Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1857-01-09
Jerrerson's Account of Patrick Henry.

hOepet' Ic iHullleu very yOuilg, anu
going into business on his own account,
was bankrupt before the year was out.
When / was about the age of fifteen, /
left the school here to go to the College
of Williamsburg. I stopped few days
at a friends in the county of Louisa. =
There | first saw and became acquainted
with Patrick Henry Having spent the
Christmas ho,ydays there, proceeded to
Williamsburg. 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 fort
night, at which time Henry appeared in
Williamsburg, and applied for license
to practice law, having commenced the
study of it at or subsequently, to the
time of my meeting him in Louisa
There were four examiners-Wythe,
Pcndleton, Peyton, Randolph, and John
Randolph. Wythe and Pendleton at
once rejected his application. The two
Randolphs, by his Importantly, were
prevailed upon to sign the license; and,
having obtained their signatures, he
applied again to Pendleton, and after
much entreaty and many promises of fu-
ture study, succeeded in obtaining his.
He then turned out for practising law
yer. The first case which brought him
into notice was contested election, in
which he appeared as counsel before
committee of the House of Burgesses
His second was the Parsons cause, al
ready well known.
These and similar efforts soon obtained
for him so much reputation that he was
elected a member of the Legislature
He was as well suited 70 the times as any
man ever was, and it 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 Reyolu-
ton His influence was most extensive
with the members from the upper coun-
ties, and his boldness and their votes
oyerawed and controlled the more cool or
the more timid aristocratic gentlemen of
the lower part Of the State. His olo-
quence was peculiar, if indeed it should
be called eloquencc; for it was impress
sive and sublime, beyond what can be
imagined. Although it was difficult
when he had spoken to tell what he had
said, yet, while he was speaking, it al
ways seemed directly to the point. When
he had spoken in opposition to my opin-
ion-had produced great effect, and /
myself been highly delighted and moved
Il have asked myself, when he ceased,
"What the devil has he said p | never
could answer the inquiry His person
was of full size, and his manner and
voice free and manly. His uttcrance
neither very fast nor very slow. His
speeches generally short, from a quarter
to half an hour lis pronunciation
was vulgar and vicious, but it was for
gotten while he was speaking.
Ho was man IF very little knowl-
edge of any sort; he read nothing, and
had no books. Returning one November
from Albcmarle court, he borrowed of
mc Humes Essays, in two volumes, say
ing he should have leisure in the winter
for reading. In the spring he returned
them, and declared he had not been able
to go further than twenty or thirty pages
in the first volume lie wrote almost
nothing he could not write. The reso-
lutions of rs, which have been ascribed
to him, have, by many been supposed
to have been written by Mr.. Johnson,
who acted as his second on that occasion;
but if they were written by Henry him
self, they are not such as to prove any
power of composition. Neither in poll
tics nor in his profession was he a man
Of business; he was man of debate
only. His biographer says that he read
Plutarch every year. | doubt whether
be ever read volume Of it in his life.
His temper was excellent, and he gem
orally observed decorum in debate
On one Or two occasions | have seen
him angry, and his anger was terrible;
those who witnessed it were not disposed
to arouse it again. In his opinions, he
was yielding and practicable, and not
disposed to differ from his friends.
In private conversation, he was agree
able and facetious, and, while in genteel
society, he appeared to understand all
the decencies and proprieties Of it; but
in his heart he preferred low society,
and soughtit as often as possible. lie
would hunt in the pine woods Of Fluvan-
ma with overseers and people Of that de-
scription, living in u camp for fortnight
ct time without change Of raimcnt.
j have often been astonished at his com
mand of proper language; how he at
tanned knowledge of it ] never could
find out, as he read so little and con
vcrsed little with educated men.
After all, it must be allowed he was
our leader in the measures Of the reyo-
luton in Virginia In thatrespcctmore
was duo TO him than to any other person.
If we lad not him we should probably /
have got on pretty well; as you did, by
number Of men Of equal talents, but
he left us all far behind. His biogra-
pher sent The sheets Of bis work to me
as they we're printed, and 1T the end
asked for my opinion ] told him It
would DO question hereafter whether
his work should be placed on The shelf
Of history Or Of panogyric. It's u poor
book, written in bad taste, and gives 50
an idea Of Patrick Henry that
it seems intended to show Of the writer
more than the subject Of the work.
H1- II is with life as with coffee, he
who would drink it pure must not drain