Daily Richmond times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1849-1850, 1850-05-20


There shall that earthly plant put forth
| Eternal flowers, that ne'er shall fall,
All l shall loye-and love and love =
Il Since love is but the lite OF all
i
The following is from the pen of the Rev. DR.
Alexander, of Princeton Seminary;
From the Princeton Magazine for May.
"REMINISCENCES OF PATRICK HENRY.
From my earliest childhood had been accus-
toned to hear of the eoquence of Patrick Henry.
On this subject there existed but one opinion in
the country. The power of his eloquence was
felt equally by the learned and unlearned. No
man who ever heard him speak, on any important
occasion could fail to admit his uncommon power
over the minds of his hearers. The occasions on
which he made his greatest efforts have been re-
corded by Mr.. Writ, in his Life of Henry. What
propose in this brief article is to mention only
what observed myself more than half a century
ago.
! Being then a young man just entering on pro-
fession in which good speaking was very impor-
tant it was natural for me to observe the oratory
fQf celebrated men | was anxious to ascertain
the true secret of their power; or what it was
which enabled them to sway the minds of the
, hearers, almost at their will:
In executing u mission from the Synod of Vir-
ginia, in the year l794s hal to pass through the
county of Prince Edward where Mr. Henry re-
sided. Understanding that he Nsfs~-t 70 appear be-
fore the Circuit Court which met in jfSat county
in defence of three men charged with mGSasf'
| determined to seize the opportunity of observing<
| for myself the eloquence of this extraordinary
orator.
| 1t was with some difficulty obtained sea, r
front of the bar, where could have full view OF
the speaker, as well as hear him distinctly But
l had to submit to severe penance in gratifying
my curiosity, for the whole day was occupied with
| the examination of witnesses, in which Mr.. Hen
| ry was aided by two other lawyers.
In person, Mr.. Henry was lean rather than
feshy. He was rather above than below the COM
mon height. but had a stoop in his shoulders
which prevented him from appearing as tall as he
really was. In his moments of animation he had
the habit of Strengthening his frame, and adding TO
his apparent statue. He wore brown wig,
which exhibited no indication of great in the
dressing. Over his shoulders he wore brown
| camlet cloak. Under this his clothing was black;
something the worse for wear. The expression
of his countenance was that Of solemnity and deep
earnestness. His mind appeared to be always
absorbed in what, for the time, occupied his
attention. His forehead was high and spacious
and the skin of his face more than usual
ly wrinkled for man of fifty. His eyes were
| small and deeply set in his head but were of
| bright blue color, and twinkled much in their
| sockets. In short, Mr.. Henry's appearance had
nothing very remarkable as he sat at rest. You
might readily have taken him for a common plan
ter, who cared very little about his personal ap-
! pearance. In his manners he was uniformly re-
| spectful and courteous.
Candles were brought into the court house,
when the examination of the witnesses closed
and the Judges put it to the option of the bar, whe
! ;her they would go on with the argument that
night or adjourn until the next day. Paul Car
rington, Jr., the attorney for the state, man OF
| large size, and uncommon dignity of person and
manner, as also an accomplished lawyer, profess
sed his willingness to proceed Immediately, whilst
| the testimony was fresh in the minds of ALL
| Now for the first time heard Mr.. Henry make
| anything of speech and thought was short, it
satisfied me of one thing, which had particular
ly desired to have decided; namely, whether like
| player he merely assumed the appearance of
feeling. His manner of addressing the court was
profoundly respectful. He would be willing to
proceed with the trial, but said he, "My heart is
so oppressed with the weight of responsibility
which rests upon me, having the lives of three
fellow citizens depending, probably, on the exer-
ton which may be able to make in their behalf,
(here he turned to the prisoners behind him) that
do not feel aole to proceed tonight. hope the
court will indulge me, and postpone the trial till
| morning" The impression made by these few
| words was such as assure myself no one
ever conceive, by seeing them in print. In the
countenance action and information of the speaker,
there was expressed such an intensity of feeling,
that all my doubts were dispelled; never again
did question whether Henry felt, or only acted
a feeling. Indeed, experienced an instantaneous
sympathy with him in the emotions which he ex-
pressed and have no doubt the same sympathy
was felt by every hearer.
As matter of course the proceedings were
deferred till the next morning. was early at
my post; the judges were on the bench, and the
prisoners at the bar. Mr.. Darlington, afterwards
Judge Carrington--opened with clear and digni-
fed speech, and presented the evidence to the jury
Everything seemed perfectly plain. Two brothers
and brother-in-law met two other persons in pur-
suit of slave, supposed to be harbored by the
brothers. After some alteration and mutual
abuse, one of the brothers, whose name was John
Ford, raised loaded gun which he was carrying
and presented it to the breast of one of the other
pair, shot him dead in open day. There was
doubt about the fact Indeed, it was not denied.
There had been no other provocation than the OPP
probrious words. 1t is presumed that the opinion
| of every Juror was made up from merely hearing
the testimony as Tom Harvey the principal wit
ness, who was acting as constable on the occa-
sion, appeared to be respectable man. For the
clearer understanding of what follows, it must be
observed that the said constable, in order to dis
tinguish him from another of the name, was COM
monty called "Butterwood Harvey as he lived
on Butterwood Creek.
AS he descaned on the evidence. he would often turn
to Tom Harvey large, bold looking land with the
most sarcastic look would call him by some name of
contempt; "this Tom Harvey" this ,ooud
constable" &c. By such expressions his contempt
| Tor the man was communicated to the hearers own
felt it gaining on me, in the spite OF my better judg
ment; SO that before he done, the impression was
strong on my mind that Butterwood Harvey was
l.. So ha Hast ln1nrp
sion, however, found | could counterfeit the mo-
ment had time for reflection The only part OF the
speech in which he manifested his power OF touching