IN RETIREMENT
In the year 1794, being then fifty-eight years old, and possessed at
last of a competent fortune, Patrick Henry withdrew from his
profession, and resolved to spend in retirement the years that should
remain to him on earth. Removing from Prince Edward County, he lived
for a short time at Long Island, in Campbell County; but in 1795 he
finally established himself in the county of Charlotte, on an estate
called Red Hill,--an estate which continued to be his home during the
rest of his life, which gave to him his burial place, and which still
remains in the possession of his descendants.
The rapidity with which he had thus risen out of pecuniary
embarrassments was not due alone to the earnings of his profession
during those few years; for while his eminence as an advocate
commanded the highest fees, probably, that were then paid in Virginia,
it is apparent from his account-books that those fees were not at all
exorbitant, and for a lawyer of his standing would not now be regarded
as even considerable. The truth is that, subsequently to his youthful
and futile attempts at business, he had so profited by the experiences
of his life as to have become a sagacious and an expert man of
business. "He could buy or sell a horse, or a negro, as well as
anybody, and was peculiarly a judge of the value and quality of
lands."[434] It seems to have been chiefly from his investments in
lands, made by him with foresight and judgment, and from which, for a
long time, he had reaped only burdens and anxieties, that he derived
the wealth that secured for him the repose of his last years. The
charge long afterward made by Jefferson, that Patrick Henry's fortune
came either from a mean use of his right to pay his land debts in a
depreciated currency "not worth oak-leaves," or from any connection on
his part with the profligate and infamous Yazoo speculation, has been
shown, by ample evidence, to be untrue.[435]
The descriptions which have come down to us of the life led by the old
statesman in those last five years of retirement make a picture
pleasant to look upon. The house at Red Hill, which then became his
home, "is beautifully situated on an elevated ridge, the dividing line
of Campbell and Charlotte, within a quarter of a mile of the junction
of Falling River with the Staunton. From it the valley of the Staunton
stretches southward about three miles, varying from a quarter to
nearly a mile in width, and of an oval-like form. Through most fertile
meadows waving in their golden luxuriance, slowly winds the river,
overhung by mossy foliage, while on all sides gently sloping hills,
rich in verdure, enclose the whole, and impart to it an air of
seclusion and repose. From the brow of the hill, west of the house, is
a scene of an entirely different character: the Blue Ridge, with the
lofty peaks of Otter, appears in the horizon at a distance of nearly
sixty miles." Under the trees which shaded his lawn, and "in full view
of the beautiful valley beneath, the orator was accustomed, in
pleasant weather, to sit mornings and evenings, with his chair leaning
against one of their trunks, and a can of cool spring-water by his
side, from which he took frequent draughts. Occasionally, he walked to
and fro in the yard from one clump of trees to the other, buried in
revery, at which times he was never interrupted."[436] "His great
delight," says one of his sons-in-law, "was in conversation, in the
society of his friends and family, and in the resources of his own
mind."[437] Thus beneath his own roof, or under the shadow of his own
trees, he loved to sit, like a patriarch, with his family and his
guests gathered affectionately around him, and there, free from
ceremony as from care, to give himself up to the interchange of
congenial thought whether grave or playful, and even to the sports of
the children. "His visitors," writes one of them, "have not
unfrequently caught him lying on the floor, with a group of these
little ones climbing over him in every direction, or dancing around
him with obstreperous mirth, to the tune of his violin, while the only
contest seemed to be who should make the most noise."[438]
The evidence of contemporaries respecting the sweetness of his spirit
and his great lovableness in private life is most abundant. One who
knew him well in his family, and who was also quite willing to be
critical upon occasion, has said:--
"With respect to the domestic character of Mr. Henry,
nothing could be more amiable. In every relation, as a
husband, father, master, and neighbor, he was entirely
exemplary. As to the disposition of Mr. Henry, it was the
best imaginable. I am positive that I never saw him in a
passion, nor apparently even out of temper. Circumstances
which would have highly irritated other men had no such
visible effect on him. He was always calm and collected; and
the rude attacks of his adversaries in debate only whetted
the poignancy of his satire.... Shortly after the
Constitution was adopted, a series of the most abusive and
scurrilous pieces came out against him, under the signature
of Decius. They were supposed to be written by John
Nicholas, ... with the assistance of other more important
men. They assailed Mr. Henry's conduct in the Convention,
and slandered his character by various stories hatched up
against him. These pieces were extremely hateful to all Mr.
Henry's friends, and, indeed, to a great portion of the
community. I was at his house in Prince Edward during the
thickest of them.... He evinced no feeling on the occasion,
and far less condescended to parry the effects on the public
mind. It was too puny a contest for him, and he reposed upon
the consciousness of his own integrity.... With many sublime
virtues, he had no vice that I knew or ever heard of, and
scarcely a foible. I have thought, indeed, that he was too
much attached to property,--a defect, however, which might
be excused when we reflect on the largeness of a beloved
family, and the straitened circumstances in which he had
been confined during a great part of his life."[439]
Concerning his personal habits, we have, through his grandson, Patrick
Henry Fontaine, some testimony which has the merit of placing the
great man somewhat more familiarly before us. "He was," we are told,
"very abstemious in his diet, and used no wine or alcoholic
stimulants. Distressed and alarmed at the increase of drunkenness
after the Revolutionary war, he did everything in his power to arrest
the vice. He thought that the introduction of a harmless beverage, as
a substitute for distilled spirits, would be beneficial. To effect
this object, he ordered from his merchant in Scotland a consignment of
barley, and a Scotch brewer and his wife to cultivate the grain, and
make small beer. To render the beverage fashionable and popular, he
always had it upon his table while he was governor during his last
term of office; and he continued its use, but drank nothing stronger,
while he lived."[440]
Though he was always a most loyal Virginian, he became, particularly
in his later years, very unfriendly to that renowned and consolatory
herb so long associated with the fame and fortune of his native State.
"In his old age, the condition of his nervous system made
the scent of a tobacco-pipe very disagreeable to him. The
old colored house-servants were compelled to hide their
pipes, and rid themselves of the scent of tobacco, before
they ventured to approach him.... They protested that they
had not smoked, or seen a pipe; and he invariably proved the
culprit guilty by following the scent, and leading them to
the corn-cob pipes hid in some crack or cranny, which he
made them take and throw instantly into the kitchen fire,
without reforming their habits, or correcting the evil,
which is likely to continue as long as tobacco will
grow."[441]
Concerning another of his personal habits, during the years thus
passed in retirement at Red Hill, there is a charming description,
also derived from the grandson to whom we are indebted for the facts
just mentioned:--
"His residence overlooked a large field in the bottom of
Staunton River, the most of which could be seen from his
yard. He rose early; and in the mornings of the spring,
summer, and fall, before sunrise, while the air was cool and
calm, reflecting clearly and distinctly the sounds of the
lowing herds and singing birds, he stood upon an eminence,
and gave orders and directions to his servants at work a
half mile distant from him. The strong, musical voices of
the negroes responded to him. During this elocutionary
morning exercise, his enunciation was clear and distinct
enough to be heard over an area which ten thousand people
could not have filled; and the tones of his voice were as
melodious as the notes of an Alpine horn."[442]
Of course the house-servants and the field-servants just mentioned
were slaves; and, from the beginning to the end of his life, Patrick
Henry was a slaveholder. He bought slaves, he sold slaves, and, along
with the other property--the lands, the houses, the cattle--bequeathed
by him to his heirs, were numerous human beings of the African race.
What, then, was the opinion respecting slavery held by this great
champion of the rights of man? "Is it not amazing"--thus he wrote in
1773--"that, at a time when the rights of humanity are defined and
understood with precision, in a country above all others fond of
liberty, in such an age, we find men, professing a religion the most
humane, mild, meek, gentle, and generous, adopting a principle as
repugnant to humanity as it is inconsistent with the Bible and
destructive to liberty?... Would any one believe that I am master of
slaves of my own purchase? I am drawn along by the general
inconvenience of living without them. I will not, I cannot, justify
it; however culpable my conduct, I will so far pay my 'devoir' to
virtue as to own the excellence and rectitude of her precepts, and to
lament my want of conformity to them. I believe a time will come when
an opportunity will be offered to abolish this lamentable evil:
everything we can do is to improve it, if it happens in our day; if
not, let us transmit to our descendants, together with our slaves, a
pity for their unhappy lot, and an abhorrence of slavery. We owe to
the purity of our religion, to show that it is at variance with that
law which warrants slavery."[443] After the Revolution, and before the
adoption of the Constitution, he earnestly advocated, in the Virginia
House of Delegates, some method of emancipation; and even in the
Convention of 1788, where he argued against the Constitution on the
ground that it obviously conferred upon the general government, in an
emergency, that power of emancipation which, in his opinion, should be
retained by the States, he still avowed his hostility to slavery, and
at the same time his inability to see any practicable means of ending
it: "Slavery is detested: we feel its fatal effects,--we deplore it
with all the pity of humanity.... As we ought with gratitude to admire
that decree of Heaven which has numbered us among the free, we ought
to lament and deplore the necessity of holding our fellow-men in
bondage. But is it practicable, by any human means, to liberate them
without producing the most dreadful and ruinous consequences?"[444]
During all the years of his retirement, his great fame drew to him
many strangers, who came to pay their homage to him, to look upon his
face, to listen to his words. Such guests were always received by him
with a cordiality that was unmistakable, and so modest and simple as
to put them at once at their ease. Of course they desired most of all
to hear him talk of his own past life, and of the great events in
which he had borne so brilliant a part; but whenever he was persuaded
to do so, it was always with the most quiet references to himself. "No
man," says one who knew him well, "ever vaunted less of his
achievements than Mr. H. I hardly ever heard him speak of those great
achievements which form the prominent part of his biography. As for
boasting, he was entirely a stranger to it, unless it be that, in his
latter days, he seemed proud of the goodness of his lands, and, I
believe, wished to be thought wealthy. It is my opinion that he was
better pleased to be flattered as to his wealth than as to his great
talents. This I have accounted for by recollecting that he had long
been under narrow and difficult circumstances as to property, from
which he was at length happily relieved; whereas there never was a
time when his talents had not always been conspicuous, though he
always seemed unconscious of them."[445]
It should not be supposed that, in his final withdrawal from public
and professional labors, he surrendered himself to the enjoyment of
domestic happiness, without any positive occupation of the mind. From
one of his grandsons, who was much with him in those days, the
tradition is derived that, besides "setting a good example of honesty,
benevolence, hospitality, and every social virtue," he assisted "in
the education of his younger children," and especially devoted much
time "to earnest efforts to establish true Christianity in our
country."[446] He gave himself more than ever to the study of the
Bible, as well as of two or three of the great English divines,
particularly Tillotson, Butler, and Sherlock. The sermons of the
latter, he declared, had removed "all his doubts of the truth of
Christianity;" and from a volume which contained them, and which was
full of his pencilled notes, he was accustomed to read "every Sunday
evening to his family; after which they all joined in sacred music,
while he accompanied them on the violin."[447]
There seems to have been no time in his life, after his arrival at
manhood, when Patrick Henry was not regarded by his private
acquaintances as a positively religious person. Moreover, while he was
most tolerant of all forms of religion, and was on peculiarly friendly
terms with their ministers, to whose preaching he often listened, it
is inaccurate to say, as Wirt has done, that, though he was a
Christian, he was so "after a form of his own;" that "he was never
attached to any particular religious society, and never ... communed
with any church."[448] On the contrary, from a grandson who spent
many years in his household comes the tradition that "his parents were
members of the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which his uncle,
Patrick Henry, was a minister;" that "he was baptized and made a
member of it in early life;" and that "he lived and died an exemplary
member of it."[449] Furthermore, in 1830, the Rev. Charles Dresser,
rector of Antrim Parish, Halifax County, Virginia, wrote that the
widow of Patrick Henry told him that her husband used to receive "the
communion as often as an opportunity was offered, and on such
occasions always fasted until after he had communicated, and spent the
day in the greatest retirement. This he did both while governor and
afterward."[450] In a letter to one of his daughters, written in 1796,
he makes this touching confession:--
"Amongst other strange things said of me, I hear it is said
by the deists that I am one of the number; and, indeed, that
some good people think I am no Christian. This thought gives
me much more pain than the appellation of Tory; because I
think religion of infinitely higher importance than
politics; and I find much cause to reproach myself that I
have lived so long, and have given no decided and public
proofs of my being a Christian. But, indeed, my dear child,
this is a character which I prize far above all this world
has, or can boast."[451]
While he thus spoke, humbly and sorrowfully, of his religious position
as a thing so little known to the public that it could be entirely
misunderstood by a portion of them, it is plain that no one who had
seen him in the privacy of his life at home could have had any
misunderstanding upon that subject. For years before his retirement
from the law, it had been his custom, we are told, to spend "one hour
every day ... in private devotion. His hour of prayer was the close of
the day, including sunset; ... and during that sacred hour, none of
his family intruded upon his privacy."[452]
As regards his religious faith, Patrick Henry, while never
ostentatious of it, was always ready to avow it, and to defend it. The
French alliance during our Revolution, and our close intercourse with
France immediately afterward, hastened among us the introduction of
certain French writers who were assailants of Christianity, and who
soon set up among the younger and perhaps brighter men of the country
the fashion of casting off, as parts of an outworn and pitiful
superstition, the religious ideas of their childhood, and even the
morality which had found its strongest sanctions in those ideas. Upon
all this, Patrick Henry looked with grief and alarm. In his opinion, a
far deeper, a far wiser and nobler handling of all the immense
questions involved in the problem of the truth of Christianity was
furnished by such English writers as Sherlock and Bishop Butler, and,
for popular use, even Soame Jenyns. Therefore, as French scepticism
then had among the Virginia lawyers and politicians its diligent
missionaries, so, with the energy and directness that always
characterized him, he determined to confront it, if possible, with an
equal diligence; and he then deliberately made himself, while still a
Virginia lawyer and politician, a missionary also,--a missionary on
behalf of rational and enlightened Christian faith. Thus during his
second term as governor he caused to be printed, on his own account,
an edition of Soame Jenyns's "View of the Internal Evidence of
Christianity;" likewise, an edition of Butler's "Analogy;" and
thenceforward, particularly among the young men of Virginia, assailed
as they were by the fashionable scepticism, this illustrious
colporteur was active in the defence of Christianity, not only by his
own sublime and persuasive arguments, but by the distribution, as the
fit occasion offered, of one or the other of these two books.
Accordingly when, during the first two years of his retirement, Thomas
Paine's "Age of Reason" made its appearance, the old statesman was
moved to write out a somewhat elaborate treatise in defence of the
truth of Christianity. This treatise it was his purpose to have
published. "He read the manuscript to his family as he progressed with
it, and completed it a short time before his death." When it was
finished, however, being "diffident about his own work," and
impressed, also, by the great ability of the replies to Paine which
were then appearing in England, "he directed his wife to destroy" what
he had written. She "complied literally with his directions," and thus
put beyond the chance of publication a work which seemed, to some who
heard it, to be "the most eloquent and unanswerable argument in the
defence of the Bible which was ever written."[453]
Finally, in his last will and testament, bearing the date of November
20, 1798, and written throughout, as he says, "with my own hand," he
chose to insert a touching affirmation of his own deep faith in
Christianity. After distributing his estate among his descendants, he
thus concludes: "This is all the inheritance I can give to my dear
family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them
rich indeed."[454]
It is not to be imagined that this deep seclusion and these eager
religious studies implied in Patrick Henry any forgetfulness of the
political concerns of his own country, or any indifference to those
mighty events which, during those years, were taking place in Europe,
and were reacting with tremendous effect upon the thought, the
emotion, and even the material interests of America. Neither did he
succeed in thus preserving the retirement which he had resolved upon,
without having to resist the attempts of both political parties to
draw him forth again into official life. All these matters, indeed,
are involved in the story of his political attitude from the close of
his struggle for amending the Constitution down to the very close of
his life,--a story which used to be told with angry vituperation on
one side, perhaps with some meek apologies on the other. Certainly,
the day for such comment is long past. In the disinterestedness which
the lapse of time has now made an easy virtue for us, we may see,
plainly enough, that such ungentle words as "apostate" and "turncoat,"
with which his name used to be plentifully assaulted, were but the
missiles of partisan excitement; and that by his act of intellectual
readjustment with respect to the new conditions forced upon human
society, on both sides of the Atlantic, by the French Revolution, he
developed no occasion for apologies, since he therein did nothing that
was unusual at that time among honest and thoughtful men everywhere,
and nothing that was inconsistent with the professions or the
tendencies of his own previous life. It becomes our duty, however, to
trace this story over again, as concisely as possible, but in the
light of much historical evidence that has never hitherto been
presented in connection with it.
Upon the adoption, in 1791, of the first ten amendments to the
Constitution, every essential objection which he had formerly urged
against that instrument was satisfied; and there then remained no
good reason why he should any longer hold himself aloof from the
cordial support of the new government, especially as directed, first
by Washington, and afterward by John Adams,--two men with whom, both
personally and politically, he had always been in great harmony,
excepting only upon this single matter of the Constitution in its
original form. Undoubtedly, the contest which he had waged on that
question had been so hot and so bitter that, even after it was ended,
some time would be required for his recovery from the soreness of
spirit, from the tone of suspicion and even of enmity, which it had
occasioned. Accordingly, in the correspondence and other records of
the time, we catch some glimpses of him, which show that even after
Congress had passed the great amendments, and after their approval by
the States had become a thing assured, he still looked askance at the
administration, and particularly at some of the financial measures
proposed by Hamilton.[455] Nevertheless, as year by year went on, and
as Washington and his associates continued to deal fairly, wisely,
and, on the whole, successfully, with the enormous problems which they
encountered; moreover, as Jefferson and Madison gradually drew off
from Washington, and formed a party in opposition, which seemed to
connive at the proceedings of Genet, and to encourage the formation
among us of political clubs in apparent sympathy with the wildest and
most anarchic doctrines which were then flung into words and into
deeds in the streets of Paris, it happened that Patrick Henry found
himself, like Richard Henry Lee, and many another of his companions in
the old struggle against the Constitution, drawn more and more into
support of the new government.
In this frame of mind, probably, was he in the spring of 1793, when,
during the session of the federal court at Richmond, he had frequent
conversations with Chief Justice Jay and with Judge Iredell. The
latter, having never before met Henry, had felt great dislike of him
on account of the alleged violence of his opinions against the
Constitution; but after making his acquaintance, Iredell thus wrote
concerning him: "I never was more agreeably disappointed than in my
acquaintance with him. I have been much in his company; and his
manners are very pleasing, and his mind, I am persuaded, highly
liberal. It is a strong additional reason I have, added to many
others, to hold in high detestation violent party prejudice."[456]
In the following year, General Henry Lee, then governor of Virginia,
appointed Patrick Henry as a senator of the United States, to fill out
an unexpired term. This honor he felt compelled to decline.
In the course of the same year, General Lee, finding that Patrick
Henry, though in virtual sympathy with the administration, was yet
under the impression that Washington had cast off their old
friendship, determined to act the part of a peacemaker between them,
and, if possible, bring together once more two old friends who had
been parted by political differences that no longer existed. On the
17th of August, 1794, Lee, at Richmond, thus wrote to the President:--
"When I saw you in Philadelphia, I had many conversations
with you respecting Mr. Henry, and since my return I have
talked very freely and confidentially with that gentleman. I
plainly perceive that he has credited some information,
which he has received (from whom I know not), which induces
him to believe that you consider him a factious, seditious
character.... Assured in my own mind that his opinions are
groundless, I have uniformly combated them, and lament that
my endeavors have been unavailing. He seems to be deeply and
sorely affected. It is very much to be regretted; for he is
a man of positive virtue as well as of transcendent talents;
and were it not for his feelings above expressed, I verily
believe, he would be found among the most active supporters
of your administration. Excuse me for mentioning this matter
to you. I have long wished to do it, in the hope that it
would lead to a refutation of the sentiments entertained by
Mr. Henry."[457]
To this letter Washington sent a reply which expressed unabated regard
for his old friend; and this reply, having been shown by Lee to Henry,
drew from him this noble-minded answer:--
TO GENERAL HENRY LEE.
RED HILL, 27 June, 1795.
MY DEAR SIR,--Your very friendly communication of so much of
the President's letter as relates to me, demands my sincere
thanks. Retired as I am from the busy world, it is still
grateful to me to know that some portion of regard remains
for me amongst my countrymen; especially those of them whose
opinions I most value. But the esteem of that personage, who
is contemplated in this correspondence, is highly flattering
indeed.
The American Revolution was the grand operation, which
seemed to be assigned by the Deity to the men of this age in
our country, over and above the common duties of life. I
ever prized at a high rate the superior privilege of being
one in that chosen age, to which Providence intrusted its
favorite work. With this impression, it was impossible for
me to resist the impulse I felt to contribute my mite
towards accomplishing that event, which in future will give
a superior aspect to the men of these times. To the man,
especially, who led our armies, will that aspect belong; and
it is not in nature for one with my feelings to revere the
Revolution, without including him who stood foremost in its
establishment.
Every insinuation that taught me to believe I had forfeited
the good-will of that personage, to whom the world had
agreed to ascribe the appellation of good and great, must
needs give me pain; particularly as he had opportunities of
knowing my character both in public and in private life. The
intimation now given me, that there was no ground to believe
I had incurred his censure, gives very great pleasure.
Since the adoption of the present Constitution, I have
generally moved in a narrow circle. But in that I have never
omitted to inculcate a strict adherence to the principles of
it. And I have the satisfaction to think, that in no part of
the Union have the laws been more pointedly obeyed, than in
that where I have resided and spent my time. Projects,
indeed, of a contrary tendency have been hinted to me; but
the treatment of the projectors has been such as to prevent
all intercourse with them for a long time. Although a
democrat myself, I like not the late democratic societies.
As little do I like their suppression by law. Silly things
may amuse for awhile, but in a little time men will perceive
their delusions. The way to preserve in men's minds a value
for them, is to enact laws against them.
My present views are to spend my days in privacy. If,
however, it shall please God, during my life, so to order
the course of events as to render my feeble efforts
necessary for the safety of the country, in any, even the
smallest degree, that little which I can do shall be done.
Whenever you may have an opportunity, I shall be much
obliged by your presenting my best respects and duty to the
President, assuring him of my gratitude for his favorable
sentiments towards me.
Be assured, my dear sir, of the esteem and regard with which
I am yours, etc.,
PATRICK HENRY.[458]
After seeing this letter, Washington took an opportunity to convey to
Patrick Henry a strong practical proof of his confidence in him, and
of his cordial friendship. The office of secretary of state having
become vacant, Washington thus tendered the place to Patrick Henry:--
MOUNT VERNON, 9 October, 1795.
DEAR SIR,--Whatever may be the reception of this letter,
truth and candor shall mark its steps. You doubtless know
that the office of state is vacant; and no one can be more
sensible than yourself of the importance of filling it with
a person of abilities, and one in whom the public would have
confidence.
It would be uncandid not to inform you that this office has
been offered to others; but it is as true, that it was from
a conviction in my own mind that you would not accept it
(until Tuesday last, in a conversation with General Lee, he
dropped sentiments which made it less doubtful), that it was
not offered first to you.
I need scarcely add, that if this appointment could be made
to comport with your own inclination, it would be as
pleasing to me, as I believe it would be acceptable to the
public. With this assurance, and with this belief, I make
you the offer of it. My first wish is that you would accept
it; the next is that you would be so good as to give me an
answer as soon as you conveniently can, as the public
business in that department is now suffering for want of a
secretary.[459]
Though Patrick Henry declined this proposal, he declined it for
reasons that did not shut the door against further overtures of a
similar kind; for, within the next three months, a vacancy having
occurred in another great office,--that of chief justice of the
United States,--Washington again employed the friendly services of
General Lee, whom he authorized to offer the place to Patrick Henry.
This was done by Lee in a letter dated December 26, 1795:--
"The Senate have disagreed to the President's nomination of
Mr. Rutledge, and a vacancy in that important office has
taken place. For your country's sake, for your friends'
sake, for your family's sake, tell me you will obey a call
to it. You know my friendship for you; you know my
circumspection; and, I trust, you know, too, I would not
address you on such a subject without good grounds. Surely
no situation better suits you. You continue at home, only
[except] when on duty. Change of air and exercise will add
to your days. The salary excellent, and the honor very
great. Be explicit in your reply."[460]
On the same day on which Lee thus wrote to Henry he likewise wrote to
Washington, informing him that he had done so; but, for some cause now
unknown, Washington received no further word from Lee for more than
two weeks. Accordingly, on the 11th of January, 1796, in his anxiety
to know what might be Patrick Henry's decision concerning the office
of chief justice, Washington wrote to Lee as follows:--
MY DEAR SIR,--Your letter of the 26th ult. has been
received, but nothing from you since,--which is embarrassing
in the extreme; for not only the nomination of chief
justice, but an associate judge, and secretary of war, is
suspended on the answer you were to receive from Mr. Henry;
and what renders the want of it more to be regretted is,
that the first Monday of next month (which happens on the
first day of it) is the term appointed by law for the
meeting of the Superior Court of the United States, in this
city; at which, for particular reasons, the bench ought to
be full. I will add no more at present than that I am your
affectionate,
GEO. WASHINGTON.[461]
Although Patrick Henry declined this great compliment also, his
friendliness to the administration had become so well understood that,
among the Federal leaders, who in the spring of 1796 were planning for
the succession to Washington and Adams, there was a strong inclination
to nominate Patrick Henry for the vice-presidency,--their chief doubt
being with reference to his willingness to take the nomination.[462]
All these overtures to Patrick Henry were somewhat jealously watched
by Jefferson, who, indeed, in a letter to Monroe, on the 10th of July,
1796, interpreted them with that easy recklessness of statement which
so frequently embellished his private correspondence and his private
talk. "Most assiduous court," he says of the Federalists, "is paid to
Patrick Henry. He has been offered everything which they knew he would
not accept."[463]
A few weeks after Jefferson penned those sneering words, the person
thus alluded to wrote to his daughter, Mrs. Aylett, concerning certain
troublesome reports which had reached her:--
"As to the reports you have heard, of my changing sides in
politics, I can only say they are not true. I am too old to
exchange my former opinions, which have grown up into fixed
habits of thinking. True it is, I have condemned the conduct
of our members in Congress, because, in refusing to raise
money for the purposes of the British treaty, they, in
effect, would have surrendered our country bound, hand and
foot, to the power of the British nation.... The treaty is,
in my opinion, a very bad one indeed. But what must I think
of those men, whom I myself warned of the danger of giving
the power of making laws by means of treaty to the President
and Senate, when I see these same men denying the existence
of that power, which, they insisted in our convention, ought
properly to be exercised by the President and Senate, and by
none other? The policy of these men, both then and now,
appears to me quite void of wisdom and foresight. These
sentiments I did mention in conversation in Richmond, and
perhaps others which I don't remember.... It seems that
every word was watched which I casually dropped, and wrested
to answer party views. Who can have been so meanly employed,
I know not, neither do I care; for I no longer consider
myself as an actor on the stage of public life. It is time
for me to retire; and I shall never more appear in a public
character, unless some unlooked-for circumstance shall
demand from me a transient effort, not inconsistent with
private life--in which I have determined to continue."[464]
In the autumn of 1796 the Assembly of Virginia, then under the
political control of Jefferson, and apparently eager to compete with
the Federalists for the possession of a great name, elected Patrick
Henry to the governorship of the State. But the man whose purpose to
refuse office had been proof against the attractions of the United
States Senate, and of the highest place in Washington's cabinet, and
of the highest judicial position in the country, was not likely to
succumb to the opportunity of being governor of Virginia for the
sixth time.
FOOTNOTES:
[434] Spencer Roane, MS.
[435] _Hist. Mag._ for 1867, 93; 369-370.
[436] Howe, _Hist. Coll. Va._ 221.
[437] Spencer Roane, MS.
[438] Cited in Wirt, 380-381.
[439] Spencer Roane, MS.
[440] Fontaine, MS.
[441] Fontaine, MS.
[442] Fontaine, MS.
[443] Bancroft, ed. 1869, vi. 416-417.
[444] Elliot, _Debates_, iii. 455-456; 590-591.
[445] Spencer Roane, MS.
[446] Fontaine, MS.
[447] J. W. Alexander, _Life of A. Alexander_, 193; Howe, _Hist. Coll.
Va._ 221.
[448] Wirt, 402.
[449] Fontaine, MS.
[450] Meade, _Old Churches_, etc. ii. 12.
[451] Wirt, 387.
[452] Fontaine, MS.
[453] Fontaine, MS. Also Meade, _Old Churches_, etc. ii. 12; and Wm.
Wirt Henry, MS.
[454] MS. Certified copy.
[455] For example, D. Stuart's letter, in _Writings of Washington_, x.
94-96; also, _Jour. Va. House Del._ for Nov. 3, 1790.
[456] McRee, _Life of Iredell_, ii. 394-395.
[457] _Writings of Washington_, x. 560-561.
[458] _Writings of Washington_, x. 562-563.
[459] _Writings of Washington_, xi. 81-82.
[460] MS.
[461] Lee, _Observations_, etc. 116.
[462] Gibbs, _Administration of Washington_, etc. i. 337; see, also,
Hamilton, _Works_, vi. 114.
[463] Jefferson, _Writings_, iv. 148.
[464] Entire letter in Wirt, 385-387.