Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1817-11-28

| ing around him, with ebs,repersns mlrfi,. "a
4! the tune OF his violin, while the only contest
seemed to be who should make the most noise. :
iftlicre be ANY bachelor cold of heart as Il
! De offended nj this ancedote, L can only re-
! mind lin of the remark of the great AgesiIau.
To the friend who found him riding on a stick
among ms children " dent mention IL, till you are
yosrSsV a father"
TIE narrative of these and similar
traits Of character, brings us more nearly
acquainted with The personage described
aud enables us jn form mush more cor
ret Judgment at hin, than ihe mere his
tory at his publlc lie. Descriptions of
pcrsog anecdotes Of pecuiiarities--
counts OF manners-furnish us indeed
With the only means Of acquiring those
distinct ideas Of taaiiridaaittY which we are
so ANXIOUS TO torn of The great men WHO
lave enchanted Us by their elouuepce-
instructed us with their wisdom, or daz-
zlcd ny their splendid and glorious at
chtvcmHD's. M one has ever favored tvs
viii surh ;neans for forming AN opinion
ot the leai character OF 1.-THE father Of his
country ;" and We resre! 10 saw that too
little seems to have been known or recol.
iectcd of MIR. Henry. to enabis curauthor
To give us perfect satisfaction OH This part
oil his subject. The materials he possess
cd he has indeed used most judiciously,
and has filled mp the chasm with general
observations and descriptions, which, al
though they are not SD satisfactory as
particular anecdotes and incidents, are
yet highly interesting.
Our author next attempts TO vindicate
the CHAR ter of MIR. Henry from the well
known charge of apostacy, Which was
made against him for the part lie took in
The political feuds of 1898. In this we
think lie has completely succeeded-for
whatever may have been the errors of his
opinions, we see not the leas, reason D
accuse him of change or tergiversa,ion.
MIR. Henry might very consistently have
continued 10 think that The federal con-
sil'ution gave too extensive powers 10 the
e neral government and yet that in "a
particular case lis authority had not been
exceeded, and so long a, il existed ought
Ia be obeycd. Thus he certainly thought
The British treaty very bad one, and in
convention he had denounced the clause
| comforting the trcaty-makimg power on
the president and senate alone: but his
objections being overrued, and he hav-
ing pledged himSelfto yield to the will of
u majority, 1t furnished no just reason for
charging him with aposiacy, that he was
IN favor OF submitting 10 that treaty after
Il had been sanctioned by the proper au-
lhority. His own views on this subject
are fully developed in letter to his daugh-
ter, Mrs. AHlcti, TO be found in p. $50 of
the work before us.
In 1886 hewas for the third time elect
ed governor OF The state, but promptly de-
clnch The honour, Oh account of his years
and iniirmiIies. For the same reasons he
refused The embassy TO Spain which WAS
Ail l. ii, al :. 3.
ton, AMI that TO France during tile second
In The spring election of 1899, he pre-
sented himself i'll Charlotte county as a
candidate for the house of delegates, Tor
the avOwcd purpose of opposing the cele-
bra,ed resolutions of The Virginia assem-
bly, OF the year before, in relation TO the
alien aud seditien laws.
"On the day oi the election (says our anthor)
as soon "a he appeared OH the ground, lie was
surrounded by the admiring and adoring
crowd, and whi,hrrSoever he moved tue con.
course followed him. A preacher of the Bap-
list church, whose plcty was wounded by this
homa=e paid 10 mortal asked the people IA
loud, Why they thus followed Mr.. Henry
ahout UT Henry,' said lie, " is not God o.
NO" said Mr. Henry, deeply affected both
by the scene and the remark . no, indeed, my
irlend m buf poor worm o! the dust-as
Keeling and unsu6stantial, az the shadow of
the cloud that flies over your fields, and is re.
membered no more" The tone with which
this was uttered, and the look which accom-
panied II. affected every heart and silenced
every voice. Envy aud opposition were dis.
armed by his humility; the recollection of his
past services rushed upon every memory, and
ne read his history in their swimming yes,
Before The polls were opened, he adj
dressed The people in q speech, The sub
sfnhcs on winch our author has given, and
lie subjoins this remark:
" Such was the last effort of Mr.. Heprv's
eloqnence !: the power ofthe noon day sun was
gone but lis setting SplendOurs were moi less
neauiiihi and touching After this speech.
we poIis were opened; and he was elected by
Nis usual commanding majority"
@eiore the sitting ofilie Legislature, and
ON tie Gii' OF June, 1909, this great states
nian--tiis unrivailed orator" this friend
OF liberty and man" loaded with wears
and honors, breaihed his last.
Thus lived, and thus died (says onr author
the Generated Patrick Henry Of Virginia a
man who justly deserves TO be ranked nD,onv
tue highest ornaments, and noblest benefactors
OF his country. Had his lot been cast i'm the
republics of Greece or Rome, his name would
nave been enrolled by some Immortal pen. a.
mong the expellers OF tyrants and the cham
pions of liberty: the pfsudest monuments of
national gratitude would have risen to his hon
our, and handed down his memory to future
generations. AS 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 memorial, no slab even raised BIZ 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, tina: this reproach
upon the state, will soon be wiped away, and
that ample atoBeneut will be made for our
past neglect"
J. lie concluding section of our axthor's
work IS one of the most valuable in il. 1t
abounds with judicious remarks. profound
observations, and variety of InisceIIane-
Gus information, which he had not been
able to communicate before without
breaking upon the unity of his narrative.
We shall give but one example i'm the fol-