Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-08-10
cH1EFJUsr1cEJoHN MARSHALL
Some Interesting Incidents in His Life.

strong religious faith, the daughter OF
Rev. James Keith, of the Episcopal
Church, grandson of William Keith,
Earl Marshal of Scotland-and their
children numbered fifteen, of whom John
was the eldest, born in 1T55.
His father directed his early studies,
and he afterward received one years in
structiOn from a clergyman named Camp
bell, and was one year the pupil of Mr..
At the age of II he had tran
scribed the whole of POpe's Essay on Man
with some of his moral essays. my
father was a far ADLER man than any of
his sons" he remarked in later years,
''and to him 1 owe the solid foundation of
my own success
Before he was twenty the struggle began
between England and her colonies, and
he was chosen Lieutenant of a militia
of which his father was Cap
tain, and in whose absence he diligently
drilled the men. He was six feet tall,
with dark complexion, black hair
and eyes. He walked ten miles, from his
fathers house to the muster-feld, and the
same distance in returning home after the
drill. He wore ga round black hat, mount
ed with bucks tail for cOckade, pur-
pie hunting shirt and trousers of the same
material fringed with white" He was
ever simplicity itself. Through all the
changes Of his life he remained the same,
and as Mr.. Van SantvoOrd aptly says,
1.-The Chief Justice of the United States
never ceased to be John Marshall" He
was on the expedition to Norfolk, at the
battle of the Great Bridge, to oppose Lord
Dunmore, and there made his first appear
ance upon the scene of war. In 1716 he
received an appointment as First Lieu
tenant in the Eleventh Regiment of Con-
tinental troops, a great honor for so young
a man.
After the surrender at Yorktown, he
commenced the practice of law, in which
he soon attained honorable distinction.
He rapidly developed those powers of rea-
soning which subsequently made him so
Just Judge. He Is described at this time
as "Tall, gaunt, awkward and addressed;
he made a striking figure among the fine
gentlemen of the Virginia towns; but his
talents were conspicuous and he rose rap
idly in his profession by his remarkable
power Of Selling the attention, extracting
at once the kernel Of a question and pro-
ducing conviction in the minds of his
hearers. When he first appeared in Rich
mOnd to argue case, he sauntered about
the streets in plain linen roundabout,
looking like slouchy country pumpkin;
but once in court, he astOnished the Judge
and the bar by mis- wonderful powers Of
analysis"
On the Sd of January, 1888, he married
Miss Mary Willis Amber, to whom he
had become attached before leaving
the army. A Welsh parsOn once said:
"a bride should have nine qualifica-
tons beginning with the letter p-viz.:
piety, person and parts; patience, pru-
dence and providence; privilege, parent
age and portion; but that which should
be first of all in consideration, which is
piety, is now always thought of last of all,
and by many not at all, and that which
should be least of all and last of all in
consideration, which is portion, is now
become first and most of all, and by some,
all in all" Miss Amber possessed these
nine qualifications, and in the right order,
for she was very plous. John MarshalPs
marriage was one of the three events of
memOratiOn in the simple inscription,
which, two days before his death, he wrote
to be placed upon his tombstone. His
birth, marriage and death. He lived
with his wife nearly fifty years and was a
most devoted husband. ''Her DEATH"
says Judge Story, "cast a gloom over his
thoughts, from which he never recovered"
Mrs. MarshalPs father, Col. Jacquelin
Amber, was direct descendant of the
celebrated Jacquelins of France, and
man greatly beloved and respected. He
' ulOLU6E
was Hiss Rebecca Burwell, daughter of
gentleman of Gloucester county, Va, and
one of the greatest beauties of her day.
She discarded Thomas Jefferson to marry
Col. Amber. Miss Randolph gives this
account of JeffersOn's courtship of Miss
Burwell: SHE is boy and is indisputabIy
in love in this good year 1868, and he courts
and signs, and tries to capture his pretty
little sweetheart, as pious, it is said, as
she was beautiful, but, like his friend.
George Washington, fails, the young lady
will not be captured" He wrote to his
riend, John Page, 81 would fain ask Miss
Becca Burwell to give me another watch
paper of her own cutting, which l should
esteem much more, though it were a plain
me, than the incest in the world cut by
)ther hands," 1t is a somewhat notable
act that Miss Mary Cary, who discarded
George Washington, married Edward
Amber, brother of the gentleman pre-
erred to Thomas Jefferson. The great
men of that day were unfortunate and
eem to have been taught by sad expert
,nce that "kissing goes by favor" The
story goes that Washington, a short time !
)etore his marriage to Mrs. Curtis, wrote
o Miss Cary, telling her it was not even
hen too late for her to change her mind, !
hat if she would consent to marry him
he would break off his engagement with
Mrs. Curtis.
In 1895 Gen. Washington offered Mar
hall the office of Attorney General Of the
United States, which he declined. Gen.
Washington consulted him frequently on
many subjects. In 1896 he asked him to
accept the place of Minister to France, on
he recall of Mir. Monroe. This he also
.efused. II then thought said he, 'my
to remain at the bar unal-
situation appeared TO me
more independent and not less honorable
han any other; my preference for it was
lecided." In 1897 he was appointed by
Adams as Envoy Extraordinary
70 France to endeaYOr, with the aid Of
zen. Pinckney and Mr.. Gerry, to settle
our disputes with that country. He kept
4 journal of all that transpired and copies
If letters, from which 1t is easy to see why
he mission was fruitless. His handwrit-
ng is plain, easy to read, very indicative
If the character of the man, as is the SIM
de signature, j. Marshall, to all the pa
1ers. placed between PinckneY's and
Ierry's. In vain ''the Prince of Diploma
lists" brought his artful powers to bear
lpon these men. Talleyrand failed
lalked by the honesty and the wisdom of
Marshall. To such a man the character
If Talleyrand must have been peculiarly
as the tide of affairs progressed
md the part he was playing became more
md more plain. On the 18th of June, 1898,
Marshall returned to New York, ''where
le was received with the highest marks
If respect" His entrance into Philadel-
1hia, two days later, had all the eclat of
triumph.
On the 31st of January, 1901, Mr.. Mar
shall was commissioned Chief Justice Of
he United States, having been appointed
)y Mr.. Adams some time before. There
was a perpetual clashing of opinion be-
.ween the Executive and the Supreme
Court during the following administra-
ION, jefferson and Marshall were repel-
ant to each other.
Chief Justice Marshall occupied the
highest seat in the Supreme Court of the
United States thirty-ive years. His de-
,isiOns are recorded and will ever be the
lOblest monument a man could have or
wish. In reference to two of them Judge
story says: eff all the acts of his judicial
ife or arguments had persisted, his lumin-
,us judgments on these occasions would
rive an enviable Immortality to his
iame.D Judge Story said of the mode
IF life Of the Judges at these general
-arms of the court: "Our intercourse is
perfectly familiar and unconstrained, and
lur social hours when undisturbed with
he labors of law, are passed in gay and
rank conversation, which at once enliv-
Ems and instructs. We take no part in
Washington society. We dine once a
year with the President and that is all.
On other days we dine together, and dis