Not long since, a gentleman was traveling in one of the counties of
Virginia, and about the close of the day stopped at a public house to
obtain refreshment and spend the night. He had been there but a short
time, before an old man alighted from his gig, with the apparent intention
of becoming his fellow guest at the same house.
As the old man drove up, he observed that both the shafts of his gig were
broken, and that they were held together by withes, formed from the bark
of a hickory sapling. Our traveler observed further that he was plainly
clad, that his knee buckles were loosened, and that something like
negligence pervaded his dress. Conceiving him to be one of the honest
yeomanry of our land, the courtesies of strangers passed between them, and
they entered the tavern. It was about the same time, that an addition of
three or four young gentlemen was made to their number; most, if not all
of them, of the legal profession.
As soon as they became conveniently accommodated, the conversation was
turned, by one of the latter, upon the eloquent harangue which had that
day been displayed at the bar. It was replied by the other that he had
witnessed, the same day, a degree of eloquence no doubt equal, but it was
from the pulpit. Something like a sarcastic rejoinder was made as to the
eloquence of the pulpit, and a warm and able altercation ensued, in which
the merits of the Christian religion became the subject of discussion.
From six o'clock until eleven, the young champions wielded the sword of
argument, adducing with ingenuity and ability everything that could be
said pro and con.
During this protracted period, the old gentleman listened with the
meekness and modesty of a child, as if he were adding new information to
the stores of his own mind; or perhaps he was observing, with a
philosophic eye, the faculties of the youthful mind, and how new energies
are evolved by repeated action; or perhaps, with patriotic emotion, he was
reflecting upon the future destinies of his country, and on the rising
generation, upon whom those future destinies must devolve; or, most
probably, with a sentiment of moral and religious feeling, he was
collecting an argument which no art would be "able to elude, and no force
to resist." Our traveler remained a spectator, and took no part in what
was said.
At last one of the young men, remarking that it was impossible to combat
with long and established prejudices, wheeled around, and with some
familiarity exclaimed, "Well, my old gentleman, what think you of these
things?" "If," said the traveler, "a streak of vivid lightning had at that
moment crossed the room, their amazement could not have been greater than
it was from what followed." The most eloquent and unanswerable appeal that
he had ever heard or read, was made for nearly an hour by the old
gentleman. So perfect was his recollection, that every argument urged
against the Christian religion was met in the order in which it was
advanced. Hume's sophistry on the subject of miracles, was, if possible,
more perfectly answered than it had already been done by Campbell. And in
the whole lecture there was so much simplicity and energy, pathos and
sublimity, that not another word was uttered.
"An attempt to describe it," said the traveler, "would be an attempt to
paint the sunbeams." It was now a matter of curiosity and inquiry who the
old gentleman was. The traveler concluded that it was the preacher from
whom the pulpit eloquence was heard; but no, it was John Marshall, the
Chief Justice of the United States.
NOTES.--David Hume (b. 1711, d. 1776) was a celebrated Scotch historian
and essayist. His most important work is "The History of England." He was
a skeptic in matters of religion, and was a peculiarly subtle writer.
George Campbell (b. 1719, d. 1796) was a distinguished Scotch minister. He
wrote "A Dissertation on Miracles," ably answering Hume's "Essay on
Miracles."
John Marshall (b. 1755, d. 1835) was Chief Justice of the United States
from 1801 until his death. He was an eminent jurist, and wrote a "Life of
Washington," which made him famous as an author.