The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1859-11-05
From the Century.l
EARLY YEARS OF PATRICK HENRY.
VIRGINIA. sep emter, 1853.

''""'ssA' W eiutef, 1917
About the middle of the last century
here was Youth in Ilauoyer county,
Virginia, who, in Scott nd would have
been called "m'er do we.i," and
IN ENGLAND "gnnd-!ur naught -
lie was Idle, induIcnt, careless. He
-hambled in his :ai, aud sluuchcd in Il e
carriage of his person. Every moment
whici, he could steal from his forced oc.
cupations Was spent in hunting, angling,
or lounging. 1t woulA have required
more than mortal forest ght to discern in
the awkward aud lazy youth, the great
prophet Of Revouti"n, aud the mou!der
Of one Of the grandcst epochs IN the his
tory os the world.
Such was Patrick Henry in his earlier
lays. The contrast between this figure,
aud that of the inpas.ioncd tribune Of
ihe people, the gisan,ic leader vi REBEL.
lnn. is sufficiently striking TO render
picture "t the man under both phas $,
interesting. | shall attempt TO collect
those personal aud characteristic memo
rta's which remain, aud combine them
whom they refer. Patrick Henry had
.,od blood in his veins. 1t is the fash.
ION to regard him as ''man Of the poo
pie in every sense Of the wors!---as
prung ftOu l"w rank 10 society,
whence he ea.crgcd, aud stood upan high
r social ground, by the force aud splcn.
dor of HE genius. Such was not The fact.
Without entering upon the discussion If
he influence of pedigree, Or claiming
my p euliar virtue for what i, called
= tloud," it is enough to say that the no.
ble nature Of Henry had its original in
no ignoble source. His mother--tp com
ncnca with the parent from whom u en-
generally 4 rive their inteliec, ual ana
moral character, as from their fathers
they are apt to derive their physical
characteri,tics-his mother was OF an old
nd respectable family, the Win,tons Of
Winston, in England Sir John VIM
,ton was gentlemen Of mark in the
days Of Queen Elizabeth aud Lndy Pen
ciope has given her name to numerous
descendants in Virginia. The mother Of
Patrick Henry married, FIRST Colonel
John Syme Of Hanover, and afterwards
Colonel John Henry Colonel Henry
vas native Of Aberdeen, Scotland. a
nephew on the maternal side of Dir. viii
liam K, herison, the historian, aud \
gentleman Of .Sne education and high
character The fact hat he held for q
long series Of years the post !. nrts'""3
magistrate IN the old County Cour,. Is
sufficient evidence Of the respect which
his nei.hbor felt for him. He was
good classical scholar, a man Of liberal
insti cts. aud devoted lnyalist lie
was Colonel Of the c. uny militia, as well
~ magistrate. aud drank the health Of
His M,je-ty King George with loyal
f.rvor. Such WAS the father of Patrick
Hrnry, and such the atmosphere in
whicl, the boy was raised. lie was sent
at mn early asc to one If those provincial
=. old field schools > which ex-rtcd so i'm.
portant ~ influence ut the period. Here,
in the hog cabin, on the edge Of the for
est. the young If botl, sexes and all con-
sliions me, the child of the yeon'an
and the heir Of the great landed proprie-
tor--and the birch descended impartlally
upon the rich aud the poor. At four.
teen the boy was taken home to mount
Brilliant" WHITTIER lis father had re.
moved from his former house called
S'udl y." and opened grammar school
for the education If his children and the
children Of the neighbors. this time,
Patrick Henry seems to have learned all
that he knew Of the classics. 1t pr',b
able that he acquired ga little Latin and
less Greek "--a fact which must be at
tributed solely to his own Incidence. lie
wss incorrigibly lazy. The habits which
he contracted 10 these early years clung
to him throughout life. dimning the
splendor Of his genius. and often parsl.
wing his energies in the Durges.es, at
the bar, and in the General Congress,
where the better trained men Of the
North threw him frequently into the
background. His passions were angling,
hunting and iding. Tins passed some
years. when the narrowing fortunes of
bis father made it necessary for him to