Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1857-01-10
MR.. JEFFERSONS ACCOUNT OF PAT
RICK HENRY.

mR. JEFEERSUN b ACCUUNT OF PAT
RICK HENRY.
Patrick Henry was originally bar-keeper.
lie was married very young, and going ino
some business. on his own account. was a bank
rupt before the year was out When | was
about the age Of fifteen. left The school here,
TO 60 to the college at Williamsburg. ] stop
ped q few days at a friends in The county Of
Louisa. There first saw and became acquan-
ted with Patrick Henry. Having spent the
Christmas holidays there, proceeded to Will
lialnsburg. Some question arose about my
admission, as my preparatory studies had not
been pursued at the school connected with that
institution. This delayed my admission about
a fortnight, at which tge Henry appeared in
williamsburg and applied for license to prac-
ice law, having commenced the study of il at
or subsequently to the time Of my meeting him
in Louisa There were four examiners
Wythe, Pendlcton, Peyton Randolph and John
Randolph. Wyihe and Pendeion at once re-
jected his application.
The two Randophs, by his importantly,
were prevailed upon TO sign the license; and
having obtained their signatures, lie applied
again to Pendleion, and after much enirealy
and many promises Of future study, succeeded
in obtaining his. lie then turned out for
practising lawyer. The first case which
brought him into notice was a contested cleo
tion. in which he appeared as counsel before
Committee Of the House of Burgesses. His
second was the Parsons cause, already known.
These and similar efforts soon obtained for him
50 much reputation, tnat he was elected a mem
Der Of the Legislature. lie was as well suited
TO the times as any man ever was, and ii is not
now easy TO say what we should have done
without Patrick Henry. lie was far before all
in maintaining the spirit Of the Revolution.
His influence WAS most extensive with the
members from the upper counties and his hold
ness and their votes oyerawci and controlled
the more cool or the more tmid, aristocra,ic
! gentlemen Of the lower part of the State. His
/ eloquencc was peculiar, if indeed il should be
called eloquence; for it was impressive and
sublime, beyond What can be imagined. Al
though it was dilliruli, whca he had spoken, 10
tell wha, he had said, yet, while he was speak
4 ing, il always seemed directly to the point.
/ When he had spohea in opposition 10 my opin-
d loil. ~ lidA Ilpu ecu Al = tdt tlISA, hHu
self been highly delighted and moved, have
asked myself when he ceased, ,-"What the
devil has he said - ! could never answer the
inquiry His person was of full size, aud his
manner and voice free and mauly. His utter
ance neither very fast nor very slow. His
speeches generally short, from 4 quarter 10 a
halEan.hou His pronunciation was vulgar
and vicious, but it was forgotten while he was
speaking.
lie was a man of very little knowledge o.
any sort he read nothing, and had no books
Returning one November from Albemarle court
he borrowed of me IIume's Essays, in Two vol
umes say ing he should have leisure in the win
Ter for reading. ln the spring he returned
them, aud declared he had not been able 10 gt
further than twenty or thirty pages in the frs
volume. He wrote almost nothiEg-he coulC
not write. The Resolutions Of l775, whicl
have been ascrbed TO him, have by many beer
supposed to have been written by Mr.. Johnson
who acted as his second on that occasion bu
if they were written by Henry himself, the,
are not sncl as 10 prove any power of compost
llon. Neither in politics nor in his profession
was he man of business he was a man fol
debate only His biographer says that he rea'
PlutaIch every year. doubt whether he ev
er read volume of il in his life. His tempe
was excellent, and he generally observed deco
, rum in debate. On one or two oc .asions ! hav
seen him angry, and his anger was terrible
, those who witnessed it were moi disposed II
, rouse it again. In his opinions, he was yield
. ing aud practicable, and not disposed TO dlfle
, from his friends. In private conversation h
was agreeable and iacetious, and, while in gen
, teel society, appeared TO understand all the de
5 cencies and proprieties of it, but, in his heart
, he preferred low society, and sought it as oite
as possible.
, lie would hunt in the pine woods of Fluva
= MIA, with overseers, and people of that descrT
{ tion, living in camp for fortnight at tim
4 without change of raiment. | have oGte
4 been astonished at his command of proper lar
= guage; how he attained knowledge of it
Y never could find out, as he read so little an
a conversed little with educated men, Ancr al
Y it must be allowed that he was our leader i
Y the measures of the Revolution in Virginia
t In that respect more was due TO him than an
: other person. If we had not had him, "
9 should probably have got on pretty well, as yo
u did, by a number Of men of nearly equal talent;
C but he left US far behind. His biographer sci
T. the sheets of his work to me as they were priI
!. ted, and at the end asked for my opinion.
: told him it would be question hereafter, whetl
d er his work should be placed on the shelf {
g history or of panegyric. 1t is poor bool
d written in bad taste, and gives so imperfect a
il idea of Patrick Henry, that it seems intende
y to show of the writer more than the subject
II the work.
h ~ Insincerity and extravagant adulatiC