HIS ELECTION TO THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES. 193 minutes, they might be seen, in every part of the house, on every bench, in every window, stooping forward from their stands, in death-like silence; their features fixed in amazement and awe; all their senses listening and riveted upon the speaker, as if to catch the last strain of some heavenly visitant. The mockery of the clergy was soon turned into alarm; their triumph into confusion and despair; and at one burst of his rapid and overwhelming invective, they fled from the bench in precipitation and terror. As for the father, such was his surprise, such his amazement, such his rapture, that, forgetting where he was, and the character he was filling, tears of ecstasy streamed down his cheeks, without the power or inclination to repress them.' The bewildered jurymen were swept away with statutes and precedents, and at once brought in a verdict of one penny damages. The last nail in the coffin of Church and State in the Thirteen Colonies had been driven home. From this hour Patrick Henry led the bar of Virginia, till he retired from it, covered with honors. I need not dwell upon his long, brilliant career; it will be enough to touch upon two or three passages. Time went by. The call of Massachusetts for the first National Congress had reached Virginia, and Henry was elected a member of the House of Burgesses, which alone could choose delegates. He was among the youngest and least experienced of the body, but the fame of the Parson's case' had filled the State. Those only who had heard of that wonderful argument, had any just conception of his transcendent power; nor among them all could there have been a single man who suspected the breadth, the strength, and the prophetic glance of his statesmanship. In the House of Burgesses were such men as Richard Henry Lee, Pendleton, Wythe, Bland, Fleming, Johnston, Fairfax, and a score of others, who were to become illustrious in the field and senate, among the mighty host of great men then coming forward in the conflict of debate, the collisions of diplomacy, and the strife of battle; and to them he was to show that men are born statesmen and lawyers, as well as poets. A word on the political feeling of the State of Virginia: Bancroft and all historians agree that Virginia received the news of the British plan to tax America with consternation, to be soon followed by a deeper feeling. The planters, foreboding ruin to their business, resolved that the act should recoil on England. For the first time, they began to approve of frugality, and be proud of it. Articles of luxury, of English manufacture, were banished, and threadbare coats were most in fashion.' But although indignation had spread through the State, yet no one had, up to this time, breathed a thought of the independence of the Colonies. The hour was drawing near for the enforcement of the Stamp Act. For several weeks Henry had suppressed the passions which burned in his soul. Older statesmen were cautious, lest their loyalty should be suspected. All the other colonies, through timid hesitation, or the want of opportunity, still remained silent.' Patrick Henry disdained submission. No response was likely to be sent back to Massachusetts. The session was drawing to a close, and a maiority of the members made an 194 HENRY'S FIVE RESOLUTIONS. excuse for leaving, since there was an apprehension that some rash measures might be proposed. Alone, a burgess of but a few days, unadvised and unassisted, in an auspicious moment, of which the recollection cheered him to his latest day, he came forward in the committee of the whole House, and while Thomas Jefferson, a young collegian from the mountain frontier, stood outside of the closed hall, eager to catch the first tidings of resistance, and George Washington, as is believed, was in his place as a member, he maintained his resolutions.' ' These Immortal 'Resolutions,' as Jefferson called them, must have their place here. After his death, Wirt informs us, they were found, in his own handwriting, sealed, the envelope thus endorsed :-'ENCLOSED ARE RESOLUTIONS OF THE VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY, IN 1765, CONCERNING THE STAMP ACT. LET MY EXECUTORS OPEN THIS PAPER.' 'Resolved, That the first adventurers and settlers of this his majesty's colony and dominion, brought with them, and transmitted to their posterity, and all other his majesty's subjects, since inhabiting in this his majesty's said colony, all the privileges, franchises, and immunities, that have at any time been held, enjoyed, and possessed, by the people of Great Britain. Resolved, That by two royal charters, granted by King James the First, the colonists aforesaid, are declared entitled to all the privileges, liberties, and immunities of denizens and natural-born subjects, to all intents and purposes, as if they had been abiding and born within the realm of England. Resolved, That the taxation of the people by themselves, or by persons chosen by themselves to represent them, who can only know what taxes the people are able to bear, and the easiest mode of raising them, and are equally affected by such taxes themselves, is the distinguishing characteristics of British freedom, and without which the ancient constitution cannot subsist. 'Resolved, That his majesty's liege people of this most ancient colony, have uninterruptedly enjoyed the right of being thus governed by their own Assembly, in the article of their taxes and internal police, and that the same hath never been forfeited, or any other way given up, but hath been constantly recognized by the King and people of Great Britain. 'Resolved, therefore, That the General Assembly of this colony have the sole right and power to lay taxes and impositions upon the inhabitants of this colony; and that every attempt to vest such power in any person or persons whatsoever, other than the General Assembly aforesaid, has a tendency to destroy British as well as American freedom.' Mr. Wirt discovered these resolutions in Henry's autograph :-'The within resolutions passed the House of Burgesses in May, 1765. They formed the first opposition to the Stamp Act, and the scheme of taxing America by the British Parliament. All the Colonies, either through fear or want of op portunity to form an opposition, or from influence of some kind or other, had remained silent. I had been for the first time elected a burgess a few 1 Bancroft, vol. v. p. 275. TERRIFIC POWER OF HENRY'S ELOQUENCE. 195 days before; was young and inexperienced, unacquainted with the forms of the House, and the members that composed it. Finding the men of weight averse to opposition, and the commencement of the tax at hand, and that no person was likely to step forth, I determined to venture, and alone, unadvised, and unassisted, on a blank leaf of an old law-book, [Judge Tyler says an old Coke upon Littleton] wrote the within. Upon offering them to the house violent debates ensued, many threats were uttered, and much abuse cast on me by the party for submission. After a long and warm contest, the resolutions passed by a very small majority, perhaps of one or two only. The alarm spread throughout America with astonishing quickness and the ministerial party were overwhelmed-the great point of resistance to British taxation was universally established in the colonies. This brought on the war which finally separated the two countries, and gave independence to ours. Whether this will prove a blessing or a curse, will depend upon the use our people make of the blessing which a gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are of a contrary character, they will be miserable. Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation. Reader, whoever thou art, remember this; and in thy sphere, practise virtue thyself, and encourage it in others. Patrick Henry.' 'By these resolutions'' says Mr. Jefferson, who was an eye-witness of the scene, and his manner of supporting them, Mr. Henry took the lead out of the hands of those who had heretofore guided the proceedings of the house; that is to say, of Pendleton, Wythe, Bland, Randolph.' 'It was,' continues Wirt, 'indeed the measure which raised him to the zenith of his glory. He had never before had a subject which entirely matched his genius, and was capable of drawing out all the powers of his mind. It was remarked of him throughout his life, that his talents never failed to rise with the occasion, and in proportion with the resistance which he had to encounter. The nicety of the vote on his last resolution, proves that it was not a time to hold in reserve any part of his forces. It was indeed an Alpine passage, under circumstances even more unpropitious than those of Hannibal; for he had not only to fight, hand to hand, the powerful party who were already in possession of the heights, but 1 Wirt's Henry, pp. 75-76. Such was the Declaration of colonial rights, adopted at his instance by the Assembly of Virginia. It followed from these resolutions that the General Assembly of the whole colony have the sole right and power to lay taxes on the inhabitants of the colony, and that any attempt to vest such power in any other person whatever tended to destroy British as well as American freedom; that the inhabitants of Virginia were not bound to yield obedience to any law designed to impose taxation upon them other than the laws of their own General Assembly, and that any one who should, either by speaking or writing, maintain the contrary should be deemed an enemy to the colony. A stormy debate arose; and many threats were uttered. Robinson, the speaker, already a defaulter, Peyton Randolph, the king's attorney, and the frank, honest, and independent George Wythe, a lover of classic learning, accustomed to guide the house by his strong understanding and single-minded integrity, exerted all their powers to moderate the tone of the hot and virulent resolutions; while John Randolph, the best lawyer in the colony, singly resisted the whole proceeding. But, on the other side, George Johnston, Vir 196 HE REACHES THE SUMMIT OF GLORY. at the same instant to cheer and animate the timid band of followers, that were trembling, and fainting, and drawing back below him. It was an occasion that called upon him to put forth all his strength, and he did put it forth in such a manner as man never did before. The cords of argument with which his adversaries frequently flattered themselves that they had bound him fast, became packthreads in his hands. He burst them with as much ease as the unshorn Samson did the bands of the Philistines. He seized the pillars of the temple, shook them terribly, and seemed to threaten his opponents with ruin. It was an incessant storm of lightning and thunder, which struck them aghast. The faint-hearted gathered courage from his countenance, and cowards became heroes while they gazed on his exploits. 'It was in the midst of this magnificent debate, while he was descanting on the tyranny of the obnoxious act, that he exclaimed with a voice of thunder, and with a look of a god, "Cæsar had his Brutus-Charles the First, his Cromwell, and George the Third-[" Treason!" cried the Speaker-"Treason, treason!' echoed from every part of the house. It was one of those trying moments which is decisive of character. Henry faltered not for an instant; but rising to a loftier attitude, and fixing on the Speaker an eye of the most determined fire, he finished his sentence with the firmest emphasis,] may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it."' 'It is not wonderful,' Mr. Wirt appropriately adds :-'That even the friends of colonial rights who knew the feeble and defenceless situation of this country, should be startled at a step so bold and daring. That effect was produced; and the resolutions were resisted, not only by the aristocracy of the house, but by many of those who were afterwards distinguished among the brightest champions of American liberty. 'From this period Mr. Henry became the idol of the people of Virginia; nor was his name confined to his native State. His light and heat were seen and felt throughout the continent, and he was everywhere regarded as the great champion of colonial liberty. The impulse thus given by Virginia was caught by the other colonies. His resolutions were everywhere adopted with progressive variations. The spirit of resistance became bolder and bolder, until the whole continent was in a flame; and by the first of November, when the Stamp Act was, according to its provisions, to have taken effect, its execution had become utterly impracticable.' 1 I have thus brought into the foreground a few of the chief figures which hold their sentinel stations along the border-land of our pre-Revolutionary history. I chose them because, in their separate spheres, they all acted nobly the principal parts which Providence assigned them. It was not an easy matter 1 Wirt's Henry, pp. 83-85. The Revolution may be truly said to have commenced with his resolutions in 1765. From that period not an hour of settled peace had existed between the two countries. It is true that the eruption produced by the Stamp Act had subsided with its repeal, and the people had resumed their ancient settlements and occupations; but there was no peace of the heart or of the mind. The rumbling of the volcano was still audible, and the smoke of the crater, continually ascending, mingled not unfrequently with ignited matter, which announced a new and more terrible explosion. These were the times that tried the souls of men, and never in any country or in any age did there exist a race of men whose souls were better fitted to endure trial.-Wirt's Henry, ?. 193. INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING IN THE COLONIES. 197 among 'so great a cloud of witnesses' to choose wisely, where so many had been called, and so few could be chosen. But my reader will probably agree with me that these men whose careers I have thus so inadequately traced, represent the true spirit and thoughts of that interesting period which immediately preceded the approaching contest for the vindication of American principles, on which the future welfare of mankind was so much to depend. SECTION SIXTH. INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING IN THE COLONIES. While the volcano is sleeping, and before the eruption takes place, let us turn to some subjects of calmer contemplation. We shall better understand the work our fathers had before them, and how they did it, if we glance at those institutions of learning where the blessed lights of knowledge had long been beaming. We must see where the Fathers of the Republic were educated; where the guiding minds of that signal period were shaped: for be it never forgotten that the American Revolution was not the frantic ravings of a mob; nor the sudden ebullitions of the blind rage of an ignorant multitude; it was not the fruit of unguided zeal, or vulgar passion. It was the result of long thinking, of calm reasoning, of profound judicial knowledge. It was the work of an intelligence higher and deeper than had given birth to any other revolution which was so materially to change the political institutions and social condition of a whole people, or put forth so wide an influence upon the fortunes of other nations. I attach an importance beyond all power of expression, to those nine Colleges which educated the generation of men who achieved our independence, and laid the foundations of our government. To them we owe a debt of gratitude we never can pay, except by furnishing such generous aid as the opulence of our age can so readily give, to enrich the resources, and expand the sphere of usefulness of these nursing mothers of the Romuli of the Republic. While the vast sums which are now being given with a munificence for which regal is no name, to found new schools of learning, it is a subject of perhaps still livelier congratulation that these venerable shrines, which have been hallowed by the votive offerings of former generations, are now rising in new strength and splendor. And although some readers may find little to interest them in the records of these colleges which I shall now give, yet I believe that the great proportion of those who will go with me through these historic fields, will find the scenes we now enter for a brief interval by no means the least inviting portion of our colonial history. Impressed with the special importance of extreme accuracy in memorials so brief, I solicited the aid of the Librarians of the 'nstitutions I speak of, |