El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-02-19
Patrick Henry's Failures
Great Orator Il Tending Bar
When Opportunity to Become
Lawyer and Great,
is Presented.
BY MADISON Q. PETERs.

- ATRICK HENRY was an Episco-
; palian, an American born and the
\ son of a Scotchman. Patrick, at
that time, was a name very common
among the Scotch, who generally
lengthened it into the name OF Patri-
cius, which had nothing TO do with the
Patrick Of the Emerald Isle. Patrick 5
mother was a Winston. of Welsh stock.
As a boy Patrick had an aptitude Tor
learning, except mathematics When
he should have been at the desk ne
was shooting or fishing. His boyhood
indifference to education was replaced
by a love OF history, especially that of
Greece and Rome; his habituaI indo-
lence was overcome by his admiration
for Ivy whose history he thencefortn
read every year.
Al Is Patrick became clerk in a coun-
try store and at 16 he entered into a
@nartnership with his stepbrother. VIII
liam They were set up in trade by
their parents. Business failed and q
second attempt likewise ended in fall
ure. Patrick continued 70 hunt, shoot
and fish. At is, without money or oc-
cupation. he married Sarah Shelton.
the daughter of a small farmer and
tavern keeper. His family established
him on a small farm and gave him
number of slaves, but laziness sent him
and his young wife to the wall He
himself in trade, but he hated to work
and became insolvent.
Tends Bar.
His fatherinlaW now took him and
his family into his home and Patrick
tended bar for three years While
handing over drinks to a lawyer, who
was stopping at the hotel while trying
a case at the county court house near
by, Patrick told his customer that he
too had thought of becoming a lawyer.
n -s..H-
had failed as a merchant and farmer.
why not try talking? He was now "a
years old He studied law only six
weeks For three years his fame and
fortune were in keeping with his pre-
vious preparation. Thomas Jefferson
tells us that Henry was TOO lazy to
practice law, he was either out hunting
or camping in the woods and that his
untidy appearance was repeilant.
Happy Accident Occurs.
The happy accident. the turning
point in his career, his real opportunity
came to him at % in the Parsons's
Cause in which he was retained to
plead the peoples Case against Minis
teriaI Taxation" He got this case be-
cause lawyers of standing were afraid
to take it.
Never was such a scene witnessed in
Virginia. There stood the unknown
lawyer, facing an array Of ministers
and counsel which might have dis
mayed the nerve of the most famous
members Of the bar. Every eve was
upon him as he rose. He now had the
chance to show the stuff that was in
him Towards the close or his address
he Numbered forth: do they feed the
hungry, do they clothe the naked? Oh,
no, gentlemen Instead of feeding the
hungry and clothing the naked, these
rapacious harpies would. were their
power equal to their will. snatch from
the hearth Of their honest Pensioners
the last hoe cake. from the widow and
her orphan children their last milk
COW, the last bed, nay the last blanket
from the lying-in woman"
Never was such an arraignment OF
the pillars OF the church by a church
man Henry's victory was complete
The Jury was with him to a man. His
hour had struck. his success was as
sured That speech was the COM
menceu mt OF the revolution in Vir-
Discovers Himself.
Patrick Henry had discovered him
self He found out that he was a
born orator. He seized what was
thought a common occasion and made
X great. It was the first good chance
he had since he had got on the right
track. When by ahappy accident Henry
found his true bent as a speaker he
became q conscientious student When
he found the bent of his genius his
devotion to one thing. the law made
common chances golden opportunities
lie was a failure until he knew what
he was fit for. Your tasent is your
call.