Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-29

packed to the DOORS and mud-stained
II planters filled the yaFd. Many OF
them had known the gawky lawyer
throughout his boyhoOd chiefly spent in hunt
ing and fishing-they had watched him fail
twice as storekeeper-and while there was
aoneral agreement that pat would never
amount to much" all loved him and had warm
hearted interest in this brave attempt TO build
w . law practice.
Tall. raw-boned, his sallow face only saved
from mediocrity by a broad brow and brilliant
ewes the young counsel houndered to his feet,
plainly the victim Of painful nervousness
beyond control There were, in truth, many
things to catch at his throat, for success meant
An end to poverty, a roof for his wife and
babies the respect of men instead Of affec-
tionate tolerance, the restoration Of his own
belief in himself. so sadly shaken by bitter
failures
i. words came confusedly disjointedly-his
father dropped his face in his hands to hide
grief and humiliation-and q wave Of Sympa-
thetic dismay swept the court room. Poor Pat!
Suddenly the tall form Strengthened, the voice
Swelled to richest volume, awkwardness and
embarrassment fell away, and it was as il the
speaker caught fire from some inner flame.
Patrick Henry had found himself, and from
that moment until his death the souls Of men
were his to mold
THE case itself was of rare Importance, for
It hit the pocket of every virginian. From
the beginning of the colony the Church of Eng
land had been established by law and the pay
Of its ministers fixed at so many pounds of
tobacco tax that fell on every adult regard
less of his faith. Tobacco rising in price and
paper money falling, the House Of Burgesses
cAnnily legiSlated that the ministers might be
paid in currency, whereupon the outraged
dOminies carried their protests to London The
English King, always looking for chances to
assert the royal prerogative vetoed the Virginia
act. and now jubilant Parson Maury was seek
ing o formal court order for the difference in
pay.
Impatiently sweeping aside the legal aspects
Of the case, Henry aimed his passion at two
fundamental principles-the Kings right to
veto the laws of colony, and the fact of an
established church The monarcls tyrannous
abuse of power, he declared, had dissolved
the compact between ruler and people and
forfeited all claim to the obedience of Virginians.
Well were the conservatives entitled to shout
Treason" for not since Nathaniel Bacon had
any man ventured to preach rebellion. Here
IyaS no whine or snarl as to whether such and
such a law was good or bad, but bold assertion
that the making of laws was the business of
the colonies, in no wise dependent upon the
whins of kings There in old Hanover Court
House, on that gray December day of 1888 the
alarm bell of revolution was first rung, and the
hand that jerked it SO boldly was never to leave
the rope.
Patrick Henrys local fame was instant and
wave of popular alteration swept him into the
House of Burgesses Here he found himself
IN the presence of the aristocratic olgarchy
That ruled Virgnia-broadcloth gentry with
profound contempt for homespun-and 1t was
rs if he had been pitch-forked into Olympus.
Edmund Pendletop, R'chasd Bland Benjamin