Patrick Henry The Herald Of The Revolution
There was a day in the history of the Old Dominion when a great lawsuit
was to be tried,--a great one, that is, to the people of Hanover County,
where it was heard, and to the colony of Virginia, though not to the
country at large. The Church of England was the legal church in
Virginia, whose people were expected to support it. This the members of
other churches did not like to do, and the people of Hanover County
woul
the preachers spread far and wide. It came to the House of Burgesses,
which body decided that the people need not pay them. It crossed the
ocean and reached the king of England, who decided that the people must
pay them. As the king's voice was stronger than that of the burgesses,
the clergy felt that they had an excellent case, and they brought a
lawsuit to recover their claims. By the old law each clergyman was to be
paid his salary in tobacco, one hundred and sixty thousand pounds weight
a year.
There seemed to be nothing to do but pay them, either in cash or
tobacco. All the old lawyers who looked into the question gave it up at
once, saying that the people had no standing against the king and the
clergy. But while men were saying that the case for the county would be
passed without a trial and a verdict rendered for the clergy, an amusing
rumor began to spread around. It was said that young Patrick Henry was
going to conduct the case for the people.
We call this amusing, and so it was to those who knew Patrick Henry. He
was a lawyer, to be sure, but one who knew almost nothing about the law
and had never made a public speech in his life. He was only twenty-seven
years of age, and those years had gone over him mainly in idleness. In
his boyhood days he had spent his time in fishing, hunting, dancing, and
playing the fiddle, instead of working on his father's farm. As he grew
older he liked sport too much and work too little to make a living. He
tried store-keeping and failed through neglect of his business. He
married a wife whose father gave him a farm, but he failed with this,
too, fishing and fiddling when he should have been working, and in two
years the farm was sold. Then he went back to store-keeping, and with
the same result. The trouble was his love for the fiddle and the
fishing-line, which stood very much in the way of business. He was too
lazy and fond of good company and a good time to make a living for
himself and his wife.
The easy-going fellow was now in a critical situation. He had to do
something if he did not want to starve, so he borrowed some old
law-books and began to read law. Six weeks later he applied to an old
judge for a license to practise in the courts. The judge questioned him
and found that he knew nothing about the law; but young Henry pleaded
with him so ardently, and promised so faithfully to keep on studying,
that the judge gave him the license and he hung out his shingle as a
lawyer.
Whatever else Patrick Henry might be good for, people thought that to
call himself a lawyer was a mere laughing matter. An awkward, stooping,
ungainly fellow, dressed roughly in leather breeches and yarn stockings,
and not knowing even how to pronounce the king's English correctly, how
could he ever succeed in a learned profession? As a specimen of his
manner of speech at that time we are told that once, when denying the
advantages of education, he clinched the argument by exclaiming,
"Nait'ral parts are better than all the larnin' on airth."
As for the law, he did not know enough about it to draw up the simplest
law-paper. As a result, he got no business, and was forced, as a last
resort, to help keep a tavern which his father-in-law possessed at
Hanover Court-House. And so he went on for two or three years, till
1763, when the celebrated case came up. Those who knew him might well
look on it as a joke when the word went round that Patrick Henry was
going to "plead against the parsons." That so ignorant a lawyer should
undertake to handle a case which all the old lawyers had refused might
well be held as worthy only of ridicule. They did not know Patrick
Henry. It is not quite sure that he knew himself. His father sat on the
bench as judge, but what he thought of his son's audacity history does
not say.
When the day for the trial came there was a great crowd at Hanover
Court-House, for the people were much interested in the case. On the
opening of the court the young lawyer crossed the street from the tavern
and took his seat behind the bar. What he saw was enough to dismay and
confuse a much older man. The court-room was crowded, and every man in
it seemed to have his eyes fixed on the daring young counsel, many of
them with covert smiles on their faces. The twelve men of the jury were
chosen. There were present a large number of the clergy waiting
triumphantly for the verdict, which they were sure would be in their
favor, and looking in disdain at the young lawyer. On the bench as judge
sat John Henry, doubtless feeling that he had a double duty to perform,
to judge at once the case and his son.
The aspiring advocate, so little learned in the law and so poorly
dressed and ungainly in appearance, looked as if he would have given
much just then to be out of the court and clear of the case. But the die
was cast; he was in for it now.
The counsel for the clergymen opened the case. He dwelt much on the law
of the matter, whose exact meaning he declared was beyond question. The
courts had already decided on that subject, and so had his sacred
majesty, the king of England. There was nothing for the jury to do, he
asserted, but to decide how much money his clients were entitled to
under the law. The matter seemed so clear that he made but a brief
address and sat down with a look of complete satisfaction. As he did so
Patrick Henry rose.
This, as may well be imagined, was a critical moment in the young
lawyer's life. He rose very awkwardly and seemed thoroughly frightened.
Every eye was fixed on him and not a sound was heard. Henry was in a
state of painful embarrassment. When he began to speak, his voice was so
low that he could hardly be heard, and he faltered so sadly that his
friends felt that all was at an end.
But, as he himself had once said, "Nait'ral parts are better than all
the larnin' on airth;" and he had these "nait'ral parts," as he was
about to prove. As he went on a change in his aspect took place. His
form became erect, his head uplifted, his voice clearer and firmer. He
soon began to make it appear that he had thought deeply on the people's
cause and was prepared to handle it strongly. His eyes began to flash,
his voice to grow resonant and fill the room; in the words of William
Wirt, his biographer, "As his mind rolled along and began to glow from
its own action, all the exuviae of the clown seemed to shed themselves
spontaneously."
The audience listened in surprise, the clergy in consternation. Was this
the Patrick Henry they had known? It was very evident that the young
advocate knew just what he was talking about, and he went on with a
forcible and burning eloquence that fairly carried away every listener.
There was no thought now of his clothes and his uncouthness. The manstood revealed before them, a man with a gift of eloquence such as
Virginia had never before known. He said very little on the law of the
case, knowing that to be against him, but he addressed himself to the
jury on the rights of the people and of the colony, and told them it was
their duty to decide between the House of Burgesses and the king of
England. The Burgesses, he said, were their own people, men of their own
choice, who had decided in their favor; the king was a stranger to them,
and had no right to order them what to do.
Here he was interrupted by the old counsel for the clergy, who rose in
great indignation and exclaimed, "The gentleman has spoken treason."
We do not know just what words Henry used in reply. We have no record of
that famous speech. But he was not the man to be frightened by the word
"treason," and did not hesitate to repeat his words more vigorously than
before. As for the parsons, he declared, their case was worthless. Men
who led such lives as they were known to have done had no right to
demand money from the people. So bitterly did he denounce them that all
those in the room rose and left the court in a body.
By the time the young advocate had reached the end of his speech the
whole audience was in a state of intense excitement. They had been
treated to the sensation of their lives, and looked with utter
astonishment at the marvellous orator, who had risen from obscurity to
fame in that brief hour. Breathless was the interest with which the
jury's verdict was awaited. The judge charged that the law was in favor
of the parsons and that the king's order must be obeyed, but they had
the right to decide on the amount of damages. They were not long in
deciding, and their verdict was the astounding one of one penny
damages.
The crowd was now beyond control. A shout of delight and approbation
broke out. Uproar and confusion followed the late decorous quiet. The
parsons' lawyer cried out that the verdict was illegal and asked the
judge to send the jury back. But his voice was lost in the acclamations
of the multitude. Gathering round Patrick Henry, they picked him up
bodily, lifted him to their shoulders, and bore him out, carrying him in
triumph through the town, which rang loudly with their cries and cheers.
Thus it was that the young lawyer of Hanover rose to fame.
Two years after that memorable day Patrick Henry found himself in a
different situation. He was now a member of the dignified House of
Burgesses, the oldest legislative body in America. An aristocratic body
it was, made up mostly of wealthy landholders, dressed in courtly attire
and sitting in proud array. There were few poor men among them, and
perhaps no other plain countryman to compare with the new member from
Hanover County, who had changed but little in dress and appearance from
his former aspect.
A great question was before the House. The Stamp Act had been passed in
England and the people of the colonies were in a high state of
indignation. They rose in riotous mobs and vowed they would never pay a
penny of the tax. As for the Burgesses, they proposed to act with more
loyalty and moderation. They would petition the king to do them justice.
It was as good as rebellion to refuse to obey him.
The member from Hanover listened to their debate, and said to himself
that it was weak and its purpose futile. He felt sure that the action
they proposed would do no good, and when they had fairly exhausted
themselves he rose to offer his views on the question at issue.
Very likely some of the fine gentlemen there looked at him with surprise
and indignation. Who was this presumptuous new member who proposed to
tell the older members what to do? Some of them may have known him and
been familiar with that scene in Hanover Court-House. Others perhaps
mentally deplored the indignity of sending common fellows like this to
sit in their midst.
But Patrick Henry now knew his powers, and cared not a whit for their
respectable sentiments. He had something to say and proposed to say
it. Beginning in a quiet voice, he told them that the Stamp Act was
illegal, as ignoring the right of the House to make the laws for the
colony. It was not only illegal, but it was oppressive, and he moved
that the House of Burgesses should pass a series of resolutions which he
would read.
These resolutions were respectful in tone, but very decided in meaning.
The last of them declared that nobody but the Burgesses had the right to
tax Virginians. This statement roused the house. It sounded like
rebellion against the king. Several speakers rose together and all of
them denounced the resolutions as injudicious and impertinent. The
excitement of the loyalists grew as they proceeded, but they subsided
into silence when the man who had offered the resolutions rose to defend
them.
Patrick Henry was aroused. As he spoke his figure grew straight and
erect, his voice loud and resonant, his eye flashed, the very sweep of
his hand was full of force and power. He for one was not prepared to
become a slave to England and her king. He denounced the islanders who
proposed to rob Americans of their vested rights. In what way was an
Englishman better than a Virginian? he asked. Were they not of one blood
and born with the same right to liberty and justice? What right had the
Parliament to act the tyrant to the colonies? Then, referring to the
king, he bade him in thundering tones to beware of the consequences of
his acts.
"Caesar had his Brutus," he exclaimed, in tones of thrilling force,
"Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third----"
"Treason! Treason!" came from a dozen excited voices, but Henry did not
flinch.
"May profit by their example." Then, in a quieter tone, he added: "If
this be treason, make the most of it!"
He took his seat. He had said his words. These words still roll down the
tide of American history as resonantly as when they were spoken. As for
the House of Burgesses, it was carried away by the strength of this
wonderful speech. When the resolutions came to a vote it was seen that
Henry had won. They were carried, even the last and most daring of them,
by one vote majority. As the Burgesses tumultuously adjourned, one
member rushed out in great excitement, declaring that he would have
given five hundred guineas for one vote to defeat the treasonable
resolutions. But the people with delight heard of what had passed, and
as Henry passed through the crowd a plain countryman clapped him on the
shoulder, exclaiming,--
"Stick to us, old fellow, or we are gone."
Ten years later, in the old church of St. John's, at Richmond, Virginia,
standing not far from the spot where the old Indian emperor, Powhatan,
once resided, a convention was assembled to decide on the state of the
country. Rebellion was in the air. In a month more the first shots of
the Revolution were to be fired at Lexington. Patrick Henry, still the
same daring patriot as of old, rose and moved that Virginia "be
immediately put in a state of defence."
This raised almost as much opposition as his former resolutions in the
House of Burgesses, and his blood was boiling as he rose to speak. It
was the first speech of his that has been preserved, and it was one that
still remains unsurpassed in the annals of American eloquence. We give
its concluding words. He exclaimed, in tones of thunder,--
"There is no retreat but in submission and slavery. Our chains are
forged, their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston. The war is
inevitable; and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come! It is in
vain to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, 'Peace, peace,' but
there is no peace. The war is actually begun. The next gale that sweeps
from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms. Our
brethren are already in the field. What is it that gentlemen wish? What
would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased
at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not
what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me
death!"
His motion was passed, and Virginia told the world that she was ready to
fight. A month later there came from the north "the clash of resounding
arms;" the American Revolution was launched.
"It is not easy to say what we would have done without Patrick Henry,"
says Thomas Jefferson. "His eloquence was peculiar; if, indeed, it
should be called eloquence, for it was impressive and sublime beyond
what can be imagined. After all, it must be allowed that he was our
leader. He left us all far behind."
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We have told how Sparta came to have an aristocratic government, under the laws of Lycurgus. We have now to tell how Athens came to have a democratic government, under the laws of Solon. These formed the types of government for later Greece, some ... Solyman The Magnificent At Guntz
Solyman the Magnificent, Sultan of Turkey, had collected an army of dimensions as magnificent as his name, and was on his march to overwhelm Austria and perhaps subject all western Europe to his arms. A few years before he had swept Hungary with h... Some Adventures Of Major Putnam
The vicinity of the mountain-girdled, island-dotted, tourist-inviting Lake George has perhaps been the scene of more of the romance of war than any other locality that could be named. Fort Ticonderoga, on the ridge between that beautiful sheet of... Spain's Greatest Victory At Sea
On the 16th of September, 1571, there sailed from the harbor of Messina one of the greatest fleets the Mediterranean had ever borne upon its waves. It consisted of more than three hundred vessels, most of them small, but some of great bulk for tha... St Bartholomew's Day
"Kill! kill! kill!" was the cry in Paris. "Blood! blood! death to the Huguenots!" came from the lips of thousands of maddened murderers. Blood flowed everywhere; men dabbled in blood, almost bathed in blood. A crimson tide flowed in the streets of P... Sten Sture's Great Victory Over The Danes
Historical tales have much to do with war and bloodshed, with rides and raids, with schemes and stratagems, with plunder and piracy, and with outrage and oppression. These are the things to which historians give the most space in their pages and whi... Stuart's Famous Chambersburg Raid
Of all the minor operations of the Civil War, the one most marked at once by daring and success was the pioneer invasion of the Northern States, the notable Chambersburg raid of the most famous cavalry leader of the Confederacy, General J. E. B. Stu... Suwarrow The Unconquerable
Of men born for battle, to whose ears the roar of cannon and the clash of sabres are the only music, the smoke of conflict their native atmosphere, Suwarrow (Suvarof, to give him his Russian name) stands among the foremost. A little, wrinkled, sto... Sverre The Cook's Son And The Birchlegs
In the year 1177 those people in Norway who loved a joke must have laughed to their hearts' content, when the tidings reached them that the son of a cook, followed by seventy ragged and half armed men, had set out to win the throne of the kingdom. S... Tacon The Governor And Marti The Smuggler
In 1834 Don Miguel Tacon, one of the most vigorous and tyrannical of the governor-generals of Cuba, took control of the island, which he ruled with a stern will and an iron hand. One of the purposes in which he was most earnest was that of suppres... The Advance Of Russia In Asia
The Emperor of Russia, lord of his people, absolute autocrat over some one hundred and twenty-five millions of the human race, to-day stands master not only of half the soil of Europe but of more than a third of the far greater continent of Asia. ... The Adventure Of The Magic Ship
After Galahad had rescued Percivale from the twenty knights, he rode into a vast forest, through which he journeyed for many days, meeting there many strange adventures. Then fortune took him past a castle where a tournament was in progress, and w... The Adventures Of A Fugitive Prince
A new dynasty came to the throne of the caliphs of Damascus in 750. The line of the Ommeyades, who had held the throne since the days of the Prophet Mohammed, was overthrown, and the line of the Abbassides began. Abdullah, the new caliph, bent on ...