
 passed the first years of his retirement. Yet this re- 
 treat, which so well deserved to have been considered 
 as sacred, was doomed in a few years to be disturbed 
 by the bickerings of political party. | 
 
 Since Mr. Henry's retirement from public life, 
 new parties had arisen in the United States, whose 
 animosities had been carried to an alarming height. 
 The federalists, who supported the measures of the 
 new government throughout, were accused by their 
 adversaries of a disposition to strain the constructive 
 powers of the constitution to their highest possible 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 387 
 
 pitch ; of a secret wish to convert the government into 
 a substantial monarchy at least ; to which purpose, 
 the assumption of state debts, the establishment of 
 the funding system, and of the national bank, the 
 alarming increase of the public debt, the imposition 
 of a heavy load of internal taxes, the establishment 
 of an army and a navy, with all their consequences of 
 favoritism and extensive executive patronage, were 
 alleged to have been introduced. They were branded 
 w^ith the name of aristocrats, a name of reproach bor- 
 rowed from the parties in France ; and were charged 
 with being inimical to the cause of human liberty, as 
 was said to be proved by their hostility to the progress 
 of the French revolution, as well as by the alarm- 
 ing character of those measures which they were 
 pushing forward in America. They were suspected 
 and accused of a preference for a government of 
 ranks and orders, and a secret love of titles of nobil- 
 ity ; of which it was said, one of their principal lead- 
 ers had furnished a decisive proof, so far as he was 
 concerned, by having proposed the introduction of 
 titles in the continental convention which had framed 
 the constitution. The party which urged these 
 charges, took the name of republicans and demo- 
 crats ; * declared themselves the friends of liberty 
 
 * At the period of the formation of the nation of the 
 United States, the two great political parties were the 
 Federal and the Anti-Federal. The latter opposed the 
 adoption and the ratification of the constitution. Failing 
 to accomplish this purpose they favored the strict con- 
 struction of the constitution: that is, that the federal gov- 
 ernment had no powers except those that were expressly 
 granted, and in all cases of doubt, the benefit of the 
 
388 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 and tlie people, and the m'm advocates of a govern- 
 ment of the people by the people. They were de- 
 voted, with enthusiasm, to the cause of liberty in 
 France : considered mail, as the only title of nobility 
 which ought to be admitted, and his freedom and 
 happiness as the sole objects of government ; this, they 
 contended, was the principle on which the American 
 revolution had turned ; that the great objects of the 
 revolution could be no otherwise attained, than by a 
 simple, pure, economical, and chaste administration of 
 the federal government ; and by restricting the sev- 
 eral departments under the new constitution, to the 
 express letter of the powers assigned to them by that 
 instrument. 
 
 The federalists, on the other hand, denied and re- 
 pelled, with great acrimony and vehemence, the 
 charges which had been urged against them by their 
 adversaries. They contended that the measures com- 
 plained of were warranted by the constitution, and 
 were necessary to give to the federal government the 
 effect which was intended by its adoption. They in- 
 sisted that they were simply the friends of order and 
 good government ; and in their turn branded their 
 adversaries with the name of JacohinSy who having 
 caught the mania from France, were for overturning 
 all government, and throwing every thing into an- 
 
 doubt was in favor of states' rights. In 1793, after the 
 close of Washington's first administration, the name of the 
 Anti-Federal party was changed to Republican, and in 1795 
 it took the compound name of Democratic-Republican, 
 which is still its formal name, though in common par- 
 lance it has for many years been known simply as the 
 Democratic party, 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 389 
 
 archy and uproar, in the hope of rising themselves to 
 the top of the chaos. They alleged that the opposition 
 was formed of the dregs of the American people, 
 headed and goaded on by a few designing men, and 
 fermented into faction by the revolutionary elements 
 thrown among them from abroad, in the shape of 
 French and Irish emigrants and convicts. They in- 
 sisted, that it was indispensably necessary to the 
 peace and order of the American nation, that those 
 foreign incendiaries should be driven out from the 
 land, and that the licentious fury of our own ]X)pu- 
 lace, should also be bridled. Under this impression, 
 were passed those alien and sedition laws which are 
 supposed to have put an end to the federal power in 
 America. 
 
 It is not my purpose to decide between these par- 
 ties. For my purpose, it is sufficient to state the rise 
 and existence of those parties, and the fact that their 
 collision had convulsed the whole society. Mr. 
 Henry, although removed from the immediate scene 
 of contention, was still a person of too much conse- 
 quence to be viewed with indifference. He had a 
 weight of character which gave to his opinions a pre- 
 ponderating influence on every subject, and both par- 
 ties were equally anxious to gain him to their cause. 
 His expressions were watched with the most anxious 
 attention, and it was not long before an alarm of his 
 defection from the popular cause was given. The 
 first occasion of it I discover was the treaty of 1794, 
 with Great Britain, commonly known by the name of 
 Jay's treaty. 
 
 It will be remembered by the reader that Mr. 
 Henry had objected to the constitution, on the ground 
 
390 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 that it gave to the president and senate the whole 
 treaty-making power. This constrnction of the in- 
 strument was not denied in the state convention ; but 
 on the contrary, was at least impliedly admitted ; and 
 the provision was vindicated on the ground that the 
 power of treating could be nowhere more safely 
 and properly lodged. When therefore the republi- 
 can leaders in the house of representatives claimed a 
 right to participate in the ratification of Jay^s treaty, 
 Mr. Henry considered them as inconsistent with 
 themselves, and as departing frora their own con- 
 struction of the constitution. This charoe and the 
 defence have both been made known to me by the fol- 
 lowing letter from Mr. Henry to his daughter, Mrs. 
 Aylett: 
 
 . " Bed Bill, August 20th, 1796. 
 " My dear Betsy, 
 
 ^^ Mr. William Aylett's arrival here with your let- 
 ter gave me the pleasure of hearing of your welfare, 
 and to hear of that is highly gratifying to me, as I so 
 seldom see you.'' [The rest of this paragraph re- 
 lates to family affairs.] 
 
 " As to the reports you have heard of my changing 
 sides in politics, I can only say, they arc not true. I 
 am too old to exchange my former opinions, which 
 have grown up into fixed habits of thinking. True 
 it is, I have condemned the conduct of our members 
 in congress, because, in refusing to raise money for 
 the purposes of the British treaty, they, in effect, 
 would have surrendered our country bound, hand and 
 foot, to the power of the British nation. This must 
 have been the consequence, I think* but the reasons 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 391 
 
 for thinking so are too tedious to trouble you with. 
 The treaty is, in my opinion, a very bad one indeed. 
 But what must I think of those men, whom I myself 
 warned of the danger of giving the power of making 
 laws by means of treaty, to the president and senate, 
 when I see these same men denying the existence of 
 that power, which they insisted, in our convention, 
 ought properly to be cxerciycd by the president and 
 senate, and by none other ? The policy of these men, 
 both then and now, appears to me quite void of wis- 
 dom and foresight. These sentiments I did mention 
 in conversation in Richmond, and perhaps others 
 which I don't remember; but sure I am, my first 
 principle is, that from the British we have every 
 thing to dread, when opportunities of oppressing us 
 shall offer. 
 
 " It seems that every word was watched which I 
 casually dropped, and wrested to answer party views. 
 Who can have been so meanly employed, I know not 
 — nor do I care ; for I no longer consider myself as 
 an actor on the stage of public life. It is time for 
 me to retire; and I shall never more appear in a 
 public character, unless some unlooked-for circum- 
 stance shall demand from me a transient effort, not 
 inconsistent with private life — in which I have de- 
 termined to continue. I see with concern our old 
 commander-in-chief most abusively treated — nor are 
 his long and great services remembered, as any apol- 
 ogy for his mistakes in an office to which he was to- 
 tally imaccustomed. If he, whose character as our 
 leader during the whole war was above all praise, is 
 so roughly handled in his old age, what may be ex- 
 
392 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 pected by men of the common standard of character ? 
 I ever wished he might keep himself clear of the 
 office he bears, and its attendant difficulties — but I 
 am sorry to see the gross abuse which is published of 
 him. Thus, my dear daughter, have I pestered you 
 with a long letter on politics, which is a subject little 
 interesting to you, except as it may involve my repu- 
 tation. I have long learned the little value which is 
 to be placed on popularity, acquired by any other way 
 than virtue ; and I have also learned, that it is often 
 obtained by other means. 
 
 " The view which the rising greatness of our 
 country presents to my eyes is greatly tarnished by 
 the general prevalence of deism ; which, with me, is 
 but another name for vice and depravity. I am, 
 however, much consoled by reflecting, that the re- 
 ligion of Christ has, from its first appearance in the 
 world, been attacked in vain, by all the wits, phil- 
 osophers, and wise ones, aided by every powder of 
 man, and its triumph has been complete. What is 
 there in the wit, or wisdom of the present deistical 
 writers or professors, that can compare them with 
 Hume, Shaftsbury, Bolingbroke, and others ? and yet 
 these have been confuted, and their fame [is] de- 
 caying; insomuch, that the puny efforts of Paine are 
 thrown in to prop their tottering fabric, w^hose foun- 
 dations cannot stand the test of time. Amongst other 
 strange things said of me, I hear it is said by the 
 deists that I am one of the number ; and, indeed, that 
 some good people think I am no Christian. This 
 thought gives me much more pain than the appella- 
 tion of tory; because I think religion of infinitely 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 3§3 
 
 higher importance than politics; and I find much 
 cause to reproach myself, that I have lived so long 
 and have given no decided and public proofs of my 
 being a Christian. But, indeed, my dear child, this 
 is a character which I prize far above all this vrorld 
 has or can boast. And amongst all the handsome 
 things I hear said of you, what gives me the greatest 
 pleasure is, to be told of your piety and steady vir- 
 tue. Be assured there is not on title as to dispo- 
 sition or character, in which my parental affection for 
 you w^ould suffer a wish for your changing; and 
 it flatters my pride to have you spoken of as you 
 are. 
 
 " Perhaps Mr. Koane and Anne may have heard 
 the reports you mention. If it will be any object 
 with them to see what I write you, show them this. 
 But my wish is to pass the rest of my days, as much 
 as may be, unobserved by the critics of tlie world, 
 who would show but little sympathy for the deficien- 
 cies to which old age is so liable. May God bless you, 
 my dear Betsy, and your children. Give my love 
 to Mr. Aylett, 
 
 " And believe me ever, 
 
 " Your affectionate father, 
 
 '' P. Henry." 
 
 This charge, however, had not deprived Mr. Henry 
 of the confidence of his country ; for in the session of 
 the legislature which followed the date of his letter, 
 he was for the third time elected the governor of the 
 state. The letter by which he declined the accep- 
 tance of that office is as follows : — 
 
394: l-IFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 " To the honorable the speaker of the house of del- 
 egates. 
 
 " Charlotte County, Nov, 29th, 1796. 
 '' Sir, 
 
 " I have just received the honor of yours, inform- 
 ing me of my appointment to the chief magistracy of 
 the commonwealth. And I have to beg the favor of 
 you, sir, to convey to the general assembly my best 
 acknowledgments, and warmest gratitude for the 
 signal honor they have conferred on me. I should be 
 happy if I could persuade myself that my abilities 
 were commensurate to the duties of that office; but 
 my declining years warn me of my inability. 
 
 '^ I beg leave, therefore, to decline the appoint- 
 ment, and to hope and trust that the general assem- 
 bly will be pleased to excuse me for doing so; as no 
 doubt can be entertained that many of my fellow- 
 citizens possess the requisite abilities for this high 
 trust. 
 
 " With the highest regard, I am sir, 
 " Your most obedient servant, 
 
 " P. Henky.'' 
 
 This was the last testimonial of public confidence 
 which Mr. Henry received from his native state. 
 The rumors of his political apostacy became strong 
 and general. He was a prize worth contending for; 
 and it is not wonderful therefore that the rival par- 
 ties observed, with the most jealous distrust, every 
 advance which was made towards him by the other, 
 and interpreted such advances as so many stratagems 
 to gain him over: nor is it wonderful if, during the 
 fever of that hot and violent struggle, many things 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 395 
 
 were supposed to be seen, which did not in fact exist ; 
 and that those which did exist were sometimes seen 
 under false shapes and colors. It was reported at that 
 day, that on Mr. Jefferson's resignation of the office of 
 secretary of state, that office was offered to Mr. Henry 
 in the confidence that, while the offer would gratify 
 him, he would nevertheless reject it : however, this 
 may be, it is certain that the embassy to Spain was 
 offered to him during the first administration ; and 
 that to France during the second.* These offers were 
 known at the time ; and when compared with his ad- 
 vanced age, the large family with which he was en- 
 cumbered, his settled and well-known purpose of re- 
 tirement, and the consequent probability that these 
 offers would not be accepted, and the sentiments 
 which he afterward expressed, in favor of some of 
 the measures of administration, which were ex- 
 tremely obnoxious in Virginia — those offers were 
 considered by the republicans, as so many strokes of 
 political flattery, addressed to the vanity of an old 
 man, and which had been but too successful in hav- 
 ing won him to the federal ranks. That he approved 
 of the alien and sedition laws, as good measures, is 
 undeniable; indeed, he was not a man who would 
 deny any opinion that he held: and, however honest 
 might have been his conviction, both of the consti- 
 tutionality and expediency of these measures, it is 
 equally undeniable, that his sentiments in relation 
 to them, combined with the above causes, by which 
 those sentiments were suspected of having been in- 
 fluenced, produced an extremely unpropitious effect 
 on his popularity in Virginia. 
 
 * On the authority of Judge Winston. 
 
396 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 The charge of apostacy, however, implies a pre- 
 vious commitment to the opposite side : but the evi- 
 dence that Mr. Henry ever stood committed to the 
 democratic or to any other party, (except the great 
 American party of liberty and republican govern- 
 ment,) has not yet been seen by the author of this 
 book. At the time of his retirement, it is believed 
 that the post-constitutional parties were not distinctly 
 marked. He had no opportunity, after they were so 
 marked, of expressing his opinion publicly in favor 
 of the one side or the other. It is highly probable, that 
 his opinions did not coincide throughout with those 
 of either side : and it would be rather rash to infer, 
 from his disapprobation of one or more measures of 
 the administration, or from his general love of lib- 
 erty, that he must of necessity have been attached at 
 first to the democratic side. I^or would it be more 
 correct to infer, from his having resisted the adop- 
 tion of the federal constitution, that he was therefore 
 opposed to the measures of those who administered 
 it ; for the converse of this proposition, which must 
 be equally true, would have thrown many more into 
 the federal ranks than would have been willing to ac- 
 knowledge the connection. Mr. Henry had moreover 
 declared, as we have seen, in the last speech which he 
 made in the state convention, in opposition to the con- 
 stitution, that if it should be adopted, he would be a j 
 peaceable citizen ; that he would not go to violence, 
 but that he would seek the correction of whatever he 
 thought amiss, hy quiet means. Upon the whole, it 
 would seem more liberal, more consonant to the high 
 character of Mr. Henry's mind, with his time of life, 
 ^.nd with that distant and feeble connection which he 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 397 
 
 now considered himself as holding with politics, and 
 indeed with the world — to believe that he looked, 
 without passion or prejudice of any kind, on the 
 course of the administration, approving or condemn- 
 ing, according to his own judgment, without refer- 
 ence to the pleasure or opinions of either side : or if 
 we must suppose him under personal influence of any 
 kind, would it have been unpardonable in him, to 
 have been influenced by the opinions of that man, 
 who had ever stood first both in his judgment and 
 affections, and whom all America acknowledged as 
 the father of his country ? 
 
 Other natural causes, too, may be fairly con- 
 sidered as having united their influence in producing 
 this difference of political sentiment between Mr. 
 Henry and the majority of his state. In the year 
 1797, his health began to decline, and continued to 
 sink gradually to the moment of his death. He had 
 now passed through a stormy life to his sixtieth 
 year, and the vigor uf his mind, exhausted more by 
 past toils than by years, began to give way. Those 
 energies which had enabled him to brave the power 
 of Great Britain, and to push forward the glorious 
 revolution which made us free, existed no longer in 
 their original force. The usual infirmities of age 
 and disease began to press, sorely and heavily, upon 
 his sinking spirits. He was startled by that clash of 
 contending parties, which rang continually around 
 him, and invaded, with perpetually increasing hor- 
 ror, the stillness of his retreat. His retirement cut 
 him off, almost entirely, from all communication 
 with those who were best able to explain the grounds, 
 as well as the character and measure of opposition to 
 
398 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 the offensive measures, wmch was intended ; and the 
 spirit and views of that opposition were, no doubt, 
 aggravated to him by report. Acting as those things 
 did on the mind of an infirm old man ; worn out by 
 the toils and troubles of the past revolution, and nat- 
 urally wishing for repose ; alarmed too, and agonized 
 by the hideous scenes of that revolution which was 
 then going on in France; and tortured by the appre- 
 hension, that those scenes were about to be acted over 
 again in his own country, it is not surprising, that 
 he was dismayed by the vehemence of that political 
 strife which then agitated the United States ; nor 
 would it be surprising, if his solicitude to allay the 
 ferment and restore the peace of society, should, in 
 some degree, have obscured the decisions of his mind ; 
 and placed him, rather by his fears than his judgment, 
 in opposition to the forcible resistance, which he had 
 been erroneously led to consider as meditated by the 
 democratic party. In a mind thus prepared the 
 strong and animated resolutions of the Virginia as- 
 sembly, in 1798, in relation to the alien and sedition 
 laws, conjured up the most frightful visions of civil 
 war, disunion, blood, and anarchy ; and under the 
 impulse of these j)hantoms, to make what he con- 
 sidered a virtuous effort for his country, he presented 
 himself in Charlotte county, as a candidate for the 
 house of delegates, at the spring election of 1799. 
 
 On the day of the election, as soon as he appeared 
 on the ground, he was surrounded by the admiring 
 and adoring crowd, and whithersoever he moved, the 
 concourse followed him. A preacher of the Baptist 
 Church, whose piety was wounded by this homage 
 paid to a mortal, asked the people aloud, " Why they 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 399 
 
 thus followed Mr. Henry about ? — Mr. Henrj," said 
 he, " is not a god ! " '^ I^o," said Mr. Henry, deeply 
 affected both by the scene and the remark : " no, in- 
 deed, my friend ; I am but a poor worm of the dust 
 — as fleeting and unsubstantial as the shadow of the 
 cloud that flies over your fields, and is remembered 
 no more.' The tone with which this was uttered, and 
 the look which accompanied it, affected every heart, 
 and silenced every voice. Envy and opj^osition were 
 disarmed by his humility ; the recollection of his past 
 services rushed upon every memory, and he ^^ read his 
 history " in their SAvimming eyes. 
 
 Before the polls were opened, he addressed the peo- 
 ple of the county to the following effect : — " He told 
 them that the late proceedings of the Virginian as- 
 sembly had filled him with apprehensions and alarm ; 
 that they had planted thorns upon his pillow; that 
 they had drawn him from that happy retirement 
 which it had pleased a bountiful Providence to bestow, 
 iind in which he had hoped to pass, in quiet, the re- 
 mainder of his days ; that the state had quitted the 
 sphere in which she had been placed by the constitu- 
 tion ; and in daring to pronounce upon the validity of 
 federal laws, had gone out of her jurisdiction in a 
 manner not warranted by any authority, and in the 
 highest degree alarming to every considerate man ; 
 that such opposition, on the part of Virginia, to the 
 acts of the general government, must beget their en- 
 forcement by military power ; that this would proba- 
 bly produce civil war ; civil war, foreign alliances ; 
 and that foreign alliances must necessarily end in 
 subjugation to the powers called in. He conjured the 
 
400 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 people to pause and consi^r well, before they rushed 
 into such a desperate condition, from which there 
 could be no retreat. He painted to their imaginations, 
 Washington, at the head of a numerous and well-ap- 
 pointed army, inflicting upon them military execu- 
 tion: ^ And where (he asked) are our resources to 
 meet such a conflict ? — Where is the citizen of Amer- 
 ica who will dare to lift his hand against the father 
 of his country ? ' A drunken man in the crowd threw 
 up his arm, and exclaimed that ^ he dared to do it.^ — 
 ^ ISTo,' answered Mr. Henry, rising aloft in all his 
 majesty : ^ you dare not do it : in such a parricidal 
 attempt, the steel would drop from your nerveless 
 arm ! ' ^ The look and gesture at this moment, (says 
 a correspondent,) gave to these words an energy on 
 my mind unequalled by any thing that I have ever 
 witnessed.' Mr. Henry, proceeding in his address 
 to the people, asked — ^ whether the county of Char- 
 lotte would have any authority to dispute an obedi- 
 ence to the laws of Virginia ; ' and he pronounced 
 Virginia to be to the Union, what the county of Char- 
 lotte was to Jier. 
 
 " Having denied the right of a state to decide upon 
 the constitutionality of federal laws, he added, that 
 perhaps it might be necessary to say something of 
 the merits of the laws in question. His private opin- 
 ion was, that they were ^ good and proper.' But, 
 whatever might be their merits, it belonged to the 
 people, who held the reins over the head of congress, 
 and to them alone, to say whether they were accep- 
 table or otherwise to Virginians ; and that this must 
 be done by way of petition. That congress were as 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 401 
 
 much our representatives as the assembly, and had as 
 good a right to our confidence. He had seen with 
 regret, the unlimited power over the purse and sword 
 consigned to the general government ; but that he had 
 been overruled, and it was now necessary to submit to 
 the constitutional exercise of that power. ^ If,' said 
 he, ^ I am asked what is to be done, when a people 
 feel themselves intolerably oppressed, my answer is 
 ready : — Overturn the government. But do not, I 
 beseech you, carry matters to this length, without pro- 
 vocation. Wait at least until some infringement is 
 made upon your rights, and which cannot otherwise 
 be redressed ; for if ever you recur to another change, 
 you may bid adieu for ever to representative govern- 
 ment. You can never exchange the present govern- 
 ment but for a monarchy. If the administration 
 have done wrong, let us all go wrong together, rather 
 than split into factions, which must destroy that 
 union upon which our existence hangs. Let us pre- 
 serve our strength for the French, the English, the 
 Germans, or whoever else shall dare to invade our 
 territory, and not exhaust it in civil commotions and 
 intestine wars.' He concluded, by declaring his de- 
 sign to exert himself in the endeavor to allay the 
 heart-burnings and jealousies which had been fo- 
 mented in the state legislature; and he fervently 
 prayed, if he was deemed unworthy to effect it, that 
 it might be reserved to some other and abler hand, to 
 extend this blessing over the community." 
 
 This was the substance of the speech written down 
 at the time by one of his hearers. " There was," says 
 the writer, " an emphasis in his language, to which, 
 
402 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 like the force of his artiGiiation, and the commanding 
 expression of his eye, no representation can do jus- 
 tice; yet I am conscious of having given a correct 
 transcript of his opinions, and, in many instances, 
 his very expression.'^ 
 
 Such was the last effort of Mr. Henry's eloquence : 
 the power of the noonday sun was gone ; but its set- 
 ting splendors were not less beautiful and touching. 
 After this speech, the polls were opened ; and he w^as 
 elected by his usual commanding majority. 
 
 His intention having been generally known for 
 some time before the period of the state elections, the 
 most formidable preparations were made to oppose 
 him in the assembly. Mr. Madison, (afterwards presi- 
 dent of the United States,) Mr. Giles of Amelia, Mr. 
 Taylor of Caroline, Mr. IRicholas of Albemarle, and 
 a host of young men of shining talents, from every 
 part of the state, were arrayed in the adverse rank, 
 and commanded a decided majority in the house. 
 But Heaven, in its mercy, saved him from the une- 
 qual conflict. The disease which had been preying 
 upon him for two years, now hastened to its crisis ; 
 and on the sixth day of June, 1799, this friend of 
 liberty and of man was no more 1 * 
 
 * The specific disease to which Patrick Henry suc- 
 cumbed was intussusceptation, or a telescoping of the in- 
 testine. When the doctor prescribed liquid mercury, the 
 patient understood perfectly that it was a last resort, and, 
 in response to his questions, the doctor admitted that if 
 it did not bring immediate relief it would speedily prove 
 fatal. Then, " drawing down over his eyes a silken cap 
 which he usually wore, and still holding the vial in his 
 hand, he prayed in clear words a simple child-like prayer 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 403 
 
 'At the session of the assembly immediately fol- 
 lowing Mr. Henry's death, before the spirit of party 
 had time to relent, and give way to that generous 
 feeling of grateful veneration for him, which now 
 pervades the state, a federal member of the house 
 moved the following resolution : — 
 
 "The general assembly of Virginia, as a testi- 
 monial of their veneration for the character of their 
 late illustrious fellow-citizen, Patrick Henry, whose 
 unrivalled eloquence and superior talents were, in 
 times of peculiar peril and distress, so uniformly, so 
 powerfully, and so successfully devoted to the cause 
 of freedom, and of his country— and, in order to in- 
 vite the present and future generations to an imi- 
 tation of his virtues, and an emulation of his f ame— 
 
 " Resolved, That the executive be authorized and 
 requested, to procure a marble bust of the said Pat- 
 trick Henry, at the public expense, and to cause the 
 same to be placed in one of the niches of the hall of 
 the house of delegates." 
 
 ISTothing could have been more unfortunate for the 
 
 for his family, for his country, and for his own soul then 
 in the presence of death. Afterward, in perfect calmness, 
 he swallowed the medicine." The evidences of approach- 
 ing death became immediately apparent, and the few mo- 
 ments that remained of life were spent by Mr. Henry m 
 speaking words of love and comfort to his heart-broken 
 friends, especially commending to them the benefits of the 
 Christian faith, and uttering his own thankfulness for 
 the goodness of God which had attended him through life. 
 " And when he had said these things he fell asleep." 
 
404 LIFE OP PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 success of this resolution^ than the time at which it 
 was brought forward, and the mover by whom it 
 was offered. The time, as we have seen, was during 
 that paroxysm of displeasure against Mr. Henry, 
 which even his death, although it had abated, had 
 not entirely allayed : and the mover w^as a gentle- 
 man who had himself been recently counted on the 
 republican side of the house, and was now also smart- 
 ing under the charge of apostacy. All the angry pas- 
 sions of the house immediately arose at such a propo- 
 sition, from such a quarter. A republican member 
 moved to lay the resolution on the table ; the gentle- 
 man who offered it replied with warmth that if it 
 were so disposed of, he would never call it up again. 
 It was laid upon the table, and has been heard of no 
 more. 
 
 Thus lived, and thus died, the celebrated Patrick 
 Henry of Virginia ; a man who justly deserves to be 
 ranked among the highest ornaments and noblest ben- 
 efactors of his country. Had his lot been cast in the 
 republics of Greece or Rome, his name would have 
 been enrolled by some immortal pen, among the ex- 
 pellers of tyrants and the champions of liberty; the 
 proudest monuments of national gratitude would 
 have risen to his honor, and handed down his memory 
 to future generations. As it is, his fame, as yet, is 
 left to rest upon tradition, and on that short notice 
 which general history can take of him ; while no me- 
 morial, no slab even, raised hy the hand of national 
 gratitude, points us to his grave, or tells where sleep 
 the ashes of the patriot and the sage. May we not 
 hope, that this reproach upon the state will soon be 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 405 
 
 wiped away, and that ample atonement will be made 
 for our past neglect ? * 
 
 * His grave is now covered with a plain marble slab, 
 on which, in addition to his name and the dates of his 
 birth and death are inscribed the words: "His fame is 
 his best epitaph," 
 
 In the grounds of the State Capitol of Virginia, at Rich- 
 mond, there is a bronze statue of Henry of heroic size, 
 the work of Thomas Crawford, one of a group of six 
 statues of Virginians of the revolutionary period surround- 
 ing an equestrian statue of Washington. 
 
CHAPTEK XL 
 
 PERSONAL TRAITS CONCLUSION". 
 
 > Mr. Henry^ by his two marriages, was the father 
 of fifteen children. By his first wife he had six, of 
 whom two only survived him ; by his last, he had 
 six sons and three daughters, all of whom, together 
 with their mother, were living at his death. 
 
 He had been fortunate during the latter part of his 
 life ; and, chiefly by the means of judicious pur- 
 chases of lands, had left his family, large as it was, 
 not only independent, but rich. 
 
 In his habits of living, he was remarkably tem- 
 perate and frugal. He seldom drank any thing but 
 water ; and his table, though abundantly spread, was 
 furnished only with the most simple viands, ^eces- 
 sity had imposed those habits upon him in the earlier 
 part of his life ; and use, as well as reason, now made 
 them his choice. 
 
 His children were raised with little or no restraint. 
 He seems not to have thought very highly of early 
 education. It is indeed probable, that his own suc- 
 cess, which was attributable almost entirely to the 
 natural power of his mind, had diminished the impor- 
 tance of an extensive education in his view. But al- 
 
 406 
 
■ LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 407 
 
 thoTi^li they were suffered to run wild for some years, 
 aud indeed, committed to the sole guidance of nature 
 tea much later period than usual, yet they were fin- 
 llty all well educated; and not^only by the reflec ed 
 worth of their father, but by their own merits have 
 Ilways occupied a most respectable station m so- 
 
 cietv. 
 
 Mr Henry's conversation was remarkably pure 
 anTchaste; He never swore He was never heard 
 to take the name of his Maker m vam. He was a 
 sincere Christian, though after a form of his own 
 for he was never attached to any particular religious 
 so ietv and never, it is believed, communed with any 
 hurch. A friend who visited him not long l^Jore h. 
 death, found him engaged m reading the Bible 
 '' He e," said he, holding it up, " is a book worth 
 more than all the other books that were ever printed. 
 3 t is my misfortune never to have ound time to 
 LL i wfth the proper attention ,nd feelmg, til 
 ate y I trust in the mercy of Heaven that it is no 
 \Tioo late." He was much Pleased with Sc^me 
 Jenyns' view of the internal evidences of the thus 
 tian religion; so much so, that about the year 1790 
 Thad an impression of it struck at his o- expens 
 ,nd distributed among the people. His o her fa^or 
 ^works on the subiect were Doddridge's Kise and 
 Progress of Keligion in the Soul," and Bu ler = 
 " Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed 
 ThtlattL work, he used at one period of h^s life to 
 stvle by way of pre-eminence, hu BtbU. The selec 
 on p oves not only the piety of his temper, but the 
 correctness of his taste, and his relish for profound 
 and vigorous disquisition. 
 
408 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 His morals were strict^ As a husband, a father, a 
 master, he had no superior. He was kind and hospit- 
 able to the stranger, and most friendly and accommo- 
 dating to his neighbors. In his dealings with the 
 world, he was faithful to his promise, and punctual 
 in his contracts, to the utmost of his power. 
 
 We do not claim for him a total exemption from 
 the failures of humanity. Moral perfection is not 
 the property of man. '' The love of money is said to 
 have been one of Mr. Henry's strongest passions. In 
 his desire for accumulation, he was charged with 
 wringing from the hands of his clients, and more 
 particularly those of the criminals whom he de- 
 fended, fees too exorbitant. He was censured, too, 
 for an attempt to locate the shores of the Chesapeake, 
 which had heretofore been used as a public common, 
 although there was, at that time, no law of the state 
 which protected them from location. In one of his 
 earlier purchases of land, he was blamed also for hav- 
 ing availed himself of the existing laws of the state, 
 in paying for it in the depreciated paper-currency of 
 the country ; nor was he free from censure on account 
 of some participation which he is said to have had in 
 the profits of the Yazoo trade. He was accused, too, 
 of having been rather more vain of his wealth, toward 
 the close of his life, than became a man so great in 
 other respects. Let these things be admitted, and let 
 the man who is without fault cast the first stone. In 
 mitigation of these charges, if they be true, it ought 
 to be considered that Mr. Henry had been, during the 
 greater part of his life, intolerably oppressed by pov- 
 erty and all its distressing train of consequences ; that 
 the family for which he had to provide was very 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 409 
 
 large; and that the bar, although it has heen called 
 the road to honor, was not in those days the road to 
 wealth. With these considerations in view, justice, 
 not to say charity, may easily pardon him for having 
 considered only the legality of the means which he 
 used to acquire an independence ; and she can easily 
 excuse him too, for having felt the success of his en- 
 deavors a little more sensibly than might have been 
 becoming. He was certainly neither proud, nor hard- 
 hearted, nor penurious : if he was either, there can be 
 no reliance on human testimony; which represents 
 him as being, in his general intercourse with the 
 world, not only rigidly honest, but one of the kindest, 
 gentlest, and most indulgent of human beings. 
 
 While we are on this ungrateful subject of moral 
 imperfection, the fidelity of history requires us to 
 notice another charge against Mr. Henry. His pas- 
 sion for fame is said to have been^ too strong ; he was 
 accused of a wish to monopolize the public favor; 
 and under the influence of this desire, to have felt no 
 gratification in the rising fame of certain conspicu- 
 ous characters ; to have indulged himself in invidious 
 and unmerited remarks upon them, and to have been 
 at the bottom of a cabal against one of the most emi- 
 nent. If these things were so — alas ! poor human na- 
 ture ! It is certain that these charges are very incon- 
 sistent with his general character. So far from being 
 naturally envious, and disposed to keep back modest 
 merit, one of the finest traits in his character was, 
 the parental tenderness with which he took by the 
 hand every young man of merit, covered him with 
 his segis in the legislature, and led him forward at 
 the bar. In relation to his first great rival in elo- 
 
410 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 quence, Richard Henry iffe, he not only did ample 
 justice to him on every occasion, in public, but de- 
 fended his fame in private, with all the zeal of a 
 brother; as is demonstrated by an origina"l corre- 
 spondence between those two eminent men, now in the 
 hands of the author. Of Colonel Innis, his next great 
 rival, he entertained, and uniformly expressed, the 
 most exalted opinion; and in the convention of 1788, 
 as will be remembered, paid a compliment to his elo- 
 quence, at once so splendid, so happy, and so just, 
 that it will live for ever. The debates of that con- 
 vention abound with the most unequivocal and ar- 
 dent declarations of his respect, for the talents and 
 virtues of the other eminent gentlemen who Avere ar- 
 rayed against him — Mr. Madison, Mr. Pendleton, 
 Mr. Randolph. Even the justly great and overshad- 
 owing fame of Mr. Jefferson never extorted from 
 him, in public at least, one invidious remark; on the 
 contrary, the name of that gentleman, who was then 
 in France, having been introduced into the debates of 
 the convention, for the purpose of borrowing the 
 weight of his opinion, Mr. Henry spoke of him in 
 the strongest and warmest terms, not only of admira- 
 tion but of affection — styling him '^ our illustrious 
 fellow-citizen," — " our enlightened and worthy coun- 
 tryman," — ^' our common friend." 
 
 The inordinate love of money and of fame are 
 certainly base and degrading passions. They have 
 sometimes tarnished characters other^vise the most 
 bright, but they will find no advocate or apologist in 
 any virtuous bosom. In relation to Mr. Henry, how- 
 ever, we may be permitted to doubt whether the facts 
 on which these censures (so inconsistent with his gen- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 411 
 
 eral character) are grounded, have not been miscon- 
 ceived ; and whether so much of them as is really true 
 may not be fairly charged to the common account of 
 human imperfection. 
 
 Mr. Henry's great intellectual defect was his in- 
 dolence, y To this it was owing, that he never pos- 
 sessed that alertness and versatility of mind, which 
 turns promptly to every thing, attends to every thing, 
 arranges every thing, and by systematizing its oper- 
 ations, despatches each in its proper time, and place, 
 and manner. To the same cause it is to be ascribed, 
 that he never possessed that patient drudgery, and 
 that ready, neat, copious, and masterly command of 
 details, which forms so essential a part of the duties 
 both of the statesman and the lawyer. Hence, too, 
 he did not avail himself of the progress of science and 
 literature, in his age. He had not, as he might have ^ 
 done, amassed those ample stores of various, useful, 
 and curious knowledge, which are so naturally ex- 
 pected to be found in a great man. His library was 
 extremely small ; composed not only of a very few 
 books, but those, too, commonly odd volumes. Of 
 science and literature, he knew little or nothing more 
 than was occasionally gleaned from conversation. It 
 is not easy to conceive, what a mind like his might 
 have achieved in either or both of these w^alks, had it 
 been properly trained at first, or industriously oc- 
 cupied in those long intervals of leisure which he 
 threw away. One thing, however, may be safely pro- 
 nounced ; that had that mind of Herculean strength 
 been either so trained, or so occupied, he would have 
 left behind him some written monument, compared 
 with which even statues and pillars would have been 
 
412 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 but the ephemera? of a ^y. But he seems to have 
 been of Hobbes's opinion, who is reported to have said 
 of himself, " that if he had read as much as other 
 men, he should have been as ignorant as they were." * 
 Mr. Henry's book was the great volume of human na- 
 ture. In this, he was more deeply read than any of 
 his countrymen. He knew men thoroughly; and 
 hence arose his great power of persuasion, f His 
 preference of this study, is manifested by the follow- 
 ing incident : — he met once, in a bookstore, with the 
 late Mr. Ralph Wormley, who, although a great book- 
 worm, was infinitely more remarkable for his ignor- 
 ance of men, than Mr. Henry was for that of books. 
 — " What, Mr. Wormley," said he, '' still buying 
 books ? " " Yes," said Mr. Wormley, " I have just 
 heard of a new work, which I am extremely anxious 
 to peruse." ^' Take my w^ord for it," said he, " Mr. 
 Wormley, we are too old to read books : read men — 
 they are the only volume that we can read to advan- 
 tage." But Mr. Henry might have perused both 
 with infinite advantage not only to himself, but to 
 his country, and to the world ; and that he did not do 
 it may, it is believed, be fairly ascribed rather to the 
 indolence of his temper, than the deliberate decision 
 of his judgment. 
 
 Judge Winston says, that " he was, throughout life, 
 negligent of his dress : " but this, it is apprehended, 
 applied rather to his habits in the country than to his 
 
 * Bayle. Article Hobbes. 
 
 t " It is in vain," says the Chancellor D'Aguesseau, " that 
 the orator flatters himself with having the talent to per- 
 suade men, if he has not acquired that of knowing them." 
 Discourse, 1., p. 1. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 413 
 
 appearance in public. At the bar of the general 
 court, he always appeared in a full suit of black 
 cloth, or velvet, and a tie wig, which was dressed 
 and powdered in the highest style of forensic fashion ; 
 in the winter season, too, according to the costume of 
 the day, he wore over his other apparel an ample 
 cloak of scarlet cloth ; and thus attired, made a figure 
 bordering on grandeur. While he filled the executive 
 chair, he is said to have been justly attentive to his 
 dress and appearance ; " not being disposed to afford 
 the occasion of humiliating comparisons between the 
 past and present government." 
 
 He had long since, too, laid aside the offensive rus- 
 ^ticity of his juvenile manners. His manners, indeed, 
 were still unostentatious, frank, and simple ; but they 
 had all that natural ease and unaffected gracefulness, 
 which distinguish the circles of the polite and well- 
 bred. On occasions, too, where state and ceremony 
 were expected, there was no man who could act better 
 his part. I have had a description of Mr. Henry, en- 
 tering, in the full dress which I have mentioned, the 
 hall of delegates, at whose bar he was about to appear 
 as an advocate, and saluting the house, all around, 
 with a dignity and even majesty, that would have done 
 honor to the most polished courtier in Europe. This, 
 however, was only on extraordinary occasions, when 
 such a deportment was expected, and was properly in 
 its place. In general, his manners were those of the 
 plain Virginian gentleman — kind, open, candid and 
 conciliating, warm without insincerity, and polite 
 without pomp, neither chilling by his reserve, nor 
 fatiguing by his loquacity, but adapting himself, 
 without an effort, to the character of his company. 
 
414 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 '' He would be pleased ^d cheerful/' says a corre- 
 spondent, " with persons of any class or condition, 
 vicious and abandoned persons only excepted; he 
 preferred those of character and talents, but would be 
 amused with any who could contribute to his amuse- 
 ment." He had himself a vein of pleasantry which 
 was extremely amusing, without detracting from his 
 dignity. His companions, although perfectly at their 
 ease with him, were never known to treat him with 
 degrading familiarities. Their love and their re- 
 spect for him equally forbade it. I^or had they any 
 dread of an assault upon their feelings ; for there was 
 nothing cruel in his wit. The tomahawk and scalp- 
 ing-knife were no part of his colloquial apparatus. 
 He felt no pleasure in seeing the victim writhe under 
 his stroke. The benignity of his spirit could not have 
 borne such a sight without torture. He found him- 
 self happiest in communicating happiness to others. 
 His conversation was instructive and delightful; 
 stately where it should be so, but in general, easy, fa- 
 miliar, sprightly, and entertaining; always, however, 
 good-humored, and calculated to amuse without 
 wounding. 
 
 As a specimen of this light and good-natured pleas- 
 antry the following anecdote has been furnished : Mr. 
 Henry, together with Mr. Richard H. Lee, and sev- 
 eral other conspicuous members of the assembly, were 
 invited to pass the evening and night at the house of 
 Mr. Edmund Randolph, in the neighborhood of Rich- 
 mond. Mr. Lee, who was as brilliant and copious in 
 conversation as in debate, had amused the company to 
 a very late hour, by descanting on the genius of Cer- 
 vantes, particularly as exhibited in his chef d^ceuvre. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 416 
 
 Don Quixote. The dissertation had been continued 
 rather too long: the company began to yawn, when 
 Mr. Henry, who had observed it, although Mr. Lee 
 had not, rose slowly from his chair, and remarked as 
 he walked across the room, that Don Quixote was cer- 
 tainly a most excellent work, and most skilfully 
 adapted to the purpose of the author : ^' but," said he, 
 " Mr. Lee," stopping before him, wdth a most signifi- 
 cant archness of look, " you have overlooked in your 
 eulogy one of the finest things in the book." " Wnoi 
 is thatf " asked Mr. Lee. '' It is," said Mr. Henry, ^ 
 " that divine exclamation of Sancho, ^ Blessed he ihe 
 man that first invented sleep: it covers one all over, i 
 lihe a cloak: " Mr. Lee took the hint ; and the com- 
 pany broke up in good humor. 
 
 His quick and true discernment of characters, and 
 his prescience of political events, were very much ad- 
 mired. The following examples of each have been 
 furnished by Mr. Pope : — 
 
 Mr. Gallatin came to A^irginia when a very young 
 man, he was obscure and unknown, and spoke the 
 English language so badly, that it w^as with difficulty 
 he could be understood. He w^as engaged in some 
 agency which made it necessary to present a petition 
 to the assembly, and endeavored to interest the lead- 
 ing members in its fate, by attempting to explain, 
 out of doors, its merits and justice. But they could 
 not understand him well enough to feel any interest 
 either for him or his petition. In this hopeless con- 
 dition he waited on Mr. Henry, and soon felt that 
 he was in different hands. Mr. Henry, on his part, 
 w^as so delighted with the interview, that he spoke of 
 Hr. Gallatin every where in raptures — ^he declared 
 
416 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 him, without hesitation or doubt, to be the most sensi- 
 ble and best informed man he had ever conversed 
 with, ^^ he is, to be sure," said he, " a most astonishing 
 man ! " The reader well knows how eminently Mr. 
 Gallatin has since fulfilled this character; * and con- 
 sidering the very disadvantageous circumstances un- 
 der which he was seen by Mr. Henry, it is certainly 
 a striking proof of the superior sagacity of the obser- 
 ver. 
 
 In relation to his political foresight, the following 
 anecdote is in Mr. Pope's own words : — " In the year 
 1798, after Bonaparte had annihilated five Austrian 
 armies, and, flushed with victory, was carrying away 
 every thing before him, I heard Mr. Henry in a 
 public company observe, (shaking his head after his 
 impressive manner) — ^ It won't all do! the present 
 generation in France is so debased by a long despo- 
 tism, they possess so few of the virtues that constitute 
 
 ♦Albert Gallatin (1761-1849), was born and educated in 
 Geneva, and came to the United States in 1780. He be- 
 came eminent in various departments of statesmanship. 
 In congress he was said by John Randolph to be unrivaled 
 in debate, while Judge Story ranked him with Hamilton 
 in statesmanship. From 1795 to 1801 he served in Con- 
 gress, after which he served for twelve years, first under 
 Jefferson and then under Madison, as Secretary of the 
 Treasury. In negotiating with England the treaty of 
 Ghent, which was signed in 1814, he acquired an enviable 
 reputation for skill in diplomacy. For seven years he 
 was Minister of the United States to France, and later 
 he was appointed on a mission to England. While he bore 
 himself with great credit and honor to the country in 
 every place of responsibility, his fame rests chiefly on his 
 abilities as a financier, in which he has never been sur- 
 passed in the history of this country. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 417 
 
 the life and soul of republicanism, that they are in- 
 capable of forming a correct and just estimate of ra- 
 tional liberty. Their revolution will terminate dif- 
 ferently from what you expect — their state of an- 
 archy will be succeeded by despotism ; and I should 
 not be surprised, if the very man at whose victories 
 you now rejoice, should, Cffisar-like, subvert the lib- 
 erties of his country. All who know me,' continued 
 Mr. Henry, ^ know that I am a firm advocate for lib- 
 erty and republicanism ; I believe I have given some 
 evidences of this. I wish it may not be so, but I am 
 afraid the event will justify this prediction.' " 
 
 The following is the fullest description which the 
 author has been able to procure of Mr. Henry's per- 
 son. He was nearly six feet high ; spare, and what 
 may be called raw-boned, with a slight stoop of the 
 shoulders; his complexion was dark, sunburnt, and 
 sallow, without any appearance of blood in his 
 cheeks; his countenance grave, thoughtful, penetrat- 
 ing, and strongly marked with the lineaments of deep 
 reflection ; the earnestness of his manner, united with 
 an habitual contraction or knitting of his brows, and 
 those lines of thought with which his face was pro- 
 fusely furrowed, gave to his countenance, at some 
 times, the appearance of severity; yet such was the 
 power which he had over its expression, that he could 
 shake off from it, in an instant, all the sternness of 
 winter, and robe it in the brightest smiles of spring. 
 His forehead was high and straight, yet forming a 
 sufficient angle with the lower part of his face; his 
 nose somewhat of the Roman stamp, though, like that 
 which we see in the bust of Cicero, it was rather long 
 
 27 
 
418 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 than remarkable for its^esarean form ; of the color 
 of his eyes, the accounts are almost as various as 
 those which we have of the color of the chameleon i 
 they are said to have been blue, gray, what Lavater 
 calls green, hazel, brown, and black — the fact seems 
 to have been that they were of a bluish-gray, not 
 large; and being deeply fixed in his head, overhung 
 by dark, long, and full eyebrows, and farther shaded 
 by lashes that were both long and black, their appar- 
 ent color was as variable as the lights in which they 
 were seen, but all concur in saying that they were, un- 
 questionably, the finest feature in his face — brilliant, 
 full of spirit, and capable of the most rapidly-shifting 
 and powerful expression, at one time piercing and 
 terrible as those of Mars,' and then again soft and 
 tender as those of Pity herself; his cheeks were hol- 
 low, and his chin was long, but well formed, and 
 rounded at the end, so as to form a proper counter- 
 part to the upper part of his face. " I find it difii- 
 cult," says the correspondent from whom I have bor- 
 rowed this portrait, '^ to describe his mouth ; in which 
 there was nothing remarkable, except when about to 
 express a modest dissent from some opinion on which 
 he was commenting. He then had a sort of half- 
 smile, in which the want of conviction was perhaps 
 more strongly expressed, than the satirical emotion, 
 which probably prompted it. His manner and ad- 
 dress to the court and jury might be deemed the ex-, 
 cess of humility, diffidence, and modesty. If, as, 
 rarely happened, he had occasion to answer any re- 
 mark from the bench, it was impossible for Meekness 
 herself to assume a manner less presumptuous. But 
 in the smile of which I have been speaking, you might 
 
LIFE OP PATRICK HENRY. 419 
 
 anticipate the want of conviction, expressed in Lis 
 answer, at the moment that he submitted to the su- 
 perior wisdom of the court, with a grace that would 
 have done honor to Westminster hall. In his reply to 
 counsel, his remarks on the evidence, and on the con- 
 duct of the parties, he preserved the same distin- 
 guished deference and politeness, still accompanied, 
 however, bj the never-failing index of this skeptical 
 smile, where the occasion prompted." In short, his 
 features were manly, bold, and well proportioned, 
 full of intelligence, and adapting themselves intui- 
 tively to every sentiment of his mind, and every feel- 
 ing of his heart. His voice was not remarkable for 
 its sweetness ; but it was firm, of full volume, and 
 rather melodious than otherwise. Its charms con- 
 sisted in the mellowness and fulness of its note, the 
 case and variety of its inflections, the distinctness of 
 its articulation, the fine effect of its emphasis, the fe- 
 licity with which it attuned itself to every emotion, 
 and the vast compass which enabled it to range 
 through the whole empire of human passion, from 
 the deep and tragic half-whisper of horror, to the 
 wildest exclamation of overwhelming rage. In mild 
 persuasion, it was as soft and gentle as the zephyr of 
 spring ; while in rousing his countrymen to arms, the 
 winter storm that roars along the troubled Baltic, was 
 not more awfully sublime. It was at all times per- 
 fectly under his command ; or rather, indeed, it 
 seemed to command itself and to modulate its notes 
 most happily to the sentiment he was uttering. It 
 never exceeded, or fell short of the occasion. There 
 was none of that long-continued and deafening vocif- 
 eration, which always takes place when an ardent 
 
420 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 speaker has lost possessiih of himself — ^no monoton- 
 ous clangor, no discordant shriek. Without being 
 strained, it had that body and enunciation which 
 filled the most distant ear, without distressing those 
 which were nearest him : hence it never became 
 cracked or hoarse, even in his longest speeches, but 
 retained to the last all its clearness and fulness of in- 
 tonation, all the delicacy of its inflection, all the 
 charms of its emphasis, and enchanting variety of its 
 cadence. 
 
 His delivery was perfectly natural and well timed. 
 It has indeed been said, that, on his first rising, there 
 was a species of sub-canhis * very observable by a 
 stranger, and rather disagreeable to him ; but that in 
 a very few moments even this itself became agreeable, 
 and seemed, indeed indispensable to the full effect of 
 his peculiar diction and conceptions. In point of time, 
 he was very happy: there was no slow and heavy 
 dragging, no quaint and measured drawling, with 
 equidistant pace, no stumbling and floundering 
 among the fractured members of deranged and broken 
 periods, no undignified hurry and trepidation, no re- 
 calling and recasting of sentences as he went along, 
 no retraction of one word and substitution of another 
 not better, and none of those affected bursts of almost 
 inarticulate impetuosity, which betray the rhetori- 
 cian rather than display the orator. On the con- 
 trary, ever self-collected, deliberate and dignified, he 
 seemed to have looked through the whole period be- 
 fore he commenced its delivery ; and hence his delivery 
 was smooth, and firm, and well accented ; slow enough 
 
 * Undertone, 
 
LII'E OF PATRICK HENRY. 4^1 
 
 to take along with him the dullest hearer, and yet so 
 commanding, that the quick had neither the power 
 nor the disposition to get the start of him. Thus he 
 gave to every thought its full and appropriate force ; 
 and to every image all its radiance and beauty. 
 
 No speaker ever understood better than Mr. Henry 
 the true use and power of the pause : and no one ever 
 practised it with happier effect. His pauses were 
 never resorted to for the purpose of investing an in- 
 significant thought with false importance ; much less 
 were they ever resorted to as a finesse, to gain time 
 for thinking. The hearer was never disposed to ask, 
 " why that pause ? " nor to measure its duration by 
 a reference to his watch. On the contrary, it always 
 came at the very moment, when he would himself 
 have wished it, in order to weigh the striking and 
 important thought which had just been uttered ;^ and 
 the interval was always filled by the speaker with a 
 matchless energy of look, which drove the thought 
 home through the mind and through the heart. 
 
 His gesture, and this varying play of his features 
 and voice, were so excellent, so exquisite, that many 
 have referred his power as an orator principally to 
 that cause ; yet this was all his own, and his gesture, 
 particularly, of so peculiar a cast, that it is said it 
 would have become no other man. I do not learn that 
 it was very abundant ; for there was no trash about 
 it ; none of those false motions to which undisciplined 
 speakers are so generally addicted ; no chopping nor 
 sawing of the air; no thumping of the bar to ex- 
 press an earnestness, which was much more power- 
 fully as well as more elegantly expressed by his eye 
 and his countenance. Whenever he moved his arm, 
 
422 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 or his hand, or even his ^fager, or changed the posi- 
 tion of his body, it was always to some purpose ; noth- 
 ing was inefficient ; every thing told ; every gesture, 
 every attitude, every look was emphatic ; all was ani- 
 mation, energy, and dignity. Its great advantage 
 consisted in this — that various, bold, and original as 
 it was, it never appeared to be studied, affected, or 
 theatrical, or " to overstep,'' in the smallest degree, 
 " the modesty of nature ; " for he never made a ges- 
 ture, or assuhaed an attitude, which did not seem 
 imperiously demanded by the occasion. Every look, 
 every motion, every pause, every start, was com- 
 pletely filled and dilated by the thought which he 
 was uttering, and seemed indeed to form a part of 
 the thought itself. His action, however strong, was 
 never vehement. He was never seen rushing forward, 
 shoulder foremost, fury in his countenance, and 
 frenzy in his voice, as if to overturn the bar, and 
 charge his audience sword in hand. His judgment 
 was too manly and too solid, and his taste too true, 
 to permit him to indulge in any such extravagance. 
 His good sense and his self-possession never de- 
 serted him. In the loudest storm of declamation, in 
 the fiercest blaze of passion, there was a dignity and 
 temperance which gave it seeming. He had the rare 
 faculty of imparting to his hearers all the excess of 
 his own feelings, and all the violence and tumult of 
 his emotions, all the dauntless spirit of his resolution, 
 and all the energy of his soul, without any sacrifice 
 of his own personal dignity, and without treating his 
 hearers otherwise than as rational beings. He was 
 not the orator of a day; and therefore sought not to 
 build his fame on the sandy basis of a false taste, fos- 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 423 
 
 tered, if not created, by himself. He spoke for im- 
 mortality ; ' and therefore raised the pillars of his 
 glory on the only solid foundation — the rock of Na- 
 ture. 
 
 So much has been already said, incidentally, of his 
 attainments, and the character of his mind, both as a 
 statesman and an orator, that little remains to be add- 
 ed in a general way. As a statesman, the quality 
 which strikes us most is his political intrepidity : and 
 yet it has sometimes been objected to him, that he 
 waited on every occasion, to see which way the popu- 
 lar current was sitting, when he would artfully throw 
 himself into it, and seem to guide its course. Noth- 
 ing can be more incorrect : it would be easy to multi- 
 ply proofs to refute the charge ; — but I shall content 
 myself with a few which are of general notoriety. 
 
 / 1. The American revolution is universally admit- 
 \ted to have begun in the upper circles of society. It 
 turned on principles too remote and abstruse for the 
 apprehension or consideration of the plain people. 
 Had it depended on the unenlightened mass of the 
 community, no doubt can be entertained at this day 
 that the tax imposed by parliament would have been 
 paid without a question. Since, then, the upper cir- 
 cle of society did not take its impulse from the peo- 
 ple, the only remaining inquiry is, who gave the 
 revolutionary impulse to that circle itself? It was 
 unquestionably Patrick Henry. This is affirmed by 
 Mr. Jefferson ; it is demonstrated by the resistance 
 given to Mr. Henry's measures, by those who were af- 
 terward the stanchest friends of the revolution ; it is 
 further proved, by the sentiment before noticed, with 
 
424 LiFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 "which Doctor Franklin, who was then considered as 
 the first American statesman, dismissed Mr. Inger- 
 soll, on his departure from London ; a sentiment, 
 which evinces beyond doubt, that Doctor Franklin 
 considered resistance to the British power to be, at 
 that time, premature ; and finally, this honor is as- 
 signed to Mr. Henry, I perceive, by a historian of 
 Massachusetts, the only state which has ever pre- 
 tended to dispute the palm with Virginia.* On this 
 great occasion, then, it is manifest, that he did not 
 wait for the popular current ; but on the contrary, 
 that it was he alone, who by his single power moved 
 the mighty mass of stagnant waters, and changed the 
 silent lake into a roaring torrent. When it is re- 
 
 * The historian to whom I allude, is Mrs. Mercy Warren, 
 who is said to be the widow of the celebrated Gen. War- 
 ren, the hero of Bunker's Hill, These are her words: — 
 " The house of burgesses of Virginia were the first who 
 formally resolved against the encroachments of power, and 
 the unwarrantable designs of the British parliament. The 
 novelty of their procedure, and the boldness of spirit that 
 marked the resolutions of that assembly, at once aston- 
 ished and disconcerted the officers of the crown, and the 
 supporters of the measures of administration. These res- 
 olutions were ushered into the house on the thirtieth of 
 May, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-five by Patrick 
 Henry, Esq., a young gentleman of the law, till then un- 
 known in political life. He was a man possessed of strong 
 powers, much professional knowledge, and of such abilities 
 as qualified him for the exigencies of the day. Fearless 
 of the cry of treason, echoed against him from several 
 quarters, he justified the measure and supported the re- 
 solves, in a speech that did honor both to his understand- 
 ing and his patriotism." — Mrs. Warren's History of the 
 American Revolution, vol. 1., p. 28. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 425 
 
 membered too, that he was then young and obscure, 
 and of course without personal influence, that this 
 step was the result of his own solitary reflection, and 
 that he was perfectly aware of the personal danger 
 which must attend it, we can require nothing further 
 to satisfy us, that he was a bold, original, indepen- 
 dent politician, who thought for himself, and pursued 
 the dictates of his own judgment, wholly regardless 
 of personal consequences. 
 
 2. Again, in the spring of 1775, that upper circle, 
 which still headed the revolution, were disposed to 
 acquiesce in the plunder of the magazine, and ex- 
 erted their utmost efforts to allay the ferment which 
 it had excited. They had, in fact, succeeded ; and the 
 people were every where composed, save within the 
 immediate sphere of Mr. Henry's influence. The 
 reader has already seen, that it was he who on that 
 occasion excited the people, not who was excited by 
 them ; that he put them into motion, and avowed to 
 his'confidential friends, at the time, the motives of 
 policy by which he was actuated ; that he placed him- 
 self at the head of an armed band, which he had him- 
 self convened for the purpose; and in spite of the 
 entreaties and supplications of the patriots at Wil- 
 liamsburg, and in defiance of the threats of Dun- 
 more and his myrmidons, pressed firmly and intrep- 
 idly on, until the object of his expedition was com- 
 pletely obtained. 
 
 3. So also in the state convention, the same year, 
 the old patriotic leaders were disposed still to rely on 
 the efficacy of petitions, memorials, and remon- 
 strances; it was Mr. Henry who proposed, and in 
 
426 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 spite of their opposition, #Wiich was of so strenuous 
 and serious a character, that one of them in making 
 it, is said to have shed tears most profusely, carried 
 the bold measure of arming the militia. This was 
 not dictated by the people. The fact was, that at that 
 day, the people placed themselves in the hands of 
 their more enlightened friends ; they never ventured 
 to prescribe either the time, the manner, or the meas- 
 ure of resistance ; and there can be no room for a can- 
 did doubt that, but for the bold spirit and overpower- 
 ing eloquence of Patrick Henry, the people would 
 have followed the pacific counsels of Mr. Randolph, 
 Mr. ISTicholas, Mr. Pendleton, Mr. Wythe, and other 
 men of acknowledged talents and virtue. It was Mr. 
 Henry, therefore, who led both the people and their 
 former leaders. The latter indeed, came on so 
 reluctantly at first, that they may be said to have 
 been rather dragged along than led ; they did come, 
 however, and acquiring warmth by their motion, 
 made ample amends thereafter for their early hesi- 
 tation.* 
 
 4. About the close of the war, again, when he pro- 
 posed to permit the return of that obnoxious class of 
 men called British refugees and Scotch tories, did 
 he follow the popular current ? So far from it, that 
 
 • The author is in possession of an original letter from 
 one of these statesmen, in which Mr. Henry is expressly 
 and directly accused of having precipitated the revolution, 
 against the judgment of the older and cooler patriots. 
 " Events, however," as v»'e have seen, " favored the bolder 
 measures of Mr. Henry," and proved his policy to be the 
 best. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 427 
 
 te Stemmed the current, and turned back its course, 
 by the power of his resistance. 
 
 5 So in the case of the federal constitution 
 whi'ther did the current of the American people tend ? 
 Most certainly to its adoption; yet Mr. Henry o 
 nse his own language, " with manly firmness and m 
 Tpite of an erring world," with the revered Washmg- 
 ton too at their head, opposed its adoption with all 
 the powers of his eloquence. _ 
 
 The truth seems to be, that this charge is only a 
 variation of that conveyed by the opprobrious epi- 
 thets of demagogue and factious t^t^-^'^^J^J ,^^ 
 have seen that his rivals long since sought to fasten 
 ;;on him; and there can be little doubt that it pro- 
 ceeded from the writhings and contortions of the 
 same agonized envy. That a poor young man is- j 
 uing from his native woods, unknown, unfriended, 
 and comparatively unlettered, should have been able 
 by the mere force of unassisted nature, to break to 
 ieces the strong political confederacy which then 
 Tied the country," to annihilate all the arts and 
 finesse of parliamentary intrigue; to edipse, ^J h ^ 
 sagacitv, the experience of age; and by the sole 
 strength of his native genius, to thr<nv into the shade 
 all the hard-earned attainments of literature and 
 science, was entirely too humiliating to be borne m 
 silence. It was necessary, therefore, to resort to some 
 solution of this phenomenon which should at once 
 reduce the honors of this plebeian upstart, and soothe 
 the wounded feelings of those whose pride he had 
 brought down. Hence it became fashionable, m the 
 higher circles, to speak of Mr. Henry as a designing 
 
42S LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 demagogue, a factious tribune, who carried his points, 
 not by fair and open debate, but by violent and in- 
 flammatory appeals to the worst passions of the mul- 
 titude ; and who frequently gave himself the air of 
 leading the people, when in truth, he was merely fol- 
 lowing their own blind lead. This cant has had its 
 day. Truth has set the subject to rights. Mr. Henry 
 is alleged, by those who had the best opportunities of 
 knowing him, to have been not inferior, either in 
 public or in private virtue, to any patriot of the revo- 
 lution : and he was confessedly superior to them all in 
 that combination of bold, hardy, adventurous, splen- 
 did, and solid qualifications, which are so peculiarly 
 fitted to revolutionary times. 
 
 " He left,''' says Judge Winston, " no manu- 
 scripts." This was to have been expected. We have 
 seen that he could not bear the labor of writing ; nor, 
 indeed, of that long-continued, coherent, and method- 
 ical thinking, without which no successful composi- 
 tion, of any extent, can be produced. He thought, in- 
 deed, a great deal ; but his thinking was too desultory 
 and irregular to take the form of composition. His 
 mind had never been disciplined to wait upon his 
 pen. It still moved on, and its prismatic beauties 
 were as evanescent as they were beautifuL His im- 
 agination ^' bodied forth the forms of things " much 
 more rapidly, than his unpractised pen could ^^ turn 
 them to shapes ; " and it is not improbable, tliat his 
 own observation of the difference between the vigor 
 with which he thought, and the comparative decrep- 
 itude with which he wrote, disgusted him with his 
 first attempts, and prevented their repetition. 
 
 Yet this habit which he had of thinking for him- 
 
v/ 
 
 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 429 
 
 self, and looking directly at every subject, with the 
 natural eyes of his understanding, without using 
 what has been called the spectacles of hoohs, was per- 
 haps of advantage to him, both as a statesman and an 
 orator: as a statesman, it possibly exempted him 
 from that common error of scientific theorists, of 
 forcing resemblances between the present and some 
 past historical era, and accommodating their measures 
 to this imaginary identity ; by his mode of consider- 
 ing subjects, no circumstance was either sunk, or 
 magnified, or distorted, in order to bend the case to 
 a fanciful hypothesis; nor, in deciding what was 
 proper to be done in America, did he look to seeij 
 what had been found expedient at Athens or[ 
 Rome. On the contrary, knowing well the people 
 with whom he had to deal, of what they were capable, 
 and what was necessary to their happiness, how much 
 they could bear, and how much achieve, and looking 
 immediately at the subject with that piercing vision, 
 that solid judgment and ready resource, which char- 
 acterized his mind — he seemed to seize, in every 
 case, rather " luckily than laboriously," the course 
 which of all others was surest of success. In short, 
 this habit made him an original, sound, and practical 
 statesman, instead of being a learned, dreaming, and 
 visionary theorist. ]N'ot that Mr. Henry was defi- 
 cient in historical knowledge ; he had enough of it 
 for all the useful purposes either of analogy or illus- 
 tration ; but he never permitted it to intercept his 
 proper view of the subject, or to take the lead in 
 suggesting what was fit to be done. This he chose 
 rather to derive from the nature of the case itself, and 
 
430 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 the character of the peoplB among whom that case 
 occurred. 
 
 This habit of relying more on his own meditations 
 than on books, was also, perhaps, of service to him 
 as an orator : for by this course, he avoided the beaten 
 paths and roads of thought ; and instead of exhibiting 
 in his speeches old ideas newly vamped up, and an- 
 cient beauties tricked off in modern tinsel, his argu- 
 ments, sentiments, and figures, had all that freshness 
 and novelty which are so universally captivating. 
 
 In what did his peculiar excellence as an orator 
 consist ? In what consisted that unrivalled power of 
 speaking, which all who ever heard him admit him 
 to have possessed ? The reader is already apprized, 
 that the author of these sketches never had the advan- 
 tage of hearing Mr. Henry, and that no entire speech 
 of his was ever extant, either in print or writing: 
 hence, there are no materials for minute and exact 
 analysis. The inquiry, however, is natural, and has 
 been directed, without success, to many of the most 
 discriminating of Mr. Henry's admirers. Their an- 
 swers are as various as the complexion of their own 
 characters, each preferring that property from which 
 he had himself derived the most enjoyment. Some 
 ascribe his excellence wholly to his manner: others, 
 in great part, to the originality and soundness of his 
 matter. And among the admirers, in both classes, 
 there are not two who concur in assigning the pre- 
 eminence to the same quality. Of his matter, one 
 will admire the plainness and strength of his reason- 
 ing; another, the concentrated spirit of his aphor- 
 isms; a third, his Avit; a fourth, his pathos; a fifth, 
 the intrinsic beauty of his imagination. So in regard 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 43X 
 
 to his manner, one will place his excellence in his 
 articulation and emphasis; a second, in the magic 
 power with which he infused the tones of his voice 
 into the nerves of his hearers, and riveted their at- 
 tention. The truth, therefore, probably is, that it 
 was not in any single charm, either of matter or man- 
 ner, that we are to look for the secret of his power; 
 but that, like Pope^s definition of beauty, it was " the 
 joint force and full result of all.'' 
 
 If, however, we are to consider as really and en- 
 tirely his, those speeches which have been already 
 given in his name to the public, or are now prepared 
 for them, there can be no difficulty in deciding, that 
 his power must have consisted principally in his de- 
 livery. We know what extraordinary effects have 
 been produced by the mere manner of an orator, with- 
 out any uncommon weight or worth of matter.* We 
 have the authority, however, of those who heard the 
 identical speeches now professed to be given as his, 
 for declaring that they are an extremely imperfect 
 representation of them; and their ability to correct 
 them so frequently from memory, establishes the fact, 
 that it was not the charm of delivery merely, which 
 constituted the difference between the report and the 
 
 * " Friar NamI, a capuchin, was so remarkable for his 
 eloquence, that his hearers, after a sermon, cried out mercy 
 in the streets, as he passed home: and thirty bishops, start- 
 ing up under a discourse, hurried home to their respec- 
 tive dioceses: yet, when his sermons came to be published, 
 they were thought to be unworthy of his reputation, which 
 shows how much depends on action; and how correct the 
 saying of Demosthenes was on that subject."— B a yle. Ar- 
 ticle Narni. 
 
432 LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 original. This is not the only instance in which a 
 great orator has been injured, by imperfect attempts 
 to represent him : for we are told that even the great 
 Pericles himself met with a similar fate.* Candor 
 and justice, however, require us to repeat, that Mr. 
 Robertson's reports are unquestionable, in point of 
 good faith ; and that they are highly valuable, on ac- 
 count of the accuracy and fidelity with which they 
 are believed to have preserved the substance of the de- 
 bates. It is with extreme regret that the author has 
 made a single comment to their disadvantage; but 
 justice to Mr. Henry has made it indispensable. 
 
 The basis of Mr. Henry's intellectual character 
 was strong natural sense. His knowledge of human 
 nature was consummate. His wisdom was that of 
 observation, rather than of reading. His fancy, al- 
 though sufiiciently pregnant to furnish supplies for 
 the occasion, was not so exuberant as to oppress him 
 with its productions. He was never guilty of the 
 fault, with which Corinna is said to have reproached 
 her rival Pindar, of pouring his vase of flowers all at 
 once upon the ground ; on the contrary, their beauty 
 and their excellence were fully observed, from their 
 rarity, and the happiness with which they were dis- 
 tributed through his speeches. His feelings were 
 strong, yet completely under his command ; they rose 
 
 * " Some harangues of Pericles were still extant in Quin- 
 tilian's time; but that learned rhetorician, finding them 
 disproportioned to the high reputation of this great man, 
 approved the opinion of those who looked upon them as a 
 Bupposititious work. An indifferent harangue, however, 
 being recited by an excellent orator, may charm the 
 hearers. Action is almost all" — Bayle. Article Pericles. 
 
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 433 
 
 up to the occasion, but were never suffered to over- 
 flow it; his language was often careless, sometimes 
 ' incorrect; jet upon the whole it was pure and per- 
 spicuous, giving out his thoughts in full and clear 
 proportion; free from affectation, and frequently 
 beautiful; strong without effort, and adapted to the 
 occasion; nervous in argument, burning in passion, 
 and capable of matching the loftiest flights of his 
 genius. 
 
 Mr. Henry, however indolent in his general life, 
 was never so in debate, where the occasion called 
 for exertion. He rose against the pressure, with the 
 most unconquerable perseverance. He held his sub- 
 ject up in every light in which it could be placed; 
 yet always with so much power, and so much beauty' 
 as never to weary his audience, but on the contrary to 
 delight th^m. He appealed to every motive of in- 
 terest, urged every argument that could convince, 
 pressed every theme of persuasion, awakened every 
 feeling, and roused every passion to his aid. He had 
 abundant variety, too, in his manner; sometimes he 
 was very little above the tone of conversation; at 
 others, m the highest strain of epic sublimity. His 
 course was continuous, his flights well sustained, and 
 highly diversified, both in their direction and ve- 
 locity. He rose like the thunder-bearer of Jove, when 
 he mounts on strong and untiring wing, to sport in 
 fearless majesty over the troubled deep— now sweep- 
 mg in immense and rapid circles, then suddenly ar- 
 resting his grand career, and hovering aloft in trem- 
 ulous and terrible suspense; at one instant, plunged 
 amid the foaming waves, at the next, reascending on 
 
 28 
 
434: LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY. 
 
 high, to play undaimted^among the lightnings of 
 heaven, or soar toward the sun. 
 
 He differed, too, from those orators of Great Brit- 
 ain, with whom we have become acquainted bv their 
 printed speeches. He had not the close method, and 
 high polish of those of England ; nor the exuberant 
 imagery which distinguishes those of Ireland. On 
 the contrary, he was loose, irregular, desultory ; some- 
 times rough and abrupt, careless in connecting the 
 parts of his discourse, but grasping whatever he 
 touched with gigantic strength. In short, he was the 
 Orator of ^NTature; and such a one as !N"ature 
 might not blush to avow. 
 
 If the reader shall still demand how he acquired 
 those wonderful powers of speaking which have been 
 assigned to him, we can only answer, with Gray, that 
 they were the gift of Heaven — the birthright of 
 genius. 
 
 " Thine too, these keys, immortal boy! 
 This can unlock the gates of joy; 
 Of horror, that, and thrilling fears, 
 Or ope the sacred source of sympathetic tears." 
 
 Of Mr. Henry, John Randolph, of Eoanoke, with 
 / inimitable felicity said that " he was Shakespeare 
 ^ and Garrick combined ! " In a word, he was one 
 of those perfect prodigies of x^ature, of whom very 
 few have been produced since the foundations of the 
 earth were laid ; and of him may it be said, as truly 
 as of any one that ever existed : — 
 
 "He was a man, take him all in all, 
 We ne'er shall look upon his like again.''* 
 
 THE END. 
 
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 Only a Word. By George Sbera. 
 Only the Governess. By Rosa N. 
 
 Carey. 
 On the Heights. B. Auerbach. 
 Origin of Species. Chas. Darwin. 
 Other Worlds than Ours. Richard 
 
 Proctor. 
 Our Bessie. By Rosa N. Carey. 
 Our Mutual Friend. By CharleC 
 
 Dickens. 
 Pair of Blue Byes. Thos. Hardy. 
 Past and Present. Thos. Carlyle, 
 Pathfinder. James F. Cooper. 
 Pendennis. W. M. Thackeray. 
 Pere Gorlot. H. de Balzac. 
 Peveril of the Peak. By Sir Wal- 
 ter Scott. 
 Phantom Rickshaw, The. Bad* 
 
 yard Kipling. 
 Phra, The Phoenician. By Bdwlo 
 
 L. Arnold, 
 Plcciola. By X. B. Salntlne. 
 Pickwick Papers. Chas. Dickeni. 
 Pilgrim's Progress. John Bunyao. 
 Pillar of Fire. By Rev. J. H. 
 
 Ingraham. 
 Pilot, The. By James F. Cooper. 
 Pioneers. By James F. Cooper. 
 Pirate. By Sir Walter Scott. 
 Plain Tales from the Hills. By 
 
 Rudyard Kipling. 
 Poe's Poems. By Edgar A. Poe. 
 Pope's Poems. Alexander Pope. 
 Prairie. By James F. Cooper. 
 Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austell. 
 Prince of the House of David. 
 
 By Rev. J. H. Ingraham. 
 Princess of the Moor. B. Marlitt. 
 Princess of Thule. Wm. Black. 
 Procter's Poems. By Adelaide 
 
 Procter. 
 Professor. Charlotte BrontS. 
 Prue and I. By Geo. Wm. Curtis. 
 Queen Hortense. Louisa Mabl- 
 
 bach. 
 Queenle's Whim. Rosa N. Carey. 
 Queen's Necklace. Alex. Dumas. 
 Quentin Durward. Walter Scott. 
 Redgauntlet. Sir Walter Scott. 
 Red Rover. By James F. Cooper. 
 Reign of Law. Duke of Argyle. 
 Reveries of a Bachelor. By Ik 
 
 Marvel. 
 Reynard the Fox. Joseph Jacobs. 
 Rhoda Fleming. By George Mer- 
 edith. 
 Rlenzi. By Bulwer-Lytton. 
 Robert Ord's Atonement. By BoSft 
 
 N, Carey. 
 Robinson Crusoe. Daniel Defoe. 
 Rob Boy. By Sir Walter Scott. 
 Romance of Two Worlds. Marto 
 
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 Romola. By George Eliot. 
 Bory O'More. By Samuel LOTW* 
 
BtJRT'S fiOMB JLIBBABY— Contlnned. 
 
 Bossettl's Poems. Gabriel Dante 
 
 Rossettl. 
 Royal Edinburgh. Mrs. Ollphant. 
 Saint Michael. By E. Werner. 
 Schonberg-Cotta Family. By Mrs. 
 
 Andrew Charles. 
 Sartor Resartua. Thos. Carlyle. 
 
 The. Nathaniel 
 
 I 
 
 Price $1.00 per Copy. 
 
 War. By Frederick 
 
 Essays. Trans- 
 B. Saunders, 
 
 By Jane Porter. 
 Walter Scott. 
 
 By 
 
 Scarlet Letter, 
 
 Hawthorne. 
 Schopenhauer's 
 
 fated by T. 
 Scottish Chiefs. 
 Scott's Poems. 
 Search for Basil Lyndhurst. 
 
 Rosa N. Carey. 
 Second Wife. By E. Marlitt. 
 Seekers after God. F. W. Farrar. 
 Self-Help. By Samuel Smiles. 
 Sense and Sensibility. By Jane 
 
 Austen. 
 Sesame and Lilies. John Ruskin. 
 Seven Lamps of Architecture. By 
 
 John Ruskin. 
 Shadow of a Crime. Hall Caine. 
 Shelley's Poems. 
 Shirley. By Charlotte Bronte. 
 Sign of the Four, The. By A. 
 
 Conan Doyle. 
 Silas Marner. By George Eliot. 
 Silence of Dean Maitland. By 
 
 Maxwell Grey. 
 Sin of Joost Avelingh. Maarten 
 
 Maarteus. 
 Sir Gibbie. George Macdonald. 
 Sketch Book. Washington Irving. 
 Social Departure, A. By Sarah 
 
 Jeannette Duncan. 
 Soldiers Three. Rudyard Kipling. 
 Son of Hagar. By Hall Caine. 
 Springhaven. R. D. Blackmore. 
 Spy, The. By James F. Cooper. 
 Story of an African Farm. By 
 
 Olive Schreiuer. 
 Story of John Q. Paton, By Rev. 
 
 Jas. Paton. 
 Strathmore. By "Oulda." 
 St. Ronan's Well. Walter Scott. 
 Study in Scarlet, A. By A. Conan 
 
 Doyle. 
 Surgeon's Daughter. By Sir Wal- 
 ter Scott. 
 Swinburne's Poems. 
 Swiss Family Robinson. By Jean 
 
 Rudolph Wyss. 
 Taking the Bastile. Alex. Dumab. 
 Tale of Two Cities. By Charles 
 
 Dickens. 
 iTales from Shakespeare. Charles 
 
 and Mary Lamb. 
 Tales of a Traveller. By Wash- 
 ington Irvine. 
 Talisman. Sir Walter Scott. 
 Tanglewood Tales. By Nathaniel 
 
 Hawthorne. 
 Tempest and Sunshine. By Mary 
 
 J. Holmes. 
 Ten Nights in a Bar Room. By 
 
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 Tennyson's Po'^ms. 
 Ten Years Later. Alex. Dumas. 
 Terrible Temptation. By Charles 
 
 Reade. 
 Thaddeus of Warsaw. By Jane 
 
 Porter. 
 Tbelma. By Marie OorellL 
 
 Thirty Years' 
 
 Schiller. 
 Thousand Miles Up the Nile. By 
 
 Amelia B. Edwards. 
 Three Guardsmen. Alex. Dumas. 
 Three Men in a Boat. By J. K. 
 
 Jerome. 
 Thrift. By Samuel Smiles. 
 Toilers of the Sea. Victor Hugo. 
 Tom Brown at Oxford. By Thos. 
 
 Hughes. 
 Tom Brown's School Days. By 
 
 Thomas Hughes. 
 Tom Burke of "Ours." By Chas. 
 
 Lever. 
 Tour of the World in Eighty' 
 
 Days. By Jules Verne. 
 Treasure Island. By R, Louis 
 
 Stevenson. 
 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under 
 
 the Sea. By Jules Verne. 
 Twenty Years After. By Alex- 
 andre Dumas. 
 Twice Told Tales. By Nathaniel 
 
 Hawthorne. 
 Two Admirals. J. F. Cooper. 
 Two Years Before the Mast. By 
 
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 Uarda. By George Ebers. 
 Uncle Max. By Rosa N. Carey. 
 Uncle Tom's Cabin. By Harriet 
 
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 Under Two Flags. "Ouida." 
 Undine. De La Motte Fouque. 
 Unity of Nature. By Duke of 
 
 Argyle. 
 Vanity Fair. W. M. Thackeray. 
 Vendetta. By Marie Corelli. 
 Vicar of Wakefield. By Oliver 
 
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 Vicomte de Bragelonne. Alexan- 
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 Villette. By Charlotte Brontg. 
 Virginians. W. M. Thackeray. 
 Water Babies. Charles Kingsley. 
 Water Witch. James F. Cooper. 
 Waverley. By Sir Walter Scott. 
 Wee Wifie. By Rosa N. Carey. 
 Westward Ho! Charles Kingsley. 
 We Two. By Edna Lyall. 
 What's Mine's Mine. By George 
 
 Macdonald. 
 When a Man's Single. By J. M<. 
 
 Barrle. 
 White Company. By A. Doyle. 
 Whittier's Poems. 
 Wide, Wide World. By Susao 
 
 Warner. 
 Window in Thrums. J. M. Barrle« 
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 Woman in White. Wilkie CoUIns*. 
 Won by Waiting. Edna Lyall. 
 Wonder Book, A. For Boys and 
 
 Girls. By N. Hawthorne. 
 Woodstock^. By Sir Walter Scott. 
 Wooed and Married. By Rosa N, 
 
 Carey. 
 Wooing O't. By Mrs. Alexander. 
 Wordsworth's Poems. 
 World Went Very Well then. By 
 
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 Wormwood. By Marie Corelli. 
 Wreck of the Grosvenor. By W* 
 
 Clark Russell. 
 Zenobia. By William Ware. 
 
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