Year: 1867

great measure to take any part in the
business. He seemed, indeed, very tired
of the place and wonderfully relieved
when, by appointment of the Virginia Con-
vention to be Colo. of their first regiment,
he was permitted to leave Congress about
the last of July. How he acquitted him
self of his military command will be better
known from others. He was relieved
from this position again by being appoint
ed Governor on the first organization of
the Government. After my service as his
successor in the same Office, my appoint
ment to Congress in 1878, mission to Eu-
rope in 's4, and appointment in the new
government in 'S9, kept US so far apart
that had no further personal knowledge
of him.


Mr.. Henry began his career with very
little property. He acted, as I have un-
derstood, as bar-kceper in the tavern at
Hanover Courthouse for some time. He
married very young, settled, believe, at
place called the Roundabout, in Louisa,
got credit for some little store of merchan-
disc, but very soon failed. From this he
turned his views to the law; for the acqui-
sltion or practice of which, however, he
was too lazy. Whenever the courts were
closed for the winter session he would
make up party of poor hunters of his
neighborhood, would 60 off with them to
the piney woods Of Fluvanna, and pass
weeks in hunting deer, of which he was
passionately fond, sleeping under tent,
before fire, wearing the same shirt the
whole time, and covering all the dirt of his
dress with hunting shirt. he never
undertook to draw pleadings if he could
avoid it, or to manage that part of a
cause, and very unwillingly engaged
but as an assistant to speak in the
cause. And the fee was an indispensa-
BILE preliminary, observing to the appli-
cant that he kept no accounts, never put
ting pen to paper, which was true. His
powers over a jury were so irresistible
that he received great fees for his services,
and had the reputation Of being Unsuitable
in money. After about ten years practice
in the County Courts he came to the Genl.
Court, where, however, being totally un-
qualified for anything but mere jury causes,
he devoted himself to these, and chiefly to
the criminal business. From these poor
devils it was always understood that he
squeezed exorbitant fees of ESQ, G100,
and E2OO. From this source he made his
great profits, and they were said to be
great. His other business, exclusive of the
criminal, would never, I am sure, pay the
expenses of his attendance. He now pur-
chased from Mr.. Lomax the valuable es-
tate on the waters Of Smiths River, to
which he afterwards removed. The pur-
chase was on long credit, and finally paid
in deprecated paper, not worth oak
leaves. About the close of the war he en-
gagged in the Yazoo speculation, and
bought up great deal of deprecated
paper at Is. and 2s. Cd. in the pound to pay
for it. At the close Of the war many OF
us wished to reopen all accounts which had
been paid in deprecated money, and have
them settled by the scale Of depreciation.
But on this he frowned most Indignantly,
and, knowing the general indisposition of
the Legislature, it was considered hope
less to attempt it with such an opponent at
their head as Henry. I believe he never
distinguished himself so much as on the
similar question Of British debts in the
case of Jones and Walker. He had exert
ed degree of interest in that
case totally foreign to his character,
and not only seemed, but had made
himself really, learned on the sub
iect. Another Of the great occasions
on which he exhibited examples of elo-
quence, such as probably had never been
exceeded, was on the question Of adopting
the new Constitution in l7SS. To this he was
most violently opposed, as is we'll known ;
and after its adoption he continued hostile
to it, expressing more than any other man
in the U. S. his thorough contempt and
hatred of General Washington. From
being the most violent Of all anti-Fede-
ralists, however, he was brought over to
the new Constitution by his Yazoo specu-
lation, before mentioned. The Georgia
Legislature having declared that trans
action fraudulent and void, the depre-
ciated paper which he had bought up to
pay for the Yazoo purchase was likely
to remain on his hands worth no.
thing. But Hamilton's funding system
came most opportunely to his relief, and
suddenly raised his paper from Is. Cd. to
27s. Cd. the pound. Hamilton became now
his idol, and abandoning the Republican
advocates of the Constitution, the Federal
government, on Federal principles, became
his political creed. Genl. Washington fiat
tered him by an appointment to mission
to Spain, which he declined; and by pro-
posing to him the office of Secretary of
State, on the most earnest solicitation of
General Henry Lee, who pledged himself
that Henry should not accept it. For Ge-
neral Washington knew that he was en-
tirely unqualified for it, and moreover that
his self-esteem had never suffered him to
act as second to any man on earth. had
this fact from information, but that of the
mission to Spain is of my own knowledge,
because, after my retiring from the office
of Secretary of State, Genl. Washing
ton passed the papers to Mr.. Henry
through my hands. Mr.. Henry's apostacy
sunk him to nothing in the estimation of
his country. He lost at once all that in
fluence which Federalism had hoped, by
caioling him, to transfer with him to itself,
and man who, through long and active
life, had been the idol of his. country be-
yond any one that ever lived, descended
to the grave with less than its Indifference.
and verified the saying of the philosopher,
that no man must be called happy till he
is dead.


Meetings.