Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1811-04-18

FfW ~e"Pe|"'U' III I"09ne PfoVeHuHt
In majuS
Hor. L. 8. cd. q.
III counselt'd force, BY ITS own native weight,
Precip,tately falls with happier fac
The immortal Gods upraise just designs.
Francis
NOT far from my humble retreat,
lives the venerable Henry Sanford,
one of those few men who still retrace
the unaffected dignity and amiable in
nocence Of those times, so Justly re-
GREETED, when modest worth derived
its principal lustre from its simplicity,
and, to inspire universal respect, wan
ted not the adventurous splendour of
name, or Office, and still less the pa
geantry of wealth. Mr.. Sanford was
onc& awember of the bar. Industry,
tale rex loquence, and, particularly,
int No. marked his professional
couf and the esteem of his country
soon Used him to the bench. For
seve >ears, he was eminently dis
tingI 9hch as an upright and able ma
gistratc-w In6rmities compelled him
to resign he then retired to an here
ditary farm, which he has considera-
bly, improved; and where health, af-
auence, and content smile on his old
age. As his life has flowed in gen
tie, Uniform stream, equally unruMed
by the tempests of the passions and
those of adversely, his declining days
are serene and tranquil he looks on
approaching death with fearless eye,
considering it as one of the necessities
of our nature, and as transition to
better existence. His sweetest enjoy
~ spt isthe love of his neighbours, to
wbW1H fegives legal advice in their e.
tven<9 al differences. They often chuse
hdn to arbitrate and determine between
them. AS he always inclines to con-
ciliatory measures, he has more than
once had the pure satisfaction of pre-
venting law suits, from which ruin
and misery might have resulted.
|" Happier in himself, as fletcher
says of the illustrious Lamoignon, and,
perhaps, greater in the sight of God,
when, on turf-bench, at the extremi-
ty of darksome alley, he has secured
the peace Of some poor family, than
when on one of the first seats of JUS
tice, he decided the most splendid
fortunes
The agricultural industry of Mr..
Sanford is not only that of the indivi-
dual it is also that of the patriot.
He sees in the fertility of our soil ma
tural riches far superior to the metals
which represent them. He knows
the huence of morals on the fate of
nationA and the reaction of luxury
upon morals. In visit which 1 paid
to hinMyesterday, we happened to
speak 81 the census of 1910, the re-
suit ofwhich, so far as it is known,
most forcibly evinces our internal pros
perity. / complacently expatiated on
the various indications of our political
growth. Heaven forbid, exclaimed
the hoary sage, that should view
with indifference any thing that tends
to crafty our national feelings, or to
swell the current of our hopes The
almost incredible ratio which marks
the periodical increase Of our citizens
the progressive vigour of our agricul.
ture ; the energetic struggles of our
commerce against both open violence
and disguised hostility in short, all
the sym toms of maturity and health in
the social body, are for me so many
subjects of patriotic exultation. Yet,
| must confess it, whilst l fervently
| and sincerely share In the Joy which
flows from those sources Of prosperity,
cannot forbear exclaiming all this,
alas is not enough !! Do the happi-
ness and strength of nations necessari-
ly and essentially depend on numbers
1t so, how were the invading hordes
OF Persia crushed by handful of
Greek patriots How were the Ro-
mans, single-handed, able to grasp,
and to WELD for several ages, the
scepaaof, universal empire How
eolH ssconparatively small army of
NJ 6td beAu- Esrtars subiuqSte the al.
MIDST eblNhS "a swarms (6f China ?
And WHY ke 4amentab)e scenes of
misery and degradatisf which almost
l ~