Memoirs of the Life of William Wirt, Attorney General of the United States [1]

Citation preview

,

M

E

M

I

K

S

OF

THE LIFE OF

WILLIAM W ATTORNEY

GE>-ERAr. OF

B

JOHN

IN

P.

R T

I

THK (NITKU STATES.

V

KENNEDY

TWO VOLUMES. VOL. L

PHILADELPHIA:

LEA AND

B L A 1849.

NCHAR

I

>

EsTEEED, according

to the

Art of Congress,

in the year 1.S49,

by

LEA AND BLANCHARD, n the Clerk's Office of the District Court

PRINTED BY

for the

J.

P.

Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

TOV,

TO THE

YOUNG MEN OF THE UNITED STATES,

WHO SEEK FOR

GU^DA^fCE TO AN

HONORABLE FAME,

THE SE MEMOIRS ARE RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED,

THE AUTHOR. Baltimore, April

VOL.

1

12, 1349.

— 1*

CONTENTS

VOL.

I

13

Introduction

CHAPTER Parentage of William

I.

Wirt.— His Birth.— Will

of Jacob

Wirt.— Patri-

— Autobiographical Memoir of Ten Years. — BlaJensburg. —The Schoolmaster. — and Aunt. — A Thunderstorm. —Old Inhabitants of Bladensburg. —The Dancing Master. —A Ghost Story. — Performance on the Slack Wire. — Lee's Legion. —The Young Drummer. —Mr. Rogers' School Georgetown. — Mrs. Schoollield. —Mrs. Love and her Family. — Rural Life and Images. — Mr. Dent's School, Charles County. — Alexander CampPeace. — Day Dreams. —Colonel Lee. — Mr. Hunt's School The — ... 15 Montgomery.— Early Acquaintances. —Music. —A Fox Hunt. mony.

INIother

in

its

in

bell.

CHAPTER

—His —Sketches by

—Wholesome Influence of Mr. —Verse Making. —First Literary Consequences. —A School a Prose Satire on the Usher. — —A Victory. —Visit the Court House of Montgomery. —Mr. Dor—The Moot Court. — Constitution. —School Exercises. ... 41

Imaginative Temperament.

Hunt.

—His

Library.

Studies.

Cruse.

dent.

to

Its

CHAPTER Friends.

— Peter

A. Carnes.

Becomes a Tutor Time.

—

Studies.

Law with W. Is

Inci-

Its

Effort,

sey.

II.

—

P.

in

to Georgia.

—Removes

to

—Niuian Edwards. —Useful Employment of

Edwards.

Mr. Edwards' Family,

Journey

Hunt.

—Benjamin

III.

his

—Returns Montgomery and Studies Virginia. — Studies with Mr. Swann. to

admitted to Practise by the Culpepper Court

CHAPTER

49

IV.

— Attending —First Case.— —Habits —A Triumph.—His Companionable Albemarle Study. —Practises His Library.

Difficulties

it.

(lualites.

Friend.

in

Is

assisted

by a

of Desultory

57

— — CONTENTS

S

CHAPTER Albemarle Friends.— Dr. C4ilmer.—Mr.

V. Jefferson^,

Mr. Madison and Mr.

Monroe.—James Barbour.—Marries Mildred Gilmer.— Pen Park.—Dr. Gilmer's Library. Hospitality of the Country. Dangers to which he was

—

—

exposed.-Character of the Bar.—His Popularity and Free Habits.—Francis Walker Gilmer.—Thomas W. Gilmer, late Secretary of the Navy.—Dabney Carr and His Family.— Anecdote of Barbour, Carr and Wirt.— State of

Flu.—Death

of Dr.

Gilmer.— Rose Hill.—Letter

to

63

Carr

CHAPTER VL Happy

Life at

Pen Park.—Misfortune.—Death of

his

Wife.—Religious

—Elected Clerk the Remove Impressions. — Determines House of Delegates. —New Acquaintances. —Patrick Henry. —Resolutions of —Temptations two succeeding Ninety-Eight. —Re-elected Clerk a Libel under the Sedition Law. of Callender Free Living. — Wirt, Hay and Nicholas defend Him. — Course of the Trial.— A Singular —Fourth of July Oration. —Embar—Judge Chase. — Richmond.

to

to

Sessions.

at

for

^Trial

to

to

Nullification.

Incident.

rassed Elocution

"ii

CHAPTER Vn.

—Value of Appointment. —Reasons —Courtship. — A Theatrical —Second Marriage. —Removes Williamsburg. —Letters Carr. Norfolk. .... go 87 Resigns the Chancellorship and determines Elected to the Post of Chancellor.

for

Accepting

it.

— Col.

this

Robert Gamble.

Inci-

to

to

dent.

to

to

CHAPTER

VIII.

—Professional Success. —Letter Pope. — Birth of Eldest Child. — Religious Sentiments. — Trial of Shannon. — Singular Case of CirNorfolk 101 Residence cumstantial Evidence. — Removes Commences

Comments on

Practice in Norfolk. the Parsimony

to

of Judicial Salaries.

to

his

CHAPTER The

British Spy.

—Enemies made

by

it.

IX.

—

Letters to Carr, with

ecdotes connected with the Publication of the Spy.

^Vork

his

—His

some An-

Opinion of that 109

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER Success St.

X.

—Project of a Biographical Work.— Patrick Henry. Gentleman. —The Rainbow. — Letter —Letter

at Norfolk.

George Tucker.

to

this

Edwards

to

124

CHAPTER XL Increasing Reputation. to

Richmond.

— Dislike of Criminal

—An Old Fashioned Wedding

Trials.

—Meditates —

Williamsburg.

at

a Return

Letters.

Distaste for Political Life

— 140

CHAPTER XIL

—A

—Defence —Chancellor Wythe.—Judge Cabell.—Letter Mrs. W. on Swinney's Case. —Fondness Music. —Letter F. W. Gilmer. — RecollecRemoves

Richmond.

to

Case of Conscience.

Professional

of Swinney.

to

for

tions of

to

Pen Park,

150

CHAPTER Aaron Burr brought

to

—Indicted Treason. — Wirt retained —The —Some of Incidents. —The

Richmond.

as Counsel by the Government.

Asperity of Counsel.

XIIL for

Trial.

its

—Extracts of the Argument CHAPTER

161

XIV.

—The Principal Argument the Case.— Notices of —Mr. Mercer's Testimony. — His Description of BlanuerResidence. —Other Incidents of the Trial 177

Burr's Trial Continued.

Wirt's Share in hasset's

in

it.

CHAPTER

XV.

—Expec— Wirt Projects regard —The

Public Agitation.—The Affair of the Leopard and Chesapeake. tation of

War.

—Fourth

the Raising of a Legion. Project

meets

Embargo

of July.

—Letter

to

Judge Tucker.

—Correspondence with

Opposition.

—

-Finally >

Carr in

Abandoned.

— War

to

it.

Arrested.

—The 207

— CONTENTS

10

CHAPTER

XVI.

Increasing Reputation.—Mr. Jefferson Proposes to

gress.— He

Declines.— Determines

to

Adliere

Mr. Madison Against the Protest.— Letters of pectedly put in Nomination

—Letters

to

"One

of the

Legislature.—Letter

to

go

Con-

into

to

People."—UnexMrs.

W.

on

this

Elected.— Correspondence with Mr. Mon-

Carr and Edwards

226

CHAPTER His Service

him

Profession.— He Defends

to it.— Is

Event.— His Repugnance roe.

for the

to his

in the

XVII.

Legislature.—Preference for Private Life.— Letters

to

Edwards.— Literary Dreams.-Acrimony of Party PoUtics.— Education.— 259 Misgivings in regard to the Government

CHAPTER the purpose of Writing the

Resumes

Consults Mr. Jefferson on Oratory.

—The

The Old

XVIII.

Sentinel.

Bachelor.

Biography of Patrick Henry.—

Subject.— Letters

this

—Letter

to

B. Edwards.

—Letters Concerning

275

XIX.

it.— Character of the Work.— Amusing

Correspondence between Wirt and Carr in Reference

—His

to

it.— Carr 's Promo-

—Wirt Spoken Employed by Mr. Daughter.— Letter — Thoughts upon reference Mr. with Correspondence the Batture Case. —

tion to the of.

Carr.—New England

it

CHAPTER The Old Bachelor.— Contributors to

to

—Death of Col. Gamble.

Bench. —The

post of Attorney General Vacant. to his

it.

J. in

Jefferson in

Duane.— Mr. Madison and Mr,

to

-295

Gallatin

CHAPTER XX.

—Wirt Declines a Commission the Army. Volunteer Soldiery. — Life of Henry. — Burning of the Richmond Theatre. Winchester. Governor Smith. — Carr Appointed Chancellor,and Removes Write a Comedy. —Judge Tucker's Opinion him. — W. Attempts Letters of the Influence of such Literature on Professional Character. — Difficulty of Comedy. — Professional Dignity. — Richmond Bar. — Anecdote of a Trial Carr. —Tired between Wickhara and Hay. — Epigram. — Warden. — Letter Subof the Old Bachelor. — Biography. — Letter from Judge Tucker on The War.

—

Its

in

Excitements.

to

to

to

to

this

CONTENTS. ject.

—Incidents of the

War.

— British

Corps of Flying Artillery.— Letter a Student of

Law.

to

—Letter of Advice

Ascend Mrs. to

11 City Point.

to

W.—To

—Wirt Raises a

Dabney Carr.— Gilmer, 333

him

CHAPTER XXL Carr. — To Mr. Lomax. —Prosperous Condition.— —Views of the War.—Extravagant Opinions. — Letter Washing— Gilmer. — Campaigning. — Insubordination of the —Madison.—Webster. —Congress. —Unfavorable Aspect of Public Aversion —Engagement the Supreme Court. — PostLetters to

Contentment.

to

Opinion of Cicero.

Militia.

Visit to

Affairs.

ton.

in

Life.

to

365

poned

CHAPTER

XXII.

Attend the Court. — Returns. — Peace Restored by the —Letter Gilmer. —Resumes the Biography of Henry. of Work. —Scantiness of Material.—The Author weary of Letter Carr on the Subject. — Dabney Carr the Elder. —The Origin of the Continental Congress. — Peter Carr. — Letters Carr and Gilmer. — George Hay Resigns the Post of Attorney. — Wirt Recommends Upshur the President. — Moderation of Pohtical Feeling. — Mr. Madison Appoints Wirt — Correspondence Reference Appointment. Makes Debut in the Supreme Court. — Encounters Pinkney. — His Opinion of Pinkney. —Letter Gilmer. — Letter Carr on "The Path of Pleasure," and Opinion of Dramatic Attempt. — Correspondence with Mr.^ Jefferson on the Subject of the Biography. — Letter Richard

Washington

Visits

Treaty of Ghent. Difficulties

to

to

this

it.

to

to

District

to

the Office.

to

in

to this

his

to

his

to

this

to

Morris

384

INTRODUCTION.

A

NARRATIVE of

the

life

of

William Wirt

will present us

the career of one who, springing from an humble origin, was enabled to attain to high distinction amongst his countr5'men.

Whether

the incidents of that career are sufficiently striking to

communicate any high degree of

interest

to his biography, the

reader will determine for himself in the perusal of these pages. Mr, Wirt's life was, in great part, that of a student. His youth-

days were passed in preparation for his profession. His manOld age found him hood was engrossed by forensic labors. crowned with the honors of a faithfully earned juridical renown. His social life was one of great delight to his friends. It was embellished with all the graces which a benevolent heart, a playimpart. ful temper and a happy facility of discourse were able to With mankind, beyond the circle of his personal friends, he had ful

Ocno great acquaintance. He was not much of a traveller. was, he life, political of confines the upon touching casionally scantily entitled to

nevertheless, but

For

be called a statesman.

twelve years Attorney General of the United States, and consequently a member of the Cabinet through three Presidential terms, his

participation

government

professional duties of his

beyond the

with

talent and,

To

in

an eager inclination

it,

indulge these

was

affairs

office.

for

went very little had a strong

He

literary enterprise.

the most ardent wish of his

mmd

;

but

the pressure of his

circumstances kept him under a continual

What he

has given to the world, therefore, in this kind,

interdict.

VOL.

1—2

INTRODUCTION.

14

is

small in amount, and given under conditions that should almost The few works which he has left behind, how-

disarm criticism.

ever, will be found to merit, as in his lifetime they received, the praise due to the productions of an instructive and pleasant writer. life confined to the pursuits indicated in this sketch, may not

A

be expected to charm the reader by the significance of its events. life of It is much more a life of reflection than of action; more a character than of incident. I have to present to the world a man o-reatly beloved for his social virtues, the illustrations of which are daily fading friends,

away with

now reduced

the fading memories of contemporary

few survivors: a man of who had not the leisure

to a

strong literary ambition, but taste in the indulgence of

renown:

who

which he might have

a public functionary,

was, consequently, but

who had

little

and

attained to high

no relish for

identified

letters

to gratify a

politics,

and

with that public his-

tory which so often imparts the only value to biography a lawyer who, with a full measure of contemporary fame, has left but little :

on record by which the justice of that fame might be estimated. These are the chief impediments to the success of the task

have assumed.

Yet

I

do not fear

that,

from the material

at

I

my

be able to furnish an agreeable image of a man whose character will win the affections of the generation which succeeds him, as it did of those amongst whom he lived. disposal,

I

shall

LIFE OF WILLIAM WIHT.

CHAPTER

I.

1772 — 1783. PARENTAGE OF WILLIAM WIRT.— HIS BIRTH— WILL OF JACOB WIRT— PATRIMONY— AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OFTEN YEARS BLADENSBURG. —THE SCHOOLMASTER— MOTHER AND AUNT.— A THUNDERSTORM.— OLD INHABITANTS OF BLADENSBURG— THE DANCING MASTER.— A GHOST STORY PERFORMANCE ON THE SLACK WIRE LEE'S LEGION THE YOUNG DRUMMER MR. ROGERS' SCHOOL IN GEORGETOWN.— MRS. SCHOOLFIELD. —MRS. LOVE AND HER FAMILY RURAL LIFE AND ITS IMAGES MR. DENT'S SCHOOL, CHARLES COUNTY.— ALEXANDER CAMPBELL.—THE PEACE— DAY DREAMS— COLONEL LEE.— MR. HUNT'S SCHOOL IN MONTGOMERY.— EARLY ACaUAINTANCES MUSIC A FOX HUNT.

—

— —

—

Those who best remember William Wirt, need not be reminded how distinctively his face and figure suggested his connection with The massive and bold outline of his countethe German race. nance, the clear, kind, blue eye, the light hair falling in crisp and

numerous curls upon a broad forehead, the high arching eyebrow, the large nose and ample chin might recall a resemblance to the His height rather above six feet, his broad portrait of Goethe. shoulders, capacious chest and general fullness of development

were equally characteristic of

his

Teutonic

changing expression of his eye and

lip, at

origin.

The

ever

one moment sobered

with deep thought, and in the next radiant with a rich, lurking, quiet humor that might be seen coming up from the depths of his

traits

in the

—

word was said these were which enlivened whatever might be supposed to be saturnine

heart and provoking a laugh before a

merely national cast of his features.

PARENTAGE AND BIRTH.

16 >

[1772—1783.

—

i

His had

Jacob Wirt, was from Switzerland :* his mother, Jacob, with his brother Jasper Wirt, a German. Bladensburg, in Maryland, sojne years before the

father,

was

Henrietta,

settled in

war of

Jacob had

the Revolution.

whom

three daughters, of

gathered some

property

little

six cliildren, three sons

and

He

had

William was the youngest.

Bladensburg and supported his

in

family there chietly by keeping a tavern, the avails of which,

together with some small rents accruing from a few lots

humble way,

village, enabled him, in an

the

in

comfortable

to maintain a

household.

William was born on the 8th of November,

two years

In less than

after this date,

in the

year 1772.

Jacob Wirt died, leaving a His

small heritage to be divided between his wife and children. will,

which

Avife

Henrietta

on which the ing a

new

on record

is

"one

billiard

half lot of ground in Bladensburg, No. 5,

room

is built,

and on which

I

After her death this lot was to

house."

and to descend to

Prince George's county, assigns to his

in

my

am now

build-

"be appraised

Jacob Wirt, provided he pay out

eldest son,

of the appraised value of said house and half

my

each of

lot, to

other children, one equal part, share and share alike, to wit: to

my

my

daughters Elizabeth, Catharine and Henrietta, and

Uriah-Jasper and William,

—

each and every of which

to

I

sons

give

and bequeath one equal part of the appraised value of the above

The

premises."

will mentions, besides this property,

store in Bladensburg," rented at twenty-five

annum

pounds

"the brick sterling per

—

Cunningham and Co.; and "my tavern in which I now back builcHngs, stables and lot, also the counting

to

reside, with the

house before the tavern door and the smith shop." We have also a reference to two lots of ground in " Hamburg near George-

town," and some personal

This in the

is

summary of

a

year 1774,

left

estate.

all

the worldly goods

to be divided

William attained

his eighth year.

we have enumerated remained The name

of Wiit or Wirtli

is

reader conversant with the history of fate of

Adam

Adrian,

at

his wife

and six

Henrietta Wirt, the mother of the family, died before

children.

*

which Jacob Wirt,

between

Wirtli, the

Baden

deputy

in 1324.

How

in the

much of

the property

family at that period,

familiar to the annals of Switzerland. tlie

baililf

of

Reformation, will rememher

Stammheim, and

his

tlie

two sons,

we The

unhappy John and

PATRIMONY. — AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

CHAP. I]

17

The whole value of these Bladenswe may conjecture, amounted to no great

have no means of knowing.

burg and Hamburg sum,

—

periiaps

Divided, It

it

lots,

more than three or four thousand

not

probable that William was born

is

mentioned

village,

we may

be rented out,

endeavored

of the

in the little hotel

the will; and as this building

in

is

directed to

suppose that the family moved after the

death of Jacob Wirt, to the in vain,

dollars.

afforded but small provision for each of the children.

"new house"

on

No.

lot

from

to ascertain in the village,

5.

I

its

have,

present

inhabitants, the truth of these conjectures or to identify either of

the houses referred

to.

There are but (cw memorials of with but

What

has few chroniclers.

it

the family

lowly roof and frugal board

its

tory of that fireside,

in

is

may

left.

find a

Humble happy

labor

fireside,

accessible to us of the his-

whose rays the infancy of William Wirt

found a cheerful and healthy to a pleasant and playful

we owe

light,

chiefly, almost wholly,

memoir which the subject of

it,

then At-

torney General of the United States, wrote at the request of his children, in 1825, to

easy to discern,

This

little

still

amuse them with recollections which, more delighted himself.

fragment of autobiography runs over the

years of the author's childhood.

it

first

is

ten

homely, warm-hearted remembrance of a simple time, sketched, with a lively pencil, by

one

who

never

lost sight

It is a

zenith of a brilliant fame of his

in the

who watched

obligations to those

his first steps

and protected his

earliest infancy. I

shall extract

from these reminiscences what

I

find useful to

my

present purpose, without venturing to submit the whole to the eye

of the public.

They

dwell upon incidents which, however grateful

in the telling to that afi'ectionate circle to

addressed, and

who

could find

endearment, would, trivial

I

am

in

it

whom

a thousand

the memoir was memories of familv

be considered sometimes too

fearful,

to excite the interest of those

who

are strangers to the

genial spirit and household mirthfulness of the writer.

the extracts

which

I

may

submit,

the too rigid criticism or fastidious

him

to

remember

that

I

must deprecate, on

comment of my

Even

for

this score,

reader,

—

asking-

a father, discoursing to his children as-

sembled around their own hearth, on topics which derive their agreeable savour from their love to him, may claim a dramatic priVOL.

1—2 *

— BLADENSBURG.

18

[1772—1793.

vilege from the critic, to have his performance judged by

its

adap-

and the persons.

tation to tl)e scene, the time, the place

AVith this endeavor to forestall the judgment of the reader,

deed

bespeak

to

his

— towards what

good nature

disclose of the memoir,

I

it is

—

in-

proposed to

would remark, by way of comment on

the greater portion of these extracts, that Mr. Wirt's character

was, to the

latest

period of his

fluence

which

this

life,

He was

vivacity of his imagination.

singularly impressed

by the

greatly sensitive to the in-

predominance of the ideal had

shaping his

in

career, and has endeavored in the memoir, to trace the source of

some

distinctive currents of his life to the impressions

Every one has

his imagination in childhood. in

greater or less degree, and most persons

own

felt

made upon

these influences

may be

able to find in

some particular complexion of mind or form of habit and opinion traceable to such causes. In Mr. Wirt the effect of such influences was visible, in a very striking degree, to his friends. This may, perhaps, appear also to the reader in the

their

history

course of this biography.

Bladensburg has been, for many years past, say, without meaning unfriendly

stagnant

village, well

little

a quiet,

disparagement

known by

its

—

—a

I

may even

drowsy and

position on the

wayside

of a great thoroughfare to the national metropolis, from which is

but a few miles distant.

not only as a neutral

is

decided what the world has chosen to also as the field

when

trement,

it

somewhat famous in our annals, ground where many a personal combat has It

call a point

where higher questions were put

of honor, but

to mortal arbi-

the British army, in 1814, disputed with an Ameri-

can host for the possession of the capital.

For many years

past,

from a date before the commencement of the present century, this village has been not only stationary in its growth, but even falling gradually ])ortion

some

away under

of this period,

half

it

the touch of time.

was enlivened by the

During a great daily transit of

dozen or more mail coaches, plying through

to and from day the silence which was broken by the blowing of horns, tlie

the capital of the United States.

brooded over

its

streets

Twice

a

clamor of stable boys hurrying with fresh relays of horses to the doors of rival stage houses, and by the rattle of rapidly arriving and departing coaches. But even these transient glories have vanished.

The

rail

road,

which touches only on the border of

CHAP.

THE SCHOOLMASTER.

I.]

now

the village, has

19

displaced the old stage coach, and the village

slumbers are no longer broken.

Previous to the Revolutionary war fortune.

It

was

this village

had a

different

little

sea-port,

then a thrifty, business-driving,

which it constituted, was inhabited by some

profitably devoted to the tobacco trade, of at that day, quite an important mart.

who had

wealthy factors

It

planted themselves there in connection

with trans-atlantic houses, and whose mode of living, both in the cliaracter of their dwellings and in the matter of personal display,

communicated a certain show of opulence to the town. Whilst it was yet in its flourishing era, William Wirt was one of the children most familiar to its firesides a lively, shrewd, pleasant-tempered and beautiful boy, upon whom many eyes were

—

turned in kindly regard, though with that risina; fortune to

Touching these days he

shall

His reminiscences begin

when he was

first

little

foresight, perhaps, of

which he was destined. at

now speak

for himself

some three or

sent to school.

It

four years of age,

does not often

fail

that our

strongest recollection of infancy goes back to the schoolmaster,

whose lineaments are

that high authority

the

memory

Who

of childhood.

indelibly

stamped upon

does not remember the

awe and

reverence with which his young imagination invested the peda-

gogue beneath whose sceptre he was

first

taught to bow.''

To

the

who, yet callow, looks tremblingly upon all beyond the roof-tree, the image of the schoolmaster is the embodiment of all child

power and

all

knowledge

— teacher,

sage, seer, magician.

The

trace he leaves of his form and face, his gait, his voice, his vest-

ments, his uprising and a thing of

memory

down

merely,

—

sitting, it is

incoming and outgoing

is

not

an assimilation of something into

our organism, an incorporation of his identity with our own, which

we

perceive as

Our this

we

perceive ourselves some half century back.

present reminiscence, in the memoir, naturally begins with

image.

" The schoolhouse was across of the opposite square.

The

tlie

street at the farther corner

schoolmaster was Elisha Crown, an

Englishman; a middle-sized man, stoop-shouldered, spare, rather He wore a suit of blue

thin-faced and of a dark complexion. cloth, coat, waistcoat

and small clothes, with black horn buttons,

an old-fashioned cock-and-pinch hat, the pinch in front, far pro-

MOTHER AND AUNT.

20 jeded and

[1772—1783.

of silver shoe buckles,

sliarp^ a pair

— and was

a very

This picture may

respectable looking old-fashioned gentleman."

remind us of Ilogartlrs " Politician," with "the pinch" so far projecting that the candle burns a hole through it. " The school was transferred about a mile into the country, on

what was then the road from Bladensburg

to

Georgetown, Mr.

Crown's house being on one side of the road and the schoolhouse on the other

— both of them log

a house built on the

same

site, is

foundation of the old schoolhouse

house belonged to

my

The

houses.

dwelling house, or

now (1825) is

standing, and the

The

visible.

still

uncle Jasper Wirt,

whose

land and

eldest daughter

Mr. Crown had married, and whose dwelling, a single-storied brick house, was not more than a quarter of a mile off, and is also still

standing."

We

pass

now from

the schoolmaster and his concerns, to an in-

cident connected with ])leasant family

dent will illustrate

we have "

My

that

The

minute recollection of this inci-

sensitiveness

imagination

of

to

which

referred.

mother had come over from Bladensburg, one summer

evening, on a visit to her.

My

She was

a tall

join

dwelling of Jasper Wirt, and to a

this

picture.

my

aunt, and after school

aunt dwells upon

and

ratlier

my memory

large-framed

I

in

went down

to

strong colors.

woman, with

a fair

com-

plexion and a round face, that must have been handsome in her

She was

vouth.

a native of Switzerland, and

had

a cast

of cha-

made her worthy of the land of William Tell. A She was full of all the charities and kinder being never lived. courtesies of life, always ready to suggest excuses for the weak-

racter

tliat

nesses and frailties of others, yet without any frailty or weakness

own that I could discover. "She was religious, a great reader of large, old folio German Bible, bound

of her

a

religious books; and had eitlier

black leather, with silver or brass clasps.

in

wood

Often have

I

or hard

seen her

read that book with streaming eyes and a voice half choked with

her feelings. " On the evening that

I

most violent thunderstorms

down

am speaking I

there

My

was one of the

My

aunt got

As the storm increased mother was exceedingly fright-

her Bible and began to read aloud.

she read louder and louder.

of,

have ever witnessed.

CHAP,

ened.

THUNDERSTORM.

A

r.]

She was one of

21

the most tender and afleclionate of beings;

timidity of her sex in an extreme degree,

— and,

indeed, this storm was enoiigli to appal the stoutest heart.

One

but she liad

tlash

tlie

splinter,

which

it

yard and ripped o(F

in the

of lightning struck a tree

drove towards

My

us.

me

llew behind the door and took

remember.

I

never got over

in

My

my

aunt remained

way

no other

This was the

increased energy of her voice. I

mother shrieked aloud,

with her.

firm in her seat and noticed the peal

a large

first

than by the

thunderstorm

mother's contagious terror until

became a man. Even then, and even yet, I am rendered much more uneasy by a thunderstorm than, I believe, I should have been if my mother had, on that occasion, displayed the firmness of my aunt. I could not have been more than five or six years old when this happened. The incident and its effect on me show the I

commanding our

necessity of

fears before our children."

Another incident " On our way home from the schoolhouse road passed by an old

man had been buried who, death by

to

Bladensburg the

on the outer margin of which a negro

field,

was reported, had been whipped to who went to this school

it

Besides the boys,

his master.

from Bladensburg, there were several from the neighborhood, and,

whom

amongst others, one

I

remember only

This boy had one evening been detained

at

as

Zack

school after

of us had gone home, and had to pass the old

Calvert. the rest

all

field after

daylight

—

was gone. The next morning full well do I remember how he made my tlesh creep and my hair rise, by telling us that, in passing the field, the night before, he heard a whip-poor-will, which sate upon the gravestone of the negro, cry out whip him well— whip him well whip him well,' and that he could hear a voice answering from below Oh pray It was the first time that a su'

—

—

!'

'

perstitious emotion entered fully

sublime

it

was.

of terrible pleasure

in

My it

my

I

now

recall

how

heart quaked, and yet there

which

creep with horror to believe

That

—

mind, and

I

it:

cannot define. yet

I

It

dread-

was

a sort

made my blood

would not have had

it

false.

was never afterwards passed at twiliglit without which I, as being youngest, was always behind and con-

terrible field

a race, in

sequently most exposed to the danger and proportionably terrified. I

do not yet hear a whip-poor-will, without some of these mis-

givings of

my

childhood."

— OLD INHABITANTS.

22

[1772—1783.

These are trifles in the review of them, though not without some small interest in connection with the person who has thought them worth recollecting. They call to memory some characteristics

We

which

his personal friends will not fail to recognize.

have some pleasant descriptions of several merchants of

Bladenshurg of the old time "tall, spare old

;

gentleman,

— of Mr. Christopher Lowndes — the in

hlue

broadcloth and

plush, and

—

—

cocked hat" remarkable for his politeness and sauvily of Mr. Robert Dick, the silent, thoughtful man of business, residing in a :

beautiful mansion, " a long white house with wings,

which stood

on the summit of the Eastern Rid2:e which overlooks the town:"

Mr. Sidebotham, a

good

living,

who,

toddy every day

—

We

and kind."

stirring,

busy, successful merchant, rosy from

old fashion of Maryland, had his bowl of

in the

a thorough

John

" proud, rough, absolute

Bull,

Henderson, Mr. Huett and Doctor Ross, Messrs. Campbell and Bruce, factors, with good capital at command. Mr. Ponsonby was one of the magnates of the village, a handsome man, graceful, lively, well have shorter notices of Mr.

—

—

informed, and somewhat of the most noticeable for his beautiful

bay horse, bright

and whip mount-

silver spurs, stirrups, bridle bit

of glittering silver

— very taking

eye of William Wirt and the other children of the village. In the humbler range of the inhabitants he has other equally

ings, all

to the

pleasant memories.

" At the lower end of the town towards Baltimore, the house nearest the Eastern

whom we

Eastern Branch to

Branch was occupied by old Mr. Martin,

used to call Uncle Martin is

— why,

I

know

The

not.

subject to heavy freshets which have flowed up

Mr. Martin's house, and sometimes overflowed the whole

One

lage.

me,

in

vil-

of the most surprising and interesting spectacles to

those days,

was

this

old

man wading up

during a freshet, and harpooning the sturgeon.

It

fishery in miniature, and not less interesting to

me

to

his

was

a

waist,

whale

at that date.

man himself was an odd fish. He used to get fuddled and amuse himself with singing The Cuckoo's nest' and attempting to dance a hornpipe to the tune of it. He was fond of me and petted me a good deal. I remember him with kindness. I became

The

old

'

myself a hornpipe dancer by an occasion and the old man was delighted

to see

I

will presently mention,

me dance

to 'the

Cuckoo's

THE DANCING MASTER.

CHAP. L]

His second daughter was a beautiful

nest' sung by himself.

whom

I

23

The

can just remember.

my Uncle

oldest son of

girl

Jasper

was in love with her, and I have a recollection of having heard him take leave of her, when he was going to sea to seek his fortune. He was accompanied by my eldest brother. They never returned nor were ever heard of afterwards." " I must not forget Colonel Tattison, as he called himself in Maryland

— Col. Degraves, as he called whom

French dancing master,

To

elegant and graceful person.

which he introduced beginners, a large

Z

info

himself

remember

I

in Virginia,

—the

as a most symmetrical,

teach the new-fashioned minuet

Bladensburg, he used

mark, for

to

on the floor of the dancing room with chalk,

The house

which the school was kept stood some several hundred yards from where I lived, but whilst I was yet in petticoats, I used to steal away and that

letter

gave

tlie

figure of the dance.

from home to see Tattison dance his minuet. beautiful brunette, not then fully

— My

eldest sister, a

grown, was one of

his scholars,

and very nearly as good a dancer as her teacher. imitative childhood to admire any thing as

out learning immediately to dance child,

I

I

remember

John Martin,

hat on

my

is

not in

mere

and, of course, being a

off,

wedding of the

that at the

whom

I

eldest daughter of

my sister put a cocked exhibit me and herself in the

have mentioned,

me

head and took

French minuet and

It

did the minuet, with-

soon became a subject of admiration myself as a minuet

dancer. that

it;

I

in

out to

— the graceful management of the

being an essential part of the dance.

master, Mr. Crown,

was

present, and being

much

hat, putting

The

dissatisfied

the admiration lavished on the French dance (solely because

French) he took out a lady to shew English minuet was.

how much

That was danced

in the centre

man and

of the figure, there was a

his partner

were back

it

with

was

and like

In passing each other

moment when

to back.

on

superior the old

in the figure 8,

the French, by a gentleman and lady only.

it

old school-

The

step being very slow, this uncourtly relation

the gentle-

minuet time and

was continued

until

the parties arrived at the ends of the figure and faced about.

" Mr. Crown considered

it

the quintescence of politeness to

abbreviate this period, by setting off in

end and present his

face.

The

full

run to gain the upper

old gentleman's dress

—

his sharp

cock-and-pinch, his long waisted blue coat, his red waistcoat, very

—— A GHOST STORY.

24

[1772—1783.

— gave him an so grostesque, Camden says on a explosion of laughter. Such — occasion — was the plain and jolly mirth of

long, and his very short breeches \vhilst

air

executing this run to the extreme end of the room, as to as

jiroducc an

somewhat

different

our ancestors

Here

!"

follows a ghost story

" There was another incident to which this wedding gave rise. A dance was given, on a subsequent night, to the Avedding party, When the company had danced themselves weary, at our house. The Tattison proposed to close the evening by raising a ghost. matrons objected to subjects

;

it,

as a light and impious trifling with solemn

but Tattison assured them, with equal gravity, that he

had the power of raising any ghost they would call for, and that he could give them conclusive proof of it: that if any one would

go up

stairs

and consent to be locked up

moved from

the

company below,

in the

room

farthest re-

the stair door should also be

locked, so that no possible communication could be held between the person above and those below.

on a ghost

fix

the

person

whom

up

After this the

he, the operator,

stairs.

The

company might

would cause

to

appear to

graver part of the company

still

discouraged the experiment; but the curiosty of the younger and

was wanting but a sitter give proof of his skill in the to Frenchman up all, a Mr. Brice of amongst hesitation some After black art. accordingly taken up was He closeted. be to Alexandria agreed was introduced which he was into the room The door of stairs. more numerous

prevailed, and nothing

stairs to enable the

locked, and after that the door of the stair below, \vhich opened

from the a

stairs

upon the dancing room.

shovel of live coals, some

salt,

Tattison then asked for

brimstone and a case knife.

Whilst these things were getting, he proposed that the women should, in a whispering consultation, agree upon the ghost to be raised, and report

it

secretly to him.

This was done

;

and the

ghost agreed upon was to be that of John Francis, a little, superwho had died some (ew years before in

—

annuated shoemaker,

his latter days a ludicrous

person whose few remaining locks

were snowy white, with a nose as red as Bardolph's and eyes of and who was accustomed to sing, with a paralytic shake

j-lieum

—

of the head and tremulous voice,

CHAP.

GHOST STORY.

I.]

'What

we come

did

here for?

what

S'$

did

we come

here for?

We came here to prittle prattle. And

And to make the glasses what we came here for.'

that's

rattle

" The habit of drink was so inveterate upon him that he had not been able to walk for some years before his death, except with the help of another, and then with but a tottering step.

name was answered by

nunciation of his

The

around the room.

supposed

to

Francis's

be not a

difficulty

little

The

an-

a half suppressed laugh

of the Frenchman's task was

make John He, however, nothing daunted,

increased by attempting to

ghost walk alone.

began his incantations, which consisted of sprinkling salt and brimstone on the coals, muttering over them a charm in some sort of gibberish, and knocking solemnly on the stair door with the butt

These strokes on the door were

of his case knife.

the tolling of a bell,

came

as regular as

each series closing with a double knock; then

knocks closed by another double

a pause, another series of

stroke, and so on to the end of the ceremony.

" The process was long and solemn, and there was something

in

the business itself and in the sympathy with the imagined terrors of the witness above,

nervous

which soon hushed the whole assembly into a of young children listening to a ghost In about half an hour the ceremony was closed,

stillness akin to that

story at midnight.

shower of blows and the agitated cries of the Frenchman. The Frenchman fall on the floor above. rushed up stairs at the head of several of the company; and there He was brought to our sitter was found on the floor in a swoon. with the aid of cold water, and on reviving said he had seen a in

a

Brice was heard to

man

enter the

room with

a coal of fire on his nose, and on his

—

name of John Francis. It was agreed, on all hands, to be very strange and many shook their heads significantly at Tattison, intimating that he knew more than he ought, and that it was not very clear he was fit company for christian people. No one was disposed to renew the dance, and the party forehead written

in fire

the

;

The Frenchman,

broke up.

with his characteristic politeness,

flew to the door to help the ladies

down

the steps,

when he saw,

standing outside of the door, close at hand, a gigantic phantom

arrayed

He

in

white and arms stretched wide, as

if to

receive him.

shrieked, leaped from the steps and disappeared."

VOL.

1—3

THE WIRE DANCER.

26 This was

plot

and counterplot.

— Next

Wire Dancer, with

childhood, the

[1772—1783.

comes

that

wonder of

and other accom-

his balancings

plishments.

"About village,

same period when Taltison was figuring

the

we

had another exhibition

still

in

our

better fitted to gratify

my

awaken whatever of fancy belonged This was Mr. Templeman, a dancer on the slackwire. to me. The exhibition was in Tattison's dancing room. We got there at The room was brilliantly lighted. A large early candle light.

love of the picturesque, and

wire fastened

at

each end of the room, near the ceiling, hung in a it within twelve or fifteen inches of the tloor.

curve, the middle of

remember

I

the pouring in of the

as the phrase Still

is,

better do

with

'

remember,

I

a

—a

tall

the

room was

filled,

fashion of the place.'

commanded

man, superbly

military air, with a

till

after a note of preparation

other room, which bespoke and

Templeman

company

the beauty and

all

from an-

silence, the entree of

of

attired in a fanciful dress;

drum hung over

his shoulder

by

a scarlet

Saluting the It was such a picture as I had never seen. company with dignity, he placed himself upon the wire; then giving a hand to his attendant, he was drawn to one side of the room, and, being let go, swung at ease, beating the drum like a

scarf

—

performer.

professional

He

balancing hoops, swords, &c.

what

I

performed

— and,

to

the usual

all

crown

had never seen before, a hornpipe,

in

exploits,

the whole, danced

superior style

;

spangled shoes, in the rapidity of his steps, producing upon

most

brilliant

My own

etfect.

into play, and

became

I

was six years of age

;

imitative

Templeman

by

rose before

me

in

celebrated^ little

1

dressed gentleman-like person, somewhat

known

to

me

as the paragon of

my

met

village.

in

I

such celebrity as

The image

as something of another

such splendor on the wire,

a

propensity came again

another sphere when, about forty years after

swinging

his

me

a celebrated hornpipe-dancer before

— meaning

spread through about one-third of our of

—

I

age, or

had seen him

Washington a well

corpulent,

who was made

childish admiration, converted

into a plain citizen, and an extensive dealer in city lots."

We have now some pictures of the Revolutionary war, " Before I left Bladensburg to reside in it no more, which happened in my seventh year, another event occurred which rests vividly upon

my

recollection.

This was the passage of Lee's

CHAP,

LEE'S LEGION.

r.]

Legion through the

village.

27

presume

I

this

occurred when Lee

Greene

detached from the north to support General

was

south.

remember

I

in the

the long line of cavalry in the street, the large

beautiful horses and fine looking

men in uniform, and a particular to me as a relation to my family.

who was pointed out His hair was loose, long, black and frizzled, and flowed over his General Lee, broad shoulders, sweeping down to his saddle. whom I knew well in aftertimes, has repeatedly mentioned this individual

me

individual to

which It

as an officer (a subaltern, perhaps) of great merit;

the fact that the cavalry

fixes

extended along the street

saw was of Lee's Legion, head of the column had

I

until the

turned the corner at the lower, the southern, extremity of the

came

village, before the rear

to

till

in

view:

—

a spectacle well calculated

the imagination, and stamp itself deeply on the

boy of

my

"It must have been

same time

at the

that a

—

was in Bladensburg, There was among them

the Continental army,

of Lee's Legion. it

strikes

The

memory

of a

age.

me,

my

way

of rebuke,

I

infantry of

whose name,

a doctor

have heard mentioned as a surgeon

I

only thing, in the

ceived from

body of

perhaps, also, a part

in

Lee's corps.

recollect to have ever re-

dear mother, was occasioned by an incident con-

The

nected with these troops.

continual musters of militia in

Bladensburg, with the drum and

from a period so early that

had made

fite,

me

drummer

a

have no recollection of its commence-

I

ment. My ear was naturally good, and I was a singer for the amusement of company from the time that I could speak, and

The accuracy

perhaps sooner.

me drumming common marches

pensity kept singing the

dexterity that

of

my

ear and

my

of the time, with such directness and

attracted the attention of others.

it

tleman whose name

I

imitative pro-

on the tables and on the floors and

cannot

now

recall,

An

drew out of

old gen-

his

bosom

one day, a pair of small drumsticks, which he had had made for

me and

painted blue, and gave them to

drum, but with these sticks such effect that

mer

in the

I

I

pursued

me

as a present.

my drumming

This was the

state

of

my

proficiency

troops aforesaid marched through Bladensburg.

where the

I

had no

could soon beat time as accurately as any drum-

army.

ing about them,

I

exercise with

the

in a room were drinking, and where there were drums

found myself, one day, at the baker's

soldiers

when

Pushing and peer-

MR. ROGERS' SCHOOL.

28 and

put into

my

liands.

the

too.

It

fife

a merry-hearted man, and, paraded, and the drumsticks

The baker was

plenty.

fifes in

upon seeing me, had a drum and

fife

with the accompaniment of

set to beating,

I

was my

[1772-1783.

exliibition.

first

I

performed with so

much animation and The drum head was

success that the soldiers were astounded. soon covered with as many pieces of silver

coin and pennies as

filled

of

my

carrying these

me

loved mother gave

my

both

home

in

hands.

triumph, that

It

was on occasion

my

honored and be-

a rebuke against taking

money

presents,

which fashioned my character in that particular for life." "In 1779, I was sent to Georgetown, eight miles from Blaa classical academy kept by Mr. Rogers. densburg, to school with the family of Mr. Schoolfield, a boarding I was placed at

—

quaker.

They occupied

end of Bridge built,

street.

honest-faced and

the best of creation. left 1

by the person

a small house of

honest-hearted quaker:

A

deep sadness

I

remember

ness that seized upon

I

heart

one of

his wife

to

any thing

I

was

When

Georgetown.

that

was

and forlorn-

total desertion

— unlike

square

a well-set,

—

knew, nor an object

the sense of

my my

logs at the eastern

upon me, when

fell

who accompanied me

could no longer see a face that

not stransre,

hewn

Friend Schoolfield was

in after

felt

I

for hours together,

heart would break I sobbed as if and was utterly inconsolable notwithstanding the maternal tenderness with which good Mrs. Schoolfield tried to comfort me. Almost half a century has rolled over the incident, yet full well do years.

what gentle affection and touching sympathy she urged every topic that was calculated to console a child of my After quieting me in some measure by her caresses, she years.

I

recollect with

look

down her

brethren.

It

usually read,

prehend

my

own.

it

;

is

probable

— without

and

in

had read

I

His separation from I

and never received one that

am

some occasion

before, as such things are

But she made

it.

his family

to return

had brought him

same

I

forgot

to great

thought, might be equally fortunate.

my it.

I

never forget an act of kindness,

heart has not impelled

So

far as

my

me

to

wish

experience goes,

persuaded, too, that doing an act of kindness and,

repeated acts to the

me com-

the distresses of Joseph and his father

claim some sense of gratitude.

for

the story of Joseph and his it

understanding

honor, and possibly mine, 1

me

Bible and read to

still

I

more,

individual, are as apt to attach the heart

AND HER FAMILY.

MRS. LOVE

CFfAP. I]

29

of the benefactor to the object, as that of the beneficiary to the

who

does him the service.

to see

Mrs. Schoolfield after

person

went

was so in this instance. I became a man, and a warmer

It I

meeting has seldom taken place between mother and son. " I passed one winter in Georgetown and remember seeing a long line of wagons cross the river on the it

was

tached to south.

I

conjecture that

wagons were atthe troops already mentioned, which were going to the remember also to have seen a gentleman, Mr. Peter, I

I

think, going out gunning

backs

ice.

the winter of 1779-80, and that these

— which

have seen

I

for canvass in those

backs

—then

called white

days whitening the Potomac,

and which when they rose, as they sometimes did for a half a mile or a mile together, produced a sound like thunder. tion this

— being

struck with the different state of this

I

men-

game now

on the Potomac."

This school of Mr. Rogers

mind of the his

pupil.

He

no pleasant impression on the

left

remained there

less than

one year, changed

boarding house, and, getting from under the eye of good Mrs.

Schoolfield and her household,

in the

fell

into associations with others

Richard Brent, Esq., a gentleman once distinguished

not so kind.

House of Representatives, but long Georgetown school.

since dead,

was a

fellow-student at the

The recollections now carry us to another From Georgetown I was transferred to

"

quarter. a classical school in

Charles county, Maryland, about forty miles from Bladensburg.

This school was kept by one Hatch Dent,

Newport Church.

I

was boarded with

name of Love, and my residence few sunny spots

in

in

in the

vestry house of

widow

a

lady by the

her family forms one of the

the retrospect of

my

childhood.

Mrs. Love

good deal bent by age, yet brisk and The family was composed of her and three maiden

w^as a small, thin old lady, a active.

whom

daughters, of

the eldest,

I

suppose, was verging on forty,

and the youngest, perhaps, twenty-eight. and settled

Nancy,

in

the neighborhood.

a round,

plump and

The

She had

jolly old maid,

who was

of the family and used to take a great deal of

was

She presided over

a son married

eldest daughter

snuff.

was named weaver

the

The second

which was always neat and sweet and abundantly supplied with the richest cream and butter. Sally was somewhere about thirty, short, rosy and brisk, Sally.

VOL.

1—3*

the dairy,

—

'

RURAL

30

LIFE.

[1772—1733.

with a countenance marked by health and good humor, and with one of the kindest hearts that beat in the bosom of her kind sex.

She was fond of me, banqueted me on milk and cream

my

heart's content, admired first

heard Roslin Castle.

to

my

From her I and loud voice could make From of touching plaint.

songs, and sang herself.

Her

clear

the neighborhood vocal with its notes lier, too, I first heard the name of Clarissa Harlowe, and she gave me, in her manner, a skeleton of the story. Peggy, the youngest,

was pale and delicate, with more softness of manners than the She was the knitter and seamstress of the household; others. of very sweet disposition, with a weak and slender but kindly She did not sing herself, but was very fond of hearing us voice. who did. There were two boys of us near the same age. Johnson Carnes was rather older and larger than me. He was a good, grave boy, with better

diffident, rather

But he did not

sing,

was

common

sense than

I

had.

homely, and had no mirth and

ratlier

on the contrary, was pert, lively and saucy, and said smart things sometimes, and they used to say pretty withal sang two or three songs of humor very well. One was Dick of Danting Dane, in which the verse about ' my father's black sow was a jest that never grew stale, nor failed to raise a hearty frolic in him.

I,

—

Another was a description of a race at New Market between two horses called Sloven and Thunderbolt. Sloven belonged to some Duke perhaps the Duke of Bolton. The verse laugh.

—

ran, as

I

remember '

When

He "Besides

my

laid

Sloven saw the

Duke

his master.

back his ears and did run

singing,

I

danced

to the

much

faster.'

astonishment of the natives,

Thus admired,

and, altogether, had the reputation of a genius. flattered and

rissa

feasted with milk and cream, Roslin Castle and Cla-

Harlowe,

&.c.,

make him happy tribute to

my

!

what more could

The very

amusement.

a child of

my

age want to

negroes used to be pleased to con-

Old Moll carried me

to the

cowpen,

where she permitted me with a clean, broad splinter, prepared for and her the purpose, to whip the rich froth from the milk pail home at field, came in the day's work hard a after George, son ;

night and played the horse for me, by going on

green yard, with

me mounted upon

his back,

all

—he

fours, in the

going through

CHAP.

MR. DENT'S SCHOOL.

I.]

'31

the feats of an imaginary fox hunt, sounding the horn and leaping

—

over imaginary fences, gates, &c. all of which was life and joy To crown all, I had a sweetheart ; one of the prettiest to me. cherubs that ever was born. The only thing I ever thanked

/Nancy Love quainted with

for,

was giving me

the occasion of becoming ac-

She took me with her once on Mr. Thomas Reeder lived on the

this beautiful girl.

a visit to her aunt Reeder.

banks of the Potomac, just above Laidlowe's and opposite to Hooe's Ferry. In those days there was a ferry from Reeder's to

The house was

Hooe's.

of brick, situated on a high airy bank,

giving a beautiful view of the Potomac, which

Peggy Reeder was

wide.

my own

is

age, rather younger, and as beautiful as

a child to be.

We

fell

there four miles

the only child of her parents,

most exceedingly

in

it

is

— about

possible for

love with each other.

She was accustomed to make long visits to her aunt Love, and no two lovers, however romantic, were ever more happy than we. On my part, it was a serious passion. No lover was ever more disconsolate in the absence of his mistress, nor more enraptured at meetino: her.

tions

know I

I

do not know whether

keep pace with the that there

is

intellect in their

it is

held that the

I

resided at ^ Irs^

engaged

to

happy, not at the

I

do

nothing in the sentiment of happy love, which

two years

did not experience for that girl, in the course of the

when

aft'ec-

development; but

L over s. When

I left

there

be married at the following Easter. in the least

I

we were felt

firmly

proud and

doubting the fulfilment of the engagement

time appointed."

*

#

*

#

" As for school, Mr. Dent was a most excellent man, a sincere for I was I presume, a good teacher

—

and pious christian, and,

too young to judge, and, in fact,

much

too

young

for a

Latin

two years Johnson Carnes and myself got as far advanced as Caesar's Commentaries though we could not have been well grounded, for when I changed to another school, I was Mr. Dent was very good temput back to Cornelius Nepos. received from him a harsh to have remember not I do pered. His school was punishment but once. of kind word or any attained much scholars who none the recall of crowded. I can time short but Alexwith us a who was distinction, except one as celebrated an became orator ander Campbell, who afterwards

school.

In the

—

—

in Virginia,

and

still

more

painfully celebrated for his melancholy

— ALEXANDER CAMPBELL.

32 According to

end.

Dent's,

was

lie

my

recollection of him,

[1772-1783.

to

Mr.

He

had

when he came

between eighteen and twenty years old.

just taken a prize for eloquence at the school in Georgetown. In deportment he was manly and dignified ;— rather grave and

thoughtful, though sometimes relaxing a

remember

I

little.

with others of his family, he was

"

I

never saw him after he

I

common

marked.

so strikingly

left

his

recall, too, that

puzzling me perpetually tremulous and dancing eye-ball by which, in

with forte dux fel flat in gutlure.

Mr. Dent's

;

but he was

still

the bar after I grew up and went to commence the I suppose he came to the the upper part of Virginia.

figuring at

practice in

bar several years after Chief Justice Marshall and Judge Washington, who must themselves have begun to practice after the

Edmund Randolph

Revolutionary war.

Revolution, or, perhaps, at the point of

Henry about still

Yet

years earlier.

fifteen

bar

at the

its

qualified just before the

commencement all

when Mr. Campbell began

peared with them frequently

Patrick

He

his career.

same causes

in the

;

these gentlemen were

;

and

praise, but no less just than high, to say that, even

it

is

ap-

high

among them

he was a distinguished man. He stood confessedly in the first rank of genius. In logic, he did not wield the Herculean club of Marshall

nor did he,

;

of Henry,

— but

finest point,

Some

in rhetoric, exhibit the

his quiver

was

filled

gothic magnificence

with polished arrows of the

and were launched with Apollonian

heard, were echoes

and grace.

skill

of the most beautiful touches of eloquence

I

have ever

from Campbell which reached us

in

the

His arguments were much extolled for their learning and strength as well as beauty. I have heard it said that Mr. Pendleton, the President of the Court of Appeals, spoke of Campbell's mountains.

argument

in the

case of

Roy

ington, as the most perfect

and Garnett, reported by Mr. Wash-

model of forensic discussion he had

ever heard.

" Poor fellow " He left a whimsical

#

*

!

will

which

I

have seen, and

* in

*

which was

a request that no stone might be placed over his grave, for the reason that if a stone were placed over every grave there would

be no earth

left for

agriculture."

Leaving this digression " I lived there, I think,

we go back until the

to

Mrs. Love's.

year 1782, as perfectly happy

CHAP.

RETURN OF PEACE.

I.]

who was

as a child could be

separated from his mother and the

From

other natural objects of his aifections. I

went to bed,

with two

tlie

live-long day,

drawbacks— the going

on holidays,

—

which

ought to be abolished.

much harm;

for

it

was

I

never

the time

rose until

I

all

enjoyment, save only

to school,

and the getting tasks

it

by the by,

last,

33

is

a practical cruelty that

knew good

come of

to

but

it,

starts across the child's path, like a goblin,

The

throughout the holidays.

task

is

deferred until

how

moment, then, either slubbered over any

the last

or omitted alto-

gether, and a thousand falsehoods invented to evade or excuse

the order of the day in

But these holiday tasks were and haunted

me

until the

it.

youth,

holidays no longer deserved the name.

the exception of these same tasks and a slight repugnance to

With

daily school, Mrs. Love's

quiet

my

life

town.

was an elysium

to me.

It

was

a very-

without the amusing incidents of Bladensburg and George-

The

only picturesque occurrence of which

I

have any re-

was the passage of a party of fox-hunters with their The public dogs and horses, one day, by our dwelling-house. road to Allen's Fresh ran close by the gate, where I was standing It was alone, when this animated and noisy party dashed along. collection

such an obstreperous invasion of the

stillness

so entirely novel a spectacle to me, that

I

gate and walked towards the house to get

mischief of which they seemed

my

of the country, and

drew back from out of the way of

One of

the the

the riders, observing

***** movement, put spurs

full.

to his horse

and leaped the fence by the

side of the gate, as if to frighten and pursue

me

;

but

too proud to run, and he returned to his party the

" There was a barbacue

at

I

was rather

way he came."

the Cool Springs, near Johnson

This was an of peace. exceedingly. Having puzzled me which idea, I well remember, suspicion that war, I had state of no known no other things but a must have it. I uncommon in there was any thing unnatural or heard continually of the battles that were fought, but I have not which the slightest vestige on my memory of any such thing Carnes' father's, to celebrate the return

;

can only proceed from the circumstance that victories

must have appeared to

was exceedingly perplexed, which

this

me

as ordinary occurrences.

therefore, to understand

barbacue celebrated.

I

—

battles, defeats

had no

and I

the event

distinct idea of the

DAY DREAMS.

34

[1772-1783.

meaning of war and peace; and, after the explanation that was given to me, had still but vague and confused impressions of the subject.

I

was

that the event in question

presume

the signature

was only nine years

in 1781, when I any time nearer to the immediate seat of the war, the terrors of those around me might have startled me into a clearer perception of its character, and have prepared me the

of the preliminary articles old.

If

I

had been

at

better to understand and enjoy the return of peace.

had never heard of

it

As

it

was,

I

but at a distance and with composure, and

had seen nothing of war but its 'pride, pomp and circumstance,' to which a boy at my age had no objection." " I became sensible of the power of forming and pursuing at pleasure, a day-dream from which to

which

I

derived great enjoyment, and

I

found myself often recurring.

the scenery around gentle and peaceful.

wide and one mile

There was nothing

in

me to awaken such vagaries. It was tame, The house stood on a flat about half a mile

On

long.

the east, the view

was shut

in

by a

whole length of liill of moderate height, which stretched along the with a growth adorned and verdant undulating, gently the plain sides and its over scattered were which trees walnut of noble

—

summit.

This

hill

was the only handsome object in view. On was locked in by swamps or woods;

every other side the plain

so that there was neither incentive nor fuel for poetic dreams.

Mine were

the amusements of the dull morning walks from Mrs.

Love's to the schoolhouse. It was a walk of about two miles, and my companion rather disposed to silence. I remember very dis-

one of these vagaries, from the circumstance of my having recalled, renewed and varied it again and again from I imagined myself the owner of a the pleasure it afforded me. tinctly the subject of

beautiful black horse, fleet as the winds.

My

pleasure consisted

in imagining the admiration of the immense throngs on the racefield, brought there chiefly to witness the exploits of my prodigy I could see them following and admiring him as he walked along the course, and could hear their bursts of applause

of a horse.

as he shot by,

The

vision

first

was

one competitor, and then another,

vivid as

that a real victory could

life

and

I

felt all

the

in

the race.

glow of triumph

have given."

These imaginings were

characteristic of the boy, and

have typified the peculiar nature of his aspirations mature period of his manhood.

seem to more

in the

CHAP.

COLONEL LEE.

I.]

Here

is

remembrance of

a

35

a notable personage of the

Revo-

lution.

"

I

must not forget a rencontre which I had with a very distinman at this period. It had happened that, on some former

guished

occasion,

had attracted the attention of Col. Lee, of the legion

I

A

ah-eady mentioned, as he passed through Bladensburg.

volume

of Blackstone chanced to be lying on the table, near which he was sitting; and, shewing me the title on the back of the volume, he

asked me what taries'

I

called

I

it.

pronounced the word

'

Commen-

with the accent on the second syllable, and he corrected

my

Lord Duberly calls it. Upon the foundation of this slight acquaintance, I was recognized by this gentleman at Mr. Reeder's, where I had gone on a visit with one of the Miss Loves,

cachilology^ as

and whither Col. Lee had come to cross the ferry, with his

first

newly married. He seemed quite pleased to meet me, took great notice of me, and, finally, insisted on my crossing the river with him to Hooe's, where he promised to give me some fine cherries. They who had the care of me seemed to wife, then, as

consider

me

was

I

told,

and themselves much honored by

Lee, and readily consented to his proposal.

this notice

So,

I

of Col.

was placed

along side of him in the boat, while his young wife, for the greater the

part, if not

whole of the passage, stood upon one of the

benches, facing the breeze, which wantoned freely with her robes.

She had a

fine figure,

and her attitude, as the boat rose and sank

on the waves, was so strikingly picturesque as to remain strongly on

my memory. beach

low

The

river

is

at this place four miles

at the opposite side is, at

some

that a boat cannot get quite to the shore, in

sengers have to be borne to dry land

in

all

moved

1

could.

I

off to the

chew was

house

at

which case pas-

the arms of the ferrymen.

This was the case on the present occasion. were taken to the shore, where they, their the boat to

wide, and the

states of the tide, so shal-

Col.

Lee and

his wife

servants, ferrymen and

Hooe's, leaving

me

sitting alone in

the cud of disappointment and neglect as well as

entirely forgotten

:

— but

I

did not forget this slight,

'n the reflections

which, even then and often afterwards, the

dent provoked.

After sitting alone in the boat for near an hour,

unthought of by the person ation, I

was

who had

at last relieved

betrayed

by the ferrymen,

their leisure, without either cherries or

inci-

me into that situwho returning at

apology from Col. Lee,

— MR. HUNT'S SCHOOL.

36

me

took

back

safe

to the

more

friendly

[1772—1783.

bosoms

had

I

on the

left

other shore."

"In 1783 Dent

in

I

was removed from

Charles county, to that of the

byterian minister in

mentioned.

I

Montgomery county, whom

was put

to

I

have already

board with Major Samuel

who

gruder, a substantial planter, Hunt's.

grammar school of Mr. Rev. James Hunt, the Pres-

the

lived about

Wade Ma-

two miles from Mr.

The Magruders, at that time, formed a numerous family The original name, I have heard, was McGregor

in that county.

of Scotland, and the ancestors are said to have sought a refuge in The Major showed the defeat at Culloden.

this country, after

marks of Highland extraction. He was large, robust and somewhat corpulent, with a round florid face, short, curling, sandy hair, and blue-gray eyes. He was strong of limb, fiery in temperament, He was a magistrate and hospitable, warm-hearted and rough. however, he was as which, peace, the of conservator a ex-officio At times he was ready, on provocation, to break as to preserve. kind and playful with the boys but wo betide the unfortunate boy ;

or man who became the " Mrs. Magruder was

the sister of Col.

town, and daughter, as

I

whom Georgetown

object of his displeasure

took

!

Beall of

George-

have understood, of the gentleman after

name

its

She was a small, spare old lady countenance was

Thomas

— George

who had

Beall of that place.

Her

been handsome.

strongly expressive of her

gentle

disposition.

was very striking. She was quiet having heard her speak remember do not and generally silent. I family, and have forthe in years I lived a dozen times in the two Major's I remember as the But the gotten the note of her voice.

The

contrast with her husband

loud north wind that used to rock the house and sweep the snowcovered field. They had a large family seven sons and four

—

dau'j-hters.

The ffrown sons were numerous and loud enough

to

keep the house alive, being somewhat of the Osbaldiston order, except that there was not a Rashleigh among them; nor was

—

there a Di Vernon

among

the girls.

" Besides the parents and children, there were divers incumbents There was, for a their rations in the Major's house.

who drew

short time, a Col. Hamilton,

coat and waistcoat included,

above middle age, who,

I

who

used to wear leather clothes,

—a

thin,

was

told,

keen, active man, a

had been a Regulator

in

little

North

CHAP,

EARLY ACQUAINTANCES.

r.]

Carolina,

— though

I

was then ignorant what

and that he was rather

in

3T word meant,

the

concealment and under the Major's pro-

tection.

" Then there was an interesting old gentleman, by name Thomas who had been an English schoolmaster, and had educated

Flint,

George and Patrick, who were destined for Mr. Flint was learned profession. "in fair round belly with good capon lined"

the family except

all

a classical education and a

—

upwards of fifty, good looking man with a dark complexion, sharp, black eyes and He had a son who was Major Magruder's shaggy brows. overseer.

"Besides these, there were two apprentices:

Zack,

a wild, slovenly, blackguard boy, cut out

—one

of them,

by nature

for a

strolling player, having a strong inclination to repeat fragments of

speeches and scraps of plays which he had learned from the boys of the school

was

in the

man,

who

;

— the

other

was Harry,

the son of the miller

who

Major's employment, a modest and interesting young disappeared in a mysterious way, the particulars of

which

I have forgotten. " The mansion was a large, two-storied brick house,

long before a

few

went

I

feet of

it

there.

In this his family proper lived.

built not

Within

stood the old house, which had been the former

residence of the family, but which was now occupied, at one end, by the overseer, and in the residue of its chambers by the school boys and the two apprentices. Here, at night, we got our lessons and more frequently played our pranks. "There were two boarders, besides myself: AValter Jones, son

of Mr.

Edward

Jones, a rich planter of Frederick county, and

Richard Harwood from Anne Arundel,

—

in after

times one of the

For a short time the late Col. Thomas Davis of Montgomery, was one of our boarders and schoolfellows. So that Major Magruder's household embraced not less than twenty white persons. To these there was a conIt stant addition, by visiters to the young people of the family.

Judges of a District

in the State.

—

was,

in

fact,

an active, bustling, merry, noisy family, always

motion, and often in commotion.

To me

trasted with the small, quiet, affectionate

Love.

it

was

in

painfully con-

establishment of Mrs.

There I had been the petted child and supreme object of Here I was lost in the multitude, unnoticed, unthought

attention.

VOL.

1

—

EARLY ACQUAINTANCES.

38

of,

and

left to

[1772-1783.

make my way and take care of myself

as well as 1

which, under the discipline of Mrs. Love's daughI had been ters, was as clean and soft as silk, now lost its beauty. spoiled by indulgence, and was really unfit to take care of myself.

My hair

could.

know how to go about it. Yet there was no one to take who showed any interest in me except Harry, the as I was, I had reflection enough to compare Young son.

did not

1

care of me, or miller's

two scenes

the

in

which

I

had

my present

lived, to feel

desolation,

and to sigh over the past. The tune of Roslin Castle never recurred to my memory without filling my eyes with tears. "There was another circumstance which embittered my residence at

Mr. Magruder's.

One

of

my

companions was ill-tempered,

and I do not know by what antipathy, There was that object of his tyranny. temper. generous would have disarmed a

became the peculiar my situation which

I

in

was a

I

small, feebly-

grown, delicate boy, an orphan, and a poor one too: but these circumstances seemed rather to invite than to allay the hostility of this fierce

During the two years that

young man.

was my mis-

it

fortune to be a boarder in the house and his schoolfellow, a wanton barbarity that so degraded and

wonder

I

have ever recovered from

was, however,

my

me

I

alone, and

only persecutor.

became,

at length,

recall here the first experience solitude.

Often have

long before any other in silence

failed

I

gone

to

I

it.

The

cowed my

he

rest were content to let

well content to be

so.

I

can

had of the refuge and comfort of I

was sleepy, and

the household, that

and to myself the hopes which

to set before me.

suffered

In this large family

bed long before

member of

I

spirit that I

my

These imaginings

I

might enjoy

imagination never

rest

on

my memory

with the distinctness of yesterday. 1 looked forward to the time when I should be a young man and should have my own office of two rooms, my own servant and the means of receiving and entertaining

my

friends with elegant liberality,

my

horse and

fine

equip-

ments, a rich wardrobe, and these all recommended by such manners and accomplishments as should again restore me to such favor

and affectionate intercourse as I had known at Mrs. Love's. I never dreamt of any other revenge on my tormenting schoolfellow, to eclipse him and reduce him to sue to me for friendship. Except these waking dreams which live so vividly in my remembrance, there are but few pleasant incidents to connect my recol-

tiian

CHAP.

MUSIC.

I.]

two

the gratification

took in the

to

sit

of company to the house.

visits

was not forbidden

I

the room and see what was going on.

in

visiters

years.

folks played cards, and

Sometimes the young is

a gentleman,

I

which he

even yet, so

is,

Latin usher,

— and the

I

living

One of

— Charles

these

Jones.

recollect distinctly the drollery for

much

used then to set the tables

now

believe,

Although a very small boy,

One was

Yet there are a few.

lections with those I

89

which he

distinguished, and with

Maxwell Armstrong, our

in a roar.

only popular usher

have ever known

I

was another of the visiters, and a great favorite with me. " There were two other visiters whom 1 saw only once each at the Major's, but whose visits led to one of my small accomplishments. Doctor Charles Beatty of Georgetown, brought up his flute and regaled the ladies one evening

in

the garden with his music.

a Hessian or Prussian, a teacher of

Mr. Eckland,

town, also came up on one occasion, to get a musical instrument for

him

when

was

in

A

George-

a great effort

The house

to play on.

afforded

— on

which Major M. used children, the only tune he knew, with these words

nothing better than a wretched fiddle, to play, for his

there

music

'Three or four sheepskins Wrong sides outwards

Cut them down, cut them down. Cut them down and tan them.'

" There was, besides, a cracked family had ever been able to

flute,

draw a

ated the fiddle, but, with the aid of a

crack, and a flute

little

water

to

from which no one of the

Mr. Eckland repudi-

note. little

bees-wax

to stop the

wash and wet the bore, he made the

discourse most eloquent music.

— What a

strange thing

is

memory I can see the man at this moment and hear him strike up the White Cockade' for this was the first tune he played ; and he threw it off' with a spirit and animation of which Dr. Beatty had !

—

'

given

me no

idea.

Thereafter, whenever the

room was empty,

I

used to steal to the bookpress in which that old flute was kept,

and whispering in the aperture not, if I could

—

learned to play several tunes, chief, before

I

—

for I could not

could

fill

blow, and dared

knew. In this way I of which Yankee Doodle was the

try to finger such tunes as

I

the flute with a single note.

AFOXHUNT.

40 "

On

[1772—1783.

one occasion Dr. Smith of Georgetown

very respectable family of that name now

— the father of the

came up Major M's. with two or three other gentlemen, bringing with him a large pack of hounds, in preparation for a fox-chase. This at that place,

to

was

a

new

me

incident to

and

full

On

of the liveliest interest.

this occasion old Mr. Flint developed an accomplishment of which Having got pretty 'high up' with I had never suspected him.

RoHood, of which my children have often heard me sing several His picverses caught from Mr. Flint's exhibition at this frolic. drinking, he sang a hunting song and one of the old songs of

bin

ture

is

now

me

before

—

for

he acted as well as sang, and repeated

any one would

his verses as long as

listen.

I

night before the hunt, and before day-break

I

slept but little the

was waked from my

slumbers, by the turning of the hounds out of the cellar and the

uproar raised self quickly

yard by them and the horns.

in the

and sighed, as the party moved

not follow them.

On my way

longing regret did

I

cry upon their track,

mote woodland effect I

which

know

its

To

!

eye for pictures, this

to school that

listen to the distant notes until the last

those

who

sound was

I

dressed

because

olf,

I

my-

could

morning, with what of the hounds in lost

full

behind the re-

have not an ear for sounds nor an

would be incredible, if I were to describe the and to this day scene had upon my imagination it

;

nothing in the

way

of spectacle or music, to compare, for

power of excitement, with a well equipped and gay parly of

hunters following a pack of hounds in

pleasant

full

cry."

we are able to obtain from these simple The writer broke them off abruptly at recollections.

Here ends

all

that

early stage of his history, purposing to resume

and this

them when the

him again the refreshmemory. youthful His busy profesof draughts ment of these graver duties of his high office might allow

sional life forbade this indulgence,

and has

left us

reason to regret

that the same hand has not sketched his continued advance to

manhood.

CHAPTER

II.

1783— 17S7. TEMPERAMENT HIS STUDIES.—WHOLESOME INFLUENCE OF HUNT.— HIS LIBRARY SKETCHES BY CRUSE VERSE MAKING FIRST LITERARY EFFORT, A PROSE SATIRE ON THE USHER ITS CONSEQUENCES— A SCHOOL INCIDENT A VICTORY VISIT TO THE COURT HOUSE OF MONTGOMERY MR. DORSEY THE MOOT COURT.— ITS CONSTITUTION SCHOOL

IMAGINA'J'IVE

—

—

MR.

—

EXERCISES.

The memoir lliat is

Avhich

we have

just closed presents us nearly all

known of William Wirt up

ficiently indicates

to his eleventh year.

It

suf-

the temperament of the boy, and gives us no

slight glimpses of the future aspirations

of the man.

The

lively

which it presents of those scenes and persons which dwelt on his memory, show how keenly his youthful observation was impressed by the quaint and grotesque images which surrounded

pictures

They show,

him.

too, with

what a relish he noted the simple rural were familiar to his childhood, and

objects and employments that

how

true an eye and

and influences that

These

qualities of

how fell

true a heart he had for the kindly things in

the

way

of his youthful experience.

mind and character continued

were the constant source of

his life, and

to

expand during

that attraction

which

encircled him, to the last of his days, with troops of admiring friends.

We

have occasion

shall

to note,

more than once

in the

course of

these pages, the poetical complexion of Mr. Wirt's mind, the some-

what prurient predominance of his imagination, and the alacrity with which he was ever ready to digress from the actual to the ideal of

ment

is

The

life.

almost inseparable quality of such a tempera-

diffidence, that

shy reserve which

is

much more

frequently

the result of pride and a high self-estimate than of humility.

A

which our perception enables us to foresee and expect, from those who are capable of a shrewd insight into

sensibility to the criticism

our conduct, observable VOL.

is

in 1

most generally the source of

that

modesty which

an ingenuous and quick-sighted boy. 4*

—

is

Its usual ac-

HIS STUDIES.

42

[1783-17S7.

is an exterior of thoughtfulness and quiet observation presence of the world, united with a gay, light-hearted ease amonsrst those in whom household association and familiar endear-

companiment in the

ment have begotten that confidence which takes away the appreThe observant eye of his aunt, with whom hension of censure. orphan child had been domesticated

the

detected

this trait in his

character, in the

tenderest age,

his

in

first

years of their inter-

course; and, noticing these alternatives of a playful and thoughtful temper, she once remarked, when his uncle was debating with her

when 1 look weep when I

the question of his education—"

scarcely seems one

of us,

and

an expression would seem

I

to indicate

at that

dear child, he

think of him."

Such

some early presage, afforded

by the boy, of that superiority which his riper years developed. Wirt remained at Mr. Hunt's school, in Montgomery county, During the last two years of this until it was broken up in 1787. We shall often period he was an inmate of Mr. Hunt's family. remembrance pleasant a find, in the course of his correspondence, of this family and

dwelling place, which bore the classical

its

name of the Tusculum. Mr. Hunt seems to have exercised a happy influence over the He was a man of cultivated mind, liberal character of his pupil. He possessed, what in those days study and philosophic temper.

was no common advantage, a pretty good library. He had, besides, a pair of globes and some instruments of a philosophical apHe was communicative, and quick to appreciate the paratus. tastes of his scholars, and, in his

Youno- Wirt found his

from

accounts, kindly and indulgent

all

intercourse with them.

way.

He

in this association

acquired some

taste for physics,

some

some sharpness of

little

much

to

advance him on

insight into astronomy,

relish for classical study, but

appetite for the amusements atforded by

run of the library^

He

studied Josephus,

Pere^-rine Pickle, the old dramas.

Guy

of

some

above

all,

"the

Warwick and

Pope, Addison and Home's

Elements of Criticism, wath equal avidity and with indiscriminate The library cheated him out of many a worse recreation, faith. and whilst it captivated his boyish imagination with its world of treasures,

it

served also to implant

lore, which seeks

its

in his

mind

that love of various

enjoyment among the flowers that enamel the

CHAP.

HIS STUDIES.

11]

broad

fields

48

of literature, rather than among the gems which

lie

in the depths only accessible to the miner.

sometimes regarded as the misfortune of sprightly and apprehensive genius, that it is apt to be lured from its graver and more It is

profitable toil

be

If this

by the attractions of

true in

who have won

any instance,

have been able to trace their

vagrant course of reading.

their intellectual accomplishments,

by

distinction

this

cannot be denied that many men,

it

first

impulses towards an honorable

renown, to the opportunities afforded by a miscellaneous library, and

which it has enabled them to improve. Mr. was accustomed to speak in terms of regret of

to the tastes

Wirt,

in after life,

the habit of immethodical reading which, acquired in early youth,

had, as he supposed, somewhat injuriously diverted his time from

He

systematic study.

we

was,

are inclined to believe, mistaken

estimate of this disadvantage.

in his

the habit of light and excursive reading in

mend

ments of science or

have been,

to

laborious profession, to justify and com-

own

the pursuit of his

There seems

concentration of methodised study, in

in his case, quite a sufficient

He

literature.

all

has also afforded

other depart-

many

agree-

able manifestations, that the zealous and persevering lawyer had cultivated, with no small success, that general scholarship is

wherever

constitutes,

of

which

so seldom combined with professional excellence, and which

instinct is

may

light

affinities

mind, to

prompt

it

ramble

to

in

it

path.

Its

first

it

search of the congenial things

seldoms its

falls

out that the errant

appointed destination.

It

have been Mr. Wirt's characteristic quality of perceive and keenly to relish the riches of that upper

said

to

designation of humane

pictured to us under the felicitous

is

beautiful in art,

These, comprehending

letters.

scope nearly every thing that is

in

and

;

due time, come to

world of thought, which

that

own

wander over the surface of its own world, until it upon that which shall gratify its proper appetite. Its

does not,

may be

most graceful and attractive finds its

to

nature has provided for spirit

exists, the

it

Genius generally

adjuncts.

its

glowing

in

their

graceful in aesthetics, every thing

is

in poetry,

and eloquent

in

thought,

present to the student a field of various observation, which can

only be cultivated and enjoyed study.

He,

therefore,

of such study,

may

who

scarcely

by the most apparently desultory

has a true perception of the delights fail

to

be accounted a capricious and

HIS STUDIES.

44

[17S3-1787.

rambling reader, whenever his pursuit shall come to be measured

by

which the student of one science

the severer rules

own

necessary to observe in his

For many Wirt's

life, I

finds

it

labor.

particulars

relating

am happy

to express

the earlier portion of Mr.

to

my

obligations to a rapid but

which was written by Peter Hoffman Cruse of Baltimore, in 1832, under circumstances which give it great value as an authentic narrative, and which is not less worthy careful biographical sketch,

of commendation for tion.

I

graceful and scholarlike style of composi-

should scarcely do justice to

my

subject, if

myself of the material presented to

avail

friendly and, at the to use *

its

The

it

as often as

me from

same time, so accurate.

may

I

I shall

I

forbore to

a source so not scruple

find occasion.*

sketch referred to in the text was written by Mr. Cruse upon an engageNew York in 1832, just after Mr. Wirt's nomi-

ment with the Messrs. Harpers of

nation as a candidate for the Presidency, and

was designed

accompany a repub-

to

This repubUcation,— for reasons with which I am not acquainted did not proceed beyond the reprint of the British Spy, At the time of to which the biographical sketch I have alluded to was prefixed. lication of

Mr. Wirt's

literary productions.

—

the nomination of

Mr. Wirt

cumstances a narrative of his totally disconnected from the

for the Presidency, life

was

by a singular coincidence of

in contemplation

cir-

from one or two quarters be supposed to have made

which may Mr. Longacre was engaged in his Work of National Portraits, and had applied to Mr. Wirt for some materials for a sketch of his history to accompany an engraved likeness for this work. The task of furnishing these had been committed to Judge Carr of tlie Court of Appeals of Virginia. Mr. Salmon P. Chase, a friend to Mr. Wirt's nomination, and, still more reintimately, his personal friend, a gentleman accomphshed in elegant letters, cently brought more conspicuously to the view of the country as a Senator of the United States from Ohio had also taken the matter of a biography into his hands. But the enterprise of the Messrs. Harpers being stimulated by a more direct reference to the nomination, took the place of all other biographical projects, and consigned the task to the very competent hands of Mr. Cruse. Cruse was a finished scholar, of exquisite taste, and gifted with talents which would have secured him an enviable eminence in the literal ure of tliis country.

it

political object

then a matter of interest to the public.

—

—

He

fell

a victim to the cholera, in Baltimore, on the 6th of September, 1832, not

long after the completion of the biography above mentioned.

The country

thus lost

one whose accomplishment in letters was just beginning to bring him reputation, and whose career, if he had lived, would have been distinguished by the finest exThe materials for his sketch were derived hibitions of intellectual excellence.

from an intimate personal acquaintance with Mr. Wirt, whose just appreciation of The inciliim was shown in the most cordial and confidential social communion. dents of this biograpliical sketch were supplied by the friends of Mr. Wirt, by his

by the biograj)her"s own personal knowledge of his subject. The sketch was submitted to Mr. Wirt, and so far corrected by him as to secure it against

family, and itself

CHAP.

SKETCHES BY CRUSE.

II.]

Mr. Hunt's library suggested with one of

He

our pupil some

to

effort of rivalry

heroes, in the dainty occupation of verse making.

its

how Pope had first tempted his muse at twelve years why should'nt he versify He himself was now thirteen

read

:

as:e.

well

46

He

.'

tried his

hand

at

it,

—

and, very naturally, failed.

of as

He

accordingly resolved that Nature had not made him a versifier. There was, however, the world of prose open to him, and forth-

with he

set out

upon

Amongst

that quest.

several essays, in this

Mr. Hunt's hands, and was most agreeably reI must give the history of it ceived, with abundance of praise. as it comes from the friendly biographer.* " It was engendered by a school incident, and was a piece of one

sort,

into

fell

revenge more legitimate than schoolboy invention

when sharpened by wrongs, at the school

;

and

this

is

who was more learned

usher

apt to inflict

There was an usher

real or imaginary.

and methodical

than even-tempered, was one morning delayed in the customary routine

Wirt

by

who was young

the absence of his principal scholar,

In his impatience he

himself.

to the door,

went often

and

espying some boys clinging, like a knot of bees, to a cherry tree not far off, he concluded that the expected absentee was of the

number, and nursed

his

wrath accordingly.

servant of a neighbor, with

whom

The

truth

was

Wirt was boarding

that the

at the time,

and the indispensable breakfast had been delayed by his late return. This apology, however, was urged in vain on the usher, who charged, in corroboration, the plunder of

had gone

that

morning

the cherry tree

:

to mill,

and though

this

was

as stoutly as truly rejoined to

be the act of an English school hard by, the recitation of Master

Wirt proceeded under very threatening prognostics of storm. The lesson was in Cicero, and at every hesitation of the reciter, the eloquent volume, brandished by the yet chafing tutor, descended without quailing his facetiousness howwithin an inch of his head,

—

any inaccuracy of statement of fact. I may add, that my own constant intercourse with Mr. Cruse, during the preparation of that sketch, and a familiar acquaintance with the individual to whom it refers, enable me to give an additional assurance of its

I can only indulge, now, the unavailing regret that its author, so the arts of "wit, eloquence, and poesy," had not survived to unite in the grateful labor of this task, to render a joint tribute of our homage to

authenticity.

rich as he

with

me

was in

the distinguished

subject of our memoirs

—partaking,

as

degree, of the pleasure of his society and the kindness of •

Cruse's Sketch.

we

liis

both did, in equal

regard.

— ENCOUNTER WITH AN USHER.

46

—

[1783—1787.

We

ever, for he said archly, Take care or you'll kill me.' have heard better timed jests since, from the dexterous orator, for '

the next slip brouglit a blow cible

as

felled

our hero to the ground.

if

logic

good earnest, which being as

in

her

herself, w^ith '

I'll

'

closed

pay you

fist,'

for this if

'"Pay me,

will

you.^'

do

—

it,

I live,'

said the fallen champion, as he rose from the field.

will never live to

for-

had dealt

said the usher, quite furious;

— 'you

that.'

—

" 'Yes I will' said the boy. " Our youth was an author, be

it

remembered, and

that is not a

race to take an injury, much less an atlront, calmly.

was

too,

a fair

weapon

against an usher; and,

The

quill,

by way of vent

view

to

no

his indignation at this and other continued outrages, but with

what so seriously fell out from it, in furtherance of his revenge, he indited, some time afterward, an ethical essay on Anger. In this, after due exhibition of its unhappy effects, which, it may be, would have enlightened Seneca, though he has himself professed to treat the same subject, he reviewed those relations to

and functions of

life

most exposed

A

to the assaults of this fury.

parent with an undutiful son, said our moralist, must often be very angry, a master with his servant, an innkeeper with his guests

but

it is

;

an usher that must the oftenest be vexed by this bad pas-

sion, and, right or

he went on

wrong,

find

And

himself in a terrible rage.

so

manner very edifying and very descriptive of the case, character and manner of the expounder of Cicero. " Well pleased with his work, our author found a most admiring

reader

in

in a

an elder boy who, charmed with the mischief as

the wit of the occasion, pronounced

formance, and very

fit

for a

it

a

Saturday morning's declamation.

vain did our wit object strenuously the dangers of this })ublication.

The

much

as

most excellent perIn

mode of

essay was got by heart and declaimed in the

presence of the school and of the usher himself, who, enraged at the satire,

demanded the

claimer with the rod. this,

writer, otherwise threatening

the de-

His magnanimity was not proof against

and he betrayed the incof^nito of our author,

who happened

when master

usher, the ob-

the same

evening to be in his garret,

noxious satire in hand, came into the apartment below to lay his complaint before his principal. Mr. Hunt's house was one of those one-story rustic mansions, yet to be seen in Maryland,

where the

47

A VICTORY.

•

CHAP.

II.]

floor of the attic, without the intervention of ceiling, forms the

roof of the apartment below

— so

that the culprit could easily

be

the hearer, and even the partial spectator, of the inquisition held

on his case.

'Let us see

and awful were the broken,

—

first

this is

moments of

—

its

said the preceptor;

perusal,

which were mighty

a suppressed titter, and, finally, to the

by

relief of the listener,

Mr.

this o(fcnsive libeP

tirst silent

by a loud burst of laughter.

—

'

Pooh

pooh

!

!

but the sally of a lively boy, and best say no

more about it: besides that, inforo conscienlicc, we can hardly find him guilty of the publication!' " This was a victory and when Mr. Hunt left the room, the conqueror, tempted to sing his lo Triumphe' in some song allusive to the country of the discomfited party, who was a foreigner, ;

'

was

by the

put to flight

latter's

rushing furiously into the attic,

and snatching from under his pillow some hickories, the fasces of his ofhce,

who

usher ill

and

infiicting

some smart strokes on

the flying satirist,

The

did not stay, like Voltaire, to write a receipt for them. the school in

left

the doggrel

rhymes The

'

He " Many years

dudgeon not long afterward,

like the

worthy

—

hero

who

tlid 'sist

upon

't.

woultl'ut be deputy to Mr. Hunt.'

after, the

usher and his scholar met again.

Age

and poverty had overtaken the poor man, and his former pupil had the opportunity of showing

him some kindnesses which were

probably not lessened by the recollection of

unpremeditated

this

revenge."

This was quite a prosperous entrance into the world of

letters.

The pleasant remembrance of this early triumph is one, amongst many evidences which 1 may have occasion to notice hereafter, of the earnest appreciation with

wont

which the distinguished lawyer was

to regard the pursuit of literary fame,

which, as

it

seemed,

an adverse destiny had constantly placed beyond his enjoyment,

though never, as the reader of these pages will

find,

beyond

his

hopes.

Mr. Hunt's discipline contributed

to

awaken

the ambition of his

pupil to another renown, not less conspicuous in his career. ters

were always the passion of William Wirt,

doomed

—

against enjoyment, the Tantalus cup of his

Let-

passion fore-

a

life.

The law

THE MOOT COURT.

48 was,

in

[1783—1787.

equal degree, his chosen field of eminence, pursued at

times with the eager love of a votary, and, more propitious to

all

fame and wealth.

liim than its rival, the bountiful source of

introduction to

first

Mr. Hunt was

in

County Court,

in

temple was at

its

this era

His

of his boyhood.

the habit of taking his pupils to the

Montgomery

term time, to give them some insight into those

may be

mysteries which

said to be, in this country, the ladder to

preferment, and which certainly at the date of this adventure,

all

much more

than at present,

The

climbed to eminence.

The whole

the school. foot,

by which men was some four miles from headed by the Domine, went on

was

the chief aid

court house

troop,

and with due solemnity entered the rustic

and took their seats

known 4o

He was

the school and neighborhood.

and courageous

in his

of justice,

Amonst the

William H. Dorsey, well

youngest was

pleaders one of the

hall

the unoccupied jury box.

in

clever, quick

encounters with the older brethren; so,

he naturally became the favorite of the schoolhouse auditory, and grew to be a hero in their eyes. Boys have a great instinct for hero worship; not

much

is

older than the oldest of those

"

plaud him.

"Agreed."

— and worship with them Why

should not

— So, forthwith we

we

imitation.

who

sat to

Dorsey was hear and ap-

have a court of our

have a

little

own

.?"

temple of Themis in

Wirt was appointed to draw up the was, manifestly, the Dorsey of the new forum. was prepared with all the necessary complica-

Mr. Hunt's school-room.

He

constitution.

The

constitution

meet the contingencies of its broad and delicate jurisdicand was reported, with a modest letter of apology for its

tions to tion,

imperfections, by the author.

This was

his

speechmakings ping verses"

in

first

There were occasional

forensic essay.

public at the school, and the practice also of " cap-

— one

of those ingenious devices by which off'-hand

orators are supplied with a motley of shreds and patches cut from classical cloths,

and preserved as the staple for that impromptu

wit and learning which,

in the last

chief ornaments of scholarship, tled aside for

age,

— now,

was regarded as one of the fortunately, somewhat jos-

wholesome Anglo-Saxon.

Wirt was a common had a mind to win.

victor and carried

In all these exercitations oil'

whatsoever prize he

CHAPTER

III.

1787—1792.

—

—

PETER A. CARNES BENJAMIN EDWARDS NINIAN EDWARDS BBCOMES A TUTOR IN MR. EDWARDS' FAMILY.— USEFUL EMPLOYMENT OF RETURNS TO MONTGOMERY HIS TIME.— STUDIES.—JOURNEY TO GEORGIA AND STUDIES LAW WITH W. P. HUNT REMOVES TO VIRGINIA STUDIES WITH MR. SWANN.— IS ADMITTED TO PRACTISE BY THE CULPEPPER

FRIENDS

—

COURT.

Mr. Hunt's school was discontinued in the year 1787. Wirt was now in his fifteenth year. But little remained of his funall patrimony, and he was brought to the necessity of seeking the means to support himself. He was not without friends. His happy and confiding temper attracted the good will of his schoolfellows. His talents won the esteem of his teachers. The sympathy excited

by

his

orphanage and the humility of his deportment brought

him more than one protector. Mr. Peter A. Carnes was an early patron and most useful friend to our pupil. This gentleman belonged to the bar of Maryland.

He was

owner of a considerable landed

the

estate

in

Clia^les

county, and, being a cultivator of tobacco, his occasions, both as a planter

and as a professional man, often brought him to Bladens-

Here he was accustomed to take his lodgings in the public house which was kept by Jacob Wirt. He thus became intiburg.

mate with the family, and had the best opportunities

to

observe

were young and sprightly boy whose so well adapted to captivate his regard. This acquaintance ripened into a strong and lasting attachment, which was subsethe character of the

qualities

quently manifested in the most substantial proofs of friendship to the family.

When

Jacob Wirt died, Mr. Carnes charged himself,

extent, with

family, of

by some

the control

whom

the eldest

ten years.

to

some

and guidance of the children of the

There

was Elizabeth, the is

senior of William

reason to believe that Mr. Carnes

assumed the direction of the education of William, and perhaps VOL,

1

—

PETER

50

A.

CARNES.

[1797—1792,

of Elizabeth, and defrayed the expenses of this charge chiefly out

own

of his

Mr. Dent,

William was consigned by him to the care of

pocket. in

Charles county

— accord—provided

and Mr. Carnes himself,

;

ing to some memorials of his family, which

have seen,

I

for him that comfortable homestead, where he was sheltered and made happy by " good Mrs. Love" and her family, in the memory of which the grateful pupil found so much pleasure. Some years after this Mr. Carnes removed to Georgia and settled himself in the neighborhood of Augusta, where he obtained eminence as a lawyer. Elizabeth Wirt was, at this time, grown

to

womanhood

we may

;

her mother was dead, and she and her brother,

suppose, were

left

in a condition to attract the

and consideration of their good

sympathy

Mr. Carnes sent

friend.

for

them

both to come and live with him.

William's destiny directed him

to another quarter; but his sister

obeyed the summons of her kind

protector, who, soon after her to that relation by making her In the

few

letters

arrival in Georgia, fortified his title his wife.

and other papers

referring to this portion of

I

Mr. Wirt's

dence of the concern of Mr. Carnes

have been able life,

in the fortunes

friend, and of the valuable service rendered at that

age when friendly counsel

is

by him

to collect,

abundant eviof his young

to his protege,

most needed.

Besides Mr. Carnes, there was another in the success

there

is

who now

took an interest

of the youthful scholar, and whose connection with

him had the most happy influence in shaping his career to that eminence which he afterwards achieved. This friend was Benjamin Edwards, at that date a resident of Montgomery county. His son, Ninian Edwards, who, in after years, successively held the post of first Territorial Governor of Illinois, then Senator from that State, and afterwards the Governor of it was the comWhen this rade and classmate of Wirt in Mr. Hunt's school. school was broken up and our disbanded student had returned to Bladensburg, as to a point from which to make a new start in life, young Edwards happened to take with him to his father's house the constitution of the moot court to which I have referred

—

—

in a

former chapter, and, along with

ter.

This was probably exhibited

achievements which,

in the

it,

the report or prefatory let-

in the

family as one of those

world of schoolboys, are magnified for

purposes of renown, with a more aflcclionatc exaggeration than

we

CHAP.

BENJAMIN EDWARDS.

III.]

are apt to hear of in the larQ:er world.

51

This triumph of the aca-

came to the eye of Mr. Edwards, the father, and doubtless with no modicum of praise of the cleverness of the author. The result was, in brief space, a letter from the father to young

demy

thus

Wirt, inviting him to a station his son Ninian and

transfer to college, and

study, which,

This

it

in

the family, as a private tutor to

two nephews, who were

who

all

contemplating a

stood in need of some preparatory

was thought, Wirt was

qualified to direct.

any aspect a most agreeable one, was ren-

invitation, in

more acceptable by the assurance which accompanied it, that Mr. Edwards' library should be at the service of the new A summons so teacher for the prosecution of his own reading. dered

still

opportune to

this

new

field

of duty was, of course, quickly and

gratefully accepted, and the pupil,

now

converted into a teacher,

—

was most comfortably established at Mount Pleasant as this seat was appropriately called in the bosom of a hospitable, cultivated

—

and estimable family.

Mr. Edwards had been a member of the Legislature of Mar}'land

;

— had acquired

reputation in that

complished debater.

body

as a skilful and ac-

mendation and friendship of the great leader, politics

versed trained

of the State

to

esteem by

— Samuel

general literature;

in

reflection; its

dignity

com-

In this relation he had attracted the

;

his

Chase. his

He

in that

day, of the

was, besides, well

mind was strong,

direct,

demeanor challenged respect

his character, public

and private, was

and and dis-

tinguished for lofty patriotism and inflexible virtue. His manners were affable and particularly agreeable to the young, with whom he was fond of associating, charming them by instructive convert sation, which the benevolence of his disposition and his ready sympathy with the tastes and interests of his youthful auditory,

—

rendered manifold

This

is

in its useful

impressions upon them.

the outline of the character

of his early friend.

How

fortunate

Mr. Wirt was wont

may we

regard him

brought within the sphere of such a man's influence

!

to give

in

It is

being

one of

the most pleasant traits in the history of the subject of this bioglast day of his life he could not speak of Benjamin Edwards but with the strong emotions of a grateful affection

raphy, that to the

which seemed

to

be even more than

filial.

AVe

shall see

many

BENJAMIN EDWARDS.

52

evidences of this generous recognition

[1787—1792.

which may be

in the letters

introduced into the future pages of this narrative.

" You have

tauglit

me," he says,

of poverty, and had liant reputation I

do

hewn

— "to

his

way

so, since to you, to the influence

my

life, I

the obstacles

Well, indeed

and character.

think

son, and teach

me

may

of your conversation, your critical

and decisive period

may

of useful or good there

bias of

brother: they shall find

most

in the

owe whatever

my mind of me as a

letters, written

to a profitable as ^vell as a bril-

love you like a parent.

precepts and your example

of

one of these

in

when he had conquered

to his old friend at a date

Continue then,

your children

one, indeed,

if

I

be

in the

implore you, to

to regard

me

as a

the wonder-working

dispensations of Providence should ever place them in want of a

brothers arm or mind or bosom."

The young

tutor's final destination w^as the bar.

With much

to

augury of success in this profession, he had also some drawbacks. He was shy and timid in any public exhibition of

justify an

himself

His enunciation was thick and

great embarrassments in the

indistinct,

marked by

a

Both of these may be regarded as

nervous rapidity of utterance.

way

of a profession which requires the

utmost intrepidity of self-protrusion, and whose outward and

visi-

more in round, clear and dauntless speech, than in any other attribute by which it can be made known. Mr. Edwards soon observed these defects in his young friend, and with a persuasive and gentle skill set himself about removing them. He narrated to him, by way of encouragement, some incidents in his own experience, particularly those which belonged to his debut in the Legislature, in which he gave a strong picture of

ble manifestation exists

—

his embarrassment, his confusion and fear of breaking his surprise at his safe deliverance,

by Mr. Chase when he had supposed sometimes took occasion also to

down, and

and the compliment paid him his failure complete.

He

upon his

diffi-

rally his listener

dence; and to give him some adequate conception of the

little

room

he had to fear the competition of Avhat was understood to be the

most formidable encounter there

in life.

of antagonists he might be compelled to

class

He

were not many

fortified this lesson,

of those

who

by assuring him, that

had arisen to distinction

had not to contend with obstacles as great as his own. and Pinkney, both young men

at that period,

who

Dorsey

and both beginning

CHAP.

USEFUL EMPLOYMENT.

Ill]

to attract the observation

of

tlie

53

community, were held up by Mr.

Edwards to his comment. " Dorsey," said lie, "whom you so much admire, and Pinkney whom you will admire still more when you shall have seen him, are making their own way to distinction under as great disadvantages as any you have to encounter."* With whatever distrust, the shy student at that time received

however incredulous he might be of was endeavoring to implant in his mind, it was not many years before he had realized more than had been promised him. A letter from Mr. Edwards reached him at Williamsburg in the palmy day of his career, fondly recalling to him the predictions of this early time in Montgomery, and exulting, with the pride which a father only might be supposed to feel in these friendly persuasives, and the hopes his friend

the advancement of a son, at the fulfilment of the prophecy.

Twenty happy and Mr. Edwards.

useful

months were spent under the roof of

In the successive occupations of classical study,

of instructive conversation, and preparations for that profession to

which he was hereafter to devote his life, Wirt found, at this epoch, the most solid benefits. In the contemplation of that robust and manly character which was daily presented to his notice in his patron

and friend

;

in the dignity

and massive good sense of

this

of deportment, lofty virtue

worthy gentleman

;

in the

tatious simplicity of the family, their genuine kindness

unosten-

and indul-

gent consideration of himself, he found daily a stimulus to the cultivation of the virtues both of his heart and head,

and the strongest

incentives towards the fulfilment of those aspirations for

which,

in after life,

At the expiration of

By

impaired.

renown

he so successfully accomplished. this period, his health

became somewhat make a

the advice of friends, he determined to

journey on horseback to Georgia, and spend the winter with his friend and brother-in-law,

Mr. Carnes, and

had not seen since her marriage. We have no narrative or remembrances of

his sister,

this

whom

journey to refer

was undertaken towards the end of the year 1789. He was in his seventeenth year. traveller set out alone. to.

It

way was

long, and a great deal of

ness of pine-forest and sand.

It

*

VOL.

1

— 5*

it

The The

lay through a dreary wilder-

was no

Cruse.

he

light enterprise in that

JOURNEY TO GEORGIA.

54 day; of

—but

well imagine that to the cheerful boy, so

we may

and rosy hopes, the

pleasant fancies

weariness.

In the

first

world, mounted upon

wayside

full

brought no

outlook of a youth of seventeen upon the

his steed; with a purse sufficiently stored to

bring him to his journey's end

on a pad behind

[1737—1792.

his saddle

;

with

;

all

his

worldly goods packed

with a gay heart

in

his

bosom, and a

sunshiny face beneath his beaver,— what is there on the globe to make him sad? No shadow upon his path ever takes a gloomy hue, no lonesome by-way finds him unaccompanied with pleasant thoughts, no fatigue overmasters or subdues the buoyancy of his

mind; the rain and the wind bring no melancholy when they drive The swollen river which, in some mountain against his breast. gorge, compels him to a halt, is but a picturesque hindrance which

he has the boldness to tempt, or the patience to wait for. Nightfall but heightens the romance of his dreams, as he holds his way, guided by some distant taper, to the rude shelter of a woodman's The hearth to which he has found this doubtful path, hut.

gleams with a light more cheerful than the illuminations of a palace, when its rays are thrown upon the homely group of the woodman's family from the blazing faggots, kindled to prepare for a supper with

him

which no banquet

in his elder

day

is

to

be

compared. If

we

our young adventurer had kept a journal of this expedition

should, doubtless, have had abundant material from

illustrate the content

and joy with which

be recorded. The Southern winter seems

to

sucii

which

to

experiences would

have told well upon his constitu-

had been threatened with a pulmonary complaint which had excited some alarm in his friends, and it was supposed he might find it to the advantage of his health, as well as to the professional career to which he directed his views, to make a permation.

He

nent settlement in Georgia.

The journey on

and the genial winter of that region

horseback, however,

wrought a rapid change

in his

condition, and enabled him to pursue his aims in a quarter more attractive to his regards, and, as we must believe from the result,

more favorable

to the objects

of his ambition.

His vigor was

restored and he returned to Maryland in the spring. He now took up his abode at JNIontgomery Court House, and

entered upon the study of the law with William P. Hunt, the son

CHAP.

JOURNEY TO GEORGIA.

III.]

and then, for the I find

in

first

time,

a reference to

one of the few

he remained about a year,

In this position

of his former preceptor.

tliis

went

55

to reside in Virginia.

removal and the causes which led to

early letters

which have

fallen

under

my

it,

notice.

addressed to Mr. Carncs, in Georgia, in November, 1792. " While with Mr. Hunt," he writes, " a friend informed me of a very advantageous station for a lawyer in the State of Virginia. Every body urged me to seize it. The law of Virginia required

It is

from

me

twelve months residence

in

the state, and a previous

examination by three of the Judges of the General Court.

moved my

residence immediately to Virginia, and

after

I

re-

residing

—

months under a Mr. Swann* an acquaintance and school-mate of Tom Carnes, and a young fellow of distinguished I applied to the judges for a license; by a manceuvre legal abilities, about

five

—

removed the objection of non-residence, and,

after a

minute scru-

my information, obtained the signature of three of their Honors to my license. 1 have disposed of my property, and am now over (this letter is written from Prince George's county,

tiny into

Maryland,) for the purpose of receiving the money.

upon the reception of This

is

this, I

commence

the introduction of William

Immediately

the practice of the law."

Wirt

to Virginia, a state

whose fame he grew to be almost inseparably identified, and towards which he never ceased to look with the atlection of a Avith

child for a parent. the nature of the " manoeuvre" by which he circum" vented their Honors" and thus got himself prematurely ensconced But in the bosom of that bountiful mother, we are not informed.

What was

may, with some reason, account that to be a pious fraud which so successfully gave this dutiful and reverential son to a family

we

*

My readers will recognize in this reference, Mr.

Thomas Swann, a distinguished

of the bar of Washington, and for several years District Attorney of the United States in that city. The acquaintance between him and Mr. Wirt, which commenced at this early period, ripened into a cordial friendship which was main-

memher

tained throughout

unbroken, and was manifested in the constant habitual ex-

life

change of kindness which the proximity of residence enabled them to practice to the Some few letters, the fragments only of a frequent latest day of Mr. Wirt's life. correspondence between them remain. I have particularly to regret my failure to it which belonged to the earlier period of Mr. Wirt's career,

procure that portion of in

which

I

had hoped

yet be recovered.

to find

some

instructive details of his

life.

This

may

possibly

ADMITTED TO THE BAR.

56

which has never ceased, from of

its

most

that

[1787-1792.

moment, to regard him more worldly sense,

In a

cherished favorites.

as

one

too,

it

may be reckoned as a token of the future prosperity of the young lawyer, whose first case was won by so commendable a piece of sharp-sightedness.

Let

us,

on our part, look to

as a pledge of attachment and

fealty to the

new

this incident

both

sovereign from

its

which the dexterity which

of his adaptation to that profession

new subject, and a proof owes so much of its thrift is

if

not

occasionally called to display

its

glory, to

itself in finding

out an unguarded

point in the outworks of the law.

which he was admitted to practise, was that of Culpepper county, and his residence was accordingly taken at

The Court

in

the court house village.

CHAPTER 1792

IV.

— 1794.

LIBRARY.— FIRST CASE DIFFICULTIES ATTENDING IT— IS ASSISTED BY A FRIEND A TRIUMPH HIS COMPANIONABLE QUALITIES HABITS OF DESULTORY STUDY PRACTISES IN ALBEMARLE.

HIS

—

We

have the young practitioner

now

fairly

embarked upon the

sea of his profession.

There sional

is

good authority

for saying that his library

and profes-

equipment were not of the most various or effective de-

He

scription.

has told the story himself, that his whole magazine

of intellectual artillery, at this period, comprised no other munitions than a

copy of Blackstone, two volumes of Don Quixotte

and a volume of Tristram Shandy. bably, a twelve-months the flinty

Behind these, there was, pro-

study, partly, no doubt, travelled along

highway of Coke and

Littleton, but,

we may

be pretty

confident in the conjecture, not less diligently conversant with the

byways of and their kindred adventurers. secret and pleasant

He was now

upon a theatre

to

Tom

Jones, Roderick

which he had anxiously aspired,

and one which would surely try his metal. bation under

some

Random

fearful disadvantages

;

—

He came that

is

to this pro-

to say,

with no

great store of legal provision, and with his constitutional timidity still

unconquered.

Only those who have gone through the ordeal of public contest, with this weight upon their shoulders, can estimate the oppression,

—the

horror,

I

might say

— of such a drawback.

The

ordi-

nary pursuits of business-life give one no insight into the sufferings of the public speaker

who

is

the reluctance of a diffident nature.

compelled to struggle against

The young

hero of the bus-

when first brought to the footlights to confront that combined Hydra and Briareus, an assembled audience, can tell a piteous tale

kin

of terror, legislative

if

asked to describe his emotions.

hall

may

The

novitiate of a

give an interesting experience to the same

FIRST CASE.

58

point.

But,

more severe than

consolate barrister

when he

[1792—1794.

the experiment of the dis-

eitlier, is

rises, for the first time, to

the most difficult and perplexing of

human

all

of the frowning and solemn majesty of

tlie

discourse

lore in the presence

bench; or when he

embodiment of popular justice, the twelve " probos et legales homines," which the traverser who "puts liiniself upon his country," is taught to believe, by a violent fiction, to be the country itself, but in which the maiden orator sees only a most formidable fragment of it. The young votary who, for the first time, stands in this presence, surrounded by its usual faces that personal

and characteristic auditory drawn thither by that insatiable love of the scenery and incident of the judicial diama, which tively the passion of the multitude

pavement of heads extending

into

when he

;

is

prescrip-

compact

sees the

every nook within the horizon

of his vision, with their multitudinous eyes concentred upon one focus, and that focus himself,

—

general curiosity overcoming

eager to hear every word, the

all

uneasiness of attitude,

all

comfort of the heated atmosphere, is

hunger and

all

there in Fuseli's imagination of nightmare to give a

ful

dis-

all

thirst

— what

more

fright-

picture of the oppressed brain and bewildered sight than this

spectacle, presented to a shy and unpractised youth ineffectually laboring, in

advance, to

throes of a consitutional

the

repress

diffidence !*

Such are the trials them to encounter this

familiar to those

Wirt's enunciation was

be

•

still

defective

command over

prived him of his jierson 10

professions compel

:

it

was confused and

hur-

His voice, when undisturbed by that timidity which de-

ried.

make

whose

discipline.

was in

at this

his later

it,

was

rich and melodious.

time quite as prepossessing as

manhood.

it

w^as

His

remarked

His manners w^ere well adapted

to

friends.

One such scene

I

have witnessed, and

confused novitiate arose a second time

I

remember

—having

the agony with

pelled to talce his seat in the hope to collect his routed thoughts.

say was not more fortunate than the

—

first.

He

which the

been but a moment before com-

His second

es-

stood silent for a brief space, and at

was able to say " Gentlemen, I declare to Heaven, that if I had an enemy upon whose head I would invoke the most cruel torture, I could wish him no other fate than to stand where I stand now." Curiously enough the sympathy which this ajjpeal brought him, seemed almost instantly to give him strength. A short pause was followed by another effort which was completely, and even triumphantly sucthe end

cessful.

CHAP.

FIRST CASE.

IV.]

59

first appearance at the bar is described by his biographer much from his own account of the incident. It was well remembered amongst Mr. Wirt^s early friends. Luckily for him, this first accost was attended by some excitements which overmastered his shyness and reserve, and saved him many pains. Tiie occasion and its events are set forth wilh so much interest in

His

pretty

C ruse's

memoir, that

own

his

it in

I

take pleasure in offering his description of

words.

" With these advantages and defects, such as they were," says the memoir, " he was to begin the competitions of the bar in a part

much

of the country where he was quite unknown, and where

talent

had pre-occupied the ground, with experience on

side and acquaintance with the people and their affairs.

no part of the world where, more than rassments would be lessened to a

in

There

its is

Virginia, these embar-

new adventurer;

as there

is

no

more courteous race of gentlemen accessible to the prepossessions which merit excites. There was, however, another

where

a

embarrassment

;

our lawyer had no cause.

here a young friend

much

But he encountered

same circumstances, but who had

in the

a single case, which he proposed to share with Wirt, as the means of making a joint debut. With this small stock in trade they went to attend the first County Court. " Their case was one of joint assault and battery, with joint

judgment against three, of

whom two

had been released subse-

who had

been taken

in

execution and imprisoned, claimed the benefit of that release

a.s

quently to the judgment, and the third,

enuring to himself

Under

these circumstances, the matter of dis-

charge having happened since the judgment, the old remedy was

by the writ of audita

querela.

But Mr. Wirt and

his associates

had learned from their Blackstone that the indulgence of courts

modern

times, in granting

summary

relief, in

such cases, had,

great measure superseded the use of the old writ

;

in

in a

and accordingly

presented their case in the form of a motion.

" The motion was opened by Wirt's friend with of a

first

essay.

The bench was

then, in Virginia

all

the alarm

County Courts,

composed of the ordinary justices of the peace ; and the elder members of the bar, by a usage, the more necessary from the constitution of the tribunal, frequently interposed as

informers of the conscience of the court.

It

amici

curice,

or

appears that on the

"

A TRIUMPH.

60

[1792—1794.

case being opened, some of these customary advisers denied that

a release to one, after judgment, released the other, and they

The

denied, also, the propriety of the form of proceeding.

of

ire

our beginner was kindled by this reception of his friend, and by this voluntary interference

with their motion

and when he came

;

he forgot the natural alarms of the occasion, and main-

to reply

This awaked the

tained his point with recollection and firmness.

generosity of an elder tion in the

member of

the bar, a person of considera-

much

haps, as

he would

He

neighborhood and a good lawyer.

was amicus

an auxiliary, remarking that he also entitled to act as

state his conviction

that the court

was not

having come from a

such as others

;

their

quarter gave

it

point in

triumph, and

the

who promised

was,

we

be a thorn

to

The

dare say, unnecessary.

neither talent nor courtesy

;

in

adding that

its

but a stronger claim on

The two

worthy

brethren, in his plain phrase, that they had best

with one

which capacity

at liberty to disregard it;

new

in as

and, per-

of the propriety of the motion, and

the candor and urbanity of a Virginian bar. carried

in

stepped

curice,

make

fair

his

weather

The

their side.

friends

told

ally

advice

bar of that county wanted

and the champion having vindicated

his pretensions to enter the

list,

was thenceforward engaged

in

many a courteous passage at arms. " The auxiliary mentioned

above anecdote, was the

in the

General John Miner, of Fredericksburg, of

whom

Wirt,

late

in sub-

sequent years, often

spoke with strong gratitude and esteem.

'There was

he says, 'a more finished and engaging

gentleman,

never,'

nor one of a more warm, honest and affectionate

He was

heart.

He was

a

as brave a

man and

as true a patriot as ever lived.

most excellent lawyer too, with a most persuasive flow

of eloquence, simple, natural and graceful, and most affecting

wherever there was room for pathos; and his pathos was not artificial rhetoric; it was of that true sort which flows from a feeling heart and a noble mind.

He was my

from that day through a long times in afier years, to remind on

my

obligation to sustain his

large and

hearts of

life

me '

;

firm and constant friend

and took occasion, several

of his prophecy, and to

prophetic reputation.'

most respectable family, and all

who knew

him.'

lives

He

embalmed

insist left

in

a

the

CHAP.

DESULTORY STUDY.

IV.

In this his

first

who knew him

61

was more successful than those He was indebted for this, in

adventure, he

best had expected.

no small degree, to the lucky accident of having his temper may suppose, too, that the aid and conflict.

We

aroused for the

comfort of that powerful ally to

whom

the story refers,

was

felt,

not less in the kindness and encouragement of a friendly counte-

nance bestowed upon the young pleader

at his first rising, than

the substantial assistance given before the trial

sympathy of

good natured

a

face, the

warm gaze

in

The

was ended.

of a friendly eye,

and the silent gesture of approbation and assent are potent antidotes

which players are wont

to the alarms

and what, this,

"the

the Hall of

in

to call

Themis, we may

" the stage fright," term,

in

analogy to

fright of the bar."

The ordeal, however, was past. The ice was broken, and the new barrister felt that he might thenceforth walk into the courts unquestioned.

Those who knew Wirt

in

that

day were accustomed

of him as a gay and happy companion, careless labor of his profession, and genial pleasures of toil,

the road to fame.

period of his

life,

more disposed

good fellowship than It

to cultivate the

to pursue,

was therefore

speak

to

somewhat of the con-

by any painful

usual to say, that, at this

he gave no very recognizable pledge of that

eminence which he afterwards attained.

It

may be

true that his

were not so conversant with the deeps of legal science, as one might demand from the ambitious lawyer, and even that he studies

dofled aside the sometimes admonishing hopes of a solid sional

fame

but

;

it

proies-

can scarcely be true that an active and appre-

hensive mind, such as his, was suffered either to rest for want of use, or to devote itself to frivolous or useless subjects.

many evidences us, that the

in the letters

most absorbing passion of

that

renown which was

may

confess

it

We

have

and other papers which have reached

chiefly to be

his nature

won

was

a longing for

in forensic triumphs.

to be equally true that there

is

has transpired, regarding this portion of the

apparent, life

We

in all that

of Mr. Wirt, a

There are minds, however, of the very highest power, which seem to reject system with instinctive aversion, and to pursue their aims with what might be called sad want of system in his study.

a capricious versatility

of study

;

which, being susceptible of vivid

impressions from the objects upon which they are employed, are

VOL.

1

—

PRACTISES IN ALBEMARLE.

62

[1792—1794.

apt to be enticed from the course of methodical occupation attraction of

new

from

pursuits, or driven

it

by the

by the weariness or

pain of the old.

We

may

conclude

that, to

some

extent, this

ble to the character of Mr. Wirt's mind.

discern beauty, whether in nature or active imagination, with a heart

full

remark

is

applica-

With an eye quick

art,

to

with a teeming and

of the charities of

life,

and

with a keen zest for the delights of a frank companionship, it may be believed that neither his professional zeal, nor his hopes of future fame, were,

at all times a

match for these antagonists, nor

potent enough to guard him against their seductions studies and his recreations that field

were

where the poetry of

;

that both his

likely to seek their pleasures in

life

held an acknowledged

sway

over the severer, and we may even say, repulsive studies to which " the youth whom the law destines to a bright manhood" is compelled to devote his time.

He

continued to practise at the bar of Culpepper court some

one or two years with increasing success; in the meanwhile extending his acquaintance and business connections into the neighboring counties.

In this circuit he included Albemarle county, a

region of Virginia especially distinguished for eminent and highly cultivated men.

whose

The

influence in the control of his future

fortunate aspect.

many friends, was of the most

aspiring barrister here found life

CHAPTER

V.

1794 — 1799. ALBEMARLE FRIEVDS DR. GILMER.— MR. JEFFERSON, MR. MADISON AND MR. MONROE. —JAMES BARBOUR MARRIES MILDRED GILMER PEN PARK DR. GILMER'S LIBRARY.— HOSPITALITY OF THE COUNTRY DANGERS TO WHICH HE WAS EXPOSED CHARACTER OF THE BAR.— HIS POPULARITY AND FREE HABITS.— FRANCIS WALKER GILMER.— THO.MAS W. GILMER, LATE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY DABNEY CARR AND HIS FAMILY ANECDOTE OF BARBOUR AND WIRT —STATE OF FLU.— DE.^TH OF DR. GILMER.— ROSE HILL.— LETTER TO CARR.

—

— —

the friends whom Wirt found at this period, in Albewas Doctor George Gilmer. This gentleman, the descendof a Scotch family which had emigrated at an early date to

Amongst marle, ant

Virginia, had been prepared for his profession in Edinburg, and

was

time an eminent physician,

at this

He

practice.

hood of

lived at

Pen Park,

Charlottesville.

He

a

man of

enjoyment of a large

had been noted as a zealous and

effective friend of the Revolution

was

in the

his family seat, in the neighbor-

—had

borne arms

cause

in the

;

genius, of accomplished education, wit and refine-

Living in the immediate neighborhood of Mr. Jefferson,

ment.

and within a day's ride of Mr. Monroe and Mr, Madison, his singular

good fortune

it

was

to enjoy the intimate acquaintance

and

friendship of these distinguished men.

His family circle furnished attractions both to old and young.

His children drew around them many cheerful and happy companions, and his

own accomplishments,

as a

man of

observation, brought him the best society of the time. hospitality prevailed in his household in

;

letters

An

and

elegant

choice books were found

his library; instructive and agreeable conversation enlivened

his fireside.

Pen Park exhibited

just such a combination of rare

and pleasant appurtenances as are likely to sions

make

the best impres-

upon the mind of an ingenuous and ambitious youth, and to him with zeal in the cultivation of virtue and knowledge.

inspire

64

HIS

Of

MARRIAGE.

[1794—1799.

who, at this date, graced the family board, two with whom these memoirs have an intimate connection. The first was Mildred, the eldest of the family; the other was Francis Walker, the youngest born of a numerous progeny. The daughter was richly gifted with the gentle attractions of her sex, intellectual, kind, cheerful, and noted for her good She was then just growing into wosense and just observation. manhood, with all the joys of that happy period radiant in her face. The imaginative and susceptible young barrister found a the children

there were

fairy land in this romantic spot, and a spell in the

eye and tongue

The of the maiden which charmed too wisely to be broken. it closer alliance, and to a him opened the way regard for father's was

not long before he took his place in the family as a cherished

son-in-law.

The

marriage was solemnized at Pen Park, on (he 28th of

From

May, 1795.

this

period Wirt's residence was established

His practice and reputation inAmongst several lawyers, then and afterwards well known to fame in that region, he is said to have stood on the same Of these it would be sufficient to menplatform with the best. now the President of the tion the names of Barbour Cabell, with the family of his wife.

creased.

Court of Appeals of Virginia, and others,

who

will

— — Carr, Davenport,

be recognised, by those

with the bar of Virginia, as gentlemen

who

Austin, Stuart

who

served repute for professional worth, and some of

wards

are familiar

enjoyed a well de-

whom

attained to an enviable celebrity throughout the

From

this date

we may

after-

Union.

observe the steady advancement of the

— shaded now and then, by — but nevertheless forced onward by the innate

fortunes of the subject of this narrative a temporary cloud,

strength of his character and the impetus of brilliant talents and useful attainments.

him

;

Doctor Gilmer became warmly attached to

brought him into intimate acquaintance with the illustrious

persons to

whom

I

have referred

;

whetted

his appetite for elegant

by the habitual display of his own stores gathered in the diligent study of it; gave fresh vigor to his taste and fancy, by directing his studies to the best books. The young student

literature,

was charmed

to find

such happy access as the Doctor's library

which Hooker, Eoyle, Locke,

afforded, to those fountains of English thought and speech

poured their streams through the pages of

CHAP,

PEN PARK.

v.]

65

Barrow, South, Bacon and Milton. From these he drank deep draughts, and filled his mind with that reverence for the old literature of our native tongue, which was ever after noted as one of the most determinate characteristics of his mind.

His acquaintance

with Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Madison amd Mr. Monroe, at this date, before either of them had been elevated to that high honor which

each subsequently attained, led,

in

due time, to confidential esteem

and friendship, which was variously manifested throughout the Such a fact as this may be interpreted to lives of the parties. furnish the strongest evidence of the personal merit of the indi-

vidual to

whom

Happy,

it

—most

relates.

auspicious,

was

it

him

for

that he

was thrown

thus early under the guidance of so kind and competent a friend as

worthy proprietor of Pen Park. Fortune confers no richer boon upon generous and aspiring youth than when she gives him wise and affectionate friends. To win an honored place in the

the

household and

in the heart

observant gentleman

pure minded family

to

;

;

of a liberal, refined, benevolent and

be freshly engrafted upon a loving and and considerate kindness

to feel the gentle

of parents seconding and sustaining the devotion of a wife

observe

all

around him the blossoms of a

to

to

—

enjoyment there are few natures so draw from these environments good store of nutri-

ripening into fruit for

ment

;

affection, diffusing

atmosphere which he inhabits, and daily

their fragrance into the

stolid as not to

new

his

improve the heart, exalt

its

charities,

and quicken

honor and

pulses towards the cultivation of virtue,

im-

its

religion.

It is

exempt from the necessity of which' every condition of fortune seems

true that such blandishments are not that vigilant self-control, to exact life

from a well ordered mind.

The

vicious enticements of

openly challenge us to be upon our guard, and there

is

no

awarded to the youth who plainly perBut ceiving the danger, arms himself in good time against it.

great share of merit to be

when

prosperity

enlivens

tinually striving to

heart

is

make

us

all

around

sometimes taken unawares by

flowing content, and

may

fall into

and affection

us,

happy by the

its

own jocund

and over-

the snares of that pleasure

the generosity of friendship itself administers.

conceal the fact that at this time of the

con-

is

offerings of kindness, the

life

I

which

do not wish to

of Mr. Wirt, he was

not altogether free from the censure of having sometimes yielded

VOL.

1

— 6*

HOSPITALITY OF THE COUNTRY.

66

some occasional

to the spells of the tempter and fallen into ularities in

of conduct,

am aware

I

[1794—1799.

irreg-

charge has been made

that this

graver form, with some amplitude of detail and circumstance.

It is

partly to correct

what

consideration of what

is

tation of the subject of

is

false in this, but

much more from

a

due to truth and to the impartial presen-

my

biography, that

I

now

allude to

I

it.

cannot be insensible, either, to the duty of exhibiting to the youth of the country a faithful picture of an eminent man, in whose career they

may

study the best lesson for their

own guidance

to a

life of public usefulness and to the reward of an honorable fame. I should not be true to this aim if I kept out of view the occasions

which should enable me

to

show how

most virtuous

strictly the

natures should observe the tendency of every quick impulse, doubt its

safety, and

check

its first

extravagance.

Wirt was now twenty-five years of age. He was companionHis mind was quick, and imbued able, warm-hearted and trustful. with a strong relish for wit and humor. An old friend, who knew " He had never met with any iiim well in that day, says of him :

man

His figure Avas

so highly engaging and prepossessing.

kingly elegant and commanding, with a face of the

masculine beauty, animated, and expressing high

manners took the tone of his heart cordial, and his conversation, to

first

stri-

order of

intellect.

His

they were frank, open and

:

which

his reading

and early pur-

had given a classic tinge, was very polislied, gay and witty. Altogether," he adds, " he was a most fascinating companion, suits

own age, irresistibly and universally winning." * character, we may suppose, to be but too susceptible to

and to those of his

Such a

the influences of good fellowship, Avhich, in the jollity of youthful

association, not unfrequently take the discretion of the votary

by surprise and disarm creased this

men

peril.

its sentinels.

An unbounded

The

fasiiion

hospitality

of that time

in-

amongst the gentle-

of the country, opened every door to the indulgence of con-

vivial habits.

The means

of enjoyment were not more constantly

Every dinner party was a revel every ordinary visit was a temptation. The gentlemen of the bar, especially, indulged in a license of free living, which habitually approached the confines of excess, and often

present than the solicitations to use them. ;

*

Cruse's Memoir.

CHAP,

CHARACTER OF THE BAR.

v.]

The riding of the circuit, wliich always company, and the adventures of the wayside,

overstepped them.

brought several into

gave

to the bar a sportive

which

and light-hearted tone of association,

greatly fostered the opportunity and the inclination for con-

A

day spent upon the road on horseback, the made to friends by the way, the jest and the

vivial pleasures.

customary

visits

song, the unchecked vivacity inspired

of kindred

hood that

spirits,

—

had their share

all

by

this

grouping together

imparting to the brother-

in

of temper and recklessness of the more severe

facility

and sober comment of the world, which, is

€7

dangerous to youth

will

it

be acknowledged,

proportion to the enjoyment

in

Then, the contests of the bar which followed

it

affords.

the forum, the

in

occasions they afforded for the display of wit and eloquence and

were so many additional provocawhich found free scope when evening

the congratulation of friends, tives to that indulgence

brought

together, under one roof, to rehearse

all

"

to

make

acteristics

as the phrase

a night of it,"

stimulants of ;

The

good cheer.

is,

good humor,

but the present generation

members of

through a country

may

kept merry by the

but feebly conceive

I

in

that early

pursued their business

their mirthful craft,

side.

—

bar yet retains some of these char-

the pervading and careless joyousness with which, time, the

pleasant ad-

tlieir

ventures, and to set flowing the currents of mirth and

mean no disparagement

to the learned

and gay profession, but, on the contrary, some commendation of the kindly spirit of

dents of

its

its

brotherhood,

when

say, that in these inci-

I

character and association, there was manifested some-

thing of the light-heartedness and improvidence of the old-fash-

The

ioned strolling theatrical companies.

present generation will

bear witness to many an ancient green-room joke of the

which

yet floats

abroad

when

in Virginia,

was first cast William Wirt was well known

notable than

it

off.

in these

associations of Albe-

marle and the surrounding counties, an admired object

house during the day, a leading eloquent on the

field

circuit,

with a currency scarcely less

spirit

in

the

in the

court

evening coterie;

of justice, sustaining his client's cause with a

shrewd and sometimes brilliant skill; not less eloquent at the table or the mess-room, where his faculties were allowed to expatiate through another range, and where he gave reins to the wit and mirth which shook the roof-tree, ^ye may not wonder that, in

WALKER GILMER.

FRANCIS

68

[1794-1799.

forgotten, and that the

maxims of caution were enemy of human happiness, always lying at

make prey of

the young, should sometimes steal upon his

the symposia of these days, the graver

lurch to

guard and make his virtue prisoner. The too frequent recurrence of these misadventures

in that

day,

have furnished food for much gross calumny in regard to him, and have led to the fabrication of coarse and disgusting charges of

The I am persuaded are utterly groundless. Mr. Wirt have seen with regret, that the most offensive of these inventions have sometimes been used, with many fanciful and absurd additions of circumstance, by indiscreet zealots in the vulgar excess, which friends of

cause of temperance,

who have seemed

to think

it

quite excusable

to repeat and aggravate the most improbable of these falsehoods, for the sake of the profit wliich they suppose may accrue to the world from the use of a distinguished name to point the moral of

their story.

Whilst not seeking

to extenuate the irregularities to

whicb I have alluded, beyond what they may fairly claim from the circumstances in which they were indulged, and, indeed, recuring to

them only with

occasion

now

before

profound regret,

a

me

to pass

denunciation of the libels

I

and malicious exaggeration

by

I

could not allow the

w^ithout this

open and distinct

have seen, and of the terms of wanton in

which they have been repeated.

Francis Walker Gilmer, the youngest son of the Doctor, will be At the time of often referred to in the course of this narrative.

As he grew towards manhood he developed a high order of talent, which led him to the He was study of the law and to the eager pursuit of letters. Wirfs marriage he was

but a child.

eminently qualified to excel

both.

in

An

early death, however,

deprived the bar of the promised distinction which seemed to await the student; and the literature of the nation has been enriched only to the amount of a few unstudied essays, which acquired a temporary distinction from the presage they atforded of what the

author was capable of accomplishing.

Some

of

my

readers will

probably remember a few rapid, striking and scholar-like delineations of eminent public men, which, some twenty years ago, attracted a large share of attention at the seat of

the

title

Government, under

of "Sketches of American Orators."

collected into a small volume,

I

These sketches,

believe constitute nearly

all

that

CHAP,

DABNEY CARR AND

v.]

Francis Walker Gilmer has

left in

HIS FAMILY.

the

way

69

of a contribution to the

literary store of the country.

Mr. Jetlerson's friendship for Dr. Gilmer was extended to the was educated almost entirely under the direction

son, and Francis

of the proprietor of Monticello, whose estimate of his talents and learning

was frequently manifested both,

in

and personal intercourse, by the most

He

confidence.

enjoyed,

in

written correspondence

flattering expressions

of Mr. Jefrerson''s friend, the

Abbe Correa, some time man of distinguished

to this country, a

from Portugal

and always a most welcome and admired visiter I

may mention

of

scarcely inferior degree, the esteem

in this place, that

at

the family of

Minister erudition

Monticello.

Pen Park has

been recently more conspicuously brought to the view of the public,

by the

interest attached to the career of

Thomas Walker

Gilmer, a grandson of the Doctor, not long since governor of VirSecretary of the Navy, which post he held

ginia,

and later

for a

few months under the disastrous administration of the

still,

first

Vice-President who has ever been called to the Presidental chair The bursting of the great gun, " the Peace-Maker," of the Union,

on board of the Princeton, bered

in

in

February, 1844, will long be remem-

Virginia for the sudden and melancholy end

to the Secretary, then in the prime of vigorous

it

brought

manhood and

in

the

anticipation of a life of increasing honors.

Wirt, as

rode the to court,

forth

I

have hinted, was not the most sedate of

circuits.

when

more

who

the gentlemen of the bar, booted and spurred, rode

like

huntsmen than learned clerks,

—

or, like the

terbury pilgrims, partially united the character of both, ness

all

In those old-fashioned progresses from court

was no very popular

Can-

— sedate-

Amongst those who Dabney Carr was was a companion and

virtue in the troop.

constituted Wirt's associates on these occasions,

James Barbour, also, These friendships, so early began,

the most intimate. friend of both.

lost

nothing of

their kindness or sincerity, throughout the vicissitudes and separation of after

life.

Dabney Carr, the father of the gentleman I have just named, was a man of high consideration in the state. He was a member of the Legislature

known

in

1773, from Louisa, and most favorably

for his ability and zeal on the side of the colonies, in their

resistance to the encroachments of the parent government.

He

DABNEY CARR.

70

was

the intimate friend of Henry, Nicholas, Lee, Pendleton, Jef-

ferson, in

[1794—1799.

— indeed of

promoting the

With Mr.

who had become distinguished movements of the revolution.

in Virginia

Jefferson he had a nearer connection, having married

He

his sister.

all

first

died in

May, 1773, almost immediately

after the

which he had distinguished himself by the spirit and eloquence with which he urged the proj)Osition, then first introduced by himself, for a more effective and concentrated action of the colonies through the means of commitadjournment of that Legislature

tees

—a

in

proposition which, being adopted, seems to have stimu-

lated the formation of the

behind him six children, of

first

He

Continental Congress.*

whom

were

the three youngest

left

sons,

Peter, Samuel and Dabney.

was born but a month before more than half a year the junior of his friend and comrade. Wirt. These two young men, so near the same age, living in the same part of the country, practising at the same bar, possessing great similarity of temper and character, both animated by the same ambition, contracted an affectionate intimacy which never afterwards lost its warmth, and which, as the reader will hereafter perceive, was most pleasantly illustrated in the correspondence between them to Dabney, the youngest of

these,

the death of his father, and was, therefore, not

the latest period of their lives.

Peter Carr, the eldest of the three brothers, attracted the par-

and regard of his uncle, Mr. Jefferson,

ticular notice

published correspondence will be found

cern he took

in

the education of his nephew.

tion.

He,

was regarded

the pleasures of philosophical and

liis

to distinc-

literary study,

where he

lived

life

and

betook him-

greatly beloved

by

friends for his bland, affectionate and upright character, and

admired by

all

who knew him

as a polished and elegant scholar.

Colonel Samuel Carr, the second of these sons, an opulent country gentleman, well *

much more

as the best avenue

however, did not practise, but, preferring rural

self to a farm in Albemarle,

whose

the con-

This gentleman had

directed his attention to the bar, which at that date,

even than at present,

in

many evidences of

See Mr. Jefferson's

vol. 4, p. 271.

letter to

Dabney

known both

Carr, April, 1816.

is

still

in the

living,

political

Writings of Jefferson,

CHAP,

ANECDOTE, A PROPHECY.

v.]

71

and social circles of Virginia, as one of her most valued citizens. He resided, during a great portion of his life, upon a landed estate in

Albemarle, called Dunlora, and represented his district

State Senate,

in the

where he acquired an extensive and well deserved

intluence. It

was

in the circle

of which these gentlemen were amongst the

most prominent members, that Wirt found the cherished companions of his early forensic

An

life.

worth

incident, connected with this period, is

relating.

James Barbour, Dabney Carr and Wirt, were on their customary journey to Fluvanna, the adjoining county to Albemarle, to attend the court there, " the State of Flu," as that county was called in their jocular terms.

They had been amusing each

other

with the usual prankishness which characterised their intercourse.

making clever speeches, as they rode together. In these, he was wont to imagine some condition of circumstances adapted to his displays. Sometimes he rode ahead of his companions, and, waiting for them by the road side, welcomed them, in an oration of mock gravity, to the confines of " the State

Wirt was noted

for

of Flu," representing himself to be one of

its

there to receive the distinguished persons into

whom

formed the young attorneys of the

These

circuit.

dignitaries, sent

he had trans-

exhibitions, and

others of the same kind, are said to have been of the most comic spirit,

and

to

have atforded many a laugh

time of the incident

I

am

to the actors.

about to relate, the three

whom

At the I

have

mentioned, arrived at Carr's Brook, in Albemarle, the residence of

Peter Carr, where they dined and passed the night. visit,

During

this

whilst indulging their customary merriment, Barbour enter-

tained

them with

a discourse

upon the merits of himself and

his

companions, in the course of which he undertook to point out " You, Dabney," said their respective destinations in after life. he, " have indulged a vision of judicial eminence. gratified,

and

shall

peals of Virginia.

You

shall

be

hold a seat on the Bench of the Court of Ap-

Your

fortune, William," he continued, address-

ing himself to Wirt, " shall conduct you to the Attorney Generalship of the United States,

where you

do than making bombastic speeches

shall

have harder work to

in the

woods of Albemarle.

LETTER TO CARR.

72

As

for myself,

I

shall

be content to take

[1794-1799.

my

seat in the Senate of

the United States."

This little passage in the lives of the three gay companions, has only become notable from the singular fulfilment of the jocular

prophecy

respect to each of the parties.

in

after the marriage of his daughter,

Within a year or two

Doctor

which became necessary upon this event, a portion of it, known as Rose Hill, was allotted to the young wife and her husband, and here Wirt built a Rose house, which thenceforth, nominally, became his residence. Gilmer

Hill

In the division of his estate,

died.

was

in the vicinity

Pen Park, and as its new proprietors much of their time in the family

of

had no children, they spent so

mansion, as scarcely to allow us to say they had clianged their Amongst the several letters of Wirt, which have dwelling place. affording evidence of the

Pen Park,

them

this period, I find

been preserved, belonging to

all

dated at

the writer had

fact that

I not ceased to regard himself as an inhabitant of the domicil. spring in the written, am tempted here to give one of these letters

of 1799, to his friend Carr, which, dealing with a matter of no

more importance than an interest the reader by the ness of

its

invitation to dinner,

picture

it

may, nevertheless,

affords of the light-hearted-

author.

And I I cannot go over to see you to-day, my good friend. have almost as many, and as solid reasons for my conduct, as Doctor Ross had for not wearing stockings with boots. The first ''

of his was, that he had no stockings, and his catechiser was satisfied.

"

Let us see whether you will be as candid.

Firstly.

come from

— We have a troop of

afar,

and

whom we

visiting cousins here,

cannot, you

who have

know, decently

invite

to leave our house.

" Secondly.

— We

have, perhaps, finer lamb and lettuce to-day,

for dinner, than ever graced the table of Epicurus, not to imply

meaning

any thing to the dishonor of Donlora or Dun\ora,

something,

I

"Thirdly.

— or

forget what.

— Mr. Ormsby

is

here,

who

brings an historical, topo-

graphical, critical, chronological and fantastical account of

tucky and its inhabitants. " Fourthly. To conclude,

—

upon the receipt of

this,

we have determined

you are

that,

to start for this

Ken-

immediately

place; for, you

CHAP,

LETTER TO CARR.

v.]

73

observe, that the same reasons which justify

prove the propriety, and,

I

hope you

my

staying at home,

will think, necessity of your

coming hither." * * I

have to acknowledge

my

indebtedness, for

much

of what

I

have been able to

Doctor Gilmer, and Mr. Wirt's connection with it, to the kind assistance of the Hon. Wm. C. Rives, of Castle Hill, in Albemarle, and of his friend and neighbor, Mr. Franklin Minor, a grandson of Doctor Gilmer. I may take this occasion also to express my obligations to Mr. David Holmes Conrad, collect relating to the family of

of Berkeley, for some interesting particulars relating to Judge Carr, and to Messrs. John R. Thompson, of Richmond, the accomplished editor of the Southern Messenger, and John

M.

Muschett, of Charles county, Maryland,

for

very acceptable

and professional history of Mr. Wirt. To numerous other friends I owe the same acknowledgment for many favors received in the course of my occupation upon these memoirs, and must content myself with this general proffer of my thanks, for services which have not been less useful to me than they have been indicative of the highest appreciation of the worth of the contributions respecting the early

subject of

my

VOL.

labors.

1

—

life

CHAPTER

VI.

1799 — 1802. HAPPY LIFE AT PEN PARK MISFORTUNE.— DRATH OF HIS WIFE.— RELIGIOUS IMPRESSIONS.— DETERMINES TO REMOVE TO RICHMOND.— ELECTED CLERK TO THE HOUSE OF DELEG.\TES.— NEW ACQUAINTANCES.— PATRICK HENRY.— RESOLUTIONS OF NINETY-EIGHT.- RE-ELECTED CLERK AT TWO SUCCEEDING SESSIONS TEMPTATIONS TO FREE LIVING TRIAL OF CALLRNDER FOR A LIBEL UNDER THE SEDITION LAW WIRT, HAY AND NICHOLAS DEFEND HIM COURSE OF THE TRIAL A SINGULAR INCIDENT JUDGE CHASE.— NULLIFICATION FOURTH OF JULY ORATION EMBARRASSED

—

—

—

ELOCUTION.

The

term of his residence

in

Albemarle

may be reckoned

as

He came

to

marking the golden days of William Wirt's youth. this legion poor,

and

we may

say, without friends

—

such friends as open to us the road to fortune. rienced useful

in

the business of

knowledge, not yet

life,

at least,

without

He was

inexpe-

provided with no great store of

sufficiently acquainted

with the strength

or value of his faculties to give him assurance of his titness for the

which alone the career he had chosen might beWe may imagine him also, neither over-condiscretion nor sanguine in his dependance upon the

contests through

come prosperous. tident in his

guidance of his judgment.

Yet here

it

was

his happiness to wit-

ness the quick growth of esteem and consideration

:

to

become which

conscious, day by day, of the unfolding of those talents

were adequate

to the winning of a

good renown.

Here

he'

found

himself growing, with rapid advance, in the affections of a circle

of friends, whose attachment was then his path, and

which promised a not

felt as

a cheerful light

less benign radiance

upon

over his

But above all other gratifications, here it was that he became an inmate of that delightful home which love had furnished, and which wise counsel and instruction made as precious

future days.

to the

mind, as

We err if

its

we

other allurements had

believe that a

life

made

it

to the heart.

of unmixed content

is

auspicious to the fortunes of a young aspirant for fame.

the most It

need

not be told to those wiio have been most active in the emulous

CHAP

trials

MISFORTUNE.

VI.

by wliich consideration

order of talent stands pointment to stimulate

enjoyment

is

won

in

the world, that the highest

need of the spur of occasional disap-

in its

is

75

vigor, nor that a career of uninterrupted

apt to dull the lustre of the brightest parts, and ex-

tinguish the ambition of the most generous and capable natures.

Adversity

is

not unfrequently the most healthful ingredient in the

cup of human experience, and the best tonic to brace the mind for those encounters in which virtue is proved and renown achieved. Wirt was brought to the test of this trutb more than once during

happy sojourn amongst the delights of Pen Park. AVe have already noticed the death of Doctor Gilmer, his in-

that period of

structor, guide and friend.

year of his marriage a

In the fifth

more severe calamity fell upon him, in the event came with an overwhelming anguish, first,

loss of his wife. to

certainly the most painful lesson of his

tainty of

human happiness and

teach him, life,

if

This not the

upon the uncer-

the duty of establishing our hopes

upon surer foundations than the treasures of

earth.

observable in the early letters of Mr. Wirt, some occasional indications of that sentiment of reverence for religious subjects, which, towards the close of his life, had expanded into the

There

is

prominent characteristic of his mind.

No

occasion of hilarity,

no companionship of wild and careless spirits, no youthful indiscretion seems ever to have betrayed

him

into the profanation of

subjects esteemed sacred, or to the practice of the scoffs and jests

which are too currently indulged

in

the festivities of thoughtless

youth, or of unthinking age.

The

death of his wife naturally strengthened this sentiment and

furnished occasion for the improvement of his heart, in the enter-

tainment of more earnest pursuit and study of religious topics.

do not mean

to affirm that this event led

demeanor

in

influence in impressing

to

any external pro-

any very perceptible degree, the presence of the world ; but it had its

fession of religious duty; or that

altered his

him

I

it,

in

more deeply upon

his character that pro-

found sense of the sacredness of spiritual truth, and the solace of christian faith, which every healthful, reflective mind finds in the

by the death of those we love. to be thrown upon the world. His marriage had been without children. There was no tie but that of friendship and the remembrance of an over-

meditations which are prompted

The

time had

now come when he was once more

—

:

REMOVES TO RICHMOND.

76 thrown

afTection, to hold

world was

still

him

before him

prize of ambition than

it

;

He was

to this spot.

not less promising in

had been.

[1799—1802.

The

young.

offer of the

its

Friends beckoned him to the

An aching memory drove him from the him. The mind torn by grief yields readily

labors of a fresh contest.

scenes that surrounded

to the solicitations of adventure, and finds a double stimulus to ac-

escape from present suffering, and the hope to

tion, in the desire to

surround

He

itself

with ne^v objects of

affection.

determined to establish his residence

in

Richmond.

Before

he abandoned Pen Park, he placed a tablet over the grave of her

who had

first

tells, in brief,

for

it

brought him to

this spot.

The

inscription

upon

nearly the whole history of this portion of his

it

life

speaks of the two events most indelibly impressed upon his

heart, and the sentiment that filled

which they

dates to

up the interval between the two

refer

"HERE LIES MILDRED, Daughter of George and Lucy Gilmer, Wife of William Wirt. She was born August 15th, 1772, married May 28th, 1795, and died Sept.

Come

round her tomb each object of

17th, 1799.

desire.

Each purer frame inflamed with purer fire. Be all that's good, that cheers and softens life. The tender sister, daughter, friend and wife. And when your virtues you have counted o'er. Then view this marble and be vain no more."*

Thus closed a short episode in his life, which comprehended some five years of early manhood, illustrated by his first access to that circle of friends who became the solace of his after days, and by the experience of the purest of all delights, the associations of the domestic hearth,

The

its

affections

and

bitterness of that misfortune

its virtues.

which broke

in

upon

this

period of content, for a time suspended his practice, and drove

him to other scenes and occupations. where the Legislatuie was in session. am

He

went

His friends

to

Richmond,

in that

body

But I believe they were more conversant than I am with the stores of this kind of literature, should be able to trace them to another author, he will excuse my error. They resemble in style and stiucture some few poetical effusions of Mr. * I

WT-itten

almost afraid to claim these verses as original.

by Mr. Wirt.

W. which

If

have come to

my

my

reader,

hands.

CHAP.

CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES.

VI.]

77

persuaded him to become a candidate for the post of clerk of the The emoluments of this office were suffiDelegates.

House of

cient for his comfortable support; and the duties belonging to

it

not so engrossing but that he might pursue his profession

were

whilst he held

The

it.

tion to be regarded

was new,

as an

office itself

was one of

by a young man,

advancement

in

to

suthcient considera-

whom

the career of

all

life.

public station It

had been

by Chancellor Wythe, by Edmund RanWirt was dolph and others of name and fame in the State. elected, and forthwith entered upon its duties. This appointment was so far serviceable to him that it brought him into acquaintance with some of the most distinguished men of Mr, Madison, whom he had previously known, Mr. the day. Giles, Mr. Taylor of Caroline, and Mr. Nicholas, were members of the Legislature at this session. Patrick Henry had also been occupied

past time,

in

elected to a seat in the

House of Delegates, but

his death,

which

took place a few months alter his election, deprived Wirt of the opportunity to

make

a personal acquaintance with, or even to see,

became

the great orator

whose fame

commemorate. Mr. Henry's

participation in this

to with a

it

his province afterwards to

Assembly had been looked

most profound interest throughout the

State.

The

cele-

Resolutions of Ninety-eight had passed at the previous

brated

Henry's

session.

hostility to these resolutions

had awakened

his

characteristic zeal in the cause of the country, and had brought

him out from

his retirement,

tield of his old renown.

once more to seek active duty

This was

at a

time

when

in the

his constitution,

greatly shaken and enfeebled by disease, had left him physically

but the

may

wreck of what he had been, though

infer,

from what

is

told of the eagerness

in

mental power,

we

with which he threw

himself into this contest with the distinguished

men who

sustained

the resolutions, his infirmities had not yet lessened his confidence,

nor quenched the ardor of his matchless eloquence.

He

had sided

with the Federal Government on the questions which gave

rise to

those resolutions; and had expressed himself to the electors in his

county, during his canvass, tility

against the position

in terms of deep and unalterable hoswhich Virginia had assumed at this

crisis.

In his addresses, on this occasion, to the people,

ancient

fire

VOL.

seems

1—7*

to

all

his

have rekindled, and there was every indica-

PATRICK HENRY.

78 lion given that, in the

which he was

[1799—1802.

approaching session of the Legislature to

would be heard

elected, his monitory voice

in

rebuke of the proceeding of the previous Assembly, as clear and as stirring in

its

notes, as of old

tion

it

had been heard, above the din

The

and tumult of the Revolution.

side he

was remarkably unpopular.

was

It

had taken on

this ques-

opposition

in

the

to

opinions of the great majority of the people of Virginia, and to

His

that of the most venerated and powerful political leaders. hostility

had raised Mr. Madison and

have already referred,

compeers, to

his

to the defence of the resolutions, and

every where hinted that the coming session was

So strong was

traordinary interest.

whom it

I

was

be one of ex-

to

Henry were

the feeling against Mr.

for his course in this juncture, that his oldest and best friends

Some excused what was

alienated from him. tions,

ble,

imputed them to worse motives:

friend and

enemy, with intense

probably the

last

scene

all

in

looked to him, however, conscious that in

all

hear this,

would be rescue, to save him

in his public life, a great effort

to sustain his fame.

from a contest

Death came

to his

which, whatever might be the weight of his

wisdom, the glory of

however

—

interest, to note his conduct,

and weigh his opinions;

his argument,

made

called his aberra-

on the ground of his age and infirmities; others, less charita-

his eloquence, or the integrity of his heart;

brilliant the

exhibition of

all

these, they

would have

proved unavailing either to conciliate the friendship of estranged compatriots, or to overcome the hostility of the excited numbers

who had might,

in

already prejudged and condemned him.

no event, be won for the day

in

His triumph

which he

only could be regarded as the true arbiter of his wisdom. less,

when he

Time

lived.

Doubt-

resolved upon that contest, he sought no guerdon of

applause from the present; he looked only to the future. sage

who

has

filled

the measure of his days, and

The

who, standing

upon the margin of the grave, has no longer a motive to temporize with human passion or succumb to personal interests, scruples not to defy the world"'s opinion and to utter

generation around him,

He

—has even a

unwelcome

appeals to posterity for judgment, and

coming.

Old age contemplating

instinctively inclines to

reckon

its

truth to the

positive pleasure in this duty. is

content to bide

its

access to the world of eternity,

itself as associated

with the future,

CHAP.

RESOLUTIONS OF NINETY-EIGHT.

VT.]

and therefore more delights

which

to that

How

far

it is

to

79

speak to a coming generation than

about to leave.

Mr. Henry's opinions, in regard to the famous " Resobeen justified by what has been de-

lutions of Ninety-eight," have

veloped since, pleasure

importance of

and

a speculation which

is

political events in the time

remark how often and how

to

may amuse

who

those

take

exploring the tendency of the mind to exaggerate the

in

of their bringing forth,

significantly

Time

satirizes man's

wisdom, by turning the current of his fancied great exploits into channels which lead to nothing, losing their stream in the sand.

These

resolutions, so noted,

and have been cast

have already served out their time,

into the great receptacle of abstractions, as

things of no useful import.

Professing to be expositions of the

they already require expounders themselves; and,

constitution,

apparently, being scarce

deemed worthy of

mentator, they have been abandoned to their seen only as a buoy, floating where there

is

com-

the study of a fate.

They

are

now

no shoal, and warning

the navigator of dangers to which he has learned to trust his keel,

without precaution or alarm.

however, was the excitement against Mr. Henry, at I have referred, that, upon the announcement of death to the Legislature, and the suggestion of a monument to

So

great,

the time to his

which

commemorate

the

gratitude of Virginia in

patriot and orator, party zeal so far

behalf of the great

triumphed over the honorable

pride of the representatives of the State, as to dismiss the propo-

And, from the silence of the journals of subsequent

sition.

latures

upon

this proposal, the dismissal

Wirt served,

in his

new

office,

probation, through the session, and in the

two succeeding

years.

seems

with credit and

was

acquaintance

have been full

legisfinal.

public ap-

re-elected to the

If the society

afforded him, during his term of public duty, his

to

same post

which Richmond seemed

to extend and good repute with those whose esteem is

amongst the most precious things of life to a young man, it also brought him into some of those perils to which he was, from his

The Legislature was a concourse of gay and ungoverned youth, as well as of wise and sober age.

character, peculiarly exposed.

The

city in

which the Legislature

old, for its choice spirits, its

sat

men of

was somewhat

Avit

noted, of

and pleasure, and

manifold inducements to tax the discretion of those

who

its

had no

TRIAL OF CALLENDER.

80

[1799— 1S02.

The meet the requisition. young clerk of the House was a great favorite with all. Every door was opened to him every gay circle welcomed his coming, and the favor and admiration of friends were overpaid, by draughts on an exchequer which sufl'ered more from what it regreat store of that commodity to

;

ceived, than from what

it

disbursed,

which could not be exhausted often, lost

its

guidance

in

—

a witty and playful spirit,

outpourings, but which, too

its

cloud of homage

in the

it

brought around

itself.

This portion of

his life,

Mr. Wirt,

in his

own review

accustomed to consider as one of great temptation. the midst of

its

necessity of a

it,

was

Indeed, in

enjoyments, he was often led to reflect upon the

more severe devotion

ceived them to be,

He

of

in the

to his better aims, as

he con-

steady pursuit of his profession.

held the post of clerk of the

three sessions of the Legislature.

House of Delegates, during In the

year of

first

this

term

of service, he was brought somewhat conspicuously to the public

This person, who seems who had been equally, at differWashington, of Adams and of Jef-

observation as the counsel of Callender. to

have made a trade of

libelling,

ent periods, the calumniator of

was

ferson,

indicted in the spring of

1800, at the instance of

Samuel Chase, then the presiding Judge of the Federal Government over the Circuit which comprehends Richmond, for the publication

of a pamphlet which had gained an extensive notoriety,

upon the existing adminis" The Prospect before us,"

at that period, for a scandalous assault

This pamphlet was

tration.

and

is

yet

entitled

remembered by many,

acrimonious tracts connected that day.

The

as one of the

most pungent and

with the political

excitements of

indictment of Callender was one of the

cutions under the sedition law.

The enactment

first

prose-

of that law had, in

part, supplied the topic to the Virginia Resolutions, which, as

we

have seen, were yet, a prominent subject of public discussion. The impolicy of this law, and the eager denunciation of it by a powerful and, indeed,

now predominant

party in the Union, gave

to the prosecution of Callender a factitious importance, very

above what either the book or on the score of their

The

own

its

significance.

counsel for Callender were George

borne Nicholas, both young

much

author might have challenged

men

Hay

and Philip Nor-

holding a most respectable posi-

CHAP.

COURSE OF THE TRIAL.

VI.]

81

Richmond bar. AVirt was associated with them in the was the youngest lawyer of the three. The case seems to have been a clear one, and Callender was convicted. In the impeachment of Judge Chase, some five years later, before the' Senate of the United States, it was charged against him, in refer-

tion at the

cause, and

this trial, that his

ence to

conduct during the whole course of

it

was marked " by manifest injustice, partiality and intemperance." Amongst the specifications to sustain this charge were the following:

" In the use of unusual, rude and contemptuous expressions towards the prisoner's counsel, and in insinuating that they wished to excite the public fears and indignation, and to

subordination to law to

same time, manifestly tend. " In repeated and vexatious abandon their cause and their

in-

did, at the

interruptions of the said counsel,

on the part of the said judge, which and condemned to

produce that

which the conduct of the judge

client,

at length

who

induced them to

was thereupon convicted

and imprisonment.". Judge Chase was known to be of a peremptory and absolute temper and the testimony upon his impeachment shows, what, at least, may be said to be, a severe and perhaps discourteous bearfine

;

But as an answer to the

ins towards the counsel in this case.

charge of manifest

injustice, partiality

and intemperance

meanor, the unanimous vote of acquittal of the Senate

We

may

in the case,

—

is

in his

de-

— the only unanimous vote

conclusive.

infer, therefore, that the

abandonment of the defence

of Callender by his counsel, was one of those theatrical inciwhich ingenious advocates are sometimes cowps de theatre dents

—

known

to contrive, as

more

efficacious in the

way

of defence,

than the attempt to breast an array of inevitable and discomfiting facts.

Such

a device

seems well suited to a

auditors and jury are supposed to have

good wishes with the prisoner.

It

was

all

state trial, in

which

their sympathies

and

a political affair, in public

estimation, and the retirement of counsel, under the pretext of be-

by the hectoring temper of the judge politically the prisoner, was likely to be regarded not as a confes-

ing driven off hostile to

sion of the guilt of their client, but as an appeal to the jury, and

an invocation to them to take him into their protection. The facts, however, were too clear against Callender, and the adroit

a;

COURSE OF THE TRIAL.

82

[1799—1802.

counsel were disappointed in the efficacy of the movement,

were dictated by the considerations

We

must, however, confess that

if it

have suggested.

I

tlie

dogmatism of the judge,

not to say the positive harshness of his treatment of the counsel,

may have been

the true and only motive for their retirement;

although the point might be strongly argued against the right of

an advocate,

in

a cause \vhich

he conscientiously believes to be

good, to desert his client and leave him to his

fate,

under any

amount of provocation or insult from a judge, which did not actually disable him from performing his duty. Mr. Hay and Mr. Nicholas were both examined as witnesses

From

on the impeachment.

their testimony

appears that the

it

was upon the constitutionality of the sedition la\v, which point, it would seem, they were desirous should be submitted to the jury. The judge was chief, if not the only defence of Callender,

known

be unalterable

to

in his

view of the constitutional question

and there being no hope from him, the counsel insisted upon the

power and

the right of the jury to nullify the act of Congress

we may

heresy,

call

it,

which has been revived

in

;

—

a later day,

and which has fared no better with the American people than did upon the

first

production, with Judge Chase.

its first

and almost the only

eight, has been,

crumbled

from

into dust

first

whenever

Our young advocate lates to

fruit of the

to last, a it

it

This doctrine,

Resolutions of Ninety-

Dead Sea apple which has

has been lifted to the

figures in this scene.

I

extract

lips.

what

re-

him from Mr. Hay's testimony before the Senate.

" It was the intention of the counsel of Callender," says that gentleman, upon his examination, " to defend him on the ground of tiie

unconstitutionality of the sedition law.

were associated with me preceded me

The gentlemen who argument, but were

in the

not permitted to address the jury on the point

treatment experienced by Mr. Wirt,

He was

I

I

The

mentioned.

have, in some degree, re-

two or three times by the judge, for the which he was contending, that the jury had the right of determining the law as well as the fact, was true. Mr. Wirt then stated that the constitution Judge Chase told liim there w^as the supreme law of the land.' was no necessity for proving that.' Mr. Wirt then went on to argue lated.

purpose of

—

interrupted

telling

him

that the doctrine for

—

'

'

'

that if the constitution

was

tlie

supreme law, and

if

the jury

had a

CHAP.

COURSE OF THE TRIAL.

VI.]

right to determine both

tlie

law and

83

of the case, the conclusion

fact

perfectly syllogistic, that the jury had a right to determine

was

upon the constitutionality of the law.' Upon this, the same testimony states, Judge Chase replied, " That's a non sequUur, sir." " At the same time," says Mr, Hay, "he bowed with an air of Whether Mr. Wirt,"— he continues, "said any thing

derision.

Mr. Hay then detailed

do not recollect."

after this, 1

course in the argument: his urging question for the jury as

—"

think

me whether

judge asked

well as criminal cases,

wrong.'

was I

replied that

I

sufficient for

my

went on as well as

'

I

words used,

I

purpose

he told

'

there

'

I

to contend.

I

was

this doctrine in civil as

if it

'

me

do not

to

you do you are

if

universally true, but that

it

What

recollect.

My

I

was no necessity

I

was

the circumstances were, or

believe that

I

I

was

inter-

impressions then being that I should

When Judge go on.

it

applied to criminal cases only.

was able with the argument, when

I

retired from the bar.

that

down

tmdergo more humiliation than I

be obliged to

said

laid

considered

I

rupted more than twice.

tiring,

meant

because,' said he,

again interrupted by the judge. the

I

to determine the guilt or innocence of the traverser.

which was

The

was a

that the jury had a right to determine every question

was

it

own

his

that this

stated to the court, in terms as distinct

purpose for whicli

could, the specific

I

I

upon the judge

him

told

for

not captious, and that

coyiceived necessary^ I

Chase found

my

that

'

I

was about

I

would

being captious.'

would not proceed

I

mediately retired from the bar, and,

I

replied

;'

and im-

room

believe, from the

I

re-

He

not.'

in

which the court was held." Mr. Nicholas says,

after

Mr. Wirt

sat

and^was not interrupted by the judge.

down, "

I

followed him,

Mr, Hay followed me, and

observed that the jury had a right to decide the law. asked him whether he meant because

if

in civil as

he did he was wrong.

Mr.

well as

Hay

ceived the proposition to be universally true ficient for his

proceeded a

purpose

little

Hay

and

ice left it at the

replied that he con-

— but

that

was again interrupted by

then stopped, folded up his papers and

same

lime.

Mr. Chase

criminal cases,

applied to criminal cases.

further and

Mr.

not."

if it

in

What happened

left

was

it

He

suf-

then

the judge. the court;

afterwards

I

know

:

SINGULAR INCIDENT.

84

[1799—1802.

So, the three young lawyers trooped out of court, with their

Hay

papers bundled up.

led the van, and

young Wirt, with

his

laughing eye and sly waggish face, casting queer glances, no doubt, right and left

amongst the bar inside of the

tators outside,

brought up the rear.

railing

and the spec-

This was a scene under the Resolutions of Ninety-eight. Calwe must suppose quailed now, on being deserted by his

lender,

champions, before the awful majesty of Chase's brow.

we may the

crowd moved

The

state.

The

jury,

imagine too, were affected to indignation and anger, and to pity at

Callender's forlorn

bar, perhaps, indulged a

pered in their sleeves,

little

some laughing

secret

and friendless

comment,

— whis— and

hints of miscarriage;

the three retired counsel, after wearing the face of indignant patriotism for a limited time,

others' office,

we must

when they

believe, had

got together at one or the

some rather jocular misgivings

whether Callender would fare the better for

at

or congratulated themselves at getting out of a case

nullification-, tliat

this first effort

pretty sure to go awry. Judge Chase came to deliver the opinion of the court, language, in reference to the question which seems to have

was

When his

raised the indignation of the counsel,

"

I

will assign

my

why

reasons

I

was

as follows

will not permit the counsel for

ofl'er arguments to the jury, to urge them to do what the constitution and law of this country wnll not permit, and which if I should allow, 1 should, in my judgment, violate my duty, disregard the constitution and law, and surrender up the judicial

the traverser to

the United States.

power of " The jury

statute

who

By

#

on which the traverser

shall try the

law and the cases.'

#

#

#

fact,

# is

*

indicted, enacts that

'

the

cause shall have a right to determine the

under the direction of the court as

this provision I

jury to determine what the

understand that a right

laio is in

is

in

other

given to the

the case before them, and not

to decide whether a statute of the United States produced to them is a laio or not, or whether it is void under an opinion that it is

unconstitutional ted States.

—

that

is,

contrary to the constitution of the Uni-

CHAP.

FOURTH OF JULY ORATION.

VI.]

"I cannot conceive termine whether

that a right

the statute,

To

constitutional or not.

85

given to the petit jury to de-

is

under which they claim

this riglit, is

determine the validity of the statute,

the Constitution of the United States must necessarily be resorted to and considered, and

its

provisions inquired into.

It

must be de-

termined whether the statute alleged to be void, because contrary to the Constitution,

Was

plication.

it

is

prohibited by

it

expressly or

by necessary im-

ever intended by the framers of the Constitution,

or by the people of America, that

it

the examination of a jury to decide

or impliedly imposed by

it

should ever be submitted to

what

restrictions are expressly

on the National Legislature

possibly believe that Congress intended

by the

I

?

cannot

statute to grant

The man who

right to a petit jury to declare a statute void.

a

main-

must have a most contemptible opinion of the

tains this position

understanding of that body.

But

I

believe the defect lies with

himself"

This

is

mark of

some length, in which Whether the concluding reparagraph above quoted, was designed as a reflection

a short extract from an opinion at

the question the

is

most ably argued.

personal to the counsel in the case, or not,

it

certainly

may be

re-

garded as discourteous, and indicative, perhaps, of some degree of temper, which

we may

believe to have been roused by the col-

which the trial produced. If there was any purpose of reflection upon the counsel in it, we have reason to infer that it was not specially provoked by the deportment of Wirt, towards whom the judge seems to have retained the kindest feelings. Speaking of the incidents of his trial on the impeachment, soon after it was concluded, to a friend of the young counsellor, lision

after

whom

marked it, I

:

he had inquired with an affectionate " They did not summon him on my trial.

might have summoned him myself

young man

I

said

any thing

interest,

Had

I

was only exceptionable, or which Yet

it

he re-

known to that I

have

thought of with regret since."

The

of Callender took place in May, 1800.

trial

On

the fourth

of July following, Wirt, delivered an anniversary oration, for which

purpose he had been selected by the democratic party

mond. I

am

It is

characterised

indebted for so

as "fervid

VOL.

many

by the author of the memoir

Rich-

whom

particulars contained in this narrative,

and rapid," "unpremeditated"

1—8

in

to

in its

manner, and

is

EMBARRASSED ELOCUTION.

86

said to have been

pronounced " so

little

[1799—1802.

like other prepared ora-

have been thought extemporary."

tions as to

In the early period of his professional

remarked,

his elocution

rassed.

was of

It

was

far

that character

life,

as

we

have already

from being easy and unembar-

which would be most

likely to

impart the idea that even a prepared oration, such as this to which the memoir alludes, was the extemporaneous production of the

The

occasion.

hesitation at one

moment, the too rapid flow of

utterance at another, and frequent stammering, might leave such

an impression on the hearer. Mr. Wirt, in speaking of his difficulties in this particular, once said to a friend: " My pronunciation and gesture

myself

And

utterance.

were

at this time

times, to find

if

against a difficulty,

literally

terribly vehement.

I

used, some-

stopped, by too great rapidity of

any poor mortal was ever forced to struggle it

was

I, in

that matter.

But

my

stammering

to perseverance, and, except

became at last a martyr some of my youthful fires telligible

lighted,

I

can manage

when

I

get

to be pretty in-

now."

This was his recollection, after the lapse of many years, and was always pleasantly dwelt upon by him as coupled with the reflection

how

enunciation,

by

completely he had vanquished these

difficulties

careful attention and judicious practice.

of

CHAPTER

VII.

1802—1803.

ELECTED TO THE POST OF CHANCELLOR.— VALUE OF THIS APPOINTMENT REASONS FOR ACCEPTING IT.— COL. ROBERT GAMBLE.— COURTSHIP A THEATRICAL INCIDENT SECOND MARRIAGE REMOVES TO WILLIAMSBURG LETTERS TO CARR RESIGNS THE CHANCELLORSHIP AND DETERMINES TO GO TO NORFOLK.

—

—

In the session of the Legislature which terminated

in the

winter

which Wirt was the clerk of the House of Delegates, an act was passed for dividing the Chancery jurisdiction of the State into three districts. Heretofore the whole of this jurisdiction had been vested in a single of 1802, the

of the three sessions

last

Chancellor, and

the venerable

period, discharged

its

which have placed him the country.

The

now

it

rendered

George Wythe had,

duties, with in the

in

a fidelity and

a long

for

learned

rank of the most eminent

skill

jurists of

increasing business of the court, howev^er, had

indispensable that the labor should be distributed,

and the Legislature had therefore passed the act to which

I

have

referred.

The

clerk of the

House was agreeably

surprised, before the

close of this session, to find that the Legislature had selected for one of these

new

He was

appointments.

of their purpose to confer this honor upon him,

when he was requested in

to

him

altogether ignorant until the

moment

withdraw from the House of Delegates,

order that his nomination might be made and the election pro-

ceeded with.

He was

elected

by

a

unanimous vote.

An honor

of such magnitude, conferred under such circumstances, speaks

very

intelligibly as to the estimation in

He was

held.

at this

which the subject of it was He had the

time twenty-nine years of age.

professional experience of his country practice in Albemarle, and that of

mond

some two years in the more extended theatre of the Richbut he was still what might be considered a junior at

courts

;

the bar, and scarcely in a position to attract the public attention for a post so grave and responsible in

its

duties, as a Chancellor,

MADE CHANCELLOR.

88

we

unless

[1802-1803.

suppose him to have given decided and satisfactory

manifestations of a capability to attain high eminence in his profession.

had not entered

It

mark of self

into his imaginings

which forbade him

spirit in the

men of

the brightest

now wrought

accepting of

always the quality of true genius to distrust instances of

expect such a

diffidence in him-

to solicit such a distinction,

him some perturbation of

in

to

The same

favor from the Legislature.

It is

it.

itself, for

protruding themselves

parts

upon the public, with that eager self-commendation which

we

are

—

weaker minds; but this attribute so generally tiie accompaniment of youthful merit,

accustomed to of diffidence

not

there are

call vanity, in

is

when we reckon upon it as one of the signs by which we may prophesy future success. So full of apprehension, was the newly designated Chancellor on this occasion, of his

that

we

scarcely err

ability to acquit himself in this high function

fulness, that,

—

is

it

told of him,

— he

called

with credit and use-

upon the Governor,

Mr. Monroe, then, and always afterwards, his friend, and who to do with the nomination, to com-

most probably had sometliing

municate his doubts and fears as to his suitableness either

" Mr. Monroe," says

or acquirement for the post.

"

he doubted

replied, that the Legislature,

what

it

was doing, and

point either

The

it,

that

it

not,

my

in

age

authority,

knew very

was not probable he would

well

disap-

or the suitors of the court."*

him

district assigned to

in this

appointment, comprehended

the Eastern Shore of Virginia and the tide-water counties below

Richmond.

The

duties of the station required that he should re-

side in Williamsburg, a point rich in associations with the history

of the State, and where was to be found a cultivated and refined society, in every respect most likely to prove agreeable to the tastes of the

new

functionary.

In adverting to this appointment and

lowing

its

consequences,

letter to his friend Carr, written after

in the fol-

he had reached Wil-

liamsburg, he reveals the considerations which influenced in

terms which show

how

justly

and

how

him,

deeply he was impressed

with the necessity of a more sedate pursuit of those better aims in life to

marked,

which

in the

I

have, more than once referred.

reading of the *

first

paragraph of

Cruse's Memoir.

It will

be re-

this letter, that

CHAP.

REASONS FOR ACCEPTING.

VII.]

Carr was desirous

to obtain the clerkship just

89

made vacant by

the

preferment of his friend.

Williamsburg, February

My Dear

12, 1802.

Dabnet:

This moment

received yours of the 5th.

I

You

regard to the clerkship.

will

have heard, before

First, with this

reaches

day of the session, James Pleasants was elected clerk, for the purpose of making his way easy at the next session. If, after this, you determine to offer for the place, you may expect from me all that the warmest you, that on the evening preceding the

friendship can perform.

And though

immediate scene of action,

I

flatter

last

am removed from

I

myself

I

the

could be of service

to you.

Now, tenance.

for

my

Next

dred pounds,

As

honor.

to the profit,

year, the probability

—on which

I

can

live.

it

is

a decent main-

be worth

is, it

will

And

although the clerkship,

five

hun-

my practice, would have produced more cash, yet was precarious, and therefore subjected me to the hazard of It was earned, too, by that kind of labor living beyond its limits. which left no opportunity for the further cultivation of the mind. There is another reason, entre nous. I wished to leave Richmond on many accounts. I dropped into a circle dear to me for the amiable and brilliant traits which belonged to it, but in which I had found, that during several months, I was dissipating my health, my time, my money and my reputation. This conviction dwelt so strongly, so incessantly on my mind that all my cheerfulness forsook me, and I awoke many a morning with the feelings of a madman. I had resolved to leave Richmond, and was meditating only a together with

it

decent pretext to cover

my

retreat.

In this perplexity, the ap-

pointment descended upon me, unsolicited, unthought benevolent grace of a guardian angel. I

do not

fill

with the

****•*

the office with justice, at least,

not be for want of unremitting effort on

•

of,

my dear Dabney, if to my country, it shall

Yes,

Your

my

part.

friend,

Wm. Wirt. VOL.

1—8*

90

COL.

The from

ROBERT GAMBLE.

[1S02— 1803.

Chancellor entered upon his employment, as

this letter,

with a hearty resolve to

make

we may

this event

infer

an era

from which he might date the beginning of a graver and more steadfast career of duty and self-control.

During his residence in Richmond, his good fortune brought him into an intimacy with the family of Colonel Robert Gamble. This gentleman was a merchant in that city, and was greatly esteemed for his probity and intelligence. He was wealthy, or, at least, in the enjoyment of a competency which enabled him to His fireside was familiar to the practise a liberal hospitality. most cultivated society of the time. His manners were grave and thoughtful, such as attract the deference of the elder portions of

the community, and

The

clerk of the

beyond

that of his

command the reverence of House of Delegates had

companions

who

many

spirit

of his

unfortu-

His intimacy brought him within the

it.

sphere of the attraction of one guardian

life,

perhaps, a more hazardous venture, than

this,

found

others

a special motive,

frequented Colonel Gamble's

His unguarded

house, to desire his good opinion. nately, rendered

the young.

life.

It

which our narrative has now

who was

destined to

become the

was not long after the

period to

arrived, that Elizabeth, the second

daughter of Col. Gamble, became the wife of the subject of this

memoir.

Of

all

the fortunate incidents in

Wirt, his marriage with auspicious. for

its

happy

this lady,

the

life

of William

may be accounted

the most

During the long term of their wedlock, distinguished influence upon the fortunes of both, her admirable vir-

tues, in the character of wife and mother, her tender affection

watchful

solicitude in

regard, and in

from him

all

that

a devotion

and

every thing that interested his domestic

concerned his public repute, commanded

which,

to the last

moment of

his life,

glowed

with an ardor that might almost be called romantic. In the

Wirt

to

many his

letters

wife,

which have been preserved, written by Mr.

beginning in the earliest period of their ac-

quaintance, and continued to the

under the review of the author of

last,

this

most of which have passed biography,

—

if

such confi-

dences could be published to the world, they would exhibit to the reader the most agreeable evidences of an attachment of which time had no power to dull the edge, and which not less intensely

engrossed the alfcctions of his mature age, than

it

commanded

the

CHAP.

A THEATRICAL INCIDENT.

VII.]

worship of merit of a

manhood.

his early

woman, than such

No

91

eulogy can better express the

a tribute from one so able to observe,

and so formed to appreciate female excellence.

This prize was not won without many apprehensions.

The

lover had not yet given that hostage to fortune, which might be said to strengthen the assurance of the father in the success of the

young votary.

The sible

giving

office

away

to

a daughter's hand, is a perilous

painful anxiety, even

The

Men weigh

parent.

a

when

often,

with

the foundations for hope are strongest.

we must

clerk of the House,

and respon-

this matter,

was not in the safest There are some men who

admit,

category for a father's ready consent.

ripen early, and, at eight or nine and twenty, have their

full

freight

of discretion and judgment.

There are others whose boyhood Wirt was one of these, as they who

runs into a later date.

were

intimate with

him

in

boyishness of character,

advanced

if I

may

life,

call

might it

testify.

A

certain

so, did not altogether

desert his mature age, and, indeed, often disputed the mastery in

it.

Colonel Gamble, the story goes, had his doubts whether the suitor should be presently sped in his enterprise, or whether he should

When he was consulted by the misgiving candidate on that awful point, " to be, or not to be," there wait for a longer probation.

was some demur, and

the

young gentleman was put upon

his

good

behaviour.

During

this interval, as the tale

occasion, one

summer morning,

has been told, Col.

Gamble had

at sunrise, to visit his future son-

It unluckily happened that Wirt had, the night some young friends there, and they had had a merry time of it, which had so beguiled the hours, that even now,

in-law's office.

before, brought

at sunrise, little

they had not separated.

The

Colonel opened the door,

expecting to find any one there at that hour.

His eyes

fell

There stood Wirt with the poker in his right hand, the sheet-iron blower fastened upon his left arm, which was thrust through the handle on his head was a tin wash basin, and, as to the rest of his dress it was hot weather, and the upon the strangest group.

;

—

hero of

this grotesque scene had dismissed as much of his trappings as comfort might be supposed to demand, substituting for them a light wrapper that greatly added to the theatrical effiict.

There he stood

in this

whimsical caparison, reciting, with an

SECOND MARRIAGE.

92

abundance of stage gesticulation,

His back was

We

may

Falstaff"'s

The

to the door.

[1802—1803.

onset upon the thieves.

opening of

it

drew

all attention.

imagine the queer look of the anxious probationer, as

Col. Gamble, with a grave and mannerly silence,

bowed and with-

drew, closing the door behind him without the exchange of a word.

How

long this untoward incident might have deferred the hopes

we

of the young people, Chancellorship came

in,

cannot say, but the promotion to the

most opportunely, to sustain the pretensions

new pledge

of the lover, and to furnish a ness, and in

further trial

all

Richmond on

He

was dispensed

for his future sedate-

with.

He was

married

the 7th of September, 1802.

held the Chancellorship but some six or seven months after

The

his marriage.

nearly

all

duties attached to

it

were onerous, exacting

excluded him from that various

his time, whilst they

practice upon which he had built his hopes of eminence. salary

was too small

lime of

life

he

to

felt that

meet the demands of a family, and

such a post was to be regarded rather as

The

an impediment to his progress than a furtherance.

vantage to be derived from

world of

it

was the testimony

his standing in his profession,

likely to be greatly enhanced

by

appropriate honor of professional is

past.

men may be supposed

It is

it

may life

chief ad-

gave

to the

and that benefit was not

his continuing to hold

dicial appointment, in this country,

ambitious labor

The at his

it.

A

ju-

justly be regarded as the

after the active period of

best adapted to that stage

when

anxious to exchange the severer toils of

practice for honorable elevation, and for the leisure that

may

en-

able them to digest and improve the studies which, in the impor-

occupation at the bar, generally produce fruits

tunities of full

more abundant

than ripe.

But to a young lawyer, stimulated by

the hope of fame and by the ardor of genius, intent upon mastering his profession and turning

it

of wealth, such an appointment after the

to

good account

is

but a hindrance at every step

in the

attainment

first.

These considerations were brought very cogently to his mind In the month of in the position in which he now found himself. Williamsburg, and devoted November he removed his wife to himself throughout the ensuing winter with assiduity to the duties

of his

ollice.

During

this

period he made up his mind to relin-

CHAP.

REMOVES TO WILLIAMSBURG.

VII.]

93

quish his judicial honors, and to throw himself once more upon his

The

profession.

public attention

was

at that

time strongly drawn

to Kentucky, as a field especially propitious to the enterprise of

Numbers of

the young'.

the most respectable families of Vir-

ginia had already migrated to that

State, and the marvels of

rapid growth and teeming prosperity

commendation

as to raise a general fervor in behalf of settlement

We

El Dorado of the West,

in this

its

were recounted with such have since become familiar

with these charms of western adventure, and have seen the vast wilderness beyond the Allegany spring into civilization, refinement

and luxury, with an impulse that even transcends

At that

promised.

all

that the ex-

which our narrative refers ever time, however, the promise was mainly di-

cited imagination of the

rected to Kentucky, and

day

to

tliither the

tide

of emigration from Vir-

ninia and the other central States chiefly tended.

Wirt was caught by

this

common fervor, and began seriously to new country. Friends in Ken-

meditate upon a removal to the

tucky urged him to come, painting

him

to

glowing colors the

in

success and advancement that awaited him.

Friends

advised him to go, seconding and confirming

which the

first

had used

in the

way

all

in Virginia

the arguments

of inducement.

There was,

however, one richly deserving the name of a true and generous friend,

main

who

advised a contrary resolve, and entreated him to re-

This gentleman was Littleton Waller Taze-

in Virginia.

well, then a most prominent

member of

the Norfolk bar, and sub-

sequently greatly distinguished throughout Virginia and the Union as one of the leading lawyers and politicians of that State,

advice to Wirt was to adhere to that society already experienced so

much

To

His

which he had

favor, and to establish his

advancement upon the exercise of ginia,

in

hopes of

his talents at the bar of Vir-

enforce this solicitation, Mr, Tazewell offered to share

own

with him his

practice in Norfolk, and to throw in his

every advantage which his legal connexions might put posal.

The

teristic

of the writer.

way

at his dis-

which follow to his friend have a reference to the5.e questions, amongst others, which are debated with a pleasant mixture of good sense and gaiety of temper particularly characletters

LETTER TO CARR.

94

[1S02— 1803.

TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, February

13, 1803.

Carissime Currus:

This honor of being a Chancellor

a very

is

man be

although a

empty

thing, sto-

of honor his

full

machically speaking; that is, or in other words, honor will not go to ;

stomach may be empty

market and buy a peck of potatoes. On a year, I can live, but if death comes how

Her

live?

father and

hundred dollars

fifteen

my

will

mother perhaps dead, her

wife and family

sisters

and brothers

This dispersed to the ends of the earth, what will become of her ? bliss, but it is in my is the only rub that clogs the wheels of my

power to remove even this rub, and, in the event of my death, in a few years to leave my wife and children independent of the frowns or smiles of the world. What I have to ask you, tben,

is,

shall I, for the

sake of a

little

empty honor, forego the pleasure of this independence a pleasure which would soothe me even in tbe bour of death ; or shall I, for .?

the sake of attaining this blessed independence, and the contentment and dignity of mind which belong to it, renounce at once the starving honor

terms

in

which

which

I

I

The

me

my

friends, too,

my

counsels of

You may

possess?

it

from the

see,

my own mind

Nevertheless,

the latter renunciation. isfaction that

now

state the case, that

is in

favor of

would give me great

approved of

my

friends in Virginia and in

There

with fervor to the latter country.

sat-

plans.

Kentucky, press is

an

uncommon

and I am very strongly crisis in the superior courts of that State, would go to the bar, and bend I it. of tempted to take advantage all

the powers of

years.

my

In that time,

soul and I

sufficiency of wealth, to enable

family, and give up In the course of

so to unite able to lead

my my

body

to the profession for fifteen

have no doubt,

latter

me

days

I

should have amassed a

to retire

into the

lap of

my

to ease.

business there, too,

it

would be

my

my

study

old age, to be

my dignity with my interest as, in my sons (if I am blessed w^ith sons) upon

the theatre

of life, so as to pre-engage for them the respect and confidence of mention of their the world, that they miglit never blush at the

CHAP.

LETTER TO CARR.

VII.]

95

it were a blush of reflected honor and virtuThese are the scenes which dance before my delighted imagination, which I believe by no means chimerical

name, unless

father's

ous emulation.

on the contrary,

if I

enjoy

my

Such

ability to realize them.

the other,

possible that

it is

I

Roman

judicial honors and

I have no doubt same State) of my

natural healtii,

(from the actual experience of others is

the

in

the prospect on one hand.

may,

like

poverty.

I

On

Mr, Wythe, grow old

may

in

die beloved, rever-

enced almost to canonization by my country, and my wife and children, as they beg for bread, may have to boast that they were

Honor and glory are indeed among

mine.

but the most towering glory becomes dust in the balance

tions,

when

poised against the happiness of

you think

If

right that

it

remain are, when

shall I

sume the practice of law? As to this token? I am will

to

the strongest attrac-

make me

do

family.

so,

and

in

what country

thirty years of age;

In

forty-five.

my

should resign, the questions which

I

my

opinion a

on

toiling

ment

As

:

I

till

—so

that

I

am

ought

have no notion of

I

to lose.

In Virginia, the most popular lawyer in the

State merely

makes

the ends of the year meet,

Randolph.

have

from the gentleman

I

forty-five

too old or too infirm to enjoy even retire-

have no time

where?

to the

years more

fifteen

man of

be able to work or play as he pleases.

shall I re-

this

Virginia, therefore,

not to

is

my

taste,

my

country for

not the

or interest.

federal city

is

much time

there to take root.

thing flourishes with rapidity.

It

In the soil

Besides,

ter of the State; and, moreover,

it is

I

—

I

mean Edmund

who keeps

his books.

The

purpose.

would require too of Kentucky every

love the ardent charac-

a country calculated to give a

man his choice of modes of life. Land being cheap and fertile, he may farm it on his country seat, or dash away, when his wealth will authorise

it,

speculations is

meant

in the

down

circles of the gay, or float his

the Mississippi.

to apply to the various

This

latter

commercial

view of the subject

views of those to

whom

I

shall,

*******

with the blessing of heaven, give

Pray

let

me have your

my

name.

thoughts at large on this subject.

Heaven preserve you, Your friend,

Wm. Wirt.

LETTER TO CARR.

96

[1802—1803.

TO DABNEY CARR. Williamsburg, March »

*

You speak whicli

my

I

seem

*

me

are dear to

first left

my

The

will be painful.

have been destined to

to

native roof (at the age of seven)

where, except merely long enough

my

to let

sep-

It

is

a

more frequently

suffer

From

than almost any body else equally fond of friends. I

20, 1803.

#

*

removal to Kentucky like a friend.

many who

aration from ])ain

of

*

I

the time

have lived no-

afiections take a firm

when, either want or calamity have torn me up, and wafted into some strange and distant soil. Eight or ten times I have

root,

me

experienced

whom still

I

this

fate

be painful,

:

— and

who

love and

although

love me,

a

me upon a soil And besides, were I

friendship and love.

be almost as much Albemarle, as

those

often repeated,

would

if I

my

you and

lost to

If I

I

to

remain here,

I

should

other beloved friends in

owe you, me in this

were on the banks of the Ohio.

render

stars

too cold or barren for

I

dear friend, a detail of the reasons which actuate

measure, and

my

derive comfort from the thought that

I

have never yet thrown

my

separation from

however

with pleasure.

it

had nothing else to consider but the immediate support of

my

family, I should be obliged to resign my Chancellorship. Although you cry out " qui fit Mecoenas," it is not caprice, but the iron hand of w^ant that

by

which impels me

to this resignation.

true

It is

rejecting every social advance from the inhabitants here,

which I should be obliged to do, since I could not return them ; by immuring myself, from day to day and forever, within the solitary walls of

my own

my

house,

salary might be sufficient to purchase

bread and meat, and such raiment as such a these are conditions which

or myself.

my

I

choose not

to

life

might require

Another consideration, replete with terror,

salary depends on

my own

life,

my

life, I

woukl ask whether

of eternal infamy to

sit

it

I

am now

would not be mean,

quietly

down

science, and see these misfortunes

but

is that,

death would throw

wife and children on the charity of a cold and selfish world. these things considered, and also that

;

impose either on others

in the

little,

as

my All

prime of

and worthy

against the light of con-

coming upon me, one

after

CHAP.

THINKS OF REMOVAL TO KENTUCKY.

VII.]

Would you

another, in direful succession.^

who

of your friendship indolence

The

97

man worthy

think a

should be capable of such disgraceful

^

resignation of the Chancellorship

the only remaining question

is,

where

becoming thus

inevitable,

resume the practice

shall I

country where which I resign. That is a support for my family independent of the world and of my own life. You understand me. This is a question which I have deliberately considered not in the delirium of a Kentucky

my

of

I

The answer

profession ?

clearly

is,

in that

can, with most certainty, achieve the object for

—

fever, " hissing hot,

Master Brooke," but with

conscientious coolness of which

You

ask,

why

quit the state

my

mind

is

which has adopted, which has

which has raised me to its honors of your friendship which puts this question. very immaterial to Virginia where I reside. tered me,

I

throw

simply the interests of

family

I

am

:

to this I

fos-

the partiality

It is

.''

of the question

this point entirely out

my

the scrupulous,

all

capable.

sure that

— and

it

is

consider

am determined

that

every feeling of private attachment and prepossession for VirKnowing, as I have done experimentally, the ginia shall bend.

which the want of wealth, or at least independence, exposes any mind not devoid of sensibility, it becomes a point of

agony

to

conscience, in the

place, and soon an object of pleasurable,

first

of delightful pursuit, to shelter those

who

me from

are dear to

all

Having once effected this purpose, me, now, a king of terrors indeed, Avould

danger of the like torment.

who would be to become merely a master of ceremonies death,

to introduce

me

into the

apartments above.

You ask me how many you could name who at the bar, in this country,

or quite fast enough

name.

W.

is

it

With

fortune.

another individual courts, or

who

is

}

true

I

answer

made

VOL.

;

I

don't

amassing

can desire,

C.

is

also

is

not

the bar of these I

He, however, practised

now

could

making a

of these two, there

such a one as does not

1—9

now

know how many you

a fortune.

the exception

are

fast as their hearts

who has hitherto done this at now in the way of doing so.

John Taylor of Caroline. picious period

wealth as

exist.

am at

not sure of a most aus-

Baker, Innes,

RESIGNS THE CHANCELLORSHIP.

98

[1802-1803.

Pendleton, Wythe, Marshall, Washington and others,— what have they made by the profession ? Not more than the most ordinary

lawyer

in

Kentucky

is

able to do in five or six years.

Between ourselves, 1 was thirty years old the eighth day of last November. Have I any time to lose ? and considering " the uncertainty of life and the certainty of death,"

is it

not the highest wis-

improve every flying moment to the best advantage ? Ten In Kentucky they might years of life would do but little here. affluent. family make my would probably and For the first time in my life (and with shame I confess it) I look

dom

to

my dear Dabney, with a thoughtful mind, and a heart I uncertainty, to the years which lie before me. with aching my when come ever shall time the that reflection the abide cannot forward,

conscience shall reproach me with having neglected the interests with having involved, by my want and happiness of my family ;

—

of energy and enterprise, a lovely and innocent wife, with a group of tender and helpless children, in want and misery. * # * * * *

But Hope,

like an angel of peace, whispers to

shall not be.

She does, indeed, sketch

ravishing scenes to

my

my

heart that this

some most

brilliant

fame, respect, the love of

my

and

Wealth,

waking as well as sleeping fancy.

fellow-citizens, she designs with the

boldness and grandeur of an Angelo, while, with

all

the softness

and sweetness of Titian's pencil, she draws my of blooming, beauteous and smiling cherubs, happy as innocence wife and a circle

******

and peace and plenty can make them.

Your

friend,

Wm. Wirt. The

Chancellorship was resigned

of the emigration to

mined

to take

up

his

in

May, 1803, and

Tazewell's advice, although, for the present, he Williamsburg.

the project

Wirt now deterKentucky abandoned. abode in Norfolk, in accordance with Mr. still

resided in

CHAP.

DETERMINES TO SETTLE IN NORFOLK.

VII.]

99

TO DABNEY CARR.

******* Richmond, June

Well,

sir,

you have heard

Chancellor's furs, and

I

feel

6,

1803.

that I

have disrobed myself of the

much

the cooler and liL-hter for

it.

Not but that there was some awkwardness in coming down to conflict with men, to whom, a (ew days before, my dictum was The pride was a false one, and I revenged myself on it. the law. I

triumph

feel little

in

being thus able to get out of myself, to

survey, from an intellectual distance, the workings of heart, to discern and to chastise

The man who can

errors.

its

impartial and candid friend of

make an

thus

my own

himself, has gained a great point in the reformation and perfection

of his character.

Thus

it is

that a

man balances

the account of his feelings; mor-

presents her charge, and vanity raises a countervailing

tification

item.

You ject.

are aware that

I

am

already done with the Kentucky pro-

was no cash in that state cows and sheep, and that the emilawyers was estimated by the size of their drove,

heard, very lately, that there

I

that fees

were paid

nence of their

in horses,

on their return from their circuits

was drawn

The move.

to

single I

w^hile,

:

on the other hand,

I

Norfolk by the attractions of her bank. experiment which

have been

to

have made,

I

one District Court,

justifies this latter

at the

town of

Suflblk,

received cash two hundred and eleven dollars, and received other business, from substantial merchants,

the trip five

no

and

ill

I

making the whole amount of

hundred and twenty-eight dollars, which

omen of my

In one word,

future success.

have every reason

to believe

it,

that

my

family, even

were

it

years practice will put

such a place as Norfolk,

advantage

;

and,

all

much

me I

larger than

in

it

I

consider as

am

assured,

annual income wnll

be twelve hundred pounds, on one-half of which

my

I

is.

I

can maintain

Two

or three

the possession of cash which,

in

shall be able to turn over to the greatest

things considered,

travagant, that by the time

I

am

I

do not think the hope ex-

forty or, at farthest, forty-five,

A SPECULATION.

100

[1802-1803.

be able to retire from the bar, in ease and independence, and spend the remainder of my life in the bosom of my family, and in whatever part of the country I please,— so that I think it not

I

shall

improbable

I shall,

at last, lay

my

bones near you,

in the

county

of Albemarle.

1

leave this place to-morrow.

Adieu,

my

dear friend,

Wm. Wirt.

CHAPTER

VIII.

1803.

COMMEVCRS PRACTICE IN NORFOLK.— PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS.— LETTER TO POPE.— COMMENTS ON THE PARSIMONV OF JUDICIAL SALARIES BIRTH OF HIS ELDEST CHILD— RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS TRIAL OF SHANNON SINGULAR CASE OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE.— REMOVES HIS RESIDENCE TO NORFOLK.

—

—

After

the resignation of the Chancellorship,

recommence

the practice of the

law

Wirt repaired

Norfolk to His family residence, however, was still kept up burg, and was not changed until the ensuing winter. His reputation, increased by

him

to bring in to

a full

at

Williams-

his late olficial position,

now began

harvest of professional

it

was manifest

that

He

fruits.

himself at once inducted into what, at that day,, large practice, and

to

borough.

in that

found

was termed a

he was rising rapidly

to a

commanding eminence at the Virginia bar. Amongst the letters of this period I find one which dwells, somewhat in detail, upon his progress in his profession, and contains some strictures upon the policy of the State Government in These strictures have not lost their reference to judicial salaries. point at the present day, and

may be

read with profit

in

other

sections of the United States than Virginia.

This

letter

is

written to one of the

friends in that state.

occur

in these

The name

and best of Wirt's

Pope

will frequently

pages connected with a familiar and playful corres-

This gentleman,

pondence.

first

of William

now

an octogenarian,

still

survives to

whose most cherof him invariably associates him with the

attract the regard of a large circle of friends,

ished recollection

memory of

He

the subject of these memoirs.

resided, at the date of this correspondence, as he does at

the present time, (1848,) at Montpelier, his family seat in

hatan

—a

central point

what famous of old proprietor.

VOL.

1—9*

for

Pow-

between Richmond and Albemarle, somethe good fellowship attracted by its worthy

LETTER TO POPE.

102

[1S03.

TO WILLIAM POPE.

******* Richmond, August

My Dear It

5, 180.3.

Sir:

gives

proved by

me

pleasure to find that

my

The

necessary.

To

friends.

my

resignation

not disap-

is

me, the measure was indispensably

present subsistence and future provision of

lamily depended on

I

it.

only wish that

may

it

lead the

whose inconvenience the State would some would bring our fellow-citizens event an feel. Such resignation

senses on the subject of lic

economy

is

To

salaries.

be sure,

important; and there

is

certainly very

the labor and waste of a citizen's

to their

is still

pub-

more

justice in expecting

little

life for

to

sensibly

in a republic,

an important thing; but public justice

my

way

one-third of the emolu-

ments which he could derive from devoting himself to the service of individuals. Most surely there is no ground on which such a be justly expected, except, indeed, on the ground of If Virginia were too poor to pay her officers, public necessity. it would then become patriotic, indeed it would become a duty to sacrifice could

make

this sacrifice to the country's

good.

But as

it is

merely

the

out of the question to

and not the power that is wanting, it is expect that a man should make a burnt-offering of himself, his

will

wife and his children, on the altar of public avarice or public

whim.

It is

really humiliating to think, that although these plain

truths will be

acknowledged by any member of the Legislature to

you address them in private, yet there is scarcely one man in the House bold enough to vote his sentiments on the subject, he will not dare to jeopard after a call of the yeas and nays

whom

:

iiis

re-election

by such

—

Where

a vote.

is

the difference between

an Assembly, thus unduly influenced, and the National Assembly of France, held in duress and impelled by the lawless shouts of a Jacobinic gallery nate, even

}

Would

from a fear of public thina:

now from what

institutions

a Cato or a Brutus, in the

have suppressed, much

it

censure.''

was

Or

is

in their time

have their defects,

Roman

Se-

less belied, his real sentiment

— and

public virtue a different }

this

But the best of human is

one of those Avhich

cleave to the glorious scheme of elective government.

In

all

CHAP.

JUDICIAL SALARIES.

VriT.]

103

own

opinion, the representative seems

to think liimself a

mere mirror

to reflect the will of his consti-

tuents, with all

flaws, obliquities and distortions.

may be

cases, whatever

he knows that

its

his

Even when

he will but echo the po-

will injure the country,

it

pular voice, with the single motive of retaining his ill-deserved

brings to

my

by honest

the people

than offend

rather

office

recollection that

Roman

This

service.

who was

Consul

sent to op-

He was pressing the Carthaginian sorely, when Rome, envious of the glory which he was about to gain, procured a peremptory mandate by which he was required immediately to lay down his commission and appear at Rome to But he saw that a few days answer a criminal impeachment. country from the invader, and would deliver his more of service pose Hannibal. enemies

his

at

indignant at his country's ingratitude, nor ap-

therefore, neither

Hannibal was van-

palled by her menaces, he dared to disobey.

quished,

— Rome was saved, and a triumph was decreed What member

obedient victor. consul

of our Assembly

to the dis-

is

like this

?

I am very much obliged, by the friendly apprehensions which you express for my health, on account of the climate of Norfolk. But I believe that Norfolk is not at all dangerous, except in the

latter

end of August, September, and the beginning of October,

and during these months

any material injury out to me,

gaged

in

perceive

I

my

to

shall

be able to leave the place without

The

revenue.

prospect which

flattering in the highest degree.

is

very productive business

my

plan

is

now

courts

in five

am

I

it

holds

already en-

so that you will

;

too broad to admit of the enlargement

which you so kindly propose

to me.

with the blessing of Providence, siness in ten or fifteen years,

I

shall

I

am very

be able to

sanguine that, retire

from bu-

with such a fortune as will place

my

family, at least above want.

in

*

*

*

prosper,

my good

friend

*

#

And how do you upon you

in a

golden deluge

I

.'*

hope

it

* .''

#

Does fortune flow

does.

Good men, only

deserve to be rich, because they, only, are disposed to employ their wealth for the

good of the world.

take a different turn, and none sordid. this

Our

remark.

friend

A

B

more

,

grow

however,

feeling, a

But things,

in general,

rich but the selfish and the is

an illustrious exception to

more benevolent,

a

more

philan-

BIRTH OF HIS ELDEST CHILD.

104

thropic heart never palpitated in the

[1803.

bosom of a man.

I

love

him

He is good and because he makes no parade of his sympathies. kind, and tender in secret ; and he is satisfied with the silent, yet genial approbation of his

own

But, because he

heart.

not a

is

scribe or pharisee, to stand in the market and crossways to render

*******

ostentatious charities, and because he

thrives and prospers,

still

the malignant world has slandered him as selfish and miserly.

I

my

beg you to give

member me

Q

,

also,

Re-

sincere and fervent love to him.

you please,

if

fellow

to that excellent little

and believe me.

Dear Pope,

Your

friend,

Wm. Wirt. On this

the 3d of September, within a

letter,

few weeks

after the date

Wirt's eldest child, Laura Henrietta, was

of

born.

awakened his feelings to new resolves in the way of what is worthy of note, to a more full and open recogof those sentiments of religious faith to which I have here-

Tliis event

duty, and, nition

tofore adverted, and in the gradual development of which, through-

out the progress of his

life,

we

shall see a natural

and agreeable

illustration of the tendencies of a highly intellectual

for

wisdom of

security and content in the sacred

its

We

have a strong evidence of

Mrs. Wirt, written to her

employed

in the

in

this

Richmond,

wliilst

duties of his profession

serve

I

feel against the violation

its

all

secrets to the world.

seek

letter to

her husband was

W^illiamsburg.

must express the

In re-

of those confidences which belong

others,

The

at I

to

Christianity.

conviction in a

submitting a few extracts from this letter,

to a relation that, of

mind

is

least suited to the

exposure of

free utterances of the heart, in such

may very rarely and scantily afford a theme for public comment, even with the most delicate caution in the disclosure. To bring them witiiin the confines of what is due to the proper a relation,

office of

biography,

much must

regard to that which

allowance which

may

were never designed

is

necessarily be omitted

given, the reader will receive

justly be claimed for for perusal

it

;

and, in

with the

communications which

beyond the family hearth, or

to

CHAP.

RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS.

VIII.]

105

encounter a remark that was not suggested by the nearest and

most adectionate sympathy with the writer.

may

I

have many extracts to

liereaftcr

and

correspondence,

Wirt's

of

make from

vance, the consideration which shall induce

this portion

announce,

therefore

I

me

ad-

in

much

to withhold

equally relieve

me

from the imputation of improperly invading the sanctuary of

pri-

more than

I

which

submit, and

vate affection, and what

I

may

hope

will

from the criticism of

fas-

" Your reason will forbid you to lament

my

I

offer,

tidious readers.

On

the present occasion he writes

*

*

*

:

absence too deeply, when you reflect what

away.

It

is

Heaven, all

my

duty,

*

*

*

I

go

This

is

shall not only

the toils of

my

fail

speak peace to

me

through fatigue, but sweeten

How

rugged would the path even

support

fruitless,

how

solitary,

how

alone were to taste

if I

wife and children are to

share

disconsolate

it

It is

!

with

it

How

my

much do

my

heart, and to scatter roses over

I

owe you

!

Not

*

ness in a better world.

the natural gaiety of

by the

the

me

These are the fond ideas which possess my soul, to smooth my brow in the midst of tumult, to

my

dissipation into

eyes, and hidden from

*

*

my j

character, rendered

which

me

I

path of

only the creation of

of happiness on earth, but the restoration of

It

*

days.

*******

which never

"

in the dis-

the reflection which, with the smile of

would even prosperity be,

my

am

I

more prosperous

to prepare

profession.

how

of duty appear; thought that * * *

me

not misfortune; but, strong in health, flushed with

hope, and animated by the consciousness that

charge of

has carried

is

it

my

life.

hopes

hopes of happi-

,-|r,ust

still

confess that

more reckless

had been allured, had sealed

my

the rich inheritance of the righteous.

was you, whose example and tender exhortations rescued me guilt, and taught me once more to

from the horrors of confirmed raise

my

suppliant mind to God.

more highly do

I

The more I reflect on it, the I am convinced, tho-

prize this obligation.

roughly and permanently convinced, that the very highest earthly success, the crowning of every wish of

leave even the earthly happiness of

man

the heart

would

still

incomplete.

The

soul

has more enlarged demands, which nothing but a communion with

TRIAL OF SHANNON.

106

Heaven can

satisfy.

The

[1803.

and more solid

soul requires a broader

******* which

basis, a stronger anchor, a safer port in

piness, than can

be found on the surface of

" Remembering

show

how

often

to

moor her hap-

this world.

Heaven snatches away our

us the futility of sublunary enjoyments, and

thoughts and aiiections to a better world,

would so attemper

my

love for

my

pray that

I

idols to

point our

to

its

kindness

wife and her child, as not to

destroy the reflection, that for them, as well as every other blessing,

I

my God

depend on the unmerited beneficence of

to permit

my

love for them to destroy

my

gratitude,

;

and never

my humble

dependence on the Father of the Universe, whose power is equalled by his parental kindness and mercy. " How should I be laughed at if this letter were read by those w^ho were once

they

knew

reflections,

my

warm from my

Constitutionally

always was, even for

wild companions

How

!

the sweet feelings with wiiich

heart

should

I

be envied

if

have poured out these

!"

gay and light-hearted, to the latter

I

as the writer of this letter

days of his

life,

what might almost be deemed the excess of

and noted this

in

youth

temperament,

these evidences of his graver thoughts and feelings, cast a mellow

over his character, and furnish an early presage of the pre-

tint

dominating hue which distinguished

He

it

in the

was, about this time, concerned

evening of his career.

in the trial

of a cause

in

Williamsbui'g, together with his friend Tazewell and Mr. Semple, a

gentleman

counsel for a

who was afterwards promoted to the bench, as man by the name of Shannon. This case is only re-

markable as a curious instance, both of the conclusiveness of circumstantial evidence, and the uncertainty of the verdict of a jury

when perplexed by

the eloquence of adroit counsel.

Shannon was arraigned for the murder of his father-in-law, who had been shot at night, in his own house, through the window.

No motive was kno^vn to exist for the deed; the murderer was unknown; and the circumstances of the case almost defied investigation. The death was produced by buckshot. The morning after

the murder, whilst

the neighbors, and

such others as the

rumor of the deed had brought together, were examining the premises, to find some clue to the discovery of the assassin, and liad

come almost

to the point of

abandoning the inquiry as hope-

CHAP.

less,

CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE.

VIII.]

107

one amongst them, a man somewhat noted for his shrewdness concluded,

curious investigation, placed himself in what, he

in

must have been the post occupied by the murderer when the shot

was fire,

fired

:

— then

examining along the

he discovered a small piece of

line of the direction of the

letter paper,

which manifestly,

from the mark of powder and fire upon it, must have been part of This paper had a single letter, m written the wadding of the gun. upon it, and torn from the word to which it belonged. About

moment when

the

this

discovery was made, some one remarked,

that Shannon, the son-in-law,

had not been present

that morning.

His absence on such an occasion, was thought strange; and, forthWith no stronger with, a general inquiry was made after him. ground for suspicion than

proved

he had been

that

was without

gun, which

in

search was immediately

fact, a

this

He

made to ascertain where he was. of James River, some seven or

dwelt on the opposite side

eight miles distant; but,

it

was

Williamsburg the day before with a

a lock.

A

blacksmith,

who gave

this

testimony, stated, moreover, that Shannon had brought the gun to

him it

to

be repaired, and he not being able to repair

was taken away

party

now

in the condition in

had not been there during the and found him

night.

applied and found to

proper relation

One of infer,

more

is, in

letter at the

their quest

with his

with oqc corner torn

to

off,

to

house of the deceased, was

written sentence.

m

with y and shewing facts, it seems,

These

persuade the jury of the guilt of the

the twelve,

more scrupulous than

the rest, or,

susceptible to the influences of the specious

eloquence of counsel, phrase

A

not there: he

They pursued

coupling the letter

fit,

in a

were not strong enough

we may

was brought.

He was

being arrested and examined, a few buckshot

were found in his pocket, and a which the fragment, picked up

prisoner.

it

that day,

at last, thirty miles off, in a tavern, asleep,

Upon

clothes on.

its

which

set out for Shannon's house.

it

who were,

doubtless, very ingenious^ as the

the defence of the suspected culprit,

"hung

out," and,

them were ac-

as a consequence, starved out his compeers, and so, brought to

the confession that they could not agree; and they

cordingly discharged, and Shannon was allowed to go forth unmolested, to claim the benefit of his successful speculation.

Wirt appears in this case.

to

The

have excited great expectations as the counsel court house at Williamsburg

was thronged

— REMOVES TO NORFOLK.

108

with his

visiters,

speech

—a

in

[1803.

number of ladies amongst the the case is remembered as one of the

rest,

large

— and

best of his

early displays at the bar. In a letter to his wife written on, 29th Sept. 1803, there

"Only one Judge

is

when

— Winston.

to-day

was about

this trial

the following reference to

Parker

come

to

it:

expected

is

to-

night.

*

*

*

J«:

" The gallery was

full

*

*

of ladies, expecting to hear (as C.

defend Shannon.— 'Vain creature

me) Mr. VV

!'

tells

say you.

Vain enough; but not on this account. The man who knows and feels his own foibles, and can draw otf from himself so far as to make a proper estimate of his own imperfections, will not be hurt

by the

****** #**#**

flatteries

"What

of others.

do you think of Shannon's

gallantry.?

Although

in

irons and chained to the wall and floor, he has made a conquest of the gaoler's wife, and she has declared her resolution to petition

from her husband, and follow Shannon, the end of the world."

for a divorce

quitted, to

In the

month of December, Wirt took a house

by the commencement family thither, to

make

of the it,

new

in

year, 1804, he

for the future, his

if

he

is

ac-

Norfolk, and

removed

his

permanent abode.

CHAPTER

IX.

1803 — 1804. THE BRITISH SPY.— ENEMIES MADE BY IT— I-ETTERS TO CARR, WITH SOME ANECDOTES CONNECTED WITH THE PUBLICATION OF THE SPY.— HIS OPINION OF THAT WORK.

Wirt now

During

appears in the character of an author.

month of August, 1803, he commenced the letters of The They were published in September and October, in " The Argus," at Richmond. The popularity of The British Spy, had scarcely a parallel in any work, in the same department of letters, which had, at that It may be regarded date, been contributed to American literature. the

British Spy.

having conferred upon

as

its

author a distinct and prominent

lite-

rary reputation.

The

reader of these letters, at this day, will express his sur-

judgment should have given such weight

prise that the public to a production fail

to perceive,

He

so unlabored, and so desultory. it is

will

not

true, in these essays, an agreeable foretaste

of high literary accomplishment, but he will regard

this,

rather as

the earnest of a talent to achieve a distinction in letters, than the

achievement of this

little

itself;

and he will

book, to remark

was disposed, tribute even

find occasion, in the singular success

how

at that period, to

the

eagerly the taste of this country

welcome any clever

lightest donation

effort to

con-

towards the increase of our

small stock of national authorship.

These iting,

letters are written in a polished

and elegant

style, exhib-

very notably, a most accurate study and appreciation of the

best standards of English literature.

They

deal with such topics

of superficial observation as a casual residence in Virginia, and particularly at

Richmond, might be supposed

cated foreigner.

The

to

supply to an edu-

ners, opinions and popular institutions, are glanced at with a facility

of observation

VOL.

1

— 10

manhappy

distinctive traits of Virginia society,

;

some geological questions are discussed

THE BRITISH SPY.

110

[1S03— 1904.

with an acuteness of remark and fullness of information which

was

denionstate that the science to which they refer

a favorite

But the chief topic, and one which,

study of the author.

it

is

evident, furnished the predominant motive to the writing of the letters, is

a dissertation upon modern by a picture of some of the this theme he had obviously

which leads him

that

to

eloquence, and the illustration of

it

To

leading lawyers of Virgina.

embody

given a careful study, and sought to these letters.

He

performs

this

The

expatiating on his chosen pursuit.

respect, be considered as the treatise

was no with

conclusions in

its

duly with the love of a student British Spy may, in this " De Oratore" of one who

may be read

small proficient in the art, and, in that light,

profit

He who

by every aspirant

does read

it

honors of the public speaker.

to the

will regret that a master

who

could so hap-

pily instruct, has not, at greater leisure, with larger scope and at

a malurer period of his

topic enriched by his

life,

own

given to the world a volume on this

varied experience and profound phi-

losophy.

The

success of these letters astonished no one more than their

author.

They were

as written, to the

written rapidly and committed, almost as soon

columns of a newspaper, w'here they appeared

with every blemish and imperfection to which such a medium of publication

authorship

was liable. Although a studied concealment of the was preserved, during the period of publication and for

some time afterwards, vehement suspicion

this did not protect the writer either

at first,

nor from the

final

from

determination of the

book by the community. some of the portraits which the author drew of

paternity of the In

poraries at the bar, he

is

brought upon himself threats of reprisal.

little

subjects of them reputation, as studies

author.

—

in

fact, rather infer

sufficiently

that these should It is,

prominent

marvel that

to

and sustain their

form examples and

have embittered any one against their

nevertheless, true, as

correspondence of

we

derogatory to the personal excellence of the

— which,

men

contem-

At the present time, so

remote from that which witnessed these agitations,

comments, so

his

said to have given offence, and to have

we

this period, that

without making enemies by his book.

shall

the

see in

author

some of the

did not escape

CHAP.

ENEMIES MADE BY

IX.

Ill

IT.

know, however, that these enmities were not long-lived, and that some of the most intimate friends and associates of Mr. Wirt's subsequent days were those with whom he It is

pleasant to

was supposed

to

have too freely dealt

in

the letters.

check which arose out of equanimity. his disturb nor the aulhor in the career of his humor, Nor did they disable him from his defence, as may be seen

The

this publication did not

asperities

from the perusal of the volume. Extensive as was the popularity of of

its

first

appearance,

it

Forty years bring a severe

is

but

this small

little

work

test to the quality

time

when few

libraries in this country

British Spy.

press pours forth

fullness, that the current

were unsupplied with a

not so now.

has well nigh swept

— even

We

securely moored.

is

There was a

The overteeming

stream with such torrent-like rapidity and

its

of the last generation

It

They

of any book.

are generally fatal to the million of light literature.

copy of the

time

at the

read at the present day.

away

the light craft

such as were supposed to be most

must look for them now only

nooks and occasional havens

where the

fortunate

those

in

eddy has given

them shelter against the pressure of the flood. The British Spyis still worthy to be refitted and thrown once more upon the wave. The two following letters to Carr, furnish some pleasant anecdotes connected with the production of this

little

book.

In the

second of the two, the reader will mark some new aspirations towards literary enterprise, agreeably mixed up with some details of professional occupation, and with a grave dissertation upon a subject of growing importance in the mind of the writer.

TO DABNEY CARR. Norfolk, January

My Dear

16,

1804.

Aminadab:

Yours of the 31st

ult,

reached

me by

the last mail.

1

am

was several times on the point of breaking it myself, although, as you acknowledge, you were a letter in my debt; but some perverse circumstance rejoiced that this silence

is

at last

broken.

I

always thwarted the intention. Indeed, like Martha, I have been busy about many things; though I hope that, like Mary, I have chosen the better

part.

LETTER TO CARR.

112

[1S03— 1804.

This is Sunday, so you must allow me to be a But waving with you the lohy and the icherefore^ resurrection of our correspondence, and

cumstance

moment.

for a

Mark,

how

sir,

and sober earnest,

plain

I

scriptural.

rejoice at this

no wintry

pulse of

its

am

1

cir-

even

life

But,

!

in

you as one of those few well

who

care," and checker, with soft and I

trust that

metaphorical

look to

tried and dearly beloved friends

life.

I

ever again occur to suspend

will

little I

my " brow

will often relax

of

dusky path of

genial light, the

look forward, with a kind of plaintive pleasure, to the

period when, after

my

turning over

my

bones are

in

the grave,

my

children, in

old letters, will meet with yours and

my

dear

Peachy's,* and, with eyes swimming with tears, hang over your

warm

and affecting expressions of love and friendship.

that touches

my

heart;

it is

the present enjoyment of your intercourse, that fortifies

new

the chances of the world, and labors of

my

am known and

beloved,

I

;

me

against

system for the

I

whom

have a iew valuable friends by

should be the poorest wretch for busi-

How

ness that ever groaned upon the earth. see them doing here

my

But for the domestic joys which encircle

profession.

me, and the conviction that I

strings

It is this

connected with

this pathetic prospect,

men

can

toil

as

I

business in their heads, business in their

hearts, business forever in their faces, without one palpitation to tell

that

but

them what love and friendship mean. Not, my dearest sir, I would turn my back on any business, however herculean, must unbend and refresh whenever the voice of pure

I

tion calls me.

will find

my

Often,

my

dear Dabney,

may yours

heart ever ready to echo you.

— But

to

me

call

affec-

You

!

answer you,

in

order. I

I

come,

shall not

in

order, to a certain author y'clept the British Spy.

be cither so unfriendly or so childishly aftected as

deny the brat

to be

my

To

own.

the world, however,

I

to

do not

choose to make any such proclamation, for divers obvious reasons. Indeed I gain nothing by this silence. Tlie thmg is as generally and confidently imputed to me, as

For you are

to

understand

the printer has found

it

if

that,

my name were

very far beyond

his interest

*

rise

Mr. Peacliy Gilmer, an

It is

and progress of

page.

expectations,

not only to bind

pamphlet, but to issue a second edition.

you some account of the

in the title

my

up

it

meet that

this affair.

elder brother of Francis Walker.

I

in

a

give

CHAP

ANECDOTES OF THE

IX.

was

I

SPY.

115

Richmond, attending on a business with whose painful made you acquainted. It was to divert my

in

anxieties experience has

own

mind, during this period of uneasiness and alarm that

But after

to write.

my

to you,

tiie

I begaa was thus started, I will acknovvlc(lL;;e there were secondary considerations which

project

friend, that

warmed me throughout

supported and

the composition, and

I

was

it

my

enterprise.

in

delicately gratified in obser-

that,

Spy, because

I

would excite more

not a disadvantageous

adopted the character of

thought that such a

I

itself.

the world had

my understanding.

opinion of

me; and this without For the imputa-

imputing the production to

tion proved, at least, that

and interest than any other

attention, curiosity

endeavored

I

character which

;

acters,

its

manners, together with

its

landscapes,

the

well that

and

succeeded so

the neighborhood of Norfolk, the people

to declare that

was, too,)

and

sentiments I

several parts of the country, particularly in Glouces-

in

in

I

public char-

its

political

moral complexion of the Virginians generally.

ter,

to

imagine how, as a Briton,

to

should be struck with Richmond,

was bound

I

myself; to fancy myself the

to forget

had assumed

I

a British

a republican paper,

tiile, in

and having adopted that character, as an author, it.

I

while the world applauded,

any other evidence than that of the work

support

was

I

wife heard those encomiums.

by the circumstance

flattered

concurred

more

still

ving the pleasure with which

was

the

by the encomiums which were generally pronounced on

gratilied

went so

far as

they had seen the very foreigner, (and a Briton he

who had

The

written the letters.

whom

editor of a paper

in-

opinion that

were republished, declared the author was an American who had received

education

in

Great Britain, and had now returned

country.

Otherwise he could not account for the union of British

Massachusetts, by

the letters

to his

in the

work.

You may be

tickled with these sagacious guesses.

my

zeal to support

my

sure that

I

was

his

native

prejudice with the intimate knowledge of this country, which

manifested

his

not a

was little

Unfortunately, however, in

adopted character,

I

forgot myself too far

some of the letters. Hence the strictures on the entertainers of Uunmore's son; hence the portraits of living characters, which I

in

drew with

a

mind as perfectly absorbed

in

the contemplation of

the originals, and as forgetlive of personal consequences " as if I

kad

really

belonged to another planet;" and, upon 10* 1

VOL.

—

my

honor, with

9

ANECDOTES.

114

as it

towards either of the gentlemen.

little ill-will

appeared

startled

" the die was

Then

the indiscretion stared

cast,"

— and,

me

was

It

R

portraying

in print that the letter

me.

[1S03— 1804.

and

not until

W

the face; but

full in

make

the worst of

published imprudent truths.

But

had made enemies of the gen-

tlemen themselves, with

their

to

all

I

connexions and dependencies.

W

I have made some atonement in the To cause of the magnanimity with which he viewed

but to

R

have not offered, and

I

had merely

it, I

last edition, be-

the publication

;

never will offer an expia-

I

He had the vanity to declare that the whole work, although embraced such a variety of topics, had one sole design, and that was to degrade him was weak enough to mention, in one of his arguments before Mr. Wythe, "the scrutinizing eye of the

tion. it

;

Spy," and,

British

British

Spy was

unquestionable

express to his brethren his wish that the

to

In

authorit3\

He was

Court

an important case in which

in

He

the court.

I

I

The

opposed him.

ques-

had the conclusion, and, as Tyler and Prentis were

was a

little

added

to the authoritative

undue

eflect

uneasy

lest

manner of

on their honors; for

the weight of

reason

this

highest compliments to his eloquence. pated, as well as

I

manner of the

I

this

all

I

I

went

thought myself with the

did

I

and

farther,

supposed he would make to

was most

British Spy.

his feelings, but

name,

's

antici-

could, not only the matter but the very manner

of the replies which told that

R

his speaking, should have an

authorised to express this apprehension, which

am

a

a legal one, and the argument, of course, addressed to

the judges,

I

on

in

called to the bar of the Suflblk District

gratified.

was

me

told

wish he has been

his last

measure tion

This has been

practising at that bar.

my

argument.

strikingly in the spirit, style, and

had, however, no intention to

I

merely to do justice to

my

wound

cause, and give

it

fair

play before the court.

Apprehending, from the faces of the company, as well as from the mortified looks of

R

,

that

and said more than the occasion

I

stated very sincerely the purpose of to

be

satisfied

power of l»e

;

had gone beyond

justified, I

my

spoke

remarks.

my

purpose,

to him,

He

professed

but he was disconcerted and wounded, past

forgiving.

He was

and

all

so confounded, that in his argument

manifested nothing of the orator, nor even of himself, but the

person and voice.

His arguments were the very weakest his

cause-

CHAP.

ANECDOTES.

IX.]

furnished

he

;

made

In short, he disappointed every body, and lost a cause

make.

he had never been

have made him

me

iieart acquits

not,

am

I

very

so.

over the country, sure to gain.

all

my enemy before, that one adventure would He is, I suppose, implacable; but, as my

of any premeditated injury, and as

running parallels

in

by

am

I

not blinded

sure that

by

I

I

am

I

That

utility.

libeller in intention

With regard

to the

was wrong on

was

had

let

indiscreet, I

them

alone.

am

to those portraits of

I

in

;

and,

Be am

if I

marked with of

justifiability

when

may be supposed

to

I

shall

their

talents

;

nor

the ground of public

I

am very

by

the Spy,

prominent characters.

declare sincerely, that I

and

willing to admit, and I

Yet

great part of the public interest excited

which

who, being

not yet convinced that established lawyers are not

it

I

between them-

partiality, the portraits in question are

clear that the procedure

heartily wish

professional

after his friend.

proper game for the press, so far as concerns

am

my

Caesar,

was ever

that he

am no

candor and benevolence. the thing,

is

Catullus, invited his libeller to supper

him so courteously,

treated

him

a fee in a Chancery case.

and some great Roman, as Julius

severely libelled

so.

me

Marshall, too, has given

Perhaps they are pleased selves

W

appearance, even partial to me,

all

since he has been lately instrumental in promoting benefit.

fear

I

Mr.

disturbed at his displeasure.

little

not only reconciled, but, to

it

confusion, and

all

the very worst speech that he ever did

Avhich he had declared himself, If

was

his order (to use an Irishism)

said to have

is

115

sure that a is

imputable

For my own

part, I

have reached that age

have touched the zenith of

my

in

mind,

*******

should be so far from being displeased, that seeing

It

was

my

intellectual portrait set in a

alleged,

by a writer

in the

I

should be gratified

popular work.

Examiner, under the signa-

ture of Cato, that, " in a professional point of view, the

ungenerous, because

it

was an attempt

the talents of competitors

whom

Spy was

in the author to

degrade

he ought to have met only on

equal terms."

Now,

the fact

is,

not practise in the

no competitors of mine. I do same court with any of them, and whether

that they are

they are deified or damned,

my

revenue will be the same.

How,

A CRITICISM.

116

then,

my

is

interest

involved

of being induenced,

[IS03-1804.

in the aflair;

even

cannot help being- surprised at what you

I

the opinion of

my

were capable

if I

such a case, by so sordid a principle

in

political apostasy.

I

am

me

tell

?

relative to

not, indeed, surprised

such an opinion should exist; for, after the dereliction of

that

B

almost any suspicions of this nature, about cmy body^ are

,

But what / am surprised at is, that any man, how" ever young," who deserves to be " highly esteemed for intellect," should believe the British Spy to contain evidence of my pardonable.

apostasy.

For

the purpose of personal concealment, as well as for the

purpose of keeping alive the public curiosity, it was my business to maintain the character which I had assumed, and therefore the sentiments of the

been absurd

Spy

Would

are those of a Briton.

it

not have

with the opinions and feelings of a

to clothe a Briton

Virginian and a Republican? glad that you, yourself, have viewed this subject

am

I

proper

No, my dear Dabney,

light.

cunning than to choose

this

administration has struck

suppose

me

am

time for

it,

when

at least

If I

have more

the refulgence of the

enemies blind and dumb.

its

a

in

changed.

not

to apostatise, I should

were basely disposed

who

I

Those

an apostate, pay as poor a compliment to

understanding, as they do to the rectitude of

my

heart.

my

But

I

what Amerca has exliibited in some of her leading characters, each man in the community has a right to exclaim with Cato, " the world has grown

am

not angry with them for it; since, from

so wicked, that

I

am

Your remarks on

surprised at nothing."

the Spy, as a writer, are,

think, rather the

I

sentiments of a friend, than the opinions of a critic.

you

my

which

opinion of those letters.

just,

and sometimes display the man of

his disquisitions are too desultory,

touched

to contain

much of

rather frolicksome and

by

the useful.

to benefit either

of

its

its

to

The

letters

The

bespeak

a

mind

and penetrating

;

amuse, for the moment, but not

proprietor or the world, by

researches.

feeling.

and the topics too lightly

spriglitly, than thoughtful

and therefore a mind qualified

utility

Let me give

aside the traits

the author sustains his dramatic character, his sentiments

are generally

But

Putting

style, although

the depth and

sometimes happy,

is

117

A CRITICISM.

CHAP. IX.]

sometimes, also, careless and poor; and,

overloaded with epithets

;

and

its

more

still

inequality proves either that the

author wanted time or industry or taste to give

more even

throughout, a

it,

letters are certainly superior to the

Yet these

tenor.

frequently,

which we are so frequently gorged through

trash with

tiie

medium

of the press.

Such

is

the character which,

and were reviewing yet,

I

this worlc,

1

cannot but confess that

were a

if I

critical

reviewer,

should certainly give of a critic of reputation

if

it

;

and

were

to

draw such a character, I should be as much mortified as if it But enough were unjust. Strange, inconsistent creature is man except that I will tell you I was very near drawing of the Spy, !

—

the character of " the Honorable lines fixed in

finishing

my

up the

the unity of

my

mind, but

I

Thomas"

He was

it.

I

had the out-

be obliged, either to sacrifice

portrait, I should

assumed character, or

the most unpardonable manner.

in

in

found, on the experiment, that in

to dilute

I

some of the colors

had another consideration.

the President, with a considerable train of patronage;

by the time which I had had begun to be suspected

and,

fixed for the insertion of his portrait,

1

as the author of the Spy.

therefore, that political malignity and meanness

sketch to motives which

I

disdain.

On

all

I

knew,

would ascribe the

which accounts,

citizen

Thomas has escaped being butchered by my partiality for You are beginning, by this time, to accuse me of egotism ;

between

friends, there

indivisible.

Besides,

him. but,

one and

is

no such thing

I

have said nothing more than what

;

for, friends are

I

thought necessary to vindicate myself against aspersions which you

*******

have, no doubt, read, and which, perhaps, form a part of that torrent of abuse

which has been, and

still is,

pouring out against me.

dream of such serious consequenees from what, less did I dream that those trifles would have survived the newspaper ephemeras of the day; and least of all, that they would have been perpetuated and extended by a second edition of the pamphlet. O tempora Little

to

did

I

me, seemed an innocent sport; much

******

Excuse my

brevity,

and believe

me

Your

friend,

WiM. Wirt.

LETTER TO CARR.

118

[1803—1804.

TO DABNEY CARR.

#*•*** Norfolk, June

•

You

me

will acquit

sure of business.

8, 1804.

of the poor vanity of boasting of the pres-

In the

the pressure of business.

Borough of Norfolk every drone This pressure

feels

depends

often, too,

less

on the quantum of business than on the strength and dexterity of the agent. If I had given more of my time to the books and practice of to

my

professional should have less investigation and

undergo now

but

;

I

used to think

it

enough

have

to

toil

a tolerable

understanding of that kind of business which usually occurred in

had not the noble and generous emulation which should have incited me to master the science of law in all the middle country.

its

I

The consequence is,

departments.

that being transplanted to the

grow almost entirely business totally new to me,

shores of the Atlantic, where the questions out of commerce,

and every case

I

have

fallen into a

calls for elaborate examination.

But

addition of this labor, and willingly do penance for

The

ness.

no time

principal inconvenience resulting from

left for

impracticable,

ment of except

reading

am

I

science.

in

;

I

deserve the

my

past idle-

that

it is,

I

and now, most perversely, because

have it

is

stung with a restless passion for the acquire-

In this

dilemma

very distant prospect.

I

have no refuge or consolation, look on, perhaps with fond de-

I

when I shall be able to retreat from the toil of bosom of my own family, I shall find the joys of ease, independence and domestic bliss become a very epicure in literary luxuries, and jicrhaps raise some monument to my name to which my posterity, at least, may look with pleasure. lusion, to the time

business;

when,

in the

—

1

grant

will

as

it,

come

it is,

sir

—

it is

to pass

it

It is

true that

I

most probably never possibility,

remote

my

life

were terminated

on the charity of the world. soul in gloom, and the horror

in It is

as

is

dark as

have yet to struggle into notice

have yet a fortune to make, a family if

it

Not, indeed, that the present moment

Egypt once was. who,

—

may, and the

reflects a cheering ray to gild the darkness of the present

moment.

I

extremely visionary

—but possibly

to

provide for

—a

;

family

any short time, would be thrown is

this reflection that

deepened when

I

wraps my

consider the

CHAP,

RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS.

rx.]

remember

climate of Norfolk, and

To

think of this, and then to look

But "

—

with melancholy "

Away

am my upon

that

yet a stranger to

I

wife and child

my

your

sir, in

of the 29th of February, a

letter

and love, and friendship, which

How

beautiful and just. to

to

Can mere matter be excited

and refined.

and celestial as these that stirs within us

.^"

Or

.'

I

hope,

a soul, for then I think I

I

wish,

warm,

not, if

I

your flies

pure " a divinity

to ecstacies so

cheerfully believe that

I

I

myself more worthy of your friend-

and mortified

if I

could imagine

the generous emotions of a heart and

perishable mass of matter, and

like yours, lavished on a

would

grateful

myself exalted

I feel

there not, indeed,

is

should feel humiliated

the friendship, the

mind

exquisitely

how

!

out to meet yours, and as they commingle,

have

is

grateful are such effusions,

They make me proud of my heart My dear C, it is at such moments that my soul

mind and

friendship.

ship.

aloft.

Jlllons

me.

You have made, life,

it.

!

for

"There's a sweet little cherub sits smiling " To keep watch for the life of poor

rhapsody on

119

could help

it,

be

in

I

any thing unworthy of your

friendship.

not puzzle yourself and me, too, on this subject of the

Now, do

by a subtle disquisition concerning the highest point of perfectibility to which matter may be organized ; by weighing and soul,

we were wont am persuaded that there subreach of human reason

balancing the probabilities of different opinions, as to do, in the scales of

human

reason.

I

above the on which reason cannot decide, because " it cannot command a view of the whole ground." Could the tick, which invades and buries itself in my foot, conceive or describe the

is

a range of subjects

;

jects

anatomy of

ment of is

to

my

frame

?

Could the man w^ho has passed every moAndes, paint the prospect which

his life at the foot of the

be seen from

its

summit

.''

No

more,

in

my

opinion, can

reason discuss the being of a God, or the reality of that miracle, the Christian faith.

If

you ask me why

I

because

must refer you

I

I

believe in the one or

can refer you to no evidence which you can examine,

the other,

to

my own

feelings.

I

stance, look abroad on the landscape of spring,

cannot, for in-

wander among

REASON AND FAITH.

120

[1S03— 1S04.

blooming orchards and gardens, and respire the fragrance which

God my heart am aware of it, gratiIf you ask me why these

they exliale, without feeling the existence of a involuntarily

dilates

and, before

itself,

tude and adoration burst from

my

:

I

lips.

objects have never produced this effect before,

cannot

tell

Perhaps

you.

my

answer that

I

grown more

nature has

I

susceptible

;

have learned to rely less on the arbitrations of human reason; perhaps I have gotten over the vanity of displaying the elevation and perspicuity of intellect on which the youthful deist perhaps

is

I

Whatever may be

apt to plume himself.

me am happy in my

from the dreary and

for leading

sterile

the cause,

waste of

thank

I

infidelity.

present impressions, and had rather

sit

it

I

alone, in

Arabia Felix, than wander over the barren sands of the desert,

in

company with Bolingbroke and Voltaire. Reason,

my

dear friend, in

proper sphere,

its

ought to be the only guide of our actions its I

proper sphere, and confine

admire

its

powers,

I

admire

its

its

;

but let

operations to

beauties.

I

the best, and

is it

keep within

proper subjects.

its

also admire the

of the chemist, and the beauty of his science

:

powers

yet, notwithstand-

which the chemist makes of the however his experiments may break up longestablished principles, decompose bodies which for centuries have been deemed simple primitive elements, and prove them to be ing the astonishing developement secrets of nature,

combinations,

— re-decompose the ingredients of

and detect them,

in their turn, to

ever far the chemist still

be

thought than

confined is

God

not

is

to matter

more

is

my

howmust

the intrinsic

from or more superior to matter,

above

its

proper channel of con-

That conviction can be

reach.

Soame Jennyngs

faith,

and what

is

:

this

calls the internal evi-

generally well understood

evidence of revealed religion.

But enough of a subject on which if,

But

he cannot analyze thought.

of subjects which constitute the theatre

another name for what

ished

;

opinion, only through the channel of sensibility

dence of the Christian

by

in short,

his discoveries, his labors

not, therefore, the

is

viction, in matters so far

given, in

;

different

to that class

Reason

of reason.

may push

that combination,

be compositions

already,

you

think

and

I

sliould not

pronounce

you are as old as I am, you may thus grow mad

be

me in

at all aston-

mad.

your turn

When ;

for,

THE BRITISH

CHAP.

IX.]

be

remembered,

it

not suspect, however, that

they

;

My

I

was

as

am

I

a downright bedlamite, nor

sentiments, on this subject, are calm and

me with no

fill

terrors for the future.

horrors for the past, nor agonizing

cherish them because they are a source

I

of pure enjoyment to me, because they render

every relation of

are,

this subject.

even an enthusiast. temperate

121

young as you

that ichen I rcas as

wise as you are, on

Do

SPY.

and more respectable

life,

in

me more happy in my own eyes nor ;

would they even have led me to annoy you with this declaration of them, if you had not demanded an explanation of some passages in the

As

Spy.

gratifies

dor

me very

but

;

Spy,

to the

me,

let

let

me

tell

highly, for

you I

that

your favorable opinion of

know your judgment and your you had

also, tell you, that after

it

can-

listened to the

voice of your friendship, and gratified me, too, with the sound of it, I

looked that you should have put off everything like

assumed the

the faults of those compositions.

I

moralists have said and written that faults

told,

even by his friend.

:

but

mend upon

told

me

know that some speculative a man cannot bear to hear his

It

is

said, too, that authors are

may

This

particularly ticklish about the offspring of their brain.

be true

partiality,

and censor of the world, and have

rigid critic

am sure that I could hear my Some of the faults of the Spy I know and was when they were sent to the press such as the refaults

I

from you, and

it.

conscious of

;

dundance of words, and the comparatively small bulk of the

Next

matter.

matter,

is

to

the exuberance of verbiage and the

the thoughts

Upon

which are expressed.

too tumid and too light ties

which gave

it

;

the whole, the

which came out I

I

which

the degree of admiration

at the

work

is

yet these, perhaps, are the very proper-

same time

have learned, one half of

in the its

it

work of

the essay on the liberty of the press, the

far as

want of

the levitj, desultoriness, and sometimes commonness of

excited

;

for

Hortensius,

same paper, had

not, as

popularity.

have a notion, entre nous, of making another experiment of summer ; for I shall be driven from this

the public taste, this place, for a

summer or two, by

be doing anything than

to

be

the yellow fever, and

idle.

I

shall

reading, and composition will then diversify

agreeably.

VOL.

What say you 1—11

}

My

I

had better

sometimes get

tired

of

my employments very

friend Tazewell, here, does not

THE BRITISH SPY.

122

He

approve of such engagements. light

and

idle

appearance,

me

therefore, injure

opinion,

shall

I

make another mined.

in

exhibition, I

says that

my

profession.

you concur

If

otherwise,

;

— but of what nature

shall

gives a

it

man a

the eye of the world, and might,

in

renounce the project

Certainly

[1803—1804.

write no more

I

this

in

shall incline to

I

have not yet deter-

Spies

" too much

;

pudding," &c. I

till I

have been reading, Johnson's Lives of poets and famous men, have contracted an itch for biography

therefore, if you see

me come

;

do not be astonished

with a very material and

out,

—

for I meddle no splendid life of some departed Virginian worthy, more with the living. Virginia has lost some great men, whose names ought not to perish. If I were a Plutarch, I would collect their

for

lives

the

honor of the State and the advantage of

posterity.

George Tucker, of Richmond, wrote with you

the Enquirer.*

He is

1

concur

the opinion that he has the advantage of the Spy.

in

had a more intimate acquaintance with the subject his style more chaste and equal, and his compositions have much more ;

of the philosopher and author.

me tell you that the Spy never read a page in Buffon in his life, nor knew any more of his theory than what he one day heard Charles Meriwether mention, in a very short conversation. Of the Abbe Raynal's' West Indies, he once read a few pages, as he Let

rode from Albemarle to Orange court.

This was

information that he had on the subject,

— so

all

the acquired

that the

match was

very unequal.

The

was a mere crude advensome singular and whimsical consequences, and it likely, therefore, to please by its novelty but the

speculation in the second letter

ture, leading to

was

tliought

calculation

;

was

a false one,

—

for,

unphilosophical as

too philosophical for newspaper readers. favorite,

It

it

was,

it

was

was, therefore, no

and rather sunk the character of the Spy than raised * * * * * *

The Spy

did write, as you

it.

were informed, the pieces signed in imitation of Pope and

Martinus Scriblerus; they were partly *

Some

articles

under

this signature

during the publication of the Spy.

were published

They were

geological arguments presented in that work.

in the papers, at Richmorjd,

designed to controvert some of the

CHAP.

AN OLD FRIEND.

IX.]

123

Co's criticisms imputed to their hero of the same name.

The

which you say you would demand tlie sight, were sent nor is there any vestige of them, either printed or press the to 'Tis no matter, they answered W'ritten, in possession of the Spy. their purpose of amusing for the moment, and now let them rest in originals, of

;

peace.

I

*******

hear very often, that you are growing fast

How

would

glad

it

my

heart to live

till

in

your profession.

you touch the acme of

—

and, as Peachy would two thieves under a gallows. How Does he erect his chest in the is that vagabond P. coming forward.'' front bar.' Does he spout and thunder like the cataract of Niagara, or does he roar them, " an it were any sucking dove.-"' If he does not do all these things by turns, I disinherit and anathematise him forensic glory, to touch

it

with you, too,

add, hang with you there

—

from the crown of

head to the sole of his

his

rascal a letter or two, and

quantity,

give

my

what

I

want

in

like

I

will

foot.

1

owe

the

pay him shortly, making up

number and

quality.

In the

love to him.

Heaven

bless and preserve you.

Your

in

meantime

friend,

Wm. Wirt.

CHAPTER

X.

1804 — 5. PROJFXT OF A BIOGRAPHfCAL WORK. — PATRICK SUCCESS AT NORFOLK THE HENRY ST. GEORGE TUCKER. — LETTER TO THIS GENTLEMAN RAINBOW. — LETTER TO EDWARDS.

From

date of his establishment in Norfolk in the winter of

tlie

we may compute Wirt's rapid advance to eminence He was here brought into a new sphere of The commercial and maritime law, to which he was study.

1803-4,

in his profession.

legal

in a great

degree a stranger,

he was

now became

As we have seen

his attention. totally

in

the familiar subjects of

the letters written at this period,

unused to the topics, manners, w^ants and concerns

which predominate

in the society,

and especially

To

circles, of an active trading seaport.

in the

master the

business

first difficul-

of such a position, and to win the reputation which his He ambition coveted, exacted from him great labor and study.

ties

had

friends around

to the task

;

him

forensic struggles,

hopes and stimulate

to cheer his

but these friends

were

his efforts

also the competitors of his

established renown, and justly reputed

men of

for brilliant talents as well

as

professional accomplishment

;

and

it may be regarded as no doubtful praise of the new associate in this fraternity, to say that he speedily earned and sustained, in the

public estimation, a fair and acknowledged

title

to a place

on the

same platform which they occupied.

Whatever may be fession in is

;

said to the disadvantage of the

notwithstanding

all

that

is

law

as a pro-

truly and untruly imputed to

it,

the way of derogation, by popular satire and by vulgar jest, it characterized by one condition, in which it has the advantage

of nearly

all

other business pursuits

a test of talent and acquirement.

;

that

eminence

Whilst

in

in

it is

always

other professions,

quackery and imposition may often succeed to elevate the professor in popular esteem, the lawyer gains no foothold at the bar, nor with the public, which he has not fairly won. A grave and

SUCCESS AT NORFOLK.

CHAP. X]

austere bench

a perilous foe to the

is

unprepared or ignorant advocate to

125

make-believe trickery of an

the surrounding bar, too,

:

not

is

be put off with sham seemings contrived as a substitute for

skill.

The

first is

characteristically noted for

who

the inflictions of those to their task

comic

Forensic

and the

;

relish

life is, in

quite

last is

which

Avith

impatience under

its

bring less learning than pretension as

hunts such

it

great part,

in the

life

much game

signalized for the

sharp-sighted observers and not the most indulgent of has always two sides, whereof one

and a blunder,

is

its

critics.

of the matter

proper comment.

Dulness

is

in

stamped or patented with such

sufficient publication, as to

and

settled

intrinsic

drawn

that

The

one never interferes with the other.

quality in the world

Each

court or jury.

independent

;

cate, and the

affords

is

no help to the lack of

stands on

its

own

go ever

The

demerit.

between good fellowship and professional standing

hand,

sure to be

unquestioned upon

its

It

upon the other;

a sentinel

a slip or a slovenly neglect

never escapes without

coverts.

into its

noon-day, in presence of

line

so broadly best social skill

before

foundation, detached and

so that a man may be the worst pleader and advomost beloved of social friends at the bar, winning all

private esteem, but finding no cover or concealment for his professional raggedness. is

but the

The

public opinion of the merits of a lawyer,

winnowed and

through the bar, and

is,

sifted

judgment which reaches the world

therefore,

made up

after severe ordeal

and

upon standard proof

The success of the British Spy, which had now reached perhaps a third or fourth edition, and the reputation which it brought the author,

were too

flattering to allow

of literature, even under

engrossment of successful

all

him

to

abandon the path

the provocations to do so

his profession supplied.

book without contemplating

No man

which the

ever wrote a

The

another.

frequent

echo of one's name as a popular author, and the agreeable personal vanity which

is

fillip

to

given by the notice of the press, magni-

fying into matter of public importance the conceits of one's brain

and rendering his thoughts a commodity

in the

way

set the wits

again at

companiments.

work

—these —but

market

are not unrelished or forgotten by the modest craft, to redouble the

things

straight-

echo and

its

ac-

In the letters of the Spy, the sketches of personal

character connected with the notice of distinguished living persons, 11* VOL. 1

—

— LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY.

126

[1S04-1805.

had formed one of the most popular attractions of the book, and the autlior was said to have been very happy in these delineations. Whilst many admired the portraits, others, as we have seen, were offended by them; and in the collision of opinion between these two classes of readers, it was very evident that the 'popularity of the

book was much promoted.

His success

in these

sketches,

most probably, turned his thoughts towards a plan which he now meditated of writing the history of the eminent men of Virginia. of those, most distinguished amongst the soldiers and civilians of the Revolution, were as yet unchronicled upon any page The time adapted to preserve the distinct record of their deeds.

Many

seemed

to be favorable to the

performance of

To

this duty.

say

nothing of Washington,— whose history, as more properly belonging to the nation, was perhaps not included in this scheme, Patrick Henry, Edmund Pendleton, Richard Henry Lee, and many others, whose names have shed lustre upon the State, were, at

numbered with the dead; but the incidents of .their lives were fresh in the public memory, and capable of being authentiAn equitable public judgment, undiscated by sure testimony. turbed by the prejudices which surround living men, might be expected to await the perusal of their biographies and to do justice

this date,

to their fame.

Neither too soon for

this

collect the veritable materials for the

judgment, nor too

work,

this

late to

was the proper

time to essay the task of a faithful portraiture. It belonged to this generation; and Wirt supposed he might assume the per-

formance of

this duty,

with some certainty of

its

favorable accep-

tance by the public, as the oflering of one who had already established his title to their good opinion by what he had written.

would have been both a grateful and a graceful tribute from an adopted son of the State, who had been honored by so many proofs of the cordial esteem and substantial friendship of the com-

It

munity

in

which he

lived.

accomplishment of his purpose he directed his Henry. It is to this endeavor we owe the Patrick to first attention which we shall hereafter have ocbiography the publication of In the partial

The

casion to notice. interrupted

by

raphy of Henry

fulfilment of the entire original design

the engagements of professional is,

consequently,

which embraced a wide

field

all

that

life,

was

and the biog-

was achieved of

a

scheme

of various and useful research.

CHAP.

ST.

X.]

GEORGE TUCKER.

127

Amongst the most cherished of Wirt's associates, at this time, was St. George Tucker, then the President Judge of the Court of Appeals of Virginia. This gentleman, whose fame is most honorably associated with the national jurisprudence, had held the post of Professor of Law, at William and Mary, where Wirt, during his residence at Williamsburg, with other members of the bar, was an occasional attendant upon his lectures. The Judge was distinguished for his scholastic acquirements, his taste and wit, and

was greatly endeared

by a warmwhich gave a peculiar strength to his attachments. Though some ten years the senior of Wirt, the intercourse between them was that of the most familiar friendship, to the society of his friends,

hearted, impulsive nature

and was enlivened by a frequent interchange of those

humor and good fellowship which belong

sallies

to the intimacies of

of

men

of equal age and kindred tastes.*

The

following letter illustrates this intimacy, whilst

upon the subject of the contemplated biographies. to " The Rainbow " requires an explanation. In the year 1804,

scheme of

it

The

Wirt had associated with a few

touches allusion

friends in a

to publish a series of familiar didatic essays under the title

The Rainbow.

This scheme was no farther carried

into effect

Richmond Enquirer, when it was abandoned.

than the publication of ten numbers in the

between August and October of that year,

These essays were subsequently collected into a thin octavo, and seem to have fallen into oblivion. So far as Wirt

in that guise,

participated in them, they appear to have been rather the practisings

of an

artist

pursuing his studies, than a

work he would

choose to acknowledge as the product of his mature labor. •

The Judge was

a native of Bermuda.

Having emigrated

youth, he completed his education at William and

Mary

to Virginia in his

College.

He

entered the

Judiciary of the State as a Judge of the General Court, and vras promoted to the

Court of Appeals, of which he became the President.

Resigning

this post in 1811,

he was soon afterwards brought into the Federal Judiciary, as a Judge of the

United States District Court in Eastern Virginia, which appointment he held until his death.

LETTER TO JUDGE TUCKER.

128

[1804—1805.

TO JUDGE TUCKER. Norfolk, January

Dear Sir

31, 1805.

:

I have never, until now, had it in my power to acknowledge your favor of the 23d instant. It is full to the purpose of my request, and I thank you for it most sincerely and cordially.

As you seem shown,

I

why it should not be " yet you " kiss the rod

to think there are reasons

promise you that

it

shall not

;

with so much humility and devotion, that I cannot think their high mightinesses themselves, would be otherwise than gratified by its perusal. I

am somewhat

by your

relieved

inquiry,

whether

the letter and packet by Mrs. Banister, for, be

it

received

known

to you,

two or three days after I did receive that comniHnication, I had read all the pamphlets but one, and while my mind was yet warm with the gratification which I had derived from them, I sat in

down and wrote you very

free, that

or two

little

from

a very long letter, and a very free one,

my

hearing no more from you,

requests which

it

contained,

I

was

in

— so

reply to one

afraid that

I

might

have been too unceremonious with you. I was hesitating whether but as olfences I should not sit down and deprecate your wrath ;

proceed only from the heart, and as none, thought

proceeded from mine, I no offence had been given.

it

I

was very

sure,

had

syllogistically demonstrable that

And

yet that you should not,

in

so

long a time, say one syllable in reply to a proposition connected

with literature, was so irreconcilable with your politeness, your goodness, and your passion for letters, that I began to suspect I

had

satisfied

myself with a sophism instead of a demonstration on

the subject of offences

;

and, though

that no offence had been given, yet

it

my

syllogism might prove

did not prove that none had

—

been taken; and so " note the difference," for what is taken, is not always given, or else Hounslow heath and the Louvre would be less distinguished than they are.

Yet, taking offence

is

so different

a thing from taking a purse or a Venus de Medicis, the prize and the gratification so infinitely inferior, that I cannot believe there is

much to

it.

illustration, conviction

or wit in the parallel, and so

— adieu

CHAP.

MATERIALS FOR A LIFE OF HENRY.

X.]

129

But to my letter. It contained a very grateful and sincere acknowledgment for your interesting present by Mrs. B a declaration of the pleasure and information which I had derived ;

from the perusal of the pamphlets, particularly that Louisiana, an expression of

my

in relation to

surprise that the public should dis-

cover such a gusto for the froth, and frippery, and harlotry of

******

some compositions, while they neglected the clear and masculine views which you invariably give of your subjects.

My

letter

proceeded to condemn the modesty with which you

had spoken of Williamsburg,

Morse, and

in

one of your

letters to that sinner

much more might have been

insisted that

truly said, of the natural and

said,

and

adventitious beauties of the scene,

harmony and affection of the society. It you and Judge Nelson, (and there was a congratulation,) on the Arcadian times which

the science, elegance,

went on

to congratulate

spice of envy in the

you were enjoying, and

to express

my

suspicion that, between

two such ardent and importunate wooers, muses, had very

referred to an anecdote

It

their ladyships, the

time for sleep.

little

which

I

heard Judge Nelson

tell

Patrick Henry's fondness for Livy, and begged the favor of to prevail for stantially

and

me, with his honor, to give

me

of

you

that anecdote circum-

critically.

begged another favor of you ; and that was, as you had frequently heard P. H., I had no doubt, in conversation and debate, judicial and political, to do me the kindness, at some moment of perIt

and leisure, to sketch, as minutely as you could, even to

fect ease

the color of his eyes, a portrait of his person, attitudes, gestures,

manners

;

a description of his voice,

lations; his delivery,

sprigbtly

its

tone, energy, and

modu-

whether slow, grave and solemn, or rapid,

and animated

his

;

pronunciation, whether studiously

plain,

homely, and sometimes vulgar, or accurate, courtly and

ornate,

—with an

dominance of

its

analysis of his mind, the variety, order and pre-

powers

;

his information as a lawyer, a politi-

cian, a scholar; the peculiar character of his eloquence, &c., &c.,

for

I

never saw him.

interesting

part of

These

minutiae,

which

constitute the

biography, are not to be

learnt

most

from any

archives or records, or any other source than the minute and

accurate details of a very

uncommon

observer.

BIOGRAPHICAL WRITING.

130

same

In the

[1804—1805.

took the liberty of attempting to revive and

letter, I

enforce your half dormant resolution of furnishing an essay for

" The Rainbow," on the subject of Biography your idea of declining towards biography.

shew

that essay because

For,

if

and of combating

;

my thoughts

had turned

I

the objects of your essay

would be

to

the importance and utility of biographical publications, and

to point out the duties of the biographer, liostile that

would be auxiliary

it

would be so far from as it would give

it

my scheme

to

;

the public a preparatory relish for that kind of writing, and instruct

me how

to serve

up the

feast to tlie best advantage.

being didactic, the essay was intended to be,

If,

instead of

a biographical

itself,

sketch, yet the limits prescribed for an essay would merely enable

you

to excite, without sating the public curiosity,

good preparation

fore be a again,

you proposed

to

for a

pursue

and would there-

more expanded

this

narrative.

If,

subject through a series of

essays, so as to constitute, in the whole, the expanded narrative of

which

I

speak, then the great objects at which

memory of our

preserving the

illustrious

to Virginia the

honor of having given them

pletely gained

by those

my

take this task

ofi"

my power

to

perform

fession, so

much

sometimes forces eral days, so

of

essays.

I

much

must, at

close and unremitting investigation for sev-

word with my family day or

I

would; whereas you have

;

could

all

I

have

night. I

could

the long

at your command could do the make an amusement of it to yourself;

between the sessions

business at your ease

would

fear

events, be a considerable time before

all

accomplish the work as intervals

I

preparation for argument, &c., &c., that

scarcely time to exchange a It

would be com-

birth,)

wish, indeed, that you

find so

interruption

me on a

aimed (those of

much that it will be out of much writing to do in my profrom clients who ask counsel that

hands.

it.

I

I

men, and of perpetuating

;

and from your personal acquaintance with the heroes of the work,

which are too obvious to particularmore valuable and interesting to the in the world would enable me to do.

as well as from other causes ize, could render

public, than I

all

it

infinitely

the leisure

wish you would think seriously of

to collect materials for this

municate when

your name

I

receive them.

shall be

this proposal.

work, which

I

will

Nay, more

;

if

I

am

trying

most gladly com-

you think proper, may name

kept out of the public view, and they

me, without contradiction,

as the author (for there are too

many

CHAP.

A PROPOSAL.

X.]

who

persons

have, by some means or other, got wuid of

may

to suppose that

it

their applauses

become

public disclaimer.

hereby promise you

that

—

that the result

you

would be

I

I

There

is

know, with almost absolute

propitious.

project

they should not applaud,

never will disclaim.

I

for

fatality,

my

And when will make a

be imputed to me.)

loud, general and confirmed,

by any

If,

the offer,

at first,

not,

heroism

in

131

If

it

certainty,

should, or should not,

have an opportunity of seeing and hearing a

will at least

1

much

not

fair

would derive George Tucker, one of the

estimate of your pen, free from the weight which

it

from the name of the Honorable St. Judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia. I hope there is nothing improper in the proposal of

On my

ment.

part

You

curiosity.

it is,

in

say your works have been still-born

of this can be found in the works themselves, and see in

experi-

any point of view, improper,

beg you

I

I

;

no solution

wish much to

If the proposal be,

there be any fatality attached to names.

if

this

a very great measure, the creature of

to

excuse

it,

and

to

be

******

assured that there

is

nothing in the motives of the proposal which

should excite your displeasure.

Yours most obsequiously,

Wm. Wirt. The

We

next

is

to

Benjamin Edwards, then a resident of Kentucky.

have already seen the kindly

gentleman manifested

memoir,

in

in the early fortunes

taking him to his

parental solicitude with

student at a period

ful

interest

own house

in

which

this excellent

of the subject of

Maryland, and

this

in the

which he protected and guided the youthfriendly offices were above all

when such

price.

Seventeen years had elapsed since that day.

from

this letter that the

the student's gratitude, nor his

worthy patron.

But

it

will be seen,

time gone by had not blunted the edge of

dimmed

his ardent affection

Mr. Edwards had, during the

interval

towards

between

the date of this correspondence and the departure of his protege

from beneath his roof, removed with his family to Kentucky, and

was now

a prosperous landholder in that state, surrounded

thriving family, and

happy

in the

by a

contemplation of the present and

prospective good fortune which enlivened the evening of his

life.

LETTER TO BENJAMIN EDWARDS.

132

[1804—1806.

which Mr. Edwards took in the career of his friend, and the affection with which it was reciprocated, was shown in a frequent correspondence between them ever since the The following letter was called forth period of their separation.

The

interest

by the disappointment which Mr. Edwards had recently expressed, upon the change of purpose in regard to Wirt's scheme of migraIt has reference to some matters of personal which may be acceptable to the reader and it dwells with an honest warmth of grateful recollection upon the topics

tion to

Kentucky.

history

:

of family endearment, the household associations, the incidents and characteristics which made Mount Pleasant a precious picture

We

on the memory of the writer. perusal of

letter

this

benignity of the good

how man

shall not fail to

agreeably

to

whom

it

it is

remark

in the

impresses us with the

addressed, the simplicity

of his life, and the patriarchal character of his relation to those around him ; and how much there is in the writer of filial duty

and reverence.

TO BENJAMIN EDW^ARDS. Norfolk, March I

my

cannot describe to you,

17, 1805.

dear Mr. Edwards, the sensations

have just read your most welcome and obliging letter

with which

I

of the 17th

ult.,

from Shiloh.

I

need not be ashamed to

tell

you

that my tears bore witness to the sincerity and force of my feelYou have taught me to love you like a parent. Well ings.

do so; since to you, to the influence of your conversation, your precepts and your example in the most critical and decisive period of my life, I owe, whatever, of useful or good there may be in the bias of my mind and character. Continue then, I indeed

may

I

implore you, to think of

regard

me

as

me

a brother

:

as a son, and teach

they shall find

me

your children

one, indeed,

if

to

the

wonder working dispensations of Providence should ever place them in want of a brother's arm, or mind, or bosom. You could not more strongly have expected my wife and me to partake of your Christmas turkey in 1803, than

pected

and

my

it

when

I

wrote you

last.

I

was

we

ourselves ex-

sensible that

I

owed you

friend Ninian an apology, or rather an explanation of the

CHAP.

OBJECTIONS TO KENTUCKY.

X.]

my

abrupt change of

133

plan in relation to Kentucky, and this expla-

would have been certainly made at the proper time, but for point of delicacy arising from the nature of the explanation a nation

now

But

itself.

that the project

is

over and, with you,

I

fear for-

ever, I may explain to you without reserve. The first obstacle which I had to encounter arose from the difficulty of compassing so much cash as would enable me to make

my

To

debut sufiiciently respectable.

have disclosed

this

ob-

stacle either to you or Ninian, after the strong desire which I had manifested to migrate to your state, might have been liable to an interpretation, which, either from true or false pride, I chose to

As I could not state to you this primary obstacle, I thought would be disingenuous to amuse you with an account of merely My but now you shall know the whole truth. subordinate ones avoid. it

;

wife,

who was

removal

thoroughly

convinced of the propriety of our

Kentucky, had consented

to

to

it,

from the dictates of

reason and judgment, whilst her heart and affections secretly revolted against the measure.

Most

dutifully

and delicately, how-

ever, she concealed her repugnance from me, and

have known

it,

should never

I

Waking one

but for an accident.

mid-

night, at

was contemplated, I found her in tears; much importunity, drew from her an acknowledgment, that

night, while this journey

and, after

her distress proceeded from the idea of such a distant and most

probably I

final

separation from her parents and family.

deny that I believe this discovery and the would have been decisive with me against the re-

will not affect to

manner of

it,

moval, even

if the first

objection had not existed.

Fortune and

fame are, indeed, considerations of great weight with me; but they are light,

compared with the happiness of the

About the time of inclinations

this

discovery, and while the current of

had been thus checked and brought

young gentleman

best of wives.

(a son of the late

my own

to an eddy, a

Judge Tazewell) who was

at

the head of the practice in this part of the state, very generously

and disinterestedly waited on

me

at

Williamsburg, opposed

my

removal by every argument that friendsliip or ingenuity could suggest, offered to recede, in

my

favor, from several of his

most

productive courts, painted the progressive prosperity of Norfolk in

colors, so strong

and alluring, and exhibited such

evidence of the present profits of the practice VOL.

1—12

in this

irresistible

borough and

PROFESSIONAL HOPES.

134

my mind was

district, that

left in

[1804—1906.

equipoise between Kentucky and

Norfolk. this critical juncture

At

me

very amicably exhorted

came a

from you,

letter

which you

in

against the indulgence of a too sanguine

You

imagination in regard to Kentucky.

stated that the specie

almost disappeared from the state, owing to the occlusion of an inOrleans, by the Spanish Intendant against your deposites

liad

—

convenience whose duration

was impossible

it

represented that the gentlemen of inhabitants of the state, carried

my

profession, like the other

on their business by barter,

Under the

ceiving their fees in negroes, horses, &c.

of

which brought me

1

was

led to the adoption of the resolution

And

here.

re-

joint action

and motives of

these obstacles, dilRculties, considerations

all

policy and expedience,

and

to calculate,

so here

I

am, abreast with the van

of the profession in this quarter, Avith the brightest hopes and prospects; duping the people by a most Jenkinsonian exterior, using

" words of learned length and thundering sound," puffed by the newspapers as an orator, to which I have no pretensions, and honored and applauded humiliation with

which

far I

beyond

my

deserts.

see and hear what

only for the

It is

written and said in

is

my praise, that I give myself any credit. I have formed in my own imagination a model of professional greatness which I am far, very

below, but to which

far,

to this

model

that

I

I

me

to this imaginary prototype,

1

!

But

1

If a fortune is to

believe

I

shall

years to ertect

do

it.

this.

If ever

to the dust.

shall rest in peace.

must not despair, since

man can

fection that a

It is

compare myself, whenever the world applauds,

and the comparison humbles

terprise

will never cease to aspire.

it is

I

should rise

— Herculean en-

only by aiming at per-

attain his highest practicable point.

be made by the profession It

must require, however,

Norfolk, as you guess,

is

in this country, 1

fifteen or

twenty

very expensive.

1

keep, for instance, a pair of horses here, which cost me eight pounds per month. Wood is from four to eight dollars per cord; Indian meal through the winter nine shillings per bushel,

mer

it is

supposed

})er barrel,

my

will

be

fifteen; (lour

—

this

sum-

eleven and twelve dollars

a leg of mutton three dollars, butter three shillings per

])ound, eggs

Having

it

two

family, in

shillings

and three pence per dozen, and so on.

however, with the view of making a provision for the event of my being called away from them, I live

set out,

CHAP.

EXPECTATIONS FROM HIS PROFESSION.

X.]

as economically as

I

my

can, so as to avoid giving

wife any reason

and

for resrret at the recollection of her father's house

After this year,

two thousand do more than

my

hope

I

this.

I

and not

scene of things

this

find this latter

I

my

all

my

to

whenever

I

affairs,

state.

your

It is not,

horizon," which infinitely

my

was

my

it,

summer and

the case last

makes me

letter

long to realize.

superiors

in

myself a comet; nor can

I

is

for

;

the face

sigh at the thought of your

however, the idea of being " a comet I

fall.

shall certainly use

I

from you, propitious as

it

my

by driving me from

wife to reconcile her to Kentucky

will not conceal

me

operation short, by removing

this

or protract

;

event likely to take place,

influence with

even now, of

do not expect ever

I

then.

till

business into annual exile, as If

— but

an annual revenue of four thousand dollars,

which you mention, may cut from

practice,

table.

to nett annually

indeed sometimes very apprehensive that the yellow fever,

am

I

my power

in

shall be content to leave the bar

me

capital will nett

it

by the

dollars,

be

will

135

naked

in a

have seen too many luminaries,

magnitude and splendor,

believe

to

believe that horizon naked which

I

is

adorned and lighted up with a Breckenridge, a Brown, a Maury and N. Edwards.

Besides,

that this part of the

were ambitious, and

if I

stars, I should, for that reason,

would be distinguished amid

choose

this part.

Green River land which makes me leased from the toils of

my

sigh

No,

it

to indulge

myself

requires a It

sir.

is

the

the idea of being re-

;

afterwards at

only on great occasions, and for great fees

power

true

glow-worm it

by independence,

profession

years, and of pursuing

A

But,

total darkness.

sun, indeed, to eclipse the starry firmament.

or eight

were

it

hemisphere were gilded with the brightest

in six

ease, and

of having

;

in the cultivation

my

it

in

my

of general science

of luxuriating in literary amusements, and seeking literary emi-

Those are

nence. to

look

of

life,

to, as

the objects

which

I

have been accustomed

the most desirable companions in the meridian

and six or eight years more would just bring

me

to that

which Parson Hunt and his son William used to predict, in moments of displeasure and reproof, that I should begin to be a age

at

man,

—

viz. at forty.

It is

because your letter holds out probabil-

ities like these, that I sigh.

this country,

For

independence, by

I

my

know

that

profession,

by the practice of is

a great

way

off.

!

FAMILY AFFAIRS.

136

How

much

would delight me

it

To

and earshot of you.

your laugh

my

children

youth

these arc things that

;

:

— but

I

to hear

;

your

My

I

wife has given

We

years.

afiairs

raillery and

could think of until

enough.

more than two

in little

once more within eye

he ahle to talk over with you the

of Mount Pleasant, and of

be quite unmanned

to live

[1804—1805.

should

me two

were married on the

7th September, 1802, and on the 3d September, 1803, she gave

me

now

a daughter,

months

a lovely child, going on nineteen

and with the romantic name of Laura Henrietta, the

a very handsome child, and a fellow

whose

if

old,

the fa-

name of my mother.

vorite of Petrarch, the last the christian

me

the 31st day of last January she gave

first

a son,

who

is

On

certainly

there be any truth in physiognomy,

native sheet of intellectual paper,

of as

is

fine a

texture and as lustrous a white, as the fond heart even of a parent

My

can desire.

fancy

is

already beginning to build for him some

of those airy tenements, in the erection of which,

My

been wasted.

and as

shall give

I

hope

She was just twenty-one the 30th day of

way. I

youth has

matter altogether within the lady's department,

this is a

January, and

my

wife wants to call this boy Robert Gamble,

was thirty-two

we may

reach

I

last

November, so number of twelve, and be

the 8th day of last

my wished

for

almost as patriarchal, by and by, as yourself

How

much you

—

gratify

me by

the circumstantial description of

now, and tiieir hopeful prospects I hope and May all your wishes in regard to them be fulfilled pray so from my inmost soul. I have a kind of dim presage that I shall yet be in Kentucky, time enough for your Benjamin Frank-

your children

their prosperity

!

Heaven send I may ever have it in my not for Cyrus. Pray, repower to be of any use to either of your children member me to them all, with the regard of a brother, and present me to Mrs. Edwards, with the respect and dutiful aflin, if

!

fection of a son.

Shall

1

ever see you again, in the midst of

them on your farm, disengaged from deserve to be

memory

.?

You cannot

yet

life, in

as

you

my

care, and

dwells on Mount Pleasant and the neighborhood.

remember, indeed, very many of,

happy

with what tenderness

all

think

still

it

is

follies to

one of those " sunny spots"

which recollection dearly loves

with you, for you used to make

me

so.

I

blush at and be ashamed in the

to bask.

To

this

course of

Let

me be

my free

day, the image of

CHAP.

B.

OLD ACQUAINTANCES.

X.]

S

my

as fresh in

is

,

mind, as

if

137

she had just

Pleasant, on Sunday evening, on the bay mare, and

followed

is

And

way home.

just as vivid as if

it

's

passion for her and mine,

had passed on yesterday.

my

you have not said a word of very strong interest

which you once

the investigation

K

the difference between

made of

eyes had

through the gate, and as far around as she was

licr

on her

visible,

Mount

left

my

K

friend

in his welfare, let

me

By-the-bye,

and as

,

hear of him

take a

I

when you

write next. I

thank you very much for your mention of several of

Among them

acquaintances.

James) in

my

is

all.

Jack Wallace

(if

he

human

him one of the sweetest

W

Maj.

presume,

I

,

is

my

When we

is

Of

Q.

#

M

,

I

But

in despair.

it is

was Latin grammar

fast,

possible that

he had a very pretty

whom

was very much

I

ball in the

remember

at

all.

five

after bathing of a

to me.) for one

I

.

hill,

until

he came

may be mistaken, and am conOne other thing I am sure of, whose name was L with ,

one whole

night, at an exhibition

E.

M

,

I

do not

well remember the family of the latter,

W.

near a mill pond of Samuel

Magruder's.

or six of us, of the family of Magruder, who,

Sunday

in the

pond, used to go up and see a

Matthew's, whose name was Betsey, (a name always I

was then about twelve years

whole summer, VOL.

to

away

took him

could not have been acquainted with him, nor

M. L

lived on a

There were

I

* a large faced, well

his father

neighborhood of Parson Hunt's.

think, with

sister of

sister,

in love

and

?

1

founding him with some other boy.

who

faded, like the

it

#

only remember that he

the

of genius.

Smothered under

.''

has

#

*

grown boy, who learnt the penna-a-pen, where he stuck

I

Or

flower of the spring, to bud and bloom no more *

that

in point

the hopeful promise of his youth ?

w^ere at

was thought one of

new wonder,

the leaden atmosphere of indolence

who

schoolmate, William,

school together, about the year 1785, he

world's wonders, or rather, a

first

warmed

breast.

used to live at Montgomery court-house.

Where

old

Nature, indeed, had not taken much pains

favorite.

the cast of his genius, but she gave

tempers, and one of the finest and noblest hearts that ever a

my

the son of

is

1—12*

old,

that girl disturbed

and

my

I

remember

fatal

that

peace considerably.

;

THE BRITISH SPY.

138

The but

sex,

ment

I

I

had an earlier or more fervent votary

believe, never

*******

was

it

[1804—1805.

all light

work

came

I

till

S

to B.

.

To

this

mo-

think kindly of her, even in the grave.

have used already a good deal of egotism in this letter but it is unavoidable in letters between friends, and it certainly is not desirable to avoid it between friends so far sundered as we are, :

I

are obliged to resort to letters as a substitute for conversation. For my own part, I sat down with a determination to write

who

would

just as I

talk with you, in order that I

might approach as

near as possible to the enjoyment of your company, and, as I should certainly have talked a great deal of levity and nonsense, so have I written, and so I shall still write, although I know that I

am

taxing you with a heavy postage.

But

to

myself again.

from your allusion the author.

to

it,

I

you have read the British Spy, and, presume you have understood me to be

1

wrote those

I find

It is true.

anxious weeks which preceded the birth of

my

away

while

letters to

daughter.

******* They

respect they were imprudent.

inflicted

six

In one

wounds which

I

did not intend.

In the esteem of a penetrating and learned man, the British

would light

me, because

injure

and superficial; but

(on W'hom

depend for

I

advantageous.

It

its

my

fortune,) has,

I

believe, been very

was bought up wnth great

edition called for and bought last,

up

;

avidity

It

a second

;

and the editor, when

talked of striking a third edition.

I

saw him

has been the means of

making me extensively known, and known

to

my

advantage,

*******

except, perhaps, with such

men

as Jefferson and Jay,

minds readily ascertain the difierence

The

title

of this fiction

Spy

would lead him to believe my mind effect on the body of the people here,

it

between

was adopted

for

whose

just

bullion and chaff.

concealment, that

might have an opportunity of hearing myself criticised

thereby I without restraint. But I was surprised to find myself known after Having once adopted the character of the third letter appeared.

an Englishman, it was necessary to support that character throughout, by expressing only British sentiments ; yet, there were some

AN IMPUTATION.

CHAP. X]

men, weak enough, that

I

in this state, to suspect,

139

from

this single cause,

*******

had apostatized from the republican

however,

is

now I

faith.

The

suspicion

pretty well over.

am your

friend,

and

Your son by

election,

Wm. Wirt.

—

CHAPTER

XI.

1805—1806. INCREASING EEPUTATION.— DISLIKE OF CRIMINAL TRIALS— MEDITATES A RETURN TO RICHMOND AN OLD FASHIONED WEDDING AT WILLIAMSBURG LETTERS A DISTASTE FOR POLITICAL LIFE.

Mr. Wirt His

life

continued to reside

here was

progress upward

extending his

its

He

practised

July, 1806.

rapid and steady

largely through

the

district,

attendance upon the courts as far as Williamsburg counties

the

fast to

He was

already

in the state,

and was

Norfolk.

adjacent to

accounted one of the most eloquent advocates

growing

until

towards the attainment of reputation, influence,

and independence. into

Norfolk

career was characterised by

professional

and

in

one of close application to business, and his

be considered one of the ablest of her lawyers.

His renown as an advocate brought him

into almost

every criminal

of note within the circuit of his practice, and overburdened

trial

him with

a species of business sufficiently disgusting in its best

its varied demands upon a man in whom the mere pride of eloquent speech has not deadened the sensibility of his heart to what is good and bad, cannot but grow to be

phase, but which, in

inexpressibly irksome and offensive.

"

I

am becoming

ill

at ease,"

he writes to Mrs. Wirt, from Wil-

liamsburg, during this period, " at this long absence from you and my children. * * I look to you as a refuge from care and toil.

It is this

anticipation only

which enables me

pressure of employments so uncongenial with indiscriminate defence of right and tion of causes at

which

my

wrong

soul revolts

—

—

this

to sustain the

my

spirit

this zealous

is

hope

He

sickening, even to death. it

will

began

this

playing of the nurse

to villains, and occupying myself continually in cleansing it

:

advoca-

them

But the time will come when

I

be unnecessary." to long for the privilege

his time to that higher

of an exclusive devotion of

range of practice which, dealing with the

CHAP.

MEDITATES A RETURN TO RICHMOND,

XI.]

more complicated

affairs

of society, gives occasion for the employintellect, in the study and develoj)-

ment of the subtlest powers of ment of the great principles of life,

as distinguished from that

advocate,

is

141

only to be

In this sphere of forensic

right.

which

properly assigned to the

is

achieved that best

followed the names of the greatest lawyers.

renown which has It

exacts not only

the cultivation of the highest order of eloquence, but the study also of the noblest topics of human research, in the nice questions

most powerful auxiliathe learning that belongs to the history and philosophy of

of jurisprudence and ethics, and finds ries in

its

Popular advocacy, on the other hand, whilst it allures its votary into a path made vocal with the applause of the multitude,

man.

seduces his mind from

its

love of truth, teaches

him

to disparage

the wealth of the best learning, and to account the triumph in the

open amphitheatre

precious than

the

all

in the

won

presence of the crowd, as more

gems which are

turned

up

in the silent

delvings of the student patiently toiling with no companion but his lamp.

In the hope of soon obtaining that position at the bar which should enable him to realize these longings of his heart, Wirt

which made upon

labored, with cheerful submission to the present necessity

compelled him to obey whatever

He

him.

call his

profession

looked anxiously for the day of his return to Richthat that period should not be long postponed.

mond, resolved

The

which was

usual unhealthiness of Norfolk during the autumn,

occasionally aggravated by the appearance of the yellow fever,

forced him to remove his family during the

Richmond, or self

still

into the neighboring counties.

hold disquieted him. dren,

it

season, to

further towards the mountains, whilst he him-

to remain in the borough, or

was obliged

warm make

his circuits

These separations from

his house-

Passionately attached to his wife and chil-

was ever the engrossing

subject of his thoughts to push

his professional success to the point

which would allow him

to

—

remain at home, and that home, as he hoped, in Richmond. " I amuse myself," he says in the same letter I have last quoted,

"

laid

by money enough

in

planning fairy visions of futurity.

living there, and

I

to build a

house

in

I

imagine that

Richmond

—

we have we are

that

practising in the Superior Courts, in the van of

—

:

142

ASPIRATIONS.

the profession, making

my

[1805— 1S06.

a year without once leaving the

town."

May mond

10th, 1805, he writes to Mrs.

W.,— " We will go to

ladder by which Ave are to climb the tageously.

— Norfolk

is

the

is

of Richmond advan-

hills

the cradle of our fortune."

Whilst turning over many

Mrs. Wirt, from which

Rich-

But Norfolk

soon as prudence will permit.

to liv^e as

I

during this year

letters written

make but meagre

extracts

to

— the follow-

ing passage occurs, which speaks an earnest and most characteristic aspiration

of the writer.

*

*

*

*

*

"I have been by Judge Prentiss who came into my room to look at the miniature of Patrick Henry, which has been sent to me by Judge AVinston, and to read a very interesting narrative of P. H. by the same gentleman. Mr. Winston's story is a huninterrupted

The proor 's. me more and more, and I hope to be enabled to immortalize the memory of Henry and to do no discredit to my own fame. The idea has been always very dismal to me, of dropping dred times better told than either

ject pleases

into the grave like a stone into the water,

Time

and letting the waves of

close over me, so as to leave no trace of the spot on

For

I fall.

this reason, at a

my

very early period of

solved to profit by the words of Sallust,

who

which

youth,

I

advises, that if a

re-

man

wishes his memory to

live forever on the earth, he must either worthy of being always read, or do something worthy of being written and immortalized by history. Perhaps it

write something

is

no small degree of vanity

but

I

to think myself capable of either; have been always taught to consider the passion for fame as

not only innocent, but laudable and even noble.

I

mean

that kind

of fame which follows virtuous and useful actions,"

^

In the

same correspondence

description of a

wedding

at

I

find a letter

Williamsburg,

from which

worth preserving as a sketch of manners and customs Dominion at that date *

wedding.

*

*

The crowd

"I went

last night to

Avas great, the

take a

in the

Miss

room warm,

I

1806.

in April,

P

It is

Old

's

the spirit of

man could not down upon a neighbor's.

dancing was upon them, and the area so small that a lift

a foot without the hazard of setting

But then, by

way

it

of balancing the account, there was a group of

CHAP,

AN OLD FASHIONED WEDDING.

XI.]

very gay and pretty

Miss P. herself, never looked so

girls.

She was dressed perfectly

lovely before.

143

plain,

— wore

her

own

She had not a hair, without wreath, laurel or other ornament. there was a neat about her: silver or gold of atom flower nor an pair of pearl pendants in her ears, but without any stone or

Her

tallic setting.

least a

hundred

reels,

friends,

home

in

You know

she

at

her cheeks were blown to

in

a very pretty girl

is

me-

—but she danced •,

but Sally

was also there, seemed to bear off the bell."

"But

my

and the roses

:

******

their fullest bloom.

C, who

dress a pure white muslin

to the

wedding.

I

went with the

intention of seeing

merely peeping into the supper room and coming But I got there about eight

an hour or two at farthest.

o'clock, and the dancing

room was

so thronged as to be impene-

which would have been very much more incon-

trable without an exertion of strength

inconvenient to

me

in so

warm

a room, and

whom I might overset in my career. So, I watched the accidental opening of avenues, and it was an hour and which, by-the-bye, a half, at least, before I had kissed the bride and I did under the pretence of delivering a message from you venient to those

—

—

bows which were due from me. The enquiries after you and your children were many and apparently affectionate. " It was past eleven when the sanctum sanctorum of the supper room was thrown open although I dont know but that the made

the

—

designation of the sanctum

apartment

my

in the

house

— and

turn to see the show.

you.

The :

it

And

tree in the centre

any thing of the kind feet high

would be better applied

the cake

I

a very superb one

to

were

have seen.

It

the pedestal, had a rich

fringe of white paper surrounding lands, &c., &c.,

it

it

was,

another

came I

to

assure

cake was more simply elegant than

remember

itself,

to

was near twelve when

it

was near four

—very rich

the leaves, baskets, gar-

:

all very naturally done in white paper, not

touched with the pencil, and the baskets were rarely ornamented

with silver spangles.

pyramids of

At the ends of the

jellies, syllabubs, ice

creams, &c.

mids were connected with the tree

in

ornamented with paper

bow

lofty

the which pyra-

the centre cake

white paper chains, very prettily cut, hanging festoons, and

were two

tables

in light

knots.

by pure

and delicate

Between the

— !

LETTER TO MR. EDWARDS.

144

centre cake and each pyramid

[1805—1806.

was another large cake made for use:

was a profusion of meats, cheese-cakes, fruits, etc. etc. " But there were two unnatural things at table ; a small silver globe on each side of the tree, which might have passed if Charlotte, to enhance their value, had not told us that they were a then there

—

—

—

—

whose name 1 dont recollect between the size of a shaddock and an orange, covered with silver leaf; which was rather All the grandees of the place were too outlandish for my palate.

fruit

*****

."

there

The

—

wed-

particularity and quaintness of this description of a

ding supper of more than forty years ago, in low Virginia, has a

smack

in

which may remind one of Froissart, or some enrap-

it

tured chronicler of a banquet scene of those days wdien "ancientry

The

and state" were held

in

more reverence than

great centre cake and

its

white paper tree four feet high, and the

paper chains hanging all

way over

the

in delicate festoons

the present.

from the topmost boughs,

the table to the apexes of the pyramids of jellies,

and the two large cakes below, ^'for 7«e," and the silver globes

home manufactured grandeur of the old blooming bride danced " a hundred reels" on the wedding night, giving fresh brilliancy to the roses of her cheek " Old times are changed, old manners gone," and Williamsburg,

a pleasant picture this of time,

when

a

—

doubtless, has dismissed the great paper tree and the sweet in

which

it

mould

We may thank the young

grew, for modern fopperies.

lawyer who has so happily preserved these images.

We

come now

to another letter to the

good friend of

his youth.

TO BENJAMIN EDWARDS. Norfolk, May

My Dear You I

Sir

see

I

have not gotten

never shall while

stitution.

6, 1806.

I

I

live

;

rid of

they

my

make

levities,

and most certainly

an essential part of

my

con-

catch myself, sometimes, singing and dancing about

the house like a

madman,

to the very great

amusement of

and children, and probably of the passengers going along the street.

This

is

very

little

who

like

my

wife

are accidentally

the wise conduct

VAGARIES.

criAP. XI.]

145

which Shakspcare makes Henry IV. recommend

made

of his

in spite

believe that

will not

the court-house.

I

to his son

:

but

some consolation in the figure which Henry V. Yet I hope you father's maxims of gravity.

the hair-brained find

I

dance

either sing or

know

the street or in

in

the indispensable importance of a

little

******* draw the magic

state, to

circle of respect around one's self and

repel intrusion and vulgarity.

To

be sure,

when

am

I

material if a

in a letter, it is not so

eccentric caper here and there

but

;

I

man

cuts an

same propensity

feel the

arguing a cause before a court and jury, although

I

see

the track plainly before me, yet like an ill-disciplined race-horse I

am

perpetually bolting or flying the way, and this, too, perhaps

very

in the

After having laid

of the argument.

crisis

my

pre-

mises to advantage, often having gone through an elaborate deduction of principles, in the very instant the fruit of

body

me, and,

in

just as he

me,

spite of

when

the

was

I

I

was

its

off,

when every

Commodore Trunnion's

like

conversation the other day with a

in

and was lamenting to was sure arose from the want

this subject,

of intellect, which

He

of a well directed education. to

about to reap

arriving at church to seize the hand of his anxious

very intimate friend of mine on this laxity

am

I

some meteor springs up before

it,

am

when

conclusion, and

pack of hounds crossed him so unpropitiously,

and expecting bride.

him

my

by drawing

toil,

on tiptoe expectation of

is

hunter,

my

I

admitted that

proper cause, but doubted whether

as a defect, suggesting that the

man

in

it

had ascribed

I

it

ought to be lamented

whose imagination these

meteors were always shooting, bid much fairer both for fame and fortune than the dry and rigid logician, In reply

it

was but necessary

for

me

our eyes to disprove his suggestion.

however close and cogent.

to appeal to

examples before

One was Alexander Camp-

whose voice had all the softness and melody of the harp, whose mind was at once an orchard and a flower garden, loaded with the best fruits and smiling in all the many-colored bloom of spring whose delivery, action, style and manner were perfectly Ciceronian, and who, with all these advantages, died by his own

bell,

—

*

hand.

here

is

*

*

*

John Marshall, whose mind seems

Qn to

be

the other hand, little

else than a

mountain of barren and stupendous rocks, an inexhaustible quarry VOL.

1—13

MATHEMATICAL STUDY.

146

[1S05— 1806.

Irom which he draws his materials and huilds his fabrics, rude and Gothic, but of such strength that neither time nor force can beat

them down

—

who would not turn otf a single step from argument though a Paradise should rise to

a fellow

the right line of his

tempt him, who, his mind,

would

it

appears to me,

strike

it

a noxious plant from his

rigid as he

is,

has acquired

all

There

to desire.

shall's certainly is the true

The

a flower

were

to spring in

up with his spade as indignantly as a

mer would

man need

if

is

yet who,

meadow,

all

far-

dry and

the wealth, fame and honor that a

no theorizing against

Mar-

facts:

road to solid and lasting reputation

habits of

in

mind are directly those which

******

courts of law.

liis

an accurate and familiar acquaintance with the mathematics generates.

I

feel

so sensibly

study, that,

him,

I

will qualify

know what

my own

deficiencies in this mathematical

Heaven spares my

if

him

to

son, and enables

be a professor

poetry and rhetoric are.

If

and imagination, he will, i/ien, be away with and unhorsed by them.

in

in

it,

me

he turns out

he

to

have fancy

danger of being run

less

If

to educate

before he shall

is

for the bar,

I

shall

never cease to inculcate Marshall's method, being perfectly persuaded that for courts, and especially superior and appellate courts (where there are no juries,) is

true that if

I

(as to mind,) a

had

my

choice,

I

it is

the only true method.

It

my

son

would much ralher have

Mirabeau than a Marshall.

If

such a prodigy, as

described by Mr. Jetferson, did ever I have heard Mirabeau spoke of him as uniting two distinct and For he exist. really perfect characters in himself, whenever he pleased, logician with a mind apparently as

sterile

— the

mere

and desolate as the

sands of Arabia, but reasoning at such times, with an Herculean force,

which nothing could

resist

;

at

other times, bursting

out with a flood of eloquence more sublime than Milton ever imputed to the cherubim and seraphim, and bearing all before

can easily conceive that a man might have either of these characters in perfection, or some portion of each, but that the same mind should unite them both, and each in perfection^ him.

I

appears to me, considering the strong contrast in their essence and operation, to be indeed a prodigy. Yet I suppose it is true,

"

for Brutus

is

an honorable man."

CHAP

DANGERS OF POLITICAL

xr.

No, my dear

friend,

147

never become famous by

shall certainly

I

LIFE.

On

burning a temple, or despising the religion of Christ. subjects, in

my

thought and spoke, to

from

tlie

and ostentation of youth,

heat, vanity

the

brink of luin, to which, whenever

me

rushed, convinced

there

that

power, who was taking an that ingratitude

my

I

myself,

invisible,

I

hope

conviction which

heart, than

me from

hope, will save

madly

I

benevolent

preservation.

The

my

have just mentioned, no sooner struck with a sentiment which,

my

vices.

once

series of rescues

left to

was an

interest in

not one of

is

A

shame, too loosely.

these

I

it

was

I

filled

the fate of a

Voltaire and a Domitian.

The friendly hope which you express, that you will live to hear me toasted at every political dinner, for superior virtues and wisdom, is indeed very obliging, but very unfounded. You know how poor I have always been. The rocks and shoals of poverty and bankruptcy

Among

famy.

very near to the whirlpool of dishonor and

lie

these rocks and shoals

beating ever since

I

The whirlpool I have now out of danger: but

entered upon the world.

escaped, and, thank Heaven, feel myself that horrible danger

gling

done

if I

place

I

till

shall

I

my

never forget

give myself up to politics.

nor shall

;

I

cease strug-

its

reach.

This cannot be

This

latter

might be the road

children out of

to distinction, but not to independence, either for myself or

children.

When

I

in-

have been tossing and

I

have placed

my

my

wife and children beyond the

reach of this world's cold and reluctant charity, unfeeling inso-

more insulting pity, then my country shall have all the which I am capable of rendering. But while I have opportunities of hearing, seeing and reading, and making com-

lence, or little

service

parisons between other

my

men and

myself,

cannot believe that the

I

make me

Nor, remember how Miltiades, Aristides, Cicero, Demosthenes and many others were once idolized by their countrymen and I remember the disastrous little all

of

indeed, do

services will ever

envy that distinction

I

to

a political toast.

any man: for

I

;

proof which their examples afforded of the fickleness of popular favor, and the danger of aspiring to political distinctions even

the exercise of virtues. if

my

say

is,

Yet

I

would not shrink from

country required the sacrifice at that

I

shall

my

hands.

All

by

their fate I

never enter on the political highway

mean in

to

quest

MEDITATES ANOTHER REMOVAL.

148

Thank Heaven!

of happiness.

whose

praise, if

wanton

I

were

have

I

in praise

home— a

wife, in

my

pen would grow as

of his

Marcia, two cherub

to indulge

as Juba's tongue

at

it

[1805-1806.

it,

a revenue which puts us quite at ease in the article of living, and the respect and esteem of my acquaintances, and A man who has blessings like these in I may say of Virginia. ciiildren,

possession will not be very wise to jeopard them

all

by launching

on the stormy Baltic of politics.

Ever your

friend and servant,

Wm. Wirt. Wirt had now made up his mind to remove to Richmond. A scheme which had already taken such hold upon his fancy, reHis quired no vehement enforcement from the advice of friends. had it suspense the distrust upon this question of removal, and hy banished effectively encountered in his mind, seem to have been WilFrom the accidental counsel of his friend Judge Tucker.

*******

liamsburg, whilst attending court there, April, 1806, he writes thus to his wife ''

:

Williamsburg * *

vately, that

mond.

my

He

is

just as hospitable and as heautiful as ever.

*

caught

told the

I

were pressing me

friends at

Judge (Tucker) myself

to fix

with his usual enthusiasm,

it

in

—

pri-

Rich-

insisted

I

—

swore that I could not live another year in should adopt the plan, Norfolk, declared that I had fattened at least forty pounds since he saw me in the winter, and that I was so fit a subject for the fever, he did'nt know the man on whose life he would not sooner buy an annuity than on mine said he was sure I should do well at

—

:

the bar there, after a year or two I

might well support

hood, I

I

am

to assist

ject again deliberately it

as

family in

me with

that,

even for the present,

Richmond and

its

counsels.

and free from bias,

the neighbor-

my

Think of dear B.

you please, and wiiatever may be the

always believe you advised *

and

perfectly confounded by the arguments pro and con.

pray Heaven

decide

my

;

*

Do not yield

aforesaid pros and cons. will cither ruin or

make

It is

too

much

You

shall

result, I shall

*

*

for the best.

this sub-

to inclination in the

a measure which,

if

resolved on,

us happy, and, in the former event,

it

CHAP.

DOUBTS

XI.]

may end

in

close to

my

I

Kentucky.

I

IN

REGARD TO

confess that

am swayed by

of losing —he was — may Heaven guide us afraid

point,

— " whether

of no great duration.

in

prevailed.

In a

Richmond upon

1— 13*

I,

of

it

was

better to bear the ills" he had,

—

knew not of gave him, however, pause The auspicious and better counsels of Mrs.

he

few months

after this letter,

he took a house

a lease of five years, and set himself to the

business of his removal with

VOL.

Heaven,

!"

fly to others'" that

Wirt

movement commence it, Hamlet when he

bring the

doubts like those which agitate

an earthly Paradise

This

I

mind, and imagine myself just about to

meditates self-destruction

" or

when

149

IT.

all

proper despatch.

CHAPTER 18

XII.

6.

REMOVES TO RICHMOND A PROFESSIONAL CASE OF CONSCIENCE.— DEFENCE OP SVVINNEY CHANCELLOR WYTHE.— JUDGE CABELL.— LETTER TO MRS. VV. ON SWINNEY'S CASE.— FONDNESS FOR MUSIC— LETTER TO F. W. GILMER.— RECOLLECTIONS OF PEN PARK.

His dwelling place turn to the bar there

Richmond.

His

is

now once more

is

signalized by a case of conscience, the

proposing of which shows that he had

in

now reached

re-

that point in

which, no longer impelled by hard necessity, he might debate with himself a question of casuistry, upon the merits of taking employment in a criminal cause, wherein he had reason

his profession in

unworthy of defence. This is a new era an incident which does not always arrive The point has often been in the career of even eminent lawyers. The better opinion of the bar seems gena debated question. much erally to have settled it on the side of their own interest to the gratification of culprits, who, however steeped in iniquity, find no lack of energetic and skilful defence from the brightest, if

to believe the criminal in his forensic life.

It is

;

not the best, lights of the profession.

A

trial

is

regarded as a

species of tourney, in which the champions are expected to their prowess

—

to use a

diirladiation," as little

phrase of the British Spy

concerned with the

—

in

intrinsic right or

of the accusation, as the knights of the ancient tilting

show

" forensic

wrong

yard were

with the real merits of the beauty of their respective mistresses. The laws of chivalry placed the true knight in a category somewhat resembling that of Captain Absolute. " Zounds, sirrah, the lady shall be as ugly as slioulder

;

she shall be

I

choose: she shall have a

as

crooked as the crescent

shall roll like the bull's in

like a

shall

Museum

;

her one eye

she shall have a skin

—

and the beard of a Jew, she shall be all this,— ogle her all day and sit up all night to write sonnets

mummy

and you

Coxe's

hump on each ;

on her beauty."

The

question of conscience ordinarily fares no

CHAP.

CHANCELLOR WYTIIE.

Xrr.]

151

better in the courts, in the customary tilting there in defence of

suspected innocence.

now exercised the meditation of Wirt was by the name of Swinney, charged with the crime of poisoning the venerable Chancellor Wythe, who had just died in Richmond, under circumstances which led to a strong suspicion The

case which

that of a man,

Chancellor

of the guilt of the accused.

men

best

the country ever produced.

plicity of his character, his bland

Wythe was one

of the

Distinguished for the sim-

and amiable manners, his up-

rightness and steadfast devotion to duty, he

was

universally be-

loved in the society of Richmond.

am

I

indebted to a most estimable

gentleman, whose

frequently appears in the course of this biography.

President

bell,* the

some

name

Judge Ca-

Court of Appeals of Virginia, for

of the

which very agreeably con-

recollections of the Chancellor,

what has been often said of his gentle, and philanthropic temper; and which also afford melancholy testimony as to the foul deed which is supposed to have terminated his life. " You and I may remember," says the Judge, in a letter to Mrs. firm

Wirt, " the trouble he ^ave himself to entertain the visiters of his

young

She and

niece. Miss Nelson,

all

of us were

who

lived with

almost children, and

have found any interest

in staying in the

him a few years.

few grown men would

room where we were.

But the good old gentleman brought forth his philosophical appa^ ratus and

felt

amused us by exhibiting experiments, which it is true, but he tried to make us do

comprehend,

Avell

elevated

by such

attentions

we

did not

so,

^nd

we

from so great a man.

* William H. Cabell, the gentleman here alluded to, now at the head of the Bench of Virginia, crowned with the richest honors of a ripe old age, and surrounded by an affectionate circle of friends, married Agnes, the eldest daughter of Col. Gamble, and sister of Mrs. Wirt. He represented Amherst county in the

Legislature of Virginia, from 1793 to 1805, except during three years of this interval.

In 1805 he was elected Governor of the State, and

years was appointed to the

Bench of

1811, to the Court of Appeals, of

The

at

the General Court.

which he

is,

at this

the expiration of three

He was

time— 1849

transferred, in

— the

President.

connection between him and Mr. Wirt, laid the foundation of an intimate

friendship,

Many

which was increased with every succeeding year

proofs of this

hereafter refers.

may be

until death dissolved

it.

found in the correspondence to which our narrative

In this intimacy,

it

will be seen also, that

brother of the Judge, largely participated.

Joseph Cabell, the

DEATH OF THE CHANCELLOR.

152

[1806.

theory that there was no natural inferiority of incompared with the white man, he had one of negro, tellect in the and one of his nephews both educated exboys his own servant

"To

test the

actly alike.

I

believe,

however, that neither of them did much

credit to their teacher.

"The young men who in his service

cupied

who were ocHenry Clay was

studied law with him, or

were

devoted to him.

all

Chancellor lived to a very old age. In his appearance he was thin, rather tall, but stooped from age and de-

The

one of them.

and from the Capitol to his own house. He generally lived alone, but in his latter years he had a nephew with him to whom he intended to bequeath his estate. This was Swin-

he walked

bility, as

to

The common

ney.

belief

was

that this

man, being impatient

for

money, poisoned him. He was and he was acquitted. Yet there was but The cook little doubt of his guilt in the minds of most persons. said that he came into the kitchen and dropped something white She into the coffee-pot, making some excuse to her for doing so. tried for his

his uncle's

Wirt was

Mr.

life.

his lawyer,

and another servant partook of the latter died in consequence.

some fowls

The

them and

ate of

coffee.

I

have heard that the

coffee grounds being

died.

The unhappy

thrown

out,

old gentleman

lived long enough after taking the coflTee to alter his will, so that

the suspected

man

got no portion of his estate at

grounds were examined and arsenic was found

last.

in

The

cotFee

abundance min-

gled with them."

This

little

veloped

sketch presents the outlines of the case, as

at the trial

and

in the investigations

Wirt's doubts, to which

engaging

in

I

it

was de-

of the day.

have alluded, upon the propriety of

the defence of Swinney, are told in the following

let-

from Williamsburg, after he had engaged his house Richmond, and in the moments of his removal thither. ter written

in

»***** TO MRS. WIRT.

Williamsburg, July

"

1

13, 1S06.

have had an application made to me yesterday, which emme not a little, and I wish your advice upon it. I dare

barrasses

say you have heard

me

say that

I

hoped no one would undertake

CHAP.

A CASE OF CONSCIENCE.

XII.

would be

the defence of Swinney, but that he

which he seemed so justly to merit. changed, a good deal, the course of by

was

stating that there

153

left

to the fate

Judge Nelson, himself, has

my

opinions on this subject,

a difference in the opinion of the faculty

Richmond as to the cause of Mr. Wythe's death, and that the eminent McClurg, amongst others, had pronounced that his death was caused simply by bile and not by poison. I had concluded that his innocence was possible, and, therefore, that it would not be so horrible nothing to defend him as, at first, I had thought it. But I had scarcely made up my mind on this subject, little supYesterday, posing that any application would be made to me. however, a Major A. M., a very respectable gentleman, and an uncle to Swinney on the mother's side, came down in tlie stage from Riclimond, and made that application in a manner which af-

in

fected

me very

his sister, the

young man

sensibly.

He

stated the distress and distraction of

mother of Swinney; said

was

it

the wish of the

would undertake If there What shall I do it, it would give peace to his relations. is no moral or professional impropriety in it, I know that it might be defended by me, and that

to

if I

.''

be done

in a

manner which would avert the displeasure of every

one from me, and give

Judge Nelson says no

I

me

one can justly censure

thinks

it

a splendid debut in the metropolis.

ought not to hesitate a moment to do

me

for

it

and, for his

;

highly proper that the young

man

own

it

;

that

part,

he

should be defended.

Being himself a relation of Judge Wythe's, and having the most delicate sense of propriety,

But

in his opinion.

der of

it,

beg you,

I

told

am

I

disposed to confide very

Major M.,

and give him an answer,

my

I

would take time

at the farthest, in a

month.

dear B., to consider this subject, and collect,

can conveniently

in conversation, the opinions

Cabell, and let

me

more important

to

hear the

result.

My

much

to consi-

if

I

you

of your parents and

conduct through

you and your children than even to for to my own heart I mean to stand justified by doing that I think wrong. But, for your sakes, I wish to do that the loorld shall think wrong. I would not have you

life

is

myself; nothing nothing

*******

or them

subject to one reproach hereafter because of me."

On

such a question as

tions of conduct or duty,

is

here proposed

—the

—indeed

sensibility of

on most ques-

an intelligent and

vir-

DEFENCE OF SWINNEY.

154

woman

luous

casuist, to discern

most accomplished

do

worth more than all the dialectics of the what it best becomes us to

often

is

Her

matter that touches our reputation.

in a

[1506.

feelings are but

the quick perceptions of a heart that reasons better than the mind.

Guided by the is

instinctive love, characteristic of

her sex, of what

beautiful, not less in moral than in physical life, she lights

upon

her conclusion with a rapidity and a truth which outstrip all argument in speed, and often, in equal degree, surpass it in wisdom.

When wife,

judgment

this

it is

it

stimulated by the affectio«ate anxiety of a

less apt to stray into error: the

even

her relation renders

How

is

it

more

the

very tenderness of

impartial.

fared in regard to Swinney's case,

is

told in a passage * *

* from a letter written within ten days after the last. " I shall defend young Svvinney under your counsel.

science

is

perfectly clear, from the accounts

I

My

con-

hear of the conflict-

Judge Nelson again repeats, on consideration, the

ing evidence.

opinion he before gave

me

the perfect

as to

propriety of the

step."

Swinney, as

we have seen, was me the grounds

record to furnish

me

enable

to say

any thing of

^'-

and acquitted.

tried

have no

I

much

of this acquittal, the splendid debut''''

less to

which Wirt

anticipated. It

is

not unlikely that

accused from a defect

the trial

in the

terminated

in

favor of the

evidence, by no means unusual in

those states, whose statutory law disqualifies a witness from giving testimony, upon objections founded merely in the race or blood of the person acquainted with the facts.

The cook

in this case,

who

have been, perhaps, the only direct witness, we may conjecture, was a negro, and forbidden to be heard in a court of

seems

to

be the real cause of the acquittal, it presents a cogent example of the impolicy of a law so and very striking It may well be questioned, whether States. United prevalent in the

justice.

If this

more inconvenience and mischief do

not result from

such legal

restraints as disable our familiar servants from testifying to the thousand transactions in which our interest is concerned, and under circumstances that scarcely admit of other testimony, than

can be compensated by any supposed good which

be ascribed

to

the

disqualification.

Is

there, in

may properly fact,

any just

ground of policy in shuttmg off the only testimony by which

in-

CHAP. XII

noccnce may be proved, right determined?

common

guilt established, or

in

matters of

juries sufficiently able to

Are not courts and

judge of the credibility of a witness

We

155

MUSIC.

]

every case

?

pass from these speculations to the regular course of our

narrative.

Wirt was passionately fond of music, and devoted a portion of his time to

The

its

cultivation throughout every period of his

following playful letter

the art to a friend of his in

an

academy

life.

commend a teacher of Williamsburg, who was at the head of was written

to

there.

TO LEROY ANDERSON. Richmond, September

Dear

25, 1806.

Sir:

Your two favors were received together, yesterday. It is well for me they were so for having no pretensions to poetry, either Ossianic or Horatian, I should have been very much at a loss how I was disposed to ask to answer your first, if it had come alone. ;

myself

how

it

was possible

you

for

two such subjects as B answer of the poet Waller

to write so fine a

and myself, to Charles

until

II.,

I

rhapsody on

recollected the

when asked why he

had produced so superior an ode on the death of Cromwell, to that in which he had celebrated his own restoration ? " because poetry excels in fiction."

I

But your

made me

business and

feel

know Vogel, he gave

mond and

in

Norfolk.

he

is

I

me down

to the tone of

Wirt

in

Rich-

;

— not B

finest

male performer on

But like his predecessor

B

that his potations are either so 's,

but the ladies, his scholars

Norfolk, sometimes complained of neglect, which was attributed

to frolics over-night. tions

and

There in

him the

have ever heard.

a son of Anacreon

let

home.

have also frequently heard him play

frequent or so deep as poor in

at

several lessons to Mrs.

I

alone, and can safely pronounce

the piano that

has

last

myself

I

is

In

Williamsburg he will have fewer tempta-

dare say will do better. a little fellow here,

by the name of

,

of whose

skill

music the ladies and other connoisseurs of Richmond speak

very highly. (for 1

But he

is

only about seventeen, and they

have not seen him) a perfect Adonis.

I

would speak

tell

me

to

him

FRANCIS W. GILMER.

156

in the

manner you

direct, but that

[1806.

remember a novel called " Miss She is represented as the boy. I

Beverly," which I read when a daughter of respectable parents, w^ho, at the budding age, had a

young beau introduced into the house as her music master. Her This to fancy was set agog by iiim and never rested afterwards. be sure

fiction, but

is

such a fellow, as

it is

is

•

in nature,

said to be,

and

should apprehend that

I

might put to

flight the

"Gluips and cranks and playful wiles

Nods and becks »ad wreathed smiles," of your academy, and introduce the sigh and tear of midnight in Nevertheless, if you say so, instruct me, and I will their place.

speak

to him.

here, On further recollection, there is, I think, a Mrs. C before next certainty with will know music. I who also teaches

week and whether

she will be willing to remove to Williamsburg,

on the terms you propose. and you

may

Her answer

I

will deliver in person,

choose between her and Vogel.

Poor B

!

I

am

really sorry for him, for

being, with as gentle a soul as

any man ever

he was a harmless

had.

But

I

dare say

" death came like a friend to release him from pain." In the Elysian shades he may rove and feast on harmony among spirits as his

gentle as

home and

own, unmolested by any

painful

the discordant shrieks of his Alecto.

remembrance of Suppose you give

him an epitaph or a monody. I am much obliged to you for the concern which you express a It was a slight touch of the ague and fever for my health. mere piece of ceremony by way of conferring on me the freedom :

of the

city.

With

entirely over.

It is

the best wishes for your prosperity and happiness, I

am, dear

sir,

Your

friend and servant,

Wm. Wirt. Francis Walker Gilmer, whom we have heretofore noticed, was now approaching to manhood. He had resolved to devote his studies to the science of medicine,

upon

that pursuit.

at a later period

It

and had partially entered

will be seen hereafter that he found reason,

of his

life,

to

change

this profession for the law,

CHAP.

LETTER TO HIM.

XII.]

157

Mr. in which he gave the strongest promise of eminent success. Wirt had not so far ahenated himself from the memory and attachments of Pen Park as to lose his interest in the family which yet Death had made his usual ravages in the family inhabited there. circle, but the heart of him who liad been so tenderly fostered under that roof,

who were those who

of

lost nothing

departed, nor of

original reverence for those

its

kind solicitude for the welfare of

its

This interest was cherished on both sides more particularly by that with

survived.

frequent correspondence, but

by

Francis,

who had grown

be an especial favorite with his broget some agreeable glimpses of

to

we

In this letter

ther-in-law.

Pen Park and

inmates.

its

TO FRANCIS W. GILMER. Richmond, October

My Dear

Your favor of the 4th

me

all

9th, 1806.

Francis:

the pleasure

ever since,

in the

ult.

my

drawer of answer

terval of leisure to

a source of delight

came regularly

to hand, and

you wished and intended.

it is

to

it.

me

I

It

gave

has been lying

writing chair, waiting for an in-

am

sure

I

need not

tell

you what

to receive these assurances that

brothers and sisters of Albemarle

still

regard

me

as one of the

my

same

them by my destiny. The misPen Park have, indeed, scattered us all most wofully,

family, although sundered from

fortunes of

and placed us

Let

it

every variety of circumstances and

in

situation.

be the object of the survivors to soften these misfortunes

and their consequences, as well as they can, by cherishing for each other the most cordial affection, and reciprocally plucking

from the path of along.

the

my

You,

ther, and

if

each thorn of care and sorrow as we go dear Francis, and your brothers, will have a farlife

possible, a

sweeter

still

office to

perform.

To

raise

with fresh

name of Gilmer from the tomb, and crown it I have seen that name honored and highly honored,

honors.

for genius, science

my I

heart.

and

For what

virtue. is lost I

shall live to see the

day,

The

recollection

is

very dear to

console myself with the hope that

when

the family will rise to

all its

former reputation for superior endowments, both of the mind and heart ; and even bloom with more extended and diversified honors. VOL.

1

— 14

;

DOCTOR GILMER.

158

The

genius of the family

is

not

inherited in such abundance, and itors will, for

lost. I

[1806-

am charmed

I

cannot believe that

want of energy and enterprise,

fail to

to see its

replace

it

inherit

on

the roll of fame.

Peachy, I hear, is contributing his quota towards its restoraby making very strenuous and successful exertions in Henry He has a good deal of his father's cast of character, and, county. among other qualities, will I think, possess the same manly and

tion,

The bar impressive eloquence for which he was remarkable. will afford him a field for its display which his father had not. And

therefore, if his exertions continue, he cannot

fail

to enlarge

You, I underthe sphere of the family distinction on this head. The science profession. father's your follow to purpose stand, of medicine

believe, said to be progressive and to be daily

is, I

receiving new improvements. to cultivate, and

will be your

You

will therefore

will take the profession

own

fault therefore if

have a wide

field

on a grander scale.

you do

not, as a physician,

It fill

a larger space in the public eye. But the space which your father occupied was filled not merely by his eminence as a physician,

(although he w^as certainly amongst the most eminent) ; he was moreover a good linguist, a master of botany, and the chemistry of his day,

a

man

had a store of very correct general science, was

of superior taste in the fine

arts, and, to

crown

the whole,

manners and conver-

had an elevated and a noble spirit. In his sation he w^as a most accomplished gentleman; easy and graceful animated, in his movements, eloquent in speech in temper, gay and ;

and inspiring every company with his own tone; with wnt pure, and when the occasion called for it, sparkling and perennial uttering sentiments of the highest dignity, and utmost force. Such ;

father, before disease had sapped his mind and constiand such the model which, as your brother, I w^ould wish you to adopt. It w^ill be a model much more easy for you to form yourself on, than any other, because it will be natural to you

was your

tution,

for

I

well

remember

four years

old,

how

to

If he had lived and enjoyed his health manhood, you would have been his exact you can do now is, to form to yourself by

your

father's character.

until

you had grown

counterpart.

have remarked, when you were scarcely

strongly nature had given you the cast of

to

All that

OHAP.

ADMONITIONS.

Xir.]

159

the descriptions of others, an exact image of your fatlier in his

meridian, and even,

Endeavor

if possible, to

surpass him.

distinguishes the gentleman from the

conversation avoid

rapid and

a

manners which

that superior grace of

to cultivate

indistinct utterance,

Your

deliberately and articulately.

crowd around him. father

In

your

and speak

was remarkable

for his

clear and distinct enunciation, and the judgment with which he Blend with the natural hilarity of your placed his emphasis.

temper, that dignity of sentiment and demeanor, which alone can prevent the wit and humorist from sinking into a

and can

trifler,

give him an effective attitude in society.

Get a

habit, a passion for reading,

— not

flying

from book to

book, with the squeamish caprice of a literary epicure, but according to the course which Mr. Robertson will prescribe to you.

Read

systematically, closely and thoughtfully;

analyzing every

you go along, and laying it up carefully and safely in your memory. It could have been only by this mode that your subject as

much

father gained so

wanting to

your

you

lift

life in

you

find

being buried

obscurity, confounded with the gross and ignorant

herd around you.

But there are yet more animating and more

power of doing more extentheatre and increasing the number

noble motives for this emulation sive good,

to flag, think of

be

shall

to the heights of public notice, and, if

and attention beginning

spirits

your

all

correct information on such a variety of

Determine with yourself that no application

subjects.

by gaining a larger

the

;

of objects; the pure delight of hearing one's

self

blessed, for

benevolent and virtuous actions, and, as a still more unequivocal and rapturous proof of gratitude, " reading that blessing in a nation's effects

e3''es :"

of

this

add

fame

to

to

this,

the communicating

the

beneficial

our friends and relations; the having

it

in

our power to requite past favors, and to take humble and indigent genius by the hand, and lead

it

forward to the notice of the world.

These are a few, and but a few, of the good effects of improving one's talents to the highest point by careful and constant study, and aspiring I

am

to distinction.

very much pleased with your

classics with a discrimination

of

taste

letter.

your years, and therefore the more honorable with you

in

You

read the

and judgment unusual at to you.

I

concur

your remarks upon the iEneid of Virgil, as well as

ADMONITIONS.

160

Odes of Anacreon.

the

I

am

fond of a vivid picture, painted to

the fancy, such as Virgil's storm.

good describer, his odes can

way

in his

;

[1306.

but his

Anacreon, too,

way

is

is

thought a

a very bad one, and

be estimated and enjoyed only by the debauchee

who

has himself rolled in the sensualities on which alone the genius of

Anacreon seems to have luxuriated. Avriting to

me

often,

like an elder brother,

and

shall

hear from

you

me

all

of

whom

to I

will allow

all

will

never

will gratify

me by

me

to write to

to profit

you

by his own

those honors which he has missed,

as often as I can find a leisure hour.

love to our brothers and sisters

remembered

You

who would wish you

experience, and to attain

you

if

hope you

I

possess this test for judging his merit.

when you

see them.

Let

My

me be

Mr. and Mrs. Meriwether and Mr. R. Robertson;

very much esteem.

Your

friend and brother,

Wm. Wirt.

CHAPTER

XIII.

1807.

AAROX BURR BROUGHT TO RICHMOND INDICTED FOR TREASON.— WIRT RETAINED AS COUNSEL BY THE GOVERNMENT.— THE TRIAL SOME OF ITS INCIDENTS THE ASPERITY OF COUNSEL EXTRACTS OF THE ARGUMENT.

—

The of the

year 1807

memorable

is

in the

of Wirt as the year

life

of Aaron Burr.

trial

Burr's conspiracy

is

one of the most extraordinary incidents

connected with the history of

Whether

this country.

it

were the

mere dream of a bold, ambitious and wicked citizen, or his meditated and prepared enterprise, enough has been brought to light, in the investigation of that incident, to excite the amazement of every one that a man so eminent, so gifted with splendid

and so able

to appreciate the character

can people, should have permitted himself to tion of

fall

into the infatua-

even an idle speculation upon his power to accomplish

what, from

all

which has been divulged, we are was his purpose. Burr entertained some visionary notion of

the evidence

at liberty to disbelieve

hardly It

talents,

and temper of the Ameri-

seems certain that

his ability to

produce a revolution

in the

government

at the Capi-

he talked familiarly of expelling the President, and with no more than " the Marine Corps " at Washington, of driving, if need were, the Congress "into the Potomac." That he aban-

tal

;

that

one which he supposed more practicable the separation of the Union and the erection of a Western ConThat finding Ibis, upon more mafederacy beyond the Allegany. ture reflection, somewhat too arduous for his means, he finally

doned

this project, for

sought the gratification of his restless and too prurient desire of fame, in a scheme to invade Mexico and make himself master of those fair domains.

The

ill

will

engendered particularly throughout the Southern

States against Spain,

by her

offensive policy in regard to the navi-

gation of the Mississippi, and her

VOL.

1

— 14*

still

more

offensive proceedings

BURR'S CONSPIRACY.

162

[1807.

afterwards, and the constant expectation of a collision with that

power, furnished a basis for this scheme of Burr's, which gave it a substantial aspect and brought it within the category of things of probable accomplishment. The other schemes were but the madness of the moon

in comparison. most commendable caution and address, with Mr. Jefferson had, difficulty, restrained the exasperated great though not without

of our people from an assault upon the Spanish provinces beyond the Mississippi; an assault which would, at that day, have spirit

—

anticipated the brilliant achievements

an American army it

in the ancient city

would only have been necessary

which have recently placed of Mexico. Then, as now,

for the

government

mission to the thousands and tens of thousands

who

to give per-

find in

war a

pastime and a profit, to have overrun Mexico with the force of a torrent.

"

No

doin,

better proof," says Mr. Jefferson in a letter to

"of the good

faith

Mr. Bow-

of the United States could have been

given, than the vigor with

which we have acted and the expense

incurred in suppressing the enterprise meditated lately by Burr against Mexico.

Although, at

first,

he proposed a separation of

the Western country, and on that ground received encouragement

and aid from Yrujo, according to the usual spirit of his government towards us, yet he very early saw that the fidelity of the Western country was not to be shaken, and turned himself wholly towards Mexico. And so popular is an enterprise on that country in this, that toe had only to lie still, and he icoxdd have had followers enough to have been in the city of JMexico in six weeks?'' In a letter afterwards to

La Fayette, he remarked, "nothing has

ever so strongly proved the innate force of our form of govern-

ment

men

as this conspiracy.

Burr had probably engaged one thousand

to follow his fortunes, without letting

otherwise than by

The moment found himself

them know

his projects,

assuring them the government approved of them.

a proclamation was issued, undeceiving them, he left

with about thirty

desperadoes only.

The

people rose in mass wherever he was, or was suspected to be,

and by their own energy the thing was crushed in one instant, its having been necessary to employ a man of the military,

without

but to take care of their respective stations.

was

to

have been to seize

New

His

first

enterprise

Orleans, which he supposed would

CHAP.

ARREST.

HIS

XIII.]

163

powerfully bridle the upper country, and place him at the door of

Mexico.

It is

with pleasure

I

inform you that not a single native

we

Creole, and but one American, of those settled there before

received the place, took any part with him. the

new emigrants from

His partisans were

the United States and elsewhere, fugitives

from justice or debt, and adventurers and speculators of

all

descriptions."

Burr had been arrested

in

January on the Mississippi, had been

subjected to an examination at Washington, in Mississippi Terin custody to be sent to the capital of the had escaped from this custody, and was soon afterwards arrested near Fort Stoddard on the Tombigbee, making his way to Mobile. Upon this he was conducted to Richmond to

and detained

ritory,

United States.

He

be tried on a charge of high treason. of March. his wife

Wirt was then

in

He

arrived here on

Williamsburg.

A

letter

tlie

on the 20th, alludes to the fact of Burr's expected

" Your

letter

gave

me

the

first

26th

from him to trial.

tidings of the apprehension of

This was news indeed. came here this evening, I understand he arrived in Richmond on Thursday night in the same disguise in which he was apprehended; and, farther, that he has engaged Randolph and Wickham in his defence. I should not be much surprised if he is discharged on a petition to the judge, or let to bail, and make his escape again. If the man is really innocent these persecutions will put the devil in his head, unless he is more than man in magnaBurr and his being sent to Richmond. Since

I

nimity."

The primary

examination of the prisoner Avas made before Chief

Justice Marshall on the 30th and 31st of March.

This was con-

ducted by Ca3sar A. Rodney, the Attorney General of the United {States,

and George Hay, the Attorney for the District of Virginia,

Messrs.

Wickham

and Randolph appearing for Burr.

was, a commitment upon the charge of a misdemeanor

The

foot a military expedition against the dominions of the

Spain,

— the court refusing

to include in the

result

on King of

in setting

commitment the charge

of treason which had been urged by the counsel for the United States.

Colonel Burr was

in

consequence admitted to

nizance to appear in the Circuit Court at

of May.

its

bail

upon a recog-

next term on the 22d

:

PUT UPON

164

HIS TRIAL.

[1807.

case was again taken up at the appointed day, the Chief Colonel Burr Justice and Judge Griffin presiding" in the court. now appeared with two additional counsel, Messrs. Botts and

The

On

Baker.

the

Mr. Rodney having

part of the prosecution,

by Mr. Wirt and Mr. MacRaeA grand jury, consisting of some of the most eminent citizens of Virginia, with John Randolph of Roanoke, as the foreman, withdrawn, Mr.

was sworn on

Hay was

assisted

After several adjournments and

that day.

many

protracted discussions between the counsel, upon the nature of the

evidence to be submitted to them, and on other collateral topics, the grand jury finally, on the 24th of June, brought in indict-

ments, both for treason and misdemeanor, against Aaron Burr and

Herman

were followed, in two days, by John Smith, Comfort

Blennerhasset, which

similar indictments against Jonathan Dayton,

Tyler, Israel Smith and Davis Floyd. Colonel Burr, on the same day that these presented, pleaded not guilty, and the

indictments

last

trial

were

was postponed

until

of the

trial,

the 3d of August.

Without saying more,

at present, as to the incidents

any reference to the facts brought into

or making

points of law discussed,

it

proof, or the

will be sufficient to note that a

borate and profound opinion was

delivered

most

by the Chief

ela-

Justice,

which excluded from the case, as it was affirmed, a large amount of testimony which might have shown Burr's intentions, and thus, on the

1st of

for treason.

Burr

is

September, put an end to the trial on the indictment The verdict was " We of the jury say that Aaron :

not proved to be guilty under this indictment,

dence submitted

The

to us.

We

by any

evi-

therefore find him not guilty."

indictment for the misdemeanor, met the same

fate.

The

opinion of the court, in that case, excluded the testimony relied on, and the jury again found a verdict of not guilty.

Upon answer

the traverser

this,

in

was committed and held

to bail, to

Ohio, on the charge of setting on foot and providing

the means for

a

military expedition

against

the

territories of

Spain. In a letter of Colonel Burrs, to his daugliter, dated

23, 1807,

"After

we

find the following notice

all, this is

opinion on Tuesday.

a

drawn

battle.

October

of the event

The Chief

Justice gave his

After declaring that there were no grounds

CHAP.

REFLECTIONS UPON

HIS

XIII.]

165

IT.

of suspicion, as to the treason, he directed that Burr and Blennerhasset should give bail in three thousand dollars, for further trial opinion was a matter of regret and surprise to the

The

in Ohio.

—

all friends of the Chief Justice, and of ridicule to his enemies, conciliate Jack of principle to sacrifice a that it was believing

Hay

Mr.

Cade.

government to

immediately said that he should advise the

desist

no doubt."

actually so advised, there is

The conduct

of Burr, throughout the

this insinuation against the firmness

There

Marshall.

before

it,

is

That he has

from further prosecution.

was

trial,

in

keeping with

and integrity of Chief Justice

apparent, in his demeanor, during the

trial

and

an affectation of innocence, which, under the circum-

and which very

stances, almost partakes of insolent defiance, nificantly accords with the bold

He

whole scheme.

seems

to

sig-

and confident character of his

have regarded

his enterprise almost

as an act of beneficence to the country, and the attempt to arrest it

somewhat

as

have read

to

light of insult

in the

very

daughter, during the pendency of the

marked

Was

that such

things

happen

trial,

in all

Greece or Rome, a man of

there in

and supposed

to possess great lalents,

vindictive and unrelenting persecution

And

and persecution.

" You

purpose," he says, in a letter to his

little

"

if

you have not

re-

democratic governments. virtue and independence,

who was

not the object of

.''"

again,

want an independent and discerning witness to my conduct, and to that of the government. The scenes which have passed, and those about to be transacted, will exceed all reasonable credi"

I

bility,

and will hereafter be deemed fables, unless attested by very *

high authority."

These are curious revelations of feeling in contrast with the upon the trial. Judge Marshall, whose opinions

—

facts divulged in this case

were, like

all

the other exhibitions of his judicial

character, fraught with the calm and impartial spirit of justice itself,

and distinguished for their legal shrewdness and depth,

— did

not escape some animadversions from the side of the government, as well as this of the prisoner; but the country has not failed to

render

full

honor to the purity as well as the wisdom of the

mind which guided the

issues of this celebrated

trial.

— INCIDENTS OF THE TRIAL.

166

We

come now

some of the leading

to present

case, so far as Wirt's participation in

doing this

make

shall

I

means designing

[1807.

it

features of the

may be of

to fatigue the reader

In

interest.

a few extracts from his speeches,

by no

with a detail either of the

law of the case, which, indeed, may only be properly But as Wirt obunderstood by a reference to the trial itself facts or the

by

tained

of popularity,

his labors in this trial a large increase

both at the bar and with the country,

it

be considered as

will not

inappropriate to the subject before us, to cull from the report of it

may be

such passages or incidents as

characteristic of the coun-

whose name has become so favorably connected with it. The trial was remarkable for the asperity with which

sel

conducted on both the court

Almost

sides.

was obliged

to

in the first stage

comment upon

of

its

was

it

progress

the temper displayed by

counsel.

An

was made by Col. Burr

application

for a subpoena to the

President of the United States, with a clause requiring him to

produce a

which he had received from Gen. Wilkinson,

letter

dated 21 October, 1806; and also to produce copies of certain orders which had been issued by the government relative to the arrest.

This application was resisted on one ground, amongst others, that the relevancy or materiality of the papers referred to

—the

atfidavit in the

be material "

to the defence.

shown,

Mr. Wirt deny

that he

is

as

A

may be

amenable

*

*

issued to

shall

summon

—" We

do not

the President, and

*

process as any other citizen.

to that I

not

may

long debate ensued.

said in the course of this debate

that a subpcena

was

case being " that the said letter

show

that the subpcena duces tecum

not a process of right, but that the application

is

is

addressed to the

discretion of the court

" Mr. Wickham.

—

— This

is

admitted.

"Mr. Wirt. I thank you for the admission. You have relieved me from the unnecessary trouble of so much of my argument. The question then is, by what circumstances should that discretion be controlled oner.-*

If so,

on the subject. this

it

Should

?

is

it

be by the mere wish of the

pris-

in vain that the court possesses any discretion

The

prisoner has but to ask and have.

wide and bold doctrine on the ground of expediency.

Consider

Would

CHAP.

AN ARGUMENT.

Xiri.

you summon any private

individual,

167

from the remotest part of

tlie

United States, to produce a paper on the mere wish of tlie prisoner, without defining the paper and sliowing how it bore on his defence?

If

you would, you put the pursuits and the peace of

every individual

in the

United

.States at the

mercy of

the prisoner's

This argument from inconvenience

caprice and resentments.

as-

sumes an attitude of most awful and alarming importance when

you extend it to a case like this before the court. A prisoner has seldom any cordial amity for the government by which he is proThe truth is, he feels himself in a state of secuted for a crime.

war with that government, and the more desperate his case the more ardent will be his spirit of revenge. Would you expose the offices

who,

of state to be ravaged at the mere pleasure of a prisoner,

he

if

anxiously than

dragging

'

he must

that

feels

fall,

to grace his fall

down with him

would pant

and make

for nothing

more by

his ruin glorious,'

the bright and splendid edifice of the

Aaron Burr has the right, at his mere wish, to call one paper from the government, he has the same right to call any other; and so, one after another, might divulge every document and secret of state, however delicate our foreign relations might be, and however ruinous the disclosure to the honor government

Sir, if

.!*

and prosperity of the country. " It is much to be wished that a rule could be devised which, while

rights of the prisoner, should also profrom being wantonly and unnecessarily vio-

would protect the

it

tect the public offices lated.

I

think there

who

the prisoner,

is

applies to his case and

have done

such a rule.

calls for a is

By

:

show

requisite for his defence.

hold that he

this, I

It is this

paper, should

is

requiring that

that the

When

entitled to call for

paper

he shall

any paper.

It will then rest with the President of the United States, the offi-

*******

cer appointed by the people to watch over the national safety, to say whether that safety will be endangered by divulging the paper.

" Again,

sir.

I

have never seen or heard of an instance of

this

process being required to bring forward any paper, but where such a paper was

nature evidence, for which either party had an

in its

equal right to

call,

that, in this case

and

and

to use

it

But

when produced.

in the present state of things,

use the letter of General Wilkinson as evidence

;

it is

we

obvious

could not

although the op-

;

AN ARGUMENT.

168

posite party should obtain

liis

is

Yet

into the cause.

no reciprocity

and therefore

1

after

is

am no more

paper,

not, at present, evidence

not Avithin the principle on

is

this

:

The paper

it.

One more remark on

awarded. it.

in

subpoena duces tecum for

have made it evidence, and introduced hence there it comes we cannot use it

and would seem thereby to it

[1807.

this letter,

which and

this

process

is

have done with

I

an advocate for the needless multiplication of

state secrets, than the

gentleman

who

has preceded me.

looks

It

monarchy with all its mysteries, as 1 do the mysterious movements of those who are lovers of monarchy. Yet it is obvious, that there may be cases in which the very safety of the state may depend on conceal-

much

too

like the mysteries of

monarchy

;

and

ing the views and operations of the government. this

very

letter.

who commands

the general

state of our affairs is

do not know what

I

was and

We

well understood.

wear, even

it

contains

on the Spanish is,

will instance

I ;

but

frontier.

is from That the

it

with Spain, not the most amicable

know

that our affairs in that quarter

most lowering aspect.

at this time, the

hate

1

Suppose

letter should contain a scheme of war, a project of attack,

this

— would

be proper to divulge and proclaim it even to Spain herself? If the letter contains such a thing, I have no doubt that the President it

ought to and

w^ill

conceal at least so

much of

it.

This, however,

*******

will be a question with him, when and a question which he alone is competent to decide.

the paper shall be called for

"I cannot take my liave thought liave

necessary to

it

been willing

to

without expressing my deep and which the gentlemen in the defence adopt. As to Mr. Martin, I should

seat, sir,

sincere sorrow at the policy

impute

this fervid

language to the sympathies

and resentments of that friendship which he has taken such

fre-

quent occasions to express for the prisoner, his honorable friend. In the cause of friendship I can pardon zeal even up to the point

of intemperance to

Richmond,

;

but the truth

this policy

was

is, sir,

dentally brought before the court, against

the

whether

new and favor

.^

administration.

this policy until

I

we were

appeal

Mr. Martin came

and on every question

to

that policy

inci-

stunned with invectives

your recollection,

was not manifested even so early

now unheard

Whether

that before

settled;

sir,

as in those

of challenges to the grand jury for

was not followed up with increased

CHAP.

PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION.

Xiri.]

the very

spirit, in

169

speeches which were made

first

in this case

those of Mr. Botts and Mr.

pending the attorney's

Wickhani on their previous question motion to commit ? Whether they have not

seized with avidity every subsequent occasion, and on every

mere

question of abstract law before the court, flew off at a tangent

from the subject,

ment ?

to launch into declamations against the

govern-

Exhibiting the prisoner continually as a persecuted patriot:

a Russell or a Sidney, bleeding under the scourge of a despot, and

dying for virtue's sake!

how

against him,

If there

be any truth

charges

in the

were the purposes of his soul from Sidney! I beg to know what gentlemen

ditferent

those of a Russell or a

can intend, expect, or hope, from these perpetual philippics against the government

Do

}

political prejudices

they

which

flatter

themselves that this court feel

will supply the place of

innocence on the part of the prisoner

argument and

Their conduct amounts

}

On

to

an insinuation of the

sort.

trary, I feel the firm

and pleasing assurance, that as to the court,

the

beam of

itself

their

But

I

do not believe

it.

the con-

judgment will remain steady, although the earth

Or

should shake under the concussion of prejudice.

on the bystanders impression

that the

And do

?

they use the court merely as a canal, through

which they may pour upon the world against the government?

Do

their

resentment and diminish thereby their

Let them prove

undeserved invectives

they wish to divide the popular

gentlemen arraign the administration, their client.

is it

gentlemen expect to make a favorable

his

let

own

quota.?

Before the

them clear the

innocence

;

let

skirts of

them prove

that

he has not covered himself with the clouds of mystery and just let them prove that he has been all along erect and fair, open day, and that these charges against him are totally ground-

suspicion in

less

and

;

false.

That

will be the

most eloquent invective which

they can pronounce against the prosecution; but until they prove this

innocence,

minds

it

shall be in vain that they attempt to divert

to other objects,

eyes on Aaron Burr

and other

inquiries.

We

will

our

keep our

he satisfies our utmost scruple. I beg to which gentlemen pursue is not disrespectful to the court itself? Suppose there are any foreigners here accustomed to regular government in their own country, what can

know,

until

the course

sir, if

they infer from hearing the federal administration thus reviled to the federal judiciary

VOL.

1

— 15

?

Hearing the judiciary

told, that the

admin-

no

PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION. are

istration

savage

him

blood

who

citizen,

ceived with

that they

;

and have him

into their toils

tliis man now suppose

hounds^ hunting

blood

'

thirst for

with a keen and they have hunted

no man, foreigner or

Sir,

safe.'

[1807.

hears this language addressed to the court, and rethe comj)lacency at least which silence can imply,

all

can make any

inferences from

very honorable to the court.

it

would only be inferred, while they are thus sulfered

they

riate in these gross invectives against the administration, that

are furnishing the joys of a

Mahometan paradise

as well as to their client.

hope

I

to

It

luxu-

to

the court

own

that the court, for their

sakes, will compel a decent respect to that government of which

On

they themselves form a branch.

him go let

If the

of this case.

trial

but while

;

we

man be

our part,

we

wish only a

fair

name of God

innocent, in the

let

are on the question of his guilt or innocence,

us not suffer our attention and judgment to be diverted and

by the introduction of other subjects foreign to the

distracted inquiry."

" Mr. WicKiiAM appealed Burr had been the

first

#

#

that Colonel

Burr

is

said, that the acquittal I

am

may

*

#

# is

probable cause

to

Mr. Wirt has

be material.

of Colonel Burr will be a satire on the

made

sorry that the gentleman has

fession, that the ciiaracter of the

of Colonel Burr.

.

obliged to show,

believe that Wilkinson's letter

government.

wished the gen-

own wise maxims.

tleman to follow his # #

" All

to the court if the counsel for Colonel

to begin the attack, and

If I believed

this con-

government depends on the

him

to

be correct,

I

guilt

could easily

explain, from that circumstance, the anxiety manifested to convict

him, and the prejudices which have been excited

But

I will not believe that this is the case,

tleman that

we

think Burr

may be

and will

know

return

is

to

be issued, and

if

state secrets to prevent the production of the letter,

the President should allege

cannot

the gen-

acquitted, and yet the govern-

ment have pure intentions. " The writ of suhpccna duces tecum ought there be any

against him. tell

it

in

his return

that any such secrets

exist.

;

for, at present,

The

court,

when

before them, can judge of the cause assigned.

we his

But

I

CHAP,

ASPERITIES OF COUNSEL.

xirr.]

171

******

have too good an opinion of the President to think he would withhold the

"

We

cessary.

letter.

contend

liiat

no affidavit on the part of Colonel Burr is neaffidavit, already published, together with

Wilkinson's

the President's communication to Congress, prove that the letter must be material. It may show, that the treasonable

in question

transactions attributed to

never existed

state,

men

;

Colonel Burr, within the limits of this

for as to Blannerhasset's island, the gentle-

in the prosecution /cnoio, there

was no such thing

as a mili-

tary force on that island.

["

Here Mr.

indelicate and

improper to

which they knew

a cause

truth of

tlie

it was extremely supporting voluntarily of them accuse

Hay interrupted to

be

him, and said, that

unjust.

He

solemnly denied the

charge against him, and the gentlemen

who

assisted

him, and declared that they could prove the actual existence of an

armed assemblage of men on Blannerhasset's

command of Aaron Burr.] " Mr. Wickham acknowledged

under the

island,

had gone too far in the have uttered what he had

that he

expression he had used, and ought not to

said concerning the counsel for the United States, and declared that he

meant nothing personal against them."

Mr. Wickham's speech, the Chief " that although many observations, in the course of the several discussions which had taken place, had

Upon

Justice

the conclusion of

remarked,

been made by the gentlemen of the bar, in the heat of debate, of which the court did not approve, yet the court had hitherto avoided interfering

;

but, as a pointed appeal

had been made to

them on this day, (alluding to the speech of Mr. Wirt,) and they had been called upon to support their own dignity, by preventing the government from being abused, the court thought

proper to

it

declare that the gentlemen on both sides had acted improperly in the style and spirit of their remarks; that they had been to blame in

endeavoring to excite the prejudices of the people

;

and had

repeatedly accused each other of doing what they forget they

have done themselves. that the counsel for the

The

court therefore expressed a wish

United States and for Colonel Burr, would

confine themselves on every occasion to the point really before the

court

;

that their

own good

sense and regard for their characters

:

HAY AND MR. MARTIN.

MR.

172

[1807.

and it was hoped that they would not hereafter deviate from it." Mr. Hay, referring to the orders of the Government for the suppression of Burr's expedition, which were called for, in conrequired them to follow such a course

;

nection with the letter of General Wilkinson, remarked

:

" They next contend that the orders are material, because they

were

illegal, arbitrary, unconstitutional,

were merely

Burr's acts

acts of self-defence against tyranny and

were

usurpation, and of course,

"

Many

justifiable.

strange positions have been laid down, but this

Mr. Martin

strous.

oppressive and unjust; that

me

excuse

will

for saying, that

These

sounder doctrine from his age and experience.

were

not learnt

by him

principles

Maryland, nor are they the doctrines of

in

Considering that he has come

this place.

mon-

is

expected

I

all

way from Mary-

the

land to enlighten us of the Virginia bar by his great talents and erudition, I hoped he would not have advanced a doctrine which would have been abhorred even in the most turbulent period of the French revolution, by the Jacobins of 1794."

From Luther Martin's argument, we extract Hay " The gentleman has told us," he said, " that

a portion of his

reply to Mr.

be paid to the so once.

I

officers

of government.

respect ought to

granted.

is

thought

I

thought that the officers of government ought to be

however much

treated with high respect,

be the subject of criticism that

It

principle.

;

and

have changed

If I

my

gentleman himself, and the party he formerly thought differently.

conduct ought to

their

invariably acted according to

I

opinion,

I

owe

it

to the

They

connected with.

is

That gentleman and

his friends so

loudly and incessantly clamored against the officers of govern-

ment, that they contributed to effect a change tion,

office

and are now, ;

in

consequence, basking

in the administra-

in

the sunshine of

and therefore they wish to inculcate and receive

that

respect which they formerly denied to others in the same situa-

We

tion.

and

right to oppose them. sive,

it

was

;

because,

If they

right to resist

them

are not trying the President. are trying

War we had a

have a right to inspect the orders issued from the

Navy Departments

if

we had

a right to

if

were :

they were

unconstitutional and oppres-

but this

God

illegal,

is

forbid,

resist.

If

denied, because

we

should.

But

we we

every order, however

CHAP.

LUTHER MARTIN.

XIII.]

arbitrary and unjust,

is

to be obeyed,

Turkey.

inhabitants of

supreme law, and the

we

173

are slaves as

liberty);

and

for

once so famed

progress and advancement towards

its

we must submit to them, however unjust and unwe are as subject to despotism, as the people of

if

constitutional,

Turkey, the subjects of the " Grand

Monarque''' of old

France, or those of the despot Bonaparte at this day.

were

where would be our boasted freedom

true,

as the

be the

of the government have but to

otficers

register them, as formerly in France, (the country

by these gentlemen

mucb

If the presidential edicts are to

in

If this

where, the su-

.''

perior advantages of our government, or the beneficial effects of

our revolutionary struggles

how

far

resistance

known and

will take the liberty of explaining

I

.''

The

justifiable.

is

well defined powers

The

and so has a constable.

President has certain

common magistrate, may exceed his legal au-

so has a

;

President

thority, as well as a magistrate or a constable.

issue a warrant

and direct

the peril of the person resisting. is

excused

but

:

if it

be

he

legal,

warrant be

If the is

On

not.

resistance to the orders of the President unconstitutional and illegal.

If a magistrate

to a constable, resistance to

it

is

the

same

excusable,

it is

illegal,

at

he

principle, if

they be

Resistance to an act of oppression,

******

unauthorised by law, can never be criminal

;

and

this is all

we

contend for."

" The gentleman expressed his surprise that such doctrines should come from me, who come from Maryland to instruct and enlighten the Virginia bar. I

come

to unite

defence of

my

my

come

I

friend,

whom

I

the heavy charges against him I

were

ever,

I

to attempt

it,

my

believe to be perfectly innocent of :

but their conduct evinces, that if

it

would be in vain. If, howwould be, not to accuse us of

a little of the

milk of human nature with

instructions

did venture to advise him,

evil intentions

;

to

not to instruct or enlighten.

feeble efforts with those of other gentlemen in

mix

make

his disposition and

arguments

to his professions,

and not to be perpetually imputing

;

to

his

conduct conformable guilt to us.

But the gentleman needs no advice."

The

opinion of Chief Justice Marshall upon the questions sub-

mitted in this debate, thus disposes of the principal point under discussion,

VOL.

1—15*

COURT'S OPINION.

174

" The second objection

[1807.

which

that the letter contains matter

is,

ought not to be disclosed.

" That there may be matter, the production of which the court

would not

require,

accused ought,

some form,

in

but that, in a capital case, the

certain;

is

have the benefit of

to

were

it, if it

really essential to his defence, is a position which the court would very reluctantly deny. It ought not to be believed, that the de-

partment, which superintends prosecutions to withhold

be inclined

What

it.

it is

try.

At present

at this time.

There

coun-

this

does not

certainly nothing before the court

is

may appear

contain such matter, the fact

such matter,

it is

if it

cable to the point, will,

it

does

it

is

would be impru-

not the wish of the executive to dis-

be not immediately and essentially appliof course, be suppressed. It is not easy

much of

to conceive, that so

If

safety.

before the disclosure

does contain any matter, which

it

dent to disclose, w^hich ;

of

discussion

said, that the question

need only be

it

which w^ould endanger the public

disclosure of

close

tlie

that the letter in question contains any matter the

which shows

If

question,

hoped, will never be rendered necessary in

occur

made.

criminal cases, w^ould

ought to be done, under such

circumstances, presents a delicate Avhich,

in

the letter as relates to the conduct

of the accused can be a subject of delicacy with the President.

Every

thing of this kind, however, will have

due considera-

its

tion, on the return of the subpoena."

Much

trate, it

has been

which

as the

is

law

*

*

#

*

*

"

*

#

said about the disrespect to the chief magis-

implied by this motion, and by such a decision of is

believ^ed to require.

" These observations

will be

ration, that this court feels

very truly answered by the decla-

many, perhaps, peculiar motives,

for

manifesting as guarded a respect for the chief magistrate of the

Union as

is

compatible with

its

official

duties.

To

these would exhibit a conduct, which would deserve

go beyond some other

appellation than the term respect.

"

It

is

not for the court to anticipate the event of the present

prosecution.

Should

the United States,

all

it

terminate as

those,

who

tainly regret, that a paper, wiiich the sential to his defence,

which may,

is

expected on the part of

are concerned in

it,

should cer-

accused believed

for aught that

now

to

be

es-

appears, be

CHAP.

THE RIGHT TO PUBLIC PAPERS.

XIII.]

essential,

had been withheld from him.

I

175

will not say that this

circumstance would, in any degree, tarnish the reputation of the

government

but

;

it would justly tarnish the repuwhich had given its sanction to its being with-

will say, that

I

tation of the court,

Might

held.

to myself,

it

be permitted

I

would be

which should compel me conduct with so clare,

much

to utter

one sentiment, with respect

most earnestly, the occasion look back on any part of my ofllcial

to deplore, to

self-reproach as

on the information

now

should

I

feel,

could

possessed, that the accused

entitled to the letter in question, if

I

de-

is

not

should be really important to

it

him.

" The propriety of requiring the answer to questionable.

It

is

alleged, that

this letter is

more

most probably communicates

it

orders showing the situation of this country with Spain, which will be important

on the misdemeanor.

executive,

If

contain matter not

it

and the disclosure be unpleasant to the

essential to the defence,

certainly ought not to be disclosed.

it

which will appear on the

This

The demand

return.

is

a point

of the orders,

which have been

issued, and which have been, as is alleged, pubNatchez Gazette, is by no means unusual. Such documents have often been produced in the courts of the United

lished

in the

States and the courts of England.

If they contain matter

inte-

public safety, that matter will

which is required by the appear upon the return. If they

do

may be

resting to the nation, the concealment of

not,

and are material, they

This decision seems, with

some

exhibited."

qualification, to

conform with

the views of Mr. Jefferson, as expressed upon this proceeding in his letter to

Mr. Hay,

in

which, after proffering his readiness to

supply the letter in question, and

"With

respect to papers there

private side to our offices. patents for

To

other matters alleged to be

all

necessary to the defence, he remarks

:

is

certainly a public

inventions, certain commissions,

other papers patent in their nature.

executive proceedings.

and a

the former belong grants of land,

To

proclamations, and

the other belong

All nations have found

for the advantageous conduct of their affairs,

ceedings at least, should remain

known

it

mere

necessary, that,

some of these pro-

to their executive func-

He, of course, from the nature of the case, must be the sole judge of which of them the public interests will

tionary only.

MR. JEFFERSON'S OPINION.

176

[1807.

Hence, under our Constitution,

permit publication.

in requests

of

papers from the Legislative to the Executive branch, an exception is carefully expressed, as to those which he may deem the public welfare

may

as you will see in the House of Representatives which pro-

require not to be disclosed

enclosed resolution of the

;

duced the Message of January 22d, respecting this case. The respect naturally due between the constituted authorities, in their official intercourse, as well as sincere dispositions to do for every one what

is

just, will

always ensure from the Executive,

in

exer-

cising the duty of discrimination confided to him, the same candor

and integrity to which the nation has, disposal of

its

in like

manner, trusted

in the

judiciary authorities."

This brief summary of a discussion, a topic upon which

much doubt has

in the

year 1807, presents

often been expressed in the

Congress of the United States, and has sometimes been debated with no

little

acrimony

— the extent of the

right and the duty of

the President, to withhold information demanded

of Congress. given

The

in this notice

by

either house

decision of the court, of which an extract

of the

trial,

is

and Mr. Jefferson's strictures upon

the relative duties of the Legislature and the Executive, seem to

present the question in a point of view which should lead to a just and definitive limitation of the boundaries

properly circumscribed.

by which each

is

CHAPTER

XIV.

1807.

THE PRINCIPAL ARGUMENT IN THE CASENOTICES OP WIRT'S SHARE IN IT.— MR. MERCER'S TESTIMONY.— HIS DESCRIPTION OF BLANNERH.\SSET'S RESIDENCE OTHER INCIDENTS OF THE

BURR'S TRIAL CONTINUED

TRIAL.

The

trial

proceeded through

its

preliminary stages, in which

was presented and con-

every question, capable of being raised,

tested with scrupulous pertinacity and with abundance of acri-

At length the two indictments were found;

mony.

treason, the second, for the misdemeanor.

was

first

The

—

the

first,

for

case of treason

taken up; the plea of not guilty made, and, after

many

who had been summoned

on the

challenges and rejections of those petit jury, a panel

was

obtained.

New

points, as to the order of

examining the witnesses, were mooted and argued with the same asperity as before.

on the part of the prosecution.

at

every step,

Much testimony was delivered The charge of treason was sup-

posed, by the counsel for the government, to be sustained by the

This evidence proved that numbers of persons, amounttliirty or more, had assembled in warlike array, on

evidence. ing to

some

Blannerhasset's island in the

ber 1806, with a purpose, as river, and,

Ohio river, near Marietta, in Decemit was affirmed, to proceed down the

with the assistance of others, to seize the city of

New

Orleans, under the pretence of the ultimate invasion of Mexico. It

was not proved, however, men on the island

that Colonel

Burr was present with

these

Upon

this testimony, the

counsel for the prisoner asked the in-

terposition of the court, to arrest the further examination of wit-

nesses, on the following ground, as stated

" The counsel

by Mr. Wickham.

for the prosecution having gone through their

evidence relating directly to the overt act charged in the indictment, and being about to introduce collateral testimony of acts

done beyond the

limits of the jurisdiction

of this court, and,

it

not

BURR'S TRIAL CONTINUED.

178

[1307.

only appearing from the proofs, but being distinctly admitted, that the accused, at the period against the United States,

scene of action,

when war was said to have been levied was hundreds of miles distant from the

becomes the duty of

it

his counsel to object to the

introduction of any such testimony as wholly irrelevant and inad-

Upon

missible."

motion of the prisoner's counsel arose the

this

great and decisive argument in the case.

by

discussion chiefly turned on the proposition suggested

The

Mr. Wickham, in levying war,

— " That

no person can be convicted of treason was not personally present at the commission

who

of the act charged

the indictment as constituting the offence.'''

in

There were other questions of less significance in the case, which were also argued with great amplitude and labor. " Whether there can be treason in levying war without the employment of " Whether one who would be only an accessory in a force." felony, is to be considered as a principal in treason by levying

"And

^var."

whether the real principal ought not These points and others were debated.

be convicted." I

have already intimated that

even an outline of

much of

Mr. Wirt's

indications of

duty

it

imposed upon him.

make some

continue to

now

case

this

presented.

that

my

may

efforts

is

it

not

my

purpose

by

to

design to furnish

is

to submit only so

give him some characteristic

towards the performance of the

In the pursuit of this purpose,

I

shall

extracts from his argument upon the points

This discussion was conducted with

ration and study

a nature

;

to the reader, as

it

first

if so,

all

to determine the issue of the prosecution,

it

prepa-

full

the counsel in the case, and as

was of

it

attracted a

proportionate degree of interest from the public.

The

extracts from

Mr. Wirt's speech which follow,"are made

sparsim and without reference to a continuous or connected view of his topics: they are offered as specimens of manner, and trations of

modes of thought, and with no view

illus-

to an exhibition

of the general force of the argument, which, indeed, could not be abbreviated without doing injustice to the speaker.

"

It is

my

duty," said Mr. Wirt, in the

speech, " to proceed on the part of ths United States, this motion.

But

I

should not

were founded on correct

deem

principles.

,

commencement of in

his

opposing

it

my

I

stand here with the same

duty to oppose

it,

if it

independence of action, which belongs to the Attorney of the

WIRT'S SPEECH.

CHAP. XIV.]

179

United States; and as he would certainly relinquish the prosecumoment he became convinced of its injustice, so also most

tion the

certainly

would

The humanity and

I.

stood protected by the laws

would not plant

my be

But believing,

in justice, that

turn

it

is

it

a

as

I

life,

but whether they would or not,

;

my

a thorn, to rankle for life in

support of a prosecution which

lips in

unjust.

would which

justice of this nation

revolt at the idea of a prosecution, pushed on against a

heart,

I felt

and believed to

do, that this motion

mere manoeuvre

I

by opening

is

not founded

to obstruct the inquiry, to

from the proper course, to wrest the

of the facts from

trial

the proper tribunal, the jury, and embarrass the court with a responsibility

which

it

ought not to

hold

feel, I

it

my

duty to pro-

ceed for the sake of the court, for the sake of vindicating the trial by jury, now sought to be violated, for the sake of full and ample the sake of the future peace,

justice in this particular case, for

union and independence of these states,

proceed

to

in

;

doing which,

I

beg

I

feel

my

it

bounden duty

prisoner and his

the

that

my

counsel will recollect the extreme difficulty of clothing

ment

terms which may be congenial with

in

me

gentlemen appear to

to feel

their feelings.

argu-

The

a very extraordinary and unrea-

They seem

sonable degree of sensibility on this occasion. forget the nature of the charge, and that

we

to

are the prosecutors.

We

do not stand here to pronounce a panegyric on the prisoner, but to urge on him the crime of treason against his country. When we speak of treason, we must call it treason. When

we we

speak of a

we must

traitor,

call

him a

When

traitor.

speak of a plot to dismember the Union, to undermine the portion of the people of this country, and

liberties of a great

subject

them

to a usurper

and a despot,

terms which convey those ideas. sensitive

Why

.''

we

Why

are obliged to use the

then are gentlemen so

on these occasions, so necessary, so unavoidable,

do they shrink back with so much agony of nerve, as of a hall of justice,

we were

in

a drawing-room

if

instead

with Colonel

Burr, and were barbarously violating towards him every principle

of decorum and humanity

" Mr.

Wickham

abstractedly

considered

danger

in

;

it.-*

;

and

.''

has indeed invited us to consider the subject

we have been

but, sir, if this

Would

told, that

were

it

is

practicable,

expected to be so

would there be no

there be no danger, while

we were

mooting

WIRT'S SPEECH.

180

[1807.

points, pursuing ingenious hypothesis, chasing elementary princi-

ples

over the wide extended plains and Alpine heights of ab-

stracted law, that

the court

prisoner

but

;

we

should lose sight of the great question before

This may

?

it

purposes of the counsel for the

suit the

does not therefore necessarily

of truth and justice.

It

will be proper,

we

a principle from law or argument, that

case before the court, in order to

test its

the purposes

suit

when we have derived should bring

case, and must speak of

it

this

totally

abstracted argument

completely impossible, for one of their positions

no overt act proven

Now

at all.

Justice Vaughan's epithet of a

then of this overt act,

we

that there

is,

'

fair

In speaking

are compelled to inquire, not merely it,

in

doing

must examine and develop the whole project of the

prisoner.

tlie

has a

it

decantatum.^

into the fact of the assemblage, but the intention of

we

is

that an overt act consists of fact

and intention, has been so often repeated here, that

this point

prac-

we are driven into the nature of the as we find it. But besides, the gentle-

men have themselves rendered

w^hich,

to the

its

In doing which,

tical truth.

title to

it

application and

It is

obvious, therefore, that an abstract examination of

cannot be made

and since the gentlemen drive us into

;

examination, they cannot complain,

of lights or deepening of shades,

we

if

without any softening

exhibit the picture in

its

true and natural state.

" This motion of defence.

It

is

a bold and original stroke in the noble science

marks the genius and hand of a master.

to the prisoner every possible advantage, while full benefit

of his legal defence

be able to make to the jury, before them.

which goes

It

if

it

For

it

gives

gives him the

which he would were all introduced

the sole defence

:

the evidence

cuts off from the prosecution

to connect the prisoner

island, to explain the destination

all

that evidence

with the assemblage on the

and objects of the assemblage,

and to stamp, beyond controversy, the character of treason upon it.

to

Connect

compel us

from their

this

motion with that which was made the other day

to begin with the

zeal,

proof of the overt

act, in

which,

gentlemen were equally sanguine, and observe

what would have been the

eftect

of success

in

both motions.

We

should have been reduced to the single fact, the individual fact, of the assemblage on the island, without any of the evidence which

explains the intention and object of that assemblage.

Thus gen-

WIRT'S SPEECH.

CHAP. XIV.]

tlemen would have cut off plot almost to first

its

all

conception, which

motion which quickened

until

it

the evidence,

it

at all

the atom

we

which

shall

have,

we

tlie

Thus of

progress

its

throw the whole

the icorld of evi-

should have been reduced to the speck,

relates to Blannerhasset's island.

^

^

proceed

now

%

tF

to

^

^

tP

examine the merits of the motion

and to answer the argument of the gentleman (Mr. Wick-

itself

ham) who opened I

llie

events describes

attained such strength and maturity as to

dence which

If

which carries up

and follows

into life,

western country into consternation.

"I

181

occasion. exist.

I

not be

will

it

example which he has

the

follow

I

will not

gentleman with candor.

will treat that

I

it.

misrepresent him,

intentionally.

me

set

I

will not

on a very recent

complain of flowers and graces where none

argument as naked as a

will not, like him, in reply to an

sleeping Venus, but certainly not half so beautiful, complain of

the painful necessity

of logical vigor, of before

I

I

am

under, in the weakness and decrepitude

and then that furbelow, I keep no

lifting first this flounce

can reach the wished for point of attack.

flounces or furbelows ready manufactured and

the millinery of

my

fancy, and

did,

if I

so indiscreetly impatient to get rid of off on

improper occasions.

I

I

my

hung up

think

I

for use in

should not be

wares, as to put them

cannot promise to interest you by

any classical and elegant allusions Shandy.

I

to the

pure pages of Tristram

cannot give you a squib or a rocket in every period.

For my own

have always thought these flashes of wit (if they deserve that name), I have always thought these meteors of the brain which spring up with such exuberant abundance in part,

I

the speeches of that gentleman,

which play on each

path of reason or, sporting across

side of the

with fantastic motion, decoy

it

the mind from the true point in debate, no better evidence of the

soundness of the argument with which they are connected, nor, give

me

leave to add, the vigor of the brain from which they

spring, than those vapors

which

start

from our marshes and blaze

with a momentary combustion, and which floating on the undulations of the

atmosphere, beguile the traveller into bogs

and

brambles, are evidences of the firmness and solidity of the earth

from which they proceed. man's propositions VOL.

1—16

I

will

in their full force

endeavor to meet the gentleand to answer them

fairly.

I

WIRT'S SPEECH.

182

will not, as

I

am advancing towards them, with my

measure the height, breadth and find

it

quarter

beyond it;

my

if still

strength, halve

power of

this process I one of these sections and toss

strength and superiority.

absurd conclusion,

it

If I find

a fair course of reasoning,

to

it

beyond

my

into eighths

;

and when

the proper standard, take

with an air of elephantine

any one of his propositions

clusion, as the proposition itself

I

strength,

myself capable of conducting,

by which

will not begin

I

it

mind's eye,

the proposition; if

if still

it;

necessary, subdivide

have reduced

by

by

[1807.

stating that 1

am

to an

absurd con-

going to encounter.

gentleman's authorities, thank I will not, in commenting on the the gentleman with sarcastic politeness, for introducing them, declare that they conclude directly against him, read just so much of the authority as serves the purpose of that declaration, omitting

which contains the true point of the case which makes against me ; nor, if forced by a direct call to read that part also, will I content myself by running over it as rapidly and inarticulately and exclaim, as I can, throw down the book with a theatrical air, I know 'just as I said,' wdien I know it is just as I had not said.

that

that

by adopting these

man's expense

;

but

I

arts,

I

might raise a laugh

should be very

little

at the gentle-

pleased with myself,

if

by such means. I 1 were capable of enjoying a laugh procured always be those will there such arts, adopting by that too, know whole merits the comprehended not have who us, around standin"of the legal discussion, with whom I might shake the character of I hope I shall the o-entleman's science and judgment as a lawyer. never be capable of such a wish, and I had hoped that the gentleman himself felt so strongly that proud, that high, aspiring and ennoblin"- magnanimity,

fleeting

I had been told conscious talents he would have disdained a poor and

which

rarely fail to inspire, that

triumph gained by means like these.

"I proceed now

to

answer the several points of

his

argument,

so far as they could be collected from the general course of his speech. I say so far as they could be collected ; for the gentleman, although requested before he began, refused to reduce his motion to writing. It suited better his partizan style of warfare

be perfectly at large; to change his ground as often as he pleased on the plains of Monmouth to-day, at the Eutaw Springs to-morrow. lie will not censure me therefore, if I have not been

to

;

WIRT'S SPEECH.

CHAP. XIV.]

correct in gathering

or

hours

five

liis

points from a desultory discourse of four

lengtli, as

was my

it

nor interest,

trust therefore that I

I

intention to be so; for

I

can neither see pleasure

misrepresenting any gentleman

in

court and the gentleman, I

would not have been wonderful if I have been cor-

it

had misunderstood him. rect;

183

if

he

will

;

vouchsafe

and

it,

now beg the me right if

I

to set

have misconceived him.

"I understood him, then

sir, to resist

the introduction of farther

evidence under this indictment, by making four propositions

"

Because Aaron Burr not being on the island

1.

at the time

of

the assemblage, cannot be a principal in the treason according to

the constitutional definition or the laws of England.

" 2. Because the indictment must be proved as indictment charges the prisoner with levying

laid

;

and as the

war with an assem-

blage on the island, no evidence to charge him with that act by relation

is

relevant to this indictment.

"3. Because

if

he be a principal

principal in the second degree

which

is

;

in the treason at all,

and his

guilt

termed derivative, no parol evidence can be

charge him,

we

until

principals in the

first

shall

shew

he

is

a

being of that kind let in to

a record of the conviction of the

degree.

" 4. Because no evidence is relevant to connect the prisoner with others, and thus to make him a traitor by relation, until we shall previously shew an act of treason in these others and the assemblage on the island was not an act of treason. " I beg leave to take up these propositions in succession, and to give them those answers which to my mind are satisfactory. Let us examine the first: It is because Aaron Burr, not being present ;

on the island at the time of the assemblage, cannot be a principal in the treason,

within the constitutional definition or the laws of

England.

"In many of the gentleman^s general popositions, I perfectly as that the Constitution was intended to guard against the calamities to which Montesquieu refers, when he accord with him

:

speaks of the victims of treason; that the Constitution intended to guard

against

arbitrary

principles of sound reason

and constructive treasons;

that

the

and liberty require their exclusion;

and that the Constitution is to be interpreted by the rules of reason and moral right. I fear however, that I shall find it difficult to

WIRT'S SPEECH.

184

[1S07.

accommodate both the gentlemen who have spoken in support of some of the positions of Mr. Randolph to the rules of Mr. Wickham ; for while the one tells us, to interpret the Constitution by sound reason, the other exclaims, ' save us the motion, and to reconcile

common

from the deductions of adopt

A

.''

deed please both the gentlemen

What rule then shall I common sense might in-

sense.'

kind of reason which

not

is

but as that

;

is

a species of reason

*******

of which

I

have no very

will excuse

me

employing

for not

" The inquiry

is,

whether

make a man

sary to

distinct conception, I

a

hope the gentlemen

it.

'presence at the

overt act be neces-

The gentlemen

traitor.''

say, that

it

is

necessary; that he cannot be a principal in the treason, without

What

actual presence.

says the Supreme Court, in the case of

Bollman and Svvartwout?

'

It is

not the intention of the court to

say, that no individual can be guilty of this crime,

appeared

in

arms against

actually levied, that

a

is, if

who

has not

if

war be

body of men be assembled,

for the

his country

;

on the contrary,

purpose of effecting by force a treasonable purpose,

all

those

perform any part, however minute, or however remote from of action, and

who

who

the scene

are actually leagued in the general conspiracy,

are to be considered as traitors.'

*

*

*

" The counsel knew,

*

the counter authority of the if

*

*

that their first point

not expressly admitted

it

* directly

by

They have impliedly,

Supreme Court. ;

was met

hence they have been reduced to the

necessity of taking the bold and difficult ground, that the passage

which

I

have read

extra-judicial, a

is

mere

They

obiter dictum.

have said this, but they have not attempted to sheio it. " Give me leave to shew that they are mistaken ; that

it is

an ohiter dictum

a direct

that

;

it is

*^

not extra-judicial

;

but that

it is

not

adjudication of a point immediately before the court.

^

•71"

" But it

for a

^

TT"

moment

let

be

in

us apply to

it

^ Tt-

gentleman with the inquiry, whether

conformity with the Constitution of the United

States and the laws of England. let

^

-7(i

us relinquish that decision, and putting

aside, let us indulge the

that decision

M, TT

*7r

In interpreting the Constitution

the gentleman's

reason and moral right.

The

own

principles: the rules of

question to be thus determined

is,

WIRT'S SPEECH.

CHAP. XIV.]

whether a man who

is

may

absent

185

not be guilty as

he were

if

actually present. *•'

That

law should be so construed

a

more

advance the remedy

as to

a rule of

common

law, than

and repress the mischief

is

a principle of reason;

applies to penal as well as to remedial

So

laws.

it

not

maxim of

also the

common

the

law, that a law as well

as a covenant should be so construed that

prevail than perish,

Apply these

is

was

to

not to declare that there

But

which required

meant

It

of the crime and provide for j)eople,

its

It

The

that the oflence should

The

presume, was

I

certainly did not

to recognise the existence

punishment.

scribed and limited, required also that

adequately punished.

object,

its

was no such crime.

encourage treason.

to

said,

prevent the people from being harassed by

arbitrary and constructive treason.

mean

Gentlemen have

principles to the Constitution.

that its object

may rather common sense.

object

its

one of the plainest dictates of

it

liberties of the

be defined, circum-

should be certainly and

framers of the Constitution, informed

by the examples of Greece and Rome, and foreseeing that the might one day or other be seized by the

liberties of this republic

daring ambition of some domestic usurper, have given peculiar

importance and solemnity to the crime, by ingrafting

it

upon the

Constitution.

But they have done

this in vain, if the construction

contended

on the other side,

to prevail.

presence

for,

at the

guilt of treason,

avoid

like

a

how

easy will

it

If

it

require actual

from one state

man

in

the

be for the principal traitor to

and escape punishment

this guilt

distant states,

is

scene of the assemblage to involve a

He may

forever.''

He may

to another.

demon of darkness, from one end of

secretly

go into wander

the continent to the

other.

"He may ing.

enter into the confidence of the simple and unsuspect-

He may

pour

before innocent. otier

his poison into the

He may

them advantages, pretend

and beneficial, connect them glory.

He may

his agents.

of action.

who were

his

measures are .honorable

his plot

and attach them to his

that

in

prepare the whole mechanism of the stupendous

and destructive engine and put

by

minds of those

seduce them into a love of his person,

He may

it

in

motion.

Let the

rest

be done

then go a hundred miles from the scene

Let him keep himself only from the scene of the assem-

blage and the immediate spot of battle, and he

VOL.

1

— 16*

is

innocent in law,

WIRT'S SPEECH.

186

whom

Avhile those traitors

Who

!

is

he has deluded are

tlieirs

;

There

.''

and ambitious

artful is

weak,

man who corrupted

no comparison between his guilt and

and yet you secure impunity to him, while they are to

sufier death

moral right

according to the rules of reason }

Is this

!

Is this

.''

a

mean of preventing treason

not in truth a direct invitation to

is it

the death of

to suffer

the most guiUy of this treason, the poor,

deluded instruments or the and misled them

[1807.

nor moral

neither reason

it

Sir,

?

right require

common man, whether

presence at the

actual

Put

overt act to constitute the crime of treason.

Is this

rather,

obvious, that

is

it

Or

.''

case to any

this

the absence of a corrupter should exempt

from punishment for the crime, which he has excited

liim

deluded agents to commit

;

and he will instantly

deserves infinitely more severe

There

instruments.

is

tell

his

you, that he

punishment than his misguided

a moral

sense,

much more

unerring in

questions of this sort, than the frigid deductions of jurists or phi-

and no man of a sound mind and heart can doubt for a moment between the comparative guilt of Aaron Burr (the prime mover of the whole mischief) and of the poor men on Blannerhas-

losophers

;

or the

who called themselves Burr's men. In the case of who is the most guilty, the ignorant deluded perpetrator abominable instigator The decision of the Supreme Court,

su-, is

so far from being impracticable on the ground of reason and

set's island,

murder,

.''

moral right, that

it is

Give

ble dictates.

supported by their most obvious and palpa-

to the Constitution the construction

for on the other side, and

you might as well expunge

from your criminal code; nay, you had better do

it,

contended tlie crime

for

by

this

construction you hold out the lure of impunity to the most danger-

ous

men

in the

community, men of ambition and

talents,

while you

loose the vengeance of the law on the comparatively innocent. If treason ought to be repressed,

I

ask you,

gerous and the most likely to commit

who

it,

who

—

tlie

is

the most dan-

mere instrument

applies the force, or the daring, aspiring, elevated genius

devises the whole plot, but acts behind the scenes

''Permit decision of

England.

me now tlie

to bring

Mr. Wickham

Supreme Court

is

who

.-'

to England.

Sir, the

equally supported by the law of

WIRT'S SPEECH.

CHAP. XIV,

187

to gratify them, let us put Coke aside; what will they say Lord Hale ? Did any angry and savage passions agitate his bosom or darken the horizon of his understanding on criminal

"But

to

O

law?

no

sir,

no spot ever soiled the holy ermine of

mild, patient, benevolent

— halcyon peace

his office;

with a mind

in his breast,

beaming the effulgence of noon-day and with a seraph's sat

on the bench like a descended

down

which

the doctrine for

God

Yet

!

In

1

Hale, 214.

conspire to counterfeit, or counsel, or abet

it,

this statute, for in

"

But

if

many

is

it

treason in

all,

indicted for counterfeiting generally, within

such case *

^

'

and one of them doth

the fact upon that counselling or conspiracy, all

he

soul,

judge has laid

contend, in terms as distinct and

I

emphatic as those of Lord Coke.

and they may be

that

in

treason

tF

all

are principals.'

^

r?F

tP

Judge Tucker has very elaborately discussed this subject and combated the doctrine that all are principals. I admit the truth of all the encomiums which the counsel for the defendant It is

true that

He

have pronounced upon that gentleman. tion of

mind and

all

the virtues of the heart,

has

all

the illumina-

which those

gentle-

men, with the view of enhancing the weight of his authority, have been pleased policy,

I

to ascribe to him.

can say of him from

Yet give me leave, sir, very His object is this subject. high treason,

all

What they have said of him my heart, for I know it to be

briefly to

to

his

true.

argument upon

to prove, that the position, that

are principals,'

mode which he adopts

examine

from

is

is this

He

:

collates all

the authorities Avhich have supported this doctrine, and tracing

up with patient and laborious perseverance, with the view forties,'' he finds the first spring in the reign of Henry VI. case

is

reported in the year-book,

as stated

1

Hen.

by Mr. Tucker from Stanford.

who broke

prison and

adjudged petit treason dra\vn and hanged.

A

let

out traitors.

it

'petere

That

6, 5,

and

It is

the case of a man,

is

very nearly

Stanford says

it

the year-books merely say that he

;

in

The

not law in England.

prove his point

'

sentence in those days,

when

was was

the notions

and punishment of treason (notwithstanding the statute of Edward)

remained

still

unsettled,

crime was petit treason. * vF ^

is

no very unequivocal proof that W

"^

^

'T^

his

WIRT'S SPEECH.

188

[1S07.

" The gentleman next read the case of Sir Nicholas ThrogmorGorgon's head by Judge

ton's suOerings, as they are presented as a

Tucker, not as an illustration of the law, but by way of exciting do not rely upon the our horror against a corrupt judge. What can be the motives which the genauthority of that case. tleman had in view, in reading this case with a countenance and

We

cadence of such peculiar pathos ? Was it to excite our sympathies, under the hope that our apprehensions and feelings when once set afloat might, for the want of some other living object, be graciously transferred to his client

"

It

was with the same view,

I

?

presume, that the gentleman gave

us the pathetic and aflecting story of lady Lisle, as

by

the elegant, chaste and delicate pencil of

touched

it is

Hume.

It

was with

the same views, also, that he recited from the same author, the deep, perfidious and bloody horrors of a Kirk and a Jetferies.

Sensible that there Avas nothing in the virtues of his client or in this cause to interest us, he borrowed the sufferings and the virtues

of a Throgmorton and a lady Lisle, to enlist our affections and set our hearts a bleeding, hoping that our pity thus excited might be transferred

much

and attached to his

client.

I

liorror at the infernal depravity of

hope

that

we

feel as

Judge Bromley and the

sanguinary and execrable tyranny of Judge Jefferies as they or any other gentlemen can feel. But these cases do not apply to merci-

We cannot think it very compliand immaculate judges. mentary or respectful to this court, to adduce such cases. They seem to be held up in terrorem, from an apprehension that their authority would be admitted here, but we apprehend no such conful

sequence.

" But he says that since the revolution of 1688, the British decisions have leaned the other w^ay, and go to shew that accessorial acts

do not make

sion obtained?

dictum of a judge?

How

a principal in treason.

By any adjudged No.

How

No.

case?

is this

conclu-

By any

obiter

then does the gentleman support

the idea of this change in the English law

?

He

has drawn the

reference from the impunity of those who aided the Pretender, who fought his battles or aided him in his flight. This is a new Sir, this was the mere policy of of settling legal principles. of the Stuarts had dipretensions The the house of Hanover.

way

vided the British nation.

Tlieir adherents

were many and

zeal-

WIRT'S SPEECH.

CHAP. XIV.]

189

Their pretensions were crushed in battle. Two courses were open to the reigning monarch either by clemency and forbearance, to assuage the animosity of his enemies and brace his ous.

:

throne with the alfections of his people; or to pursue his enemies

with vengeance, to drive them to desperation;

by needless and wanton cruelty, and

friends

his throne in

course

;

and

to unsettle

He

the blood of his subjects.

to disgust

his float

chose the former

and because either from magnanimity or policy, or both,

he spared them, he supposes that the law of treason was changed,

To

and that they could not be punished.

prevent this inference,

according to the reasoning of the gentleman,

it

was necessary

to

who even aided the Mr. Wickham has mentioned

have beheaded or hung up every human being unfortunate Charles in his flight.

Miss Macdonald; and he would have the monarch

have ha-

to

zarded the indignation and revolt of a generous people, by seizing that beautiful and romantic enthusiast, Flora

ging her from her native mountains in the

and to death

The

!

truth

is,

as

we

Macdonald, and drag-

isle

of

Sky

to a prison

are told by Doctor Johnson in

his tour to the Hebrides, that this step, impolitic as

was, never-

it

was hazarded, though but partially. She was carried to London, but, together with M'Cleod who had aided in the same But flight, was dismissed on the pretext of the want of evidence. certainly the forbearance of the house of Hanover to punish under

theless

an existing law

is

The argument

no argument of the change of that law." here runs into a long and minute course of rea-

upon the law

soning, and examination of authorities principals and accessories, from

We

proceed

to

which

forbear to

I

relating to

make

other passages of more interest.

extracts.

In one of

these the reader will recognize a portion of the speech which has

been often quoted for the vivid and

felicitous picture

the principal coadjutor in the conspiracy, and

tim

— Herman Blannerhasset.

To

its

it

presents of

prominent vic-

this poetical tribute

of the pro-

secuting counsel, which the newspaper press of the day

popular through the country,

we may

made so

ascribe, in great part, that

sympathy by which Blannerhasset's partischeme was palliated and excused. to the gentleman's third point, in which he

large amount of public

cipation in the nefarious

"

I

come now,

sir,

says he cannot possibly

be a principal

fail.

It is this

in the treason at all,

he

is

:

'because

if

the prisoner

a principal in the second

— WIRT'S SPEECH.

190

[1807.

degree; and his guilt being of that kind which tive,

no further parol evidence can be

we shew

is

termed deriva-

charge him,

let in to

until

a record of the conviction of the principals in the

first

degree.'

" By

understand the gentleman to advance, in other terms,

this I

common law

the

by

in treason,

when

doctrine, that

a

man

rendered a principal

is

which would make him an accessory

acts

in felony,

he cannot be tried before the principal in the first degree. " I understand this to be the doctrine of the common law, as

by

established I

insist that

reasons:

the authorities; but

all

can have no effect

it

Because

1st.

"2dly. Because position assumes

"

First.

mon

law.

what

is

the

If

it

It is sufficient,

mere creature of the common law. of England be our law, this

common law

denied, that the conduct of the prisoner

this position is the

on

common law

de-

does not exist in this country.

If

between principals

Constitution nor the act of Congress

levy all

war

who

it.

own

the Constitution and the act of Congress,

that this idea of a distinction

absent

mere creature of the com-

branch of the subject, to take his

this

second degree depends entirely on the

who

make him

be so, no consequence can be deduced from

claration, that the

^11

this point,

in felony.

Because

we examine

it is

the

concede

I

of the accused, for two

of an accessorial nature or such as would

in this case is

an accessory

if

when

in favor

common

we

in the first

and

Neither the

law.

knows any such

against the United States,

shall find

distinction.

whether present or

are leagued in the conspiracy, whether on the

spot of the assemblage or performing some minute and inconsiderable part in

it,

a thousand miles from the scene of action, incur

equally the sentence of the law:

This

scale, therefore,

they are all equally

which graduates the

and establishes the order of their respective isted here,

is

this country.

traitors.

guilt of the offenders trials, if it

ever ex-

completely abrogated by the highest authorities

The Convention which formed

in

the Constitution and

defined treason, Congress which legislated on that subject, and the

Supreme Judiciary of the country expounding the law, have united in

put

tiie

how

its

abrogation.

But

the Constitution and let

us for a

moment

Convention, Congress and the Judiciary aside, and examine

the case will stand.

Mr. Wickham has given

Still

us, is

this scale

of moral

the creature

of

the

guilt, which common laic.

WIRT'S SPEECH.

CHAP. XIV.]

which as already observed, he himself argument

He

in

191

another branch of his

emphatically told us does not exist in this country.

Jias

has stated that the creature presupposes the creator, and that

where

the creator does not exist, the creature cannot.

mon law

then being the creator of the rule which Mr.

has given us, and that neither can the rule

common law

which

is

not existing in this country,

mere creature of

the

The comWickham

exist in this

it

So that the gentleman has himself furnished the argument, which refutes this infallible point of his, on which he has so much relied. But to try this position to its utmost extent, let country.

us not only put aside the Constitution and act of Congress and de-

Supreme Court, but

cision of the

does exist here.

Still

let us

admit that the

common law

before the principle could apply,

remain to be proven, that the conduct of the prisoner has been accessorial

or

;

in

would case

other words, that his acts in relation to

of such a nature as would

this treason are

it

in this

make him an accessory

in felony.

"But

is

this

the

case.''

It

is

a mere petitio principii.

denied that his acts are such as would felony.

I

have already,

in

It is

make him an accessory

in

another branch of this subject, en-

deavored to shew on the grounds of authority and reason, that a

man might be

involved in the guilt of treason as a principal by

being kf^ally though not actually present

much wider space

than felony

;

;

that treason occupied a

that the scale of proximity be-

tween the accessory and the principal must be extended portion to the extent of the theatre of the treason

in

pro-

and that as the

;

prisoner must be considered as legally present, he could not be an

accessory but a principal. fact

If I have succeeded in this, I have in proved that his conduct cannot be deemed accessorial. But

an error has taken place from considering the scene of the overt act as the theatre of the treason, from mistaking the overt act foi the treason

itself,

and consequently from referring the conduct of

the prisoner to the acts on the island.

has been considered island only

;

in relation to the

whereas

it

ought

to

The conduct

of Aaron Burr

overt act on Blannerhasset's

be considered

in

connexion with

the grand design, the deep plot of seizing Orleans, separating the

Union, and establishing an independent empire

in

the

west, of

which the prisoner was to be the chief It ought to be recollected that these were his objects, and that the whole western country

!

WIRT'S SPEECH.

192

from Beaver tions.

It is

was the

to Orleans,

by

[1807.

theatre of his treasonable opera-

reasoning that you are to consider whether

this first

he be a principal or an accessory, and not by limiting your quiries to the circumscribed and

narrow spot

in the island

Having shewn,

the acts charged happened to be performed. think, on the

ground of law^

ered as an accessory,

press the inquiry, whether on the

ground of reason he be a principal or an accessory and erect an independent empire

in the west,

Who

?

Burr, the author and projector of the plot, enlisted the

into execution,

who

men, and

who

will believe that

raised the forces,

procured the funds for carrying

was made a cafs paw is

who

it

Will any man believe

of.''

a soldier bold, ardent, restless and aspiring, the

whose brain conceived and whose hand brought

great actor

plot into operation, that he should sink

down

and that Blannerhasset should be elevated

would

the Union,

of which he was to

Will any man say that Blannerhasset was

the principal, and Burr but an accessory

that Burr,

and remem-

This was the destination of the plot and the con-

clusion of the drama.

who

;

New Orleans, separate

ber that his project was to seize

be the chief

I

that the prisoner cannot be consid-

me

let

in-

where

the

into an accessory,

into a principal

He

.''

Aaron Burr, the contriver of the whole conspiracy, to every body concerned in it, was as the sun to the planets which surround him. Did he not bind them in startle at

once

at tlie thought.

and give them their

their respective orbits their motion?

nerhasset

Yet he

is

to

light, their

heat and

be considered an accessory, and Blan-

to be the principal

is

" Let us put the case between Burr and Blannerhasset.

Let us

compare the two men and settle this question of precedence between them. It may save a good deal of troublesome ceremony hereafter.

"

Who

Aaron Burr

is,

we

have seen,

add, that beginning his operations

with him men whose wealth

is

in

in part, already.

New

to supply

the

necessary funds.

Possessed of the main spring, his personal labor contrives

Pervading the continent from

machinery.

will

I

York, he associates

New

York

all

to

the

New

Orleans, he draws into his plan, by every allurement which he

can contrive,

men of

all

ardor he presents danger and glory

and honors

;

To

ranks and descriptions.

to avarice the

;

to ambition,

mines of Mexico.

youthful

rank and

To

titles

each person

WIRT'S SPEECH.

CHAP. XIV.]

whom

he addresses he presents the object adapted to

His recruiting

bosom

Men

ollicers are appointed.

out the continent. in its

193

Civil life

man

this

is,

his taste.

are engaged through-

indeed, quiet upon

its

surface, but

has contrived to deposit the materials which,

with the slightest touch of his match, produce an explosion to

shake the continent. and

apply

who

fled

On

match.

this

Who

"

All this his restless ambition has contrived

is

occasion he meets with Blannerhasset.

this

A

Blannerhasset.''

from the storms of

His history shows that war If

it

;

the autumn of 180G, he goes forth, for the last time, to

in

his is

man

native of Ireland, a

own

of letters,

country to find quiet

in ours.

not the natural element of his mind.

had been, he never would have exchanged Ireland for

So

America.

an army from furnishing the society natural

far is

and proper to Mr. Blannerhasset's character, that on his arrival

in

America, he retired even from the population of the Atlantic

and sought quiet and solitude

states,

But he carried with him

forests.

and

the desert smiled

lo,

in the

!

Ohio, he rears upon

in the

bosom of our western

and science and wealth

taste

Possessing himself of a beautiful island it

a palace and decorates

romantic embellishment of fancy,

A

it

with every

shrubbery, that Shenstone

might have envied, blooms around him. Music, that might have An extensive library charmed Calypso and her nymphs, is his. spreads to

him

its

all

treasures before him.

A philosophical

apparatus offers

Peace, tranquillity

the secrets and mysteries of nature.

and innocence shed their mingled delights around him.

crown

who

the enchantment of the scene, a wife,

is

And

to

said to be

beyond her sex and graced with every accomplishment that can render it irresistible, had blessed him with her love and made him the father of several children. The evidence lovely even

would convince you, In the midst of

that this is but a faint picture of the real

peace,

all this

quillity, this feast

destroyer comes

this innocent simplicity

and

life.

this tran-

of the mind, this pure banquet of the heart, the

he comes

;

to

Yet the flowers do not wither

change at his

this paradise into a hell.

No

approach.

monitory

shuddering through the bosom of their unfortunate possessor warns

him of the ruin had lately held hearts,

that

is

in

his

civilities

1—17

by the

country, he soon

by the dignity and elegance of VOL.

A

coming upon him.

Introduced to their

himself.

his

stranger presents

liigh

rank which he

finds his

way

demeanor, the

to their light

and

WIRT'S SPEECH.

194

[1807.

beauty of his conversation and the seductive and fascinating power

The

of his address.

conquest was not

pects none in others.

Innocence

difficult.

Conscious of no design

ever simple and credulous.

is

sus-

itself, it

wears no guard before its breast. Every is thrown open, and all

It

door and portal and avenue of the heart

who

choose

Such was the

enter.

it

serpent entered

its

The

bowers.

Eden when

of

state

the

more engaging

prisoner, in a

form, winding himself into the open and unpractised heart of the unfortunate Blannerhasset, found but

little dilficulty in

native character of that heart and the objects of

degrees, he infuses into

breathes into

it

the fire of his

ate thirst for glory all

own courage

man

is

flat

more he enjoys

and insipid to his

retort and crucible are

breathes

its

a daring and desper-

;

taste.

thrown

the tranquil scene

aside.

Even

babes, once so sweet, no longer affects him

of his wife, which hitherto touched

possession of his soul.

it

has be-

His

His shrubbery blooms and His vain; he likes it not.

trumpet's clangor and the cannon's roar.

now unseen and

;

His books are abandoned.

fragrance upon the air in

is

In a short time

life.

ear no longer drinks the rich melody of music

speakable,

By

He

changed, and every object of his former delight

No

relinquished.

come

ambition.

an ardour panting for great enterprises, for

the storm and bustle and hurricane of

the w^hole is

;

own

the poison of his

it

changing the

its affection.

his

;

;

it

longs for the

the prattle of his

and the angel smile

bosom with ecstasy so un-

Greater objects have taken

unfelt.

His imagination has been dazzled by

visions of diadems, of stars and garters and titles of nobility.

has been tau2:ht to burn with restless emulation at the

He

names of

His enchanted island is destined soon to relapse into a wilderness and in a few months we find the beautiful and tender partner of his bosom, whom he lately great heroes and conquerors.

•,

'

permitted not the winds

her shivering

at

of summer

'

to visit too roughly'

we

find

midnight, on the wintery banks of the Ohio and

Yet mingling her tears with the torrents, that froze as they fell. this unfortunate man, thus deluded from his interest and his happiness, thus seduced from the paths of innocence and ])eace, thus in the toils that were deliberately spread for him, and overwhelmed by the mastering spirit and genius of another this man, thus ruined and undone and made to play a subordinate part

confounded

in this

grand drama of guilt and treason,

—

this

man

is

to

be called

WIRT'S SPEECH.

CHAP. XIV.]

the principal olFender, while

misery,

Is

Is

law.''

it

nor the

lieart

whom

by

he was thus plunged

comparatively innocent, a mere accessory

is

reason.-*

/le,

105

humanity?

it

human understanding

Sir, neither

will

in

this

Is

!

human

the

bear a perversion so

monstrous and absurd! so shocking to the soul! so revolting to

Let Aaron Burr then not shrink from the high destinawhich he has courted, and having already ruined Blannerhas-

reason tion

!

set in fortune,

to finish the self

character and happiness forever,

let iiim not

and punishment.

"Upon iu this

the whole,

reason declares Aaron Burr the principal

sir,'

crime and confirms herein the sentence of the law

gentleman, in saying that his offence sorial nature,

is

;

begs the question and draws his conclusions from

what, instead of being conceded, the island, but imparted his

accessory but a principal the objection

and the

of a derivative and acces-

denied.

is

It is

clear from

has been said, that Burr did not derive his guilt from the

we

attempt

man between him-

tragedy by thrusting that ill-fated

;

own

guilt to

them

;

that

and therefore, that there

which demands a record of

he is

is

not an

nothing in

their conviction before

go on wdth our proof against him.

shall

" The question then

is,

whether,

all

these things admitted, the

assemblage on the island were an overt act of levying war. sir,

are

what

men on

we

Here,

forced most reluctantly to argue to the court, on only

a part of the evidence, in presence of the jury, before they have

heard the rest of the evidence, which might go a great explain or alter

its

we must meet it. To which we are obliged

this

way

But unpleasant as the question

effect.

What

way,

to

is

is

to in

an open act of levying war

answer, that

it

.''

must be decided by

the Constitution and act of Congress.

" Gentlemen on the other asked us for cannon.

'

battles,

Shew

bloody

side,

speaking on

battles,

us your open acts of war,' they exclaim.

knocks, says one, are things Ave can

Where was war ?

have

all

feel

Hard

and understand.

the open deed of war, this bloody battle, this bloody

cries another.

battle.

this subject,

hard knocks, the noise of

No

where, gentlemen.

There was no bloody war.

There was no bloody

The energy

of a despised

and traduced government prevented that tragical consequence. In reply to

all

this blustering

and clamor for blood and havoc,

let

WIRT'S SPEECH.

196

me

[1S07.

ask calmly and temperately, does our Constitution and act of

Congress require them? short of actual battle

?

Can treason be committed by nothing Mr. Wickham, shrinking from a position

so bold and indefensible, has said that

if

there be not actual force,

there must be at least potential force, such as terror and intimi-

We

dation struck by the treasonable assemblage.

Let

this idea presently.

us, at this

tional definition of treason, or to so

case.

moment, recur

much

thereof as relates to this

Treason against the United States

'

war

examine

will

to the constitu-

consist only in

shall

making war, but in levying it. The whole question then turns on the meaning of that word, levying. This word, however, the gentlemen on the other side

levying

have

against them,' not in

dropped

artfully

as if conscious of

:

them, they have entirely omitted to use

"

We

know

that ours

is

operation against

a motley language, variegated and en-

many

riched by the plunder of

its

it.

When

foreign stores.

Ave derive

a word from the Greek, the Latin or any other foreign language, living or dead, philologists

have always thought

it

most safe and

correct to go to the original language, for the purpose of ascer-

meaning of such word.

taining the precise all

our lexicographers,

a

is

therefore, that

we

to ascertain

true and real meaning

its

when

men on

the other side is

applied to war,

before me,

him, because

to

Honor, "' lift,

I

Letter,

I

" Levee

'

am

the

this

we

believe

ever means to

import of

purpose

d\m

levee

:

by

proper,

shall not

fight, as the gentle-

to believe.

Boyer's Dic-

more encouraged

to appeal

and Swartwout, your

very word, thought

it

not

Boyer, 'to

Under the verb he has no phrase

but under the substantive

you them

siege, the

fruits,

Zet^ee,

he has

all.

raising of a siege.

Levee des fruits,

crop, harvest.

du parlement Britannique, the

British Parliament.

gathering.

I

the verb active, signifies, according to

will give

gathering of

La

and

case of Bollman

heave, hold or raise up.'

several.

are told

It is

to refer to the authority of Dr. Johnson.

apj)licable to our

"

and

sir,

the

in

it

;

would have us

in estimating the

improper

we

origin.

should turn to the dictionary of that language

find that

tionary

Levy,

word of French

Levee

(collccte de

rising or recess of the

deniers) a levy-raising or

AVIRT'S SPEECH.

CHAP. XIV.

197

" Levee de gens de guerre, levying, levy, or Faire des

" So

levies de soldats, to

when

raising of soldiers.

levy or raise soldiers.

means gathering as means raising only; not gathering, assembling or even bringing them together, but merely raising. Johnson takes both these meanings, as you mentioned in the case of Boll man and Swartwout but in the original that

applied to fruits or taxes,

When

well as raising.

applied to soldiers

it

it

;

we

language,

see that levying,

when

applied to soldiers, means

simply the raising them, without any thing further. matters, levying and raising, if

Boyer may be

In military

trusted, are syno-

nymous.

"But to word levy, rowed the III.

ascertain let

still

more

Avhole definition of treason,

The

statute is

in

Norman French,

treason of levying war, uses these contre noslre seigneur

le

was

II,

when

words

;

and, in describing the '

Si home

leve de guerre,

roy en son royalme.''

" In a subsequent reign, of Richard

meaning of this which we have borthe statute of 25 Edward

satisfactorily the

us look to the source from

I

mean

the statute of

the factious and turbulent reign

Edward, although unrepealed,

forgotten, lost and buried under the billows of party rage and

vengeance,

it

became,

at length,

necessary for parliament to inter-

fere and break in pieces the engine of destructive treason; and in

the 21st year of Richard

II,

a statute

was passed, which may be

Edward

considered as a parliamentary construction of that of In that statute, the treason

que

levy

le

people

deins son realme.''

used

in

the statute

variation

The

making xmr ;

it

is

'

III.

Celuy

clearly contradistinguished

from the

of men and horses, for the purpose of and the levy would have been complete, although

statute of Richard, as not only

I

consider, therefore, the

adding another authority to Boyer,

prove that the extent of the French verb

soldiers, goes

thus explained,

levy is

the purpose had never been executed.

to

is

et chevache encounter le roy u faire guerre Here the French verb, leve, is the same as that of Edward, with an unimportant orthographic

and here

;

actual war.

of levying war

lever,

no farther than the raising them

when

but

I

applied to

consider that

****** ;

statute also as a parliamentary exposition or glossary of the phrase levy de guerre, in the statute of

VOL.

1

— 17*

Edward.

WIRT'S SPEECH.

198

[1807.

" Mr, Lee says, that hard knocks are things it

equally true that an assemblage of

is

True

all see.

it

men

we

is

can

all feel,

an object

we

yet

can

as the gentleman says, that cannons and small

is,

arms may be heard; and so may the disclosure of a treasonable plot. At last, the overt act which they require is but an appeal to the human senses; and the overt act which we have proven is

Why

equally satisfactory to them.

do they

sense of feeling to the sense of hearing.''

were

to feel

we must

that

it,

insist

on calling

He may

also taste and smell

it.

in the

say, if

we

Mr. Wick-

indeed complains, that if you stop him short of actual force, you take away the locus pcenitenlifc. I say, if you do not stop short of it, you take away the motive of repentance; for you offer the traitor victory and triumph, and it is not in their arms But was there, sir, that we are to expect from him repentance.

ham

no opportunity for repentance

The

in this

case

}

We

shall

prove that

more than a year brooding over this treason. and desolation that he was about to bring upon this coun-

the prisoner ruin

was

for

try must have been often before him.

If all love

of his country

were so far extinguished in his breast, that he could not forbear, war gave no his sake, did he not why, for own pang of remorse to his bosom, and the treason Cromwell Why did he not remember repent.'' himself; daring as and fate of Csesar.^ Cromwell, as bold and if

the downfall of liberty and the horrors of civil

—

the miserable effects of his successful usurpation; the terrors that liaunted and scourged

him day and

amidst the splendor of a palace. forget; but he rivalship

;

him even

remembered them

as objects of competition and

not to detest and abhor, but to envy, admire and emu-

Such was

late.

night, and blasted

Csesar and Cromwell he did not

the kind of remorse

drenching his country

which he

felt at

the idea of

blood and substituting despotism for

in

liberty; such the very promising disposition and temper for re-

pentance which alone he manifested. '•

Mr. Randolph wishes

tween

to

know how the line can be drawn beThe answer is obvious At

enlisting and striking a blow.

:

where the courts of England and the iiighest court in this country have concurred in drawing it. A line Does strong and plain enough to be seen and known is drawn. the point of the assemblage,

reason,

sir,

require that you should wait until the blow be struck.'

If so, adieu to the

law of treason and to the chance of punish-

CHAP.

WIRT'S SPEECH.

XIV.]

The

ment.

aspiring traitor has only to lay his plans, assemble

and strike no blow

his forces

199

He

resistance.

he be

till

in

such power as to defy

He

understands the law of treason.

draws a

line

of demarkation for the purpose of keeping within the boundary

He

of the law.

He

men.

He

projects an enterprise of treason.

directs all the operations essential to

one end of the continent to the other

He

the pale of the law.

;

its

but he keeps himself within

goes on continually acquiring accessions

of strength, like a snowball on the side of a mountain,

comes too large

He

New

He

Orleans.

Then what becomes of your

of Congress or your courts the

way

He

.''

to discourage treason?

and promote

to insure

it }

He

advances

does not hazard the blow

completely ready; and when he does strike, irresistible.

it

will

till

he

till

is

be absolutely

law

Constitution, your

laughs them to scorn.

Is this

way

to excite

Is it not the best

the most complete success

it

he be-

till

and sweeps everything before him.

for resistance

does everything short of striking a blow.

he gets to

enlists

success from

con-

I

}

*******

clude, therefore, that reason does not require force to constitute treason.

"This court then having

itself

decided, that the question, whether

there have been an overt act or not, belongs essentially to the jury,

it is

strange that the prisoner should persist in pressing

What

the court.

on the fact of levying

away from

it,

what

Have you

war.''

know where the have it? And suppose

like to

should exert

on

the court thinks

it

acknowledged

tainly implies a reflection, either

will

do him more than justice,

should

justice.

Will

not take

it

right of deciding on facts in this

?

course cer-

on the jury or the court

do him

plies either that the jury will not

him

I

has this power and

be the consequences?

will

the jury their

the power, sir?

authority can be found to prove that you

But the anxious perseverance of the prisoner

:

it

im-

justice, or that the court

If he believed the jury

would do

and wished nothing more, he would be content to leave

his case to them.

and he therefore it

it

does he mean by calling on the court to decide

will or no, I

If

he believed they w^ould not do him

tries to force his

may

precedented upon

truly say, that

this earth

to take refuge under the

:

a

justice,

cause before the court, whether

man

he exhibits a phenomenon unflying

from a jury of

wings of the court

!

Sir, I

his peers

can never

WIRT'S SPEECH.

200 think so t^y

my

of

ill

moment,

to

my

apprehend that

its

it

will invade the peculiar

great to apprehend

if,

at this period,

set,

when

power and superior

tinguished by intellectual

cedent be

and

by which the great

tlie

made of

bench

is

so dis-

fact in trial for life and death shall

may

In the fluctuations of party, in the

hereafter.''

it

too

illumination, a pre-

be wrested from the jury and decided by the bench, what use not be

my

oflicially, is

remarks of a general nature will be

that

But

applied to them.

and acknow-

This court well knows that

as private gentlemen

members,

need

respect for the court permit me, for a

ledged province of the jury. respect for

to believe, that innocence

countrymen as

from them; nor will

[1S07.

may lead They proper.

bitterness of rancor and political animosity, the judges juries to

may

one side or the other, as they

may

think

dictate as to the existence of an overt act, and thus decide the

fate of a prisoner.

or rescue

whom

judge

If a

law

facts as well as

sitting

on the bench

in a prosecution for treason,

he pleases.

he be a

If

decide on

shall

he

may

jjolitical partisan,

sacrifice

he

may

save his friends from merited punishment or blast his foes unjustly. If judges in future times, not having the feelings of ])alriotism

which they have

zeal and factious spirit of party, to shall

have the power

now proposed

promote the views of party, to

be exercised, what will be

the posture and fate of this country then

precedent, some

tyrant

Can

mount the bench.

humanity and

these days, but animated by the

in

If

?

Bromley or some

you

rufi'an

establish this Jcfferies

may

the soul look forward without horror to

the dark and bloody deeds

which he might perpetrate, armed with now called on to set? But you will

such a precedent as you are not set

trial

You

it, sir.

fearful

by

your country

will not bring

and perilous as that which jury.

I

shudder

of such an hour.

You

to reflect

will cast

to see an

hour so

shall witness the ruin of the

what might be the consequences

your eyes

into futurity,

and fore-

seeing the calamities that must result from so dangerous an ex-

ample, will avoid

it.

You

will

be

satisfied that neither

reason nor

the laws of England or of this country support the doctrine, that

you have the power

to

prevent this jury from proceeding

inquiry, merely, because your

mind

is satisfied

in their

that the overt act

is

not proved.

" All the

distinctions,

which Mr. Wickham and Mr. Randolph

have taken, have gone on the dangers of constructive treason.

WIRT'S SPEECH.

CHAP. XIV]

201

me

All their apprehensions on this subject seem to

They appear

visionary.

perfectly-

They look common law, an-

dangers of constructive treason under the

at the

be

to

to result from this mistake:

Edward, They look into the terrors exwhen he enumerates the many various kinds of

terior to the statute of

pressed by Hale

The meaning

treason, before that statute limited the number.

constructive treason in

1

generally misconceived.

is

Easfs Crown Laic,

truth

more directed

p.

some

of

well explained

72; 'Constructive levying of

tear is

in

against the government than the person of the

king, though in legal construction,

This

the king himself.

It is

a levying of

is

it

when an

is

insurrection

war

against

raised to reform

is

national grievance, to alter the established laws or religion,

to punish magistrates, to introduce innovations of a public concern, to obstruct the execution of

any

or for

some general law, by an armed

force,

other purpose ichich usurps the government in matters of

a public and general concern.'' by Mr. Rawle in Fries''s trial,

It

therefore true, as laid

is

p. 161, 'that

what

in

down

England

is

called constructive levying of war, in this country must be called

Although

direct levying of war.'

by Judge Tucker, (Ath

this

seems not

to

be assented

Tucker'' s Blackstone Jlppendix,

to

13-14,^

possibly because he did not examine that point as thoroughly as

he did the doctrine of treason generally. Before that statute passed, the dangers resulting from arbitrary

were great and grievous, and the comas they were just. Levying war

constructions of treason plaints against in

them

as

vehement

England against the king or

majestatis,'' consists

his

government, the

;

ernment or his authority

in his political person.

is

constructive levying

defined in the Constitution.

against the United Slates. to

in the

of the prince,

mere design or

oflence is

it

the king's authority or prerogative.

life

is

Icesce

may

In America, the

Here

it

when

consist in

intent of the mind.

in

levying

war

consists in an opposition

In England, it

against his gov-

it

It consists

In England,

Constitution and government. against the

crimen

of direct and express levying of war against

the king's natural person

crime

'

But

is

against the

it

is

intended

mere imagination, in this

country the

against the government, ihe political person only; and

As

actual war.

natural person,

it

it

may

is

be said to be constructive.

interpretations of treason,

it

against the government, not against a

But constructive

which produced so much

terror and

WIRT'S SPEECH.

202 alarm formerly

[1807.

England, and against the abuses of which gen-

in

tlemen have declaimed so pathetically, cannot take place in this

They

country. the whole,

I

are expressly excluded by the Constitution.

which

the intention of

treason

is

proven to be traitorous, was an act of

that the assemblage, with such intention,

;

And

for that purpose.

stop the proceedings.

"I have

finished

I

court as this

This

am

The

jury must proceed with the inquiry.

I

had

sure

it is

I

thank

I

cannot

sufficient, this court

to say.

much exhausted

am

sufficient

were not

what

too

is, I

was

if it

the time of the court so long. attention.

Upon

contend, that the meeting on Blannerhasset's island,

beg pardon it

for

consuming

for its patient and polite

to recapitulate,

and

to such a

unnecessary."

an exhibition of some of the most prominent passages, of

is

a speech which

fills

seventy pages of an octavo volume, and which

occupied several hours

in the

delivery.

have excluded from

I

these extracts a large portion of the argument

which

dealing,

principally, in minute discriminations of technical law, and in the

analysis of legal decisions, could scarcely be expected to interest

the general reader, and which would be

members

of the legal profession

report of the

full

It

time

still

who have

less satisfactory to

familiar access to the

trial.

may be remarked of this speech, when the speaker was yet in the

that having

been made

and somewhat noted for the vivacity of his imagination and warmth of his feelings, he may be supposed to have made eflbrt

at

disadvantage, under the

at

a

vigor of youthful manhood, the this

necessarily imposed

restraints

to which he was an argument upon mere questions of law, suffi-

upon him by the nature of the subject and the forum spoke.

It

ciently abstruse and technical in their nature to forbid any very

free excursion of the fancy, and to defy the attractions of declamation.

The

orator, addressing himself to the

most severe and

dis-

ciplined mind in the judiciary of the nation, doubtless felt his inclination constantly

He

rebuked by the presence

in

which he

stood.

could not lose the consciousness of an ever present constraint

imposed upon him by the place, and the subject, both exacting cal precision and in the perusal

compact legal deduction.

of the speech,

speaker to escape from the

more congenial

this

fields

how

apparent

logi-

We cannot but remark, is

the inclination of the

thraldom, and to recreate his mind in

of rhetorical display

;

and liow obviously

TESTIMONY OF MR. MERCER.

CHAP. XIV.]

he has

the exigency of the argument, like a stone tied to the

felt

wings of

his fancy to bring iiim quickly back,

the labor of his task. his forensic

At

on every

that period in the life of

fame was much more connected with

a jury, than in discussions addressed to the

the advocate and looking alone to our

that

celebrated and important

and

we

cannot

own

satisfaction,

had not offered him an with which it abounded, as

trial

occasion to argue the questions of fact

The

;

upon the peculiar

power of

well as the points of law to which

flight, to

William Wirt,

his eflforts before

bench

help feeling some regret, while speculating

this

203

we have

adverted.

description of the abode of Blannerhasset

a legitimate opportunity to the indulgence of

which furnished

Mr. Wirt's peculiar

trial, seems to have inspired one of the same fervor of poetical rapture in giving a woodland paradise.

vein of eloquence in this

witnesses with the

sketch of this

A

most estimable gentleman,

memory

the scenes

which so

who

is

yet

alive

to

recall

attracted his youthful fancy,

to

— Mr.

Charles Fenton Mercer, had visited the island, upon the invitation of

its

proprietor, just at the time

be nearest visit

its

point of explosion.

when the conspiracy was said to As he had seen nothing on this

awaken his alarm for the peace of the country, was introduced into the trial for the misdemeanor,

calculated to

his testimony

which immediately followed the acquittal on the charge of treason. This testimony was recorded in a written deposition, a few extracts from which will gratify the reader by enabling him to compare Mr, Wirt's glowing picture with the actual impression which the scene made upon Mr. Mercer. " On Saturday evening, the sixth day of December, this deponent arrived, in the course of his journey home, at the shore of Ohio, opposite to the island of Mr. Blannerhasset; and having first learned, with some surprise, that Mr. Blannerhasset was yet on the island, crossed over to his house in a violent storm of wind and rain. That evening and the following day he spent at the

*******

most elegant seat and

his lovely

in Virginia, in the society

of Mr. Blannerhasset

and accomplished lady.

" This deponent having expressed a desire to become the purchaser of Mr. Blannerhasset's farm, he had the goodness to show him the plan and arrangements of his house. Every room in it

TESTIMONY OF MR. MERCER.

204

was opened

[1807.

As he walked through

to his inspection.

diiferent

its

apartments, the proprietor frequently apologized for the confusion

was thrown by

into Avhich his furniture it

;

his preparation for leaving

and observed that the greater part of his furniture, his musical

instruments, and his library containing several thousand volumes

of books, were packed up for his immediate removal. TT

TT

TV

Tp

JT

tF

TP

" Mr. Blannerhasset having intended, before deponent reached his house, to visit Marietta on Sunday evening, the deponent availed himself of a double motive to quit this attractive spot.

He

did not leave

ments of

however, without regretting that the engage-

it,

proprietor, and his

its

own dreary journey,

commencement of winter, forbade him which, although so transient, had afforded him in the

*

*

*

corresponded so sentiments, they

if

much

pleasure. felt,

Mr.

to

he could have visited him with unfavorable

would have vanished before the

of evidence which,

light of a species

not reducible to the strict rules of legal tesinfluence over all sensitive

timony, has, nevertheless, a potent hearts, and

so

All that he had seen, heard or

with the criminal designs imputed

little

Blannerhasset, that if

but just begun

to prolong a visit

which though

possess not the formal sanction, has

it

more truth than oaths or affirmations. What will a man who, weary of the agitations of the Avorld, of its noise and vanity,

often

!

has unambitiously retired to a solitary island

in the

heart of a

desert, and created there a terrestial paradise, the very flowers

and shrubs and vines of which he has planted, nurtured and reared with his

own

hands

;

a

man whose

soul

is

accustomed

to toil in

the depths of science and to repose beneath the bowers of literature,

whose ear

is

formed

to the

touch and breath daily awaken struments;

—

will such a

man

harmony of sound, and whose from a variety of melodious

it

start

up

in the decline

the pleasing dream of seven years slumber, to carry to the peaceful habitations of

wrong?

Are

his musical

equipage of a camp

woman

and two

to

and sword

instruments and his library to be the

children, to

— a war so unequal

better adapted

in-

from

men who have never done him

whom

he seems so tenderly

tached, to the guilt of treason and the horrors of

so desperate

fire

life

Will he expose a lovely and accomplished

?

little

of

the

!

innocent

Were

not

all

war ?

A

at-

treason

his preparations

and useful purpose which he

INCIDENTS OF THE TRIAL.

CHAP. XIV.]

avowed, rather than was imputed to him

to the criminal

*

?

The

reader will smile

affidavit,

and hazardous enterprise whicii

*

with which the deponent

*

Such Avere the sentiments

the island of Mr. Blannerhasset."

left

at

205

this

and weigh, with many

of

rapture

enthusiasm

an

in

grains of allowance, the warm-

hearted friendship of a young votary fascinated by the attractions

of this

Eden

naturedly at

in the it

wilderness; but no one will smile more good-

than the worthy author of

it

himself,

who

has lived

long enough to repress the fervors of his imagination, though not to

quench the generous and benevolent

A

few more brief references

instincts

to these trials,

of his heart.

and

we

shall dis-

miss the subject.

These

relate to

minor incidents which transpired

in the

course

of the long examinations of testimony, and are only noticed to

shew the temper in which the parties stood some of the more prominent witnesses. General Wilkinson is under examination " Mr. Botts, (speaking to the witness.) to

to

each other and to

— When you are about

show a paper, you will please submit it to our inspection. " General Wilkinson. I shall be governed by the Judge

—

in

that respect.

" Mr. Botts.

— Then we

shall request the

Judge

to

govern you

in that respect."

Major Bruff was

called to the stand

"Mr. Wickhaji argued that the testimony of Major BrufF was admissible to show an inconsistency in that of General W^ilkinson.

"General Wilkinson. I am not in observation ?

language which has, upon

— May

I

be permitted to make one

the smallest degree surprised at the

this

and several other occasions, been

used by the counsel of Col. Burr

— men

who

are hired to mis-

represent.

" Mr. Wickham.

man "

—

I

will not submit to such language from any

in court.

The Chief

Justice declared the style of General Wilkin-

son to be improper, and that he had heard too

guage

in court.

"General Wilkinson apologized." Silas Dinsmore is questioned he says

—

vol.

1—18

:

much of such

lan-

— INCIDENTS OF THE TRIAL.

206

"General Wilkinson condescended previously

made

to ask

my

opinion, having

a full disclosure of the dangers apprehended, and

of the measures which he had adopted.

favor of seizing every

This was

sures.

[1S07.

I

did give

my

man whom he found opposed development of the

after a

state

advice

of

in

mea-

to his

by

aflairs

General Wilkinson.

— —

" Mr. Martin. And that not to be depended upon. " Mr. Wirt. That will be a subject of discussion hereafter. " Mr. Martin. I know that.

—

" Mr. Wirt,

good deal of these

The

alow

(in

following

tone of voice to Mr. M.)

You

knoiv a

things.''''

is

in

a pleasanter key, and to those

who

inti-

mately knew Mr. Wirt, and remember that constant tendency to playfulness, which seemed to break forth even in his gravest moments and out of the bosom of his deepest study, it will bring

him

and the quiet humor eye, a

His friends will

vividly to mind.

that, like a

when an occasion

recall

the musical voice

ray of mellow sunshine,

lit

up

his

for a laugh might be found in the course of

trial.

A

fifer,

by

the

name of Gates, was under cross-examination.

Some boats had been seized near Marietta. Gates was a militiaman on duty against the conspirators, and saw the seizure of the boats.

" Mr. Wirt.

— As

to attack the boats

far as I understand you,

you were

called on

?

— — — " Mr. Wirt. — And you were unwilling " Answer. — Yes. " Mr. Wirt. — That you were willing

" Answer. Yes. " Mr. Wirt. And you were called on to carry a musket " Answer. Yes. to

is,

fight?

" Answer.

— Yes."

do

i

it.''

to whistle and not to

CHAPTER XV. 18 07.

THE AFFAIR OF THE LEOPARD AND CHESAPEAKH.— EXFOURTH OF JULY.— LETTER TO JUDGE TUCKER.— WIRT PROJECTS THE RAISING OF A LEGION CORRESPONDENCE WITH CARR IN REGARD TO IT.— THE PROJECT MEETS OPPOSITION FINALLY ABANDONED WAR ARRESTED.— THE EMBARGO.

PUBLIC AGITATION

PECTATION OP

The

country was agitated, in 1807, by other events of liigher

import than Burr's conspiracy.

political

A

WAR

by her incommerce with the conas it was then asserted,

sentiment of hostility against England, provoked

x'asion

of the neutral rights of American

Europe,

tinent of

in the right

of search,

and by the impressment of American seamen under the the United States, had been growing, for

flag

some few years,

to

of

such

a predominance in the breast of the nation, as to render

war a

The

failure

probable result, and a subject of popular comment.

of Messrs. Monroe and Pinkney to adjust these questions, and the refusal of

to submit to the Senate the unsatis-

Mr. Jeflerson even

factory treaty they had negotiated, contributed to increase the probability of a resort to arms.

The

outrage perpetrated, at this juncture, upon the the aggression of the

flag, in

in itself,

national

Leopard upon the Chesapeake, was,

an insult of such flagrant enormity, as to rouse the uni-

demand for instant reparation. were merged in this, and nothing prompt and vigorous measures taken by Mr. Jefferson, at

versal indignation of the people to a

All previous topics of quarrel

but the

the moment, restrained the country from an immediate declaration

of war. It

was on the 22d of June, when the Chesapeake

frigate,

standing out to sea from Norfolk, passed a British squadron at

anchor

in

Lynnhaven bay.

belonging to the

The Leopard,

squadron, followed

within a k\v miles of

Cape Henry.

a frigate of

fifty

guns,

her, and overhauled her,

Here

a boat

was

sent with

THE LEOPARD AND CHESAPEAKE.

208

[1807.

an otficer and several men, to demand of Captain Barron the sur-

render of three men,

who were

and

who were

said to

Captain Bar-

knew of no persons of that Upon receiving this answer, the

reply was, that he

ron's

amongst

his

gate

kept

still

crew.

in pursuit

and then a broadside

of the Chesapeake,

into her,

which

men, besides doing some damage

The Chesapeake,

ship.

—

fired, first,

one gun,

wounded

killed and

to the spars

description British fri-

several

and rigging of the

being totally unprepared for an encounter

which she had no reason and

be aboard the Chesapeake,

claimed as native British subjects.

to expect,

was obliged

to strike

her

flag,

submit to the impressment and abduction of four of her

to

The consequences which

crew.*

followed

this event,

gave a

stirring interest to the time.

The

President issued a proclamation ordering off the British

squadron, and interdicting the waters of the United States to

armed

British

Detachments of

vessels.

militia

were ordered

to

A gov-

Norfolk, to protect that point against a threatened attack.

ernment vessel was despatched

all

London, bearing instructions

to

to

our minister there to demand the satisfaction and security which the recent outrage rendered necessary.

which the

Every

thing

was done

crisis required.

This reference

to the history of a

grave national event, may,

perhaps, appear too stately an introduction to the comparatively trivial

concern which a private citizen of that day, had

general ferment which

it

produced.

vidual participation, however,

we may

in the

humble sphere of

In the

often read

an

indi-

authentic

exposition of national sentiment, and find the temper and spirit of the times illustrated quite as forcibly as in narrative of a higher

—

indeed, even more forcibly and with more graphic efliect. Richmond became a theatre of great agitation. Those martial

cast;

fires,

which slumber

in the breast

are so quickly kindled into flame

of every community and which by the breeze of stirring public

This unfortunate and mortifying incident has been the subject of too much to render it necessary to say more of it here but, in justice to those who were censured for the event, it is proper to add that at the moment of this attack *

comment

the Chesapeake

;

was

in a condition wiiich totally disabled her from resistance.

had been but a few hours out nf

port,

great quantities of stores unstowed, der,

and want of organization

enemy.

and had sailed with

which were yet

lier

She

decks lumbered with

in this condition.

This

disor-

in her crew, placed lier entirely at the disposal of her

EXPECTATION OF WAR.

CHAP. XV.]

now

events,

209

blazed, .with especial ardor, amongst the youthful and

Over

venturous spirits of Virginia.

whole

the

state, as, indeed,

over the whole country, that combative principle which heart of

which

lies at

the

chivalry, began to developc itself in every form in

all

national sensibility

is

generally exbibited.

The

people held

meetings, passed fiery resolutions, ate indignant dinners, drank

bil-

Old armories

ligerent toasts, and uttered threatening sentiments.

were ransacked, old weapons of war were burnished anew, military companies were formed, regimentals were discussed, the drum and

woke

and martial bands of music

fife

the morning and evening

echoes of town and country, and the whole land was

filled

bosom of

up, like plants of a night, out of the

The pruning hook was, Patriotism found

a peaceful nation.

of a sudden, converted into a spear.

all

vent

a

eloquence

in

;

an unwonted

indolence

monotony of

stimulus in the exciting appeals of the day, and the

ordinary

happy

a

life

with the

which sprang

din, the clamor, the glitter, the array of serried hosts

relief in the

new

duties

which sprang out of

the combination of citizen and soldier.

Many

now

are

living

who remember this fervor. Twenty-five The generation which grew

years had rolled over the Revolution.

manhood

to

were educated

in this interval,

of the war of Seventy-six, w'hich, fresh fire-side,

reminiscences

in all the

in the narratives

inflamed the imagination of the young with

marvels of soldier-like adventure. amplification and the unction

were heard by

These were

its

told

of every

thousand

with the

characteristic of the veteran, and

his youthful listener,

with many a secret sigh, that

such days of heroic hazards were not to return for him. ])resent generation

is

The

but faintly impressed with that worship of the

Revolution which, before the war of 1812, gave a poetical characto its memories, and made it so joyful a subject for the

ter

imagination of those

who

lived to hear these fresh echoes of

its

glory.

Now,

in

1807, whilst these emotions

the sons of those the same

who had won

enemy was about

had dreamed of was about

was breathed

may

to confront them. to arrive

for a field to realize

attribute, in part, that

VOL.

1

— 18*

still

swayed the breast of

the independence of the nation,

;

its

The day

that

many

and many a secret aspiration hopes.

To this

sentiment

quick rising of the people

in

we

1807,

:

FOURTH OF JULY.

210

[1807.

Avhich, but for the timely settlement of the difficulty, would, in

a

iew months, have converted the whole country into a camp. Foremost amongst the enthusiasts of this day was William

We

Wirt. raise

very soon, absorbed

shall find liim,

He was

a legion.

be

to

at the

in a

State troops, with a chosen corps of officers and

did not doubt,

dedicated

to

scheme

to

head of four regiments of

men M'hom, he

were destined to become conspicuous posterity. For the present, we shall

in

annals

find

him

slaking his ardor in a song.

The Fourth

was to be celebrated in the neighborhood Such an occasion, of course, no one could expect to pass without a full freight of those engrossing sentiments which were peculiarly inspired by the great topic, now first in the universal mind. Judge Tucker was a poet as well as a kindred of July

of Richmond.

He

spirit.

had witnessed the Revolution

observation, and

was

still

at

an age capable of

deeply imbued with

all

its

passion.

I

find this letter

TO JUDGE TUCKER. Richmond, July

Mv Dear

How

is

your muse

?

If in

me, and enable me

gratify

2, 1807.

Sir:

song on the day, embracing the

how

mounting mood,

to gratify others,

w^ould you

on Saturday, by a

late gallant exploit

of the Leopard

!

Come, I know you can easily dash oif such a piece. It would be no more than one of the ordinary overflowings of your spirit versified and rhyme, McPherson says, is merely a mechanical business, to which, when a man has served an apprenticeship, there is no more labor of invention about it than Mr. Didgbury exer;

cises in

Our hill

making a pair of pumps. excursion, to-morrow morning, to the point of the beautiful

which overhangs the Market valley, would All the rest is mere manipulation.

fill

you with

the

conception.

If you come into mere matter of moonshine to which the Death of Montgomery, and

could learn the song on Saturday morning.

I

this idea, as

you,

I

I

suppose the metre

would propose

that in

is

the Battle of Trenton are written.

a

Lest vou should not recollect

FOURTH OF JULY.

CHAP. XV.]

you the only verse of the

these, I will give

Here

211

latter that I

remember.

it is

" Our

was

object

That dar'd

And

the Hessian band.

invade

to

fair

freedom's land

quarter in that place.

Great Washington he led us on. With ensigns streaming with renown.

Which By-the-bye,

am

I

thing

it is

the metre of "

disgrace."

The Mason's Daughter," which hear whether you will do

me have

let

heard

I

a copy of your song in honor of Washing-

but once.

it

Death of Wolfe."

It

think

I

goes to the tune of

it

which

"The

describes Liberty as taking her flight from

You

the shores of Albion, and lighting here. this,

this

yea or nay?

Will you ton?

me

Let

sure you know.

—

known

ne'er had

will

know, by

mean.

I

Very

sincerely.

Your

friend and obed't servant,

Wm. Wirt. The answer dum, endorsed

given by the Judge in the following memoran-

is

own

in his

handwriting, upon the outer page of this

letter.

"July

in I

2, 1807.

upon

letter

my

I

called on Mr.

He

his table.

pocket the

said

'

Wirt this morning, and found

this

there

had

is

a letter for you.'

lines written for the fourth

I

of this month, which

intended for him, without any previous communication between

us,

and gave them to him."

The

lines furnished

on

this

occasion breathe that spirit of bitter

remembrance of the Revolutionary war, heightened into

recent aggression upon the Chesapeake.

now

to

which

warmer exacerbation, by

still

I

have alluded,

the audacity of the

Happily, these feuds are

forgotton in the tranquillity engendered

by

that sentiment of

mutual respect and appreciation of national and individual worth,

which,

two

we

trust, will

countries.

of the nation

long distinguish the intercourse between the to, the

joy

triumph of the war of Independence, had

lost

At the date of the events above referred in the

:

PREPARATION FOR WAR.

212 nothing of

its

[1807.

sternness; whilst, on the other side, the sting of

wounded pride had

A

!

not yet been assuaged by time.*

short note to Carr explains the progress of the

Mr. Cabell was,

at this time,

Governor of the

war

The

state.

fever.

note

refers to proceedings in his Council.

"Richmond, July

2, 1807.

"Dear Carr: * in

"We

*

the antechamber,

are on tiptoe for war.

where we are waiting the

final

I

write this

resolve of the

Council, on detaching a portion of us to support our brethren at

Norfolk.

When more

composed,

I

will write to

you

at large."

Not

to open an old wound, but to preserve a memorial of the times and of the of defiance, which was universally returned from this country to its proudest and most powerful enemy, I present my reader a copy of Judge Tucker's verses, which were sung at the celebration, alluded to in the text, by a voice noted for its spirit

melody.

"Tyrant

!

again

we

hear thy hostile voice.

Again, upon our coasts, thy cannon's roar.

Again,

for peace,

Again,

we

thou leavest us no choice,

hurl defiance from our shore.

Hast thou forgot the day when Warren bled, Whilst hecatombs around were sacrificed ? Hast thou forgot thy legions captive led. Thy navies blasted by a foe despised ?

Or thinkest thou, we've forgot our brothers slain, Our aged fathers weltering in their gore Our widowed mothers on their knees, in vain, ?

Their violated daughters'

Our

friends, in prison ships

To summer's

fate deplore

?

and dungeons chained.

suns and winter's frost exposed

;

Insulted, starved, amidst disease detained, Till death the fatal scene of horrors closed

Our towns in ashes laid, our fields on fire. Our wives and children flying from the foe

!

Ourselves in battle ready to expire.

Yet struggling

Know then, And hear

this

still

day

to strike another

recalls the

blow

!

whole

our solemn and determined voice;

In vain, proud tyrant, shall thy thunders Since, once more, death or victory

's

roll.

our choice."

LETTER TO CARR.

CHAP. XV.]

The

now

prospect of war had

Wirt's imagination with

filled

His correspondence

dreams of military glory. schemes of martial

213

His views of public

life.

is

fraught with

affairs, as

commu-

some of these letters, will amuse the reader of the present day, by their exhibition of the feelings of the time, and the extravagant expectations which the ferment of the public mind then suggested. nicated

in

.

From tial

1807,

until the

event actually occurred in 1812, the mar-

temper of the country was kept

much more

likely to terminate in

in

an excitement which was

war than

Wirt

conciliation.

had, previous to this period, held the commission of a major in a

At the

militia regiment.

been put had only

The

last session

of the Legislature, he had

nomination for the post of a Brigadier General, and

in

lost the election

affair

by a few

votes.

of the Chesapeake had led him to expect military

service in the field

and he now, consequently, turned his thoughts

;

towards an effective employment

To

in

a

war which he considered

he set himself about the organization of a plan to raise the Legion to which I have already adverted. In

inevitable.

this end,

the several letters which

I

have on

this subject, I find

engrossed with the project, and pursuing

which shows how much of military glory. a

I

his

him

totally

with an earnestness

it

mind was captivated with the fancy few of these letters with a view to

select a

They

rapid sketch of this passage in his personal history.

contain details of the plan of the Legion, and an announcement of

what was expected

to be achieved,

which now,

after the

expe-

rience of the country towards the realization of these fancies of

1807, will be read with curious interest, and, perhaps, be valued for the

comment they suggest

for our instruction,

when we

find

occasion to contrast the promises of the day, with the perform-

ances of the future.

TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, July

Mv Dear I

Friend

promised that you should hear from

length than

comply with

19, 1807.

:

when

I

wrote by Stanard.

that engagement.

me I

again, and sit

more

down now

at

to

MOVEMENTS OF THE

214

On

BRITISH.

receiving the President's proclamation officially, the British

ships in

Hampton Roads weighed anchor,

that he

had previously determined

he was the master of his

that

[1807.

the

change

to

Commodore

saying

his anchorage,

They

own movements.

and

sailed

Richard H. Lee was sent by Mathews,

out of the capes.

to

carry to Douglass despatches from Erskine and from the British Consul at Norfolk. When he approached them he was' hailed,

and asked if he did not know that main and the squadron was prohibited

all

intercourse between the

He

?

said he did

he bore important communications, which rendered

He was

he should come on board.

livered his despatches, and the

where

cabin,

it

;

but that

proper that

then admitted on deck, de-

Commodore asked him

the other British officers

into the

were immediately assem-

After they had read the despatches, they began to interro-

bled.

"Well, sir, is the mob down in Norfolk, or is it still up.?" "Has the mob assassinated the British Consul yet?" " What are we to make of this Mathews at one moment he is a Lee tried to disgeneral, at the next the chairman of a mob ?" courage this conversation, but it only provoked them to greater gate him thus;

—

rudeness.

Two two

The

of the British ships have since put out to sea.

still

other

remain off the capes.

The Executive marched from

has recalled the companies of infantry which The two troops of place and Petersburg.

this

horse from these places will remain with Mathews, for the pur-

pose of scouring the coast, and repelling any attempt to land. I was here when the companies from this place marched, and

was

Williamsburg when the company of horse marched thence It had not, indeed, all of the glorious " pride, pomp

in

to Norfolk.

— but

The companies it smacked " of war." They had an burnished. newly arms were band of animating delightfully most and a colors, elegant stand of Richmond of militia of the escort by an Accompanied music. and the company of artillery, marching in files, they traversed the main street through almost its whole length. All this would have and circumstance,"

uniformed, their

been merely a fourth of July parade face of

war was,

that every

and fourth story, was

filled

;

but what gave

window, from the ground with weeping females.

it

the tragic

to the third

Do you

think that

The

ought?

215

PLAN OF A LEGION.

CHAP XV.]

these people will do us the justice they

of this nation will not be satisfied nor with an English farce of a trial Humphreys, a complimentary return of their

exasperated

spirit

with a ministerial disavowal

and

of Berkeley

;

swords, and higher promotion.

Even

if

they were to convict and execute Berkeley or

phreys, or both,

—

my own

confess, for

I

I

Hum-

siiould

be

not giving us the second part of

very dubious whether they were

tragedy of poor Byng, so firmly

the

part, that

am

I

persuaded that

this

atrocious outrage flowed from the Cabinet.

According

to

my

notion of things,

if

the ministry disavow the

outrage, the offenders should be given up to be tried in this counI see this right disclaimed by a northern press, (perhaps a try.

The paper disI think, very improperly. because the violence was not committed within our jurisbut if it be true that the violence done to the Chesapeake,

republican one) and, claims

it

diction

;

was out of our territorial wherever she was, being a

line,

Chesapeake, herself,

yet the

was part of our territrue because it was de-

national ship,

and, this, I think, is not the less ; monstrated, perhaps by John Marshall, in the case of Jonathan

tory

it be true at all, the offenders ought to be tried in on the principles of national as well as common law. If tried here, Berkeley and Humphreys will have it in their power If to shew whether they acted by the orders of their masters.

Robbins.

If

this country,

they did, they ought to be acquitted, and their masters punished if they did not, they would themselves be certainly punished.

Neither of which events would happen, I

if tried in

country than the surrender of Berkeley and

And

England.

think nothing less ought to or will satisfy the people of this

Humphreys

as I believe that British arrogance will never

this act of justice, I believe

In this event,

importance to If so,

presume.

what

I

presume

war

to

for trial.

condescend to

be inevitable.

that our profession will be of but

little

us.

will

you do with

For my

part,

I

am

yourself.?

Not

resolved.

I

sit

idly at

shall yield

home,

back

I

my

wife to her father, pro tempore, to which the old gentleman has agreed, and

Now,

Sir

I shall :

march.

" Shut the door,"

—what follows

is

in the strictest

confidence of friendship, never to be hinted to a living soul, unless

— PLAN OF A LEGION.

216 you come

into

spirits," (a

phrase which

have agreed

The

object

for talent, spirit and

is

be formed

is

good

make

to

—who are nominated, an — These colonels nomito

be approved of by

is

good

have no

to

:

but to have, in him, a union, as perfect as pos-

;

no man

It is

proposed to make an

Thus organized,

This, there

By

is

that

appoint a brigadier general.

But there

their respective states.

The

state will do,

they have no power to is

as

colonels proposed, are

doubt that the

little

Legislature will confer that office on the colonel

commission.

— A.

who

holds the

Stuart, a

ber of the Council, who, notwithstanding his deficiency

know,

graces, has, you

as sound a

as ever did honor to humanity

—yourself and myself.

homes

will let

mail, as Stuart is

me

is

geniuses and best

first

They have done me commission.

until called into actual service

hear from you,

going on next

the

—John Clarke, the Superintendent

to insist that I shall take the first

to leave our

memin

judgment and as ardent a heart

of the Manufactory of Arms, one of the the state

to

volun-

act, the

no doubt, the Executive Council of the

so far as the commissions of colonel;

and

w'hat

which authorizes him

by

teer officers are to be commissioned

You

is

of these four regiments to the

offer

accept of the service of volunteers.

men of

It

be admitted, even

to

is

!

President, under the act of Congress

honor

officer

nor merely because his under-

;

into the ranks, unless his morals are good.

a brigade

the

all

the selection as distinguished

character as possible

to be explicitly understood, that

first

into a

of understanding, heart, good temper^ and morals.

sible,

who

sorry that Burr has polluted,)

captains, to

merely because his heart standing

am

I

are proposed to be one.

nate their majors and colonels.

There are some " choice

takes effect.

begin with four colonels,

whom you

of

it

to raise four volunteer regiments, to

We

brigade.

and

it,

[1807.

if possible,

Monday

the

are not

by the President. by the return of

to Annapolis,

willing to take the Federal City on his

We

way,

on business, to

commune

with the President. If

you accord, authorize me by

letter, to sign

your name to the

association.

Any

thing else, after this, will be

flat,

so

no more^

but, with

love to Mrs. C. and your brothers.

Adieu, your friend,

Wm. Wirt.

LETTERS TO CARR.

CHAP. XV.]

217

TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, July

Your expected

;

he was

the last mail,

Hanover Court, on

major

28, 1807.

thing

way

his

could

I

Wash-

to

on the subject of

exchange the rank of fourth colonel for that of

in the first regiment.

read your letter to Clarke

I

was every

not, therefore, here, to consult

suffering you, to first

by

Stuart had gone to

wish. ington

favor,

he was so much enraptured with

:

your sentiments, that he swore the exchange should not take place

by I

his consent.

I,

therefore, signed your

name

to a letter

which

had written to the President, containing our joint proposal, and

despatched

it

to Stuart, at

If the President shall

there,

it

will

to leave

it

Hanover, by the mail of

be

Washington when the

at

be presented: otherwise,

I

doubts of your ability to raise

letter gets

have requested Stuart not

you appear

stating to him, that

;

last evening.

a regiment;

to entertain serious

that

you propose

Nelson, and state your willingness to accept a majority in

regiment

your sake,

that, for

:

be considered by us on his return authorize

you,

if

my

could wish that this point might

I

:

I

should

continued, to

sound

that, in the

your apprehensions

still

meantime,

Nelson, distantly and delicately, and ascertain, with certainty,

whether he would take the rank of fourth colonel without any shadow of repining

in the brigade,

at his station.

The arrangement which we have made must not be broken, I am apprehensive, that Nelson, although he might consent to

and

join,

would

entertain a secret wish that the arrangement

him a higher

position.

Now,

unity of spirit and motion, as well as

harmony,

it

is

in

had given

order to give to the brigade that

which are indispensable

necessary that every

man

only contented, but pleased with his peculiar station.

to

its

energy

should be not

One

discon-

command, would not only mar our happiness, but endanger the powerful effect which we hope and expect. If, therefore, you shall retain your apprehensions as to raising a regiment, after what I shall presently say, you can, if you please, feel N's pulse, to ascertain whether he

tented and perturbed spirit, especially in a high

would, with all his soul, come into to

him

in a

VOL.

it,

and take the station proposed

brigade, to be organized on the principles of ours. 1

— 19

— EFFORTS TO FORM THE LEGION.

218

You

will understand

;

upon the Washington before

that this sounding is predicated

supposition that the President shall have Stuart gets there

[1S07.

for if Stuart finds

left

him there, you are committed. you will be

In the event of Nelson's being taken in as colonel,

my

first

major; and,

when

you

will, of course, take the

first

regiment.

But now, as will

depend

his

subalterns.

captains, with

head of

my

the brigade,

regiment, which

is

the

the practicability of forming a regiment, that

to

less

command of

take the

I

on the personal popularity of the colonel, than of You will, for example, appoint your majors and the

approbation of your brother colonels.

In

making these appointments, you will have the range of the state;

you

will appoint

one major

state, another, in

one part of the

in

another: ditluse the appointment of captains as widely as possible, so as to increase the chances of a rapid formation of your regi-

ment; these captains

appoint their subalterns;

will

and on the

captain and his inferior officers, will depend the success of enlist-

That you,

ments.

as the colonel, are

a

man of

talents,

honor,

education, good breeding, courage and humanity, will be information

enough

Besides,

two or

to the soldiers.

sir,

as soon as

we

are commissioned,

mean

I

to

have

three hundred hand-bills struck, explanatory of the prin-

ciples on

which our brigade

in perspective as brilliantly as these will be circulated,

first

be constructed

will

my paint

;

and painting

box and brushes can do

to the colonels, through

them

it

it;

to the

majors, and through them to the captains and subalterns, to be

read at every public meeting of courts, musters, &c.

On

the efficacy of this address

— on the conduct of your majors,

captains, &c., dispersed over the state,

count for

a

regiment; more especially,

1 think you may securely when your own unsullied

and respectable name is known to key the arch. If, after all this, you doubt, and the President should be ticello,

******

and you prefer Nelson,

if

he comes

into

it

at

Mon-

con amore, he

will be excellent.

The Governor letter

has written to the President in support of our

ca ira.

Yours,

Wm. Wirt.

THE LEGION.

CHAP. XV.]

219

TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, August

My Dear The

12, 1807.

Chevalier:

February

act of Congress, of the 24th

last,

authorizes a

tender of volunteer services to the President by companies

him

directs

;

and

to organize the companies, so tendered, into battalions,

regiments and brigades: hence

it

thought that commissions to

is

majors and colonels cannot issue, until he shall have received the

made

tender of your companies, and

the requisite organization.

Enclosed, you have commissions for the seven captains

you have named, with a circular

letter for each.

You

whom

will require

two more captains, whom you will name by the return of mail and you will, as early as possible, name the lieutenants and ensigns in each company. Upon this subject you had better take the opinion of each capthey will probably best

tain, as

recruiting

service

know

the officers qualified for the

respective

their

in

neighborhoods.

In

the

meantime, the persons so designated as lieutenants and ensigns,

can immediately

assist the captains in recruiting

;

understanding,

however, that their commissions will depend on the approbation of the Executive Council of the State.

approved, their com-

If

missions will be immediately forwarded. If either of sible, in

his

your captains decline, name another, as soon as pos-

place, and your brothers here will take care of his

commission.

Charge your captains,

particularly, to recruit no

no unprincipled gambler. only

young men,

thirty

—

(I

mean without

at all events, not

would be fortunate same neighborhood,

The men

Let them, as

if

far as

families,

drunkard and

possible, recruit

and under six and

over forty) of good size and healthy.

each company could be completed

for the convenience of exercising

it.

will understand that they will not be called

several neighborhoods and pursuits, until called out

It

in the

from their

by the Presi-

dent into actual service.

They ought things,

to understand that the

be a long one.

A

single

Canada and Nova Scotia: so

war

cannot, in the nature of

campaign

that while an

will probably give us

engagement /or

the

war

THE LEGION.

220 be more honorable,

n'ill

it

[1S07.

probably not be more opjjressive

will

than an engagement for twelve months

—(and much

I

fear that the

glory of this achievement will be given to the states immediately in the British

more

little

:

will remain, unless

open another theatre

The

— Canada Great the South —

neighborhood

in

Nova

and

Britain,

Scotia taken,

by conquest, should

this parenthesis is to you.)

:

substance of our letter to the President will be found in

the enclosed circular.

The companies

recruited, will furnish themselves with the cheap

militia uniform of the state, of w^hich

and for which,

any captain

will advise

you;

they are called out into service, they will be

if

paid by the United States.

On

the subject of recruiting

hear further from

The hour

among other

you

volunteers,

shall

us.

of Burr's

trial is

He

come.

has exhausted the panel,

and elected only four jurors, Ed. Carrington,

Hugh Mercer,

E. Parker, (the Judge's grandson) and Lambert, of

R.

this place.

Your brothers greet you,

Wm. Wirt.

We ward

have

now some

currents

as

signs of miscarriage.

well as love.

Glory has

The war seems

to

its

unto-

have been

transferred to the newspapers.

TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, September

My Dear

1,

Sick, as

I

have been for several days, and harrassed by the

******

progress of Burr's

vor by the

affair, I

have but a minute to answer your

been deceived,

if not in the virtue, at least

in the understanding of our countrymen.

which have been made

of our association, and

they

still

fa-

last mail.

We have certainly efforts

1807.

Dabney:

misapprehend

its it,

In spite of the repeated

to explain the

motives and object

non-interference wuth militia dignities,

or affect to misapprehend

it.

We are

THE LEGION.

CHAP. XV.]

must disregard

right in principle, and

221

this

" ardor prava

jiiben-

tium.''''

Several companies in the lower country arc so; and

think the

I

Governor,

in

wave of prejudice

will,

I

up, or nearly

A

letter

of the

reply to one from a militia officer making inquiries

as to this Legion, will be published to-day,

and

filled

is retiring.

hope, give the coup

cle

by order of Council,

grace to this ignorant or vicious

opposition.

My

sickness, and professional engagements together, have pre-

me from

vented

giving to this subject, for

personal attention which

some time

past, that

wished.

I

Marshall has stepped in between Burr and death. He has pronounced an opinion that our evidence is all irrelevant. Burr not having been present at the island with the assemblage, and the act itself not amounting to levying war.

The

jury thus sent out without evidence, have this day re-

turned a verdict, in substance, of not guilty.

Your

friend,

Wm. Wirt. The

next letter looks to the conquest of Quebec.

TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, September

My Dear

S, 1807.

Friend:

Mr. Randolph's project

swimmingly

at first.

is

Wait

period of their services

is

better calculated, than ours, to go on

till

the election of his officers, and the

fixed,

and you will discover the discor-

dia semina rerum which his plan contains.

In our plan, no source

of delusive hope and consequent disgust and disappointment exists. All

who

join us will

know, with

none but ardent and aspiring for the

war:

we

shall

have no

face will be turned towards

what they undertake because we go months soldier whose heart and

certainty,

spirits will join us,

six

home every

step that he takes towards

Canada, and whose dragging, lengthening chain will be almost too

heavy

to

be borne by him, before he gets half

VOL.

1—19*

way

to

Quebec.

MISCARRIAGE.

222

[1S07.

The blood of I begin to apprehend that there will be no war. our countrymen has been washed from the decks of the Chesapeake, and we have never learned how to bear malice. Besides, Bonaparte will drub and frighten the British into the appearance, at least, of good humor with us. I think, however, we had better urge on our brigade, till our

shall

The

to ground our arms.

Government orders us

make will be so much ground gained

progress

event of a

in the

we new

explosion.

You

will see the opinion

soon be stopped

the trial

It will trial for misdemeanor will begin to-day. Kento then a motion to commit and send on

The

for treason.

by which Marshall stopped

:

tucky, which will not be heard.

Yours,

Wm. Wirt. From

the philosophical tone of our next extract,

the Legion and

its

hopes had

fallen into

from the jealousy entertained against it This seems to have been the first event

which gave him a

we

infer that

some danger of extinction by the militia of the state. in the life

taste of the disappointments to

tious aspirations are exposed, and therefore to

of the writer,

which

have

ambi-

all

filled his

mind

with reflections which were not less natural to the occasion, than of a character to be frequently repeated in the course of his succeeding years.

TO DABNEY CARR.

******* Richmond, September

Mv Dear As

to the Legion,

and of

my

it

has given

countrymen

;

the most melancholy

me

and has,

I

a

new view

of

presages for their

difliculty will

an artful

even to their own ruin

This

we

is

a

new

villain

in

nature,

heart with

destiny.

future

ever have

human

my

confess, filled

easily misled and so easily inflamed, even against

what

14, 1807.

Friend:

So

their friends,

wielding them

?

incentive to virtue.

It is into

are, at last, to look for happiness.

It is

our

own

hearts that

the only source on

POLITICAL REFLECTIONS.

CHAP. XV.]

we

\vhich

can count with

infallible certainty.

223 These

truths, so

long preached by philosophers and divines, were never before brought home so strongly to my conviction, as by the example of this

Legion.

Thank God we !

are not without this source of happiness on the

present occasion.

But what

is

to

become of

the people

;

what is to become of the duped ?

republic, since they are thus easily to be

subjects which suggest most painful anticipations to seems that no rectitude, no patriotism of intention, can

These are nie

;

for

shield a

who

it

man even from censure and

themselves mean to do what

being so deluded, as to think

man

censure and execrate a

it

And

execration. right, are

is

still

the people

capable of

proper, and even virtuous, to

for an act, not only flowing

purest motives, but really well judged

for their benefit

from the

and happi-

ness.

How

hard

is

it

for

a republican to admit the truth, that a

patriotic and judicious action its

may, nevertheless, draw down upon

authors the disapprobation, the censure, and even the curses of

That no argument, no appeal to reason and law and Yet it is certainly can save him from the consequences

the people right,

!

!

true. It

requires

some

from experience, shell,

effort in a

to prevent

man,

who

into his

*

j>y^

^

and caring only about himself.

then, if every virtuous

would be given up

receives this conviction

him from drawing himself

man should

*

take that resolution, the theatre

to villians, solely,

and

we

should soon

all

go

to

would not be quite so palatable. So, we must do our duty and leave the issues to Heaven. If the " if we have people curse us, our own hearts will bless us And admittroubles at sea, boys, we have pleasures on shore." that has there is of government form alloys, what ting all these " a ^vet with lee-way bring up the So we worse not more and

perdition together

;

and

this

;

.''

sail," as

We

poor Frank Walker used

to say.

'

are balancing on the point of yielding the legionary scheme,

Consult Nelson, and

so far as the field officers are concerned.

me hear what you think of it. The second prosecution against Burr again arrested the evidence.

is

at

an end

;

let

Marshall has

— THE LEGION ABANDONED.

224

A

[1807.

motion will be made to commit him and his confederates, for

in Kentucky or wherever else the judge shall, from the whole evidence, believe their crimes to have been committed. There is no knowing what will become of the motion. I believe trial

it

be defeated

will

&c.

sic transit

:

In haste.

Yours

affectionately,

Wm. Wirt. The Legion has now become hopeless. It can only be revived by Great Britain as we may read in the next letter. •

—

TODABNEYCARR. Richmond, September

My Dear

have a moment, only, to acknowledge yours of the 18th

1

The abandonment lor

of the legionary scheme, ^vhich

your consideration

in

my

we were

proper that you should consider

my own

It is

it

considering

opinion that there would be

we

it, I

thought

too.

more

dignity, as well

But the majority here urge

as propriety, in our withdrawing.

with some reason, that

inst.

suggested

I

was proposed by some of our

last,

friends in the country, and while it

22, 1807.

Daenev:

who

stand committed to the captains

have accepted, and should infringe the express terms of the con-

which we ourselves proposed, by deserting them

tract It

seems

had better

be the opinion

suffer the

scheme

at this time.

under these circumstances,

depends,

be ever

I

storm

is

may be

executed.

*

*

In very great haste,

my

we

have

subsiding.

suspect, on Great Britain,

filled up.

we

to die a natural death.

Gloucester, Essex, Stafford and Fredericksburg,

flattering accounts that the It

that,

not even yet despaired but that the plan

it is

From

to

whether the Legion

will

*

dear D, I

am

yours

iit

semper,

Wm. Wirt. This in

their

is

the end of a martial dream.

thirty-fifth

year

—

an age

Wirt and Carr were both

when men may be

trusted to

CHAP. XV.l

WAR POSTPONED—THE EMBARGO.

225

make good any promise of adventure. They were both very much in earnest in the scheme. The reader will smile at the double current of war and law, which runs through these letters the affairs of the forum in the morning, of the camp in the evening.

A

two-fold engrossment very taking to the fancy of Wirt.

A

by the President, to commence on the 26th of October. It was supposed that this session would take up the question of the Chesapeake in such a spirit as would lead to a declaration of war. That expectation had already yielded to an opposite conviction, produced by a disavowal of the act of the British Commander by his Government. The prospect of settling the pending differences by negotiation became almost certain. The result was, that the war was indefinitely postponed. special session of Congress

was

Amongst other consequences of and

its

called

this event, the

projector gradually faded

away

in the

hopes of the Legion

somewhat clouded

atmosphere of a doubtful peace. Instead of

war

— the country had an Embargo.

—

CHAPTER

XVI.

1S08.

INCREASING REPUTATION MR. JEFFERSON PROPOSES TO HIM TO GO INTO CONGRESS HE DECLINES.— DETERMINES TO ADHERE TO HIS PROFESSION HE DEFENDS MR. MADISON AGAINST THE PROTEST LETTERS OF " ONE OP THE PEOPLE."— UNEXPECTEDLY PUT IN NOMINATION FOR THE LEGISLATURE—LETTER TO MRS. W. ON THIS EVENT.— HIS REPUGNANCE TO IT IS

—

—

ELECTED CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. MONROE.—LETTERS TO CARR AND EDWARDS.

The

reputation

which Wirt acquired by

his participation in the

of Aaron Burr had a conspicuous effect upon his subsequent career. That trial had summoned to Richmond a great concourse trial

whom were many men

of spectators, amongst

of the highest dis-

tinction in the State of Virginia, and, indeed, in the Union.

The

was thronged with crowds capable of forming

the

best judgment upon the merits of the counsel, and of doing

full

court house

justice to

several

their

The

ability.

careful preparation and masterly treason, both as

known

to the

cases

were argued with

The whole

skill.

law of England and

the Constitution of the United States,

was

doctrine of

as defined in

fully discussed,

and the

leading decisions of both countries were analyzed with an acumen

which impresses the reader of the report with the highest respect for the talent enlisted in the cause.

The sions

opinions of those

made by

it

upon

all

who witnessed who read the

the

trial,

and the impres-

proceedings at a distance

from the scene, equally tended to elevate the professional standing Indeed, judgof the counsel of neither more than of Mr. Wirt. :

ing from the notoriety

which portions of

through the public press, jH'ofited as

much by

His popularity

in

it

we may

his

speech acquired

say that no one of the counsel

as he did.

Richmond

thus greatly enhanced, seems to

have suggested an attempt to bring him into public

life.

Mr.

Jef-

ferson expressed an earnest wish to him on this subject, in which

he Avas seconded by many of his

political friends.

LETTER FROM MR. JEFFERSON.

CHAP. XVI.]

The last

227

now approaching

following letter from the President,

Mr. Wirt's qualifications for

political service.

Washington, January

Dear Sir

10, 1808.

:

*

* I

the

year of his second term, shows the high estimate he made of

*

#

*

*

*

suspected, from your desire to go into the army, that you dis-

liked your profession, notwithstanding that your prospects in

were

none in the state. Still, I knew open to stronger antipathies than that of the law.

inferior to

sion is

object of this letter, then,

That

gress.

is

is

to

With your

The

propose to you to come into Contheatre of this nation, and

commanding

the great

man

the threshold to whatever department of office a to enter.

is

qualified

reputation, talents and correct views, used at the

with the necessary prudence, you will, at once, be placed

House of Representatives; and

head of the republican body

in the

after obtaining the standing

which a

you may look,

at

it

that no profes-

your own

little

time will ensure you,

will, into the military, the judiciary,

diplomatic or other civil departments, with a certainty of being in either

may

whatever you please; and,

the present state of

in

be called the eminent talents of our country, you

assured of being engaged, through

ployments.

If

you come

life, in

what

may be

the most honorable

in at the next election,

you

em-

will begin

your course with a new administration.

By tion

supporting them, you will lay for yourself a broad founda-

in the public confidence, and, indeed,

you

will

become

Colossus of the republican government of your country. not say that public life

is

the line for

making a fortune

;

but

the

I

will

it

fur-

nishes a decent and honorable support, and places one's children

on good grounds for public favor.

petition.

Had

General

have been denied to them Perhaps, cation.

It

(the idol of

I

The

family of a beloved father

on the most favorable grounds of com-

will stand with the public

Washington

left

children,

ought to apologize for the frankness of

proceeds from an ardent zeal to see

my

desire to see

what would

?

soul) continue in

this

this

communi-

government

good hands, and from a sincere

you whatever you wish

to be.

To

this

apology

I

a

WIRT'S ANSWER.

228

my

only add

shall

[1808.

friendly salutations and assurances of sincere

esteem and respect.

Th. Jefferson. This very

flattering invitation

guished as the writer of

have been

this time, to itself,

to

fully

distin-

a career which we may suppose, open to Mr. Wirt, and which, to

regarded as sufficiently attractive

usually

is

it,

from one so eminently

at in

men of

was promptly answered by him to whom it was addressed, in a tone of so much prudence and with such deliberate estimate of the duties he owed to himself and his family, as to present an

talents,

in the invitation so

Wirt was now time of

seldom witnessed

self-denial but

example of have found

when

life

in

many

in

one

who

persuasives to accept

the very meridian of vigorous

the ardor of youthful ambition

is

might

it.

manhood,

—

not only una-

more confident by the conscious strength of expe-

bated, but even

rience and knowledge of the world.

TO THOMAS JEFFERSON. Richmond, January

Dear I

Sir

14, 1808.

:

fear

you have forgotten

my

disposition, since

you seem

to

It think your favor of the 10th might require an apology. me obliging and grateful beyond expression. I cannot better deis

to

by answering your proposition in the it was made. My desire to go into the army proceeded from no dislike of my It arose from the impulse which electrified the contiprofession.

serve your good opinion than

same

spirit

of frankness in which

In acting under

nent.

it,

I

overlooked domestic inconveniences

calmer proposal of going into Congress, present I have a wife and children themselves with irresistible force. They subsist on the running profits of entirely unprovided for.

which,

my

in

this

The

practice.

instant this ceases they

be thrown on the charity of the effect of

many

my

their relations.

going into the army.

must either starve, or This also would be

But a state of war demands

which can never be necessary in a time of peace. I supposed could not last more than two or three

sacrifices

The war,

too,

campaigns— at

least

upon land;

after

which

I

might return to

my

REFUSES PUBLIC LIFE.

CHAP. XVI.]

practice.

Whereas

In entering

it,

my

the political career fixes

although

229 destiny for

life.

should have the good fortune to reap

I

all

the high honors and advantages

which your obliging good opinion age will come upon me, and find my wife

has suggested, yet old

and children as destitute of provision as they are now. I think it duty to endeavor to guard against this, and, as soon as I can,

my

them

to place

in a situation in

which

my

death would not beggar

them. It is

then that

I

might enter, with advantage, on public

should be better informed and better fortune might save

which

I

me from

known

;

life.

I

and independence of

those cruel and diabolical insinuations

have sometimes seen

in the

debates of Congress and in

the public prints.

The

situation of

our amiable and beloved countryman Avho has from a foreign mission, to meet the most perplexing embarrassments, of a private nature, at home, is an awful lesson on the subject of devoting one's self to his country before he shall

just returned

have secured an independent retreat for old age: nothing, indeed, can be more endearing than that devotion.

I

that

a course on

life

than that to to

were my fortune other than it is, there is not in which I would enter with more spirit and ardor which you invite me. The government is most dear

may add

my

affections.

Its practicability, its

protection, prosperity and happiness

And

demonstrated. lightened

man

to

after

whom we

energy,

which

it

its

your retirement, the

this, I

am

— the now

pure and

en-

look, as your successor, will, in

my

opinion, have no equal on the theatre of public

withstanding

dignity

ensures, are

Yet not-

life.

sure that you will approve

my

motive

in

adhering to the practice of the law. I

am

dear

sir,

most respectfully.

Your obedient

serv't,

Wm. Wirt. Refusing

in this firm

which was made

and respectful manner the alluring offer

to him, Wirt, nevertheless,

was

far

from being

an unconcerned or inactive spectator of the public events. time had

now

arrived

when Mr.

the Presidency, and the nation

voL.

1—20

Jefferson

was about

was deeply

to retire

The from

interested in the pur-

ONE OF THE PEOPLE.

230 pose

of nominating his

The

successor.

[1808.

democratic

parly, of

which Mr. Jetlerson was the head, had generally directed their attention to the secretary of state, Mr. Madison, as the man most worthy of tlie eminent trust which was about to be vacated. There were, however, some dissentients in that party, opposed to this nomination. At the head of these was John Randolph, of Roanoke. Certain members of Congress, of whom Mr. Randolph was one, had published a paper which purported to be " A Protest" against the proceedings of a caucus, then recently held

the majority of the republican

Washington,

members of

two houses

the

by at

which Mr. Madison had been nominated as the

in

This Protest came from a fragment of the republican itself, and threatened a distinctive division, which might

candidate. j)arty

overthrow of the friends of the existing admin-

finally lead to the

Mr. Madison was the principal object of

istration.

and he was arraigned before the public

The

in

their attack,

terms of great severity.

principal charges brought against liim, w^ere found

his report

affirmed,

—"a

shameful bargain with the unprincipled speculators

Yazoo companies;"

of the

tirst, in

upon the Yazoo claims, "recommending," as the Protest

—

— second,

"want of

an alleged

in

en-

ergy" of character; and lastly, in his participation in the authorship of " The Federalist," with Jay and Hamilton,

Such a paper, put

was looked upon by the This party had The retirement of Mr. Jcft'erson

forth at this time,

great body of the republicans with deep concern.

now been

in

power

presented the

macy of were

in

first

the party

eight years.

occasion for a struggle to re-assert the supre-

which he had overthrown.

Powerful enemies were fully

The

public afiairs

a most critical position, hovering between peace and war.

combined

were strong

at

home

in the

be defeated,

in

in

arms abroad.

advocacy of the party

their

Great

against the administration. in

hope of maintaining

talent

was

skill-

But the people

power, and could only it,

by such untoward

events as this division of their leaders seemed likely to encourage

and direct.

Wirt took up

defence of the decision of the caucus, and addressed three letters " to the ProIn this state of things,

medium of were signed " One of

testors," through

These

letters

the

the

his

pen

in

Enquirer, at

the People."

Richmond.

As they convey

a favorable impression of the author's talents for political contro-

EXTRACTS.

CHAP. XVI.]

versy

;

and as they refer to some interesting facts of public

tory, as well as to a

231

some questions of

political

his-

conduct; and present

most spirited and appropriate defence of one of the ablest and American statesmen, the reader, it is presumed, will find

best of

be gratified with the perusal of

sufficient interest in the topics, to

the following extracts.

These letters are addressed to Joseph Clay, Abraham Trigg, John Russell, Josiah Masters, George Clinton, Jr., Gurdon S. Mumford, John Thompson, Peter Swart, Edwin Gray, W. Hoge, Samuel Smith, Daniel Montgomery, John Harris, Samuel Maclay, David R. Williams, James M. Garnett and John Randolph. " One of the people of the United States, to whom you have lately addressed yourselves through the medium of the press, returns you his acknowledgements through the same channel, and as one of your constituents, he expects to be heard by you in his turn. An appeal to the nation, by their representatives in Congress, and that under so solemn a

commands

attention and

form as a protest, strikes the

The

respect.

parliamentary protest in

England, has generally been the act of a patriotic minority,

resist-

ing in behalf of the people, the corrupt policy and bold encroach-

We

ments of the minister. feel in those protests

have been accustomed to see and to

the genuine flame of the patriot, the unity

and simplicity of truth, the energy of argument, crowned with the light, the

ciation of ideas, on

which

your protest with similar country

From

order and dignity of eloquence.

ive

a natural asso-

you, no doubt, calculated, feelings.

It

is

we

received

true, indeed, that in this

have perceived nothing either of ministerial oppression

or corruption, during the course of our present administration.

The country

has appeared to us to flourish in halcyon peace.

stead of oppression,

we

have

felt

we have seen only which become a republic. But

of corruption,

when we

find a

our burdens lightened that political purity in

spite of seeing

been oppression or corruption,

band of honest and independent patriots and proclaim to the nation. full

and chastity and feeling,

We

is

we

at first

unknown to or both, which this

apprehend that our senses have been deceived

beating

In-

instead

congressional protest published to the world, and

supported by dissentients so respectable, in number,

us, there has

;

;

now

that,

about to expose

take up your protest with hearts

of expectation and anticipated gratitude.

But what

is

— ONE OF THE PEOPLE.

232

[180S.

our disappointment, what our regret, what our disgust, when, instead

a protest breathing the elevated spirit of conscious truth

of"

and virtue,

them

weak and

respect rity

inconsistent in

Is

?

it

excite

it

composition. to our

?

with caution

;

The wise and for they know

and they would confine

only the

in its

recommend yourselves

to

jealous resentment of a republic,

punishment of

and prevaricating

shuffling

thus that you respect the understandings and integ-

her honor and safety.

sion,

—

and crippled

you seek

that

of your countrymen

"The

charges

its

—poor, entangled

by these means

it

wrongs which we have sufiered, and proving by an electioneering squib

find ourselves insulted

argument

in its Is

telling us of"

we

too,

guilt,

weak and

to

it

is

the sacred guardian of

the virtuous approach and that

its

it

is

a dangerous pas-

appropriate function, the

and the preservation of the republic.

the wicked,

who

seek to rouse

this lion

It is

passion

on every occasion the weak, because they know not what they do; and the wicked, because tliey know it too well; because they ;

which anarchy cannot make worse, is some man of pre-

are, perhaps, in a situation

and

may make

eminent merit

better;

who

or because there

stands in the

too firmly fixed to be

way

of their designs, and

removed by any other means than

storm; or because they

who

is

a popular

themselves so perfectly eclipsed

in

the plain road of virtuous and honest policy, that they find

it

feel

necessary to

fly off into

public eye;

or because they had rather be regarded as baleful

an eccentric track,

in

order to catch the

meteors, shaking pestilence and plague upon the earth, than as salutary planets of inferior magnitude and splendor, dispensing ligiit

and maintaining the harmony of the system; or because they

been baulked in some favorite appointment, and writhing under the united pangs of disappointed ambition and rancorous

liave

revenge, or panting for the guilty glory of heading a bold and turbulent faction, they w^ould involve a republic in confusion and

be gratified and distinguished. These are which the people of the United States understand; and

ruin, rather than not to

truths

understanding which, they will scan with a critical and suspicious

eye every attempt which ment.

is

made

to inflame the national resent-

Before they suffer themselves to be inflamed, they will

examine well the causes which are assigned for sufl'er their

it.

Before they

confidence to be withdrawn from a tried, a faithful and

THE CAUCUS.

CHAP. XVI.]

233

a favorite servant, they will analyze with calmness and patience

They will do more which are made against him. into the characscrutiny jealous they will look with an eye of whether there will see They ters and motives of his accusers. the charges

whom

be no one anions: them to

would be personally convenient or ment or whose envy ters, to

it

would soothe

;

;

no one w^hose resent-

no clan of subaltern charac-

would administer

it

the denunciations to

its

source

;

They

delight.

and see whether

it

be the intrigue of a cabal, to put out of the

it

too honest and virtuous for their purposes.

is

gentlemen,

it

is

Occupying the

station

otherwise of you.

we have

be presumed that you can defy

to

To

will trace

be

which you do,

it

it

for the

'

a

;

or

man

to you,

this scrutiny.

would be horrible

turn against us the

given you, to use

way As

and

fair

and single eye to the public good

patriotic, w^ith a sincere

who

grateful

private and personal attachment to a restless and

whose

ambitious chieftain,

whether

the removal of that favorite

vantage ground

to think '

which

purpose of embroiling us with

one another, of ruining our peace, and overwhelming the republic with

discord, in order that you might rise, like the spirits of

civil

the storm, to the sovereign direction,

would be an abuse of

our

confi-

*******

dence, a pitch of ingratitude and perfidy, of which infant republic has, as yet,

" You arraign the

late

trust that

no examples.

caucus

Washington

at

the very

same

but have not you

;

among you, been

yourselves, or at least the most distinguished

members of caucuses on members of a caucus for

we

occasion.''

Were you

not

this very purpose in the presidential elec-

You cannot deny it; you dare not deny it. When was found that there was an equal division in the electoral votes between Mr. Jefferson and A. Burr, were you not frequently, nay almost perpetually in caucus for the purpose of devising means to tion of 1800.' it

ensure the ultimate election of him

of the people tial

election

?

Were you

whom

not, again, in

you believed the choice caucus for the presiden-

which took place in the year 1805 You do not deny them.

.'

of public notoriety.

These are facts Nay, you admit

your consciences which you were plung'These meetings,' ing, and you attempt to excuse yourselves. you say, if not justified, were palliated by the necessity of the

that caucuses

'

have heretofore been cuslomarij

admonished you of the inconsistencies

'

VOL.

1—20*

into

:'

ONE OF THE PEOPLE.

234 Union or

No

:'

wrong

in the

sliufiling

principle

in

;

if

[1S08.

A

ranks, gentlemen.

wrong, nothing can make

caucus

is

right If the

right.

it

caucus of 1808 was 'in direct hostility with the principles of the

was

power not delegated which you were members, were equally in direct hostility with the Constitution ;' were equally 'gross assumptions of power not delegated by the people ;' for the Constitution

by the

;'

j^eople

if it ;'

a 'gross assumption of

the caucuses of

'

Constitution has undergone no change in this respect.

more caucussing power of your

own mouth,

in

then,

1800-4, than

it

you are condemned

It

gave no

Out

gives in 1808. :

'wherein ye judge

******* condemn yourselves;

others, ye

for ye that judge,

do the same

thinars.'

" Again late

You accuse

:

caucus

at

on the presidential

Now,

names.'

the

members of Congress who formed

Washington of attempting election

pray, what

— by

was

your indecent and unfounded

Was

that intended to

the

to

produce

sanction

'

of congressional

the object of your protest

invective against

produce no

'

bias

the

an undue bias

— of

Mr. Madison

?

on the presidential elec-

by the sanction of congressional in which you have involved yourselves inconsistencies which prove the pure and noble policy by which you are actuated, and which, rely upon it, will not be shortly forgotten by your country. •' But what is all this clamor and uproar about caucuses, and and to produce

tion,'

names

it,

too,

'

Blush at the inconsistences

?'

—

which, country

all

at

once, have

The

!

become

so fraught with danger to the

people of the United States see nothing in

cus but a conference

among

the

members of Congress

the favorite of a majority of the people. is

The

a cau-

to ascertain

presidential election

a prevailing topic of conversation in every quarter of the Union,

for a considerable time before

it

takes place.

the several candidates are every cussed.

The members

The

pretensions of

where publicly and

freely

dis-

of Congress, then, will have learnt the

sentiments of their respective constituents, before they leave home.

The

object of a caucus

is

understood to be nothing more nor

less

than to bring those sentiments together, and, by comparing them, to ascertain

odds does

who it

What

has the preponderance of popular favor.

make how

this

conference

is

called

;

whether by an

anonymous card or one signed by the name of Mr. Bradley

?

The

THE CAUCUS.

CHAP. XVI]

essential object is the conference;

the people care very to

As

it.

and so that one be

We

fairly obtained,

about the forms and ceremonies which led

little

to the assertion that the notice

evidence.

235

have seen a very

dift'erent

was

private,

we

require

statement of this fact

name of Mr. Bradley, and a counter-card name of Mr. Somebody-else. And as to you, gentlemen, we presume tliat it would have made very little difference whether the notice was public or private since your new-born religion

a card jmblished in the in

the

on

this subject,

to

have attended, although the notice had come

;

you would have been too scrupulous or too to

you

stately

in the

form

*******

of a suhpccna ad teslificandum, and, that, on the solemn call of your country.

" You seem

to think that a congressional

of forcing on the people

by bribes

caucus has the power

whomsoever they please

as President

one shape and another, a caucus composed of members of Congress, might be induced to place any candidate in

that

in

nomination, and that such nomination would bind the people like a

magic

spell

;

you do,

from

that

Do

peal or escape.

we are sorry know but

pose, and

Waiving,

it they would have no possibility of apyou really believe all this, gentlemen ? If

for you. little

You have

lived to very

little

pur-

of the independence of the American

remark on the corruptihoped you do not speak experimentally let me ask you this question; do you suppose that, if one of you (and let it be the most prominent cliaracler among you) could have prevailed on the last caucus to put him in nomicharacter.

bility

at

present, your

of Congress, and of which

it is

—

—

nation, the people

him President

.'^

would have had no choice but

It

is

impossible

to

read

to

have made

the question, without

smiling at the supposition of an answer in the affirmative.

The And why would stamp who are willing to

nomination would have been lauglied to scorn.

Because there are men of another

it?

serve us: men,

men,

who

whom we

sat at the

war; men,

have tried for upwards of thirty years; helm through the storms of our revolutionary

whom we

have ever found

faithful

and vigilant; men,

as profound in policy, as they are upright in their views

;

men,

who have

;

men,

whom you are but men whom our fathers have

compared the

never had an object but their country's good to

as

boys of yesterday.

gone down

These are

to their graves, bless-

:

ONE OF THE PEOPLE.

236

whom we

ing; and

[1908.

desert, because of your

certainly shall not

petulance and importunity."

The tility

was "

protestors had adirmed that a caucus

with the principles of the Constitution"

— " we do not say

this declaration

crisis

be proper"

— and

— they

be recommended

to

some extraor-

not, in

Mr. Jefferson,

said in touching

upon

— " The

was necessary

to exert the

To

whole republican party."

combined

"One

this point,

a

or to prevent them

all,

from placing the candidate for the Vice-Presidency it

fed-

—"presented

this election,

strong phalanx, and either to succeed at

dential chair,

to

amongst the

as an instance of such a crisis they

liad referred to the first election of

eralists"

in direct hos-

had added

that a consultation

members of Congress respecting the persons for the two highest offices in the Union, may dinary

— but

in the presi-

efforts

of the

of the People"

asks

" But

why

are you not in caucus, gentlemen

.''

for the very crisis

has arrived, which, according to your principles, would render

There

proper.

a party which

is

is

ever the federal party was, and which fervently

wish, to annihilate.

head of which for

you

to

this.

for the evidence of

gress.

From

administration,

believe you wish, most

the republican party, at the

it

the present administration.

is

deny

It

we

It is

it

:

it

not in in

is

it

obnoxious to you as

just as

will be in vain

It

your Protest only that

your conduct on the

we

floor of

look

Con-

an occasional difference with the measures of the

we

should not have drawn this conclusion, because

such a result might have been expected from the different struc-

But when

tures and habits of ditferent minds.

we

find

you orga-

nized into a corps against the administration, and pursuing your opposition with

as

much

system^ injlexibilily,

and,

I

will

add,

rancor^ as you manifested towards the federal administrations,

we

can have no doubt that you wish their annihilation as devoutly as ever vou wished that of the federalists. only,

it is

effulgence

Yes,

it is

the administration which offends you.

which produces

the birds of night.

They

the dimness of their

all

this agitation

It is

Madison

their united

and screaming among

long for the day-fall, which better

sight

;

for the season of darkness,

the peculiar conformation of their organs

and satiety."

»

suits

when

may give them an admay have full scope

vantage, and their fierce and predatory spirit for indulgence

not Mr.

THE CAUCUS.

CHAP. XVI.]

237

After some cogent arguments in favor of the caucus principle, the author proceeds

" That conference states.

shows

It

to

a

is

one

medium of communication between

state tlie opinions

Those who, on

United States the result of the whole. themselves

parison, find

friends of reptiblicajiism, of

harmony and of

Union^ will sac-

the

those great public objects

rifice their private predilection to

by reciprocal concessions, feuds between the

thus,

com-

the

be the genuine

minority, if they

the

in

the

of another, and to the

;

states will

and be

prevented, congressional intrigue will be avoided, and these elec-

where the Constitution intended them to Such will always be the

tions will continue to fall,

on the people, by their electors.

fall,

result while patriotic.

that a country

who, instead of thus

minority,

would

the people continue fraternal, united, virtuous and

— Or say

sacrifice

cursed with a congressional the public good,

to

every earthly and every heavenly consideration to

the views of their

more occasion

is

sacrificing

own

ambition

inordinate

for concert

;

then, there

is

and good understanding among the

tuous and pacific majority.

So

that

peace or trouble, the conference

is

whether

the vir-

times of internal

in

constitutional, harmless and

advantageous.

" When was it When (to say the

ever more so, than on the present occasion

men, aspiring

to

Warwick,

be the

to

.''

of them) a parcel of hot-brained young

least

resemble Shakspeare's character of the earl of builders

'

up and pullers down of Presi-

dents,' confederate themselves together to traduce

and ruin one of

the most virtuous and able public servants that ever blessed a free nation

such

?

men

And as

did you suppose that

you

are, to

it

would be

in the

power of

shake the gratitude and attachment of the

What could you have what could you have thought of yourselves ? Of Mr. Madison, we had supposed it might have been truly said, as

people to such a thought of us

Dr. Johnson

he

is

man

as

Mr. Madison

.''

?

is

reported to have said of Sir Joshua Reynolds, that

one of those men with whom,

he would be the most

at

a loss

how

ment, Dr. Johnson went upon the

if a

person were to quarrel,

to abuse.

But

in this senti-

supposition, that

the

abuse

should proceed upon facts, or at least, have some small degree of

resemblance to them.

The powers

of invention and of distortion,

ONE OF THE PEOPLE.

23S

[1803.

which you have displayed, were altogether beyond

his

cal-

culation."

The objection of "want of energy" is then taken up. Protest had inveighed against Mr. Madison in this language " ask for energy, and we are told of his moderation.

The :

We

We

ask for

talents,

what were

and the reply

is,

unassuming merit.

his

We

ask

we

are

and

his services in the cause of public liberty,

directed to the pages of the Federalist, written in conjunction with

Alexander Hamilton and John Jay,

in

which the most extravagant

maintained and propagated.

of their doctrines are

consistency as a republican standing forth to

We

ask for

stem the torrent of

oppression which threatened to overwhelm the liberties of the country we ask for that high and honorable sense of duty which :

at all times, turn

would,

with loathing and abhorrence from any

We

compromise with fraud and speculation.

The

reply to this

is

spirited, caustic

strong example of the author's

" This

is

ask

in vain."

and personal, presenting a

power of sarcasm.

just such pretty little sing-song composition, as school

boys, with senses half awake, dream over for their

tirst

thesis.

And who are you that hold this language concerning Mr. Madison ? As to the most prominent among you, we ask for your energy, and

we

are told of your arrogance

reply

;

we

ask for your

your sarcasms and your petulance

is

;

talents,

and the

we ask what are your we are directed to

services in the cause of public liberty, and

your co-operation with the British cabinet and the British author of

War

merce told of

ment

;

in Disguise, to justify the piratical plunder of our com-

we

ask for your consistency as republicans, and we are of your former attach-

what you were and what you are

—

to the pure principles of the administration,

and your present

We

ask for that high

delirious and frantic invectives against them.

and honorable sense of duty, which trampling, with disdain, on

all

selfish considerations of private pique and personal aggrandize-

ment, looks only to the public good.

We

ask for the mind which

pursues that great object with calmness and discretion instead

of fuming and fretting itself upon

a partial

;

which

view of a

measure, takes the time to look comprehensively, patiently and calmly to all its consequences, in all its bearings; to allow to

every consideration

its

to its decision, in a state

due weight, and then, instead of rushing of feverish passion, takes its ground with

THE YAZOO SPECULATION.

CHAP. XVI.]

which

that dignity

239

from a conscious mastery of the sub-

results

—

—

We ask for those from mingled temperance and firmness. ject we ask who are you, rest of the As to vain. things ; we ask in you

how

we

and

?

are told

— you

We

members of Congress.

are

PROTEST

your

!— And

you are the

giving your names to the world you can destroy Mr. Madison

was, indeed, high time for you to have received

No, gentlemen,

admonition. characters

who

believe

are fitted to

sway

ask

—

we are pointed men who expect, that

you have distinguished yourselves.' and

to

by It

!

salutary

this

you are not the kind of

it,

the destinies of this nation.

Macedonia's madman or the Swede.' Nor are the people of the United States an Athenian mob, on whom you can play off your intrigues with success. You will not speedily gain with us the name of patriots by means of

We

would

as soon

commit them

your rashness and vociferation fictitious

to

'

nor will you prevail upon us, by

;

bosom another

charges, to banish from our

Aristides.

You

forget that

the example of Athens before us.

after

such an

could repeat her

we have example, we

demagogue

banish our patriots, and applaud and flatter the fiery until

we

raised him into a despot

the vain and finally

The

If,

and her crimes

follies

— we should deserve the remorse,

unavailing remorse, the ruin and the infamy which

overtook her." following brief history of the celebrated

without interest

Yazoo case

is

not

:

" But, what do you mean by raising

Madison about the abominable Yazoo

this

uproar against Mr.

business

.?

We

know

that

and you he is as perfectly clear of that you We see We understand you, gentlemen. know it too. was business You know that this Yazoo through all vour mazes. universally odious you know how highly and universally our indignation was excited. You believe that indignation so blind that you can lead it as you list, and so furious that you can cause it to sweep into indiscriminate ruin all against whom it is your transaction as you are

;

;

pleasure to direct

it.

You

are mistaken, gentlemen.

so blind as you suppose us. as

you expect,

to

make

us,

Nor

will

you

nately for 30U,

we know

it

We

are not

so easy a matter

by misrepresentations, the

tools of

own

Unfortu-

your designs and the instruments of our

to

find

disgrace.

the course of that whole affair too well

be imposed upon by you.

We

will

shew you

that

we

do.

ONE OF THE PEOPLE.

240 "

When

that country

[1808.

which had been the scene and the subject

of the Yazoo speculation, was ceded by the State of Georgia to tlie

United States,

passed, with

it

which previously existed upon sources:

various

From

1st.

the incumbrances and claims

all

These were derived from

it.

the British government while the

2d. From the Spanish crown West Florida 3d. From occupancy and after 4th. From the State of Georgia. and Petitions, settlement only memorials and remonstrances swarmed before Congress, and, among others, those of the Yazoo speculators. It became important to the United States to ascertain how many of those how claims were well founded and deserved to be confirmed many were fictitious and deserved to be rejected. By an act of

country belonged to the British

:

conquest of

its

:

;

;

Congress, passed

who had of

in

1800, the commissioners of the United States

been previously appointed to

Georgia, were authorized,

which are or whatsoever

with the State

settlers,

any part of the lands aforesaid.'

2d.

'

together with their opinion thereon, before Congress.'

receive

Mr. Madi-

Mr. Lincoln, the then attorney general of the United

treasury, and

were

the commissioners appointed to perform those labori-

They

ous duties.

concurred

Yazoo

To

secretary of state, Mr. Gallatin, the secretary of the

son, the

States,

claims

or any other persons

settlers

To

'

be made by

shall

settle limits

'to enquire into the

and claimants any j)^opositions of compromise.'' lay a full statement of the claims and propositions,

from such 3d.

to

1st.

in

discharged them with ability

upon

the report

claims, so

feature of that

far

are

this

subject.

they from

;

and

all

three

In explaining the

suppressing one

hideous transaction, that they open up

single all

the

sources of corruption in which the Georgia law originated, point out the names of the corrupted members, and arrange and exhibit the proofs of that corruption.

In short, they exhibit the whole

of that evidence which was afterwards the theme of so

Never was luminously, more

eloquent declamation in Congress.

infamous

corruption

more

much

there a case of ably,

and

more

cogently developed and displayed, than that of the Yazoo, tiieir

report.

They were

directed, however, by the

in

law under

which they were acting, to receive any proposals of compromise which might be made by the Yazoo claimants, and to report such proposals to Congress, together with their opinion thereon.

They

THE YAZOO SPECULATION.

CHAP. XVI.]

according^ly receive and report

were

the

Yazoo

241

proposals, and give

At the same time they think that there were features in this transaction which deserved their consideration and that of Congress. For instance, a great number of virtuous and innocent men at a distance from the scene their opinion that they

who knew

of action, and

inadmissible.

nothing of the corruption

law of Georgia originated, had been induced chasers of only

fair,

entitled,

'

Yazoo

For

an

act

itself

on the face

in which the become purof it was not

was an act supplementary to an act appropriating a part of the unlocatcd territory of

but popular.

this state to the

The law

lands.

to

it

payment of the late state troops.'' The Assembly of body having full power on the subject,

the State of Georgia, a

On

pledge the faith of the slate for the validity of the grant. faith

the

of this pledge, distant men, as virtuous as any in the United

knowing nothing of this case except the fair face of were induced to take titles under it. The names of some

States, and

the law,

of these men, well it

competent

parties, to

known

in Virginia,

to the State of

appear

Was

in the report.

Georgia, one only of the contracting

revoke the law, and that to the prejudice of these

innocent purchasers

?

These were

difficulties

which the commis-

The

sioners had to consider and to report their opinion upon.

United

had now taken the place of Georgia

States

acquired by cession a vast

territory

;

;

had

it

and besides doing

strict

it was bound to do what was equitable to others. There was another view of the subject highly interesting to the government. It was bound in its decision to consult its oicn dignity in the mode of adjusting these disputes, and its own interest in

justice to itself,

removing

own

all

the sources of litigation and quieting the titles of

future grantees in this territory.

its

Considering these circum-

stances, the real hardship of the case to the innocent purchasers

and the rich acquisition which the United States had gained territory, the

most

liberal

three commissioners concurred in thinking

and sound policy to put an end to

all

in

the

it

the

disputes,

by

giving those claimants a reasonable compensation for their disap-

pointment and losses.

We

close

these

This

is

the

extracts with

whole case." the eloquent defence of Mr.

Madison, whicii seems to have been prompted no appreciation of his public service than by a

warm

for the distinguished subject of these remarks. ,

VOL.

1—21

less

by the

just

personal regard

ONE OF THE PEOPLE.

242 " You object

shews

to

Mr. Madison,

the

[1803.

want of energy.

company which you have been keeping.

tlie

The It

objection

proves that

confederacy with your former political adversaries, which has been

—

we now find, so justly charged upon you. It is the mere echo of the old federal reproach against Mr. Jeflerson, caught by you, to be reverberated against his expected successor. The leant of energy? How has Mr. Madison shewn it? Was it so often, and,

in standing

abreast with the van of our revolutionary patriots, and

braving the horrors of a seven years' war, for liberty

were shuddering

your mothers' breasts

terror, to

our Independence,

Was

.''

being among the

in

— while you

sound of the storm and clinging closer with

at the

on the Declaration of

it,

and most effective

first

which so poorly con-

agents, in casting aside the feeble threads

nected the states together, and in lieu of them, subsliluting that energetic bond of union, the Federal Constitution.''

manner

which he advocated the adoption of

in

which he met on

the courage and firmness with

hand

nature, Patrick

Henry

Where was

?

which you are pleased

spirit

in the

gether;

this timid

to ascribe to

and apprehensive

Mr. Madison, when he to-

— when he saw that Henry, whose soul had so undauntedly back from

led the revolution, shrinking

the energy of this

new and

a prophet's fire, the

his bold experiment,

untried Constitution

the magic of his eloquence exerted to

with

in

this topic, fought,

under the sound of Henry's voice for days and weeks

sat

in

it

vanquished that boasted prodigy of

hand, and finally

to

Was

this substitute;

its

;

from

— when he heard

highest pitch, in painting

oppressions which would tlow from

it;

harrowing up the soul with anticipated horrors, and enlisting

even the thunders of Heaven

Hying

How

in his cause.''

hat the leeble and efieminate spirit of

did

James Madison,

happen

it

instead of

confusion and dismay, before this awful and tremendous

in

combination, sat serene and unmoved upon

its

throne; that with a

penetration so vigorous and so clear, he dissipated these phantoms

of liancy in

;

rallied

back the courage of the House

the State of Virginia, in

to the charge, and,

which Patrick Henry was almost throwing that Henry

adored as

infallible,

succeeded

minority?

Is this the

proof of his want of energy?

find

it

in the

manner

in

the Federal Constitution

even

in a

in

which he watched the ;

in the

first

Or

into

will

a

you

movements of

boldness with which he resisted,

Washington, wliat he deemed infractions of

its

spirit;

in

MR. MADISON.

CHAP. XVI]

213

the independence, ability and vigor with which, in spite of declining

he maintained

Iiealth, in a

Turn

minority.

ments

You

:

nority

is

this

to the debates of

Yes

.-*

He was then

.-'

Congress and read

his argu-

how the business of a virtuous and able miDo you discover in them any evidence of want

will see

conducted.

of energy

condict during eight years

—

if

Baying rude things,

energy consist, as you seem

—

in

bravado and bluster,

—

to think

it

does, in

pouring a

in

muddy

torrent of coarse invective, as destitute of argument, as unwarranted

by provocation, you will But

his speeches.

if

find great

evidence of want of energy

true energy be evinced, as

we

think

it is,

in

by

the calm and dignilied, yet steady, zealous and persevering pursuit

of an object, his whole conduct during that period

marked with energy. and durable basis

And

that energy rested

is

honorably

on the most

solid

— conscious rectitude; supported by the most pro-

found and extensive information, by an habitual power of investi-

which unravelled with

gation

intuitive certainty, the

most intricate

an eloquence, chaste, luminous and cogent, which

subjects, and

respect, while it forced conviction. We have compared some of your highest and most vaunted displays, with the speeches What a conof Mr. Madison, during his services in Congress. trast It is the noisy and short-lived babbling of a brook after a Yet, rain, compared with the majestic course of the Potomac.

won

!

you have the vanity and hardihood talents

heart

who

:

gence

be of

talents that can

no talents beyond those of the merciless

dexterously strikes a

But what an idea

!

stitutional irritability

sion

ask for the proof of his

You, who have as yet shown no

!

service to your country Indian,

to

is

— you

tomahawk

into the defenceless

yours of energy indulge

it,

and

You

.''

you

call

feel a

con-

that indul-

—

Sudden fits of spleen transient starts of pasparoxysms of fury, the more slow and secret work-

energy.

— wild

— cruel taunts and sarcasms — the — the crude abortions of short-sighted your ravings of a hectic fever—

envy and resentment

ings of

dreams of disordered fancy theory

—the delirium and

notion of energy

ergy as

this!

If

!

Mr. Madison, the people of But

denial. fies

him

rights,

to

we

if

this is

Heaven preserve our country from such enthis be the kind of energy which you deny to

you deny him

this

country

will

concur

that salutary energy

pursue his country's happiness

follow up the course of his public

in

which

your quali-

and to defend her life

and demand the

214

ONE OF THE PEOPLE.

proof of your charge

for

:

we beg you

[1803.

not to think so highly of

yourselves, nor so meanly of us, as to suppose that your general assertion

pass with us for proofs

Avill

:

we

have not yet seen the

evidence of candor and virtue which entitles you to this high

To your proofs then, and to the retrospect Do you remember that dark and disastrous period,

ground.

administration of General Washington,

when

of his

life.

during the

the British marine

was taking some of those stately strides, which threatened to crush our infant commerce in the bud ? Do you remember the resolutions brought forward by Mr, Madison at that period, to restrict the British commerce itself, and avenge the wrongs done to his country ? Do you remember those celebrated resolutions, and the raptures of aj)plause with which they were received by the people for their well-timed and well-directed energy?

venient to you not to

remember these

that ive shall forget tiiem spirited

;

we

nor that

maybe

It

con-

But do not believe

things.

compare

shall fail to

the

and highly applauded policy which he recommended, then,

with the policy which our present wise and virtuous republican minority, are

recommending toward the same nation now, on

count of the same kind of aggressions.

*

*

*

" Again, was Mr. Madison's want of energy shewn

n99? having

In that year, '

brightened a

could be

felt.

The

'

the political hemisphere'

little,'

that

its

in the

was so

waved

year

from

far

darkness had thickened

Alien and Sedition laws

ac-

*

till

it

their baleful

sceptres over the continent, and the bosoms of patriots were every

where

filled

with consternation, and, almost with despair.

believed that public liberty had no hope, no refuge but

governments.

It

that there

was

dust and

ashes.'

It

had been announced from the presidental

a party in Virginia

The

which was

to be

resolutions of Colonel

treated with neglect or contempt

'

last

chair,

ground

Taylor

by the other great

proved that the Legislature of Virginia was the

was

in the State

in

into

1798,

States,

had

stand of our

—

freedom and happiness: and to crown the climax of danger and disconsolation, the distinguished Patrick Henry came again from retirement, with the view, as it was understood, to political

assault and dislodge

them from

this their last station.

Such was

the inauspicious, the all-important, the decisive crisis,

when James

Madison, with a frame spirit firm, erect

still

languishing under sickness, but with a

and intrepid, came forth

in the

cause of liberty

MR. MADISON.

CHAP. XVI]

Who

and his country.

how

the

little

245

Who

can forget that moment?

can forget

band of Virginian patriots crowded around

this re-

publican champion to catch the accents of a voice rendered feeble

by disease

Who

before us. to give

Even

.''

way

;

we have this virtuous and fraternal group how the night of despair first began

yet

can forget

— how hope,

as uncertain of the issue

at first, faintly

dawned upon each cheek,

under the inspiring strains of his

until

;

voice, she assumed a deep and determined

Who can

exultation in every eye.-*

of truth and reason exhibited in his

Yet we

tlemen.

Not

?

find that

the

Who

report.''

that loves his

man, whose genius and firmness

country can cease to love the gained that triumph

glow and sparkled with

forget the resplendent triumph

American people, be assured, gen-

one of you, under the signature of Falk-

land, in a late Enquirer, can recall that

epoch with

far different

emotions; can gratify his spleen by fancying what would have

been the result of a renconlre between Mr. Henry and Mr. Madison, if

had not been prevented by the death of the former;

it

Madison would have sunk and

the genius of

— how

fled before the impet-

The

uous and overwhelming eloquence of Mr. Henry.

writer

obviously derives a species of malignant pleasure from brooding

over

this

at the

imaginary triumph, although

expense of his country.

candor!

Henry,

Had

gained,

is

his virtue

it

would have been :

this, too, is his

he forgotten the convention of Virginia, where

in all his glory,

James Madison

This

if

Or

.-'

was

by the transcendant powers of

foiled

did he think the defence of the Alien and

Sedition laws a better cause, than the contending for previous

amendments

to the

Wretched, most wretched

Constitution.-*

the fate of that writer or that

man who

is

deserts the plain higliway

of conscience and of candor, for the dark and crooked mazes of intrigue

and cunning

— of trick and

the wise son of Sirach has said,

'

misrepresentation

work

his

way

:

he may, as

for a time, like a

mole under ground, but by-and-bye, he blunders into stands exposed with

" Mr. Madison,

it

all his dirt

seems,

upon

left his

post in Congress, in the

of danger, and took refuge in retirement. as the rest of

your reproaches.

light

and

his head.'

The

case

This

is

was

this.

moment

just as candid INIr.

Madi-

son had devoted two-and-twenty years of the prime and flower of his life to the service of his country

VOL.

1—21*

:

he had not spent those jears

;

ONE OF THE PEOPLE.

246

in

saying

'

yea and nay,' nor, what

[ISO?.

worse,

is

barbarous

in venting

sarcasms, in writing protests disgraceful to his virtue and understanding, and

Agamemnon

in

No

!

camp of

playing the part of Thersites in the those

;

been spent

years had

beneficial

in

services, in the discharge of the most arduous duties, in the most

intense and unrelaxing exertion of his pre-eminent faculties in the

cause of liberty and republican government. his

private

been

had

atfairs

neglected —

received a serious shock

—

ing

circumstances, at

decline.

In

these

his health

was

In the

mean

time,

constitution

his

had

a visible and alarm-

in

close of General

the

Washington's administration, he sought an

interval

put his

to

were possible, or, if otherwise, to provide for the awful change which he had too much reason to apprehend. It was in 1797 and '98 that he was estate in order, to recruit his health, if that

But

thus engaged.

we

have seen, that

in

1799, when the dangers

of his country had increased almost to desperation, although his health

was so

far

from being confirmed

he again made his appearance on the

that

had become worse,

it

political theatre,

with the

same signal gallantry, which had ever distinguished him. He has been in public life ever since. And those two years of repose and of private duty, so reasonable, so necessary to him, are what you

would have us

to consider as a

You

are not barbarians. }'0U

cowardly

defeat your

wish to destroy Mr. Madison

services and to reflect

which malice " But This

is,

itself

let us see

that

flight

own

from danger

!

We

purpose, gentlemen

but you force us to recall his

;

how immaculate must be

that life, against

can bring no better charges.

how

well this quadrates with your next charge.

Mr. Madison,

in

conjunction with Mr. Jay and Mr.

Hamilton, wrote the work called

The

most objectionable doctrines of the

Federalist, in

which the

latter are maintained.

Now

the objection to the doctrines of the latter gentlemen was, that

they were too energetic.

energy

—

in the

consistency of truth.

general '

dolus

sions

;

in this lalel

In

one breath, then, Mr. Madison wants

next he has too

much

—But, why,

of

it.

— This the unity and you so vague and — Our

again, are

charge about the Federalist.''

in gencralibus

'

— deception

so

jurists tell us

lurks in general expres-

maxim was never more strikingly treatment of Mr. Madison. You mount your

and the truth of the

exemplified than in

is

MR. MADISON.

CHAP. XVI.l

247

some eminence, and with a trumpet to your mouth, you bawl out, Jay and Hamilton.' Yazoo,' 'want of energy,' 'the Federalist It does not suit you to descend to particulars, because you know

—

'

charges require but to be seriously examined, and they

that the

You know

are at once falsified and exposed.

words which you

to the

pack from the kennel, you seem

a

to do, but to point out the

you have nothing

to think tiiat

game and

But

set us on.

such beasts as you are pleased, most respectfully

(juite

we

support

The

a defence of the Constitution

and where

:

are not

consider

and cherish him against your injustice

will protect

and most undeserving persecution. it is

we to

of being ready to worry a patriot whose virtues

Instead

us.

olfend you,

that

odium attached

the

and regarding your countrymen as

utter,

We

.'

all

know

sworn

to

the crime of Mr. Madison's having par-

is

ticipated in that defence

defended the

Federalist

which we are

it criminal in Mr. Madison to have by written argument, and yet not This is have sworn to support it

Is

?

Constitution

criminal in you and in us to

.''

another evolution of the strength and clearness of your discern-

ment in

Since you will not descend to particularize the passages

!

which Mr. Madison wrote and which give you permit us to extract one which is calculated to give you

the Federalist

oft'ence,

consolation in the prospect before you, since

it

promises the continu-

ance of your honorable existence as a body

what

faction,

But

expires. is

air is to fire it

;

animal

Tins that

to

life,

is

The

gone,

Liberty it

is

to

instantly

because

it

imparts

answer

to

which

air

fire

to a general it

nourishes faction, than

it

its

it

essential to

is

destructive agency.'

When

charge.

shall receive a definite

you give

answer."

conclude with a retaliatory assault upon the pro-

:

" There wishes.

because

wish the annihilation of

a general

letters

'

could not be a less folly to abolish liberty, which

charge a definite form,

testors

—

an aliment, without whicli

essential to political life,

would be

:

is

obviously an effort to keep back a part of your

Speak

it is

speak out,

out,

gentlemen

;

after the lengths

the height of folly to be squeamish.

we

will

do

it

for you.

This

is

which you have if you will not

Or,

your wish.

You wish

some man to be appointed the next President, who, you believe, looks upon the present administration with the same hostility which you do in other words, you are displeased with the ;

ONE OF THE PEOPLE.

248

cliaracter of the present administration,

character to be introduced.

Tliis

[1S08.

and you wish a

different

the whole of the secret with

is

which YOU have been laboring and floundering throughout most unfoitunate, sel-murdering Protest. But you perceive the people of tbe United States are of a different opinion.

approve the character of the present administration that character continued tlie

in

election of

the face, and

The

fill

know

they

;

prospect of being again in a

spirits

it

will be continued by

truths

can support.

little

to the

stare

you

— Learn

and wretciied minority

tlien

to

avoid

people

;

it.

Learn

to

Forget the wicked

dreams of ambition, which have disturbed vour and

which

more than your proud and

is

have no interests but those of the people.

to virtue

They

they wish

you with the pangs and agonies of despair.

during the next administration, lofty

that

These are

Mr. Madison.

;

this

that

brains.

Return

and the people will forgive you.""

These letters attracted a great deal of observation. Replies were published, and a war of considerable virulence was waged between the author and will be seen in his

We

liis

opponents.

correspondence of

Some

references to this

this year.

are struck in the perusal of these papers of "

People," with the acrimony of the discussion. that

Few

less likely to

are inherited from to the nature of

our

some degree, perhaps, to the character of our men were more tolerant of opinion than Wirt, {^\s

government, and race.

own day we may infer,

the political asperities of our

another generation, and belong,

One of the They shew us

in

be excited by political stimulants into the exhibition

—

but we may remark also that no man was ever more prompt or zealous to defend a friend from tlie assaults of an enemy than he. In the performance of this office for Mr. Madison, he may have indulged a sharper tone of rebuke and a larger license of invective than his own judgment, in a moment of more repose, might approve. His letters to his friends, contemporary with tiicsc political effusions, seem to imply this. The authors of the Protest were gentlemen of high standing in the country, many of them distinguished, then and afterwards, for

of acerbity of temper:

tiicir

devotion to the public welfare and effective usefulness

national councils; and, in after

Wirt, as friends worthy of

menced

all

life,

regard.

in the

personally esteemed by Mr.

They

had, however, com-

the war, and could hardly expect less quarter than they

ELECTED TO THE LEGISLATURE.

CHAP. XVI.]

received

the

in

conflict,

—

we may

tliough,

suppose,

in

of the People."

Whilst these

letters

were

in

progress of publication, Wirt found

himself most unexpectedly, and without any agency on his part,

ex-

little

Richmond supplied

pecting to encounter the champion which

"One

249

proposed

own

Richmond as a candidate to represent House of Delegates, His opponent was

to the city of

that constituency in the

Colonel Carrington, one of the most worthy and influential gen-

tlemen

Quite as unexpectedly he was elected.

community.

in that

Writing

Mrs. Wirt from Williamsbuig, on the 11th of April,

to

1808, some days before the election

in

Richmond was

to be held,

he says

" There in

is

the

Richmond

one of and

my

The

many

In

my

infinitely to

your husband is

Colonel C.

is

me

points of

it

not

is

left out.

I

beg you, there-

at Col.

C's election, nor think that

the less respected

by the wise and the good,

not preferred by the freeholders of

It is

as Col. C.

of that

contemplate

would be permanently

is

Richmond

to

no disparagement to any young man that a patriot

so old, so long tried, so virtuous and so worthy

view

I

that political ambition

view

advantage to be

heave one sigh

because he

with which

total indifference

election, convinces

sins.

fore, not to

me

an election here to-day, which reminds

Richmond.

preferred to him.

in

every point of

by

regret extremely that,

I

being unintentionally and unexpectedly drawn into collision with him,

I

have been made to have the appearance of implying a

doubt of his

fitness,

or of entertaining a vain opinion of

both which opinions

how last

I

was brought

I

most sincerely disclaim.

into this scrape,

which,

I

my own;

But you

promise you,

know is

the

one of the kind."

The

history of political contest in the United States does not

often present specimens of reserve and

resembling

this.

We

modest personal estimate

record such manifestations of opinion as

here implied, both in regard to what

is

due

is

to the public service,

and to the humility of self-judgment, with a peculiar pleasure, for the instruction of the present generation,

seems talents

to believe himself gifted

and

all

when

almost every

political

At

this day,

when

man

the attributes of wisdom,

learning necessary to the discharge of

function whatever.

blems of

with

any public

the most profound pro-

economy and jurisprudence, and

all

the myste-

— LETTER TO MR. MONROE.

250

[1803.

ries of wise legislation, and all the science necessary for skilful diplomacy, are supposed " to come by nature," or to derive their

highest finish and perfection from the severe discipline of the

stump, and to

find in

every forum erected

road

at a counti'y cross

or porcli of a village tavern, an academy competent to furnish

full

blown and accomplished statesmen, it may be well to recur to the example of that earlier epoch of our republic, when a man so gifted as

William Wirt, so laboriously trained and so successfully speak

tried, could

such terms of distrust as to his

in

fitness for a

Forty years ago, evidently, the men

seat in a State Legislature.

of America were not so confident as they have grown of Tlie mai-ch of intellect, which

wonders

we now

call

late.

" Progress," has done

supply of the finished material of statesmanship.

in the

In the presidential contest of this year, the opposition to Mr.

Madison, had,

in part,

looked

He was named

tration.

to

Mr. Monroe

as a point of concen-

as the competitor of the caucus candidate,

was made to give him the support of the reMr. Wirt, as we have seen, enjoyed the friendpublican party. Indeed ship of Mr. Monroe, equally with that of Mr. Madison. was Mr. Monroe even held to the personal relation which he held to his which he commore intimate and confidential than that petitor. This circumstance led to the choice of Wirt as one of and a strong

effort

promote the success of Mr. Monroe's When this choice was communicated to him, he declined election. the appointment, and took occasion to explain to Mr. Monroe the a

committee

in

Richmond

to

grounds upon which he did so for

Mr. Madison.

ter,

and presents,

The in

ness of the writer.

his preference, at that juncture,

following letter has reference to this mat-

an advantageous It

is

light, the

delicacy and frank-

proper to remark, that

this letter

written before the occasion had arisen for the essays signed

was

"One

of the People."

TO JAMES MONROE. Richmond, February

Dear Sir

On mc to noon.

8,

1808,

:

going into court to-day, kce[)

me

So

that

I

found business enough cut out for

closely engaged both to-night and it

will not be until

to-morrow

to-morrow evening that

I

foreshall

LETTER TO MR. MONROE.

CtlAP. XVr.]

have

in

it

my power

251

you on the subject

to see

which you

to

re-

ferred this morning. Feeling- for

you the same sincere and cordial friendship that

have ever done, since conscious that

ever been,

it

had

I

was now

I

first

the pleasure of

worthy of your confidence

as

me this morning may make it less

did not occur to

cumstance which, perhaps,

communicate with

me

I

knowing you, and

to state to

as

have

I

you a

cir-

agreeable to you to

may

on the proposed subject, and which

diminish the weight of any friendly opinion which

I

may

On

I

think that can-

recalling our short interview of this morning,

dor and honor require I

was

me

mention

to

give on

this circumstance.

It is this.

called on to act as One of the standing committee to

your electoral

ticket.

declined

I

stating

it;

it.

promote

that although per-

—

sonally more warmly attached to you than to Mr. Madison for I knew you much better and although I thought it would make

—

very

little

difference to the happiness of the people of the United

which of you was President, yet, tions, I preferred Mr. Madison. I went mutual friend of ours who spoke to me, States

for political considerafurther,

—

feared

your friends persisted

if

in

I

—

for

was a much

it

added that

I

running you, after the sense of

the State and of the United States should be, at least, strongly indicated, if not demonstrated

by the votes of the Slate and con-

gressional Legislatures, that

might have a permanently

on your here

For, although

political standing.

who

I

ill

yet

I

effect

myself, and the friends

know

are in the habit of intercourse with you, might

ti'uth,

tlie

it

feared there ^vas danger that the people of the

United States might be led^ to incorporate and identify you with the minority in Congress, the opponents of the present

administration.

heads,

dear

I

sir,

And,

most popular

they should take such an opinion

if

were gone

feared that you

so strongly have

I

irretrievably.

felt this

apprehension, that

been several times on the point of going and expressing

Nor

has any thing restrained

a preference for

Mr. Madison,

indelicate, if no worse, in

have thought

I

my

me from

it

me

proper

it

it

as

to you.

remove the competition. disclose to you what lias been

to attempt to

tlius to

feelings entirely, whether,

communicate with me

my

have

might be considered

past course and opinions on this subject; submitting

own

it

I

but that, having expressed

thought

I

in their

Indeed,

after this,

you intended.

it

to

your

you would clioose If

this

be

still

to

your

MR. MONROE'S REPLY,

252

pleasure, to give

be happy to wait on you, and

I sliall

you

[1808.

I shall

be prepared

as sincere and friendly an opinion, as if this presidential

competition had never occurred, for

I

am,

deed and

in

Your

in truth,

friend,

Wm, Wirt. we

Whilst

have

this letter before us,

may be

it

with what impressions Mr. Monroe received

This

tion.

we

well to show

this friendly

not written in reply to this, but

some months afterwards, when

presidential contest had terminated in the election of

The communication from Wirt,

son.

referred to in this letter,

to the suspicion that his friends might

Mr. Monroe's mind

misconstrued his motives and purposes, the competition in which all

was used

Wirt had intimated

:

which

this is a reply.

with an honorable

ment of

it

;

submitting his

in

we may

and,

I

This

letter

sensibility, his

his friends,

him,

this to

have

name

suppose

to

also,

which he was

the dilficulties of the position in

placed

that

the

Mr. Madi-

Doubtless the issue of the late contest had opened

have not seen.

that they felt

explana-

are enabled to do from a letter of his to Mr. Wirt,

in

the letter to

from Mr. Monroe expresses, perception of this embarrass-

and leaves nothing

to

mar

the esteem and

confidence which had so long subsisted between himself and the individual to

whom

it is

addressed.

Richmond, December

Dear

Sir

20, 1808.

:

Your letter of this day has equally sui'prised and hurt me, by intimating a suspicion that it was my desire, on account of the late presidential contest, to separate

as took part against me.

I

from such of

really thought that

my

my

old friends

conduct had,

me

ask, has

it

done so

regard to you

in

on some important topics,

And have

favor.'' it,

I

I

knew

Did

that

I

not consult you

you were not

in

my

you

?

Have you ever

returned

those

mind of

aliena-

}

These circumstances produced no tion.

?

ever returned to town, after an absence from

on

without calling

calls

after

in

Let

no instance, given the slightest cause for such a suspicion.

I

effect

on

my

considered the existing state as being equally painful to

them and me, and

I

waited for

its

transit to

show what my

real

LETTERS TO CARR.

CHAP. XVI.]

feeling and disposition

You

my

situation im])osed

ment, and that by observing

independence of It is

gaged

me

my

next.

on

it, I

me

old friends alluded to.

the necessity of

moment

deli-

retire-

I

my

own.

received your

letter, I

was en

writing notes to yourself and other friends to dine with

in

This will show

that

I

shall accept

with pleasure for that day, postponing I

much

respected the personal honor and

friends, as well as

a fact, that at the

on Thursday.

tation

my

to those of

be sensible that while that contest depended, the

will

cacy of

were

253

need not add that

I shall,

my

your

invi-

invitation to the

be happy to see

at all times,

and confer with you on such topics as you desire.

Being very sincerely,

Your

friend,

James Monroe.

We

now

recur

offering a

few

to

letters

political excitements

the track of Mr. Wirt's correspondence, which were written during the period of the

I

In these letters will be

have described.

found some glimpses of personal history which

may

not be unac-

ceptable to the reader.

TO DABNEY CARR.

******

Richmond, May

My Dear The

essays signed "

One

of the People" were written by

under the pressure of importunity from some of at a

11, 1808.

Friend:

period

when

could

I

ill

my

me

friends here,

spare the time, and in such haste that

boy was, half the time I was engaged in them, pushing the copy. Under such circumstances you will not be sur-

the printer's

me

for

prised that the composition

is

loose and coarse, and the style, in

many passages, marked with a heat and

asperity

which the sub-

ject did not require.

had taken more time about them. The cause was a good one, and the protestors might have been castigated with a I

wish

decorum

I

at

no blush. VOL.

which the modest cheek of Madison would have But

it

is

1—22

too late to repine

;

I

felt

must endeavor to profit

LETTERS TO CARR.

254 by experience, and

[1608.

keep myself more cool and discreet here-

to

after.

seen the reply by "

You have

His style

.

One

of the Protestors."

certainly not that of a gentleman, and

is

This

my

is

first

impulse was to have answered him cum argumento baculmo; but

remembering

that

the gentleman a

vapid

I

was

the aggressor, and had, perhaps, treated

harshly,

little

to die in peace,

stuft"

my

next impulse

interruption, into that nothingness to

Some

tending.

of

my

was

and the party to sink

to suffer the

down without

which they are so rapidly

friends here think

1

ought to reply.

not this be giving an importance to those publications

Will

do not deserve.

-*

tence of the minority

we

selves if

When

I

let

.''

Will

which they

not he impoliticly proiractrng the exis-

it

Will they not perish soon enough of them-

them alone

}

said, in the Enquirer, that

the promised respects of "

One

I

should be glad to receive

of the Protestors,"

I

made

sure

John Randolph was coming out. I would iiave engaged with Achilles, but I do not relish a combat with one of his myrmidons. If I thought, however, that the people, I mean the judicious part that

of them, expected

Let

it

of me,

What

say with you.^

Let

it

What do they What do you say? possible, since, if I am to

would reply

to him. it.^

******

me have your answer

reply,

I

does Peter say of as soon as

ought to be done immediately.

me be remembered

to all

our friends.

Heaven

bless you,

Wm. Wirt. TO DABNEY CARR.

****** Richmond,

My Dear I 1

was

am

not

much

pleased with the style

sorry for having written

head, "

May

23, 1808.

Chevalier:

One of

think that

it is

it

of" One of the People."

— not for anything

that the calf 's-

I do not which Mr. Madison should be de-

the Protestors," has said, but because

in the

style in

fended, nor in which any

man should write who

taining in society a pure and dignified character.

aspires at main-

The

protestors

LETTER TO EDWARDS.

CHAP XVI]

deserved

be scorched

to

but

;

think

I

it

255

might have been done

even more elFectually, and certainly more to the honor both of a chaste and polite style.

Mr. Madison and the writer, by the die

cast

is

— and the question

is

how

to carry

But

on the game.

This niornina: lias broudit out the tliird and last number of " One of the Protestors." A more infamous piece of personal abuse, of the very lowest order, has never been published.

my

All

friends here concur in the opinion that he does not deserve a

reply.

shall,

I

perhaps, give him a short one

Appeals and Federal Court

but the Court of

;

being both in session, and there being

town pestering me with the examination of Commissioner's reports, I have not a moment to give to tlie several of

my

clients in

consideration of the protestor.

Meantime you would be pleased and peace

I

take this scurrility.

possible injury.

If I

But while

the stick.

thought

my

it

life

they will not be relied on.

to see with

believe that

I

could,

is

I

false, will

can do

would certainly

me

no

resort to

constantly belying his charges,

The

who does who do, and

reader

will inquire into their truth of those

they are

I

what composure it

not

know me

learning that

estimate the writer as he deserves, and

me

as

deserve.

Your

friend,

Wm. Wirt. I

conclude

filled as all

affection

this

chapter with another letter to Mr. Edwards,

Wirt's letters to this worthy gentleman are, with the

and gratitude of a son.

TO BENJAMIN EDWARDS. Richmond, July

Mv Dear I

and Ever Honored Friend and Father

have read, half a dozen times,

precious letter of the 8th of April sitting,

Avith last.

2, 1808.

:

swimming eyes, your Our courts have been

without intermission, ever since the 1st of February

till

the 28th of last month, or I should sooner have acknowledged your goodness in writing to me under so much pain. Your friendship and affection for me, are

among

the purest and sweetest

LETTER TO EDWARDS.

256

sources of happiness that

with what feelings

have upon

I

hear of your

I

Judge, then,

earth.

this

Yet

health.

ill

[1808.

trust that the

I

same gracious Providence, " who makes the good his care," and who raised you once before from the bed of torture, will spare you still to your family and friends. I have been afraid that you do not take exercise enough, yet Mr. Street, the editor of " The

Western World," handed me, the day before yesterday, from in

my

a letter

brother Ninian, dated April 11th, three days after yours,

which he says

apprehend,

that

you had been,

nearly as long

is

I

journey as would bring you to the

a

Would

mineral waters in Virginia.

That,

lately, at his house.

not this excursion, aided

by

the waters and the animation of the company, promise to give a

lone to your system, and remove the torpor and debility of which you complain. I wish you could believe it prudent and advisable for you to take such a step, because I should then have it in my power to see you once more. I would certainly meet you at the Springs, and

receive your blessing

;

and

my

wife and children, from the senti-

ments they have for you, would accompany me, with

My

of pilgrims.

begin to feel a strong presentiment that

My

place.

we

it

What

a

happy group should we form

the days that are past,

talk over

the piety

!

I

I

take

certainly

will

brother Ninian and his family would,

attend you.

all

imagination has dwelt upon this meeting, until

dare say,

How

would

torpor and debility, and

till

sickness and sorrow would fiy and leave us to our enjoyments.

What do you

say to this project

you

it

will find

.''

I

have a sanguine hope your health, as

as judicious in reference to

would be exquisitely

your

sure

it

we

meet once, and your health should become

might

we

grateful to

feelings.

settled

that

am And if I

again,

not devise a scheme of meeting at the same place every

By

two or three years }

these means our children would

become

acquainted, and the friendship which has subsisted between us,

would be continued I

leave

tjirough

all

I

its

consequences.

;

result

}

}

To

me,

this idea,

the anticipation, merely,

and, in spite of Mr. Harvie's doctrine to the con-

believe, the reality

think of this tl)e

them.

your heart and your fancy to develope

]s delightful

trary,

in

to

it

would be

Take medical

still

more

counsel upon

it,

so.

and

Will you not let

me know

LETTER TO EDWARDS.

CHAP. XVr.]

Yes

— there

!

we must

is

God

to

that

well-grounded hope of future

it is

removes

all

douht."

I

have lived long enough, and seen sorrow enough,

he convinced that religion

where alone is

I

When

"

nothing more true than what you say.

die, there is nothing like a

iiappiness, except a perfect faith, Avhich

thank

257

at

home and

the proper element of the soul,

is

That

at rest.

any other

to

an alien, vagrant, restless, perturbed and miserable,

state,

— dazzled

it

for

an hour by a dream of temporal glory, but awaking to disappoint-

ment and permanent anguish.

away

us through

Then,

if

It is

the bed of death which chases

which have cheated

these illusive vapors of the brain

all

life,

and which shews us to ourselves, naked as

not sooner, every

man

finds the truth

we

are.

of your sentiment, the

importance of a well-grounded Christian hope of future happiness.

We

need not, indeed, so awful a monitor as a death-bed, to con-

We

vince us of the instability of earthly hopes of any kind.

have but to look upon nations abroad, and men that evervthing

prosperity

is

under the sun

at

home,

to see

uncertain and fluctuatins:

is

a cheat, and virtue often but a name.

;

that

Look upon

the map of Europe. See what it was fifty or sixty years ago what it has since been, and what it is likely to become. Formerly partitioned into separate, independent and energetic monarchies, with vigorous chiefs at their finite

that

policy, the balance of

balance eternal:

liberty, her

head, maintaining with

power among them, and

France,

in

the

agonies

campus martins resounding with

of the

in-

believing birth of

fetes, in celebration

of that event: the contagion spreading into other nations: mon-

archs trembling for their crowns, and combining to resist the diffusion

parte

of the

among

example: the champions of

carrying with them the wishes

now

liberty,

and Bona-

the rest, victorious every where, and every

and prayers of America.

where Yet

see, all at once, the revolution gone, like a flash of lightning;

France suddenly buried beneath the darkness of despotism, and the voracious tyrant swallowing up kingdom after kingdom. The combining monarchs thought that they were

in

but the propagation of the doctrines of liberty

;

danger of nothing but ruin has

come

upon them from another quarter. The doctrines cf liberty are at an end, and so are the monarchies of Europe all fused and

—

melted

down

often have

I

VOL.

into one great and consolidated despotism.

How

drunk that Caesar's health, with a kind of religious

1—22*

LETTER TO EDWARDS.

258

[180^.

I

devotion liant

How

!

campaigns

did

all

America stand on

in Italy at the

tiptoe, during his bril-

head of the army of the republic

!

what rapture did we follow his career ; and how did our bosoms bound at the prospect of an emancipated world Yet see in what it has all ended The total extinction of European AV'ith

!

!

and the too probable prospect of an enslaved world.

liberty,

what are human calculations of happiness ever more rely upon them Alas

!

;

who

and

can

!

we

If

we

shall

look to the state of things in our own country, still be forced to cry, " all is vanity and vexation of spirit."

l^ook at the public prints with which our country

deluged,

is

and see the merciless massacre of public and private character,

and domestic peace and happiness.

social

oi'

bates in Congress. dial

Where

in

the de-

an assembly of patriots and freemen, such as Avas seen

the old Congress of 1776

All

at

comparison of ideas for the public good, which you would

look for in

Look

the coolness, the decorum, the cor-

is

IS

.''

Nothing of

it is

now

be

to

seen.

rancor, abuse, hostility and hatred, confusion and ruin. * * * ^ tP ^ tP

According

to

my

present impressions of happiness,

would

I

not

exchange the good opinion of one virtuous and judicious man, for the acclamation of the millions that inhabit our country; not that

these would not be grateful,

— but

as for taking

them

as a basis of

******

happiness,

I

lows of the

would

as soon think of building a house

on the

bil-

sea.

Yours most sincerely,

Wm.

\^'IRT.

CHAPTER

XVII.

1809.

SERVICE IN THE LEGISLATURE PREFERENCE FOR PRIVATE LIFE LETTERS TO EDWARDS LITERARY DREAMS ACRIMONY OF PARTY POLITICS EDUCATION MISGIVINGS IN REGARD TO THE GOVERNMENT.

HIS

—

Wirt''s service

in the

Legislature of Virginia, during the ses-

sion of the winter of 1808-9,

connection with public

life

was

the beginning and end of his

through the medium of popular elec-

This assumption of the character of a representative, may

tion.

be regarded rather as an accident in his career than the result of

any meditated plan.

He

seems to have been impressed with the

conviction that popular favor

was too

frail a staff for

a wise

man

upon for support, however useful it might sometimes be to enable him to walk more rapidly upon his journey, or leap over

to lean

an occasional impediment in his path.

Confiding

in his ability to

move onward without this help, he preferred the success which was to be won by his own labors in a private sphere, to the renown which he might reasonably have expected from the exhibition of his talents upon the stage of public business. We may not impute

this

seen that no

We have community of which he was a member

determination to a want of civic virtue.

man

in the

was more prompt than he to make a personal sacrifice to public duty when it seemed to be required nor w^as there any who felt a more lively concern in the progress of public events. We have ;

the proof of this in the readiness with

which he volunteered

his

services in expectation of the war, and in the zeal with which he

participated in the great question of the presidential election.

may

We

from these incidents, that he would not have refused a summons to the duties of public station, if he had believed that his infer

personal submission to such a call were enjoined upon him

by any which could not have been met by other citizens as well adapted to the service and more anxious to undertake it. His modest estimate of himself, so apparent in bis letters, sug-

clear exigency

— SERVICE IN THE LEGISLATURE.

260

[1809.

gested to him, doubtless, that no such exigency could exist, and

The

thus justified him in the resolution he had adopted.

theory

of our government clearly implies a duty on the part of every citizen, to render such

to the conduct of

Where

contribute.

make

comply with

fact that others as capable

may expose him

and which

the people

citizen, his refusal to

may be necessary may be in his power to

service to the state as

its affairs,

it

may be

it

this

demand upon any one

can only be justified by the

found, or that his compliance

to the sacrifice of

important personal interests,

such as the community have no right to ask of a citizen except

some great public emergency.

It

in

does not often happen that an

occasion arises to test the strength of this obligation, and, therefore,

it is

although

familiarized to the reflections of the people,

but

little

we

are not without notable and illustrious examples in

our history, of the grave submission of the wisest and most enlightened patriots to

its

dictation.

During the brief term of Wirt's service

we

have

attracted

to note his participation in a

much

proceeding there which

public attention in the State, from

with an exciting topic of national concern. ture of our affairs, in relation to

Europe, had resolutions

in the Legislature,

fallen

the

The

principal

its

connection

interesting pos-

belligerents of

under the notice of the Legislature

upon the subject, which were referred

in

some

to a special

committee, of which the delegate from Richmond was one.

A

was drawn up by him. This report presented a review of the French decrees against American commerce, and of the British orders in Council, in both of which the country had found so much to vex and exasperate the national The theme was treated with the spirit characteristic of pride. report upon the resolutions

the time, and furnished occasion for the expression of strong and

indignant language, pointed and polished with

the author

was able

to

employ.

all

the skill

which

In his review of the subject, the

course of Mr. Jefferson's administration was brought into notice, and

was vindicated with

the zeal of an advocate impelled not

more by

wisdom of its policy, than by warm leader by whom it was directed.

conscientious approval of the

personal friendship for the

With

this brief reference to the short political

career of the subject of

my

memoir,

I

episode

continue his letters.

in

the

LETTER TO EDWARDS.

CHAP. XVII.]

261

TO BENJAMIN EDWARDS. Richmond, February

Dear

2G, 1809.

Sir:

%

tF

And now

est letter that

disease."

me

let

*

tF

how

you

tell

*

grateful

^

" the long-

feel for this,

I

you have written since the commencement of your so perfectly in the style of your conversation that

It is

in every line and saw every turn * # * remembered expression of your face. There are parts of your letter which make me smile. You wish

I

heard the sound of your voice

in the well

me

Presidency of the United States

to aspire to the

much

your Mount Pleasant talk

like

enough, although

at that

time

of age and had a whole Qiow

you seem

which time

that besides being so old,

friend,

me

to

my

six and thirtieth year,

in

work wonders

my

icishes, will

be

to make for my No, no, my dear

to politics.

Rome

:

— nor ought

present circumstances.

am

I

just about as

to sacrifice

dren on the altar of political ambition.

my

not having

it, is

;

for nature,

the capacity without the inclination.

and from

my

political

power

is

not

nowhere but

in

private

beloved

enough

family. in

to retire

my

I

I

fit

as

accept

my

I

it,

know

think

I I

I

life

wife and chil-

may be

profession to have

it

I

am

writing unaffectedly

know

and

my

in

the

bosom of

able to in

my

am

gave

believe, never yet

that

and

to

my

have no such ambition,

enough of the world to

happiness,

am in

my

distinction

attain

power,

that

happiness

in ten years,

from the bar into the country and give myself up to

the luxury is

heart.

I

I

one among a thousand proofs that

that kind of life

unfit for

expectations, and,

the office of Secre-

nor would

I,

would be

It

my

For

fulfilled.

tary of State, under Mr. Madison,

you

by

make no such extravagant calculations of future greatcan make my family independent and leave to my chil-

I

be the Pope of

this

but

;

If I

believe me,

is

in

pretty well fixed, and

is

dren the inheritance of a respectable name,

and

this is so

am

have yet a fortune

I

—

before

I

my thoughts

could turn

I

:

was extravagant

it

sixteen or seventeen years

the color of a man's destiny

family before

ness.

!

was but

I

life

to forget that

Then,

of literature and

selfish

will tell

—

me

that

a

man's

my first

fireside.

duty

is

You

will

say that

to his country

of Curtius and Cato, and Brutus.

I

;

and

admit the

DISLIKE OF POLITICAL LIFE.

262

grandeur of their virtues, but

myself for those high

Should

am

neither a Curtius, a Cato, nor a

my countrymen

Tliere are thousands of

Brutus. tlian

I

[1909.

better qualified

and as willing as capable.

offices,

attempt to give myself the precedence to such men,

I

it

would impel me. The wish to see my country prosper is not compatible with a wish to see the reins of government in hands that are unfit to hold them and to wish them in my own, would be to wish them in such would not be love of country, but

self, that

;

Hence my duty

hands. it

to

my

country

accords with the real wish of

These

domestic peace.

my

ting

and

life,

my

is

so far from opposing that

heart for independence and

aie the principles

by whicli

am

I

regula-

should be almost as sorry to have them dis-

I

turbed, as a christian would the foundations of his faith.

Monroe

is

election, but

who

WMfe,

certainly a virtuous and excellent man.

my

opinion of him

good

a

is

is

eralists

and

who

tories

letter to

I

opposed

By-the-bye,

federalist by inheritance,

through that part of your letter

show your

unaltered.

my

drew her

his

dear

pencil

whicii you speak of the fed-

in

supported his election.

She wanted

to

her mother, but as both her father and mother

are federalists, of the first water^ and supported Monroe, she afraid that this passage

the letter to produce

—

would defeat the that

is,

to inspire

and respect for you w'hich she

was which she wished them with the same love efl'ect

feels herself".

I

think

it

a misfor-

Monroe that he had the support of which you speak but as it was unsolicited and undesired by him I do not think he ought to be blamed for it. I wish the federalists were all like you Madisonian federalists and I wish the republicans were tune to

;

—

all

like

;

him,

—

that

candid,

tolerant,

is,

charitable

and

dis-

some hopes of the duration of the republic; but as it is may Heaven protect us! If you knew Mr. Jefferson personally and intimately, you would know him to be among the most simple and artless characters passionate.

I

should

then

—

upon

earth.

His

fault

have

—

is,

that

he

is

too unguarded: if he had

more of General Washington's reserve, he would be less in the power of his enemies than he is. I do not know that this would make him a more amiable man, but it would make him a happier one.

LOCKE'S ESSAY.

CHAP. XVII.]

I

am

wish he would try

me very

it

When

man's vigor.

;

I

the

consider

Human

?

If not,

of a young

test

was about fourteen years old, a friend made I would read Locke through twice,

I

was on Sunday,

should be

I

this task.

It

and

letter,

I

Parson Hunt's library, took out the book, and

— the posture lesson, and

in

which

which

I

stairs, laid

down

my my

on

flat

had been accustomed

to get

was peculiarly was soon heels over head

therefore supposed

I

favorable to the exertion of the mind.

among "

he named, that

of.

spreading a blanket on the floor, up

Homer's

whom

intimated that

phenomenon if I achieved recollect, when I received this

I

instantly to

He

meaning.

his

considered as a sort

breast,

good

flattering promises, if

was master of

went

of Cyrus' parts.

Understanding

a pretty

it

and produce a certificate from a gentleman I

me

delighted with the account you give

Has he read Locke's Essay on I

263

I

which

innate ideas," subjects

I

had never before heard

of,

had not a single idea of any kind, either innate or acquired. I stuck to him, however, manfully, and plunged on, pretty intelligently, till I got to his chapter on " Identity and and on which

I

Diversity," and there

nor did

I

I

Albemarle, when

book

in

age.

Even

Diversity,

then, as felt

I

re-passing, in

will

the

bound over

Locke fancy.

is

I

I

until I again met with the was about twenty- three years of

approached the chapter on Identity and

it

Cyrus

is

in

when

which he had stuck

two years beyond

experiment, and

I

a

But whoever

frigid

writer

to

a

fast

the time at

do not doubt

like the reindeer over the

certainly

human judgment friend

the most hopeless despair

summer, part of a road

made

I

fast, in

as shy as the Scotch parson's horse did

the preceding winter.

which

stuck

ever get out of that mire,

that

he

snows of Lapland.

young man of high

wishes to train himself to address the

successfully,

ought to make Locke his bosom

and constant companion.

He

introduces his reader to a

most intimate acquaintance with the structure and constitution of the mind

how

:

unfolds every property which belongs to

it

alone the judgment can be approached and acted on

;

;

shews

through

what avenues, and with what degrees of proof, a man may calculate,

with certainty, on

Locke's book

is

its

different degrees of assent.

auxiliary to the

same process

for

been so earnestly recommending the mathematics to the

mind a fixed and rooted habit of

;

Besides

which that

is,

I

this,

have

giving

clear, close, cogent

and

LETTER TO EDWARDS.

264

The man who can

reasoning.

irresistible

[1809.

read Locke for an

hour or two, and then lay him down and argue feebly upon any subject,

****** may hang up

fiddle

his

for life

;

such a one, nature

to

must have denied the original stamina of a great mind.

That Heaven may restore and confirm your health, and continue to smile with beneficence upon yourself and your family, (who, I believ^e, are as

make

them,)

dear to

my

heart as the closest consanguinity could

the devout and fervent prayer of

is

Your

friend,

Wm. Wirt. The

next letter contains a pleasant day-dream, characteristic of

the ambition of the writer, but which unfortunately

We

realized.

may

may be

tingencies of after life

more

others

was never

smile at this picture of hopes which the con-

brilliant,

said rather to have displaced for

than to have disappointed.

TO BENJAMIN EDWARDS. Richmond, June

My Ever Honored

Friend

Yours of the 15th then in

by a

reached

ult.

23, 1809.

:

this place a

week

ago.

I

was

Norfolk, in the Admiralty Court, and learned, with sorrow,

letter

from

my

In consequence of

much shaken

;

wife, your inability to meet us at the Springs.

this,

and

the country than to

our

own

my

we

shall

wife's sister's, Mrs. Cabell,

Buckingham, a county bounded

is very go higher up

resolution of going thither

doubt much whether

I

to the west

who

lives in

by the Blue Ridge.

There we shall get the mountain air, avoid a hot journey and a good deal of expense, which we would have encountered cheerfully in tlie hope of meeting you, and some portion of your This inducement removed, the objections

family.

remain without a counterpoise; and a grace as possible to the

we must

disappointment,

hope, that, by some means or other, shall yet

time, lest

me,

I

am

meet before it

we

at

to the jaunt

submit wnth as good still

cherishing

some place or

other,

the

we

In the mean-

bid adieu to the world.

should be otherwise, from your parental anxiety for

sure you would be glad to

know what

is

to

become of

LITERARY DREAMS.

CHAP. XVII.]

265

how I am to pass through life. I have looked into this my future life with a vision as steady and distinct as I command, and now give you the result. In the course of ten

me, and

subject of

can

years, without

hope

that

I

some great and

shall

signal misfortune,

I

have reason

to

be worth near upon or quite one hundred thousand

dollars in cash, besides having an elegant and well-furnished estab-

lishment

in this

town.

I

propose to vest twenty-five thousand dollars

improvement and stocking of a farm somewhere on James River, in as healthy a country as I can find, having also the advantage of fertility. There I will have my books, and with in

the purchase,

my

—

spring, summer and Those months I shall devote to the improvement of my children, the amusement of my wife, and perhaps the endeavor to raise by my pen a monument to my name. The winter we will spend in Richmond, if Richmond shall present superior attractions to the country. The remainder of my cash I will invest in some stable

family spend three seasons of the year

fall.

and

productive

these

there

is

raise

to

no noisy ambition

composition. it

fund,

portions

{ew words you have the scheme of It

in

it

and faction:

intrigue

innocent victim of

it,

there

;

is

none,

much

My I

I

I

In

children.

You

see

believe, in

my

future

love distinction, but

I

and innocence.

in tranquillity

political

true

is

my

for

my

lil'e.

can only enjoy

soul sickens at the idea of

would not

choose to be the Observe,

less the criminal agent.

do not propose to be useless to society.

My

ambition will

lie

opening, raising, refining and improving the understandings of

countrymen by means of think that

I

am

light

Atlas enough to sustain a ponderous

a speculation of

fifty

very great delight, and be

of

to

my

be employed,

while

:

I

Voltaire (voluminous as his in this

moral or literary would afford

executed, at least,

if alive,

death, or as long as

used to publish

work

my

do not

I

or a hundred pages on any subject, theolo-

gical, philosophical, political,

hope

and cheap publications.

I

in

with

spirit.

ten years hence, and

me

Thus

so, to the

I

day

can write anything worth the reading.

works now

are, as

bound up together,)

way, detached pamphlets

;

and so did

others of the most distinguished writers in Europe,

—

all

many

the essay-

and dramatists, of course, and many of the philosophers. This mode of publication is calculated to give wider currency to a work. There is nothing terrible in the price, or the massive bulk

ists

of the volume.

VOL.

The

1—23

price

is

so cheap, and

the reading so light,

PROSPECT OF

266

command

as to

a reader in every one

way, be

who can

The all

all,

and

employed

harangue and the harangue-maker produce a

The

transient benefit, and then perish together.

merit, speaks to

read at

not a man,

by haranguing eloquently

as useful to his country as

in the Senate.^

[1809.

May

whole country.

thereby to embrace the in this

LIFE.

countries and

all

which would be, enjoy them both

ages

To

he produces flow on forever.

man who could

indeed, desirable to a

writer, if he have

and the benefits

;

feel sufficient delight in the

applause of his eloquence to counterbalance the pain which the cabals, intrigues, calumnies, and lies of the envious and malignant

would be sure and

to inflict

shall, therefore,

I

find reconcilable

my

with

futurity to the

end of

stand, take in

I

think

I

could never do I

;

can

happiness.

perusing these two pages, you

By

now

This

upon him.

attempt that kind of fame which alone

my

life,

my whole

adopted son promises you

may look forward through

and, from the point on

One

prospect.

which you

thing at least your

that he will transmit to his posterity

;

name of unblemished honor: and he flatters himself that in future time, they will look back to him as the founder of a a

This

race that will have done no discredit to their country. vanity, but,

can

hope, not vexation to your

I

be free

I

if

not with

that kind of love for

how

I

shall

you.^*

I

spirit

flatter

:

life

;

is

whom

myself that you have

me which would make you

conduct myself through

— for with

desirous of seeing

but since,

the ordi-

in

nary course of things, this cannot be, the next degree of enjoyment is to

see

it

by

anticipation, and for this

purpose

is

it

that

been trying to lead you to the summit of Pisgah, and

my

I

have

show you

promised land.

But enough of

it.

Your

letter gives a

view of the advanced

of parents not the most cheering that could be imagined. then, those children

although widely

:

you went

dispersed, are

perity and happiness.

always

whom

They

all

to

Kentucky

life

But

to live with,

in the road of honor, pros-

could not have remained with you,

They were to be estabyou should not have desired it. world; and you have the delightful knowledge that

lished in the

they are well-established. heart like

yours

!

What

Contrast

it

a feast

is

this

reflection to a

with the idea of their

having

always remained about your house, your daughters old maids, and your sons lazy old bachelors. You would have had their company,

FAMILY CONCERNS.

CHAP, xvir.]

267

company would it have been? And if idea that they were to be married and

indeed,— but what

sort of

you once admitted the I am sure you were not chimerical enough

settled,

they would

all

surrounding a

neighborhood so constructed, even such a construction. juster value

expect that

to

settle around Shiloh, like so many small bubbles I doubt very much the happiness of a large one.

1

for each

were reasonable

if it

to expect

incline to think that distance gives

meet, your

when you do

other, and that

you a

so in intenseness what in wants in frequency upon the whole, the sum of your happiness is pretty much

happiness makes up that

;

same.

the

But,

my

man with your

ever honored friend, any

—

practical

your children would marry, and that their own parental duties would force them to And how follow their fortune wherever she pointed the way. and thousands hundreds, of that with compared happy is your fate

judgment must have foreseen

millions of other parents.

How

many

No

child has ever

You bring down your gray

are there

who have

zing, soul-rending calamities,

" Yet

a father.

Illinois,

wounded

in

!

:

the honor

no daugh-

hairs with sorrow to the grave.

When

I

think of these agoni-

almost shudder at the idea of being

I

Providence

I trust."

had heard of Ninian's wish

I

that

have no reprobate son to mourn

of your house. ter's ruin to

this result

for the

governorship of the

from himself, and had wTitten to Mr. Madison

(whom

I

I know very well,) my worse know not whether the change of office is for the better or and am sorry to learn that you think it against reason and judgment. The office, I presume, will impose more labor upon him,

impression of his (Ninian's) character.

;

and be more likely to embroil him in quarrels and trouble.

But

be balanced by the power which he will have of providing for his children, and ushering them advantageously into will not these

life

I

?

am happy

He

matics.

hear that Cyrus has laid siege to the matheno doubt, soon be tired of it, and when he is so,

to

will,

he ouo-ht to turn to Rollin's account of his namesake's siege of Babylon, to see w^hat patience, enterprise and heroism can achieve is

;

and, though he

to result

may

not see at present the benefit which

from his labors, he will

feel

it

by-and-bye, when the

LETTER TO CARR.

268 arguments of Jericho

gaycty

before him like the walls of

fall

sound of the horns.

at the

my

By-the-bye, little

adversaries

his

[1S09.

in

wife

the federalists.

1

some of

the lines of your letter touching

my

her that, to

told

you took too gravely her

afraid that

is

pencilling

were

sorrow, you

a fede-

and that your observation could scarcely have been

ralist too;

intended to cover the whole of a party to which you yourself

The

belonged. sportiveness

some hopes

;

act was, as

and

that, in

Paul had with Felix

good republican.

shall

that

I

shall altogether

This will be the

down, by slow degrees, the

political asperities, as being

You know

much

to expect

Here I

is

I

have

persuade her to be a

however, of

effect,

which her parents gave her

asperities

sally of

it.

have better luck with her than

I

;

mere

related to herself, a

she begs you to consider

time,

together, and wearing

first.

it

in this light

made of

that

;

living long

federal

little

my own

to say, if

is

softer stuff,

do not give way

men have not beyond the pleasure of being vanquished. rencontres of this sort,

that in

another long and vapid

letter.

No wonder this time,

for

have written under the pressure of about ninety-six degrees of

My

heat.

wife and children unite with

E. and our brothers and

sisters.

you

to health, and preserve

to

me

Heaven

love to you, Mrs.

in

bless you, restore you

your family. Yours,

Wm. Wirt, to dabney carr. Richmond, December

My Dear I

have

this

moment your

favor of the 18th

thank you from the bottom of

They

21, 1808.

Friend:

are your very

self.

God

my

heart.

I

bless you.

inst.,

which

for

love your

You

me

give

I

letters.

great

pleasure.

Yes

!

— your brother Peter, the General and myself, had

})lanned a trip to

Washington,

you, and into which "

S soul, as

used to say

my

this winter,

brother the

of Patrick

soon as mentioned

;

which was

to

Governor,'''' Cabell, (as

Henry,) entered with

but you

indeed

embrace

know we have

all

old his

Burns' au-

HABITS OF BUSINESS.

CHAP. XVII.]

thority for saying that " the wisest

gang

aft

We

were

— too

Now

the field,

very

we

have come to the starling

my

materially, on

in,

pro-

engagements for the winter, and disable me from taking This is no in the spring, with the advantage I ought.

Our

fictitious obstacle.

set in to

that

would break

at the subject at a

discern the obstacles that

arrcat a distance to

find that the trip

fessional

and looked

at the Springs,

might oppose our design. 1

schemes of mice and men,

awry."

jrreat distance,

point,

2G9

do w

courts are, at length,

my

hat, to

shame,

up, and

all

I

have

— pre-

have never done before,

I

through the winter, for the combats of the succeeding

pare,

year, leaving nothing for future preparation, but future business.

Thus, our

first

court

me, take up

my

ment

before

in that,

that docket, and

come

the Chancery

is

I

:

my

lay

docket before

my

cause, and prepare the notes of

first

quit

I

it

;

every other

so, to the next, in

which

out, in the spring, as Billy

am

I

Pope

argu-

and so on through

Thus

concerned.

says, like a sarpent.

I

Is

not this an object sufficiently important to justify the declension

of the jaunt to Washington

Yet how

?

I

should enjoy

We know

from their distance.

who

who cope

those

at least equal, if not surpass

them

it

I

!

have

men loom larger

no doubt of the truth of your opinion, that these

with them, and

and even these are but

;

men.

No, my dear flatter

friend;

few indeed,

I

know you

are too manly and dignified to

and I know icw men, very whose judgments are so little liable to be truth, by prejudice and partiality. Yet, when

any one, much

less a friend

:

(if one,)

warped, from the

being of any peculiar importance to

you speak of

its

come known

to the great

men

of the nation,

I

am

me

to be-

lost in the

attempt to conjecture your meaning.

I

The course of politics is neither for my happiness nor fortune. am poor. While I continue so, it is my first duty to think of

my

wife and children, unless

gency, from which sibility

My

of which,

I,

it is

country were placed

redeem her

a rare, a very

:

in

an emer-

a crisis, the pos-

not very easy to conceive.

wafe says that she should feel

secure than in your hands are

my

alone, could

;

for, let

my

me

rare instance, in

safety no

where more

you (aside) that you which there is a perfect tell

coincidence in opinion, between her and myself, as to the taste

VOL.

1—23*

THE OLD REPORTERS.

270

my

and friendship of

make

associates,

M

have heard General

were

a complaint against his wife, that his greatest favorites

seldom

much

I

/ler's.

the same,

suspect

—

reason with both our wives,

tlie

some of our

to wit, that

tempt us into

occasionally, to

not the case witli you

is

I

[1809.

perate zone, and there

wife has seen, that

you never cross the

for

•,

greatest favorites are apt,

My

frolics.

pretty

is

this

line of the tem-

no mist of prejudice, therefore, between At the good qualities of qualities.

is

her judgment and your good

my

several of

other friends, she

is

obliged to look through the

smoke of cigars and the vapors of the grape ; a medium so impenetrable to her, that I cannot account for her having ever conceived a partiality for me, except by the obscurity with which I But, was thus surrounded, and the force of her imagination.

mark me, I am speaking only of past years. For, sir, I have made a large collection of old law reporters, with the plates of I see, the authors in front, Coke, Grotius, RoUe, Vaughan, &c.

who lived so shortly after ShaksCoke and Dyer who lived with him,)

from the faces of these men, peare, (and, indeed, of old

was painting from nature, in this, as well as in every other instance, when he imputed to these men of the It was, no law, "the eye severe, and beard of formal cut." doubt, owing to their recluse and austere life, and the intensity of that this great poet

that

their studies,

beard

same

they contracted this severe look.

effect,

me with

look to see

To

and muscles

I

bar the

produce the

to

little

fi.xed

to one

as marble,

next you see me.

be sure,

had two and twenty gentlemen, yesterday, eating

I

venison and drinking wine with me. renthesis; and,

because

I

I

am

rU

tell

is

more apt

it

altogether.

if

you what,

in

son

is

sir,

I

begin to

feel

beginning to read, and ;

my own

and

it

gives me,

eyes, to be

tiic

I

can

like

my

to

darken a

somebody

in this

daughter writes her

tell

you, no small con-

parent of two such children.

daughter a classical scholar.

What

Her

person

be unplcasing, and her mind may be made a beauty.

This

have a notion of making

do you say will not

was only a pamany of them,

not to extinguish

name very smartly sequence

this, sir,

think, with him, that nothing

My

world.

But

too well read in Blair, to admit

man's understanding,

I

is

razor eyes cast a

side, in all the severity of thought,

when

same cause

but, in oilier respects, if the

;

to

it

.''

She

is

my

quick, and has a genius.

ACRIMONY OF PARTY POLITICS.

CHAP. XVII.]

271

course of education will, indeed, keep her out of the world until she

seventeen years old

is

but,

;

think, so

I

much

the better,

—

for

I

would not wish her to be married under twenty, which, if she is attractive, would be very apt to be the case, if she enters the

What do you

world, as

is

Commune

with me, as a friend, upon

say to

all

this?

this.

should like our girls, four or five years hence, to be corres-

I

ponding not,

I

in

Does

French.

you are no father

My do

usual, at fourteen.

not your heart spring at this idea

my

to

If

.''

mind.

wife desires to be atfectionately remembered to yours.

and both of us to you,

too,

Greet your brothers kindly

Need

in

my

is

So rhyme unintended.

a

name, and

all

our friends.

you what you so well know, that

tell

I

—which

I

am, as ever,

Your

friend,

Wm. Wirt. These

letters indicate a settled determination, at least for the

present, to avoid the engagements of public

mon

with many grave and reflecting

men of

Wirt,

life.

in

com-

that time, often fell

desponding tone of remark upon the future prospects of The absolute ferocity of party politics at that day, the country.

into a

Never

alarmed them.

since that period,

perience upon this point

extreme of harshness

is

— although our

later ex-

not without abundant examples of an

— never have

political divisions

been attended

with so widely dilTused and so bitter a spirit of personal rancor

and denunciation.

In

the

artful

exhibitions

agogues, perhaps, the present generation

of talented

may be

dem-

entitled to claim

more pervading influence, than that which to which we refer, society was marked and separated by party lines than it

a greater skill and a

preceded

more

but at the time

it;

distinctly

ever has been since.

Considerate

men regarded

the people with anxiety and doubt as to

its

this

temper

ultimate eflect

in

upon

the institutions of the country, and they felt unliappy forebodings

of a catastrophe

which many believed not

public mind has since finding

how

dismissed

grown

to

be far

easily the ship rights itself after a

its

distant.

The

familiar with these tempests, and,

heavy blow, has

apprehensions and learned to look with confidence

LETTER TO EDWARDS.

272

[1809.

and composure upon the supposed dangers which

filled

the hearts

of the past generation with dismay.

Edwards, we

In the following letter to Mr.

ance of some gloomy misgivings as to the

fate

shall find the utter-

of the Union, which

may be said to express an opinion not confined to the writer. The first portion of this letter touches a question of educaticn which may be profitably perused by every youthful aspirant after professional success.

TO BENJAMIN EDWARDS.

*#*** Richmond, December

Mv Dear

Friend

22, 1809.

:

I think you are rather hard upon my brother Ninian, when you speak of the Quixottic schemes which he has carried to his

territory.

me

strikes

It

that

fellow

a

who

made

has

way

his

through the presidency of a Court of Appeals, to the government of a Territory, deserves to have his solidity a

of

I

suspect that the Knight of

achieved such adventures as those.

he will gain by the exchange, except (what has no need of) land

judgment that conduct. I

I

but he has displayed so

do not doubt motives exist

I

am

I

hear this

:

sorry

Cyrus

that

better thought

little

La Mancha would never have I own that I cannot see what

is

man every where spoken of

should suppose he

much soundness

deprived

of

McAllister.

as a prodigy of learning

and mental force; not very well qualified perhaps, for the struction of children, but highly so for the instruction of

men,

— and Cyrus

is

now

young man.

a

of

sufiicient to justify his

McAllister,

I

am

in-

young told, is

distinguished for the clearness and cogency of his style of rea-

What

soning.

genius

a treasure would such a

and enterprise

power of

analysis, the

and shewing

all

its

who was power of

parts

aims

at

eminence

to a

for

is

it

This

!

simplifying a complex subject, is

the forte of

the great desideratum of every

in the law.

fashion the drapery and put

young man of

the bar

clearly and distinctly,

Chief Justice Marshall, and

who

man be

destined

on

;

Genius, fancy, and taste but Reason alone,

sculptor that can form the statue itself

Hence

it is

is

man

may

the grand

that

I

have

EDUCATION.

CHAP. XVIL]

273

been so anxious for Cyrus to cultivate the mathematics

— not

the sake of being a matliematician, but to give to

mind the

his

for

I hope he will still be some situation where he may pursue this science. I would have him mathematician enough to be able to comprehend and repeat, with ease, by calculations of his own. Sir Isaac New-

habit of close and conclusive reasoning.

placed

in

Locke

philosophy.

says,

if

him read Chillingworth:

let

of the principles of natural

mathematical demonstrations

ton's

soner

you would have your son I

say, if

him read Locke. I think you will find that the matheLocke will put a head in his tub for, what you cennot, I apprehend, any defect in the faculty of memory, but

let

matics and sure

a reasoner,

you would have him a rea-

is

;

rather the inattention and volatility so natural to his time of

which there

for

As

to

is

no better cure than what

my country's

calling for

my

aid,

I

life,

am recommending.

you make me smile

come

!

— yet

you will find that your lectures on patriotism have not been lost upon me. Alas poor country what is to become of it ? In the wisdom and virtue of the administration I have the most unbounded confiif

such an improbable thing should ever

!

!

dence.

to pass,

My

apprehensions, therefore, have no reference to them,

nor to any event very near

at

hand.

And

yet, can

any man

who

looks upon the state of public virtue in this country, and then casts his eyes

upon what

federated republic

probable dissolution

is is

to

is

doing

last

in

for

Europe, believe that

ever.''

less than a century

this

con-

Can he doubt that its Think of Burr's ofi'.-'

conspiracy, within thirty-five years of the birth of the republic think of the characters implicated with him

and of the presses

political parties

in this

;

;

of — think of the — think of the state

country

;

execrable falsehoods, virulent abuse, villanous means by which they strive to carry their points.

Will not the people get tired

and heart-sick of this perpetual commotion and agitation, and long for a change, even for king Log, so that they may get rid of

demagogues, the storks, that destroy their peace and quiet ? These are my fears. Heaven grant that they may prove groundless It may be for the want of that political intrepidity which is their

!

essential to a statesman that these fears

my

mind

dismay.

— I

yet

am

I

have found their way

confess they do sometimes

fill

sure that the body of the people

it

is

into

with awe and virtuous; and

LETTER TO EDWARDS.

274 were they

[1S09.

as enliglitened as they are virtuous,

I

should think the

But they are not en-

republic insured against ruin from within.

lightened, and therefore are liable to imposition from the

knowing, crafty and vicious emissaries of faction

;

more

— and the very

honesty of the people, by rendering them unsuspicious and credulous,

They

promotes the cheat.

administration

in

is

are told, for instance, that this

French pay or under French

that this country, although nominally free,

and a province of France.

That

is,

the taxes

influence, and

in effect, a

dependant

which they pay

to

support their government, instead of being applied to these purposes, are remitted to their master in France, to enable

him

to

hasten the time of his taking

complete the conquest of Europe and open possession here. The people wlio innocence of the country,

who

live

amid the solitude and

read or hear this tale well vamped

up, and see general items pointed out in the annual accounts of

expenditure, which are declared to cover these traitorous remittances

—

wdiat are they to think

—especially when the

tale is con-

nected w^ith a long train of circumstances, partly true and partly false,

growing out of the actual embarrassments of the country.-' it be surprising, if, thus worked upon for four years, with

Would

the vile and infamous slander sanctioned

by

assertions on the floor

of Congress, they should precipitate Mr. Madison from the Presidential seat, and state.?

And

g^vay^" — "

place one of his calumniators in the chair of

then

^vhat

when "vice prevails and wicked men bear may follow," Heaven only can foretell.

ills

Yours forever and aye,

Wm. Wirt.

CHAPTER

XVIII.

18 10.

RESUMES THE PURPOSE OF WRITING THE BIOGRAPHY OF PATRICK HENRY CONSULTS MR. JEFFERSON ON THIS SUBJECT LETTERS TO CARR.— NEW ENGLAND ORATORY THE SENTINEL LET'J'ER TO B. EDWARDS DEATH OF COL. G.UIBLE THE OLD BACHELOR LETTERS CONCERNING IT.

—

—

—

In the lives of professional men, there

which

cident of that kind tive of the

biographer.

is

is

generally but

little in-

adapted to give interest to the narra-

The

pursuits of a student,

whether

the field of professional science or of literature, present

little

in

for

That notice beyond the record of his acquirements and opinions. engrossment of the mind, which constitutes the delight and profit of a life devoted to study, necessarily withdraws the student from an active participation in the

same

affairs

of his fellow men, and, to the

extent, deprives his career of that various fortune, of

the lights and shades communicate so

which

interest to personal

much

history.

We

progress of Mr. Wirt, a stedfast devotion to his profession, marked by a regular and continued advancement to eminence eminence which, it is apparent throughout his

have seen,

in the

—

career, he ting study.

was

persuaded was only

fully

All other pursuits Avere

to

be

won by

subordinate

unremitgreat

the

to

object of his ambition, a well-merited renown in his profession. In his estimates of this renown, and of the means by which it was to be fairly earned, he was guided by the example of those distinguished cient and

men who, modern

in the history

of the profession, both

times, had illustrated

it

by

in

an-

the highest accom-

The

bar of the United States, by no means deficient in the highest order of ability, aflbrds but few instances of that accurate and full scholastic training, without plishments of general scholarship.

which no man can be accomplished fession

jurist.

amongst

us,

said to

Looking

we have

be entitled

to the reputation

to the leading

too

much cause

members remark

of an

of the pro-

to

that,

with

RESUMES THE LIFE OF HENRY.

276

some rare and

brilliant exceptions, there is a

[1810.

lamentable want of

conversancy with those subsidiary studies, which not only grace the reputation of an eminent lawyer, but are even indispensable to it.

We

discern in

men of

the highest professional repute, a lack

of scholarship, a deficiency

philosophical and historical study,

in

and a neglect of literature and science, which contrast most un-

acknowledged vigor and capacity of mind. to the want of the means

pleasantly with their

This defect may be sometimes traced and opportunity, tinguished

early

in

men of

the

for elemental study.

life,

American bar have won

their

Some disway to fame

against the impediments of a straitened fortune, and in the priva-

may

In respect to these,

customary aids of study.

tion of all the

it

be said that their want of accomplishment bears honorable

testimony to the labors of their progress, and rather signalizes

what they have achieved, than they have inent

They

left

unattained.

members of

subjects

The

them

to reproof for

what

great majority of the most prom-

the profession, however, have not this excuse.

are men, for the most part, of liberal education, trained in

the college, with

all

the

means and appliances at hand for the That they have not availed

highest and most various cultivation.

we may

themselves of these means, to the fact, that the

community

attribute, in a great degree,

at large

do not appreciate these ac-

much weight

quirements sufficiently to allow them

in the

tion of the popular opinion of professional excellence

student

is

forma-

that the

not stimulated to these additional labors by any public

judgment of their worth, and himself, in his tional

;

that

he need not,

iherel'ore,

burden

preparation for his arduous race, with any addi-

weight of study.

of that fame which

is

His dream

to live

is

beyond

of popularity, rather than

his

own

day.

He

covets the

applause visibly bestowed in the listening forum, or more substantially visible,

manifested

in

the golden return, rather

remote and impartial renown, which

than that

settles, late

in-

and long,

upon the works and the memory of the ripe and polished scholar.

Something rapid and

due also

is

to

other causes

which we have so many examples. with

it

profit

mischief;

:

amongst these,

precocious advance to large practice

and popular applause,

first,

at

that

the bar, of

This early success, bringing is

often the source of a double

by satisfying the ambition of the aspirant; and,

second, by persuading him that nothing

is

to be gained, in the

CHARACTER OF

CHAP. XVIir.]

HIS STUDIES.

277

enlargement of his studies, to compensate him for the time subtract from

We

his business.

extraordinary predominance of

which

is

so

may

that

find

talent

miration of the masses for

;

must

in

the

public speaking,

for

The

remarkably characteristic of our people. this talent

it

another reason,

ad-

the ready plaudit with

which they reward that specious, fluent, superficial, glittering eloquence, with which they are most familiar, seem to have engendered the opinion, that even the depths of juridical science

be fathomed by

this

plummet of the

gift

honors of professional distinction, be

est

may

of speech, and the high-

won by

the

wordy

triumphs of the forum. Wirt's aim was to build up his reputation upon a more solid

To

base.

this

end,

he read and thought much,

in

those de-

partments of study, which not only liberalize the mind by broad

and comprehensive views of human knowledge, but also supply with the stores of illustration, analogy and comparison; and,

it

in

equal

degree, strengthen

deduction.

losfical

To

this

power of

its

discrimination

and

end, also, he habituated himself to

the use of his pen, and almost incorporated the practice of writing into a system of self-improvement, as a point of daily discipline.

In accordance with this plan of study, he had ever

some

project in hand, to which he gave a portion of his time. not,

however, always

literary It

was

pressure of his forensic engage-

that, in the

ments, he could gratify this purpose, without too large a sacrifice

of immediate personal interest

much

this

literary

scheme

;

but

we remark

in his letters,

engrossed his thoughts,

how

and beguiled

the severer occupations of his profession.

The purpose of writing a biography of Patrick Henry, which, we have heretofore remarked, had been contemplated, in connection with a work embracing a number of other distinguished men of Virginia, was now resumed. In reference to this design, as

Wirt wrote the following

VOL.

1—24

letter to

Mr. Jefferson

;

LETTER TO MR. JEFFERSON.

278

[1810.

TO THOMAS JEFFERSON. Richmond, January

Dear

Sir

18, 1810.

:

About four years ago, you were so good as to state that if the Life of Henry was not destined to conne out very speedily, you would endeavor to recollect what might be of service to it and that, having run your course with him for more than twenty years, and witnessed the part he bore in every great question, you would ;

perhaps be able to recal some interesting anecdotes. I do not refer to your letter as constituting a promise, or giving

me any manner

of claim on you.

and have merely reminded you of of

my

In

request.

statements which

recent and that

I

truth,

do not regard

I

so great

is

have received of his

I

in that light

apology for the renewal

as an

it

it

the inconsistency life

of the

and character, and so

the prejudices of his friends and his adversaries,

warm

my mind

had almost brought

to lay aside the project as

one

But every too ticklish for faithful execution at the present time. day, and especially every meeting of the Legislature, convince

me

that the

times require a

rendered so interesting

the biography of a celebrated

many much

man

better qualified to give

hear of no one

am

only, that /

who

is

discipline,

little

which cannot be

in a didactic form, as if :

interwoven with

and although

this

disposed to do

!

know very

discipline than myself, It

it.

is

I

for this reason,

so disposed.

Mr. Henry seems

to

patriotism and morals.

me a good text for a discourse on The work might be made useful

rhetoric, to

young

coming forward into life this is the highest men who point of my expectation ; nor do 1 deem the object a trifling one, since on these young men the care and safety of the republic must are just

:

soon devolve.

As

for the prejudices

treat the subject with so to

any one.

truth.

at this

I

and against him,

I shall

much may be avoided without

endeavor to

candor, as not justly to give offence

think this

a sacritice of

Of this, and consequently of the expediency of publishing time, I shall be better able to judge when the work is

fuiished; which, liealtli

for

of

my

I

hope,

it

will

be

this

family should again send

summer, unless the

me

a travelling.

ill

THE BIOGRAPHY OF IIRNRY.

CHAP, XVIII.]

much indebted to you, if, during the hope you are now enjoying, you could make it

should feci myself very

I

leisure

which

1

matter of amusement to yourself to

throw together,

as

may occur I

to

for

my

il

otherwise,)

use, such incidents touching

Mr. Henry

to you.

distinct

politician,

view of the

peculiarities of his character as a

and an orator

and points of his excellence

;

and particularly of the grounds

in the latter aspect.

would very much animate and enrich the biography

It

whom

lie

acted.

I

am

more especially anxious

the

of Mr. Henry in eloquence. Page say that he was the superior.

Will

this

not

be adding too .''

I

I

troublesome to you,

you

to decline

with

it

may

it

I

should be

to feel

suit

much more

Governor

late

which

to the trouble

beg you

of being an amusement, you

instead

for a portrait

have heard the

much

But

disposing of the whole request as If,

add to

understand that he was the great

I

rival

already seeking to give you

to

men with

a striking portrait of the characters of the eminent

of Richard H. Lee, because

in

would not wish

(I

never heard nor saw Mr. Henry, and am, therefore, anxious

have a

man, a

it

279

no

I

your convenience.

think

it

would be

sensibly obliged to

altogether than to encounter the trouble

:

since,

every wish for the peace and enjoyment of your future I

am, dear

am

difficulty

life,

sir.

Your obedient

servant,

Wm. Wirt. The

expectation of completing this Life of Patrick

Henry

course of the year in which this letter was written was not

The work

referred

to,

was not given

in

the

fulfilled.

to the public until several

years afterwards.

AVirt had projected a visit with friends, to

Dabney Carr and some other Washington, during the session of Congress, " to see amuse themselves by an intercourse with the He was, however, obliged to forego this was meant to be, and to remain at home, with an

the lions" there, and

magnates of the nation. frolic,

eye

— as

it

—

which was now rapidly increasing, very much of his purse, though not in the same degree to thj

to his business,

to the benefit

promotion of his comfort. following letter

:

In reference to this trip he writes the

— LETTER TO CARR.

280

[1810.

TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, January

my

Yours of the 9th,

me

dear friend, reached

undouhtedly an eloquent

letter, for

put

it

me

19, 1810.

last night.

It

is

exactly in the state

of the twelve signs of the zodiac that surround the pedestal of the sleeping Venus, at Monticello

beginning to end than

which

;

is

if it fitted Aristotle's

It is

it

begins our Court of Chancery day,)

till

My

August.

it

square

about

in vain to sigh

;

was

a smile and

a tear, from

better proof of the merit of the letter in

every part.

;

go

;

and then

In ten days more,

cannot.

I

I

have no rest (not for a

scheme of winter's preparation has been

a good deal unhinged by a spell of sickness, from which

recovering

without This,

;

but

I

shall

I

suppose, will find you all

not gone on

one

;

just

they

I wish you may John Randolph has

Washington.

in

the enjoyment you anticipated.

;

and to hear him speak was the primum

Peter's project and mine. :

am

profit.

meet with

dolph

I

not suffer the vacation to pass entirely

tell

me

that

for I never yet

he

I is

am

viobile of

very anxious to hear John Ran-

an orator, and

heard a man

who

I

am

curious to hear

answered the idea

I

have

formed of an orator.

He

has ever been ambitious, and

do not doubt that from the

I

time he was seventeen years old, he has been training himself,

most assiduously, for public speaking. mind, and that

He

has formed himself,

I

Chatham but the vigor of Chatham's god-like fire which breathed from him, were not to

lancy, on the model of

;

be imitated.

By-the-bye,

I

think this business of imitation always a badge of

inferiority of genius

;

most frequently an injudicious business, too

since the imitation has generally

other eiTect than to remind

little

the hearer or reader of the superiority of the original.

*

*

God

* bless

*

*

*

you forever and ever,

Wm. Our

New

England friends

will smile

at

the

Wirt.

account given

of their oratory, in the following extract from another letter to

CHAP. XVIII.]

OPINION OF

Carr, written,

I

soon after the

NEW ENGLAND ORATORY.

have reason last,

suppose,

to

—

and whilst Carr was

it is

without date,

Washington.

in

New

made of

not say that the estimate here

for

281

I need England eloquence

and character, was rather an echo of the absurd prejudices then current

We

the South, tlian any deliberate opinion of Wirt's own.

in

no man was either more able or more

shall find hereafter, that

willing

do

many

Northern them may be noticed to show to what a ditlcrent point of the compass the opinion of forty years ago turned, upon the topic of this letter, from what it does now. to

full

brethren than he.

the

justice

to

In the

mean

virtues of our

time, this sketch of

TO DABNEY CARR.

"•I

you

fear

New

the

will find but little

Englanders.

I

that Callender has, at

amusement

least,

manner high enough when,

in

colored

the formal cant of

the heart without ever entering

impression which

I

but

;

I

suspect

the picture of the national

drawing Dexter he says,

ter has a great deal of that kind of

"The

in

never heard one of them

'

Mr. Dex-

eloquence which struts around

it.'

have received of them

is,

that they

are trained, like the disputants in the old schools of logic, to be

equally ready for every subject

with equal volubility ing,

;

— but

:

that they

that there

nor consequently of expression

can speak on any one no more variation of feel-

is

in

them, than

in the

brazen

mask which covered the face of the actor in Rome. That they are a cold, and at the same time, cunning people, who envy the genius and generosity of a southern climate, of which they have but little

conception

;

that they are clannish

breeches, and smell of onions and train

that they

;

oil

;

that they

wear

leather

have a nasal

twang, and a provincial whine which give them, to a stranger, the air of artless simplicity, while, at the ful

enough

With

to cheat the devil.

all

same time, they are

much of

this

creed

art-

is true.''

Wirt's disinclination to embarrass himself with the

duties of public station,

he was ever ready

political contest in defence

VOL.

How

1—24*

to enter the field

of

of his friends or the party to which

!

THE SENTINEL.

282 he was

To

attaclied.

both of these, he had, more than once,

rendered most effective service, and

men

quarters, and especially from the distinguished

all

He

behalf he had labored.

whose

was acknowledged by which he heard expressed

this

the public in the popular approbation

from

[ISIO-

one of the

had, as

to reprove that attempt to

first

we

in

have seen, been

produce a schism

in the

republican party which, in the then recent presidential contest, had divided the friends of Mr. Madison and Mr. Monroe ; and the letters of

"One of

through the

the People," had a very extensive circulation

The

state.

authorship of those letters, although not

world, was every where well known, and gave

confessed to the

the writer a conspicuous

to

position in his party.

occasion was presented, during this summer, to bring him

An

Mr. Madison's administration was Some of the protestors of 1808

once more before the public. assailed with great asperity.

were

in

open war against

harshness, nor

its

it,

and political hate had lost none of

industry in the tactics of assault.

To

its

breast

opposing force of querulous denunciation of Mr. Madison and his friends, Wirt published a few essays with the title of " The These papers were written in a different style from Sentinel." this

his

were more free of that ambiwhich may be noticed in some portions of the His object in this change of style of One of the People.

former political compositions

;

tious declamation letters

was

to mislead the public as to the author; but the public, accus-

tomed

to the flavor of his pen,

were not deceived by the assumed

became as well known for these essays as for the "I hope I shall be prudent some time or other," he says former. in a letter to Carr, " though I sometimes doubt whether my disguise, and he

scribbling so 1

am

much

for the

in the

myself

to subject

portrait of

to

papers

is

an evidence of

some personal

Randolph.

I

should

being treated as candidly as he has been of

me

man

care for that

'

We have,

in

own

me

they maul

in a different style.

said, about being called

career,

the young.

'

Billy

'

it.

suppose

I

reflections in the press

;

have no objection but

when they

to

lay hold

But as Bullock's country-

before the Governor,

'

I

did

n't

" the letters of Wirt, occasional reflections upon his

which are particularly adapted to the instruction of He seems to have been moved, at many periods of

bis life, to record in his letters the results of his experience in the

LETTER TO EDWARDS.

CHAP. XVIII.]

difficulties it

283

he had encountered, with some conviction that he owed warn and guard them against the

to the rising generation to

dangers which

experience had taught him were so greatly to

tliat

Tiiese frequent passages in his letters, as well as the

be dreaded.

general scope and aim of his literary compositions,

may be

said to

somewhat conspicuously in the character of the Friend Instructor and of youth, a title which I am happy to find has been more than once recognized by the young men of the United States, in the formation of societies bearing his name, and whose pursuits are directed to the course prescribed by his inculcations. A few extracts from a letter to Mr. Edwards, at the period to present him

which our narrative has arrived,

will be read as an illustration of

these remarks.

TO BENJAMIN EDWARDS.

******* Richmond, May

My Dear I

and Revered Friend

have, indeed, great cause of gratitude to Heaven.

say that Providence has led me, but that,

and rebellious propensities of

8,

1810.

:

my

nature,

in spite it

I

will not

of the reluctant

has dragged

me from

obscurity and vice, to respectability and earthly happiness. In reviewing the short course of

made plunges from which

it

my

raised, and I

trust that

my

feet are

in idleness

and

folly.

I

;

now upon

never cease to deplore the years of

dered

me me

to

than a divine hand could ever have raised I

my

can see where

life, I

seems clearly

I

that nothing less but,

I

have been Yet, can

a rock.

youth, that

I

have mur-

can only fancy, with a sigh of un-

which I might have made, had 1 devoted to study those hours, which I gave up to giddy dissipation, and which, now, cannot be recalled. I have read enough to show me,

willing regret, the figure

dimly and at a distance, the great outline of that scheme of literary I it was once in my power to fill up in detail. have got to the foot of the mountain, and see the road which

conquest, which

passes over too late in

its

summit, and leads to the promised land

life for

me.

I

must be content

hither side, and point out the path to

these sentiments either

to

a

to lay

my

weak and

son.

;

but,

it is

my bones on the Do not charge

spiritless

despondency,

REVIEW OF THE PAST.

284

paratively, is

mean, as

I

will

it

rather too late

when he

cially

know

good deal may yet be be done yet, combe but a drop in the bucket. Seven and thirty for a man to begin his education; more espe-

or to sluggish indolence.

done, and

[ISIO.

I

far as

I

that a

can, that

shall

it

;

hampered by the duties of a profession, and,

is

age of the world, when every science covers so much

in this

ground by

men!

What

itself.

Yet there

will understand or believe

it,

my

until, as in

when it is too late. I now and weak places of my mind.

case,

I know all know which of the

think that

the flaws

I

muscles want tone and vigor, and the point of health.

I

also think

fixed

is

upon a

call

I

would have brought them

functions in harmonious concert.

mind

;

who

comes home

it

to the heart,

training

young

a spur should this reflection be to

scarcely one in ten thousand of them,

is

which are braced beyond

know what all

course of early

perform their proper

to

But now the character of

my

and as to any beneficial change, one might as well

who

tailor,

has sat upon his shop-board until the

calves of his legs are shrivelled, to carry the burthens of a porter,

or upon a man, whose hand split hairs

with a

little

as

with regret,

at

will

it is, it

probably remain,

I

my

litical

honors, that

which

I

may

I

have

You

said, that I

will

do me

am

sighing

those distant heights of political honors which

vice or virtue of

faculties,

from what

infer

beyond my reach.

my

violently shaken with the palsy, to

accession, perliaps, of knowledge.

you

injustice if

is

Such

with a razor.

do not know whether nature, but so far

I

am

I

to

consider

from sighing for po-

pant only for seclusion and tranquility, in

enjoy the sweets of domestic and social love, raise

by assiduous

cultivation, to their highest attainable

point, and prepare for that state of future existence to

Nor should I propose such solitude, to forget what I owe to my country trary, I think I could be much more solidly useful,

know

tion,

that

I

am

hastening.

you ever hear of

may

rely

upon

it

my

that

this life

I

scarcely possible.

am

is

1

I

I

:

on the con-

in that situa-

of sequestration and peace, that

having entered on a political course, you

it is

a sense of public duty.

cause,

which

to myself, in

So strongly are my

than in one more public and active.

hopes and wishes fixed on if

lie

as a

it

a painful and heart-rending sacrifice to

hope, and trust that such an emergency sure that

it

is

very improbable

believe, there will always be those

who

are

much

;

be-

better

COMMON DEFECTS OF EDUCATION.

CHAP. XVIII.]

qualified for public

them than

I

offices,

285

and certainly far more anxious for I think our country is, at

At the same time,

am.

present, very badly supplied with materials for future legislation

and government.

I

cast

my

eyes over the continent,

in vain, in

There seems

quest of successors to our present patriots.

to

me

a most miserable and alarming dearth of talents and acquirements

among

the

young men of the U.

and endeavored to

fill

S.

I

have sometimes

sat

down

the various offices in the government with

drawn from those who are made known to us, either But so far am I from finding, among personally, or by fame. that I cannot even find persons president, them, a man fit for a What has become of the tadepartments. fit for the heads of characters

lents

of the country.^

Are they

merely slumber; and does like our revolutionary

myself, think that

it

it

utterly

extinct.?

Or do

they

require another great convulsion,

war, to rouse their dormant energies

proceeds, in a very great degree,

Our

gether, from defective education.

if

I,

.?

not alto-

teachers, themselves, either

want learning, or they want the address necessary to excite, into Young men are every vigorous action, the powers of the mind.

where turned loose, in the various professions, with minds half awake, and their surface merely a little disturbed with science. This is not the way great men have been made, either in Eu-

*******

rope or America.

As long

as this system

is

pursued,

we

shall

never have any thing but political quacks.

You

will

no doubt have seen,

have suffered

in

Robert Gamble.

in the

public papers, the loss

the premature death of

my

we

wife's father. Col.

In the full enjoyment of health and strength, of

uncommon mental and corporeal

vigor, in

perous pursuit of his business, his children

the active and prosall

established, sur-

rounded by his grand-children and an extensive circle of sincere and fervent friends, and with the fairest prospects of earthly hap-

him on every hand, he was suddenly killed, on the morning of the 12th instant, by a fall from his horse. He was a faithful soldier of the revolution, a sincere and zealous

piness opening around

christian,

one of the best of fathers, and honestest of men. Yours,

Wm. Wirt.

^

DEATH OF

286

The

COL. GAMBLE.

[1810.

portion of this letter refers to an event which de-

last

prived the society of

Richmond of one of

its

best

members.

Colonel Gamble had served with credit, during the revolutionary

war, and engaging amassed, as

siderable fortune in

loved by

in

we have

all

character by

commerce, soon

its

termination, had

lived honored

Richmond, where he

who knew many

after

heretofore had occasion to remark, a con-

and be-

him, illustrating the benevolence of his

acts of kindness and charity to those around

him.*

The

succeeding letters will show that the occupations of the

courts, to

which some amusing reference

is

made, had not blunted

the edge of the writer's literary appetite, nor entirely deprived

him of the

leisure necessary for

its

indulgence.

TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, September

My Dear

though

Brigg's it

will

is

really a hard case

be irregular,

He was

born

in the

;

and

I

will endeavor, al-

to introduce the Court of Appeals to

more intimate knowledge of *

9, 1810,

:

received, in regular course of mail, your favor of the 27th

I

ultimo.

a

Friend

it

than the records will furnish.

neighborhood of Staunton, where his father, an emigrant

from Scotland, possessed a good landed

estate.

At

the breaking out of the war, he

who

entered the service as a subaltern officer, having just married a Miss Grattan, had, at an early age,

come with her parents from

Ireland, being remotely connected

with the family of the distinguished leader of the Irish Parliament of the same

name. chant

Col. in

Gamble served until the peace, and then established himself as whence he removed to Richmond. Here he lived in the

Staunton,

a mer-

enjoy-

ment of an elegant hospitality, and in intimate association with that circle which was made up of Chief Justice Marshall and his contemporaries. He was in the habit of riding every morning to his counting room, from his residence on Gamble's Hill, as it is yet called in Richmond. He thus met his death. April 12th, 1810, he was riding at a leisure pace down one of the streets, near the river, reading a newspaper, and giving but

happened that some buffalo was passing it his horse took fright, started and threw him, which produced concussion of the brain, and terminated his life in a few hours. He was then in his fifty-sixth year. He left behind him two sons, who now are both living in Florida, gentlemen deservedly esteemed for their personal worth, and two daughters, with whose history the reader little

attention to his horse.

It

skins were thrown from the upper story of a warehouse, as he

I3

already partially acquainted.

;

**## LETTER TO CARR.

CHAP. XVIII.]

My

was rather too thick

ink

thinned

Wliy

my

and mended

it,

yes,

sir, as

pen;

you say,

287

with pleasure, so

to write

— and now,

sir, iiere's at

have

I

you.

a pleasant thing to lead the life

it is

of a county court lawyer; but yet (as one of Congreve's wittol squires said,

when

and called

pleasant) "

it

be kicked,

his guardian bully suffered himself to

a pleasure

it is

would

I

as soon be with-

doubt not that your sum of happiness is as great, if not greater, than if you were a " general court lawyer," as the

Yet

out."

I

phrase used to be.

Those same man,

at

he does

returns that you speak of

such times, live as much an hour or a day

in

— My God

Does not

!

a

a minute as, in ordinary times,

in

These are the breezes of which

.''

poets and orators sing and say, that they shake the atmosphere of life,

and keep

life

would be

you were

it

from stagnation and pestilence.

himself

is

know

the

in

who

the circle of his family,

made more conscious of

way

that yoiir

yet, I imagine that there

:

which

in

I

if

no

does not

separations.

reconcile myself to them

though not a county court lawyer, at

is

that happiness, and his feel-

enjoyment quickened by these occasional

ings of

This

home

to live forever at

man, however happy find

I

no danger of stagnation or pestilence, even

in

this present,

I

;

since, al-

am doomed

to

these separations as well as you.

As

and fatigue which you undergo,

to the labor

which you derive from

health

it,

—look

at the

and the consequent clearness of Besides,

brain, and capacity for happiness.

mark

the majestic

which you exhibit, in spite of all your exercise, and con" what a thing you would be if you were bloated," as Fal-

obesity

sider

statf says,

When

— by

I

inactivity.

think of the mountain scenery, the fine air, the society

of nature, in Albemarle,

being doomed, by

my

I

am convinced the

nativity, to

life

of a wandering Arab,

would have rolled me through Richmond, Norfolk, and back here again. suade myself that

I

am

Even now,

stationary

;

prised, ten or fifteen years hence, (if in

some

valley,

among

But, to return to

say you,

to

Williamsburg, to

I

can scarcely per-

and, should not be at I

my

that nothing less than

all

live so long,) to find

sur-

myself

the mountains of Pennsylvania.

tlie

life

—" You ought not

of a county court lawyer. to

wish

to return to it."

—

I

(" Sir,"

hate a pun:

LITERARY ASPIRATIONS.

288 So,

Mons !) What to covet, the

most

I

object to

corporeal labor to which

meaning of a pun, of course, they puzzle one!)— but the to the fatigue of the mind,

— (Curse these

life

it

Our

ought

I

subjects one, (not

interlineations,

of a county court lawyer

we

do suppose that

I

oppressed than you are.

how

for, as

;)

much more now

are

courts, for example, have

have no more intermission from labor, not even The iew last days of until about Christmas.

we

begun, and

very thin^

for, is the

it

[ISIO.

during the Sabbath,

December and from the

first

Even

again.

month of January, belong

the

of February to the the intervals

first

to

of July,

between these

us; and then,

we

are slaves

we were

sessions, if

wise, ought to be devoted to preparation for the ensuing campaign,— so that it is literally by playing the truant, that we have a

day of

rest

Now,

from our labors. think of this, and

sir,

remember

that

it

me you

on

is

would pack the labors of " the Sylph," because you are too busy. ProI much fear the Sylph is doomed never to see the light. fessional labors thicken around

me this fall, and it will require the my part, to keep pace, even with

most intense application, on the progress of my little name.

This prospect does not cheer

waves were closing over my head, and cutTo be buried in law for ting me off from all that delights me. eight or ten years, without the power of opening a book of taste me.

1

feel as if the

for a single

day

!

for that wealth that

"

O

horrible

!

horrible

would enable me

the fields of general literature, as

to

whim

!

most horrible

wander

at large

!"

O

through

or feeling might direct,

weeks, and months together, and thus to lighten and refine my mind and heart, until I became a tant for those brighter fields of light that lie above us for days, and

raise, enfit

inhabi-

!

Do

that a fellow, after xcrangling

you think

and crangling,

(as

Daniel Call says,) for twenty or thirty years on this earth, is fit to go to Heaven ? Don't you think he would be perpetually dis-

by putting cases of law, and that he would want of a dispute ? If so, well may it be unto you, ye lawyers !"—The which " wo," I think it

turbing the inhabitants

be

miserable for the

said,

"

mio-ht

Wo

be wise

in us to interpret,

from our wicked

labors.

quadrupedantically, and cease

But what can

we do

.?

"Aye !— there's

the rub that makes calamity of so long life ; that makes us rather bear the ills we have, than fly to others that we know not of."

ANCIENT AND MODERN ORATORY.

CHAP. XVIII. 1

But more of this anon.

For

the present, with love to

and your children, not forgetting Frank, adieu. wife

is

gone back

to CabelPs,

289

—

I

am

Mrs. C.

alone,

— my

but, nevertheless,

Your

friend,

Wm. Wirt. to dabney

c

arr.

Richmond, December

Mv Dear

A

Friend

introduced by Blackburn to

bill

Judges

increase the

made

the Court of Appeals, has been

in

17, 1810.

:

number of

the order of

this day.

This measure, immediately

;

I

but

apprehend, consider

I

is

too important to be disposed of as the harbinger of all the great

it

measures of the session, and the signal for debate.

recommend week, or

am

1

now

it

than

we have had all

for several years.

;

young men our system of education

How

much.

little

we

have a better House Those who make it so young men, except Col. Monroe and of

point of abilities,

that, in

must, however, be the

would

by Sunday.

at all events,

told

I

to you, therefore, to be here in the course of this

does

it

resemble a

Can you conceive any pleasure

is

too defective to expect

Roman

senate

superior to the enjoyment of

hearing a debate, on a great public measure, conducted by such

men

—

compeers; that pleasure which he has left us such What stores of knowledge had those men, brilliant specimens what funds of argument, illustration and ornament, what powers of persuasion, what force of reason, what striking and impressive as Cicero, Cato, Caesar, and their

which

Sallust so often tasted, and of .''

—

yet each speaker what articulate and melodious elocution distinguished him from marked with a character of his own, which action,

all

!

the world,

— the sportive

amenity of Cicero, the god-like dig-

nity of Cato.

How

interesting

must

it

have been, to

listen to Julius Ceesar,

and watch the sly operations of that ambition which he must have

curbed with so much

difficulty

!

I

think

us that Cicero said of Cajsar, " that

with so 25 VOL. 1

his locks

—

much

it

is

Plutarch

when he saw him

who

tells

adjusting

care, he could not help regarding

him

!

LETTERS TO CARR.

290

[ISIO.

with some degree of contempt, as a fop and a

Irifler

he heard him speak, he trembled for his country to

tliis

!

;

when

but

" or something

effect.

Rome, how little does any House some years past resemble the House in which Jefferson, Pendleton, Henry, Richard H. Lee, Wythe, Bland and others were members or the Convention which ratified the Constitution or the Assembly of '99-1800, in which Madison, Giles, John Taylor of Caroline, Brent, Swann, Tazewell and Taylor of Norfolk were members But, without going back to

tliat

we have had

for

;

;

Yet, without any extraordinary prejudice

we have

appieliend that

I

matched at

a

Roman

Rome, seems

man

senate, as

accomplished,

And when

a

at

all

favor of antiquity,

never yet, by any of our Houses,

a

lohole.

The

have been such a one as

to

in

system of education

young

to turn out every

points, for the service of his country.

young man was emulous of any thing extraordi-

nary, he visited and received the instructions of every foreign

— we see the — and thus extracted and mingled the sweets of

school distinguished for science or eloquence,

example of Cicero,

as

in

every exotic and indigenous flower.

When

young men ever take these pains

will our

suade myself

notliing is necessary

tliat

but

a

For

?

per-

1

general exertion,

" a heave together," aided by a judicious course of education, to

make

the people of this country equal to any in the world,

ancient or modern. In the {t\Y instances of eminent exertion a

which have occurred,

weight of mind has been attained which has rarely,

surpassed

that

;

is

which was aimed this exertion has

to say, the exertion has at

— knowledge,

strength,

if

ever, been

produced the discrimination

never been pointed with such success

effect ;

but

at the art

of public debating, as to bring us near old Rome. I

the

see, in

last

number of Rees' Cyclopaedia, a remark

extracted from Thilwairs Lectures on Elocution, which seems to

me very

just

:

he says that our inferiority to the ancient orators

what we say, but in the manner of which includes every thing that relates to

consists not in the substance of it

—

that

is,

in elocution,

the delivery,

more

particularly the articulation and intonations of

the voice, together with the time, as musicians call

it.

ancient and modern oratory.

CHAP, xvrrr.]

To

purpose, what engines were tlie public schools of elothe Romans, and still more, perhaps, the extempora-

this

quence

291

anions,^

neous lectures of the travelling philosophers from Greece

What

!

whetstones to the emulation of young men, the splendid examples of rhetoric which tiiose philosophers were every day exhibiting,

Comand the raptures of applause with which they w^ere heard every is low dull and how these, as pared with such incentives !

we

thing

!— a

see in this country

jig

upon the banjo of an ash-

covered negro, compared with an anthem on Handel's organ well I am still of the opinion that an extemporaneous lecturer, men of young the for fitted for the office, might perfoim ^vonders entliuhis if done, What might not Ogilvie have this country. !

siasm had been backed by the genius and mellifluous eloquence of Plato It

away

taken in a

that experimental

true

is

Roman

the themes of the

very great degree

ethics, politics,

;

philosophy and revelation have

as

remain

in

physics,

Parson Waddell,

!

betrayed into an essay, when

am

I

still

Think of such a man

&c.

the master of a school of eloquence

Here

and Grecian philosophers,

but themes enough

down

only sat

I

to an-

was time for you to come hither. It is well enough, however, to keep down your expectations, and prevent such another disappointment as you experienced last nounce

to

you

that

I

thought

it

winter at Washington.

Some

years ago, Ritchie

drew

a character of Tazewell, in

which he accounted for the deficiency of the State Legislature by saying that all our talents had gone into Congress. What Avould he be able to

with him from

Houses

We we I

?

tell

Richmond

But enough of

shall

an observer, now, to

who

Washington, so

should travel

as

to

see

both

this.

look for you about Friday, and thenceforward

till

see you.

expect Peachy also; and Billy

same

time.

He

Remember

is

full

Pope

is

to be in

town

;

and give

my

at the

of anticipation.

us aff"ectionately to Mrs. C.

love to

your brothers.

Wm. Wirt.

—

!

LETTERS TO CARR.

292

[1810.

TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, December

Mt Dear

Your two

were brought me

favors of the ISlh and 20th

day morning-, while

we were

that

24, 1810.

Friend:

And

at breakfast.

not to see you until the

3'ester-

although the intelligence

10th January w'as a draw-

******

back, to which

I

am

but especially the

I

not yet reconciled,

I

read both your letters,

with unusual pleasure.

last,

immediately announce your day, both to Pope and

sliall

Peachv.

The

author of the essays on the United States Bank,

intimate friend of mine, and one

who

is

is

a very

very strongly disposed,

and anxious

to be equally intimate with you. It is Richard E. Parker, the Judge's grandson, a captain of horse in our legion,

who

Charleston.

fell at

He

is

a fine

fellow, although there

As

striking to a sfranger.

popular.

— and a nephew of the Colonel Parker

#•****

infandwn renovare dolorem

He

spoke

his

a

member of

mind, on

all

nothing in him very

is

the

House, he was not

occasions, without reserve,

and was constantly treading on somebody's corns. He wanted experience to give him the allowable policy and insinuation of a popular speaker. But I think his pen promises to be a very fine

******

He

one.

is

studious, emulous, and

is

already,

I

think, a versatile

and graceful writer.

He was

with

me

the other evening, and

imparted to him our

I

project of a series of moral and literary essays, with which he

was

delighted, and agreed to contribute, provided

I

would

sit

at

the helm, to preserve the unity of course and character, and ex-

punge, alter or reject, any thing

meet

my

approbation

;

lie

a circumstance

should send which did not

which

I

mention as mark-

ing his modesty and discretion, and as giving you (since

you do not so well know him,)

tliat

my

pledge,

your co-responsibility

with me, will not be increased by such an auxiliary. I

he

mentioned to him, that you and Frank would contribute, and is

very anxious to

know you

both.

I

will

endeavor

to

have

PROJECT OF THE OLD BACHELOR.

CHAP. XVIII.]

him

Richmond wlien you come down

in

gone home

;

293

for, at present,

he has

Westmoreland, enraptured with the scheme, and has promised that I shall soon hear from him. Before he went, we agreed, for the reasons which I believe I to

— the too palpable

want of community of that the Sylph So I have hit upon another, the Old Bachelor, of see two numbers, by the same mail which carries

suggested to you, character and

would not do. which you will

fiction,

and unmcinageabiUty^

interests,

—

this. I

like

the plan myself, much.

composition lor, will

and

;

I

It

gives scope for

think, the adopted children of the

all

sorts

of

Old Bache-

enable us to interweave something of a dramatic interest

with the work. I shall

assign the

to Parker.

How

Niece.

wish you

I

young doctor to Frank, and the young lawyer I will manage the Old Bachelor and the

You and

do you to

like

bring

it,

and the beginning numbers.''

down

the Sylph with you, and Frank's

essay upon Doctor Rush's opinion about the inferiority of in the

form of

a letter,

the key-note of which he will see in the third number.

have the

air

women,

addressed to his Uncle the Old Bachelor, It

need not

of being intended for publication, but of being a letter

written to his uncle in the ordinary course of correspondence.

Your story of Polemo and Xenocrates, affected me almost to You tell it exquisitely, but they were tears of pleasure. and beat both Boyle and Valerius Maximus, the original reporter of the story, out of sight. I shall have it in the Old Bachelor. It will make a brilliant catastrophe to an essay on temperance. I am now going to take a liberty which nothing but our old and fraternal friendship could justify. Y'ou have powers, of which you do not seem conscious; powers which require but a little extears

;

ertion,

on your part,

the distinguished

to unfold

men on

them

to the public eye, in the

the continent.

If

van of

you would devote

your hours of rest from your profession, to science and literature on a bold scale, and practice your pen

in

composition, you would

soon burst from the shell of your district, and take the station for

which nature designed you.

Neither Voltaire nor Marmontel ever told a story better than

your Polemo.

I

mention them, because

striking resemblance

VOL.

1—25*

I

think your pen bears a

to their ease, volubility, and sprightliness.

THE OLD BACHELOR.

294

O how

would

!

greet

it

my

trumpeter on

your arm, and

soul, to lay hold of

same Temple with the female summit, with wings expanded and on the last

you up the steep,

travel with

[1810.

its

to that

tip-toe of flight, to speed her news.

You know me tary, or

my

They

compliments to myself.

are from

inmost soul, and proceed from an earnest desire to have you nature has formed you capable of being.

that

all

too well, to believe these remarks complimen-

as fishing for

owe

memory of

too, to the

it,

and who,

if

the

I

think you

man whose name you bear;

he had lived to the ordinary stage of

would

life,

not have consented to expire in a corner, in obscurity, and leave

no trace of that name on the

When felt as

I first

knew

you ought

rolls

of Fame.

you, about fourteen or fifteen years ago, you

do on

to

tiiis

subject.

Fluvanna, have almost extinguished the us see self,

if

we

cannot rekindle

determined, at

least, to

ments of the mind, which indeed, to begin

matics after forty.

That

me

is

in the

vain, let us

fear Louisa and

I

Let

am, my-

spare no exertion for the improve-

I

is

all

I

Old Bachelor.

have too long wanted.

but both Scaliger and

;

tune as would give since this

it

But

generous spark.

some

my

Hobbes

consolation.

O

time to spend as

do the best we can, and

It

is

late,

studied mathefor such a for-

!

please

I

let us

!

But,

endeavor

to

stimulate our countrymen to surpass us.

The man who

could rouse this nation from the indolence and

lethargy of peace, and spur them on to put forth

would deserve Tell

me

that

Our

me

that

all

their powers,

a place in the bulletin of to-morrow.

you do not take these personalities amiss, and

you take me love to you

at

my

tell

word.

all.

Wm. Wirt.

CHAPTER

XIX.

1811.

THE OLD BACHELOR —CONTRIBUTORS TO IT— CHARACTER OF THE WORK AMUSING CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN WIRT AND CARR IN REFERENCE TO IT.— CARR'S PROMOTION TO THE BENCH THE POST OF ATTORNEY GENERAL VACANT WIRT SPOKEN OF.— HIS THOUGHTS UPON IT.— LETTER TO HIS DAUGHTER.— EMPLOYED BY MR. JEFFERSON IN THE BATTURE CASECORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. J. IN REFERENCE TO DUANE.— MR. MADISON AND MR. G.\LL.\TIN.

The

letters

given

publication of " title,

the last chapter, have reference to the

in

The Old

were commenced

The

Bachelor."

essays, under this

November, 1810, and were continued

in

We

during the greater part of the succeeding year.

have had

frequent occasion to notice the strong inclination of Wirt's mind for

literary enterprise.

orable to himself in this

The hope way,

his

of achieving something hon-

letters

shew

us,

was

the pre-

vailing fancy of his meditations, and his pleasantest dream of the

we have remarked of self-discipline scheme also, was a prominent observance may remember, had reader the which, The Rainbow and study. more recently sucwas years ago, employed his leisure a few future.

Exercise

in

literary

composition, in his

—

ceeded by an enterprise of the same kind, the publication of some essays, under the title of " The Sylph," of which but a few

numbers had seen the better-considered and

light, before they were abandoned for the more mature scheme of the Old Bachelor.

The Old Bachelor reached

thirty-three numbers.

It is

a series of

somewhat after the model of the Spectator, and other works of that class, which once ob-

didactic and ethical essays, put together

tained such attractive popularity in English literature.

too

much

to say of these essays, that

tliey

It is

not

may be compared,

without disparagement, with the best of those of Addison and The Old Bachelor was originally published in the EnSteele. quirer.

These papers were afterwards

collected in

two vo-

lumes, in which shape they reached a third edition, and are

now

THE OLD BACHELOR.

296

[1811.

eminently deserving of republication, as a most instructive and agreeable production

of"

Wirt was

In this enterprise,

Virginia, amongst

American

whom

literature.

by several gentlemen of

assisted

he seems to have turned, with the surest

expectation of valuable aid, to his friend and comrade, Carr.

Old Bachelor, the chief part is borne by Dr. Cecil, which was sustained, exclusively, by the pen In the dramatis personae of the

of Wirt, himself, and engrosses much the largest share of these volumes. A letter from Squaretoes, in the ninth number, I believe, is all

that

Galen and Alfred were con-

was contributed by Carr.

signed to two young friends. Dr. Frank Carr, of Albemarle, and

Richard E. Parker,

a

gentleman

subsequently a member Melmoth was furnished by

who was

of the Senate of the United States.

Dr. Girardin, of Richmond, the author of a valuable history of

There were some other contributions supplied by Judge Tucker, David Watson, of Louisa, and Mr. George Tucker, who has, since that period, attained to high distinction, Virginia.

as a professor of moral philosophy in the University of Virginia,

and as the author of the biography of Mr. Jefferson and other works of approved value, which have brought him to the acquaintance and esteem of a large number of readers throughout the Union. There may have been other contributors to the Old Bachelor, whose names have escaped me. Without underrating the papers which have been supplied by the coadjutors in the enterprise,

pen of Wirt, that

They

book. sitions

;

and

we may

they give the

say of those from the

])rincipal

attraction

are, undoubtedly, the best of all his literary

in the

perusal of them

we

to

the

compo-

are constantly led to repeat

our regrets, that one so endowed with the most valuable and,

at

same time, pleasant gifts of authorship, had not been favored by fortune with more leisure and opportunity for the cultivation and employment of a talent so auspicious to his own fame and so the

well adapted to benefit his country.

We

have remarked of Wirt that his

life

with materials for the edification of youth.

wholesome teaching to the young votary

nown its

of an honorable ambition.

temptations

and

trials,

its

is

who

Its difficulties

triumphs over

peculiarly fraught

His career

is full

of

strives for the re-

and impediments,

many

obstacles,

rewards, both in the self-approving judgment of his

own

its

heart.

THE OLD BACHELOR.

CHAP. XIX.]

and

in the

and the

won by

success

final

297

patient labor and well-directed study

consummation of

;

his hopes, in an old age not less

adorned by the applause of good men, than by the serene and cheerful temper inspired by a devout Christian faith ])resent a

the

young and

incentives

;

—

all

these

type of human progress worthy of the imitation of gifted, in

which they may

find

the most powerful

towards the accomplishment of the noblest ends of

a generous love of fame.

We

may

discern

in

every studied literary

strong inclination to address himself

than to that which

purpose.

of his a

letters are full of this

His

His many visions of future ease and enjoyment

to derive their attraction

might confer

all

seem

from the contemplation of the good he

in directing the

education and pursuits of ingenuous

The Old Bachelor

and talented youth. zation

more

passing away.

is

effort

to the rising generation

emphatically the

is

of some such hope, long vaguely

furnished with the means and occasion for utterance.

precious book for the young American reader

:

it

reali-

now

but

entertained

is

It

a

deals in topics

and emulation it points out his road renown, with a delicate and discriminating skill and beguiles him to the cultivation of the severest virtues, with a charm

to excite his national pride

:

to duty and

;

so potent as almost to convert the rugged and laborious track of discipline into a

" primrose path of dalliance."

These essays have a peculiar merit from being the rapid and simple effusions of the mind of the author, thrown off with unaf-

They

fected negligence, and frequently even without revision.

seem to have been, often, the unstudied suggestions of

moments

snatched from professional duty, and to have been committed to the press whilst yet glowing with the

Occasionally,

we

first

ardor of composition.

have an essay of the highest

impassioned eloquence of the writer

;

but

finish

we

and

full

recognize,

of the in

the

greater part of these papers, the reflex of a mind delighted with its task as a pastime, and flinging abroad its thoughts, like the involuntary transpirations of a healthy body, without a conscious-

ness of effort or labor.

judicious critics, for

its

Wirt's style has often been reproved, by profusion of ornament and too gorgeous

display of rhetorical costume.

His imagination has been charged

with too often taking the reins from his judgment. his

temperament,

we

The

ardor of

must admit, not unfrequently has infused

into

THE OLD BACHELOR.

298

writings a

liis

[ISll.

glow which might be reduced

pairing the strength of his style,

more

to

Old Bachelor

will find these essays less

a

But

classic severity.

and imparling

it

without im-

in tone

— indeed, even adding open

to its vigor

reader of the

tlie

to that objection

They seem to which they have been

than, perhaps, any other of Wirt's compositions.

be

the better for the unstudied haste in

all

The young

written.

his art, to erase

him

in the

yourself

writer

often told,

is

composition as being particularly

when you

fine

in

Always suspect

:

perpetrate what you think fine writing

taste is apt to revolt at the effort to

The

by way of precept

from his manuscript whatever passage has struck

produce what

good

;

called effect.

is

essays of Dr. Cecil furnish but few occasions for the appli-

cation of this precept. In

the

correspondence which

follows, the

reader will

two

friends

have been so frequently introduced into these pages.

Wirt

peruse, with no

who

now

little

and Carr are here

Old Bachelor and the public.

The

pleasure, the letters between the

in tlie

communion, chiefly upon

the topics of the

impressions these essays were making upon

correspondence, also, touches another subject

in

which the friendship of one writer and the modesty of the other Some vacancies were about to

are most agreeably illustrated.

take place in the arrangement of the Judiciary of the State, and

Wirt was

affectionately solicitous that his

worthy friend should

accept of an appointment to the Bench, which was likely to be offered to him.

The

letters will

show,

in a

most attractive point

of view, the disinterested and anxious regard with which Wirt pressed the acceptance, and the amiable self-distrust and

dence with which Carr received the appointment when conferred

finally

upon him.

my readers these letters, who peruse them to keep

two excellent men,

partially in

abridged,

mind,

that

private, confidential correspondence held

writers exulted in

spoke

to

secrets

all

each other in

their

was comment upon

Without further

these pleasant passages between to

in the playful

temper nor

I

submit

— asking

at

a

time

their intimacy.

to

when

a

the

manhood, and who had no

of friends

motive

to

suppress the

expression of any, the wildest, freak of the glad and jovial

which presided over

those

they belong

the hopes of the prime of

companionship,

diffi-

it

spirit

CHAP

LETTER FROM CARR.

XIX.

We

299

take up this correspondence witli an extract of a letter

from Carr, which contains an amusing account of a just made to Dunlora, the seat, as the reader

is

he had

visit

aware, of his

brother Col. Samuel Carr, in the neighborhood of Charlottesville,

where the Old

The work

Bachelor had been the topic of conversation.

had, at

lliis

time, reached the twelfth or thirteenth

number, and the author was suspicion.

Carr had

unknown, beyond a current

still

from Richmond, where he had

just returned

been Wirt's guest, and was, therefore, supposed to the book.

He

know

had himself also written Squaretoes

number, which the company

at

Dunlora had

all

all

about

in the ninth

read,

met there," he says in this letter, " Peter Minor and his Dabney Minor and my brother Peter, who all made affectionate inquiries after you. Very soon, the conversation turned on They seemed to think I must know all about the Old Bachelor. it. I observed, gravely, if you were the author, you kept it "

I

wife,

'As to that,it to your best friends. Old Straws,* I feel as certain that he wrote the papers, as if I had seen him at it,' 1 remarked, that if you did, indeed, write them, you must have taken very little time about it, for that I was with you almost the whole time, and saw nothing of it. Peter Minor solved this doubt by saying, that he suspected the pieces were all written, for many numbers ahead, before any

very close, for you denied said

'

—

'As to were published. Here my brother Peter put in again Squaretoes, he was but Love-truth, he could not pretend to say certain, was not by the Old Bachelor: he could see the pen of George Tucker in every line of it the phrases were all his, :

;

:

particularly,

was

not

'

I

scorn your words.'

by the Old Bachelor, he

even a harshness,

in the

'

said,

'

As another proof that it There was a u'armth, and

Bachelor's reply, in the next number, be-

yond what the occasion called

for,

—

especially in his remarks on

there was not even shadow of disrespect shown to the Bible by Obadiah he was and, amongst these, he gave only enumerating the family books All this was the Bible the first place, and Mrs. Glass the last.'

the Squaretoes library.

For,' he maintained,

'

a

:

;

nuts to me.

By-the-bye, *

A

my

wife

jocular designation,

is

it

convinced as to the author of

seems, of Peter Carr.

LETTER TO CARR.

300

You remember,

Squaretocs. Justice, held

I

by Squaretoes and

you

told his

[ISll.

I

suspected the bed of

dame, would be apt

to betray

This, together with my It was even so. which she has often heard from me before, satisfied her. Frank, But my brother Peter overruled him, also, had his suspicions.

abuse of ridicules,

me.

with a voice of authority."

TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, February

My Dear

Friend:

Although rather tardy, call

10, 1811.

my own,

I

take the

first

twenty minutes

since the arrival of your letters, to

could

I

acknowledge the

favor.

The

enjoyed, very highly, the scene at Dunlora.

I

sage guesses

two Peters, and the twisting of your mouth, and working of your eye-brows, which I discerned as distinctly as if I had

of the

been gifted with the old Domine's deuteroscopy. *

The

Old Bachelor, you perceive, begins to shew the effect of

He moves

affe.

slowly,

and halts

The

most horribly.

truth

is, that the Court of Chancery has begun, and the old fellow Nothing cannot be expected at his time of life, to carry double.

from Parker

The

yet.

Frank ashamed of himself

Is'nt

me

induced

vacation of

.!*

to take an unauthorized

liberty with a friend of mine, so far as to talk with

were

some of the

pre-occupied, or

heads of the Lower House ; seemed " to smell the business with a sense, as cold as but, they

man's nose ;" and, as

on an uncertainty,

I

I

did not choose to

said no more.

But

all

commit it

is

that

is

a dead

same

friend,

inconceivable what

******

an alarm the mere suggestion of such a rival produced Upon the whole, 'tis all well. candidates.

We

you were with us I

am

Cabell, his wife and Co., are

are well.

in

Dinner

here.

the

Would

!

a storm of children. is

among

Our

love to you and yours.

just ready.

Wm. Wirt.

THE OLD BACHELOR.

CHAP. XIX.]

301

Carr had written another paper for the Old

He

from Grace Squaretoes.

letter

and had not yet received the short

his friend,

we

which

Bachelor,

had no recognition of letter

—

from

it

of the 10th,

have just read.

FROM CARR TO WIRT. "Charlottesville, February

"Mi Care "I take

it,

you are a man of your word,

— a most rare example

When we

of a punctual correspondent.

parted, your last in-

******* by

junction, enforced often.'

a cordial shake of the hand, was,

" Nearly four weeks gone by, and not one

word

not a

11, 1811.

Eras:

!

Reflecting on this matter,

from you

line

have supposed

I

sible that

your silence has been caused by that same

Grace's.

It

Now,

I

and sent

have thought

pose, you have

felt

it

I

off.

have no doubt

it

is

possible that, not finding

reluctant to

If this should

silent.

lieve,

it

would

jected, but that *

*

" it

No, pos-

letter of

tell

me

so,

be the case, as

to

your pur-

and seeing that you

I

do

it,

you have

not, in fact, be-

—

not that the piece was rereally mortify me, you should have any difficulty in telling me so. * Could you think so poorly of me as to

*******

suppose, for a moment, telle

!

it

a poor thing-

it

could not well write without saying something about

been

write

a hasty indiscretion, overlooked but once, and

was

instantly closed

'

of mine

I

have ventured

best

;

I

could not bear the rejection of a baga-

.-'

for, not

confidently that

to let

Old Straws

being trusted, he

you were the author, I was in hopes,

positive information.

and he has, indeed, promised

"Frank

is still

VOL.

felt

me

into the secret.

as if too,

that he

thought

he had had the most he would contribute ;

would

recreant, but he promises

1—26

I

no restraint and asserted as

try his iiand.

still.

n

CORRESPONDENCE WITH CARR.

302

[1811.

TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, February

My Dear

Dabney:

have received your rebuke of the 11th

I

guihy

15, 1811.

to

if I

it

had not written you,

at

and would plead

inst.,

least,

one short

letter,

Monday, and had not been so constantly occupied by Court of Chancery and by company, as to leave me no time last

any thing

the for

else.

the constancy as well as the importunity of -these engage-

Of

ments, you will be able to form a proper estimate,

cover that

have not been able,

I

this

week,

when you

dis-

to take even a short

my hobby, the Old Bachelor. acknowledge your goodness in having given me three exOf that which describes the cellent letters since your departure. I It was a good one. already written. I have scene, Dunlora

airing on I

approve of your communication, since, to our brother Indeed secrecy, though I feel its importance now more

entirely

Peter.

ihan ever, seems to be impossible.

imparted

through mistake, told me,

it

when

whom Read

enjoined secrecy

I

*******

upon him, that his

Joe Cabell, to

I

resembled the ostrich, hiding his head while

whole body was exposed

Miss Grace

is, I

But

think, a lass of grace.

liberty of telling you, that I inspiration,

to the world.

have seen you

in

will take the

moments of happier the damsel than

when you could have made more of

When

I

wrote you on Sunday, I had determined to give her to the world, without touching one thread of her dress; but I think now, 1 will make free enough to alter a little No, sir, I have no the set of her cap and fixture of her tucker.

you have done.

more

I

fear of ofl'ending or

one of your essays, than

wounding you, by changing or

if it

were one of

my own

;

rejecting

and, as

taken both these liberties with several of mine, so will

them with yours, as often

as there shall, in

my

I

have

I

take

opinion, be occa-

sion. I

beg you

to continue the use of

your stimulants to our brother

a fellow of such various and ample reading, and of such just and copious thought and splendid diction, that I should Peter.

He

is

THE OLD BACHELOR.

CHAP. XIX.]

think

it

impossible for any thing to

would do

from

fall

Old Bachelor.

credit to the

303

shine in the department of criticism and of fancy.

give us an oriental or occidental

The

thing of that, or any other sort.?

perhaps, put him more at his ease little effort, I

What you

and,

;

Cannot he

or an allegory,

tale,

what

his pen, but

should think he would

I

any

or

epistolary style would,

would cost hun very Doctor C

it

should think, to address a letter to tell

.

of the increasing fame of the Old Bachelor,

me

some degree, to dispel the lassitude that is beginning to creep upon me in relation to the old fellow. I very frankly confess to you, (though I would not do it to is

calculated, in

every body,) that

am

I

even before

tired of the project,

have

I

reached the principal subject, education. But, besides this, our courts are now made perpetual, and the Old Bachelor is rather in I do not mean, by this, that 1 have rethe way of my business. but, that he will see the light

solved to drop him altogether;

much more I

am

calls

latter

ber

rarely than heretofore.

only able to attend to him of nights

cause

this

Frank

it is,

much

is

a dastardly fellow.

he should be.

— but

1

now

had thought him a Corinthian

I

discover that he

no better than

is

Parker has not given me a single

have no more time to write

Old Bachelor, does not look

Our

and these, besides the

at the

week.

a lad of metal,

I

in a

;

mercy of visitors. To this great degree, owing that there is no num-

of the law, are very

now

much

;

and

as if

I

line.

all this

was

being about the

tired of

it.

love to you, and Mrs. C. and children.

Wm. Wirt. FROM CARR TO WIRT.

******* "Charlottesville, February

"My Dear

I

18, 1811.

Friend:

" With respect to that rebuke of mine, as you call only meant to show you that I was very anxious

it,

you know

to

hear from

you and, whenever I give you cause, or you take it head that I do, you shall abuse me in turn, and I will ;

are welcome, brother Shandy, if

it

were

fifty

your

into

say,

'

times as much.'

you

—a :

CORRESPONDENCE WITH CARR.

304

[1811.

" Poor Grace My excuse is, I certainly used her scurvily. was done up in too great a hurry. Alter not only her cap and tucker, but asking her pardon you may strip her altoI fear, however, gether, if you like, and dress her to your mind. !

that she

—

that the story

my

—

old master,

Maury, used

to tell his pupils a hun-

dred times, of Pope and the link boy, will be applicable to her.

You knew

He

the old gentleman.

was our practice to to him of a morning. wdth a pencil, and

doated on a good story.

write a Latin exercise on a

was mend it.

to

'

When

it

Did you ever hear the story of Pope and the

'"No, "

'

When

?'

night, as

he was walking the

—

boy —

'

to light

mend you

street,

him on '

'

fellow,

God mend me

he called a link boy his

God mend me

!'

!'

—

Presently he

way. '

Lord,

He'd better undertake

?

little

any thing surprised him, or hap-

stumbled, and falling, cried out,

"

boy

Pope, the poet, was a homely

to you.

shabby looking dog says the

the old story

link

pened suddenly, he had a way of crying out,

new

it

sir.'

I'll tell it

somewhat deformed.

One

it

marked

was very bad, he

Then came

sometimes rubbed out the whole.

It

and take

any false Latin, he

If there

we had

slate,

to

sir

!'

make two

ones.'

*******

The good

that the

old

man was

boys generally got

" Frank

is,

you say,

as

abuse him shockingly.

so pleased with the wit of the story,

off

without further scolding.

a terrible rascal.

He

is

about

it,

I

tell

and about

it

him

so,

but

;

and

when

he will be done, nobody knows."

TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, February

Mv Dear I

Friend

27, 1811.

:

******

snatch a morning before breakfast to thank you for your favor

of the 18th.

I

You must excuse the tardiness of Miss Grace's appearance. am reserving her till 1 have leisure to play the dressing-maid

to her.

very

But do not be alarmed for her native graces,

little,

and that

little

—

I

shall

do

will not ad'ect the simplicity of her

THE OLD BACHELOR.

CHAP. XIX.]

305

make "

shall bring her out on a holiday, and town-bred fair " blush at her superiority.

appearance.

I

One of them,

entre nous, is

who

think them

when you

be chosen.

to

promise

for

;

I

monstrous

I

am

(I

mean

me

my

in

not a

little.

obliged to strangle

and monstrous you will

:

learn that they are to be rejected, while

By-the-bye,

shall

hands,

embarrass

But

.

his offspring in the birth as

is

my

have several correspondents on

I

character of the Old Bachelor,)

the

we were

too hasty in giving that

have so much ado to mend him, that

I

am,

in

relation to him, exactly within the rule of Pope's link-boy.

—

Yes poor old Parson I well know how he could tell the same story with unabated pleasure. Vye mind, as the Scotch!

Irish say

Odes

over the Ridge,

asking you,

;

alto, if

in

reciting Horace's

a conversational voice, rather piano and in

you remembered

that beautiful

candidum Soracte," and,

nive

—

— the way he had of at

the

ode beginning, " Stet reciting

alta

dropping

part,

? Well, he was a good old fellow, remember him with even more esteem and affection than I was conscious of feeling for him when living.

abruptly into the pulpit dirge

and

I

have another piece from G., rather better than the former.

I I

have several, too, from G. T., two of which you will see

number

fifteen

—

the letters from

of the number

rest

Cecil's.

is

Tamper and Schryphel.

To

in

All the

take the point of the con-

cluding paragraph of O'Flannagan's letter, you must read the close

He

of Blackburn's advertisement in the last Enquirer.

mathematical professor at William and

Mary

College

;

mathematician, but one of the most imprudent of Irishmen, is

is

the

a capital

— which

saying a bould loord. ^

tF

I

tF

V

"Ir

7P

have received, from various quarters, the most encouraging

evidences of the success of the Old Bachelor.

(who,

hope, as he and

I

back to

life

and

his

all

old

Doctor Hare,

his old friends do, has been brought

constitution,

by

late salivation

his

having every evidence of health except flesh and strength, which

he

is

fast recoverins:,

remembered L. C. ing

is

it

— and who

to you,)

Dr.

desires to be most affectionately

Hare, / say, (Blair

enraptured with the Old Bachelor.

will

VOL.

be of great service.

1—26*

!)

writes

They concur

Tucker writes

that

it

me

that

in thinkis

doing

;

CORRESPONDENCE WITH CARR.

306

good it

to the country,

and honor to

its

Judge Nelson

things,

and many more which

scribers to the Enquirer have very it,)

that

for

not only encourage a duty

it is

my

and on

;

me

*

hear, (such as that the sub-

much

increased

consequence

in

go on, but enforce your sentiment go, as fast and as well as I can,

to

shall

1

I

calls

*

*

a most noble and honorable enterprise.

These of

author.

[1811.

professional engagements.

In the meantime,

live in the country,

must watch and

getting tired, and

when they censure

tell

me when my

you,

who

readers are

either the matter or the

manner. #

*

*

#

*

#

make

I will Frank is a scurvy rascal and if he does not impale him in the face of that public to whom I have extolled After seeing what light things we occasionally publish, why him. should the rascal be holding his head so high ? His head^ did I Let him take that say ? " He has a head, and so has a pin." ;

and put

haste,

******

it

pocket.

in his

What from Don Pedro am

I

}

— why need

I tell

you what

^

Wm. Wirt. TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, March

Mv

Dear Friend

Our

friend

Kinney has long since informed you,

wherefore (as our Chancellor says,)

we

acted as

we

why we

did

not act

all.

to

you

last

8, 1811.

:

winter

:

i.

e.,

vacancy on which we was an end of that project.

in

detail,

did in relation

The

judicial

had our eye, not having been created, there Another has

now

occurred.

James

Pleasants has resigned the office of Judge of the Court of Appeals and Tucker, (this is for the present a profound secret which every

body knows,) will resign creates two vacancies in alarmed,

it

is

in

the

course of the month.

the Court of Appeals;

not that Court

I

am

This

don't be

thinking of for you now.

But those two vacancies, so as aforesaid created and to be created^ must be filled ; and it is pretty well ascertained, w ill be filled by To Stuart's circuit, I suppose Coalter will Stuart and Cabell.

THE JUDGESHIP.

CHAP. XIX.]

heir; and

fall

307

presume you would not have Coalter's but what ? He says it is a most delightful circuit. It

I

:

say you to Cabell's

Powhatan,

includes

—

in

the

which county,

the

in

vicinity

Pleasants and Pope, you might easily locate yourself upon a farm, and live I

know

it

in

primeval innocence and happiness. a heart-string-snapping sort of business to quit

is

Charlottesville and

you so district

of

little

its

Would

purlieus.

it

then be possible for

***#** to

arrange with Coalter as to keep the Charlottesville

These

.''

things

you must think

of,

and arrange as you can.

There is no division of opinion among your friends here, you ought to accept, if it shall be tendered, an appointment

that

by the Council calmness, ture fear.

;

we

because, examining the subject with

;

and of your appointment by the Council

There

all

possible

have no doubt of your confirmation by the Legisla-

is

Hare

— (who

is

almost well, and

—

I

have very

who

will

little

be here

by the time the appointment is made ;) well, there is Hare Read, Wardlow, Randolph, Doctor Jones who, I think, Avill certainly vote for you. Then you have an equal chance for the rest,

who

—

W.) Minis and Mallory

are Colonel Smith, (Geo.

;

thus

you see your chances. Will you come in, or will you not You see, if you are elected, that is, appointed by the Council, there will be no occasion for your removal, or making any other arrangements until we see whether you shall be confirmed by the Assembly and if you should not, I suppose it will neither .-'

—

;

break your leg nor pick your purse, materially. be confirmed, of which

— why,

I

repeat

it

there

is

But should you

no reasonable ground

you are an honorable for life in a fair of your profession; and, in fact, advanced to within a few jumps of the goal. I pray you weigh this matter, and be prepared to decide it, if you shall be called upon. I suppose we shall know the whole result before this month is out, or very early in the next.

to doubt,

way

I

to

am

the

in

then, sir,

;

highest honors

a great hurry

;

and

so,

with our love to Mrs. Carr,

yourself, and children, I

am, as ever,

Your

friend,

Wm. Wirt.

CORRESPONDENCE WITH CARR.

308

'[ISll.

TO DABNEY CARR. March ^k

3^C

By-the-bye,

•**

3)p

me

let

boast a

"W

little

:

yet

^

am more ashamed

I

shewing vanity before you than any other man I

10, 1811.

"JF

of

the world.

in

persuade myself, however, that the pleasure which a man feels approbation of the great and good

at the

is

laudable, and scarcely

deserves so degrading a name as vanity.

If this point is settled in

my

is

favor, then

I

will tell

you that R.,

who

from Washington,

just

says that the Old Bachelor has great eclat at head-quarters

Mr. Madison had

said, sir, (so

Ws

respect to me, hereafter,) that he thought Mr.

redeem

ought to

Reviewers

us

that there

;

from

was

;

that

desire that you will pay proper

I

censures

the

a chastity,

of

pen, at least,

Edinburgh

the

an elegance, and a some-

thing else, which R. could not remember, in his style, which charmed him. Now, sir, if R. did not invent this, quod non constat^

it is

AVhat makes

a compliment.

be anything bearable in

that, if there

is,

compliment which R. imputes should have expected. style in

I

He I

as to mine,

;

her

I

me my

it

Mr. M. are not exactly those I the character of Mr. M's own

to

Chastity

is

have thought

it

about as chaste as Cleopatra,

But enough, and too much of

attire.

most dubious of

style, the points of

me

and

my

brats.

conversed with Nicholas, yesterday, de loco vacuo judicis. thinks

it

as plain as a pike-staff in our favor.

have very

little

doubt of

it,

and advise you to hold yourself

ready, sub rosa, to take a circuit on the

first

of April

;

for

it

will

be, perhaps, a sudden thing.

About will see

a place of residence, in case of

by the range of Cabell's

your appointment,

circuit, that

it

— you

offers a variety,

it takes in Amelia, the neighborhood of Giles, Eppes, and the Tabbs, besides Powhatan and Manchester. In the latter place and its neighborhood, there are a variety of beautiful tenements and lots of from twelve to twenty acres, where

for

you might enjoy the hills

raise a profusion of clover for

your horses and cows

prospect of Richmond,

Capitol, and picturesque

fine

its

;

and valleys, together with the whole ambit of James River,

its falls

and port

;

besides the

as long and as often as

we

power of our being with each other What say you to this ? And

please.

THE JUDGESHIP.

CHAP. XIX.]

when old H Warden

as

Carr^

dies, think

think this a most capital plan.

I

(for I love to quote

Bishop says,

Judge Carr has a most

my

—

Q,— E D, Now, d'ye see, Judge By my conscience^ as the

of that, Master Brooke

Court of Appeals.

told the

309

—

!

authority, always,)

original, and, as

it

I

think

were, melodious sort

of a sound.

To

my

all

that,

of

Well, happy man be

to

come

all

the Carrs, the honor should light

to

'

old Louisa and Fluvanna comrade, with his grumbling

Well,

and blue devils!

wind

are

I!— And

his dole, say

upon

we

think what

it is

a long lane that has no turn, and an

blows nobody luck,

that

—

ill

also, throw a crust of bread, &c.,

together with forty other proverbs that Sancho would pour forth

on a

like occasion.

W.

come here to and if you come live. I think his brother Joe will come here too to Manchester,— only think, with the aid of Davy, and Clarke and /, and occasional visits from our upland friends, what a society If

H. Cabell

is

elected, he will immediately ;

we may

form

Shall

!

not find the foot-hold that Archimedes

we

—

and turn the world upside down, I mean the moral and literary world ? I scarce think we could turn up a

wished

for in vain,

worse side

the deuce of clubs, or at least, the curse of Scot-

it is

;

My

land.

spirits are in

scarcely hold

my

and on such an occasion,

For

fear,

informed that sir, I

I

however, of it

is

at this prospect, that

such a jig

pen to write

intelligibly

;

I

can

and at such a time,

scorn to write anything but nonsense.

you

false inferences,

the forenoon, and

I

am

just

will

please to be

So,

from church.

scorn your suspicions.

Cabell went up

him your

home

this

morning.

I

wrote to Hare, and gave

You know

postscript, verbatim et literatim.

binding him, hand and foot, and deporting him,

if

it

is

about

he will not keep

Whereupon, I observed, that I believed you never would forgive him if he should even go so far as to come down only for a day or two to vote for you. I gave him to understand, indeed, that your appointment would probably

away from Richmond.

depend upon

Now, you

to

it,

but that he

was not

to

mind

that.

are you not ashamed of that selfish twinge which leads

wish that Hare would,

could give his vote than not get the

?

— So

office

at least, trust himself

here

until

he

you would endanger his health rather However, believing fie, fie, sir

!— O

!

CORRESPONDENCE WITH CARR.

310

[ISll.

would be your wish, to tell you the truth, I observed to him that I thought you would not be implacable for a short trip on this occasion ; and he will certainly come, dead or alive. that such

Love

to all.

Again yours,

Wm. Wirt. CARR TO WIRT. "Charlottesville, March

14, 1811.

''My Dear Frtend " I dined at Monticello yesterday, and did not return home until My children were put to bed ; my wife and I a little after night. :

sitting quietly

tague's letters

day.

I

brought

"

by our happy

fireside

— when suddenly

—

sent a servant immediately for

me

I

reading to her

occurred to me, that

it

my

letters,

Lady Monwas post

it

who,

returning,

yours of the 8th and 10th.

would have diverted you, not a little, to see the flurry and which this threw us. It was the first time that the idea of elevation to the Bench, was brought distinctly before me. Your letter made I had viewed it before as a distant possibility. It

flutter into

it,

at least,

soon.

I

probable that

cannot

tell

would be

it

you what a

w'hich seems to increase as

I

offered to me, and that very

feeling this

think of

it

produced

— something

;

—

a feeling

like a timid

young girl on the eve of marriage. How will it be with me Mounted on the bench, the officers of justice planted around, court

.''

opened, the bar lined wuth attorneys, every one thronging

in to see

new judge, the grand jury sworn, proclamation made that his Honor is about to charge them then the stormy wave of the What multitude hushed into silence, and every eye bent upon me. the

—

*******

a tremor the idea gives

me

!

Yet

I

will on."

THE JUDGESHIP.

CHAP. XIX.]

311

TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, March

My Dear

Friend

Cabell

elected to the Court of Appeals, and your election

is

Out of

infallible.

there

is

— how

members who are

six

that there are four

Wardlow.

23, 1811.

:

who

here,

is

is

ascertained

Hare, Reid, Randolph and

are for you.

remaining members are

the

it

is

unknown;

no probability of their concurring against you

but

— and,

if

they do, your friends are resolved to hold the Council divided

The

rather than give way.

on Tuesday

Now,

next, and

sir, I

point,

hope you

supposed, will be decided

down, immediately on the receipt

will sit

this,

and write your address

Take

care of your modesty

of

it is

regard you as elected.

I

to the

that

;

grand jury. is,

beware

lest

it

impair the

Don't go and be overwhelmed was, so as to make people think " poor fel-

energy and dignity of the judge. and panic-struck, as low,

I

I

dare say he wishes he was at home again."

You know

that

that degree of

am

I

not such a simpleton as to find fault with

modesty which unlocks the hearts of men, women But

and children, to a man.

I

know

that

you do think, and ever

have, tor these lifteen years, at least, thought of yourself with too

much

although "

Now,

humility.

in

peace there's nothing so be-

comes a man, as modest stillness and humility, yet when the blast of court blows in our ears," and sheriff's o-yes bids the jury rise, " then stitfen the sinews, bend the muscles up, and imitate the action of"

—

as the old

woman

Lord INIansfield. These two appointments put a poultice on the bruises of the Legion and Clarke. " O that right should thus overcome might," says

in

plain of the oppression of Sir,

mind

you are

qualities

wicke

;

to

make

you

to

the play,

when she

is

meaning

to

com-

power.

a great man.

The

organization of your

scale the heights of Mansfield and

Hard-

and your temper and manners will strew flowers on the

path of your ascent.

You must read every book

that Mansfield ever read

;

they are

be had, and your leisure will now enable you to do it. Sir, you shall " bestride the lazy-pacing cloud, and sail upon the bosom

all

to

;

CORRESPONDENCE WITH

312

CARR.

[ISll.

of the air," and mark " the white up-turned eyes of us mortals that

back

fall

to

gaze on"

I tell

you again,

—you. you can, and must, and

that

1

see

it

— and who

Your

sixteen miles from us

;

see us between terms

;

tell

you

this.''

I

will

endeavor

ficult

say

shall

circuit will bring

questions

gether with his

me nay ? you close

to us.

upon the

shall stand

very summit, the pinnacle, the apex of judicial glory.

I

know

Chesterfield

is

it

—

only

Powhatan but thirty. You must come and this, you know, is your home but need I

—

from Cabell, a statement of the

to get

dif-

which he has suspended by an advisari vult^ toauthorities, notes, &c., and meet you, with them,

somewhere upon your circuit. Hare and myself count on your making such an impression this spring and fall, that ''min nor diviW'^ cannot " stap ^e" from being confirmed next winter.

throughout your circuit

It

as

awkward

will be an

awkward

for

the lawyers.

you

believe

I

you not

thing for

(a judge) to

plan will

best

the

to

know

the bar, and

carry letters of introduction to

be for Cabell to

send a letter of introduction to some one prominent

each bar, introducing him to you, and begging him

member

of

to introduce

his brethren to you, and the respectable country gentlemen around

******

This will answer the purpose without

the court houses.

letting

you down.

My watch informs me take

my

leisure,

that the mail has closed.

and write a

more

little

depend on Frank

to get this in as

write a very long

letter,

because

I

I

will therefore,

legibly, since

have

have

I

But

a way-letter.

I

to

cannot

to finish the nineteenth

number of the Old Bachelor to-night. I

think your remark on

too delicate,

—

it

is

's

with the Old Bachelor here

— they are

and, with the co-operation of

subjected

me

the irony

And, therefore,

seventeenth number, have

If such a notion as this

I

is

said to be personal attacks

my own

foot, all the benefits intended

end.

;

Xo a good deal of ill-natured remark, as

lampooning the town. on

letters is correct

Yet, the pieces have played the deuce

cold.

sat

were

if I

were once

to get

by the publication would be

at

down, immediately, and wrote

eighteenth number, to prevent any such pernicious effects.

I

an

the

be-

'

THE OLD BACHELOR.

CHAP. XIX]

lieve

has answered the purpose.

it

melled by

impertinence

this

in

the liveliest and most impressive

But

I

313

am

very much tram-

applying characters.

way

of moralizing

draw a character without displeasing- somebody or wrong to draw characters, you are partly in fault, me, not long before you

draw

Why

characters."

;

much

It is

yet

I

other.

If

you

for

never it

me, " you must begin, presently

left

should not

What

I ^

is

said to to

right have the ras-

me if a vicious character fits them ? As to lampooning or throwing stones for pure mischief and wantonness, I would sooner cut off my right hand. But if it is necessary to the purposes of virtue, if it is the most interesting mode that I can cals to find fault with

adopt to expose a vice, and render should

it

ridiculous or hateful,

why

not do it?

I

You see, Ritchie is going to make a book of the old fellow. I much like this way of becoming an author, or rather of being made one without having the fear of it, all along, before my eyes. Now, most certainly, if I had intended to sit down and write a don't

book, and become a downright author, subject better calculated to put lated to exhibit the

my

mind.

If

me up

whole of the

should have chosen a

I

in

little

the ranks

;

one calcu-

compass and strength of

my good name, fame would have taken care to write to

had realized the idea that

I

and reputation were the best advantage

—

at stake, in rural

I

privacy, for instance, and only in the

happiest moments of inspiration, after having, by previous meditation,

exhausted upon

of this,

and without any tions

it

my

retail

It

me

a volume,

it;

Instead

was

my

incessant

interrup-

elbow, every half hour,

more copy.

for

numbers being collected

several times mentioned

passed slightly through

upon

at

true the probability of the

is

shop of thought.

labor of thinking, amidst

— and with the printer's devil

jogging

that

all

have been dribbling on, with a loose pen, carelessly

I

my

to

But somehow

mind.

into

me, and several times

the idea has not been realized; and

it

I

have not dwelt

seems impossible

I am doing, can have down with malice prepense

any man writing newspaper essays, as

the feelings or care of a to write a

book.

this affectation

erick

:

But enough on

—but

Random, "you VOL.

1—27

man who

if

sits

this

tack; you will think

you do, as

Tom

d

d

will think a

Bowling says, lie."

in

all

Rod-

CORRESPONDENCE WITH CARR.

314

Why

[ISll.

does not our trusty and well-beloved Peter sow some of

the seeds of immortality in

Old Bachelor

tlie

?

If

he does

not,

the old fellow will be under the turf in less than ten years.

Frank

Is not

Has he

a rascal

the face

Does'nt he

?

deny

to

face, to be sure, is ugly and

he were to deny that he shall take care to put a

key

elor, to let the

world know I

I

make

did not

you

told

better than

I

my

that he is a rascal

a

The

rascal?

I

volume of the Old Bachmeant by Galen, and shall pub-

who

is

know what I

this subject, in

sort of fellow he

an apis,

past nine o'clock, and

it is

Grace

to finish the nineteenth number.

and

have given, without authority.

should not write a long letter, and you see

But

if

to the first

the promise

word.

?

fellow's

he would be no true man.

have received from him on

pendix, that the world may I

know

is

hard enough for any thing: but

a rascal,

is

lish the letters

that

he

that

I

I

am

have yet

be out on Tuesday

will

week.

Our

Hare

love to your household.

is still

well.

Adieu,

Wm. Wirt. CARR TO WIRT.

******* "Charlottesville, March 25,

"My Dear

" Yesterday's mail brought election it.

is infallible.

I

me

Fearful

is

yours of the 23d.

must acknowledge

So, upon the strength of

earnest.

1811.

Friend:

the

it,

I

it

You

say

my

looks something like

have begun to prepare

in

thought of sticking myself upon the

Bench, standing the shot of every eye, and giving it back in but, I will screw my courage to the sticking point, and, ;

speeches

back the blood which would mount coward heart which trem' How many men who, inward searched, have livers bles within. white as milk, wear yet upon their front, the brow of Hercules and frowning Mars.'' 1 don't know whether this quotation be apwith a strong into

my

face.

effort, drive

They

shall not see the

*******

posite, but

you may take

it,

as a

Rowland

for

your Oliver.

" As tions

First,

should take

and, second,

:

my

will not say,

I

cannot consent you

I

take a bear by the chin,

liad rather

I

two objec-

circuit, there are

would be a trouble whicli

it

than see you in court whilst I

my

your meeting me on

to

:

315

THE JUDGESHIP.

CHAP. XIX.]

was on the bench

my

in

first circuit.

dear Wirt, that the friendly solicitude and zeal

but I for me, in this affair, have surprised me have given me the truest pleasure my heart can feel. for I can I will say, that they have raised me in my own esteem never believe that man without merit, for whom you have dis-

you have shown

;

will say, they

;

covered so much friendship."

TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, March

Mt Dear

*******

Your glory

is

It is

have

stars

opened

H

T

two or three minutes This

at dinner,

,

was

understand that you had

favor.

will

and the goal

is

and

glorious

you

hail

I

!

as

by

five

He

I

swarm

operations,

H

He

!

how-

was semi-animis.

out of six of the Council in your

your health

will drink

Judge Carr.

— the airy

me, with the best

relieved me,

castles

says, he'll be

tower if

in a

Now, how

How

your imagination be, as you ride home.

and schemes

course of

view.

telling

elected.

after

The

justice.

in full

a mischievous old rascal, has

heart sink and turn cold,

acted gravity, that ever, in

done you

at length

to you,

but this instant that

made my

I

26, 1811.

Friend:

you

!

To

shall

bumper,

busy, busy

will the plans

eke out these

come

to

Man-

buy a small farm in the country, where, with six or seven servants, you can maintain your family, keep your children in health, and save your salary, wholly. chester.

The

says

man by on

the it,

necessary I

shall

suggestion brought a very beautiful and valuable place, as

represented to me,

dow

you

in

Powhatan,

name of Woodson,

—

in full

view.

It

belongs to a

has an admirable piece of mea-

and a most excellent, nay, beautiful house, with

all

offices.

should have bought

and others persuaded

me

it

I

myself, last summer, but Cabell,

had no business with a farm.

Hare

!

!

CORRESPONDENCE

316 This place

CARR.

VVITII

within two miles of Pope's

lies

;

[ISll-

and,

I

think, will

—

of you seven or eight thousand which, only two or three thousand, I think, were required in cash. You can buy this place, and stock it, without invading your salary, dollars, at the outside,

cost

or absorbing that capital

oi"

which we talked when you were

You can make your farm

liere.

subsistence

and,

;

I

doubt not, that

a source of profit, as well as of if

you provide the

first

payment,

the instalments will be easily met by the agricultural profits and the

your remaining capital, so as to leave that capital, itself, to lay up and save every cent of your salary-

interest of

whole, and enable you

the accumulations of ten years, on this

Think of fame

accumulating

is

You

see,

I

The

also.

prospect

have done justice to

this

is

scale, while

delightful

H

scheme of

He

's.

went farther, and contrasted the consequences of a residence in Manchester; and, although his argument thwarted the plan which self

would have prescribed

fess

he staggered

These

me

however,

things,

for you,

in relation to

we

my

(meaning

your

self,)

yet

I

con-

interest.

can examine maturely, before the

Legislature shall meet.

*

* I

think

I

hundred and

can see your broad grin before you get within a fifty

These are precious

yards of your house.

feelings

Once more, God

bless you,

Your

friend,

Wm. Wirt. TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, April

Mt Dear

11, 1811.

Chevalier, alias Judge, &c.:

was honored, (mark me, sir, I say honored, for I felt honor most sensibly,) by a letter from your wife, by the I

By-the-bye, she

Charlottesville mail, enclosing one for you. iierself

my

friend therein

for all the friendship of tell

you,

sir,

somebody.

;

and,

I

would not give

you he fellows

the

word made my heart

O

there

!

is

something

those souls of heavenly mould, that

and

I

were born. I I was

thought

in the friendship

makes

all

calls

that declaration

that ever leap^

the last

of one of

the earth vanish in

VAGARIES.

CHAP. XIX.]

my view

Was there ever a fellow so much disConfound it was so much transported with this imagination of that, thinking it too much, I have turned to her short !

!

appointed

?

friendship,

I

note, and instead of " friend," find

How

came

good

is

but,

;

" yours, with great esteem." No matter. " Yours, with

it

head

.-*

how much

than " your friend."

make me

it

my

the idea into

great esteem,"

does

317

—

happy

greater and less

Poh

!

says your judicial

—

Well, sir, what nonsense " poh !" and there, as George Hay told Edmund Randolph, is a "poh for you." Now, dignity,

!

can't receive your own letter from your you shall have the whole of hers to me, and so I enclose it, upon your special promise to return it again. And so, as I was saying thinks I would it not be pleasing to Mrs. C to let her know I have received her husband's

sir,

as

wife

am

I

you

told

until after this,

—

—

,

and that

letter,

sir, I sets

in the right track to get to

me down, and

you

Thereupon,

.''

forthwith, in choice phrase,

man

will leave his wife,

he must not be surprised

if a

and go

off,

sentimental

take advantage of his absence.

to

tries

him

writes

I

me

a

your wife.

letter to

If a

it is

Heaven knows where, young Adonis, like me,

What

did write,

I

sir,

from me, nor from her, unless she has a mind

will not hear

to put an end to the correspondence, thus happily begun.

Hem

!

— hem

You

!

are wrong,

smoked

but,

I

argument, and

I

posing

;

me

Two

What Hush

are you

a parcel of

Well, now,

be serious.

I will

is

I

I

be geographical.

you out of your

I

have

;

and, gratitude

Hea-

latitude

as they used to call

of conjectures.

this

— This

bless you.

I

it,

.-'

salvages.

a virtue in

is

turned the page with a deter-

was sober,

— sober, why should'nt

" But when or where

God

let us

Ain't

well of you

mination to convince you

man

incorrect.

Godwin.

spite of

a

come,

;

?

savages!— or,

They speak

!

is

indeed,

to the south of the equator.

Where

!

guess

segars,

am just half way through a Court of Appeals am displeased at the injustice you do me in sup-

Talking of the equator vens

The

sir.

have had no company to-day.

— and

so

I

will

he appear to be so

?

world was made for Caesar,

shall

;

—

for

Very I

when true

end them."

All well.

Wm. Wirt. VOL.

1—27*

f

am weary

;

CORRESPONDENCE WITH CARR.

318 P. S.

— Cabell says

" confouncV he takes to

must be drunk, or

1

I

[ISO.

should not have said

—

when I might have said " consume,'''' which be your word and which I now, for the first time, to you,

;

suspect you caught from Colonel

Morris, with the rest of your

classics.

Love Peter Randolph. I am told his modesty envelopes him when you pierce it, you will find him lovely. Not one line for me ? Then come and see me. inspired by this, writes you a funny letter, Judge C which he expects you to laugh at, in every line. Did you ever see such grave judicial stuff ?

but,

,

" you be !" Judge-like ;" but she

In reply to this he says

says

N

"

,

this is

A

of course, malicious.

:

literal

" Upon is

my

w^ord,"

a federalist, and,

dialogue.

W. W.

TO DABNEY CARR. Richmond, June

Mv Dear

Judge

:

Never having committed such an behind

me

the

28, 1811.

key of

my

baggage,

act of negligence, as to leave

know

I

how

not

to imagine

your embarrassments, or sympathise with your distresses. Careas the old fellow lessness, " in man or woman, dear my lord, is," told Colonel McDowell, " what I do hate." How does this tagging

—

of Shakspeare and patching elegant quotations, hit your taste

?

JVunquam animus. Judge Coalter takes your key, and

will chaunt

you the triumphs

of the Court of Appeals. I

am

in

and yours.

My

main haste.

Ere

long,

present, with love to

I

wife and bairns join in love to you

shall write to

Don Pedro and

you apud largum.

I

am

Wirt.

the playfulness and exultation apparent in

Wirt was suddenly brought to the contemplation of preferment, from which he had hitherto expressed such

these letters, political

all

the

yours,

Wm. In the midst of

For

friends,

THE ATTORNEY GENERALSHIP.

CHAP. XIX.]

The

determined aversion. occurred

at

tills

of Attorney General open to

Many

the disposal of the President.

Wirt

Rodney, which

resignation of Mr.

at this period, left the post

319

eyes were turned upon Mr.

juncture, as likely to be called to

fill

His

this office.

position at the bar, his acquirements and high reputation, as well as the friendly appreciation of

The

event quite probable.

Riciimond upon to

his

this

him by Mr. Madison, rendered

appointment, brought the subject so directly

mind, that he was obliged to give

it

consideration

very gravely, indeed, as will be seen presently. tained the

this

general speculation of the society of

may be

proposition,

How

— not

he enter-

read in the following

letter, in

reply to some jocular advice upon the matter from Carr.

The

reader

understand the reference to the " lignum apis

w^ill

Attorney General," as a specimen of that

latinity which he may have heretofore observed, was somewhat cultivated between the two correspondents. Carr, in this vocabulary, is called " Caris-

sime Currus care

Eras.''''

Wirt is some times addressed, in return, as " JJfi With this key, we may translate " nunquam animus^''''

;''''

in the last letter, to,

" lig7mm This

" never mind,"

apis,''''

letter is

Judge Cabell,

to signify the

— and

the phrase above alluded " would be" Attorney General.

summer residence of

dated from Montevideo, the

Buckingham, on the James River, where Wirt family were frequent guests.

and his

in

TO DABNEY CARR. Montevideo, August

My Dear I

Friend

have already written seven

Judge,

who

thrown,

11,

1811.

:

letters this

morning

go by the

to

has gone to Buckingham Court-house, and thus to be

(i. e.,

the letters,) into the current of the mail

but six of

;

those letters were on business, the seventh in reply to one from

General Minor, which

I

was anxious should meet him

phur Springs, and which wull have to

Your channel.

make

letter

was

it w^ill

a circuit

to

be pushed to do,

I

at the Sul-

as

tiie

letter

by Richmond.

have been answered,

But although

—

rose

by

the

also,

dawn

through the same

of day, and had to

— LETTER TO CARR.

S20

my

write by candle-light,

Judge answer to you, and

the

shall

have

to

long, and

were unavoidably so

letters

so early, that

started

[1811.

I

conveyance

lost his

throw

for

my

the devious and

this into

—

the Lord send it a Warminster monsoon to write; and however, humor, the in safe deliverance. that it is heart, the of communion the in advantage there is this letter by your now to So stale. grows of no date, and so never :

perilous track of the

am

I

Cabell,

— which

justify,— and so tenance. It

one

is I

than the laws of euphony will

"so" more

add two more, by

of keeping them

way

Jlllons.

was,

I

think, only last winter that

I

told you, in all the sin-

cerity and solemnity of friendly confidence, that a plan of

life,

from which

I

my

of the Pacific, on which

was now

sail

I

I

had resolved on

would not depart; which was to follow,

with ardor, the pursuit of

flowing

coun-

in

profession, along the smooth

— and thus keep myself

gliding with a clear,

fair

by many

bosom

breeze and

a league, both

of land and water, and of those dark and rough storms which are perpetually scourging and lashing- into foam the political Baltic. which I saw by the experience of others, I told you, the treatment I

should experience, and could anticipate, almost with certainty, abuse and villification with which I should be

the topics of All

regaled.

perhaps a

this

little

was

too

sensible,— and, as old

certainly prudence

timorous

for

a

James Heron

and sound

hero; said,

sense,

nevertheless,

but,

when he threw up One cannot be too

the ace, king and queen of trumps, at loo, "

cauliousP

Well,

after

remember,

this

satisfied

silence, looks and

discreet, rational, philosophic talk which,

you perfectly

at the time, if I

I

might judge by

nods of assent, the next thing you hear from me

am red-hot, hissing hot, for a plunge into that aforesaid is Does such light are you to think of such a man } What Baltic. sinew to of sufficient man denote a versatility, and weather-cock that

I

breast the surge of that stormy sea, and hold on upon his course.' Was I not Does it become a man who would be a politician .'

deceiving both myself and you, when phizing and resolving prudently ; was

I I

thought myself philosonot merely preparing a

fund of consolation for political obscurity, and providing, without being conscious of it, for a walk, which I could not avoid, through the humble vale of life— for that track for which, alone, so

much

THE ATTORNEY GENERALSHIP.

CHAP. XIX.]

shew

fickleness and caprice

that

am

I

fitted

321

Or, have fame

?

and distinction charms which no man, (however resolved,) can resist,

own

whom

on

they please to look

Or, have

?

particular character; and has there been,

dormant ambition

when

was too

it

Now,

my

in

be pointed towards

it

all

which required but the match

breast,

blow up, and betray itself; and do anything but betray itself?

late to

much

the

in

my

of

state

is,

by

to

that, too,

me

dare say that, so far from being ready to give

I

my

mistaken

to

faction in these particulars, your judicial head

pretty

1

along, a fund of

satis-

this time,

Uncle Toby's, on a certain

occasion which shall be nameless.

But what

is

the use of pestering ourselves with speculations on

—

The fact is so; the cat is out of the bag, and what make how she came in it } Very true but inconsistency is so weak and silly a thing, that man would much rather bewilder the beholder, in an abstruse

this subject.^

odds does

it

;

a

and multi-forked speculation about

its

cause, than to stand stock

like a target, and brave his steady gaze.

still,

happily of " dulling delight^ by exploring

its

Moore

very

talks

why may

"

cause

not a man borrow a hint from that thought, and endeavor to be " dulling contempt by exploring its cause " I am not certain of the accuracy of the analogy but I shall not stop my pen to .''

;

examine

it

;

for, if

I

do,

blurred and blotted letter

Now,

me

sir, let

tell

may have

I :

you

so,

that

here I

;

you are in

snug and

office,

I

hate a

did not like your " lignum apis

Attorney General of the United States."

one

blot out, and

to

we go The

retort

was

safe, and, therefore,

not a fair

were

and lawful game

;

with a pretty

prospect of a disappointment before me.

fair

whereas

I

was only

in

fair

a state of aspiration, Sir,

you were not only violating Sterne's beautiful sentiment of breaking a jest in the sacred jyresence of sorrow, but were breaking your jest it

on that very sorrow

itself,

— making

it

the theme and butt, as

were, of your merriment.

As

to you,

I

do not hear man,

woman

or child whisper the

faintest susurration, (or susurrate the faintest whisper, as the case

may

be, as our form-books sagely

being confirmed.

—

Not

tell

us,)

of a doubt of your

meaning that our form-books

tell

us of a

be to disregard the parenthesis, through

for that would mere wantonness and levity of head, than which there cannot be a

doubt,

— LETTER TO CARR.

322

[1811.

greater misfortune to a Judge, except, indeed, the phimbosity of

same member,

the

suppose lo

am

I

!

it

indeed,

(if,

be a member,) (as

it

should

I

not only was, but also the head and chief of members)

lost

:

— but

come back

to

Cabell says there

you

to

as the rallying point.

no more doubt of your confirmation than

is

any thing

clialk's like cheese, or than

the world.

in

So, you see you are safe enough. shall call at

I

Pope's as

the definitive treaty

go down, about the 20th

I

signed

is

examine the

;

site,

;

see whether

and give you

my

opinion, gratis.

Now,

this puts

me

mind of myself, again

in

to

it ?

Ay, w^hy should

I

What

.''

pure pleasures of the heart

No,

— since we

far,

my

wish

together at

" There

So,

I

I

natural

love

;

is

know

we

but

worth a thought,

life that is

that there

is

another sentiment

of him

I

think that Dallas, if he J.

T. Mason,

;

he had

tiie

it,

I

if it

am

would accept, would not.

told,

should be vacated.

reputation,

when

most eloquent young lawyer

tlie

His foreign service, especially

make him

cannot help thinking

at this particular

that there

is

It

but were

may do I

something

in apj)ointing

a President,

I

was

at

Maryland.

juncture of our

member of

a useful

in

the Cabinet. little,

notion of appointing the highest ofiicers in the Union, eration of place.

its

Richmond.

conjecture here, will receive little

foreign ailairs, might

carriers;

in

this

by consid-

tide-waiters and mail-

and forming a Cabinet

who

were to assist me in sustaining my vast responsibility, I Avould be no more governed by residence, than I would by the color of a man's

would,

hair. first,

?

yet they are both requisite to the harmony

will stay at

school, of being

I

lose in

the tenor of life's music, and friendship

at present advised,

Pinkney,

those

all

such a vicinity

was Pope's dying sentiment

nothing in

is

ought to have the appointment.

I

should

W"e both know

greater value :

How

foot."

its

of the piece

winter rains, mud,

its

have spent our youth and manhood to go down the hill, " hand in hand, and sleep

is

but friendship !"

As

I

together thus

to his situation,

bass.

should

could compensate me for

turbulence and wrangling, that

still

why

there in the rough, unbuilt, hot

is

and desolate hills of Washington, or in

of

for

;

be going from Richmond, when you arc coming so near

wish

C ceteris paribus^

I

would, indeed, regard

be very sure that the

Cceteris

it:

were paribus.

— but I

I

give

THE ATTORNEY GENERALSHIP.

CMAP. XIX.]

you

this

an abstract principle, and not as one which would

as

me

will believe ter

my

contribute to

at all

am

of which

friend

—

—

to

find

wish to

I

my

as soliciting a

this

know your

I

hope you

1

should think Wal-

I

say not

I

for

and because

in earnest,

was shocked

I

susceptible

my

to myself,

you, that

I tell

Jones a preferable selection.

I

As

promotion.

when

sincere

compliment from you, because

323

partiality

rcj)el

remark, on the other

that the principle of choosing

but

;

an inference side,

by superior capacity,

*******

would lead

to

my

have got myself into

I

This

appointment.

— so

wish to Heaven

I

I

is

will get out of

an

it

awkward scrape

as fast as

can.

could have gone over with Cabell but

had a mountain of business to prepare for the

The Old

I

Bachelor, you sec, suffers by

my

fall

I

I

campaigns.

engagements.

I

******

have not had time, or the temper, since the summer vacation

commenced,

to please

even myself, much less others, by an essay.

Mrs. C. and the Judge join

in affectionate

God

remembrances.

bless you,

Wm. Wirt. It is

scarcely necessary to remind the reader that Mr. Pinkney

succeeded

to the

in December of this year, was only deferred until the

Attorney Generalship

and that Wirt's accession to

succeeding administration

at

this post

Washington found occasion

for his

services.

Passing from these topics, the reader will be pleased with the glimpse, which the next letter affords, into the privacy of do-

and the affectionate solicitude with which tlie subject memoir devoted himself to the education of his children. His eldest daughter Laura was now eight years of age. He has already marked out her course of study and his aim is to awaken

mestic

life,

of our

;

her mind to a perception of the value of the discipline he inculcates.

To

that

end

this letter is

such plain and simple structure, lables

— as

may reach

addressed to her,

— almost

in

words of

language of single syl-

the comprehension of a child, but, at the

same time, wrought with admirable exquisite beauty.

in

skill

into a

moral lesson of

:

LETTER TO

324

There

DAUGHTER.

HIS

[1811.

more

nothing amongst Mr. Wirt's productions

is

pleas-

antly characteristic of himself, than this letter to his child.

TO LAURA

WIRT.

H.

Richmond^ September

My Dear my

and to

Laura

:

would have answered your

I

me

clients hardly leave

whom, of But

duties.

letter sooner,

but that

have not loved you the

on the contrary,

God

to help his

too lazy to try to help himself:

wagon

upon our Father

man

that

out of the mud, and

was

— no, we must

be thoughtful

us.

I

;

and then

am very

try

;

if

we

glad your

grammar is becoming easier to you. It will be more and more you give your whole mind to it. God has been

so, the

blessing you with a sound understanding; and,

very kind

in

would be

sinful

your mind

and making It

heaven, he will help

in

your sex, and

to

not be like the

our very best to learn our books, and to be good

suffer

first

you

he would bless you with

we must

But

a blessing to your parents.

prayed to Hercules

that

make you an ornament

health and happiness, and

Latin

owe our

I

less for not writing to

have been thinking of you with the greatest my bended knees, night and

I

morning, humbly begging of

more

courts

and praying for you on

affection,

call

my

time to write to your dear mother,

other earthly creatures, you and

all I

13, 1811.

it

you

in

to

go

to ruin, instead of

beautiful, as

would be almost

weW

bad as

as

it

it

such a great blessing, and

to neglect

improving

it

by

as useful, to yourself and

would be

for

study, others.

Uncle Cabell to be

so lazy himself, and to suffer his laborers to be so lazy, as to let his rich

low grounds run up

all in

weeds, instead of corn, and so

have no bread to give his family, and let

Now all

your mind

is

them

that your mother and father ask of you,

be so idle as to trious fruits

let

all

starve and die.

as rich as Uncle Cabell's low grounds

run to weeds

it

;

is,

that

you

;

and,

will not

but that you will be indus-

and studious, and so your mind will bring a

fine

crop of

and (lowers.

Suppose there was

a nest full of beautiful

that they could not fly

ing their

little

young

birds, so

young

and help themselves, and they were open-

mouths and crying for something

to eat

and drink,

and their parents would not bring them any thing, but were

to let

LETTER TO

CHAP. XIX.]

DAUGHTER.

HIS

325

them cry on from morning till night, till they starved and died, would not they be very wicked parents Now, your mind is this nest full of beautiful little singing birds much more beautiful and melodious than any canary birds in the world and there sits .''

;

;

fancy, and reason, and

memory, and judgment,

—

with their

all

little

heads thrust forward out of the nest, and crying as hard as they can for something to eat and drink.

Will you not love your father

and mother for trying to feed them with books and learning, the only kind of meat and drink they love, and without which those

sweet

little

die

Nay,

?

mother tine

songsters must, in a few years, hang their heads and

you not do your very best

will

to feed them, that they

to help

may grow

your father and

up, get a

glossy feathers, and cheer the house with their

moreover, w^ould

not be very

it

only, and let the rest starve

new

You

.''

wrong

to

it

suit

of

And,

feed some of them

are very fond,

story book, of running through

full

songs.''

when you

as fast as

you can,

get a just

knowing what happened to this one, and that one you are only feeding one of the four birds I have

for the sake of in

doing

this,

mentioned,

—

;

that

is

among them, and

fancy, which, to be sure,

will please

while you are thus feeding and stuffing fancy,

judgment are starving notes

much

;

:

Therefore, you ought

any food from them

;

must not gallop over

pounded that

it

is,

in

when you read

as fast as

:

they re-

a mortar before they can get

you

a pretty story,

can, just to learn

much

is

so

much

you

what hap-

you must stop every now and then, and consider

one of the persons you are reading of another so

to feed those

they eat a great deal slower than fancy

quire the grains to be

but,

But,

— reason, memory and

and yet, by-and-bye, you will think their

so loud, and wild, and varied.

;

the loudest singer

softer and sweeter than those of fancy, although not

other birds, too

pened

is

you most while you are young.

why

beloved, and

This sort of consideration pounds the Then you

hated.

grains in a mortar, and feeds reason and judgment.

must determine that you will not forget that story, but that you will try to remember every part of it, that you may shape your own conduct by it, doing those good actions which the story has told you will make people love you, and avoiding those evil ones which you find will make them hate you. This is feeding memory and judgment both at once. Memory, too, is remarkably fond of a tit-bit of Latin grammar and, though the food is hard to come

—

;

VOL.

1—28

THE BATTURE CASE.

326

at,

yet the sweet

little

The

bird must not starve.

do nothing without her,

for, if

[1811.

rest

of them could

she was to die, they would never

sing again, at least not sweetly.

Your

affectionate father,

Wm. Wirt,

We

have seen

that,

ferson's acquaintance

almost from the first moments of Mr. Jefwith Mr. Wirt, a friendly intercourse had

grown up between them, which had gradually ripened into the most cordial esteem and confidence. It was this sentiment, on the part of Mr. Jetl'erson, which led him to employ his young friend He subsequently engaged him as his in the prosecution of Burr. private counsel

various matters which required legal advice.

in

After his retirement from the presidency, he had more than once

which were more properly the care of the which attempts were made to hold him responsible, in his own person, for acts done in the course of his public administration. Of this character was the suit brought against him in 1810, by Mr. Edward Livingston, which was now pending for been annoyed by

Government, but

trial,

in

suits

in

the Circuit Court of the United States, at Richm.ond.

This case

well

is

case, which, in

its

known

to the legal profession as the Batture

progress, occupied a considerable share of the

public attention, and, not confined to the courts, produced a very

learned and elaborate controversy between the two distinguished parties to the cause.

New Orleans

the theatre of the great excitement to

which

the incidents belonging to this controversy had given rise.

The

was

new beach formed by

the deposits of the Mississippi, upon every

annual flood, had been claimed by the proprietors of the adjacent

bank, as legal accretions to their

own

Mr. Livingston

possessions.

being one of these proprietors of valuable lots serted his claim, in 1806 and 7, to

new

description of increase by alluvion.

He

in the city,

had

coming within had done this to the soil

asthis

dis-

many persons in New Orleans, who apprehended, from works constructed by him upon the beach, or batture, as

content of certain it

was

called,

the General

— serious injury

—

to the harbor.

Government was demanded

in

The

intervention of

the matter, upon the

ground that the beaches and beds of rivers were under

its

special

THE BATTURE CASE.

CHAP. XIX.]

Great exasperation prevailed in the city against Mr. and the grand jury liad preRiots were threatened

protection.

Livingston.

sented the

327

;

structure on the beach as a nuisance.

new

In response

application to the government, Mr. Jefferson had directed

to the

the laborers, in the

employ of Mr. Livingston, to be driven off the finally enforced by a posse coiniUitus. opposition to the judgment of a local Court

ground, which order was

This was done

in

which had decreed

in

The consequence stated, a suit against

Hay and Mr.

full

however, never reached

—

his counsel,

and were

notes of the merits of the controversy.

Mr. Wickham

The

a discussion of the merits of the

chief questions between the parties.

ment,

Mr. Wirt, Mr.

Mr. Jefferson for a trespass.

Tazewell, were employed as

furnished with case,

favor of Mr. Livingston.

of these proceedings was, as has been already

w^as dismissed after argu-

It

appearing for the

plaintiff,

— upon the opin-

ion of Judges Marshall and Tucker, that the Court

in

Virginia

could not take cognizance of a trespass committed on lands

This sudden termination of the case seemed

Louisiana.

equally unsatisfactory to both parties,

who had made

to

in

be

such ample

preparation for the main battle as not willingly to be reconciled to give

it

up.

The

controversy was therefore resumed with pen

and ink, and a vast amount of learning, seasoned by a due admixture of sarcasm, wit and invective,

was

lavished upon the subject,

very much to the edification of contentious riparian possessors and claimants of alluvial deposits forever hereafter.

Contemporaneous with

this

proceeding,

we

have a correspon-

dence between Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Wirt, upon a subject of more general interest, as connected with the political history of the past.

The

dence of

opened

its

lapse of thirty-seven years has stript this correspon-

private and confidential character, and

to the public

may now

be

without apprehension of unfriendly comment.

Duane, the editor of the Aurora

in

Philadelphia,

who had

been a most effective supporter of Mr. Jeflerson's administration,

had

lost

much ground with

the republican party, by his assault upon

Mr. Madison and Mr. Gallatin during the presidential canvass in which the former of these gentlemen had succeeded to the Chief Magistracy.

The consequence

of

this

imprudence was a

paper. The of the means to " mine of that secret not organ," in those days, had government

sensible

diminution

sustain his

LETTER FROM MR. JEFFERSON.

328

treasure

whicli

additional support.

the

hope

by

that,

our time has found

experience of

the

Duane was

])atronage of the ruling party.

[18U.

he applied to Mr. Jefferson,

In this strait

recommendation, the subscription

his

in the

and needed

in distress,

list

in

of the

Aurora would be enlarged, and the republican party be induced to contribute what might be found necessary. How this application fared will be seen in the extracts from the few^ letters to which I have referred.

FROM

JEFFERSON TO MR. WIRT.

MR.

MoNTicELLo, March De.\r Sir

30, 1811.

:

Mr. Dabney Carr has written

you on the

to

situation of the

editor of the Aurora, and our desire to support him.

That paper has unquestionably rendered to republicanism through

all its

incalculable services

struggles with the federalists, and

has been the rallying point for the orthodoxy of the whole Union. It

was our comfort

in the

gloomiest days, and

We

the office of a watchful sentinel. desert him, and unf&ithful to our

am

I

sensible, and

attacks

as unfounded, as

is

own

it is

still

too, that

injurious to the republican cause.

mean that on Mr. Gallatin, than whom there is no and who, after the President, is the ark of our safety. have thought

:

we do

that

Gallatin

;

not, thereby,

For

we

letter,

this

differ

what we may do

for

ourselves partisans against

from him on that subject,

we

and will not be wanting

his other services,

I

I

have written him the enclosed answer to

his

send for your perusal, on supposition that you

and would be unwillins: he should misyou may be able to render him, as an

in the sentiment,

the

construe

service

encouragement writing

all

make

can aid him.

purpose

which

concur

we

but while

retain a just sense of

as far as

truer man,

material that the editor should understand that

it

that attack has no part in the motives for

him Mr.

Still,

one of his late

I

I

performing

interests to lose him.

hope others are so

I

is

should be ungrateful to

to

down Mr.

when read

;

and

aUachmcnt and

proceed Gallatin. to

in

the

mischievous undertaking of

Be so good

bo assured of

as to return the

my

sincere

paper

and constant

res])ect.

Thomas Jefferson.

CHAP

CORRESPONDENCE WITH

XIX.]

MR. JEFFERSON.

329

TO THOMAS JEFFERSON. Richmond, April

Dear

Sir

have your favors by the

I

much

last mail,

and will attend to them with

pleasure.

any thing could be done for Colonel D. here,

If

shewing the copy of your

letter to

him.

I

I may receive your directions as You may rely upon it that D's name

in

or not.

it it

He

here.

is

retain

to

it

for

making use

has no magic

considered as the foe of Mr. Madison

republicans here have no sympathy with any

by

Avould be

it

shall

another mail, that

of

10, 1811.

:

;

man who

and the carries

opposition colors, whether federalist, qiiid or tertium quid.

The

distinction

which you make between the past

present aberration of the Aurora,

is just,

liberal

fidelity

and

and magnanimous;

and the sentiment might, perhaps, be spread by the contagion of letter. I have made one experiment, to-day, without it. The

your

answer was, the

S

that D. could not

want

friends, since his alliance

with

s.

By

the next mail,

to the possibility of

I shall

my

have

satisfied

myself conclusively as

doing anything without the aid of your

letter.

With

respectful affection.

Your

friend and servant,

Wm.

AVirt.

TO THOMAS JEFFERSON.

******* Richmond, April

Dear

Sir

17, 1811.

:

The copy

of your letter to D. has been

shown

to

one person

only

*

*

*

With

the use of that letter, some-

thing important might be done for D. in spite of the adverse spirit or, at least, distrust

his

paper has

which the

factious and equivocal character of

—

equivocal in relation to Mr. Madi-

lately excited

But his three or four last papers contain such insulting paragraphs in relation to Mr. Madison, that I think it very dubious son.

VOL.

1—28*

CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. JEFFERSON.

330

whether even your

show

mitted to

The paper

letter

would not be too

late,

had

I

[1811.

been per-

it.

regarded, now, as an opposition one.

is

other light can

it

be regarded, when

In

what

exhibits the President as

it

being so perfectly the tool of Mr. Gallatin, as to have descended

******

from the ground of a gentleman in relation him " a shabby Genevan trick } " *

Can

Mr.

S.,

and played

charity or magnanimity require us longer to adhere to this

Can he consider

man.-*

to

it

he

as persecution to desert him, after

has abandoned his cause, the people and the President, and has

begun

to strain

every nerve to bring them into contempt

}

I

think

he has for some time required a lesson on the subject of modesty,

which the people

will

now

give.

Every gentleman who mentions

subject in

this

impossible to do any thing for him here

attempt would only disable

cause hereafter.

It

me from

my

hearing,

Believe me,

speaks with the warmest resentment against D.

now

;

it is

and any further

rendering any service to the

the impracticability of serving him pro-

is

duced by his own conduct, as well as the violation I feel it would be of my sentiments for Mr. Madison, that prevent me from *

*

*

proceeding.

*

I

return, here-

with, the copy of Mr. D's letter to you, and yours to him

beg you

to

be assured of

my

and

;

respectful and affectionate devotion.

Wm. Wirt.

thomas jefferson to william wirt. MoNTicELLO, May

'

Dear

3, 1811.

Sir:

The

interest

you were so kind as

to take, at

my request, in the my first letter to

case of Duane, and the communication to you of

him, entitles you to a communication of the second, which will

probably be the

last.

I

have ventured

without giving your name, and pressions respecting him. as to

Mr. Madison

enmity took

—

its rise

It is

but, as to

to

quote your letter

even softening some of possible

in

its

it,

ex-

Uuane may be reclaimed I despair of it. That

Mr. Gallatin,

from a suspicion that Mr. Gallatin interested

CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. JEFFERSON.

CHAP. XIX.]

himself

the election of their Governor, against

in

Duane and it. I was

331

the views of do not believe Mr. Gallatin meddled in conversation with him nearly every day during the

his friends. in

contest, and

I

I

never heard him express any bias

The

in the case.

*******

ostensible grounds of the attack on

Mr. Gallatin are

all

either

false or futile.

But they say he was hostile to me.

This

is

false.

I

was

in-

debted to nobody for more cordial aid than to Mr. Gallatin; nor could any man more solicitously interest himself in behalf of another than he did of myself.

His conversations with Erskine are

Why

objected as meddling out of his department. not object to Mr. Smith's with

Rose

The whole

.?

then do they

nearly of that

was transacted verbally, was by Mr. way, explained informally and, on understandings thus obtained, Mr. Madison and myself shaped our formal proceedings. In fact, the harmony among us was so negotiation, as

Smith.

The

perfect, that

far

as

it

business w^as in this

;

whatever instrument appeared most likely

to effect

was always used without jealousy. Mr. Smith happened to catch Mr. Rose's favor and confidence at once. We perceived that Rose would open himself more frankly to him than to Mr. Madison, and we, therefore, made him the medium of obtaining an understanding of Mr. Rose. Mr. Gallatin's support of the Bank has, I believe, been disapproved by many. He was not in Congress when that was estabthe object

lished, and, therefore,

had never committed himself publicly on

the constitutionality of that institution, nor

have heard him declare himself on convenience from

it,

it.

I

do

I

know he

because they gave the

recollect ever to

derived immense

effect

of ubiquity to

money wherever deposited. Money in New Orleans or Maine was, at his command and by their agency, transformed in an instant into money in London, in Paris, Amsterdam or Canton. He was therefore cordial to the Bank. I often pressed him to divide the public deposits among all the respectable banks, being indighis

nant myself at the open hostility of that institution to a govern-

ment on whose treasures they were to

it

Bank

prevented

—

what

is

my

persisting.

fattening.

And,

if

But his repugnance

he was

in

the amount of that crime or error in

a majority, save one, in each

House of Congress

favor of the

which he had

as participators

?

— CORRESPONDENCE WITH

332

Yet, on these facts endeavors are

MR. JEFFERSON.

made

to drive

[1811.

from the adminis-

man, except the President, who ever was in it, and to beat down the President himself, because he is unwilling to 1 believe Duane to be a very part with so able a counsellor.

tration the ablest

honest man, and sincerely republican

;

but his passions are stronger

than his prudence, and his personal as well as general antipathies

These

render him very intolerant. require his readers

traits

lead

— even those who value him

him

astray, and

for his steady sup-

port of the republican cause, to be on their guard against his occasional aberrations.

He

is

eager for war against England,

But the people wish prove it; and, insame men The re-election of the for peace. rational as as agaiftst deed, war against Bedlam would be just

hence his abuse of the two

Europe,

last

Congresses.

peace becomes more losing than war, on principles of pecuniary calculation. w^ar to reform all Europe, and bring

we may

prefer the latter

But for us

them back

to attempt a

to principles of

morality and a respect for equal rights of nations, would to

be only maniacs of another character.

We

my my

La Mancha.

letter,

and

But

will, therefore,

I

am

show

us

should, indeed,

have the merit of the good intentions, as well as the hero of

When

of total demoralization.

in its present condition

folly,

of the

getting beyond the object of

here close

it,

with assurances of

great esteem and respect.

Th. Jefferson.

CHAPTER XX. 1812 — 1813. THE WAR. — ITS EXCITEMENTS.— WIRT DECLINES A COMMISSION IN THE ARMY.— VOLUNTEER SOLDIERY LIFE OF HENRY.— BURNING OF THE RICHMOND THEATRE GOVERNOR SMITH.— CARR APPOINTED CHANCELLOR, AND REMOVES TO WINCHESTER LETTERS TO HIM VV. ATTEMPTS TO WRITE A CO.MEDY. — JUDGE TUCKER'S OPINION OF THE INFLUENCE OF SUCH LITERATURE ON PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER DIFFICULTY OF COMEDY.— PROFESSIONAL DIGNITY RICHMOND BAR ANECDOTE OF A TRIAL BETWEEN WICKHAM AND HAY.— EPIGRAM WARDEN LETTER TO CARR.— TIRED OF THE OLD BACHELOR. — BIOGRAPHY. — LETTER FRO.M JUDGE TUCKER ON THIS SUBJECT.— INCIDENTS OF THE WAR.— BRITISH ASCEND TO CITY POINT WIRT RAISES A CORPS OF FLYING ARTILLERY.— LET'J'ER TO MRS. TO DABNEY CARR GILMER, A STUDENT OF LAW.— LETTER OF ADVICE TO HIM.

—

W—

We the

have now approached a period of war of 1812. They who remember

great public concern the interest

which the

events of that period excited, will not need to be told that

it

per-

vaded every portion of the country and furnished an absorbing Along the Atlantic border, this was increased by continual alarms produced by the enemy,

topic for every social circle. interest

whose squadrons hovered upon the coast and not unfrcquently made descents upon exposed or unprotected points. Although the Canada frontier was the scene of the severest conflicts, and was therefore brought to realize the worst extremes of war, there was still

enough of threatened and actual

rivers of the Atlantic and the

collision

upon the bays and

Gulf of Mexico,

to

keep

all

region in a state of anxious outlook and busy preparation.

blockade of

this coast, in

that

The

general loosely and inadequately main-

was rigidly enforced at two points, by the presence of The cities of ships of war in the Delaware and Chesapeake. Philadelphia, Baltimore, Norfolk, and Richmond were thus admonished of impending danger, and were consequently ever upon the alert. The frigate Constellation lay at Norfolk, and more than one effort was made by Admiral Warren to effect her capture. One of these efforts in June, 1813, was the assault of tained,

THE WAR.

334 Craney

Island,

where

tlie

British

[1812— 1S13.

forces

were defeated by

the

Virginia militia, aided by the seamen of the Constellation, under

command of Commodore

the

was

The

Stewart.

villag^e

disgraceful barbarities practised upon the inhabitants

which were the more notable cases, against

atrocious, as they

women

were

;

ticulars

of

time, a

the

in the

some

wiio were forced to submit to the

of the rules

execrable violation

this

warfare are yet fresh

barbarities

directed, in

The

most shocking outrages from a licentious soldiery.

at

Hampton

of

afterwards attacked by the British and taken, and the most

memory of

par-

of civilized

that region, and obtained,

prominent notoriety amongst the most revolting

events of the war. It

may be imagined

such incidents aroused a universal

that

of anxiety every where

over the district within the supposed reach of the power of the squadron, and kept the feeling

people of the country

a constant state of feverish expectation

in

The

of the probability of fresh encounters.

militia of the interior

were always prepared for a summons to the coast; volunteer companies were every where formed and the stir and show and apparatus of war became the most familiar objects to all classes ;

of the population.

With

all

disquietude

the

belonged to such

uneasy apprehension which

and

a state of things, tliere

was

The ;

preparations for

camp

and the occasional experience of

life

the expectation of actual service w^hich

tliose selected for

duty

;

;

was ever present

the busy activity of preparation

martial aspect of every society

town

degree

relished

portions of the community.

by the younger and more enterprising it

also a certain

was greatly

of intense and pleasant excitement, which

;

;

to

the

the military array seen in every

the music, the banners, the daily parade, the rapid muster

and equipment of men

;

the frequent marching of detachments to

threatened points; the performance of garrison duty, the brother-

hood and companionship of military its

life

comic as well as serious incidents

;

;

its

adventures,

all this,

its

stories,

under the pleasant

skies of a mild season of the year, without the discomforts and suflerings of a severe campaign,

— not

far

from home, and consegave a

quently within the reach of abundant food and shelter,

—

kind of sunshiny holiday attraction to the period, which, as

I

have

DECLINES THE REGULAR SERVICE.

CHAP. XX.]

335

remarked, rendered the war, to the great mass of those

who were

most familiar with these scenes, rather a pleasant change from the

monotony of ordinary quiet

Richmond enough

to

life.

one of the centres of

w^as

be threatened with invasion,

be guarded against sudden surprise.

may be

war, therefore, she found

in the agitation

said,

this

—yet

During the two years of the

with some exceptions, to have

of the public events, an agreeable supply of

novelty to feed that appetite for

news which was scarcely

acteristic of the gossiping Athenians in the

own

of our

people

excitement; near

sulRciently remote to

time to which

in the

I

less char-

days of Pericles, than

have referred,

— which,

indeed, has sufiered no abatement since.

Wirt was, a

now

the head of his profession, enjoying employment and emoluments. The war was

at this time, at

share of

full

its

The

at his door.

enough then

to take

military ardor of 1807,

him,

if

which was strong

occasion offered, to Canada, was

now

somewhat tempered by the monitions of professional and domestic duties. The idea of the legion was not revived Canada was committed to other hands and all those dreams of martial glory, which had once captivated his younger imagination, were sobered into a sensible resolve to do his duty at home, as a citizen soldier, :

;

when

upon, and to transfer his aspirations after warlike

called

renown,

to those

whom

fortune had not yet favored with a better

reputation.

Some

intimation

Wirt would

still

was given

to

Mr. Madison, by

accept a commission

in

a friend, that

This led him

the army.

to write to the President a letter, declining such an appointment, in

which he

stated, that

" however

strong the desire to enter the

service of the country actively, the situation of his private atfairs

would not permit

it.

Circumstanced as he was, such

a step

would

be a sacrifice, not called for by the posture of the country, and

wholly incompatible with his duties

to his family."

Thus renouncing a purpose which he had, a few years before, cherished with so much zeal, he was now content to take his part in the

scenes around him, in whatever manner he might be able to

make himself one time

in

useful.

A

portion of the British squadron had, at

1813, ascended the James River as high as City Point,

and thereby aroused the Capital to a vivid apprehension of an attack.

At

this juncture,

Wirt raised a corps of

flying artillery,

THE FLYING ARTILLERY.

336

which,

under

consisting-

of the choicest material of the country, was,

command, brought

his

and efficiency

—

alas

!

own

into an excellent state of discipline

without an opportunity, (as

without disparagement, their

[1S12— 1613.

it

we may

say,

fortunately turned out,) to demonstrate

or their leader's prowess before the enemy.

Richmond many attacks which were threatened without being and was favored with the most satisfactory opportunities,

survived the

made

;

short of bloodshed, to evince her patriotism and public

Thus be

The

ever in

it

all

future

wars

valor of our volunteer soldiery, which has latterly

such miracles upon the bloody

fields

worked

of Mexico, was not less con-

war of 1812, though exposed,

fided in in the

spirit.

!

at that time, to a

much

severer probation, before the veteran soldiers of Welling-

ton.

That the exploits of the volunteers of

brilliant as those

of the latter period,

the character of the

army

has had to encounter.

itself,

The

we may

that

day were not so

attribute, not less to

than to that of the

levies of

enemy each

1812 were gathered from

more actuated by the common

the general mass of the population,

sense of duty, in the crisis, than by any predilection for military

They

adventure.

pursuits, taken

with

included, therefore, citizens of

and

the dependencies

all

all

ranks and

from the very midst of their families and business, concerns of domestic

strongly soliciting their care and protection. the field, not from choice so

much

as

They

life

yet

repaired to

from a sense of eminent ne-

cessity exacting the temporary sacrifice of their time and service.

The

volunteers of Mexico, on the contrary, were the picked

men

of the nation, who, devoting themselves to a service more than a thousand miles from home, went to

it

adventure and love of martial

They

life.

under the strong impulse of consisted of the young,

(he ardent and the brave, who, for the time, renounced tic pursuits,

distinction

Thus

and marched

to the

and disenthralled from

fortified

field,

all

domes-

animated by the hope of

all civil

cares and engagements.

by resolve, stimulated by love of the profession,

cheered by loud acclamations of friends, unimpeded by domestic solicitude,

and

tional character,

filled

with

the

ardor and courage of the na-

they more resemble the chivalry which, a few

centuries ago, assembled around Gonsalvo de Cordova, or Gaston

de Foix,

in

their descents

upon the

any army of modern times.

The

fields

skill,

of

Italy,

than they do

concert, impetuous valor

LIFE OF HENRY.

CHAP. XX.J

and persevering labor of their mendation from military

337

be the theme of com-

assaults, will

critics in centuries to

come

whilst the

;

disproportioned numbers,

brilliancy of their victories over such

and the rapidity of their conquest of the strongholds of Mexico, will

be regarded as the marvels of the age

which they were

in

achieved.

The

contests of the regular

war of 1812,

army on

The

the latter period.

the

won by

laurels

Canada

frontier, in the

comparison with those of

will suffer nothing in the

the youthful General at

Chippewa and Lundy's Lane, will retain a verdure as fresh as those which the same chief has plucked in his elder day, upon the plains of

Mexico.

Wirt's professional engagements had his

lowing in

seems

his success

to

now

so multiplied upon

all his

time, and the reputation fol-

have so

far gratified his ambition, as,

hands as nearly to engross

a great degree to suspend his literary projects

restrict

them

to

few and desultory efforts. which had been completed

the greater part of

slumbered through

Life of Patrick Henry, too, at first,

after to notice the

in the

year 1811,

the following year, and, after a slight en-

all

deavor towards a revival, was promise than,

or, at least, to

The Old Bachelor,

finally

to

We

seemed.

it

embarrassments of

became of it. a letter from Mr. Jefferson

The

disposed of in 1813.

was found

be an enterprise of

shall

less

have occasion here-

this task,

and

how weary

the author In

former expresses a difHculty

in

to

him upon

Henry, which Wirt had already felt. Wirt remarks " I despair of the subject.

publication of facts regarding

—

In

answer

It

has been continually sinking under me.

to this letter

cannot be prudently published by at present, to I

still

think

prepare it

this subject, the

regard to the collection and the

me

The

during

my

truth perhaps,

life.

and leave the manuscript with

it,

a useful subject, and one

I

propose,

my

family.

which may be advan-

tageously wrought, not only into lessons on eloquence, but on the superiority of solid

and practical parts over the transient and

gaudy show of occasion. you

to enable

portrait of I

may

in the

me

I

wish only

to illustrate

it

and adorn

had been convenient to

my theme by

a short

Mr. Henry's most prominent competitors."

notice here, as

course of VOL.

this

1—29

some reference to the event will be made Richmond had, in the last

narrative, that

BURNING OF THE THEATRE.

338

week

of the year 1811

— the

day

after Christmas

[1812-1813.

—been

visited

overwhelming horror, in the burning of the Theby which had attracted to the house an performance during a atre, cherished members of the society of most the of crowd unusual and a hundred persons were burnt up in sixty Between the city. a calamity of

the conflagration.

Amongst these were

the

Governor of the State

George W. Smith, Mr. Venable the President of the Bank of Virginia, Mr. Botts the gentleman whom we have seen engaged as one of the counsel of Burr his niece,

of

with many

Richmond

;

the wife of this gentleman and

other ladies most endeared to the community

— young and

aged

— were

Richmond was shrouded

catastrophe.

also in

whelmed

in this

awful

mourning, with scarce a

had not suffered some bereavement. So melancholy a disaster, we may suppose, would leave its traces upon the It was long before Richcharacter of the city for many years. mond resumed that cheerful and careless tone of social enjoyment family in

for

which

it

it

that

was previously

distinguished.*

ensuing letters unfold some interesting particulars of perthe sonal history, making occasional references to the incidents of aspirations, literary the of evidences few some presenting and war,

The

rather than labors, of the writer.

They

furnish besides, agreeable

pictures of the contentment and cheerfulness which attend a pros-

perous

The

life.

nomination of Judge Carr to the Bench, by the Governor

and Council, required the • I find a

in

ratification

of the Legislature.

In this

manuscript reference to this sad event, amongst the papers of Mr. Wirt, detailed some of the particulars attending the death of the Gov-

which he has

death," says this reI extract a few passages—" On the fatal night of his nine or ten years old, to about " sons, his and one of his wife taken hud he cord, the play. At the cry of fire he led Mrs. Smith into the hox lobby and recollecting that he had left his little son behind in the box, he told her to remain there until he

ernor.

;

stepped back for the boy.

It

was her wish

to do so, but the pressure of the

crowd

bore her away. When the Governor returned, his wife was not to be seen. He hastened down with the boy, and having placed him in safety on the outside of the

In the meantime, she after it is supposed, to look for his wife. having been pressed to and fro, by the waving motion of the multitude, was fortu' nately driven near a window, just at the time when the word was given to break down the windows' and through this, by a leap of twelve or fifteen feet, she made door, returned,

—

she her escape without other injury than a sprained [ankle, and the bruises which received from the pressure of the crowd. Her husband, unable to find her, perished in the generous and pious pursuit."

CARR APPOINTED CHANCELLLOR.

CHAP. XX.]

proceeding,

in the session

339

of 1812, an opposition was got up against

the Judge sufliciently strong to defeat liim.

During

tlie

year

in

which he had served on the Bench, it was universally admitted that entire satisfaction was given to the puhlic that, in fact, the office was administered with distinguished ability. The oppo-

—

sition is

have arisen out of objections of a purely local

said to

what was supposed to be the claims of acknowledging the Judge's merits, purpose to retain him in the Judiciary, the Le-

character, which touched

other persons.

and with

It is

a special

new Chancery

gislature created a

was

of which Winchester

district,

the seat of justice, and bestowed the appointment to

This appointment he promptly accepted.

him.

change

to

said that

his residence

change seems

It

from Charlottesville to Winchester.

have gone hard with him for some time.

to

it

upon

compelled him

The

To

one

of his genial temper and love of domestic associations, such a

breaking up of settled habits and separation from familiar faces,

was

rather a severe tax upon his affections.

occasion of the next

This

will explain the

letter.

TO JUDGE CARR. Montevideo, Buckingham

Mv Dear

Friend

Cabell and myself went

down

at the

attend the Court of Appeals, where, letters, I

Co., Nov. 12, 1812.

:

beginning of the month to

among

a large packet of other

found your affecting favor from Winchester, which

read to him.

As

had been

I

all

the

I

summer absent from Richstay with the Court of Ap-

mond, and had then but a kw days to whom I had also to prepare my statements, &,c., I could find no time to answer you from that city to atone for it I

peals, for

:

seize the I

first

need not

feelings/, yet I,

hour of composure here,

know, experimentally, all

that

we have

every change,

you.

you that I enter fully into your situation and who have been torn so often from neighborhoods

and friends, and forced to make

are

—

commune with

tell

new

'should not have felt the change on I

to

A

that the

first

among

strangers,

account, so acutely.

pangs, on these occasions,

Nature soon accommodates us

to

and not unpleasing melancholy, from

a

to endure.

soft

settlements

my own

— 340

LETTERS TO CARR.

remembrance of the

past,

now and

business and social intercourse

[1812—1813.

then recurs in the pauses of

but from circumstances and

;

sit-

uations apparently the most unpromising and hopeless, the great vis medicalrix

nalurcc enables us to extract not merely consolation,

We

but amusement and happiness.

whose

characters

oddities divert us

become acquainted with new whose intellectual adroitness us whose amiable qualities

;

and resources interest and instruct and kind ners

warm

offers

may keep

;

A

and attach our hearts.

tive electricity of bodies differently

charged, but intercourse pro-

we

duces an assimilation, and instead of repelling, to attract

whom we liarities

or

;

difference of man-

us asunder for a time, like the negative and posi-

if

we

own

nor communicate our

live,

begin mutually

neither acquire the manners of those

soon become so familiar to

among

to them, yet their pecu-

we

us, that

are not conscious

******

of them, but look at once through them to the heart and mind of the person.

Now, why

we

can

not put a

little

philosophical force upon

ourselves, and anticipate at once those results

nature will ultimately bring about the painful interval between the

nance,

we

hold

off,

shy and aloof,

giving

if,

we

shall

—

if it

does not end

other hand,

in a fixed

in instances

own judgment

in

we

shall avoid

way

to this repug-

beget equal shyness on

the other hand, and the interval of indifference one,

which we are sure

this course,

repugnance, and the accom-

first

For example,

modation of habit.

By

.''

may be

a very long

and mutual aversion.

If,

on the

which established character, or our

of the individual warrants

we

it,

at

once break

generate those same qualities in strangers towards ourselves,

we who

have also their prejudices against us to vanquish, and thus,

like

through our prejudices and force a familiarity and intimacy,

Scott's stag, "at one brave

bound the copse

" which &c. hath much learning

Why

may you

not form

we

clear," &c. &c.,

in it."

new

friendships there

.''

I

must be

you that I feel some jealousy at this suggestion, myself, and do not want you to love any new friend quite candid enough to

so well as

I

tell

hope you do me, and

as

I

certainly

magnanimity, therefore, or the nobler side of

do you.

my

suggests this consolation to you for those friends from

have been separated.

It is

my

friendship, that

Against these suggestions, you

whom

you

may urge

LETTERS TO CARR.

CHAP. XX.]

the

common

opinion that ardent friendship cannot be formed at

your advanced

of

state

point experimentally

But then,

am

1

who

self,

341

life.

To

be sure, / cannot reason on

— " you must go

informed by books, of

this

some one older than me."

to

men

nearly as old as your-

have formed the warmest friendships

:

for example,

was Walsh, who at the age of seventy contracted a most vehement friendship for Alexander Pope, then only sixteen years of age, which lasted through life, that is through Walsh's life. And Pope himself, when sixty, contracted a similar friendship for Warburton. Examples might be easily multiplied to shew the there

physical possibility of such friendship.

I

have, myself, formed

the most sincere and disinterested friendship for at least old

have for now,) as

my

two men,

am convinced that I shall Frank Gilmer, (who you know is a member of my family warm a friendship as if he were my brother.

enough

to treble

years; and

I

This disparity of age seems to be necessary to bring about that which in some way or other, must be the basis of friend-

equality

Where

sliip.

equality of years

be rendered equal

is

wanting, the partnership must

some other way.

For instance, one brings youth and genius into the fund; the other, age and character. Perhaps a better, though a less artificial solution of it is, that the in

one or the other must be inexperienced and credulous conscious of his

Two

old

own

men do

;

the other,

purity.

not form these friendships

:

reciprocally aware

of the fallacious exterior of characters, they cannot trust each other.

Fortunately for you, the tooth-ache has stopped this lecture.

Your

friend,

Wm. Wirt. Carr did not receive

this

enclosed in the following

VOL.

1—29*

:

letter until

it

was brought

to

him

— LETTERS TO CARR.

342

[1S12— 1813.

TO JCDGE CARR. Richmond, March

Very

well,

Throw my

—

sir;

letter

consume* and abuse me as much

away, and say that

the grace of the act

all

gone

is

;

quainted in Winchester and happy in

31, 1813.

you please.

have delayed writing

I

that,

as

till

now you have become acyour new acquaintance, so

as no longer to require the cheering letters of your old fiiends, first

write,

would not

I

my

or care for

I,

when you wished me to when you no longer wish me to write,

time, begin to write; that,

for the

;

and that

writing,

pester you with

I

my

letters

that

;

have

I

played by you, as a friend, pretty much such a part as Johnson says Chesterfield played by him as a patron

my

lord, one

who

:

"

depth, without going to his relief; and

not a patron,

Is

water above his

sees his client struggling in

when he has reached

shore, incumbers him with his needless assistance?"

thought, cool

*

I

read the

it

professes.

my

was, to have done

*

*

*

which

enclosed,

when and where *

the

is

the

Well have you got do assure you was

pretend not to quote his words.

I

Now

.''

written clined

—

This

;

I

You

how

see, then,

well in-

duty promptly towards you

my

the necessity of

hurrying

;

but

down

to

Richmond, where the Federal Court, and the Court of Appeals were sitting together, the manner in which I have been kept un-

—

der the lash, by the Court of Appeals, the circumstance of

my

being

in

about ten days ago,

until

the nineteenth regiment,

which

has been called on duty and placed on the war establishment,

having been discharged

until

last

Saturday,

— and

— not

the anxieties

generated by the vicinity of the British; the uncertainty of their plans, and the defenceless condition of the State have, in succession, held

me "

in

ease. fall

;

Come, come let the

me

durance vile," unharmonising

correspondence with you which ;

so

much

your choler give

let

angry blood

I

in

your cheeks

for that sweet

enjoy, in peace and

way

retire

;

;

your cheeks,

themselves, subside; and do not look quite so

much

Tonans, when he "

so.

•

to

There

injlat

amhas huccasy

So,

your crest

let

let

like Jupiter

Now we

are several references in the letters to thia phrase of Carr's,

have been the limit to wliich

of imprecation.

hid

are

which seems kind nature would allow him to go, in the way

WRITES A COMEDY.

CHAP. XX.]

343

we were, and I will mend my pen. You know the Scotchman, under similar circumstances, cried " halt a little, while I

as

tak' a

wee

pickle o' sneeshing,"

Sir John Borlase

Warren, certainly mollilcr manus imposuil^ for The more fool he, the more fortunate we. He mii,dit, with the three thousand marines, which he is said to be able to detach from his ships without weakening their defence too much, have battered and burnt down our cities of Norfolk and Richmond, have plundered our banks and demolished our armory

which

I

thank him.

He

and the archives of the nation.

we do

has waited so long, that

now

******* not fear him; while we,

by no means,

feel

ourselves so

secure as to lay aside our caution.

The Old Bachelor

is in the bookbinder's hands, at Baltimore, waiting only for a ^ew additional numbers, which I have not yet had time to scribble ; so, that you see, we are likely " to

and

is

float

together doicn the gutter of

time,''''

as Sterne says.

Did you never see two or three tobacco worms swept along by the little torrent produced by a sudden shower of rain swept along, with all their treasures, and crawling out, half drowned, twenty or thirty yards below.' Shall our book have a longer race, or we a more honorable catastrophe ? .^

Now,

sir,

your private

ear.

I

—

have a sentimental drama

{la

comedie larmoyanle,) nearly finished, which will be quite finished this spring, or early in tlie summer. I think tolerably well of it.

Green and Twaits, who saw three acts of it in the crude, first draught, augured favorably of it. Judge Tucker, the only other person

who

has seen

declared himself highly gratified by the

it,

perusal.

Tlie players are anxious to get give

it,

when

it from me. I had promised to Green's daughter who, poor girl, pe-

finished, to

rished in the theatre.

determined to submit

But, before it,

it

leaves

when completed,

cided by your judgment entirely as to

you love me too well either character for authorship

is

my to

possession,

you and

its fate,

because

to flatter or spare

I

am

be de-

to

know

I

me, where

my

concerned.

I want to know your opinion now, whether, be good, the circumstance of its being a play

if is

the

work

likely to

itself

do

me

any injury with the world, either as a man of business or as a

:

LETTER FROM JUDGE TUCKER.

344

[1812— ISIS.

man pretending to any dignity of character ? On this point, I am For example; how would it act on the character of dubious. such men as Jefferson or Madison or Monroe or Marshall or Tazewell, to have it known of them that they had been engaged

—

in

so light

weigh would

this let

Will you

and idle a business as writing a play?

At one moment, I think it another, that it would give spirit and

question thoroughly?

them down

at

;

relief to the greatness of their characters

;

that

is,

supposing the

play to have been a very good one.

Talking of authorship, what

" Tut

if

I

— a boy — Poh, a boy! —pshaw, !

Our

love to you

do hold

my

head high?

mere boy

!"

So no more.

a

all,

Wm. Wirt.

We

have not Judge Carr's answer to the questions propounded but, from the correspondence with in the last clause of this letter questions seem to have been same Judge Tucker, to whom the ;

addressed I

am

— (the

letter

from Wirt to him has not been preserved)—

enabled to present

my

reader with a reply quite worthy of

preservation

" You ask," says the Judge, " how far a discovery that you have entered the dramatic lists may affect your professional Belles-lettres and the Muses have been too little character. cultivated in America, or cultivated with too little success by their votaries to

enable us to judge.

McFingal, was,

think, a lawyer.

I

opinion of his talents.

It

is

Trumbull, the author of

That poem rather

my

entitled, in

place in estimating the American talent for poetry.

'Conquest of Canaan' seems quarter of the Union, at least. and he

now

to

have advanced him,

He was

raised the

opinion, to the

first

Dwight's in his

own

young when he wrote

it,

the papal chair of taste and erudition, as well as

fills

genius and religion, in

New

England.

Humphreys, the

aid of

Washington, ventured to display his poetical talent, almost as soon His pieces were well received and he as the war was ended. has been a foreign minister, or something of the sort. Barlow ;

has come forth the author of

advanced by

in

epic poetry, borrowing from Tasso, Milton, and

The it

;

Lusiad. yet,

His character,

we now

see him

I

think, has not been

as an

Envoy

abroad.

INFLUENCE OF LITERARY REPUTATION.

CHAP. XX.]

Should he said,

too (I

fail in his

known and

little

was

believe that

These are

too

be surprised

shall not

hear

to

it

My others

all

in

me where the America by persons of any profes-

own apprehension

that a taste for the

is,

under that description, dramatic

belles-lettres, including,

as well as

lower

his play.) either to raise or

the instances that occur to

all

standing.

Burke was Bethlehem Gabor

reputed for his

little

name of

the

Muses have been wooed sional

I

might have been predicted from his ])oem.

it

him.

embassy,

345

is

very low

poetry

America generally.

in

That

even though any such production should please for the moment, or continue to please a

longer than a moment,

little

it

does not

constitute any thing estimable in the public eye, nor advance the

author

To

to

this

man of any

a

who has inspired an poem be given to the world person

as

ajeu

may

the public estimation, but

in

apply

to profit or

party,

—

in

such a manner as to appear merely

of a leisure moment, and without any

emolument, or as an offering

think, in such a case, the public

I

effect.

the author be a

if

exalted opinion of his talents, and the

d^esprit, the effusion

view

have the contrary

profession,

of

at the shrine

would regard

favor-

it

ably, and as an evidence of a variety of genius and talent capable

of embellishment beyond the professional walk. nothing in

composition

the

previous public opinion of the author's talents,

well received, but will advance him

man of happy want

it,

will

in the

Such a man

genius.

approbation of those

who have

be

there

it

will

be not only

general estimation as a

will, like Sheridan,

taste to-

pretend to admire.

If

below the standard of the

itself

He,

win the

and those

who

therefore, runs but

little

admire

;

risk."

These are the opinions of a competent

may

critic in

We

1812.

smile at the sober earnestness of the question and the gravity

of the answer.

That

this should

be even a moot point

at that

day, would seem to argue that, as yet, there was no literary public in the United States the value of literary talent.

;

no adequate appreciation of

at least,

That Doctor Johnson might write a

tragedy, or Canning delight in witty doggrel, and not lose caste

church or

wonder of 1812.

state,

we may

infer,

was

a

problem

the anxious literary adventurers of

We

tlie

generation of

have seen that AVirt was not to be baulked

career of his

humor by

these doubts

;

for

in

to excite the special

in

the

he had already perpe-

THE COMEDY.

346

[1812—1813

some glaring enormities in prose, and was now actuallyThis comedy, which it appears he was meditating a comedy. upon, still survives amongst his manuwork at some two years trated

scripts.

I

find various

letters of his friends

Judge Tucker.

It

approbatory comments upon period,

this

called "

was

nor played,

never published

would

at

and most

likely,

The Path

— from

infer, in the writer, that

of public judgment.

— especially

it

in the

those from

of Pleasure," but was

secret

a

in

consciousness,

I

might not safely pass the ordeal

it

Wirt was a better

upon deliberate review,

critic than his friends;

after the fervor of

com-

to a determination not to incur the

position had subsided, came hazard of that disapproval which, in the matter of a theatrical exhibition, is proverbially the most painful of all to which an Whatever ground there may be to author can be exposed.

how

question

far professional success

may be

able to stand with

the repute of elegant scholarship, there can be

debate upon the point that no professional man

commit

been the trial

fate of the

for

safely

I

but public judgment

;

do not say that this would have if it had been submitted to very uncertain, and Wirt himself

Path of Pleasure, is

does not seem to have had confidence enough be willing to challenge a sentence. literary composition, the liighest

room

his reputation to the ordeal of facing the authorship of a

play that has been damned.

the

little

may very

product in this

tragedies for one

most

difficult,

the

production to is,

of

all

and a good comedy the

We

art.

comedy of

in his

Dramatic writing

have a same grade.

dozen respectable

To

paint character

by dialogue, with the requisite brevity, wit, and adaptation to the story, which comedy requires to avoid exaggeration and carica;

on one hand, and tame, insipid portraiture on the other ; to invent a plot which shall have the requisite variety of incident

ture,

to give

it

interest,

and yet to evolve

confusion, and to carry

it

along

in

it

without obscurity or

the conversation and action to

which the stage limits the author, require a kind and degree of talent which is, by no means, necessarily, nor even ordinarily, associated with the powers of the most accomplished writers, or speakers.

Even

poets, and the most skilful novelists,

— those who

have been most conspicuous for the force, nature and vivacity of their dialogue, have failed to produce good comedy. Moore and Scott are signal illustrations of this fact, and we might add

—

DRAMATIC LITERATURE.

CHAP. XX.]

many

others well

known

to

the reader.

347

Whilst

equally

is

it

capable of proof that the best dramatic writers, and especially in

comedy, have what we might suppose

the department of

attained to no remarkable dis-

tinction in

to

departments of

That Wirt was restrained by no this essay in the

we

he the cognate and congenial

literature.

dramatic

field,

of dignity from

false notion

we may

well believe from

That the public was,

have seen of his character.

all

that

at that

day, absurdly prejudiced upon this question of the gravity and

decorum of professional life, is probable enough. remarked by foreigners that in all externals, at

least,

grave and even a saturnine people

a certain

:

that there

It

is

of make-believe and constrained show of what

is

has been often ours are a

amount

considered the

propriety of place and vocation, apparent in the deportment of

our people,

—giving

them

to

demeanor

a thoughtful and reserved

in

society, very unlike the free and careless undress of social life in

A

Europe.

secretary of state or a counsellor at law

may hardly

play at leap-frog with us, without finding hands and eyes upturned at

such tomfoolery, and some severe comments touching dignity

and

concomitants

its

;

whilst

European society would scarce

worth a comment, except in the way of kindly illustration of the jocund temper which not even the cares of state or the hard Curran at the head of study of legal quiddities could subdue.

think

the

it

Monks of

the Screw, and Jeffreys fomenting the waggeries

of the Scotch bar, or Napoleon playing a part cals, are not

public and

its

Richmond,

by

Still less

perhaps, is entitled to

be regarded as

The community fellowship, and, fair

was

notions of "dignity."

this national quality than

very

in private theatri-

even yet quite within the conception of the American so

it

1812.

in

less affected

most other portions of the country.

of that city have been rather famous for good

— what may be

toleration of

said in their

the eccentricities

commendation,

which belong

— of a to

the

practical exemplification of the adage, "dulce est desipere in loco."

The memories

of their private associations, and especially at the

with good stories and exhibitions of bonhommie provoked many a laugh without either impairing the " dignity " of the actors, or incurring the rebuke of the rigidly-

bar, are

rich

that have

proper

who

there, as well as elsewhere, have found their abode.

Amongst these memories, the present generation recount, with an

AN EPIGRAM.

348

affectionate

Justice

[1812— 181S.

many gambols of the late Chief men of the age and his cronies and

particularity, the

— one

of the best

associates of the

—

famed Quoit Club,

which

in

seems

it

have

to

been a fundamental canon that the oldest and gravest were to submit to a temporary rejuvenation, which was often manifested in the display of the prankishness of boys.

Wirt was not behind his compeers in this temper. I have seen some letters addressed to him as "i;y loving Wirt," which appellation by no means belied the hilarity of his temper. There were many outbreaks of this temper at the bar, which are yet

One of them we have

pleasantly recalled by the fraternity.

anecdote

in

an

at hand.

Wickham and Hay were trying a cause in the Court Wickham was exceedingly ingenious, subtle,

mond.

Rich-

at

quick

in

argument, and always on the alert to take and keep the advantage

by

logical

all

points,

Hay was

arts.

not remarkable for guarding

and was sometimes easily caught

all

Wickham

dilemma.

in a

had, on this occasion, reduced him to the choice of an alternative in

which

either side

said he, "

may

was equally

He was

plexed, and the bar amused.

make

battle

fatal to

him.

" The gentleman,"

Hay was

take which ever horn he pleases."

on such occasions, and sometimes indulge

testy expressions

— showing

himself a

per-

apt to get out of temper and

little

in

dangerous.

sharp and

A

know-

ledge of this characteristic added to the sport of the occasion.

Mr. Warden, one of the most learned, witty and popular members

—

—

familiarly known to them as Jock Warden, this bar, for he was a Scotchman, and then an old man, remarked, in a quiet way, "Take care of him, he has hay upon his horn!" Wirt

of

sitting by,

with

with hitched

it

—

full

appreciation of this classical witticism, forth-

into verse in the following

Wickham was

On

tossing

Hay

epigram

:

in court

a dilemma's horns for sport,

Jock, rich in wit and Latin too. Cries,

" Habet foenum

in

cornu."

The tradition of the bar still preserves this jeu d^sprit, memory of that palmy day of social brotherhood which was, a thousand other forms, cherished and embellished

in in

by Wirt and

MR. WARDEN.

CHAP. XX.]

349

Warden,* Wickham and Hay and llieir comrades, who gave a Richmond, and rendered it, at

distinctive tone to the society of

that day, one of the

most attractive cities in the Union. have said that the Old Bachelor was not finished

I

An

interval of eighteen

until

1813.

months had passed between the publication

of the greater portion of these essays, and the last (g\v numbers. The author was getting tired of it, and found a more pleasant occupation in other subjects. He adverts to this in his next letter. •

This gentleman, Mr. John Warden,

Richmond

He was

bar.

a

man

is still

affectionately

remembered

at the

of high accomplishment in general literature and

science, as well as in his profession.

He had

collected a fine library of rare and

valuable books, which, being put up at sale after his death, were eagerly sought after

and purchased. He was said to be the most homely man, both in face and figure, to be found in the society with which he lived, and his speech was marked by a broad Scotch accent.

During the revolutionary war, he was once summoned before the House of Delemake atonement for some disloyal, or, perhaps, too loyal, for

—

gates of Virginia, to that, I believe,

was

his offence,

—words uttered

by him which had given umbrage

to that body. It was the custom then, in the Virginia Legislature, to exact of offenders against their dignity, an apology to be made, kneeling at the bar of the

House.

It is difficult

now

to believe that a

custom so absurd and slavish, as well have been tolerated in any of the

as so degrading to the Legislature itself, should

American

States, at so late a period as that of the Declaration of

Independence, had received in the British Parliament in 1751, in the case of Alexander Murray, and the abolition of it by that body. Still, it was especially after the reproof

it

Mr. Warden was obliged to comply, which he did with humbly beg pardon," he said, in his broadest doric, " of this Honorable House and a domned dirty house it is," he added, as he rose slowly

yet in force in Virginia.

an

ill

grace

:

—"

I

:

—

—

—

—

and awkwardly, with a surly look, and brushed the dust from his knees. He was once relating to a circle of friends the gratification he had enjoyed

at a

ball in

Richmond,

time.

In attempting to describe her attractions of face and figure, and her grace-

in the society of a beautiful

woman,

a distinguished belle of that

which he had drawn, by an atwhich was too ludicrous to be forgotten. He assumed be a gentle and winning expression of countenance, and then,

fulness of motion, he concluded a vivid portraiture

tempt at personal

illustration

what he intended

to

with a sidelong glance of the eye, threw his ungainly figure into an attitude designed to convey the idea of perfect elegance and grace, and said, " to give you

some conception of her gesture and her manner, she looked

just so!"

The echo

of the laugh that followed this grave effort at representation, has not entirely died

away

yet.

VOL.

1—30

— LETTER TO CARR.

350

[1812—1813.

TO JUDGE CARR. Richmond, April Friend of my Youth

I

:

my

admit the justice of your charge as to

ciousness, and yet

know

I

30, 1813.

was no

the Old Bachelor, there

scribbling capri-

that finis coronal opus^ too.

finis naturally

But, as to

growing out of the

was endless; each essay being a whole in itself. I I am dispirited, too, by the little effect such things produce. I wrote in the hope of did not begin that business for fame. doing good, but my essays dropped into the world like stones scheme.

It

pitched into a mill-pond ring or

two

smooth and to

mark

a

;

report from the

little

from the spot

rolling off

silent as before,

then,

;

and no visible change

Writing on, under such circumstances, was,

work well. As

ging, heavy, nauseous

—

a moment,

a

;

all

waters

in the

had ever been.

that such things

he cannot do it myself a dog to do it, sires it, and has gone

plunge

first

in

to doing

write con amore,

doggedly^

it

yea, a very turn-spit.

to

confess, a drag-

I

man

and, unless a

;

I

should hold

But, as Ritchie de-

some expense about

the bauble,

I

will

turn the spit for five or six revolutions more, and then bid the Old

Bachelor adieu I shall

until I see

have the more

how

spirit to

the

volume

work

If

takes.

off another

plete something like a moral and literary scheme,

thereafter as

As

may

right, in part;

characters to the

Greene,

when

that

of the theatre, and

knew

I

began that

company

in the

was

that

company was

finally dissolved

riages in Charleston,

for

but

;

1

weeper, you have

view of adapting

One was

here.

for

one for Mrs. Clark, and

one for his wife, one for Twaits, But,

so on.

— a whole — but

be.

to the 710VUS hospes^ the larmoyante^ alias

guessed the

it

has a run,

it

volume, and com-

dispersed, by the destruction

by

their subsequent

had the less inclination to carry

it

miscaron, for

I

that the various parts required the peculiar powers of those

whom

they were drawn

they might

fall,

and, not

nor, of course,

the author damned, trophe.

;

I

was

in

But Judge Tucker,

how

knowing

into

whose hands

they might be marred and

no hurry to purchase such a catasto

whom

I

shewed,

in confidence.

THE COMEDY.

CHAP. XX.)

351

my

the acts that were finished, has put up

courage, and

expect

I

to close the aflair before the spring is closed. I

shall expose

not let

danger

is

it

to

you

in the perfect

expose myself by making

nfie

in

it

and

;

I

now

confidence that you will

you see

public, if

it

begin to fear there

is,

for

I

that there

wished

to

Frank Gilmer on some incidents which I thouglit of introducing, and, to qualify him to judge, gave him the acts that were finished to read. This was about a week ago. He reads a piece consult

of a scene

at a sitting,

and puts

it

away

to take

up a review or a

newspaper, or something else of equal importance

me, strong proof that there

to

do not think very highly of please

me

but

is

grace, and in the touie ensemble,

I

if

know the I am sure talent,

all

which,

the

affair.

are parts of

it

is I

that

but the scenes are not connected with lightness and

;

of

all this

There

myself.

it

:

little interest in

you rest,

and

shall judge,

and

shall

abandon

fear

it is

rather ponderous

you barely it

call

;

but

tolerable,

it

I

without a blush or a murmur.

that that kind of composition requires not only peculiar

but an intimate knowledge of the stage, and a training in

dramatic authorship particularly.

" Produce you a comedy equal quisition, truly

Sheridan's

!

One of

!

A

to Sheridan's !"

the

first, if

pretty re-

not the

very

comedy in the English language And the work, too, of a man, whose genius is almost unrivalled in the old world, much more in the new None of your fun, " none of your comments^ Mr. Carr!" You had better require me, next, to produce such first

!

—

!

speeches as Erskine's and Curran's, or such legal investigation as Mansfield's and Hardwicke's, or such tragedies as Shakspeare's,

No,

or such histories as Robertson's.

homespun, would,

I

times, without equalling the I

know

that

it is

The

sir!

being

affair

thought, pass very well in these patriotic

European manufacture.

superior to some English plays of which

or Covent Garden, as the case

it

is

they were acted at Drury Lane

said, in the British theatre, that

may

be, with

unbounded applause;

*******

but as to

its

equaling the best of them, the brat has no such pre-

tensions.

Your

wife's displeasure at

my

not writing,

you

for leading her to think

me

of so

I

resent, (as

Boyle

am sincerely obliged much consequence.

says,) with the liveliest gratitude, and

I

to

— THE BIOGRAPHY OF HENRY.

352

This

is

[1812—1813.

a poor return for your long kind letter

;

but 3'ou are

good-natured, and must therefore expect to be imposed on.

We

all

join in love to you.

Your ever

aflcctionate friend,

Wm. Wirt. The scheme

of writing biography was yet kept alive, as a pro-

That scheme,

ject of future accomplishment.

as

the reader

is

aware, embraced the purpose of a series of lives of the most eminent Virginians. It ultimately resulted in the production of

The

the volume containing the biography of Henry.

was abandoned.

plan

The

rest of the

motives which led to this restriction

of the scheme, are most probably those which are suggested in the following letter of Judge Tucker,

consulted on the subject. a

man of

letters,

The Judge,

whom Wirt as

we

had frequently

have remarked, was

of extensive reading and observation, and one

who had had many

become acquainted with the embraced in the biographical scheme. The him upon this occasion, I have not seen. It is opportunities to

principal personages letter

of Wirt to

probable just

it

was

difficulties

and which were doubtless tion

of

ment of

But

not preserved.

remarks upon the

felt

this

reply to

it

contains

some

belonging to the task in view,

by Wirt,

in the further

contempla-

scheme, to an extent which induced the abandon-

this

his purpose.

ST.

GEORGE TUCKER TO WM. WIRT. Williamsburg, April

Mt Dear

4, 1813.

Sib:

*

•

*

#

*

*

American biography, at least since the conclusion of the peace of 1783, is a subject which promises as little entertainment as any other

in

the literary world.

Our scene of

action

is

fectly domestic, as to afford neither novelty nor variety.

the biographer of

so per-

Even

Washington has been reproached with im-

posing upon his readers the history of a nation, instead of the of an individual. defect; but

I

Parson

Weems

life

has, indeed, tried to supply the

never got further than half the

first

paragraph:

LETTER FROM JUDGE TUCKER.

CHAP. XX.J

353

" George Washington, (says that most renowned biograplier,) the founder of the American Nation, was tlie first son of

illustrious

Washington, by a second marriage this

a circumstance, (says

:

profound divine, moralist and biographer,) of

to reconcile the scruples of tender consciences I

do not pretend

passage

;

but,

as soon as

I

I

believe the substance

had read

me

This leads

have given you a

that I

it,

is

itself sufficient

upon

that subject."

of the

literal transcript

correct.

I

book

shut the

and have no desire to see any more of

to notice that part

of your

How would

to the subject of biography.

letter

which

you be able

it.

relates

any

to give

entertainment to your readers, in the Life of Patrick Henry, without the aid of some of his speeches in the General Assembly, in

Congress,

Convention, or

in

in the

Federal Court.?

could be excited by his marrying a Miss

,

What

interest

and afterwards a

Miss D and that somebody, whom I will not condescend to name, married one of his daughters, &c., &c., &c. No human ;

being would feel the smallest interest in such a recital; and, 1 never heard any thing of him, except as connected with the public, that could amuse, for a moment. The same may be said of Lee, Pendleton and Wythe ; and the same may be said of every other

man, of real current of

merit, in Virginia.

life

ever thought of noticing to live

and act

Virginia, that It is

They have

glided

all

down

so smoothly, (except as public men,) that

how

they lived, or what they did

like gentlemen,

my

;

for,

was a thing once so common

nobody thought of noticing

clear to

the

nobody in

it.

apprehension, that unless a

tinguished as an orator, or a soldier, and

man has been

has

left

dis-

behind him

either copies or notes of his speeches, or military exploits, that

you can scarcely glean enough out of his private life, though he lived beyond his grand climacterick, to till a half a dozen pages, that any body would trouble themselves to read.

may have I

have known several characters, whose conduct both in public life, I have esteemed models of human perfection and

and private

John Blair, General Thomas Nelson, John Page and Beverly Randolph, were men of the most exalted and immaculate virtues. I knew them all well, nay, intimately, yet,

excellence:

—

for the soul of

me,

I

would be read by one to an eagle in the air.

VOL.

1—30*

—

could not write ten pages of either, that in fifty.

may be compared him with admiration

Colonel Innes

You looked up

at

/

BIOGRAPHICAL WRITING.

354

and delight alted

Solomon

but, as

;

and majestic

that remains,

is

flight

says, there are no traces of his ex-

The

behind.

left

it

much

is itself

be regrietted, that such

to

men

Con-

in the

That may be compared

1788.

in

sparks which issue from a furnace, which think

only shadow of him

Robertson's abridgment of his speech

vention of Virginia

I

[1812—1313.

to the

invisible.

as

have men-

I

tioned above, should descend to the grave and be forgotten, as

soon as the earth

thrown upon their

is

Literary characters

friend.

may

But so

coffins.

leave their

it is,

my

works behind them,

what they were soldiers may obtain a niche in Fame, by some brilliant exploit oiators, whose speeches have been preserved^ will be remembered through that medium judges, whose opinions have been reporled, may posbut sibly be known to future judges, and members of the bar as memorials of

;

the temple of

;

;

;

the world cares

about them

little

meet with no reporter

and

if

they leave no reports^ or

record their opinions, &c., they sink into

to

immediate oblivion.

;

very much doubt

I

if

a

single speech of

Richard H. Lee's can be produced at this day. Nevertheless, he was the most mellifluous orator that ever I listened to. Who

Peyton Randolph, once the most popular man Speaker of the House of Burgesses, and President of Congress, from its first assembling, to the day of his death

knows any

in

thing of

Virginia,

.-'

—

Who

remembers Thompson Mason, esteemed the first lawyer at the bar.? Or his brother, George Mason, of whom I have heard Mr. Madison, (the present President,) say, that he possessed the

man he had ever seen, or heard known of Dabney Carr, but that he made the

greatest talents for debate of any

What

speak.

is

motion for appointing committees of correspondence Virginia has produced

peatedly heard.

I

men of

finer talents,

men

in

their day.

The

I

have

Delegates

Congress, in 1774, were Peyton Randolph,

dleton,

as

1773.-*

re-

might name a number of others, highly re-

spected and influential first

kw

in

to,

the

Edmund Pen-

Patrick Henry, George Washington, Richard H. Lee,

Wythe

Richard Bland and Benjamin Harrison.

Jeflerson,

Madison, did not come

This alone may shew

in

till

afterwards.

what estimation the former were held of one half of them himself,

were not

at

this

day.-*

in:

yet,

how

Tiie truth

is,

little is

that

and

known

Socrates

would pass unnoticed and forgotten in Virginia, if he a public character, and some of his speeches preserved

DIFFICULTIES OF

CHAr. XX.]

a newspaper: the latter might keep his

in

S55

IT.

memory

alive for a

year or two, but not much longer. Instead of an attempt at what might be called a biographieal

account of any of these persons, perhaps a delineation of their characters only, with here and there a speech or an anecdote,

But anecdotes which might entertain, occur so

might answer.

seldom

may be

that they

in private life, in Virginia,

truly said

be

to

" Rari nantes

Upon would

the whole,

I

am

in gurgite vasto."

inclined to think, biography in Virginia

be a hopeless undertaking, although a very interesting selection might be made of Virginia worthies, whose at present

general characters deserve to be remembered and transmitted to the

But the misfortune

latest posterity.

is,

that

few remain among us

who have known traced .

I

I

feel a

and

and

;

them.

still

and marked the outlines which ousrht to be fewer are capable of giving the rudest sketch of

my

have repeatedly wished that

thorough conviction that

in a daily

intercourse,

I

it

does

talent lay that

not.

If

we

way

;

but,

lived together,

could, perhaps, from time to time,

enough of such men as

I have mentioned, and some you to draw an outline of eacli, which you might fill up at leisure, from your own resources or the communications of others. But were I to take up my pen for that purpose, I

recollect

others, to enable

should only betray

You must be

my own

to

the " Path of Pleasure."

it,

and make

or, as a

little

I

trust

you

arrive at a speedy and

When

finished, I

I

will

at the time, to aid

me

turn

you propose

resume

it,

pursue

it

to

in

it,

To

time.''''

happy conclusion and termination of

my

ever, most

away

resume

ardently, and

beg to be favored with a sight of

possibly, an epilogue too.

Believe

I shall

— " throw douhkls a second

do

possible, and pledge myself to

me

from which

rejoice that

doubt you will once more acquire laurels

gamester would say

be serious,

incompetency.

tired of this subject,

But

I

my

it

it.

as early as

best for a prologue and,

must have the play,

itself,

with

imagination.

warmly and most sincerely, Your friend, S.

G. TUGKEB.

—— ALARM AT RICHMOND.

356

We mond,

have now some pictures of the war

—

from a

extract

this

in

[1812—1813.

— an

alarm

at

Rich-

who

Mrs. Wirt,

letter to

at

is

Montevideo.

*

*

*

thank heaven, with

I

Richmond, June * *

*

lieartfelt gratitude, that

29, 1813.

*

you have escaped

which the city was thrown on yesterday about was at the market house attending a common when we were broken up by the violent ringing of the alarm

the idle panic into

twelve o'clock. hall

—

bell.

The

castle

was on

first

I

my

idea that bolted into

fire

;

—but before

an alarm cannon was fired on the capitol another.

was such

Here was

iiill

— then another— and

the complete signal of invasion.

you may conceive.

as

mind was that our old

had crossed the market bridge,

I

The

The

effect

was perfectly under-

signal

—

stood; every man had to rush with his musket, to the square: even the " silver greys" [and parson Blair among them] flew to arms.

The

report ran that the British were at Rocket's

— and

we

had

heard from an authentic source, that they had disgraced themselves at

Hampton, by excesses more atrocious and horrible than ever

before befel a sacked town-^of a nature so heart-sickening that

do not choose to describe them to you:

— they even

What, think you,

negroes to join them in these brutal excesses.

must have been the terrors and agonies of the report that the same

me

applied to Carter's,

in

enemy was

women

in their town.''

here, on the

Doctor Foushee

for our carriage to take his daughters to

Caroline

Wagons were moving believe no ladies

county,

to

furniture from

moved

—

which all

I

I

incited the

William

cheerfully

parts of the

town

agreed. :

— but

I

for before they could prepare, the panic

McR * * came rushing on the square with a each hand, crying out, "where are they, where are they.?" to which the Governor answered, that they were at City Point was

dissipated.

pistol in

;

and

Mc

disposed of his pistols as

soon as he could.

It

turned out that the British had ascended the river as high as City Point,

which

is

about ten miles below our works and army at

Hood's, that they were slowly ascending the river;

ment thus suddenly evening.

I

thought

and pack up

my

called, it

was dismissed

not imprudent to get

books

all

till

— and the

regi-

six o'clock this

your plate together,

for a travel, if another alarm should take

THE FLYING ARTILLERY.

CQAP XX.]

place

;

— which

But we heard no more we were informed by an

did.

I

morning, wlien

this

had gone back again. tunate for a

of the enemy

until

express, that tliey

Amidst the alarm and uncertainty, how-

Governor and

ever, the

357

field officers

company of

were clamorous and impor-

flying artillery

;

and

could not resist

I

their importunities, without submitting myself to the censure of

indifference at least.

So,

I

amounting

to

vinced that

we

my

prevent

near

leave them.

•

for the defence of

most splendid one picked men. Although a

shall liave nothing to do, this

and

effective

Your

weeks

fit

is,

it

con-

same company

***«

seeing you for some

made

trained and

— and

hundred

a

company

raised a

town and neighborhood

the

will

— for my company must be

for the field before

I

ought to

affectionate husband,

Wm. Wirt. to judge carr. Montevideo, Buckingham Co., August 23,

Mt Dear

Friend

Let us waste no time for

you

to

know

1813.

:

apologies for not writing.

in

you have lived

that

in

my

It is

enough

heart's core for seven-

teen years, and

tliat the roots by which you have taken hold of me, have become stronger with every year.

As

friend,

a

I

am

not conscious that

reproach me, except that lazy correspondent.

and

I

am

the

This

am is

you have any right

an irregular, and the single blot in

if

to

you please, a

my

escutcheon;

not very sure that you do not bear the same reproach, so

new point of congeniality, and, of course, of attracwho have been miserable together, love each other more on that account, why not those who have been lazy

that this tion.

I

is

a

If those

together

?

You would know what

I

have been doing

this

summer

?

Why,

reading newspapers, mustering in the militia, hearing alarm bells and alarm guns, and training a company of flying artillery, with

whom,

in imagination,

five different British

I

have already beaten and captured four or

detachments of two or three thousand each.

EXCITEMENTS OF THE WAR.

353

'^Silent leges inter arma'''

muse of Tyrtoeus who,

—

Tom

as

musce quoqiie

silent

Divers says,

[1812—1813.

— unless

be the

it

one of those

is

cattle

don't suffer to speak to me.

I

Talking of Tyrtaius,

never saw his fragments

I

are most noble productions;

been

sung,

by

accompanied

The

ascribes to them.

productions

:

author of the Marseilles

There

had read Tyrtasus.

the latter

lately.

which history

to battle, I believe firmly in the effects

marching

till

and supposing them to have instrumental music, in an army

They

Hymn,

suspect,

I

a great analogy in the spirit of the

is

have no doubt, was suggested by the

I

former.

wish you would get the minor poets, which you may do in If your Greek is Tyrtajus, I suppose, and read of the most beauseveral but in translation; Latin there is rusty, a I

Winchester,

tiful

passages,

it is

defective,

You

Greek informs me.

You have heard truth," as Pope's

My wife and I

was "

in

all

I

think, so far as

will enjoy him,

— " the whole

were out of town. They were here ; but There was nothing wanting the thick of the throng."

We

should have fought like lions

well, at least for the

much

remaining

" and more, too."

witness said,

our forefathers, as so

little

about our Richmond alarms

suddenness and agitation of the alarm, fire

my

predict, highly.

children

but composure.

not

I

militia.

I

revere, but the fact

it

struck

me

;

but from the

that

we

should

two or three rounds. We beat mean no disrespect to them whom I

first

is

so,

and

it

is

very easily accounted

for consistently with their honor.

We

have breathed, for thirty years, the proud

pendence, and

in this spirit

we

contrary, were warring against the habit fighting against

spirit

of inde-

They, on the of subjection, and were

begin the war.

some of the strongest tendencies of their own They were crushed, too,

hearts in fighting against their king.

by conscious poverty, and pie.

No

the almost entire destitution of

all

the

on the contrary, arc rich, and armed cap a

We,

means of war.

wonder, therefore, that

we have more

confidence, pride

and courage.

What do you dusky

!

He

is,

think of young Croghan's defence of

by

and Bainbridge are, spirits.

It is

land, exactly at sea

exactly

the

;

Lower San-

what Decatur, Lawrence, Hull

the very counterpart of their daring

spirit

which Bonaparte displayed

at

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.

CHAP. XX.]

Lodi: and

Croghan's intellect equals

if

his

359 courage,

will only

it

be the want of opportunity which will stop him short of the summit of martial renown.

My

family are

writing her

all

here

—

and

in health

my

Mair's exercise in

Laura

spirits.

room

study, a

now

is

the third

in

story about sixty feet from the ground, which opens on the mountains

— where

my

teach

I

children, and

sit

and read, and

xorite

Writing requires a solitude and self-possession which

rarely.

my

children will not allow me.

Laura I

reading Virgil.

is

will try

it

You

see

my

stick to

I

Latin system.

with her, taking care to leave her time, between

this

and seventeen, for those accomplishments which she cannot do without. to parse,

Robert is delving away at Latin too. He is beginning which is a thing he hates as bad as Coalter's man did

something

My

else.

twins,

— were you

to see

them playing together on a sheet

spread on the floor, so healthy, so sweet

My

wife

uncommon

is in

the flying artillery,

health, but

— don't

talk, sir!

down-hearted because of

which she considers a boyish freak,

unfit for

the father of six unprovided children.

Our

love attend you

all.

Your

friend, as ever,

till

death,

\Vm. Wirt.

to judge carr. Montevideo, October

My Dear

Friend

:

Yours of the 19th let

2, 1813.

ult.

overtook

me

at this place.

Agreed,

us bury the hatchet for past omissions, and do as well as

can hereafter.

If

we

no squares between too well to

grow

are a

us.

little idle

We have

or so at times,

known each

let

it

we

break

other too long and

suspicious and captious, and quarrel for straws

of etiquette and punctilio.

You say some eloquent things about Croghan and the navy. They are all just, and I echo every sentiment. God speed them which is as much as they can expect of you and I. Now let us

JUDGE CARR'S SUCCESS.

SCO

talk of our noble selves

[1812-1813.

—

a very interesting subject, about which more than ten words. I hear that Lord Hardwicke, Lord Camden and Chancellor Brown, are in danger of a total eclipse! That the decrees at Winchester and Clarksburg have all the rust of legal lore which

you have not

said

antiquarians prize so highly, together with the true Ciceronian

flow and

How

nilor.

Must Coke and Call,* Peere WilRaymond and Mumford, all be thrown

is this.''

liams and Billy Williams,

and obruted for ever and

into the shade, obnubilated, obfuscated

Must Blackstone and Blackburn, Cicero and Shackelford, Mansfield and Magill, be utterly forgotten, pompeized and hercu-

ever

!

laneized for twenty centuries!

bid

on

truly

Forbid

mean

really

milky way, quench the sun, and

the planets at blindman's-buif, that they

magnificence on the beniglited universe

And

Would

have had of

it

behind you

may

ris3

Give us

?

to

speak of the

notice, sir, that

To

three

made you by Peter and

visit

had been with you

What

!

What

happy fellows

!

a time you must

No

be sure, there have been four,

in this particular

:

for

you are

to

know,

we

I

not far

passed

had for four days and nights,

what our blacks eloquently call " old laugliing." Pope was in his gloiy " fought all his battles with triple lustre, " and thrice he slew the slain."

—

very near killing

and children

all

He

o'er again," In fact, he

three of us with laughter, and our wives

to boot.

dined one day at Charles Yancey's,

family.

/icre,

that as

Here, besides the families (Cabell's and mine),

found Frank Gilmer, and

He

three happier

last

health and spirits.

was

set

with unrivalled

week, he formed a junction with my caravan, arrived at Montevideo on Saturday evening, in high

by Pope's

we

me

I

!

in the world.

we

for-

take our measures accordingly.

this brings

Frank.

—

Report me

to extinguish these comets, to tread out the

constellations, lamp-black the

we may

!

this subject.

Do you

and

JMercuri facunde^

it,

Apollo, the nine muses and the seven senses

it

—

a grave and orderly

dropped among them like an unknown wateifowl, and

took the Major's mother, an old lady of seventy, so completely by • Call,

Williams, Mumford, and others here referred

Virginia bar, some of others

were counsel of

whom note.

to,

were gentlemen of the

had publJisbcd reporla of the Virgiaia decisions;

the

THE COMEDY.

CHAP. XX.]

he laughed her into an epilepsy.

surprise, that

the heart-ache never before

ache," you know,

Apropos

—

me

change the

He

:

when

for

a play.

speak of mine.

to

Such a cure

cure for the heart-

tried the metal

1

was in Richmond, and found that metaphor) every key produced the expected note.

so that

as Moliere's old

*

A

I

laughed, started and gaped with curiosity, just as

cried,

intended

"

existed.

name of

the

is

this leads

of the piece on (to

361

*

he

if

is

woman, *

good a

as

the piece

1

criterion of the public taste

would certainly

If I find that I

*

take.

have the weather-gage of

*******

the public,

I

them an annual dose of good morals through

will give

this channel.

We

have just received the

parliament prorogued

:

last

Richmond

—no ministers

to

The

papers.

meet ours

in

Russia

British :

— the

American war to be pressed. Without a glorious campaign this summer by Bonaparte, and the conquest of Canada by us, we shall have no peace this year. O for an American navy and Ameri-

*****#* !

can Generals

!

But plague on

My my

politics

wife unites with

and politicians

me

in

say

!

*

I.

love to yourself and Mrs. Carr, and

children also send love to yours.

My

twins

still

shine with

unrivalled lustre.

May Heaven trious

ever bless and prosper you, and make you as

and happy as

my

illus-

soul wishes you.

Cabell and Frank Gilmer send love piping hot.

Your

friend,

Wm. Wirt. Francis Gilmer was, at this time, an inmate

Wirt's family,

in

and was assiduously pursuing the study of the law, after

have an opportunity

student will

by

The

his friend, in the

commend themselves

attain the

to offer several

way to

I

of advice upon his studies, which

the attention of

all

who

honors of the profession to which these

following

VOL.

is

the

1—31

first in this

shall here-

letters, written to the

series

strive to

letters refer.

;

LETTER TO GILMER.

362

[1912-1813.

TO FRANCIS W. GILMER. Montevideo, November

My Dear As

Francis:

in the

I shall

16, 1813.

bustle of starting

endeavor to offer

I

forgot to shake hands with you,

some atonement

for

it

by giving you the

Had I not been perplexed by the multitude of petty first letter. concerns, to which it was necessary for me to attend, I wished to have had some particular conversation with you about the course of your studies

and more especially, the

•,

mode

of studying Bacon.

was understood that you were not only to read all Bacon's references, but to add to them Dallas, C ranch, and the Virginia There are some British reporters since Gwillim's edireporters. It

Bacon that I have; and as, instead of shrinking from labor, you love a task the more for being the more herculean, I would recommend it to you to embrace them in your scheme also. Whenever the head you are upon involves the subject of pleading, you ought to consult Chitty before you broach Bacon, and tion of

—

—

draw the plea off-hand, at once. For example, the first Bacon is " Abatement :" The course which we propose is, first, to see what Blackstone says on that subject throughout, which you will easily do by the aid of his index. Consult

learn to

head

in

Tucker's Blackstone, with the editor's notes, to see the changes You will thus have gotten the superinduced by our state law. and know were you are outline, in least at coast, the chart of next Chitty,

—

in his first

plea of abatement.

volume you

will see his learning

on the

In his second, you will see the forms of the

which you must be able to draw before you lay him down. Thus prepared, you open Bacon, and having read him and his references on the subject, you turn to Bosanquet and Puller, plea

itself,

East's Reports, Smith's Reports, Campbell's Reports, Selwyn's Day's edition, then the AmeriNisi Prius, Espinasse's Reports,

—

—

can and Virginia Reports. In

my

would follow Bacon's distribution of the head, the matter which I collect, as he would have done,

notes,

I

and arranire had he possessed it. When, for example, you ciple,

—

say, on the

subject

find

new prinwhat may be

a case presenting

of "Abatement," as

a

STUDY OF THE LAW.

CHAP. XX.]

pleaded

abatement,

in

— turn

363

to that division of the

head of "Abate-

ment," under which such matter properly comes, and insert the reference there

en masse^

at the

:

otherwise,

all

your own discoveries

end of the head

without distribution, order, or

in

will

your note book, and

come

will be

light.

You must not read so long at a time, and with so little digestion as to make your head spin, as Lord Mansfield says, nor to with confusion and " aitches" (aches)

—

—

Kemblc

as

fill

it

On

the contrary, take your time and see your course

understand the whole ground as you go along ically, but topographically

;

— not only geograph-

his

army and

his line

of

and, like a great general and conqueror, never quit any

province you enter, without being able to say, mine, and placing in

The

it

keep your books and your route under

;

your eye, as clearly as a general does

march

calls

clearly;

general

it

this

province

is

an invincible garrison.

course

is,

gallop over these

to

provinces like '

made one or two remarks, to as Weld, from a single about it,

travellers in a hurry, and having

—

it for granted we know all example, pronounces " all the tavern keepers

take

ards, and

all

their

wives scolds."

One

in this state

drunk-

student, too, as soon as

he leaves one of these provinces, having contrived to make his ow^n time very disagreeable in

about at the boundary

turns

it,

line,

as well as

very unprofitable,

and making a very profound

reverence, says, "I hope never to see you again;" whereas, had

he cultivated fitable

day I

to return

am

it

properly, he might have

and delightful, that

it

made

the grounds so pro-

would have been

grateful at a future

and review them.

not one of those

in these latter days.

—

I

who

believe in the declension of genius

believe the paucity of great men, in

ages, has proceeded from the universality of indolence. is

natural to man, and

it is

all

Indolence

only the brave few, wlio can " clear the

copse at a bound," breakover the magic bourne, and stretch away with " an eye that never winks, and a wing that never tires," into new regions and new worlds; who distinguish themselves from the

crowd, and

rise to glory that

never fades.

What

kind of

men

Think what habits of appliCoke, Bacon, &c. cation they must have had, what an insatiable appetite for knowledge not the morbid craving of a day or a week, but the persewere

Littleton,

.?

—

;

vering voracity of a long

life.

Such only are the fellows who

STUDY OF THE LAW.

364

[1S12— 1813.

climb so high up Fame's obelisk, as to write their names where they

may

strike the

eye of distant

The many

nations.

of us

who

cannot bear the labor of climbing, stand on the ground and stretch

up as high

we

as

can

and as

:

this is a paltry business that

depends

the longest legs and arms, than the longest head,

more on out that

name

's

legible as far as

is

time, they will both be erased

who

unaspiring successors,

's

;

and

in a

it

turns

very short

by the scrambling herd of

their

will be as tall as they are, and will

claim their hour of notice, in a world of several leagues in cir-

cumference.

You have begun under

the happiest auspices,

— even

set out

with a stock of science and information, which was not surpassed, I

example of Mr. Jefferson, and not equalled

suspect, in the

in

any

do not except Tazewell. Now if you do not keep the You may get up advantage you have got, the fault is your own. the top of the obelisk, if you choose, or, at eminent few, the among

other;

if

I

you prefer

it,

expire

among

the

ephemera

at the base.

part, independent of the affection which makes

own

terest in youjil

the experiment as in

my is

know of no young man so well gifted for yourself. The cultivation of eloquence should I

hand with your legal

memory and

For

take an in-

have a sort of philosophical curiosity to see what

attainable by man; and

go hand

me

recite

studies.

a la mode de Garrick

I

would commit

— the

Shakspeare, to tune the voice, by cultivating

all

finest

to

of

parts

the varieties of

its

melody, to give the muscles of the face all their motion and expression, and to acquire an habitual ease and gracefulness of gesture,

and

would tion

;

command of the stronger passions of the soul. I my own compositions, and compose them for recita-

recite I

would address

even

if I

my

recitations to trees and stones, and fall-

******

ing streams,

if 1

could not get a living audience, and blush not

were caught

at

it.

So much

for this subject.

Your

friend,

Wm. Wirt,

CHAPTER

XXI.

18 14.

CONTENTMENT.— PROSPEROUS CONDITION. — LETTERS TO CARR. — TO MR. LOMAX. — OPINION OF CICERO. _ VIEWS OF THE WAR. — EXTRAVAGANT OPINIONS. — LETTER TO GILMER. — CAMPAIGNING. — INSUBORDINATION OF THE MILITIA VISIT TO WASHINGTON.— CONGRESS UNFAVORABLE ASPECT OF AFFAIRS MADISON WEBSTER AVERSION TO PUBLIC LIFEENGAGEMENT IN THE SUPREME COURT.— POSTPOfJED.

Wirt's

professional

position

was now securely

established,

on the same level with the most eminent men of the bar of Virginia.

The most

difficult

path of his worldly career

The

and the most dangerous points

may be

said to

in the

have been overcome.

content which springs from certainty and safety

in

the affairs

was opening broadly upon his household. A numerous family of children was growing up around him. His business was not only profitable, but it was also of a character which rendered it most agreeable to his ambition, by the reputation it brought him of

life

and the scope

it

gave to a useful and honorable association with

more important individuals and concerns of the society in which he lived. A man becomes aggrandized and strengthened in his place by such connections, as trees whose roots take firmer hold of the soil by the thousand new fibres of a healthful growth. The natural concomitant of this steady success was a placid and regular life, from which w^e may not expect much material, just at the

this time, to give

excitement to our narrative.

the steep of fame, that the casualties of

adventures which belong to the

strife

animating topics of instruction. votary's progress

is

The

in that

is in

toiling

up

condition and the

of genius, afford the most height once gained, the

apt to lose the interest of

and anxious struggles,

It

human

its

previous doubtful

period of repose and quiet enjoyment

which generally follows successful endeavor

as

its

appropriate

reward. I

do not mean to intimate

that, at this juncture, the subject

our memoirs had attained a point VOL.

1—31*

at

which

of

his ambition found

366

PROSPEROUS CONDITION.

nothing further to covet.

[1814.

But he had gained a platform where he

rejoiced in disenthralling liimself of those misgivings, which

have seen him sometimes disposed to entertain,

in the

we

contempla-

tion of his labors to secure an independent position for his family.

He

felt that his

success

was

He

assured.

had earned, and was now

enjoying, the respect of friends, the consideration of society, the reputation of useful and vigorous talent, and

some

celebrity,

little

He

besides, connected both with forensic and literary eminence.

had health, competence, many of the luxuries and elegancies of In short,

life.

itself, is

was

he had a bright outlook upon the world, which, of Behind him,

one of the happiest conditions of humanity.

many rugged

the pleasant landscape of

prosperously surmounted.

heights traversed and

Before him, were eminences rising to

the clouds, but with gentler slope and easier way, lightened by a

He

brighter sun and freshened with a richer verdure.

and nerve

At

my

to

climb them, with a heart as stout as at

this stage

readers that

his thoughts

of his progress,

it is

a pleasant duty to lay before

little tissue of his private history,

— the history of

and opinions, rather than of his doings,

be gathered from the light-hearted in small incidents,

had limb

first.

— which

of this time.

letters

They

is

to

deal

mostly of a domestic and personal nature, and

shed a serene and agreeable light upon his

own

character, as well

upon that of his friends. " It is not the habit of my mind," he says, in a letter to Carr, about this time, " to repine at the past. On the contrary, I so far as

profit

by

it,

as

to

make

it

the measure of the future.

cheerfully forward, and flatter myself

I

shall

some independence, turn farmer, and, on some castle

and a literary name.

A

'

castle

Very probably. Yet the illusion is know, still travels through, nor quits '

companionable temper of hers,

I

in

the

fine

till

look

we

seat, build a

air,'

pleasing, and

us

I

yet amass a hand-

die.'

'

quoth you.

Hope,' you

For which

most gratefully thank her Serene

Highness, and bid her welcome to

my

fireside.

LETTER TO CARR.

CHAP. XXI.]

367

TO JUDGE CARR. Richmond, February

Mr Dear

Friend

You have

me such

written

a day before.

post office, from

which

it

it,

that ever touched me.

I

woman

you

in

a letter as

me

took

sensibility.

I

all

it

many

half an hour to walk, and

I

if not, so much Not that I doubt your don't know that it ever takes

to understand this expression

know

this

the w^ay from the

some of the most delicious suffocations don't know whether you have enough of

that well

:

:

Hume.

the better for you, according to

you by the

have not seen

I

have just been reading

I

experienced, in reading

the

15, 1814.

:

but

I

Your manhood might rebel at such a liberty and yet I have seen it make pretty free with your eyes. The truth is, that your praise gives me more pleasure than that of

throat.

the other

all

;

men

in the

world put together.

have had such

I

long and intimate experience both of your candor and judgment I

know them

both to be of the very

too, such an opportunity of judging

had

and when

;

add

I

my

heart,

good opinion of me nation.

Nay,

that

for that of I

quality.

and sincerity of your

I speak in the simwould not exchange your

believe that that I

all

the great and

little

men of

the

should find ample consolation and refuge in

your esteem and affection from the desertion of

men

You have had, man alive has

as no other

to this the tenderness

may well when I say

friendship for me, you plicity of

first

me

all

the world of

beside.

vain that conscience tells me I do not deserve what you me for immediately I retort on conscience as the sailor did on the man whom he was about to throw overboard, " do you know better than the doctor !" If I were very anxious to conIt is in

say of

;

vince you of your error,

I

talents.

would

tell

you

that I fear

any one but

your recital of the evidences of my The British Spy and the Old Bachelor! " Against eight

a partial friend would smile

hundred ships

at

commission,

in

we

enter the

lists

with a three

shil-

John Randolph of Mr. Madison's book on and too surely I fear that, weighed against the

ling pamphlet," said

Neutral Rights

;

—

great and copious

the poor

little

works of a man of genuine talents and resources, Spy and the Old Bachelor would sink, (or,

British

:

AUTHORSHIP.

368

(1814.

rather to keep up the metaphor of weighing, would rise) into equal

you the truth, I fancy myself much such a review describes Horace Walpole to Edinhurg fellow as a late as having begun life with a most say is to have been; that fame of the noblest order, but having literary ardent passion for experiments, that nature had three or convinced himself, by two

To

contempt.

tell

—

—

denied him the qualities which are essential to the composition of a great author, he took it out in gay and frivolous laughter at himself

and

were

other literary pretenders

all

home

at

I

tained

fear,

Mine have been only

exceedingly frothy and flashy.

work

;

and desultory,

excursions, exceedingly light

short and sportive

and,

and found that his talents

;

only in light-hearted raillery.

I

have written no sus-

nothing which shews those masterly powers of in-

vestigation, of arrangement, of combination, of profound and great

thinking, of the character of

which alone

I

which

I

be proud, and

should

Such a work

should feel any satisfaction.

as

in

Rob-

example, or as Tacitus' Annals, or PluByIs not this modest ^ tarch's Lives, even, would content me. ertson's Charles Vth, for

the-bye,

I

They owe

don't think

much

of Plutarch's Lives, for the authorship.

their celebrity, 1 suspect,

much more

reverse Ovid's materiem opinion, very

You

see

I

am

much of a

to the excellency

He

of the materials than to the workmanship.

superahat opus, and

seems to

dry, babbling, superstitious old

off the track.

Well— here

I

me

to

my humble

in

is,

woman.

go.

Talking of authorship, I shall send you by Magill to-day, George Hay's work on Expatriation. I want your opinion of it I will not tell you what we think of not for Hay, but for myself. I will only tell you friends. particular your mean I we, here it :

by men much greater than we pretend cracked up to the stars. Mr. Madison, it is that

several copies of

it

in great

triumph to

to

be,

said,

it

has been

has presented

Jeffries, the

master re-

Duponceau, Rush and old John viewer at It is making a strongest terms. the in it eulogized Adams, have and is overNorth, of the political literati the great noise amongst Edinburgh,

shadowing it

its

Ingersoll,

author with laurels.

Read

it

with your usual thought and care, and let

entious opinion of

it.

with attention.

me have your

Weigh consci-

NAPOLEON.

CHAP. XXI.]

369

Now turn we to a much more interesting work, — your boy.* How much I am gratified by tliis incident, I will not, because I cannot

him

you.

tell

name

this

:

Had

time before.

learn, too, that

1

is

it

no sudden freak to give

have baulked the project many a you any superstition you would think that Proyour

that

girls

vidence thus interfered to give you time for consideration.

But

be given, like Father Shandy, to too close reasoning on

let us not

small matters.

me

Let

sweeter to

is

head.

love, honor, and

I

you

tell

me

this affair,

that Mrs. Carr's determination in

than the

you

oil that

shall

was poured on Aaron's

obey

Tell her that

her.

the boy shall never have cause to blush for his name, so far as

honor then

concerned, unless, as you say, " the devil

is

shall

I

the boy and It is

make him a

To

its

spirits

to

is

in

current.

is

natural to you.

"

there's

the

I

To is

act

wrong would

be as

just

to the greater part of the world.

become of such a wayward, undisciplined rabble how am I to manage them so as to

and habits as mine

;

— old Mr. J — no — no more

you what, sir no more chance for me

I'll

.''

— and Yours

fathers have.

place a grave, reverend, and patriarchal example before

dren

it

heaven bless

Nature mingled your elements and

it.

unnatural to you as to act right

of

which we

act properly and exemplarily

gave your blood

is

halo of glory around his parents' heads!

give you no credit for

But what

May

happens."

it 'till it

indeed, a dread responsibility

nothing.

is

never believe

tell

Pope of Rome,"

—

for

whom,

my

chil-

used to say,

as

than there

is

for

by-the-bye, according to the

present posture of affairs in Europe, there seems to be a pretty

good chance. Apropos

—

what think you of this reverse enim, Deos immortales, quo gravius homines ex commutatione rerum doleant, quos, pro scelere eorum ulcisci velint, his secundiores interdum res et diuturniorem impunitatem concedere." As for Napoleon, I care no more for him, in himself considered, than I do for any other tornado that is past. But will France, drained and exhausted, be {very apropos indeed

of Bonaparte's fortunes

able to

make head

the fate of Poland in this

new

}

.''

!)

"Consuesse

against this northern hive, or will she share I

situation in

am

curious to see the character of France

which she

* Carr had just named a son after his was occasioned by the death of this boy.

is

placed.

friend.

How

The next

will she regard

letter, it will

be seen,

LIGHT LITERATURE.

370 Bonaparte

in

eclipse

this recoiling flood

What

?

of success

be the result to Europe of

will

We

?

[1814.

live in an

age of most won-

derful events, but they are of a most stern and ferocious character.

They have

not the interest or magnificence of crusades

can sentiment do

much

so

:

these matters, and such a grace can chivalry

in

and a generously mistaken Christianity shed upon a cause.

What

effect will

Napoleon's reverse have on us

that Britain will take, if not higher, at least

against us on account of her triumphs.

Some

.''

think

more obstinate ground

Others, again, think that

having gotten the Emperor down, she will be anxious to devote her powers to his annihilation, and therefore be the better

all

My own

inclined to have peace with us.

opinion

no notion of giving up any point in the quarrel latter

may probably be

of those two views she

and that she will then negotiate with till

us, if

is ;

that she has

that with the

inclined to a truce,

we

will indulge her,

she has tried the issue of her arms on France

but that in any

;

event she will finally persist in the principles and practices against

which we are at war. But what care we for

The Old Bachelor he

is

is

politics

let

us talk of our children.

not yet at hand.

shortly expected.

conveyance.

—

I

will send

Ritchie announces that

you a copy by the

earliest

By-the-bye, quere, whether even compositions of

character are not calculated to produce the effect which your

this

brother ascribed to play-writing

I

?

am

afraid that both the

Old

Bachelor and the British Spy will be considered by the world as rather too light and bagatellish for a mind pretending either to

man of eminence,

mean

stability

or vigor.

political

eminence,) either in this or any other modern country,

who

has descended to such amusements.

truth, politics never

for

recollect no

I

which

I

was

fitted either

have never squared

you are

in

also to see

appeared to

my

To

tell

you the simple

to be a desirable field, or

by nature or habit

;

one

and, therefore,

course by any such anticipation.

But

I

if

earnest in your prophecies about me, and in wishing

them

fulfilled, it

is

and rules of action over again. till I

me

(I

time for

"

I

shall

me

to cast

my

never believe

it

manners though,

see it," as you say on another occasion.

My

wife,

who

has read your letter with as

have done, unites with

me

much

pleasure as I * * in love to you and yours.

LETTER TO CARR.

CHAP. XXI.]

The Governor (meaning

371

Frank Gilmer

Cabell,) and his wife, and

greet you kindly.

Your

friend,

Wm. Wirt. to judge carr. RicHMONDj May

Mt Dear I

15, 1814.

Friend:

received, yesterday, your letter of the 6th instant, giving the

distressing account of the loss of your dear boy.

we

But

dreadful blow.

rude and

It is a

are in the hands of a Being

who

governs

whose dispensations, I believe, moment, are always destined to

the Universe at His pleasure, and

however deeply they cut at the avert some greater calamity. You might have lost hini at a more interesting age, after those chords with which he had begun to take possession of your hearts had become more complete and more strong. You might have lost him under circumstances and by a mode of death still more heart-rending

My own

and distracting.

sufferings

children have been so severe that rebelling against the author of justice and mercy.

subject

;

taught

me

Parnell's

I

good, and arraigning both his

all

Hermit

to regard afflictions

disguise," and to kiss the rod with

nothing else for

from the death of friends and have sometimes found myself

it,

my

first

To

humble

dear friend, in

either reason or religion

;

We

resignation.

this life.

much

is,

We

less

this in

have

can neither

we

can

therefore, not the path

would point out

such a loss as you have experienced, inevitable

right on

recall

surrender ourselves to unavailing sorrow on account of

the dispensations of Providence

down

me

themselves as " blessings

stop nor change the course of events,

them.

put

but to permit

it

the mind and spirits,

to

is,

to us.

which

To mourn

over

indeed, both natural and

hang upon the heart and

to

weigh

inconsistent with our duty both to

is

You have excellent children who are still You and your wife are both young, and Heaven,

ourselves and others.

spared to you. I

doubt not, will richly supply the place of the cherub

been taken from you. tions,

world

by imagining

we

How

that if

apt

we

we

who

are to aggravate our

has

afflic-

are not the only sufferers in the

are certainly the greatest

!

Alas

!

where

is

the

man

LETTER TO LOMAX.

372 with a family

You know

who

that

I

has not imagined the same thing of himself!

myself lost two of the best children

within a month of each other

and

in the

;

My

very age of fascination.

and has escaped from

is

pray

in

those sorrows and sufferings

all

Let us submit ourselves

!

power, wisdom and goodness, confiding

that, in

own

his

*******

and shew us

evil

We

wife begs Mrs. Carr to be assured of her sympathy.

God

fill

Heaven, which con-

an angel

good time and way, he will bring good out of that we have mistaken a blessing for a curse.

My

moment,

eyes, at this

but she

:

God's will be done

tinue to scourge us.

world

in the

one of them, too, a perfect beauty,

at the recollection of that girl

to his

[1814.

you both.

to bless

Farewell,

Wm. Wirt. The

next letter has reference to some opinions upon the merits

of Cicero's works, which had been disparaged in the British Spy. It is

addressed to a friend

who

resided at Menokin, in

Richmond

County, on the Rappahannock.

TO JOHN TAYLOR LOMAX.

******* Richmond, July 1 ,

Mr Dear Lomax would

I

apply

fain

And

not the courage.

so,

fall

Latin

Orator and his Brutus.

all

at

eyes fixed on Cicero

;

for the

heart sinks and dies within me.

—what

wonderful man

!

I

sale

moment

my

of comparison, on the brightest of our

Lomax

have

Jock Warden's I

;

but

have been

and have read with great delight his But my delight only continues while I

have

dear

books I

Cicero's works,

way

my

my law

and winter campaign

having bought

Verburgius's folio edition of

my

of the Courts to

this recess

and a preparation for the

brushing up

1814.

:

What

own

I

turn them,

by

native models,

children

we

are,

my

raw boys too, compared with that have once wronged him by the publication of boys, and

an opinion concerning him

Middlcton, whose book

I

;

but I hope to live to repair the error. have also read since the courts rose,

VIEWS OF THE WAR.

CHAP. XXI.J

man who

observes that no

Oratory

day

wonder

will

373

has ever read Cicero's books on

that he has stood unrivalled to the present

for there never was, he says, and there never will be again

;

such a union of talents and of

such glory could be

If

toil.

carried by a coup de main, even at the risk of

not aspire to

it

But

.?

to

be able to

—

effect

it

who would

life,

only by a siege for

—

life, and such a siege too, not one day in every week, but every day devoted, and most enthusiastically devoted, to the pursuit it is enough to shake a much more constant man than !

—

What

me.

war times But "

I

say you to

You

it >

in

reading Cicero.

deny your hypothesis," as one of Judge Coalter's Scotch-

Irish acquaintances replied to a

The

will say, perhaps, that in these

might be better employed than

I

man who had given him

Legislature have dismantled

my

flying artillery,

the

lie.

by prohibit-

ing the Executive from supplying us with horses and other muni-

whereby they have driven me into the ranks of the I stand until the war comes to me. Oh, for an American General What can we do without one, but erect monuments to our own folly and disgrace on the Canations of war, militia again,

and there

!

—

dian frontier ? Had we a commander worthy of our cause and of our people, the army would be the resort of character and

school."

They shall

we

and

talents,

As

might once more " put the British troops to

it is

— Good Lord deliver

go on,

in the sanguine

had already taken place,

may

us

!

say the hostages are delivered up

;

— and,

hope of peace, acting

till

I

suppose,

the Philistines be upon us.

the designs of England reach

we

as if that peace

How

far

She has just seen France complete the circle of her Revolution by returning to her old allegiance. May she not improve upon the hint in regard to us and want her American Colonies again to preserve her balance against those great powers who have been shaking Europe to its }

.-*

May

foundations?

not our divisions foster such a project.''

If

she has such a project in her head, although perfectly chimerical, it

will tend,

it

much more

I

apprehend, to prolong the war, as well as to render obstinate and bloody.

Your

sincere and cordial friend,

Wm. Wirt. VOL.

1—33

!

EXTRAVAGANT

374

OPINIONS.

[1814.

present generation will be amused at these speculations upon the purpose of England, in the war to which they refer. They are worthy of note, as expressing opinions and apprehensions

The

which many

seriously entertained in this country,

—but which we

can scarcely imagine ever found a place in the deliberations of a Between the war of the Revolution and that of British cabinet. 1812, the interval, as it had not obliterated the animosity of the country against England, so, neither had

entirely

it

removed the

suspicion of a desire, on the part of our old enemy, to attempt the reconquest of her lost colonies when occasion might seem to favor

The

the enterprise.

of the people,

vestige of this sentiment Teft upon the minds

somewhat resembles

that connected with the Pre-

tender, whose apparition disturbed the dreams of Englishmen even The lapse of time at the date of the birth of George the Third. amongst its mirapresent day, and the 1812 of war between the cles of national

quest,

—

progress, has

any sane

if

thrown

man ever indulged

fancy of the recon-

this it,

—

into the category of

with even less of the probable in which we have heard in this prophecy, it than that counterpart alive, with a beard upon his " man is now That our own day

the most harmless of dreams

;

—

American army reviewed by an American Let us hope that the guardian genius of general, in Hyde Park." the future destiny of two great nations, will keep such " toys of and ever confirm them in desperation " out of the minds of both chin,

who

will see an

;

the

virtuous

faith,

that

peace and

brotherhood

May

triumphs than the vulgar glories of war.

have nobler their

strength

never be measured in more destructive contest than that which be seen in the rivalry of beneficent acts and the exchange

shall

of the physical and intellectual wealth of civilization

Francis Gilmer had intent to

by Wirt ing

is

commence

now removed

to

Winchester, with an

the practice of the law.

He was

to the special guidance of his friend Carr.

consigned

The

follow-

an extract from a letter to the young practitioner on

occasion.

this

LETTER TO GILMER.

CHAP. XXI.]

375

TO FRANCIS W. GILMER. Richmond, July

My Dear

Francis

13,

1814.

:

thank you for yours of the 14th, which

I have just received. which we have had it in our power to render you. Such as they are they have heen most cheerfully rendered ; and you have more than counterbalanced

I

You magnify very much

the slight favors

them by the pleasure of your

Your

friends are

us.

But

will

find

Mediocrity will not content climbing business.

a bruise.

before you, will difficulties fall,

you

;

The

eminence

this

much

pretty

it

points of the rocks to

rate figure.

first

is

Those who are annoy you not a

which you

cling

fall

and increase the natural

little

remember

and

of the mountain

But, instead of despairing at the

of the passage.

or at the twentieth,

in possession

be

not to

of an Alp-

your hands, and give you many a

will often break in

many

making a

interested in your

all

reached per saltum

society.

first

the prospect from the sum-

mit, and the rich prizes that await you,

— wealth, beauty,

glory.

Above all, do not be disheartened at the high expectations which you know to be entertained of you, or too prompt to your

despond

at

We

know

all

first

that

and the slowness of your progress. " a rough roll and tumble " game in

failures

it

is

which you are engaged, and will

be, again and

again,)

better hold next time, and feeling perfectly at

three years

;

if you are thrown, (as thrown you you must up with a laugh, catch a

try

your ease

it

Do

again.

in this

not calculate on

gymnasium, under two or

and these, not two or three years of indolent hanging

on, (from which you could learn nothing,) but of daily and arduous

exercise and study.

up the studies.

outline

You

You know you have much

which we had marked out

for

yet to read, to

fill

your preparatory

make yourself intimate with the at home in all the cases, so as to

must, especially,

Virginia reporters, and

feel

have, not only the principles, but the names of the cases ever

ready.

You

cannot

conceive

how much

the

decisions will place you at your ease, and

mastery of our

State

what vantage ground

it

PREPARATION FOR THE BAR.

376

[1S14.

The law

will give you, over the generality of your profession. is

to

many,

It

is

hard and laborious;

through which plexity,

imagine that

in all

a dark and intricate labyrinth,

and

uncertainty

constant

per-

But you cannot

states of mind.

was the case with Lord Mansfield, or with

this

helped to build

is

it

painful of

who saw

proportions and

a dry and revolting study.

last too,

at

they grope

— the most

Blackstone,

and

at first

the whole fabric in

lustre

who

;

daylight in

its

all

Although, at present, you walk, as

up.

it

full

were, indeed, the architects that

were, through the valley of the

shadow of death, yet keep

and you will emerge into the bright and perfect day

it

on,

and leav-

;

ing behind you the gropers, and bats, and moles, you will see the whole system at one glance, and

walk

like the master of the

O

mansion, at your ease, into any apartment you choose, ])ra3clarem

!

Then you

will handle

rously but gracefully, like a master

dome, or an

either a portico, a

engrave your name

workman, and add,

attic

Proh spectaculum

on the marble,

than the spur.

I

make

able opportunity to

;

taking

full

an ingenuous account of the whole

But

!

require rather the

Avail yourself of the

am very

first

favor-

time for preparation, (but

pompous preparation, which would

not for

me

it

who

great anxiety for you, and

feel

anxious to hear of your dehut.

yourself,

story to the building and

enough, and more than enough, to you rein

diem

your tools, not only dexte-

ruin

affair.

you

;)

and give

Remember

in

your

preparations, that enucleare does not signify to mash the kernel,

—but

and take out a part

We

all

to take out the whole, neat and clean.

join in love and best wishes to you.

Adieu,

Wm. Wirt.

We

shall

now

some pictures of

campaign,

in the

from a correspondence with Mrs, Wirt.

The

find

I'ollowing extracts

a militia

enemy had captured Washington on the 24th of August. The British fleet had descended the Potomac River, and was now in Its destination remained unknown in Richthe Chesapeake Bay. mond, until the movement on Baltimore became apparent. The failure

on Baltimore, on the 12th and 13th of September, animated

the hopes of the people living in the vicinity of the Chesapeake,

CAMP

CHAP. XXI.]

and increased Ihcir confidence

their

in

power

to repel an attack

formed below Richmond, on the a place known as Warrenigh Church. "Wirt was

at

there, a captain of artillery, in

These

377

A camp was

on any other point.

York River,

LIFE.

extracts supply

some

command

of a battalion.

camp

incidents of

life.

Warrenigh, September

9, 1814.

" Your most seasonable supply, under convoy of our man Ran-

came

dal,

The

in last evening".

starving Israelites

were not more we were by

gladdened by the arrival of quails and manna, than

The

the salutation of Randal.

had there been such an

treat,

stricken land. tions,

"

And

called

is

The

'

yet the parish, according to the old inscrip-

Bliss-Land.'

— The

There was

so.

River, day before

church was

built

in

have descended the bay, or

British fleet are said to

now doing

would have been a superb

fish

article as a potato in this poverty-

a seventy-four at the

1709. to

be

mouth of York

She weighed anchor, yesterday,

yesterday.

and went up the bay." September

" Your kindness and thoughtfulness has luxury.

I

fear

we

shall

enemy

good

will not attempt

living

—

make may not

an attempt on Baltimore, there

I

begin to believe that

They

are said to have

If

they are hardy enough

is

no knowing what they

We are training twice a day, which does'nt well poor horses. We have a bad camping ground

flat

which extends two miles

good and the men are

sickly.

made under Pryor's

I

to the river

shall

want a

— the water not — about which is

tent,

Let the materials be good, and have

Cabell must interest himself it

direction."

September

"

An

express this morning

are at the mouth of fleet

is

guess.

12.

with

attempt.

agree with our on a

for

Richmond.

gone up the bay on some enterprise. to

my camp

have no opportunity to become memo-

rable for any thing but our

the

filled

York

tells

River.

coming down the bay.

13.

us that five square-rigged vessels It is

conjectured that the British

Their object of course,

is

only

Their position indicates equally an ascent of York or

James River, or an attack on Norfolk, or a movement intercept Decatur's squadron.

VOL.

1—32*

to sea to

CAMP

378

LIFE.

[1814.

September

"

A

letter last night

clothes

—

which

for

I

16.

from Cabell, with a good tent and some

beg you

to

thank him,"

September

" The struggle,

now

I

The

believe, will be a short one.

19.

invin-

cibles of Wellington, are found to be vincible, and are melting

away by repeated

A

The

defeats.

been aimed only

striking have

few more such repulses

as they

we

guish that lofty hope, and

strongest blows they have been

power

at the

shall

met

peace.

to dictate a

at Baltimore, will extin-

have a peace on terms hon-

orable to us.

"

We

have heard nothing from them since they

so that they cannot be yet coming this way,

what they are

to conjecture

Baltimore

left

— and we are

at.

•'Our volunteers are becoming disorderly for want of an have had several reprimands to pronounce

I

my company,

of

To at

the head

at

compliance with the sentence of the courts.

in

—

one of these, James, our man, held the candle it being dark and when 1 finished and turned round, the black rasthe time;

—

cal w^as in a broad grin of delight.

My

unexpected a spectacle.

at so

home:

—

men enough

to

was near laughing myself are

One

guns.

will be put

grumbling about rations,

—

At present,

liberally.

man two

— another

morning;

^vives,

I

men

all

anxious to return

which Col. Ranhave not more than

constant applications for furloughs, in

dolph indulges them

of

my

I

sergeants deserted this

under arrest presently.

— about the want of 1

So much

— about &c., —

clothes,

their business, debts, sick children, &c.,

get through this campaign in good temper, all

enemy

Quarrels, arrests, courts-martial, are beginning to

to cope with.

abound.

:

at a loss

shall

their

that if

I

be proof against

the cares of a plantation, even as Cabell depicts them.

"

am

I

Yet

men.

I

prepared for a

where

perpetually interrupted by the complaints of

do well, and fight in a

if

they leave

few days.

me men enough

We

my

shall be

expect the enemy some-

Virginia, to avenge their discomfiture

in

I

at Baltimore."

September 26.

"

Still

ever.

at

We

Warrenigh, and

less

probability of an

enemy

than

are doing nothing but drilling, firing national salutes

DISCONTENTS OF THE MILITIA.

CHAP. XXI.]

379

tor recent victories, listenino- to the everlasting

contents of the martial.

have endeavored to give satisfaction

I

so far as

I

and growing dismen, and trying their quarrels before courts-

has been limited.

eral hand, the comforts

I

my company,

success,

fear,

I

which have been

In addition to their rations,

very good and abundant,

to

My

could compatibly with discipline.

have distributed to the sick, with a

which your kindness had supplied.

lib-

The

company is well provided with tents and cooking utensils, yet they murmur incessantly. Such are volunteer militia Avhen taken from their homes, and put on camp duty. One source of their inquietude

is,

were coming down merely Being kept on the ground, after

that they thought they

for a fight, and then to return.

the expectation of a battle has vanished, and not knowing

long they are to remain

— looking every day

how

for their discharge

they are enduring the pain of hope deferred, and manifest their disquiet in every form. Of such men, in such a slate of mind, in

******

such a service,

"

I

was never

should be

my

I

in

high

am

getting heartily sick.

in better health,

As

spirits.

Jefferson

shall

I

contented,

I

bear up and discharge

*

duty with a steady hand.

Frank Gilmer,

my men

and were

it is,

*

*

Randolph, the Carrs, Upshur, and

others, have got tired of waiting for the British, and gone home.

David Watson

is

six pinches of snuff to

— messes with — takes

Abner Tyne's, my one, which he

bellows nostrils, and smiles

us,

You remember him

all

as a contributor to the

my

second captain, Lambert, and

make admirable company

two inches up

thrusts

luxury of the

at the

excellent fellow, and has spouted almost

my

He

the only good fellow that remains with us.

a major, quartered at

is

effort.

He

Shakspeare

his

is

an

to us.

Old Bachelor.

He,

second lieutenant, Dick,

me."

for

September 28.

"

The

Blues at Montpelier are suffering much from sickness.

Murphy, your brother John and

The I

strongly suspect that

if

we

are kept

these marshes, our soldiers will

them. is

We

hope

to

fall

be ordered

believed on every hand that

down. sickly.

Blair are

much longer hovering over now covers

like the grass that

few days

Richmond.

It

British, with their mutinous

and

in a

tlie

all

— the men very

his friend

other companies are almost unofficered

to

END OF THE CAMPAIGN.

380

deserting troops, will not attempt a

the

many

defiles,

[1814.

march on Richmond through

swamps, thickets and

forests that line the road,

where, besides the abundant opportunities for desertion, nature * has formed so many covers for our riflemen and infantry. *

*

have no idea that

If we should be ordered to Richmond, I my company will be discharged. It will be

kept there ready

march

*

Here ends

to

at a

the campaign of Captain Wirt, and with

of his military aspirations. ful

warfare

in

This

little

some of the most

transcript of

militia

moment's warning."

nearly

all

the last

it

piece of history

a faith-

is

characteristic incidents

the service of the

of

war of 1812.

" I would not," says the author of this brief diary, in a subsequent letter to Mrs. W., " with my present feelings and opinions, accept of any military commission the United States could confer. *

* that,

I

by being

so,

be a private citizen as long as

will I

shall

me

holding myself ever ready for * * * try's call in time of need. are dependent upon

"

We

•,

who

soon see whether Lord Hill,

shall

I

can see

who

be of use towards maintaining those

is

my

coun-

*

expected on

the coast with fourteen thousand men, will single out Virginia for

My own

his operations.

of Canada, which feels

impression

itself in

is

that

he goes to the

relief

danger from our recent successes

there."

Some

business for a friend

now took him

— 1814.

to

Washington.

Congress was

was

in

The

Capitol w^as in ruins, having been burnt by the

October of

August.

The

this

year

President's house was

were other vestiges of the ravage of Ross and Admiral Cockburn.

in the

It

in session.

enemy in There

same condition.

the late visitation of General

TO MRS. WIRT. Georgetown. D. C, October

\4, 1814.

«

" Here

I

am

at

Crawford's.

*

*

I

am surrounded

by a vast crowd of Legislators and gentlemen of the Turf, assembled here for the races which are to commence to-morrow.

The

races

!

— amid the

ruins and desolation of Washington.

"

We

reached here on Friday

washing

381

On

niglit.

off tlie dust of the journey,

my

Office,

WASHINGTON.

VISIT TO

CHAP. XXL]

business being with Colonel

Saturday, after

War He was not

forth to the

sallied

I

Monroe.

I went to look at the ruins of the President"'s house. The rooms which you saw so richly furnished, exhibited nothing but

there.

unroofed naked walls, cracked, defaced and blackened with * cannot tell you what 1 felt as I walked amongst them.

fire.

I

*

From

mournful monument of American imbecility and

this

improvidence, and of British atrocity,

House of Representatives, which I was crowded and

—

At

things.

five, to

to the

lobby of the

narrow box,

little

in

suffocated for about three hours, in

men of

order to see and hear the wise

no great

went

I

miserable

a

They

the nation.

are

Monroe's, and was cordially received

by him. *

*

.

" Last night

I

*

*

went

more, deliver what

I

to

should call

gant oration in a theatrical I

thought out of place

P

"

and

I

;

is

full

I

his

a sermon

The

manner

* Inglis of Balti-

— but

a very ele-

composition was rich, but

more

still

*

so.

He

*

looks miserably

In short, he looked heart-broken.

New

of the

denied

—not

style.

England

subject and continued to press

him.

*

called on the President.

shattered and wo-begone.

mind

*

church and heard a Mr.

it,

—

sedition.

He

painful as

it

the probability, even

the

His

introduced the

obviously was to

possibility

the

that

yeomanry of the North could be induced to place themselves under the power and protection of England, and diverted the conversation to another topic

and convinced

return to

it,

fully full

of the subject.

" The

He

but he took the

;

me

first

that his heart and

arrival of a despatch

opportunity to

mind were pain-

gave us an opportunity to

invited us to dine with him, but

we

then went to

engaged

the

lost a

War

till

The

four o'clock.

this I I

have

lost for all the

Secretary's eloquence.

hope of hearing Pickering,

cent.

:

deten-

would not go

in

— having declined the Bladensburg

consequence of the importance of the debate.

prepare for the tax

hundred per

By

To-day,

I

me

Secretary kept

speech of the celebrated Webster, which

tion,

in

office.

conversation

in political

*

*

an excursion to Bladensburg, and, perhaps, Baltimore.

We

retire.

declined, having planned

the

trip,

Tell Cabell to

the direct tax will certainly be increased one * * ^ hundred thousand regulars^

— FIRST

382

ENGAGEMENT

THE SUPREME COURT.

IN

[1814.

and from twenty to thirty thousand provisional troops will

The war

be

Canada will War between France and England is be pushed with vigor. expected by the high powers here on what grounds I have raised for defensive and offensive war.

;

in

—

not learned."

This

visit to

the city of Washington

was

the

commencement of

a long and intimate connection with affairs, both professional and

Wirt was now about to become a In a letter to Carr, dated Supreme Court. Richmond 10th of December, he refers to an engagement which may possibly bring him into a trial of strength with one whom he afterwards met in many a contest, and whose name at that on that theatre.

political,

practitioner in the

day gave

to the

did not

take place as

another year.

may

see that

American bar

its

most

from this letter, which follows, we mind the writer's has been touched by some presage

" Government,

my

life.

an up-hill work

friend, is but

at best

not least perhaps, this elective government of ours,

public good

is

What

!

What

first.

it

This

is,

—

his

of the

life is this

sit composedly at the Give me a life of literary

require to

helm, and ably at the same time !

the Legislator

a stormy

and,

;

where the

hardness of ner,ve, what firmness of mind and

steadiness of purpose does

ease

by

the last thing thought of

re-election being the

politician

trial

In the extract

of a connection with public

own

This

brilliant light.

soon as expected, but was deferred for

!

perhaps, an ignoble wish

Let those who enjoy public

life

;

but

it

is,

ride in the whirlwind

still, !

I

mine.

covet

although, if necessary, I would not shrink from

not their honors, the duty. I

to

have some expectation of going to Washington plead a

Should they be so shall

be opposed

PiNKNEY. the hare.'

The

cause.

'

I

The

to

my

to

preliminaries

satisfaction, will

the

are

not

stirs to

February, settled.

you meet me there

Attorney General, and,

blood more

in

quite

it

I

to

rouse the lion than to hunt

should like to meet them."

Mr. Pinkney had resigned the post of Attorney General holding

.''

perhaps,

about two years, and was succeeded,

in

after

February 1814,

CHAP. XXI.]

by Mr. Rush. last extract, as

EXPECTED CONTEST

We

may

IN IT.

note in the closing

383

aspiration of this

a curious coincidence, that this wish

is

breathed

by one who was destined to become the Attorney General, and whose ambition was to meet in debate the combined powers of one who had been, and another who was then, the occupant of that high post in the

Government.

CHAPTER

XXII.

1815-1816. WASHINGTON TO ATTEND THE COURT RETURNS.— PEACE RESTORED BY THE TREATY OF GHENT LETTER TO GILMER.- RESUMES THE BIOGRAPHY OF HENRY DIFFICULTIES OF THIS WORK SCANTINESS OP MATERIAL.—THE AUTHOR WEARY OF IT LETTER TO CARR ON THE SUBJECT— DABNEY CARR THE ELDER.—THE ORIGIN OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.— PETER CARR LETTERS TO CARR AND GILMER.— GEORGE HAY RESIGNS THE POST OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY WIRT RECOMMENDS UPSHUR TO THE PRESIDENT MODERATION OF POLITICAL FEELING —MR. MADISON APPOINTS WIRT TO THE OFFICE.— CORRESPONDENCE IN REFERENCE TO THIS APPOINTMENT MAKES HIS DEBUT IN THE SUPREME COURT—ENCOUNTERS PINKNEY.— HIS OPINION OF PINKNEY.—LETTER TO GILMER.— LETTER TO CARR ON "THE PATH OF PLEASURE," AND HIS OPINION OF THIS DRAMATIC ATTEMPT CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. JEFFERSON ON THE SUBJECT OP THE BIOGRAPHY.— LETTER TO RICHARD MORRIS.

VISITS

—

Wirt the at

repaired to Washington soon after the date of the last

It

letter.

seems, however, that the opportunity for his debut in

Supreme Court was postponed. He remained a few weeks the capital, amused with the scenes it presented to him, and

employing his time

Early

in

in

extending his acquaintance with public men.

1815, peace was restored by the Treaty of Ghent,

and a universal joy filled the heart of the country. Every one thought of getting " back to busy life again" happy that the

—

stagnation to industry, the waste of

interrupted peace

personal interests.

war and

all

the disorders of

were to give place to the orderly pursuit of Wirt shared in this sentiment as warmly as

any one, and betook himself with fresh ardor

to his

customary

labors.

We have here, young

friend.

another letter of professional admonition to his

€HAP. XXIL]

LETTER TO GILMER.

385

TO FRANCIS W. GILMER. Richmond, July

Mv Dear

We

Francis

23, 1815.

:

thank you for your affectionate favor of the 17th, from AlProvidence, I believe, is ordering every thing for the

bemarle.

best for you. I do not know that we have much occasion to regret the disappointment of this trip of yours to Europe. Our friend Coalter is vociferous against it and let me tell you, that

—

his

judgment

as solid as his native mountains, and

is

that he takes a strong interest in

your prosperity.

You

moreover,

by it, Create Dr. Johnson's ideal rival of perfection in the view of European models ; but can you not supply them by your own mind, and compete with it The which ideal rival is lose

imagination?

.?

only Cicero's aliquid immcnsum, &c.

You are to bear in mind, have our eyes and our liopes upon you. You are to remember that glory is not that easy kind of inheritance which the law will cast upon you, without any effort of your own but that

we

that

you are

all

;

to

work

for

severance of a Hercules. friends

who know and

are entering, you are

and

You

fight for

it,

with the patient per-

are also to bear in mind, that the

love you, and acknowledge your talents,

That

are not the world.

it

in

regard to the world, upon which you

unknown;

that with

And

your way, as a perfect stranger.

them you have to make it is not by the display

that

of your general science, that the herd

is to be caught but by which you handle your, professional tools, and the power which you evince to serve your clients in your trade. Now, the law depends on such a system of unnatural reasoning, ;

the dexterity with

that turn.

your natural reasoning, however strong, will not serve the It is true, that when you once understand this artificial

foundation, your natural reason will avail it,

you much

in

applying

and measuring the superstructure. But, in the

first

place,

by the

You must read you ask me how you

simile.

Henry.

If

but you are nevertheless to do believe

I

have not mentioned to

VOL.

1—33

— You must read and — no disparagement the horse

you must read,

meditate, like a Conastoga horse,

sir

:

to

like

Jefferson, and

speak like

are to do this, / cannot

tell

you,

There is one thing which I you, more than about five hundred it.

—

:

PROFESSIONAL DEMEANOR.

386

respect

one

!

my

advice and follow

Don't make your

!

!

by

yourself cither

cause that

to

is

first

it:

let

— and

in this

be tried

in

appearance

in all its points,

Winchester,

you must

you debut be a decisive

Get

in a trifling case.

most important

a fee, or voluntarily, into the

such a cause as will ensure cause

to attend to

which you arc constantly

times,

[1815-18I«-

at the fall term.

you a throng of hearers

:

Let

be

it

— master the

of fact and law; digest a profound, compre-

hensive, simple, and glowing speech for the occasion

— not stramed

beyond the occasion, nor beyond the capacity of your audience and make upon the world the impression of strength, of vigor, of great energy, combined with a fluent, animated, nei-vous elocu;

tion

no puerile, out-of-the-way, far-fetched, or pedantic ornalevel yourillustrations, but simple, strong, and mayily

;

—

ments or self

\.o

the capacity o^

your hearers, and insinuate yourself among

the heart-strings, the bones and marrow, both of your jury and

back-bar hearers. cause, although

it

you no audience before a

I

fear

that a

chancery

means of preparation, will give want you to blow your first blast,

at all

and

;

I

little taste

may

— and hereof,

I

think,

suffice.

notions of your indulgence in general science, are correct.

Don't quit them

way,

— because

concourse, both loud and shrill

full

gentle reader, this

Your

say jury

I

affords the best

there

is

most dignified

— but

them be subordinate to the law. By-lhehad like to have forgotten. One of the the character of Henry, is the noble decorum

let

one thing traits in

I

with which he debated, and uniform and marked respect with which he treated his adversaries. I am a little afraid of you in God help you! this particular; for you are a wit, and a satirist

—

Take

care, take care, take care of this propensity.

It

will

make

you enemies, pull a bee-hive on your head, and cover your foI pray you, aim at masking rensic path with stings and venom. yourself with Henry's distinguished character for decorum. it

be universally agreed,

debater at the bar.

it

is

polite,

Let

gentlemanly

— and a

will give

you a distinction

a

striking

index, and proper con-

in

regard to Mr. Jefferson, and the # # #

That alone

noble one too; besides

comitant of

tliat

you are the most

first rate talents.

Don't forget your promise gallery of portraits.

Continue to write to me.

#

Heaven

bless you.

Wm. Wiet.

THE BIOGRAPHY OF

CHAP. XXII.]

At

this time the

resolve to bring that this

The

it

HENR.Y.

387

biography of Henry was resumed with

We

to a conclusion.

had already grown

to

Iiave

a stout

abundant evidence

be a most irksome labor.

following letter to Carr playfully presents (he difficulties

of this undertaking, and shows

with his task.

how

Wirt struggled Dabney Carr, the

reluctantly

contains also an allusion to

It

Henry,

father of his friend, and the compatriot of

most favorably known

—

a

the short legislative career to

in

gentleman

which we

have heretofore adverted, and whose early death had blighted the

promise of

a fair

renown.

Mr. James Webster, of Philadelphia, to whom also this letter has a reference, was already engaged as the publisher of the forthcoming volume, and had made some announcements of it to the public, which,

it

be seen, had served

will

to

augment the author's

disrelish of his enterprise.

TO JUDGE CARR. Richmond, August

My Dear

Now

Friend

for Patrick

Henry.

and seventh page; up-hill

you

I

all

I

may.

can

I

you,

tell

1

that

sir,

ropes and rending sails." I

I

it is

much

—

promise

will be,

work

the most oppres-

and I begin to without " rattling

in,

Let me give you some idea of I

always thought that Bozzy

complaining so heavily of the

ranted, in

it

it

I

write in a storm, and a worse tempest,

Imprimis, then,

difficulties.

me

fear

embarked

I

fear, will follow its publication.

my

I

never debark from

shall

one hundred

way, and heavy work,

sive literary enterprise that ever

apprehend that

my

have delved on to

the

and a heavy and unleavened lump

;

as

it

20, 1815.

:

infinite

difficulty

and

trouble which he had to encounter in fixing accurately the dates

of

trivial facts

was

;

but

And,

right.

selves to collect. sat

in I

I

now know by woful

addition to the dates,

thought

I

had them

experience that Bozzy I

all

have the

facts

them-

ready cut and dry, and

down with all my statements of correspondents spread me a pile of old journals on my right, and another of

before

;

newspapers on

my

left,

thinking that

I

had nothing

as Lingo says, " to saddle Pegasus, and ride

else to

out old

do but

up Parnassus." Such

"

THE BIOGRAPHY OF HENRY.

388

short-sightedness

there in "

is

the schemes o' mice and

all

found, at every turn of Henry's

for

I

and

let

that

life,

volley of letters over the State, in

fly a

[1815—1816.

had

I

all

men

:

to stop

directions, to

collect dates and explanations, and try to reconcile contradictions.

they arrived, "

I kept sowing on." same business of staling facts with rigid what the deuce precision, not one jot more or less than the truth To tell you one truth, however, has a lawyer to do with truth I find that it is entirely a new business to me, and I am propor-

Meantime,

until

In the next place, this

—

!

tionately rately,

awkward

at

it

;

for after

I

have gotten the

facts accu-

they are then to be narrated happily; and the style of

by a scrupulous regard

narrative, fettered

the most difficult in the world.

It

is

me

to real facts, is to

like attempting to run, tied

My pen wants perpetually to career and frolic it I must move like Sterne's mule over not be. must But " slow as foot can fall," and that, too, as the plains of Languedoc, Nanette on the green, or even the with frolic without one vintage up

in

a bag.

away.

it

relief of a

mulberry tree to stop and take a pinch of

very sensible, when

I

began, that

I

was

snufl" at.

I

was

not in the narrative gait.

over and over again, almost as often as Gibbon did to I determined, therefore, hit the key-note, and without his success. to move forward, in hopes that my palfrey would get broke by I

tried

it

obey the slightest touch of the But I am now, as I said, in my hundred and seventh page, snatfle. which, by an accurate computation, on the principles of Cocker, taking twenty-four sheets to the quire, and four pages to each

degrees, and learn, by-and-bye, to

sheet,

you

will find to

exceed a quire by eleven.

And

yet

am

I

as far to seek, as ever, for the lightsome, lucid, simple graces of

You may

narrative.

may

think

it

jest

;

think this aff'ectation,

if

you please, or you

but the dying confession of a felon under the

gallows (no disparagement to him

!)

is

more

not

true, nor

much

more mortifying. Tertio:

The

incidents of

Mr. Henry's

life

are extremely monoto-

'Tis irue he could !" there is no acting " the but talk could he talk the legislature from and legislature, the bar to the From while." deal, those of good resembled, a peregrinations to the bar, his

nous.

:

It is all

—" Gods

some one,

I

cljaracters,

speaking, speaking, speaking.

!

how

forget

whom,

— perhaps some of our

" from the kitchen

friend Tristram's

to the parlor, and from the parlor

ITS DIFFICULTIES.

CHAP. XXII.]

to the kitchen."

And

to 1789, covering

all

his

speeches lives

me

is,

then, to

make

389

ihe matter worse, from

the bloom and pride of his print, writing or

in

memory.

life,

17G3

not one of

All that

told

is

on such and such an occasion, he made a distinguished

that,

Now to keep saying this over, and over, and over again, without being able to give any account of what the speech was, speech.

why,

what

sir,

is it

but a vast, open, sun-burnt field without one spot

of shade or verdure

come

in

wliich

sometimes

My

?

soul

can say that

I

I

is

weary of

it,

and the days have

have no pleasure

a notion of trying the plan

of Botta,

in

who

them.

I

have

has written an

account of the American war, and made speeches himself for his prominent characters, imitating, in this, the historians of Greece

and

Rome

but

;

I

think with Polybius, that this

with the sanctity of history.

is

making too free

Besides, Henry's eloquence was

so completely sui generis as to be inimitable by any other

all

and to

:

make my chance of imitating him still worse, I never saw or heard him. Even the speeches published in the debates of the Virginia convention are affirmed by

be

his, but

all

my

to lall far short of his strength

spite of all this

monotony and

correspondents, not to

and beauty.

destitution of materials,

Yet, in

we have a

fellow coming out in the Analectic Magazine, or the Baltimore Commercial Advertiser, I forget which, for both have been at it,-

—

exciting the public expectation on this very ground,

among

of the copiousness and variety of the materials within

Those

puffs

mean me

well, but

I

could wish them a

others,

my little

reach.

more

judgment.

Again there are some ugly traits in H's character, and some pretty nearly as ugly blanks. He was a blank military commander, a blank governor, and a blank politician, in all those useful points which depend on composition and detail. In short, :

it

is,

verily, as hopeless a subject as

have dug around could

upon

command it

to give

;

it,

and applied

but the fig-tree

indicates death instead of it

up ?"

in so deep, that

On I

the contrary^

am

is

man could

well desire.

the plaister of Paris that

all

I I

barren, and every bud " Then, surely you mean assure you, sir: I have stept still

life. I

determined, like Macbeth,

to

go dn^

though Henry, like Duncan, should bawl out to me, " Sleep no more!" I do not mean that I am determined to publish., No, sir,

unless

I

VOL.

can mould

1—33*

it

into a grace,

and breathe

into

it

a spirit

DABNEY CARR THE ELDER.

390

have never yet been able

to do,

[1815—1816.

shall

never see the

which

I

light;

Mr. Webster's proposals to the contrary notwithstanding.

it

have determined upon is to go on as rapidly as I can, to embody all the facts then, reviewing the whole, to lay it off into sections, by epochs, on Middleton's plan ; and taking up the first

But what

I

:

make

section, to

surrender

a last and dying effort

my sword

otherwise,

if

:

section, conquering and to conquer. this time,

I

will

promise never to

good nature

their

With regard

to

I

upon

it

go

shall

per

If 1 fail, I

se.

forth, section after

And if the public forgive me make a similar experiment on

again.

your

(Dabney Carr,)

father.

I

had predeter-

interweave the fact you mention. Judge Tucker has furnished me the incident. " It was at this time, February 1772," says the Judge, " that Mr. Carr made a motion to appoint stand-

mined

to

ing commitlees of correspondence with the other colonies, on the subject of the act of Parliament imposing duties on glass, oil and

The

painters' colors."

appointment of committees of safety took

1775, after the organization of the old Congress, to which, you say, your father's motion led. In regard to the committees of correspondence with the other colonies, Judge Marshall place in

gives Massachusetts the credit of the invention; though,

what Massachusetts did cited

page 149 of

committees

his

invent,

—

second volume,

w^ithin that colony,*

I

suspect,

^judging from MarshalTs note 10,

— was nothing more than town

and that the credit of committees

of correspondence connecting the Colonies, really belongs to Virginia.

1 shall

communicate with Marshall on

wish you would do so with Mr. Jefferson. to this latter gentleman, but

and so much,

am

really

in

ashamed

wish

I

have already written

the course of to

frequent occasion for I

I

this subject,

sliould

I

annoy him

my

to

and

myself write

him so often

troubles with Patrick, that

farther,

though

I

I

have much and

it.

knew something more

of character, in order that

I

specifically of

might take

your

father's cast

opportunity of giving

this

This point, upon further investigation, was sctlled in the establishment of an Id " The measures were so the Life of Henry, page S7, the author asserts in a note •

equal claim on the part of the two States to the origination of the committees. :

nearly coeval in the two States, as to have rendered

have borrowed the

it

from the other.

two States are

it

impossible that either could

The messengers who

said to have crossed each other on the

bore the propositions froia

way."

SKETCH OF HIM.

A

CHAP. XXII.l

him the best niche

my

tiiat

391

poor jaded pen could form.

only a general impression that he was

much such

have

I

man

a

as

it

is

easy to conceive your brother Peter* would have been, had his

Open, noble, magnanimous; bold, ardent, and eloquent; with a mind rather strong than acute ; rather comprehensive and solid in his views, industry and enterprise been equal to his genius.

remarkable for subtilty of

than

qualified

discrimination

;

and

disposed

lay hold of and plant himself on great principles,

to

rather than to run divisions

among

minutiae; with an understanding

highly cultivated, a rich imagination, a refined and classical taste, a

too

command of the most would be saying too much or

and melodious voice, and a copious

full

pure and nervous language.

me

little, let

If this

be corrected, for

have

I

set out with the

purpose

of telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, at least

in

book; though

this

I

have

my

I

am

at

how much

and

it,

pain

they would certainly discover that

in the delivery, for

operation of the kind

first

should be very unwilling that the

I

how awkward

world should know

;

nor should

I

be astonished

if

it is

some

make just this very remaik; which being would be no joke at all to me, and might make every body laugh except " Mr. Callender's counsel."

rascally reviewer, should true, else

Webster vexes me not a tacking to

my

little by the style of his proposals, name, " Author of the British Spy." His motive

obvious enough

is

and think

•

;

but the world will consider

a vanity,

it

Peter Carr here alluded

— which

to,

I

and whose character

as

it

my

Again, he adds

abhor.

act,

in his

portrayed in such terms of

is

He had few months before this date. There is a touching allusion to this event in a letter to Judge Carr, written almost immediately after it. " His soul, I hope, is happier even than it was on earth. It is among the discriminate praise,

was the

eldest brother, as

we have

seen, of the Judge.

died but a

of

articles

my

creed that he

Nothing remains

for us,

gratify his spirit, if

it

my

then,

;

and

who

this

I

am

worthy

for his loss.

must be the

by drawing closer

eartli,

in

Some one friend or other is continually dropping case while we remain in this state of being. Let us,

are permitted to survive, endeavor to repair these heart-rending losses,

by loving each "

an unseen witness of our sorrow

be conscious of what passes on

our affections for each other.

from us

is

dear friend, but to remember him, to love him, and to

other more dearly, and clinging more closely together.

not a misanthrope, yet

to succeed, in

our

I fear it is

not often that

affections, to those

whom we

we

have

shall lost

;

meet with men or to

partners in that friendship which binds the few survivors together."

become

LITERARY REPUTATION.

S92

[1815—1816.

proposals to the Life of Henry, " together with several of his

Now his

s[)eeches."

only authority for this

is

that I told

once seen Henry's "speech on the British debts"

him

had

I

nnanuscript

in

taken by a stenographer, and might perhaps be able to get again.

He

will disappoint the public in this particular.

ye,

— does not Fame

Hark

and approvers

mean

I

?

depend on the vniUilude of readers

And

literary fame.

if so,

works, on what kind of subjects give a man the this aforesaid

Now, I

fame

it

what kind of

fairest

chance

for

.-'

put on your considering cap and get upon your wool-sack.

now

ask again,

that

you are seated, and your " head

like a

smoke-jack," what kind of writings embrace the widest circle of readers and bid the fairest to flourish in never-fading bloom

Answer

Well-written works of imagination.

?

you say politiworks, count the readers of Locke and Sidney, and compare

cal

:

If

them with those of Shakspeare, Milton, Dryden, and Pope. If you choose to come down to the present day, compare the readers of Hamilton and Madison with those of Walter Scott and Lord Byron. If you choose to institute the comparison between grave history and the lighter works of imagination, you will find tea to

one

in

Robertson's

favor of the latter.

Charles Fifth, for

example, and Tristram Shandy. I

am

not speaking of the grade or quality of this fame, but

of the

" But

I

spread, the

propagation

would rather have

large quantity of the second."

say about

it

is,

non

de guslibus

have a thousand dollars than a

in

hundred guineas

and

continuity of

a small quantity

of the

first

Perhaps you would. est

dispuUindum.

the article.

grade than a All

I

shall

I would rather

bank notes earned by innocent pleasure, in

gold, procured

by marshing

and

ditching.

Besides, as to the grade

man of whom

it

was

itself, I

am

not quite so clear that the

truly said,

" Each change of many-colored life he drew. Exhausted worlds, and then imagined new,"

docs not deserve a fame as high and rich as the

man who

relates

successfully the crimes of nations, or disentangles ever so dexterously the political skein.

This being the case, suppose a man

LETTER TO GILMER.

CHAP. XXir.]

to write for fame,

More

chancellor.?

393

what course should he take especially

if

What

.?

says the

the writer be so encumbered

by

a profession as to have only a few transient snatches of leisure

which he can devote to literary pursuits. You see wliat at, I presume,— and " thereiore there needs no more

driving

*******

am

I

be

to

said here."

We unite

cordially in love,

Yours, ever,

Wm. Wirt. TO FRANCIS W. GILMER. Richmond, August

My Dear

received

I

your arrival to

my

last night

at

we

letter

inst.,

announcing

We have you

at last fairly pitted

— stripped, braced — your nerves

left

of the 15th

this early attention

anxiety for your welfare.

shall

your

your

Winchester, and thank you for

on the arena, muscles

29, 1815.

Francis:

oiled,

your joints

strung

;

and

all

I

lubricated

—your

hope, that ere long

hear you have taken the victim bull by the horn, with hand, durosque reducta Libravit dextra media inter cornua caestus

Arduus, effractoque Sternitur,

I

illisit

in ossa cerebro.

exanimisque tremens procumbit humi bos.

perceive that you are going to work, pell mell, nee mora,

—

nee requies

that's

Nunc It is

your sort

— give

it

dextra ingeminans citus,

to

them thicker and

nunc

ille sinistra.

glow and enthusiasm of enterprise

this

to the stars.

But then bear

in

mind, that

it

that

is

is

to carry

verando Vinces," ought to be your motto fession, in is

march of a heavy armed legionary

armor you have

" Perse-

— and you should write

page of every book in your library. Ours which a man gets along by a hop, step and

the steady

you

a long journey to

the stars, and that they are not to be reached per sallum.

in the first

faster!

yet, in a great measure, to gain

;

is

a

it

not a pro-

jump.

soldier.

to learn

It

This

how

to

— RULES FOR BUSINESS.

S94 wear

it

use every piece of

it

put

on

it

;

to

without fatigue

It will

I

with ease, and

am

many

too

tlierefore, to

would not wish you

I

practice at once.

figlit in it

to the best advantage.

extending your practice beginning.

to

;

[1815-1816.

against your

courts, in the

plunge into an extensive

to

break up your reading, and prevent you

from preparing properly for that higher theatre which you ought always

keep

to

delve

your mind's eye.

intently in

For two or

three years, you

must read,

— meditate — study — and make For two or three

your own.

years,

sir

— read — read

whole mine of the law had much rather that your

the I

appearances should be rare and splendid, than frequent, light and vapid, like those of the young country practitioners about you.

Let

you

me few

a

you may

use the privilege of

age and experience to give

find not useless.

Adopt

1.

my

which, now that you are beginning the practice,

hints,

system of

a

never deviate from

as

life,

to

business and exercise; and

except so far as you may be occasionally

it,

forced by imperious and uncontrollable circumstances.

Live

2.

in

your

office

;

i.

be always seen

e.

in

it

except at the

hours of eating or exercise,

Answer

3.

all

how many

not

letters as

heart-aches

endorse neatly, and year,

all

let

it

may

away

Then

save you.

;

you know

fold neatly,

neatly, alphabetically, and

the letters so received.

Let your

letters

by the

on business be

keep copies of them,

short, and 4.

file

soon as they are received

Put every law paper

in its place, as

soon as received

;

and

no scrap of paper be seen lying for a moment, on your writing

This

chair or tables. ness 5.

who

regular accounts of every cent of income and expenfile

your receipts neatly, alphabetically, and by the

montii, or at least

Be

eye of every man of busi-

enters.

Keep

diture, and

6.

will strike the

by the year,

patient with your foolish clients, and hear

all

their tedious

circumlocution and repetitions with calm and kind attention; cross

examine and

sift

them,

'till

you know

ness of their cause, and take notes of

can do

so.

all it

the strength and weakat

once whenever you

RULES FOR BUSINESS.

CtlAP. XXII.]

Chancery

File your bills in

7.

and while your client

suit,

ment of suit is

his case

395

moment of ordering

at tlie

also prepare every declaration the

;

ordered, and have

it

tlie

yet with you to correct your state-

is

ready to

moment

the

tile.

Cultivate a simple style of speaking, so as to be able to inject

8.

the strongest thought into the weakest capacity.

You

never

will

be a good jury lawyer without this faculty.

Never attempt

9.

tribunals;

— and

be grand and magnificent before

to

common The

most you will address are common.

the

neglect of this principle of

common

sense

ruined

lias

witli

men of sense. 10. Keep your Latin and Greek, and science to yourself, and to tliat very small circle which they may suit. The mean and envious world will never forgive you your knowledge, if you make it too all

public.

It

will require the

most unceasing urbanity and habitual

gentleness of manners, almost to humility, to

make your

superior

attainments tolerable to your associates.

Enter with warmth and kindness

11.

cerns of others

— whether you care

into the interestin": con-

much

for

them or not

;

— not

with the condescension of a superior, but with the tenderness and simplicity of an equal. It is this benevolent trait which makes

and

such universal favorites

my own

has smoothed

else,

path of

— and, more than any thing life,

and strewed

with

it

flowers.

Be never

12.

terior of

assume the ex-

flurried in speaking, but learn to

composure and

self-collectedness, whatever riot and con-

may be within; speak slowly, firmly, distinctly, and mark your periods by proper pauses, and a steady significant look: " Trick !" True, but a good trick, and a sensible trick.

fusion

—

You

talk of

your manner of doing not as

you thought

if

preach,

you must not than that

I

was

in

slight

my maxims

know

it

my

a

are

all

of

your power to give them impor-

sermons, for

sound.

care

be humble and sincere, and

fiat.

ever was or can hope to be.

I

wish you

Our

is

for

to

old

men

to

Yet

practice.

to

be much greater

friend Carrwill

Practise them, and

I

will

You have more science and literature than good deal more of the world and of life, and it

your success. I

it

Let

this.

You see how natural it and how much easier to preach than

tance by your

Take

complimenting your adversaries.

tell

you

warrant I ;

— but

will

ba

JUDGE CARR'S SUCCESS.

596

much cheaper

you

for

to profit

Nothing

than by your own.

[1815—1816.

by

my experience

is

so apt to tincture the manners

of a young man with hauteur, and with

and miscarriages and disdainful

cold

a

indifference towards others, as conscious superiority is so fatal to his progress through life, as

My

.

fear of

its

is

not without

must feel this superiority,

and since you

it;

himself,

friend

;

and nothing

such a tincture

I

some

ill

:

witness

effect

from

cannot be without

usual effects.

You must

not suppose because

I

give you precepts on particular

have observed you deficient

subjects, that

I

the contrary,

it

is

way

only by

in these respects

of prevention

;

on

;

and whether

my

precepts are necessary to you or not, you are too well assured of

my

affection, to take

well

— my

them otherwise than be lectures.

in

good

Fare-

part.

letters shall not all

Yours

affectionately,

Wm. Wirt. to judge carr. Richmond, January

My Ever Dear I

Friend

12, 1816.

:

have, indeed, had a tough spell through the latter part of the

fall.

It

was the

effect, I believe,

feared, at one time,

obstinate

had

fallen

cough which attended

of a very severe cold which

on

my

it

and there were times,

;

lungs, from the

I

ugly and I

con-

when the apprehension of being taken from my family just when my toils and plans seemed ripening to a harvest of independence for them, depressed me rather more than become a phiwhich, however much I wish, I fear I losopher or a christian, fess,

—

shall never approach nearer, than a few transient aspirations.

As

for Patrick,

coped

If

withal.

ing after nature

:

—he

painting the images in In this walk,

I

I

the very toughest subject that

my own

mind, and the feelings of

have occasionally succeeded almost to

entire satisfaction.

me.

is

I

ever

have any knack at all in writing, it is in copynot merely in drawing known characters, but in

I

my

heart.

my own

But Patrick was altogether terra incognita to

had never seen him

;

and the portraits of him which had

CHAP

THE BIOGRAPHY.

XXII.]

me were

been furnished to

so various and contradictory as to seem

Hence

confound rather than inform me.

able to

embody

My

him.

througliout the whole

397

have never been

I

no resting place

imagination found

work; but from beginning

to end, fluttered

like Noaii's dove over a dreary waste of waters, without spying

even a floating leaf of without satisfaction,

same way.

the

shall

it

is

myself,

But

me, and the pain

—

am

I

not

too, of a

be

;

that

A

in narrative.

it

be truly

sively to be trammelled in writing,

mischievous as to mistake me.

my

— "ex

is,

my

Pegasus are

I

it,

but the detail must

by matter of fact. Don't be so mean that my habit of compo-

my own

heart both as free as the winds.

all

you

In truth, I hate exces-

told.

the necessity of detailing stubborn facts,

my

not every

ligno,'''^

nothing great could have

has always been to draw only from

fancy and

is

It

quovis

panegyric, and a splendid one,

dozen pages might be written on

trivial if the incidents

sition

1

mistaken this subject would have been

found impracticable to any one

been made of

very certain that

written.

which a man can succeed:

If

wrote

has now become You are wrong, be assured, this work will redound more

my dearest friend, in supposing that my fame than any thing I have ever

know.

I

conclusion

this

over.

is

am

I

to

subject on

What

of laurel.

less

reasonable to conclude will be read in

Disappointed

disappoint others.

familiar to

much

olive,

to be

formed anew

;

I

for

stores, with

Reined

in

by

find that the gaits of

he

trots,

prances and

same period. If you do not understand me now, you must wait 'till I can borrow an exposition from PhiBut before we dismiss Patrick finally, you losopher Ogilvie. gallops altogether in the

will find in the Port Folio for

December, an extract from

my

biog-

raphy, furnished at the desire of Hall, the editor, and you will see in that extract

what has been thought by

several,

the manuscript, one of the happiest passages

my

passage, in bility

of the

No,

the

The

read

rest.

it!

to the press

who have

not the happiest

book, from which you will judge of the misera-

work

get leisure to

could see

if

;

file

is

not in the press.

off

some of

— and for

I

it

am

It

shall not

its asperities.

I

go

go hard, but you shall, before no hurry to be damned.

shall in

until I

can

wish to heaven, you it

passes

candid and sensible reader will, indeed, as you say, allow

for the subject

VOL.

;

but of the thousands of readers on

1—34

whom

fame

!

CONTENTMENT.

398

how many are there, think you, who how many will there be, predisposed to

depends, candid

?

keep prating about preying on

is

my

of reputation from

full

my

said or thought so

began

lips

But enough of

?

shall confirm

it, I

spirits,

are sensible and

dash

you

in the

my

this

sir,

in

full

twenty years ago, but

still

if

I

conjecture that

it

it

for

my word that I have not two months, as I have since 1

and high health; not quite indeed so I

was when you

calculations of happiness, yet

with Solomon, "

knew me, about

first

with a reasonable appetite for the good

by no means disposed

vanity and vexation of spirit."

all is

If

note.

What

vanity or vexation of spirit

temperate indulgence of our affections

in the

I

a cloyed and sated debauchee, than that of a

plative philosopher.

that plays

caresses of

upon me from the eyes of

my

beloved children

the best of friends

Solomon

have, he His exclamation upon the vanity has always struck me rather as the senti-

would have changed his sublunary things,

cry out

to

had had such a wife and children and such friends as

ment of

my

Disappointed indeed, as to some of

things of the world.

all

for

give you

I

much about

brimful of expectation as

of

thimble-

—

to scribble this letter.

am now,

I

[1815—1816.

which

lie

;

my

in

;

wife

there

is

the love-beam

in the

;

contem-

untutored

in these tender inquiries

before

me

from

or in this tear, which

;

the consciousness of these purest of earthly possessions calls into

my

eyes.-'

remain a

If on subjects of this sort

fool.

What

Solomon was wise,

me

let

say you? '

*

My If

wife and children unite with

you knew what

and enjoy the leisure which

me soon and often. May God bless you Your

me

in love to

heartfelt pleasure

and

I

*

*

*

*

*

*

your

your

fire-side.

letters afford

me,

hope you do, you would write

to

make you happy

friend in life and in death,

Wm. Wirt. About for the

this

time George Hay, the attorney of the United States

Amongst several resigned his post. whose names were submitted to Mr, Madiappointment to this office, was that of one who sub-

Richmond

district,

gentlemen of Virginia son for the

MR. UPSHUR.

CHAP. XXII.]

399

sequently attained to high distinction in the public councils, and

whose death acquired

most painful celebrity by

a

association

its

with the melancholy accident on board of the Princeton

He

P. Upshur.

who now

— Abel

had studied law under the direction of Wirt,

presented him to the President, in terms suggested by

the highest appreciation of his talents, and friendship.

Mr. Wirt's

This incident

is

by a strong personal

only worthy of notice here, so far as

on the occasion, allbrds us an insight to the

letter,

abated temper of partizan feeling which had already begun to be manifested, and which

was an index

which prevailed

political sentiment

to that

calm and appeased

in the administration

of public

some years succeeding this event. After speaking the language of the warmest praise on the merits of his friend, he affairs for

adds,

—"

It is

proper for

me

to state that

he

draw-back, he continues

to qualify this

war with Great marched to York *

*

to

"

I

a Federalist,"

—but

justified the late

was among the volunteers who

Britain, and

Town

is

— "he

meet the enemy.

am

entirely certain that no differences

of political sentiment would ever swerve him from his duty, or abate, in the smallest degree, the zeal proper for

How far ought

^

its

discharge.

in the 'present condition of the country^ his political creed as a bar to his appointment^ or whether

to operate

its

tendency

and promote that coalescence which is so desirable on every account, and of xchich we have such promising omens, it is not for me to decide. I submit the proposition with great deference, and rely upon your usual would not rather

be to soothe the exasperation of party,

indulgence to excuse this liberty."

This 1816.

letter to

The

Mr. Madison was written on the 10th of March,

writer of

from Mr. Madison

it

was

a little surprised to find,

by a

letter

on the 13th, that the subject

to him, dated

settled by the selection of himself for the apwas an event altogether unlooked for, and equally Coming upon him in this unexpected way, and with

had been already pointment. undesired.

It

expressions of the kindest personal interest from the President, the

appointment somewhat embarrassed him

rating,

he thought

it

his duty to accept

;

but, after delibe-

it.

In communicating this determination to the President, he says, in

a letter of the 23d of March, edly sincere

in

—"

I

beg you

declaring that there

is

to believe

me

unaffect-

nothing in the office which

WIRT APPOINTED DISTRICT ATTORNEY.

400

my

excites any solicitude, on

part, to possess

it

and that

;

myself much more highly honored by the terms

were so good

as to

make

session of the office itself

the inquiry, than

So

am

far

I,

[1815—1816,

feel

I

which you should by the pos-

I

in

indeed, from being soli-

citous to possess

it, that I assure you, with the frankness which I hope our long acquaintance warrants, your bestowing it on any one of the many gentlemen of my profession in this State who are,

at least, equally entitled to

of

it,

will not, in

it,

and stand, perhaps,

the respect and affection with which

in

me

smallest degree, mortify

the

greater need

nor diminish

am and ever have been your

I

friend." It was but a few weeks before the date of these letters, that Wirt had argued his cause in the Supreme Court, and had

" broken a lance with Pinkney,"

—

he himself described

as

it.

These two gentlemen had here commenced an acquaintance, which was afterwards illustrated by many passages of dialectic and forensic

skill

association in the

in

a course of eager competition and constant

No

same forum.

one was more prompt

justice to

Pinkney's extraordinary

tunities to

observe them, than Wirt.

powers of

known

his great competitor

in the circle in

abilities, after the best

to

do

oppor-

His mature opinion of the

was

freely expressed and well

which they both moved.

impressions of him, derived from this

trial,

But Wirt's

first

are singularly variant

from those which a more intimate acquaintance afterwards gave him. We have a letter to Gilmer, soon after this first encounter, which presents a picture of Pinkney, far from flattering. Pinkney was,

at that time, in the zenith

object of interest in the

He was

of his fame.

Supreme Court, and

subject of popular criticism.

No man

the chief

the most prominent

ever drew forth a larger

share of mingled applause and censure, or was visited with more

exaggerated extremes of opinion.

saw

in his

While one

class of observers

oratory nothing short of the most perfect of forensic

accomplishment

;

another could scarcely

best endeavors to rescue

which they alleged tions entitled them.

his

find

them from the

dogmatism,

false

merit enough in his

utter

taste

condemnation to

and frigid affecta-

Impartial and judicious estimate of his

and acquirements seems rarely to have been accorded

We ities

may

in

power

to him.

ascribe these conflicting judgments to some peculiar-

Pinkney's character and position.

At the

bar, his port

WILLIAM PINKNEY.

CHAP. XXII.]

towards those nistical

and

who occupied

He

supremacy.

for

His courtesy gested

in

with

avoided

than

His manner was

it.

civilities short

a swordsman in the theatre when drew crowds together to witness

were

favors.

alert

and

and measured, like

the " noble art of defence the trials of

bar, constituting a most

portion of the

was antago-

such an unceasing war

arena was a mere formula, and rather sug-

guarded, his brow severe, his

auditory,

all

gave no ground himself and asked no

this

conilict

the most eminent station

He waged

defiant.

401

skill.

intelligent

All this

and critical

the fastidious and unsparing witnesses of his fame,

and often spoke of him,

whatever defect of

in

no mitigated terms of exception to

judgment they were able to detect. Opposed to these were the younger members of the profession, not yet within the pale of rivalry, to whom Pinkney was habitutaste or

courteous and kind.

ally

his to

win the good

He was

to

instructed,

seemed

to

them the pleasant companion,

He

small civilities.

in the

It

be

a cherished object

full

of condescensions and

noticed their progress, praised their efforts,

encouraged them, and almost invariably enlisted them

support of his

own renown. He was an eager sportsman work with his gun an excellent

in the field, untiring in a day's

and studiously learned

shot,

;

in

all

the technicals of this craft.

This gave him acceptance and favor amongst another

was profuse and splendid

in his

mode

expense, munificent and ostentatious. cal

contests in Maryland, in

He was

He

popular as a

which he was accustomed

had acquired

politi-

some noted meet the most

to his cause in

champions of a party distinguished

telligence.

He

circle.

of living, utterly careless of

champion, and rendered good service

etfective

of

will of this class of his professional associates.

for

to

its

talents

and

in-

a high standing in the country for his

diplomatic service which had elevated him, in public opinion, both at

home and

abroad.

He

had served with conspicuous success

as the Attorney General of the United States, in the administration

He

of Mr. Madison.

war

;

w^as a zealous and ardent supporter of the

had taken a commission from the Executive of Maryland,

and commanded a capital,

rifle battalion at

and shared

w^ounded

upon him

the time of the invasion of the

in the disaster at

in the fight.

Bladensburg, where he was

All these circumstances combined to

draw

a large portion of public observation, and to attract,

one side, as much exaggerated praise, VOL.

1—34*

as,

on another,

to

on

expose him

— ;

WILLIAM PINKNEY.

402

[1815—1316.

to the virulence of partizan antipathy or to the invidious reflection

of personal rivalry and dislike.

Pinkney's

accost raised an unt'avorable

first

prepossession

Wirt's mind against him, as will be seen in the following

from which

make some

I

extracts,

—premising, what

I

in

letter,

have already

hinted to the reader, that these opinions were greatly modified

when

the writer of this letter had

more

opportunity to witness

full

We

and appreciate the power of his opponent.

may

regard the

present comments as expressing the disappointment of one

had formed

judgment of oratory

his

who

in an entirely different school

from that of which he was now furnished a specimen.

Nothing

could be more diverse than the distinctive characters of the elo-

quence of Pinkney and Wirt.

The slow

consent of one to admit

was but

a natural reluctance of

the eminent claim of the other, opinion.

TO FRANCIS W. GILMER. Richmond, April

Mv Dear

Francis

1,

1816.

:

"

I wish I had been trained to industry and method in the counting-room of a Scotch merchant from the age of twelve, and

whipped out of those lazy and sauntering habits which fastened upon me about that age, and have held " the fee simple of the Your truly great man does more business, and bark " ever since. has more leisure and more peace of conscience and more positive happiness than

any forty of your mediocre persons.

humiliating to me, and profit

by

don't like to think of

I

*

*

This

is

But, do yon

Mr. Jefferglow with the

to the practice of

and habituate yourself

it,

son's system.

it.

Make

the axle

ardor of your exercise, and the anvil ring with the vigor of your preparation. '

I

a

new

mean

of

my

Teach

these boys,

his

solemn

hand.

style, to

If that

— such

locutors of the Dialogue

'

as

let

which,

be a good

ancient and modern, which plate as truly great,

—

But

style of speaking.'

Pinkney it

a

said

he would do,

better one than his

in Irish phrase, 1 give the style,

we have

then

all

back

the models both

been accustomed to contem-

as Crassus,

De

be

Anthony, Cicero, the pro-

Causis corruptae eloquentiae,' Chat-

WIRT'S FIRST ESTIMATE OF HIM.

CHAP. XXII.]

ham, Henry, and others,— not forgetting

— are

Charon,'

But

He

all

pretenders.

was near him

I

five

I

know

'

403

Paul Jones and old

that this

not your opinion.

is

or six weeks and watched him narrowly.

has nothing of the rapid and unerring analysis of Marshall,—

but he has,

in lieu of it, a dogmatizing absoluteness of manner which passes with the million, which, by-the-bye, includes many more than we should at first suspect, for an evidence of power and he has acquired with those around him a sort of papal

—

—

infallibility. That manner is a piece of acting it is artificial, as you may see by the wandering of his eye, and is as far removed from the composed confidence of enlightened certainty, as it is :

from natural modesty.

Socrates confessed that

all

the

knowledge

he had been able to acquire seemed only to convince him that he knew nothing. This frankness is one of the most characteristic

Pinkney would make you believe

of a great mind.

traits

knows every "

At the bar he

is

leagues or adversaries as tainly

much

—

that

he

thing.

despotic and cares as

if

they were

them

the advantage of any of

claim.

for his col-

He

has cer-

show.

Give

will deliver a

speech

in forensic

— and he

him time and he requires not much which any man might be proud to

little

men of wood.

You

will

have good

materials, very well put together, and clothed in a costume as

magnificent as that of Louis XIV.; but you will have a vast quanof false fire, besides a vehemence of intonation for which you

tity

see nothing to account in the character of the thought.

His arguheard him, were such as would have occurred to any good mind of the profession. It was his mode of introducing, ments,

when

I

dressing and incorporating them,

value

—

'

materiem superabit opus.'

which constituted *

*

their chief

*

*

jj^

which we were engaged against each other, there never was a case more hopeless of eloquence since the world began. It was a mere question between the representatives of a dead collector and a living one, as to the distribution of the penalty of an embargo bond whether the representatives of the dethe cause in

:

—

who had performed all the duties and recovered the the living collector, who came in about the time the

ceased collector,

judgment, or

money was paid by done none of the

the defendant into court, and had, therefore,

duties,

was

entitled to the

representatives of the deceased collector

award.

— Pinkney

I

was

for the

for the living

SELF-CRITICISM.

404

You

one.

[1815—1816.

was a mere harpy, who had no There were ladies present and PinkSo, the mode he be eloquent at all events.

perceive that his client

—

merits whatever to plead.

ney was expected

to

adopted was to get into his tragical tone

in discussing the

Closing his speech

struction of an act of Congress.

tone, he took his seat, saying to me, with a smile

#

*

*

for the ladies.'

*

jjg

—

'

con-

solemn

in this

that will

do

certainly not of

jg

the olden school."

As

a counterpart to this, Ave have a criticism of himself in the

same cause,

in a

letter to

Carr

with some comment, besides, on

;

his dramatic experiment, in regard to

which

his friend

had shown

himself a rather partial judge.

TO JUDGE CARR. Richmond, April

And can

you,

my beloved friend, who my heart so long and so

bottom and core of

had a home

in that heart

ment, any decay of it

been

me

reason

me on

had

I

made

with

to

that

in

my own

!

I

this letter,

—who have

cannot believe

which

have

I

of the reverse, notwithstanding

The

half insinuations to the contrary. satisfied

heard from

I

No

affection for you.'^

from you, assures

just received

some

my

have known the very intimately,

twenty years, suspect for one mo-

for

Indeed the very tone of

possible.

7, 1816.

figure at

truth

is,

if I

had

Washington, you would have

was most dissatisfied. And good was a mean and sneaking figure

the spot; but

I

— cause; — and

your friends either deceive you

be so

for

it

I was never more displeased with any speech I have made since I commenced practice. Having once argued the cause here, to my

from kindness, or have been deceived themselves.

satisfaction,

my

mind

held

;

I

relied

and

upon

this the

my

more

notes for recalling every topic to

especially, as the Court of Appeals

me under the lash to the very moment of my departure. But when I was about to set out, my notes were nowhere to

behold,

be found.

My

only hope then

the arguments by meditation

very sour, sulky and

was

that

in the stage

silent to

my

I ;

should be able to recall

and

I

determined to be

fellow passengers, that

I

abstract myself from them and have an opportunity of study

might ;

but

you know

this

ENCOUNTER WITH PINKNEY.

HIS

CHAP. XXII.]

my

not in

is

— and

nature

so

reached Alexandria

I

My consolation

without one idea upon the subject.

405

was

then

that

should iiave one day in Washington before the cause came on,

I

and

eOect

to

this,

Alexandria when the stage arrived,

left

I

at

about ten o'clock on Tuesday night, and went on to Washington that night. after, find

got to McQueen's about eleven.

I

Doctor F. came in

it

my

so delighted to see

in,

because he had much

talk,

import to himself and had been longing for

unbosom himself

He

me.

to

thus kept

Immediately after breakfast acts of Congress, on

the

that

heart to resist his earnest desire that

him and have a

seated myself to study,

rushed into

my room

was again

in the

when

the renowned Pinkney.

my

went

so,

I

to say to

me

I

with

sit

of deep

cause arose, and had just

my

warm-hearted friends

'till

So

court hour.

on Thursday morning.

to court to try the tug of

When

could not

would

1

my arrival that he might me up till two o'clock. to my room, borrowed

me engaged

and

evening;

retired

several of

and held

this hopeless situation I

I

which

two minutes

In

me

thought of

my

it

In

war with

— of the —

situation,

which I was now to appear for the first time, the expectation which I was told was excited, and saw the assembled theatre on

multitude of ladies and gentlemen from every quarter of the Union,

you may guess my feelings. Had I been prepared, how should I have gloried in that theatre, that concourse, and that adversary

!

As

it

was,

my

dear wife and children, and your features, look, and

sympathetic voice and friendly inquietude, came over

To

spirits.

be sure, these considerations gave

perate, ferocious, bandit-like resolution

:

resolution with a totally denuded intellect hits

which produced a

sank, and

of

my

I

argument.

visible

I

but what .''

and animating

my manner

suppose

fell

me

I

like evil

is

mere

brute

gave, indeed, some

effect

;

but

my courage

under the conscious imbecility

was comforted, however, by

Pinkney mended the matter very

me

a sort of des-

finding that

little, if at all.

Had the cause been to argue over again on the next day, I could have shivered him for his discussion revived all my forgotten ;

topics, and, as

I

lay in

my

bed on the following morning, argu-

ments poured themselves out before I

me

as from a cornucopia.

should have wept at the consideration of what

had not prevented

it

I

had

lost, if I

by leaping out of bed and beginning

to sing

DESIRES TO PRACTISE IN SUPREME COURT.

406

—

and dance like a maniac,

This

true.

is all

and

;

my

I

know you

I

siiew them

I

For although you

tise there.

own

may

strength,

me

will abuse

must somehow or other contrive

I

court, that

to

man on

true

it is

cause in that

should like to prac-

I

you believe

that arena,

but

it,

to get another

can do better. saj^,

for

deceive you.

you will change that opinion

not afraid of any

little

mind.

had rather be abused than

I

who

to the great diversion of F.,

suspected what was passing in

still

[1815—1816.

I

— not even

my

do not know

when

you

tell

I

am

I

of the Chevalier

whom I would at any time rather encounter than TazePinkney has, for the while, debauched the public taste by

Pinkney, well.

a false manner, just as Quin and his coadjutors of the old stage there

As

no Garrick

is

to myself,

Washington

at

know

I

The

Cumberland's account.

did, according to

that

I

misfortune

is

that

to raise the standard of nature.

have no pretensions

to oratory.

My

manner, never carefully formed, has become too unalterably fixed to be

improved

fertility

my

at

time of

Besides,

life.

I

have not the off-hand

of thought, the prompt fecundity of invention, and the ex-

temporaneous bloom of imagination, which are But

orator.

say again that,

I

all

essential to the

full preparation,

loith

I

should not

be afraid of a comparison with Pinkney, at any point, before

Now

genuine judges of correct debate.

you I

me from

attending the

Court adopt a plan which they talk fall

session,

—

I

will try

can get a cause or two, by *

this great affair. I

idan.

tried

my

over modest,

of,

He was

a

if

that

is

by every variety of

summer

of having a

way of commencement. #

me by

So much

#

I

for

*

the standard of Sher-

wit, not only of the first water, but of

Europe, where he saw the public taste

Compared with

application.

his,

my

those of a back-woods' bear-hunter measured

with those of the courtly Wickham. Sheridan as a bat a towering eagle.

I I

am

about as

his invention

fit

to rival

foresaw, from your frequent

mention of Sheridan, what your mind was running on. looked for

Ap-

but if our

:

had the advantage of a constant attend-

at the first theatre in

opportunities are

—

#

diamond

He

Supreme Court

luck at Washington as soon as

protest against your measuring

the highest polish.

ance

me

regret extremely that the time of session of our Court of

peals disables

and

think

can.

If

you have

of comic incidents, his percussion and

letter to mr. jefferson.

Chap, xxir.]

407

re-percussion of sprightly and brilliant dialogues, his delicate and varied tints of wit and humor, his splendid Hashes of fancy, you

*******

have been unreasonable, and are therefore justly punished by disappointment.

need not

1

you how sincerely

tell

The

Frank's debut.

charms me.

I

was

a

little

He

is

otF right,

is,

*

*

manner,

in

particular,

he would be too fond of the never doubted that experience and

correct the error.

therefore, so

a fine fellow, and born,

the State.

rejoice in the brilliancy of his

afraid

pomp of expression, though I his own sound judgment would have gone

I

of

plainness

I

hope

much to

the

That he should more pleasing.

redeem the eloquence of *

*

Your

*

*

friend,

Wm. Wirt. The biography was now approaching its completion. The author was manifestly disheartened by his work. His letters to his intimate friends are

He

full

of distrust upon the merits of his performance.

seems to have indulged

tate the

abandonment

this sentiment so far as

almost to medi-

of the publication of the book.

The

coun-

sel of Mr. Jefferson and others, cheered him, revived his confi-

dence, and finally settled the point of committing the volume to the public.

The

following letters upon this subject, furnish

some curious

passages in literary history.

to THOMAS JEFFERSON. Richmond, August

Dear I

Sir

24, 1816.

:

accept, with gratitude, the terms on which you are willing to

remark on

my

manuscript; and send, herewith, three sections,

ninety-one pages.

be an advertisement prefixed to it, stating the authorities on which the narrative is founded, and appealing to the candor and indulgence of the public on account of the

There

will

peculiar disadvantages under

which the work has been

written.

— DISSATISFIED WITH THE BIOGRAPHY.

408 This,

confess,

I

very much

work when

but

;

is

still

less

bear to have

it

I

truth is that no one sheet of

ten without half a

my

ideas

ease

scarcely, has been writ-

dozen professional interruptions, which have

as

Don Quixote's make no doubt you will perceive

completely, each time, as

charge did the flock of sheep. the chasms caused

it,

abhor

believed that the

the offspring of profound leisure, and a mind at

is tlie

routed

[1915—1816.

a kind of beggarly business which

can

I

;

by these

I

interruptions, and the incoherence, as

well as crudeness, of the whole mass.

When

was engaging with Webster,

I

last

summer, with respect

to the publication, I refused expressly to bind myself to furnish at

any particular period,

completion, from the interference of professional

the time of

its

duties, and

wishing to reserve to myself, also,

to

my

humanity, on account of the expensiveness of the

which he has

materials

disposed to let the it

I

mean

advantage.

would

work

go, in

can be done without too

What to

laid in for the publication,

and his inability

remain longer without some reimbursement, that

think

suit

ill

leisure, to

full

But he has made such

revise, correct, and retrench at pleasure.

an appeal to

it

— foreseeing the extreme uncertainty as to

is,

its

much

that I think the

But then,

it

I

am much

present general form,

if

you

sacrifice.

whole work might be

recast

must be written wholly aneWj Avhich

Webster's alleged situation

:

my

disposition, there-

form of the w^ork remain, connecting the comstatements, &c., where it shall be suggested and thought

fore, is to let the

position,

proper.

you think the publication of the work, will do me an injury with the public, I beg you to tell me so, without any fear of wounding my feelings. I am so far from being in love with it If

myself, that taking.

I

I

should be glad of a decent retreat from the under-

confide implicitly in your frankness and friendship,

and beg you to believe me, dear

sir,

with the greatest respect

and affection,

Your

friend and servant,

Wm. Wirt.

CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. JEFERSON.

CHAP. XXII.]

409

THOMAS JEFFERSON TO WILLIAM WIRT. MoNTicELLO, September

Dear I

4, 1816.

Sir:

have read,

Avith great

delight, the portion of the history

wliich

now

is

returned.

And

can say,

I

oi'

me with, and from my own knowledge

Mr. Henry which you have been so kind as

to favor

of the contemporary characters introduced into the canvass, that

you have given them

The

have asked.

that

I

my own

in several in-

recollections,

where they

to falter.

In result,

you

would

lustre as themselves

exactness, too, of your details, has

stances corrected the errors in

had begun

much

quite as

I

scarcely find anything needing revisal

;

yet, to

show

have scrupulously sought occasions of animadversion,

will particularize the following passages,

which

I

noted as

I

1

read

them.

Page 11: I think this passage had better be moderated. That Mr. Henry read Livy through once a year is a known impossiwith those

bility

who knew

He may

him.

and some general history of Greece

;

have read him once,

A

but certainly not twice.

first

reading of a book he could accomplish sometimes and on

some

subjects, but never a second.

own

of his

He knew

country, but certainly never

So, as to our ancient charters

;

well the geography

made any other

his study.

he had probably read those

in

man ever more undervalued chartered He drew all natural rights from a purer titles than himself * # # # the feelings of his own breast. source Stith's history

;

but

no

—

He

conversation or debate, mentioned

never, in

worthy, or a fact

The

hero, a

Greek or Roman room to back out, if he found he had blundered.

in

loosely as to leave

a

history, but so vaguely and

study and learning ascribed to him,

in

this passage,

would

be inconsistent with the excellent and just picture given of indolence through the rest of the work.

Page 33, line 4 Henry was counsel

his

Inquire further into the fact alleged that

:

I am much persuaded he was There was great personal antipathy between him and Littlepage, and the closest intimacy with Dandridge, who was his near neighbor, in whose house he was at home

for Littlepage.

counsel for Dandridge.

VOL.

1—35

—

;

CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. JEFFERSON.

410

[1S15— 1816.

who was his earliest and greatest admirer daughter became afterwards his second whose and patron, and

as one of the family,

wife.

was

It

house

in his

ties, I first

that,

during a course of Christmas

became acquainted with Mr. Henry.

but presumptive evidence, and

is

But

proof

I

am

may

This,

it

festiviis

true,

be over-ruled by direct

confident he could never have undertaken any

******

case against Dandridge

;

considering the union of their bosoms,

it

would have been a great crime.* Accept the assurance of

my

constant friendship and respect,

Th. Jefferson. In a reply to this letter, Wirt, in sending

Mr. Jefferson some

additional portions of the book, remarks:

"

can

I

you with very great sincerity

tell

that

"

that

you have removed

******* my

a mountain-load of despondency from

find entertainment in these sheets.

you could

I

you not

entreat

mind, by the assurance

to spare

defacement of the manuscript.

your remarks on account of the had rather commence it de novo

I

than lose the advantage of your freest criticisms. too

about which

have myself strong fears

ship to

tell

I

me

time to correct

so. it,

If

you think

wire- drawn or the style too turgid

the narrative

Much

better will

—

it

I

be

—points,

depend on your friendto learn

it

from you,

in

when

it

than from the malignity of reviewers

shall be too late."

Some weeks

after this

he wrote the following:

WILLIAM WIRT TO THOMAS JEFFERSON. Richmond, October

Dear Sir

23, 1816.

:

submit to you the last sheets of my sketches of Mr. Henry, which I am sorry to find more numerous than I expected and I pray you to forgive the great trouble which I am sincerely ashamed of having imposed on you. I

*

now

There were other corrections of minor

omitted.

errors suggested in this letter

which

are

ON THE BIOGRAPHY OF HENRY.

CHAP. XXII.]

me

by by putting me on a am perfectly aware is too

service to me, not only

Your remarks have been of great enabling

411

to correct mistakes in fact, but

my

severe inquisition of

which

style,

I

prone to exuberance.

am

I

would

whole plan

afraid that the

Has

too diffuse.

too loose, and the narrative

is

struck you in this light, and do you think

it

gain, in point of animation and

it

by retrenchment

interest,

and compression? have another question to ask, to which

I

answer

and

;

suppose that

Would

I

be hurt by

shall

I

I

entreat an unreserved

my

hope you think too well of

me

you, as a friend, advise

understanding to

the answer, whatever

may

it

book, or

to publish this

has been written under circumstances so extremely disadvan-

It

my

tageous, amid such perpetual interruptions arising from fession

—

at

almost every step, too, invita minerva,

myself with so it

be.

not.-*

satisfaction, that

little

may make shipwreck

of what

am

I

—and

it

seriously apprehensive

reputation

little

pro-

peruse

I

I

possess as a

writer, I

am

not obliged to publish

head, by the advice of things, be

They,

I

much

my

;

and

friends,

I

shall

who

be governed, on

better qualified to judge of the subject than

hope and

believe, think

this

must, from the nature of

too justly of

me

to

am.

I

withhold

the expression of their opinions from motives of delicacy.

Your repose I

can help

it.

shall

never be endangered by any act of mine,

Immediately on the receipt of your

before the manuscript had met any other eye, the whole passage relative to the

first

I

last letter,

if

and

wrote over again

Congress, omitting the marks

of quotation, and removing your name altogether from the communication. If there be any other passage for which I have quoted you, and which you think may provoke the strictures of malice or envy, I beg that you will be so good as to suggest it. I am conscious of

having made a very free use of your communications. natural for

me

would be most

to

seek to give

painful to

subjecting you to the It is

not enough for

right,

much

your

fortitude.

less

me

to be, in

my

was

But

it

in

renewed attacks of your political enemies. that you despise these attacks I have no

me

have

It

work.

any manner, instrumental

this value to

:

the disposition, to

make

upon And, besides, the shaft which cannot reach you. I

this call

412 never

fails

MR. JEFFERSON'S OPINION OF

IT.

wound and

This was one of

to

the leading; causes

you

script to

Quere.

irritate

your

which made me

friends.

[1815-1816.

anxious to submit

my

manu-

first.

— Have

some passages from you, of which

not quoted

I

the descendants of our landed aristocracy

heads to complain

may

take

it

into their

?

me till Mr. William H. Cabell (than you have not a warmer friend) made the suggestion. I have great dependence on his judgment; and if the matter occurs This did not occur to

whom

you

to

in the

same

light,

I

will

send up again the sheets which

contain those quotations, and get the favor of you to alter them to

your own

You

taste.

will perceive that I

have borne very lightly on the errors

of Mr. Henry's declining years.

He

did us

much good

in

his

better days; and no evils have resulted from his later aberrations.

Will not

his biographer, then,

be excusable

in

drawing

i)jc

veil

over them, and holding up the brighter side of his character, only, to imitalion.'

Most

respectfully and affectionately,

Your

friend and servant,

Wm. Wirt.

THOMAS JEFFERSON TO WILLIAM WIRT. Poplar Forest, November

Dear

Yours of October 23d, was received here on the last

12, 1816.

Sir:

31st, with the

sheets of your work.

They

found

me engaged

in a business

which could not be post-

poned, and have therefore been detained longer than

On

the subject of our ancient aristocracy,

nothing which

all

I

believe

I

I

wished.

have said

who knew them will not confirm, and which may not learn from every quarter.

their reasonable descendants It

was

law of

The

the etfect of the large accumulation of property under the entails.

suppression of entails reduced the spirit of the rich, while

the increased influence given ple, raised theirs,

by the new government

to the peo-

and brought things to their present level, from a

RECOMMENDS THE PUBLICATION.

CHAP. XXII.J

who have

condition which the present generation,

413

not seen

can

it,

scarcely believe or conceive.

You ask if I think your work would be the better of retrench? By no means. I have seen nothing in it whicii could be retrenched but to disadvantage. And again, whether, as a friend,

ment I

would advise

tation

— on

the latter,

its

your

publication

own

will be valuable

it

You must expect

On

?

that question,

I

have no hesi-

To

account, as well as that of the public. ;

and honorable

be criticised

to

and,

;

to yourself.

by a former

letter

see

I

you expect it. By the Quarterly Reviewers you will be hacked and hewed, with tomahawk and scalping knife. Those of Edinburgh, with the same considering us as

anti-American prejudices, but sometimes it

more

for biography, the familiar

man-

allies against their administration, will

do

decently.

They

will assume, as a

model

ner of Plutarch, or scanty matter of Nepos, and try you, perhaps,

by these

But they can only prove that your style

tests.

ferent from theirs I

;

not that

When

I

have read a work

painting, a statue, etc.,

pleasure, whether

good

is, it is

I

canons of

animating, interesting, attaching

On

for these reasons.

these grounds

Those who take up your book,

safe.

artificial

criti-

prose or poetry, or seen a

in

have only asked myself whether

it is

dif-

is

not good.

have always very much despised the

cism.

me

it is

you

it

gives

.''

If

will

it

be

will find they cannot lay

it

down and You have

certainly practised vigorously the precept of "de mor-

tuis nil nisi

bonum."

be

this will

;

its

best criticism.

This presents a very

difficult question,

whether one only or both sides of the medal should be presented. It constitutes,

history.

be so on

On

perhaps, the

this,

distinction

opinions are

this feature

of your w'ork.

have nothing to fear; from the common.

much

at least if

And no one

my

between panegyric and

divided

On

— and, perhaps, may

the whole, however,

views are not very

will see

its

pleasure than myself, as no one can, with

you

different

appearance with more

more

truth, give

you

assurances of great respect and affectionate attachment.

Th. Jefferson.

TOL.

1

— 35*

LETTERS TO POPE AND MORRIS.

414

two

close this chapter with

I

The

biography.

first is

to

[1815—1816.

letters, in part referring to the

Mr. Pope

;

the other to an esteemed

Hanover county, whose taste and accomplishments rendered him a most competent critic upon the subjects to which it

friend in

both give us an insight into the author's apprehen-

They

refers.

which he was about

sion of the perils to

to

expose himself by the

publication of his book.

TO WILLIAM POPE. Richmond, September

Mv Dear

24, 1816.

Friend:

Although over

my

head

in

business,

cannot receive, in silence,

I

your affectionate letter of the 12th. in appearance, though not ungrateful,

—

I

have been hitherto very

in feeling

and

in fact,

those eff'usions of friendship with which you have honored mail but I have relied on your indulgence and forgiveness, -,

ing as

how my head is my engagements

you do

and variety of

know-

;

and

my

I

have

relied, too,

on your

sentiments towards you, to

prevent any unfriendly conclusions from apparent neglect. you know that my affections can never neglect you ; you

you are " the

so why am extremely

core I

Israelite

should

•,

those pages of

my

toils

my

I

have ever encountered

For

know

in this pilgrimage,

without guile," and the tenant of

we

for

kept spinning by the multiplicity

knowledge of the true state of

that of all the mortals

—

me by

say more upon this subject

my

heart's

?

by the pleasure you express, in reading I am dashing on and hope to close manuscript.

gratified

before the 10th of next month.

Many

a

weary league

wish my readers may be have I travelled with old Patrick. for, in truth, " I don't think it clever, willing to travel alter me " much ; and if they are only half as much fatigued in reading as I " Othello's occuhave been in writing it, adieu to Lochaber As for you and Bullock and Clarke, (for Clarke pation's gone " I

;

!

—

!

has been here, too, with swimming eyes,) you are all so partial to the subject and the writer, that there is no forming any conclusions as to the probable opinion of the world, from this cold

different

world of ours," as the song goes, reception,

— captious

criticism

I

your

feelings.

"

In

must expect a very

and a predisposition

to

LETTERS TO POPE AND MORRIS.

CHAP. XXII.]

find

know and it

But the die will soon be

fault.

our

let

him do

must fend wish

I

be offended,

will

— and

after

Business

duties, that

— but

I

must decline

and then pleasure,

first,

I

be hard put

shall

to

so it

my

is

to bring

and

all is

well,

Think of rallies,

I

hope

Dabney Carr

we

shall

up the lee-way. I

If

I

wish

live

What

But

upon you

shall call

we

this

professional

may

I

till

be able to make out a

Winchester.

in

— they

And

maxim.

keep your promise when the time comes.

then find you " a fairy promiser of joy."

:

visiting for this

all

much on my

Norfolk and Washington,

as to our trips to

friend

can give

if 1

" the hardest

tiiat,

could accompany you to see the two generals

same biography has encroached

to

shall

duty,

off." I

are both favorites with me, fall.

do

shall

I

we my

and

finally cast,

to J. T.,

Patrick shall have justice,

his worst.

who

to him, let

As

with certainty.

fate

415

next

visit to

not fall,

our

say you to that

.-'

the grandeur of the mountains, and the fertility of the

and the transparency of the limestone water, and of the

pleasure our friends there will have in seeing us.

Dabney and Frank Gilmer, Henry Tucker's long chin, and Hugh Holmes' wide mouth, not forgetting those thick lips of his, employed in singing the celebrated old English ballad of " The pigs," &c.

We

are

all

well, except our infant,

but thank Heaven, unite with

me

I

who

nearly restored.

in affectionate

and yourself; and till

now

is

am, as

I

has been very sick

My

wife and children compliments to Mrs. P., Lucy Ann ever have been, " your loving friend

death us do part."

Wm. Wirt.

WILLIAM WIRT TO RICHARD MORRIS, ESQ. Richmond, January

19, 1817.

" You are heartily welcome, brother Sliandy, though it were twice as much " but are you not a shabby fellow, to return the :

—

manuscript, without aiding

thought you considered

by the 1

will

strictures of

my

me

me with

a

single

criticism

so paltry a fellow as to be

friends,

I

.-*

If

I

wounded

should renounce you extempore.

not permit myself to suspect this, because

it

would pain

—

;

OWN VIEW

WIRT'S

416

OF HIS BOOK.

[1S15— 1816.

if one who knows me so well should think so modesty and understanding.

me much

my

had you appealed

Sir,

have given have

said, sir, (if I

ginia,

my

to

to you, " hip

it

I

would

" Your book,"

I

would

"may do

well enough in Vir-

but in other states, and more especially in

:

You have

doubt you will be damned.

I

keep your

subject itself has interest enough to

where the

foreign parts,

friendship in a like case,

and thigh."

had thought so)

chin above the water

style of narrative

—

both of

ill

your manner

your sentences ricketty and

is

not

the

not familiar and easy enough

stiff-jointed

frequent efforts to give importance to

;

—besides, there You

trifles.

are too

pardon

will

me, but your book abounds with many striking specimens of the sublime;

false

spirit;

— they

— your are

are

incidents

not detailed with

encumbered with a

frequently

sufficient

of

quantity

trite historical lumber, which causes the narrative to drag, and lose sight of Henry in wading through the reader to yawn.

We

The

your marshes.

speeches that you give as

your own pompous descriptions whole,

work

;

I

must confess that

— there are parts of me,

was

I

of his

which

but a poor thing

—

gratified

a whole,

to

advance the fame of the author or of his hero."

it is

the

me,

—but

and neither calculated

as

trust

Upon

painfully disappointed in your

to be sure,

it,

his, contradict

eloquence.

And

then,

would have proceeded to give specifications of these much ado " page 40, paragraph the 2d For instance about nothing it sounds to me very much like nonsense." " Page 60 paragraph the 1st: this is intended for pathos the Dutch I

sir,

charges.

:

—

—

you,

it

will rob

is

" Finally,

&c. &c.

fcathos,"

as a friend,

not to publish

you even of the

—

—

—

—

—

pronounce the word to

:

sir,

book

the

;

my

should have treated you

sir, I

— and

I

pected you to cry " thank'e .?" at every slash of

Now,

Morris, whether you will believe

thetic strictures

which

very remarks to which tell

me

friends

so,

till

who

I

are

I I

read them

I

iiave not

in

1

for

in

is liable.

some review.

more remarkable

than acuteness of intellect,

and

my book

is

surgical knife.

or not, the hypo-

sober sadness, the

Yet no one

From

warm and

This

should have ex-

my

me

have just made, are, fear

me,

standing you have, and cheapen

little

both Mr. Henry and yourself in the public estimation." the way,

advice

believe

those of

will

my

affectionate hearts

look naturally for eulogium only

been disappointed

—

their partiality for

me

blinding

CHAP. XXri.]

them

to the faults

acuteness, for

COMPLAINT OF

HIS

my

of the work.

Even from

should not be surprised

I

feelings, should dispose

HIS FRIENDS.

if

them

417

friends of greater

a false and unkind delicacy to conceal their objections.

But you are one of those men from whose sturdier and nobler caste both of friendship and character, I expected to hear the naked truth, with all the frankness, and even bluntness, of Kent in Shakspeare's Lear.

Instead of which, you

a short letter, which, to be sure,

which

deals in generals,

whatever.

Sir,

is

come out upon me with most kind and obliging, but

and gives

you are not

me no specific instruction me thus. I have you up

to escape

before the court, a witness upon oath, and

cross-examination

might as well

Hill

let it

I

come

you

will discover

fears on this subject.

oath you have taken

will torture

a

you

specification of

Answer me

— " and

:

you by

— so you

Cast your eyes, then, upon the

at once.

aforesaid hypothetic strictures, wherein, if to analyze,

I

get the whole truth out of you

will take the trouble

my own

doubts and

to these, head hy head, on the

then proceed with a statement of

you know respecting the points in issue." shall say you are no better than you should

If

you do not

all

this, I

be.

*

Will you tender to Mrs. Morris

and request her,

in

my

behalf, to

my

affectionate

compliments—

make you answer

this letter as early as your convenience will permit, promising her, in return, that though / have suffered a temporary relapse to the heresy of

snuff-taking,

I

will not give

you a pinch without her consent.

God

bless you,

Wm. Wirt.

END OF VOL.

I.