Chapter XI: Preface (9)

The mental powers of man are as diversified as the soils of the earth. Upon the minds of some we pour the classic stream in vain; like the desert of Sahara, they are barren of fruit or flower. Upon the minds of others, laborious efforts produce an improvement, but never enrich them. Their substance is too light and their substratum too porous to long retain the fructifying substances lavished upon them. Others, by good culture, yield a liberal harvest and become valuable by use. Others again, like the alluvial prairie, are adorned with spontaneous fruits, and only require the introduction of seed to afford all the rich varieties that may be desired. Expose them to the genial rays of the sun of science and the germs of genius will immediately spring up, the embryo forms will bud and blossom like the rose.

The mind of GEORGE CLYMER was composed of a prolific and deep mould, capable of producing the richest foliage. Fortunately for our country, it was not appropriated entirely to ornamental flowers and blooming shrubbery, but to the substantial fruits that invigorate and support life.

He was born in Philadelphia in 1739. His father removed from Bristol, England, to that city, and died when this son was but seven years of age. George Clymer was then taken under the guardian care of William Coleman, his uncle, who treated him as a son and made him heir of most of his property. Himself a literary man, Mr. Coleman conferred upon his nephew a good education. He possessed a splendid library, and had the gratifying consolation of seeing it often and fully explored by George Clymer, who manifested an early taste for reading, and investigated critically every subject that came before him, never leaving it until he traced it through all its meanderings to its primeval source. This trait in his character rendered him vastly useful in the momentous concerns that occupied his subsequent life. It is of the first importance to dig deep and lay firmly the foundations of an education, that the superstructure may rest upon a substantial basis.

From the seminary, Mr. Clymer went into the counting-house of his uncle, and made himself acquainted with the mercantile business, in which he subsequently embarked. The precariousness and uncertainty of this calling rendered it unpleasant to him. He was opposed to sudden gains or losses, because the one was calculated to elate the mind too much, and the other to depress it too low, thus destroying the equilibrium calculated to impart the most happiness to a man and render him most useful to himself, to his family, and to the community. He contended that a virtuous equality in life is more conducive to the comfort and prosperity of a nation, than to have a majority of the wealth wielded by a favoured few. He was the friend of equal rights and free principles. He was a republican of the Roman school, a patriot of the highest order, a philanthropist of the noblest cast, and opposed to all monopolies. His genius was of that original order, that, like some comets, illuminate our world only at long intervals. It seemed to traverse the circuit of human nature, of metaphysics, of philosophy, and of general science, without an apparent effort, drawing from each conclusions peculiarly its own. He was a virtuoso, an amateur, and at the same time a deep logician and mathematician. A love of liberty and equal rights was with him an innate quality. His mind was richly stored with the history of other times and nations; he was well versed in the principles of law and government, and understood well the chartered rights of his country, and felt most keenly the increasing infringements upon them by the very power that was bound by the laws of nature, of man, and of God, to protect them. His course at the commencement of the revolution can readily be imagined. True, his entire property was vested in commercial business; Reese Meredith, his father-in-law, was his partner in trade, and for him to oppose the interests of the crown, seemed certain destruction to his own, so far as pecuniary matters were concerned. But his mind moved in an orbit limited only by the confines of freedom. He was among the first to resist the oppressors of his country and proclaim to his fellow citizens the principles of liberty. At the “_tea meeting_,” held by the citizens of Philadelphia on the 16th of October, 1773, his reasoning, sincerity, zeal and enthusiastic patriotism, commanded great attention and admiration. Free from pedantry and naturally retiring his powers of mind were known only to his friends. From that time they were claimed as public property. He was compelled to surrender possession to the rightful owners, without certiorari or appeal, and was engaged in all the important measures of the day. When the final crisis arrived for action; when forbearance had ceased to be a virtue; when the war-cry resounded from the heights of Lexington, Mr. Clymer took command of a company under General Cadwalader and repaired to the tented field. He was at the same time a member of the council of safety, and had served on all or most of the preliminary committees of his native city appointed to prepare petitions, remonstrances and measures of defence. He was soon called from the field of epic glory, and appointed by Congress, on the 29th of July, 1775, in conjunction with Michael Hillegas, to take charge of the public treasury. He subscribed liberally to the loan raised for the public service, and poured all the specie he could raise into the government chest and took in return paper, which was virtually ephemeral in its value. His examples and his patriotic enthusiasm had a powerful influence upon his friends, many of whom came boldly to the rescue. In July, 1776, he took his seat in the Continental Congress _after_ the adoption of the declaration of rights, to which he most cheerfully subscribed. A part of the preceding delegation from Pennsylvania when they found their colleagues were in favour of cutting loose, left their station and retired, perhaps that they might avoid the wrath of the king on the one hand and the indignation of the patriots on the other, or believing the time had not yet arrived for so bold a step. The people promptly filled their places with men who _dared_ to be free, by men who had already nobly resolved on _liberty_ or _death_.

In September of that year, Messrs. Clymer and Stockton were sent by Congress to regulate the northern army and to confer with Washington in making arrangements for future action. In December of the same year Congress retired to Baltimore in consequence of the threatened approach of the British army, then spreading consternation, destruction and death through New Jersey. Mr. Clymer was one of the committee left in Philadelphia to superintend the public interests and brave the perils that were rolling onward like a tornado. He was faithful in the discharge of every duty, devoting his time and fortune to the advancement of the glorious cause he had espoused. He was returned to Congress the next year, and in April was again appointed upon a committee to repair to the army and confer with Washington upon all subjects that required their attention, which were neither few nor small. In the autumn of that year an additional momentum was given to the patriotism of Mr. Clymer. He had removed his family and goods to Chester county, and immediately after the defeat of the Americans at Brandywine, the tories led the British to his house; his family escaped, but his property, to a large amount, was totally destroyed. This sacrifice at the altar of freedom seemed to strengthen his political faith and impart fresh vigour to his exertions.

In December, 1779, he was one of a board of commissioners sent by Congress to Fort Pitt, to counteract, if possible, the hostility of the savages, who were committing murders upon the western frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylvania, and to effect, if practicable, a treaty with the several tribes, and if unsuccessful in the accomplishment of these designs, to make arrangements for offensive operations. The mission was boldly executed, principally by Mr. Clymer alone, who narrowly escaped the tomahawk during his absence. The commissioners returned in April and reported the necessity of carrying the war into the Indian country. During the next year Mr. Clymer was not in Congress, but devoted his time in raising loans and supplies for the army, then destitute of almost every necessary of life and of the munitions of war. In 1780, he was again elected to the national legislature and served until November of the ensuing year, when he and John Nixon were appointed to organize the Bank of North America, which was instrumental in reviving the prostrate credit of the government. In May, 1782, he was associated with Mr. Rutledge on a mission through the southern states, for the purpose of inducing them to meet more promptly the requisitions of Congress for supplies. During the entire period of the revolution he devoted his whole time to the service of his country, and discharged every duty assigned him to the entire satisfaction of his constituents and colleagues. He stood high as an able and faithful co-worker in the vineyard of liberty, and retired from the field when the harvest was ended covered with the honours of enduring fame. At the close of the war he removed to Princeton, for the purpose of resting from his toils and educating his children. The ensuing year his services were requested in his native state, and he returned to Philadelphia. He was elected to the Pennsylvania legislature, and contributed largely in divesting her old constitution and laws of the obnoxious branches of tyranny that were still attached to them. He introduced the amelioration of the penal code and was the originator and warm advocate of abolishing death in all cases, except murder in the first degree. He was the father of the much admired penitentiary system of that state, which has but recently been organized fully upon the plan proposed by him—that of solitary confinement at hard labour. It may not be known to the young reader, that in former times, prisoners, after conviction, were compelled to labour in chains often in the most public places. The superiority of solitary confinement over all other modes of punishment has been fully demonstrated, and is in a course of adoption throughout the civilized world. The arguments of Mr. Clymer in favour of these philanthropic measures manifested a deep and thorough knowledge of human nature, and were based upon the firm pillars of equal justice, lucid reason and sound policy. He devised and prepared the humane report of the committee that remodelled the penal code of Pennsylvania, which has been fully and successfully tested, and stands an admired monument of judicial reformation, and an enduring praise to the name of its author.

The mind of Mr. Clymer was peculiarly prolific and happy in the conception of plans of usefulness and utility. To benefit his country and better the condition of mankind, afforded him the highest pleasure. To effect this, he saw the necessity of reducing every department of government to system and order. American independence was achieved; to preserve it by reducing to harmony the conflicting local interests, jealousies and inconsiderate clamours of the malevolent, was an herculean task yet to be performed. The convention that formed the federal constitution was therefore hailed with joy by Mr. Clymer, who was one of its members. The result of the labours of that body was fraught with deeper interest than the war struggle for victory over a foreign foe. It involved the fate of our infant republic, which was then verging on dissolution and fast retrograding towards the awful gulf of primeval chaos. The conflict was between members of the same family, and required the deepest sagacity, the profoundest wisdom, the most acute judgment, the most disinterested patriotism, the most exalted charity, and the purest spirit of conciliation, to bring it to a peaceful and satisfactory termination. Happily for our country this was done, and Mr. Clymer contributed his full share in the accomplishment of the glorious work.

He was elected a member of the first Congress convened under that saving instrument, he was a stern republican and opposed to tacking any titles to the name of any public man except that of his office. Excellency, honourable, &c., he conceived to be the mere shadows of a shadow, too vain and trifling for a freeman. He was opposed to the right of instruction from his constituents, because they must necessarily decide without hearing either evidence or argument. He was unwilling to be made a mere passive machine of puerile power, a mere automaton of party spirit.

In the organization of the general government through all its ramifications he took a deep interest and an active part. Every subject that was presented to Congress for consideration he analyzed with the skill of a sage, a statesman and a philosopher. In 1790, he closed his legislative career and declined again entering upon its arduous duties. Under the act of Congress of 1791, imposing a duty on domestic distilled spirits, Mr. Clymer was appointed to superintend its collection in his own state. The tax was then called, by way of opprobrium, the _excise_. This law gave great dissatisfaction in many places, and in Pennsylvania produced what was termed the _whiskey rebellion_, which required the military to restore order. Unpleasant as it was, Mr. Clymer proceeded to perform his duty by appointing the required collectors in each county, endeavouring to persuade the people to submit to the law whilst in force, and pursue the constitutional remedy for its repeal if they believed it wrong. During the height of the excitement he hazarded his life among the malecontents where but few other men would have been spared if clothed with the same office. He finally resigned this station, and was soon after appointed a commissioner, with Colonels Pickens and Hawkins, to negociate a treaty with the Cherokee and Creek Indians in Georgia, which was effected on the 29th of June, 1796, and closed his long, faithful and arduous public career. He had perilled his life, his fortune and his sacred honour for his country; he had been her unyielding and fearless advocate amidst the storms of revolution, civil discord and open rebellion; he now saw her peaceful, prosperous and happy, with the illustrious Washington presiding over her destinies. He could therefore retire to enjoy the fruits of his labours and his toils, without any to disturb or make him afraid.

But he remained an active man during his whole life. He felt an interest in every kind of improvement, and to many he extended a fostering care. As early as 1785, he aided in establishing the Philadelphia Agricultural Society, and when the Academy of Fine Arts was founded in that city he was one of its liberal patrons. He aided also in establishing the Philadelphia Bank. Of the former, he was vice president, and of the two latter, president when he died. He was a friend to all the labouring classes, and made himself acquainted with the principles of farming and the mechanic trades. His private papers exhibit a great variety of draughts and plans of bridges, canals, water-works, machinery and implements of husbandry, and numerous recipes relative to the arts. Like the philosophic Franklin, he extended his researches to almost every subject within the grasp of man, and treasured in his mind the essential oil of each. He always sought for solid substance that could be applied to substantial use. His mind and his manners were opposed to pedantry and pomp. He was what, in common parlance, would now be called a plain, old fashioned, blunt man. His bluntness was not of an offensive kind; it consisted in laconic truth, dressed in republican simplicity, a garb that was much admired during the times of pure unsophisticated patriotism. Although he originated many important measures in the national and state legislature, he seldom spoke in the forum, and was often unknown to the public as such, when the author of the most salutary propositions. He was ambitious only to do good, and was not anxious that his name should be wafted on the breeze of popular applause or be emblazoned in the high places of the earth. To know that he had been instrumental in benefitting the human family was the ultimatum of his soul. When the importance of a subject induced him to rise in debate he was listened to with profound attention, and was an example worthy of imitation. Without any pretensions to refined elocution, he expressed in strong language the sentiments he strongly felt. He came directly to the point, adhered closely to it in a strain of keen, cutting, pithy and laconic reasoning; was always brief, often casting into the shade, by his remarks of a few moments, the laboured and gaudy speeches of his opponents that had cost them weeks to prepare and hours to deliver. He effected this, not by personal recrimination or irony, but by aiming his blows at the strong points, the syllabus of their superstructure, which he often demolished at one bold stroke with the damask blade of sound logic, drawn from the scabbard of plain common sense, and wielded by the vigorous arm of lucid reason. He was opposed to every shade of aristocracy and every thing anti-republican, both in theory and practice. His views were broad and liberal, his purposes were honest and patriotic. He was an attentive reader, and wrote numerous essays, which are forcible, logical, and extremely sarcastic.

In the private walks of life his character was a model of human excellence. All its relations he discharged with the most scrupulous fidelity and integrity. He was proverbial for punctuality in all things, if only to take a walk with a friend or present a promised toy to a child. In conversation he was agreeable and instructive, illuminating and enlivening the social circle with apothegms, aphorisms, and pungent anecdotes, imparting pleasure and intelligence to all around him. In all this he was modest, chaste and discreet, avoiding any appearance of superiority, carefully guarding against personal allusions, even to his most bitter enemies. He spoke ill of no individual, and checked slander in others whenever he discovered it. His morals were of the purest order, his philanthropy was of the loftiest kind. As a public servant, a private citizen, a kind husband, a faithful father, a warm friend, an honourable enemy and a noble patriot, the name of GEORGE CLYMER stands pre-eminent.

He was of the middle size, well formed, fair complexion, with a countenance attractive, intelligent, expressive of a strong mind, pleasing and ingenuous. He closed his long and useful career on the 23d of January, 1813, at the residence of his son at Morrisville, Berks county, in his native state, most deeply mourned by those who knew him best.

CARTER BRAXTON.

It often happens that those who forget right and abuse power undermine the foundation of their own citadel, and prepare the way to be shorn of their present enjoyments by an improper course to enhance them. Thus it was with England. Previous to the causes that produced the American revolution, the idea of a separation from the mother country, and of forming an independent government, had probably never entered the minds of but few of the patriots who were engaged in its consummation. When the impolitic measures towards the colonists were first commenced, relying upon their chartered rights, based upon the British constitution as they were, they believed their grievances would and must be redressed by the king, when properly requested by petitions. These were repeatedly forwarded to him, couched in the most respectful and eloquent language, to which he turned a deaf ear. Parliament was appealed to in vain. Remonstrances formed the next link in the chain. They also were treated with contempt. A formal demand to desist from oppression in bold, but still in respectful language, breathing allegiance to the king in every word, was the next resort—but all to no purpose. The ministerial cry, _give_—_give_—_give_—resounded from Albion’s shore, and pierced afresh the sensibilities of the imploring suppliants. Resolutions of non-importation followed; these produced menaces from the British military, a preparation for resistance by the colonies succeeded; American blood was spilt; the tocsin of war was sounded; millions rushed to the conflict; the struggle was long, doubtful, and bloody; the patriots triumphed; the power of Britain was dissolved; Columbia was free and patriots rejoiced.

Among them stood CARTER BRAXTON, the son of George Braxton, a wealthy planter, who resided on the north bank of Mattapony river, where he owned a valuable plantation, situated in the county of King and Queen, Virginia. At that beautiful place Carter was born, on the 10th of September, 1736. His paternal and maternal connections were highly respectable and wealthy, and several of them officers of the crown at various periods. He was liberally educated at the college of William and Mary, and reared amidst all the splendours of opulence, without the tender care of a mother to correct his childish foibles, or of a father to guard him against the errors of youth; the former having died when he was but seven days old, and the latter when he was quite young. When but nineteen years of age, he married the beautiful and amiable Judith Robinson, who was very wealthy, and entered into full possession of his large estate, which, united with that of his wife, constituted a princely fortune. She survived but a short time, leaving him two daughters, the youngest but a few hours old.

To assuage his grief, he sailed for England, where he remained for nearly three years, during which time he added greatly to the store of knowledge he had previously acquired, and became familiar with the feelings, views, and designs of that kingdom towards his native country. His rank and fortune gave him access to the nobility, from whom he obtained much valuable information relative to the ministerial conclave then concocting plans to raise money in America to support royalty in Great Britain.

Although his family connections were favourites of the king, and every thing around him was calculated to foster aristocracy in his bosom, Mr. Braxton became a warm friend of liberal principles and equal rights. Soon after his return from Europe, in 1760, he was elected a member of the house of burgesses, and, in 1765, was an ardent supporter in that body of the bold resolutions offered by Patrick Henry, relative to the stamp act. From that time forward he was a zealous advocate in the cause of freedom. He was one of the house in May, 1769, when the proceedings of the members excited the ire of the royal governor Bottetourt to such a degree that he dissolved them without ceremony. They immediately repaired to a private room in Williamsburg, and entered into a solemn agreement not to import any articles from the mother country until their chartered rights were restored. The same members were elected to the next session, and, being aware of the kind of materials he had to manage, the smooth and shrewd governor lulled them into a more quiet mood by the syren song of promises, assuring them that at the next session of parliament the offensive revenue taxes would be removed. Still cherishing hopes that their rights would be recognised, they waited in respectful but watchful silence. Mr. Braxton was an active member of committees and an agreeable speaker. In the house of burgesses there were six standing committees, one on courts of justice, one on public claims, one on elections and privileges, one on trade, one on grievances and propositions, and one on religion. Of the three last, then by far the most important, Mr. Braxton was uniformly a member. In 1771, governor Bottetourt died, and was succeeded by Lord Dunmore, who, being fresh from the fountain of high notions and ministerial corruption, dissolved the turbulent assembly then in commission, and issued his proclamation for a new election. Mr. Braxton was then sheriff of his county, and could not serve in the house. The people continued to live on promises and hang on hope until the 27th of May, 1774, when the house of burgesses again took a bold stand against oppression, and was peremptorily dissolved by Lord Dunmore. He then dissolved the gordian knot virtually; the people became enraged; eighty-nine of the members, immediately alter the dissolution, formed themselves, with many other patriots, into an association of resistance, and the fire of freedom began to rise in curling flames. In August, a convention of the friends of liberty met in Williamsburg, of which Mr. Braxton was an active member. They elected seven delegates to meet the Congress at Philadelphia, and bound themselves to act in concert with the people of Boston, in the common cause against the common enemy. Governor Dunmore had a new house of burgesses elected; not being pleased with their proceedings he prorogued it several times, until he prorogued himself, on the night of the 7th of June, 1775, on board the armed ship Fowey, never again to assume his power over the turbulent rebels of America. The Virginia convention met again in March, 1775, and took every precaution necessary to put their state in a condition of defence. In April following, Lord Dunmore had caused the powder to be removed from the magazine, under pretence that it would probably be needed in another part of the colony, to repel an expected insurrection of the blacks. This enraged the people, who assembled in large numbers, but were persuaded to return to their homes by Peyton Randolph. Not fully satisfied, a Spartan band soon after collected, headed by Patrick Henry, and proceeded towards Williamsburg, determined on having the powder or its equivalent. An armed force was sent from the Fowey to sustain the governor; this only enraged the patriots; the spilling of blood seemed inevitable. At that juncture Mr. Braxton and others interceded; the powder was paid for by the receiver-general; Mr. Henry gave a receipt for the money, and his troops returned home.

The flight of the governor was the dissolution of British power in Virginia. For a time the government was managed entirely by the committee of safety, of which Mr. Braxton was a member. On the 15th of December, 1775, he was elected to the Continental Congress, and entered upon the duties of his new station with great zeal and vigour. He had already seen much public service, and was prepared to act well his part. He advocated, voted for, and signed the declaration, the instrument that formally dissolved the maternal ties that bound the pilgrim fathers to chains and slavery. On the return of Mr. Braxton from Congress the next autumn he took his seat in the first Virginia legislature convened under their republican constitution, having been elected the May previous. A formal vote of thanks to him and Thomas Jefferson, for their faithful services in Congress, is upon the records of that body, dated the 12th of October, 1776. From that time to his death, he was often a member of the legislature of his state, sometimes in one branch and sometimes in the other. He was a member of council when he died, and was in his seat only four days previous to his decease.

During the war, he had lost a large portion of his fortune by the British, and after its close he was extremely unfortunate, and was reduced to indigent and perplexing circumstances. For a time, he led his friends into speculative projects in order to resuscitate his adverse circumstances, all of which proved abortive, injuring them without benefiting him, and he finally sunk under a load of affliction, which produced an excitement that was followed by paralysis, a second attack of which ended his useful and eventful career at Richmond, Virginia, on the 10th of October, 1797. Under all these trying circumstances, his reputation did not suffer, he lost none of his well earned fame as an able and faithful public servant, and an honest and worthy man. His private character was of the most amiable kind; he was a perfect gentleman and fulfilled all the relations of life with fidelity. His name is justly placed high upon the list of enduring fame, as a man who was a faithful sentinel in the cause of equal rights, who contributed largely in consummating that independence we now enjoy, that freedom of which we boast, that liberty which we are bound to cherish, protect, preserve, and perpetuate.

JOHN MORTON.

Courage and fortitude, unaided by wisdom, often lead men into unforeseen and unexpected difficulties. Combined, they form a power for action equal to the lever, the fulcrum and the screw. Some men possess a brave and dauntless spirit that knows no fear, but not possessed of the helm of wisdom to plan and discretion to act, can never become successful leaders. Guided by a wise prudence, blended with a talent to conceive and a boldness to execute, the weak become strong and effect wonders, at which they themselves look with astonishment after the mighty work is completed. To the unparalleled wisdom of the sages of the American revolution we owe the blessings of the liberty we now enjoy, more than to the physical strength of our country at that time. Compared with the fleets and armies of the mother country at the eventful era of the birth of our nation, the available force of the colonies dwindles into significance. The one a Goliah clad in armour; the other, a boy with a puerile sling. The one, a giant in the vigour of his glory; the other, an infant bursting into life. To the wisdom of the revolutionary sages, then, under God, we must ascribe the success of the noble work they conceived, planned and executed.

As a cool, deliberate and prudent man, the name of John Morton is memorable. He was born in Ridley, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, about four miles from Chester, in the year 1724. His ancestors immigrated from Sweden at an early period, and settled along the Delaware not far from Philadelphia. The father of John Morton, of the same christian name, married Mary Richards when he was very young, and died before his son was born, and before he arrived at his majority. The widow was subsequently married by John Sketchly, an intelligent Englishman, who proved a good husband and a kind step-father. Mr. Morton was principally indebted to him for his education, having enjoyed the advantages of a school but three months. Himself a skilful surveyor and well versed in mathematics, he made his step-son master of that important science. No branch of education is as well calculated to lead the mind into the path of precision of thought and action as this. Based upon invariable truth and lucid demonstration, never resting on false premises, always arriving at incontrovertible conclusions, it gives a tone to the mental powers calculated to produce the most beneficial results.

Young Morton continued with his parental guardian until manhood dawned upon him, aiding in the management of the farm and in surveying, constantly storing his mind with useful and substantial knowledge, blending and testing theory with practice. In 1764, he was commissioned a justice of the peace, and shortly after was elected to the assembly of his native state. He soon became conspicuous, and was subsequently speaker of the house during several sessions. He took a deep interest in the welfare of his country, and was a member of the Congress assembled at New York in 1765 to concert measures for the repeal of the odious stamp act. He concurred in the strong and bold measure of that body, which virtually kindled the fire of the revolution, which, although smothered for a time, was never extinguished until it consumed the last vestige of British power in America. In 1767, he became the sheriff of his county, which station he ably filled for three years. He was then appointed president judge of his district, and rose rapidly in the estimation of his fellow citizens. He also endeared himself to society by a matrimonial connection with Miss Anne Justis of the state of Delaware, an amiable and accomplished lady, who contributed largely to his happiness in life. Soon after the clarion of war was sounded from the heights of Lexington, the indignation of the people in his neighbourhood was so roused that they raised a battalion of volunteers and elected judge Morton colonel. He was under the necessity of declining the proffered honour, having recently been appointed a judge of the supreme court of Pennsylvania. In July, 1774, he was appointed by the assembly of that state a member of the Congress that convened in Philadelphia in September following. The object of that Congress was to effect peace and reconciliation between the two countries, and contract, instead of enlarging, the breach of amity. Men of wisdom and deep thought, fired by a holy patriotism, were selected for the all-important deliberations on which depended the future destiny of themselves and unborn millions. When they assembled, a deep and awful solemnity pervaded every mind. The proceedings were opened by prayer, and every soul seemed to commune with the spirits of another world, as by vesper orisons. After the address to the throne of grace was closed, a protracted silence ensued; nought but the flitting of the purple stream and the throbbing of anxious hearts was heard. The trembling tears and quivering lip told the emotions of many a bosom, too strong to be endured, too full to be expressed, too deep to be fathomed. At length the mighty spirit of Henry burst forth in the majesty of its native glory, and broke the magic spell. In bold and glowing colours, strongly shaded with dignified sincerity, and painted upon the canvass of eternal justice and truth, he presented American rights and British wrongs. When he closed, every patriot responded a hearty—Amen. Their mouths were opened, their burdens lightened, and they could breathe more freely.

In May of the next year, judge Morton again took his seat in Congress, and in November following was re-elected, although then speaker of the assembly of his state. In July, 1776, he attended that august body for the last time, and placed an enduring seal upon the bright escutcheon of his name, by signing the chart of liberty, the manifesto of freemen against the usurpations of tyranny.

During the time he was in Congress, he rendered very efficient services, and was highly esteemed as a cool, deliberate, discerning man; purely patriotic, firm in his principles, and anxious to do all in his power to promote the righteous cause of his bleeding country. With all these feelings resting upon his mind, he was among those who weighed deeply the consequences of severing the bonds that bound the colonies to the mother country. Unsustained, the step was death or a more cruel slavery. To all human appearance the patriots must be crushed by the physical force of their enemies then pouring in upon them. There were five delegates from his state, two of them had determined on going against the measure, which left him to give the casting vote. The responsibility he considered of the greatest magnitude. On it depended the enhanced misery or the happy deliverance of his country. The former he feared, the latter he hoped for. When the time arrived for final action, his patriotism preponderated over his doubts, and he cast his vote in favour of the important instrument that was to prove either the warrant of death or the diploma of freedom. Some of his old friends censured him strongly for the bold act, and would not be reconciled to him, even when he lay upon the bed of death; so strong were the feelings of men during the revolution. His dying message to them showed that his conscience approved the work his hand had done. “Tell them that they will live to see the hours when they shall acknowledge it to have been the most glorious service that I have ever rendered to my country.” The truth of his prophecy has been most happily verified.

When the articles of confederation were under discussion by Congress, judge Morton was frequently chairman of the committee of the whole, and performed the duty with great dignity and ability.

In April, 1777, he was attacked with a violent fever, highly inflammatory, which terminated his life in a few days, in the midst of his usefulness, with fresh honours awaiting him as time advanced. His premature death was deeply mourned by his bereaved companion, eight children, a large concourse of intimate friends, by the members of the bar, by his associate judges, by the state legislature, by Congress, and by every patriot of his country.

As a private citizen, he possessed an unusual share of esteem. He was endowed with all the amiable qualities that enrich the domestic and social circle, and, as a crowning glory to his fair fame, he professed and adorned the Christian religion, and died triumphing in faith. His dust reposes in the cemetery of St. James’ church, in Chester; his name is recorded on the enduring tablet of fame. His examples are worthy of imitation; his brief career admonishes us of the uncertainty of life; his happy demise is an evidence of the truth of real piety.

RICHARD HENRY LEE.

A strong propensity exists in every investigating, reflecting mind, to explore the labyrinthian abysm of the past. The classic reader dwells with rapture upon oriental time. Its remoteness sheds around it a sacredness that increases veneration, and leaves the fancy to wonder and admire. Human foibles descend with the body to the tomb, and are covered by the mantle of oblivion. Human faults, not enrolled on the black catalogue of crime, are often eclipsed by transcendant virtues, find no place upon the historic page, and leave after generations to gaze at a picture of native beauty, which, as time rolls over it, assumes deeper and holier shades, until it commands the reverence of all who behold it. The names of Demosthenes, Cicero, Socrates, Solon, Cincinnatus, and many others, over whose dust centuries have rolled, are referred to with as profound respect as if angel purity had stamped their every action with the impress of divinity. The same bright portrait awaits the name of every good and great man. That of each of the signers of the declaration of independence has long attracted the earnest gaze of admiring millions, and becomes more sacred as time advances.

Upon the tablet of enduring fame, stands the name of RICHARD HENRY LEE, in bold relievo. He was the son of Thomas Lee, and born in Westmoreland county, Virginia, on the 20th of January, 1732. His ancestors were among the early settlers of the Old Dominion, and among those who guided the concerns and directed the destinies of the colony. They were the friends of liberal principles, and at all times resisted every encroachment upon their rights. The arbitrary power exercised by Charles the first over his European subjects, which hurled him from his throne, was successfully resisted by the Lees of Virginia. When Cromwell assumed the crown, his power was not recognised by this colony, and the mandate that first proclaimed the second Charles king, originated with Lee and Berkley of the Old Dominion.

The plan of ultimate independence seems to have been long cherished and nursed by the elder Lees. Through the bright vista of the future they contemplated the millennium of freedom in America. So strongly impressed was the father of the present subject with this idea, that he fixed in his mind the location of the seat of government, and in view of this, purchased lands in the vicinity of Washington. By some historians this is called a paradox which philosophy has been perplexed to explain. To my mind the solution is involved in no mysterious perplexity. A man of deep reflection does not draw his conclusions from present appearances alone. He compares the past with the present, from which he makes deductions for the future. The historic map of the old world is covered with the rise, progress, and downfall of kingdoms and nations. Judging from the causes that produced them, and the results that followed, it was the natural conclusion of a penetrating mind, that the expansive territory we now possess, with all the bounties of nature lavished upon it, and with intelligent and enterprising immigrants pouring in upon it, must eventually be so densely populated that its physical force would become too strong for any European power to maintain a dominion over it. Its geographical centre, with reference to the settlements then in progress, was equally plain. The “prophecy,” as it has been termed, was the result of deep thought, arriving at conclusions drawn from the laws of nature, and shows that Mr. Lee possessed an analyzing mind that moved in a broad circumference.

Richard Henry Lee commenced his education at Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, and remained in that kingdom until he completed it. He returned a finished scholar and an accomplished gentleman, with a reputation untarnished by folly or vice. From his youth his integrity and morality were of the purest order; he delighted in reposing under the ethic mantle. During his absence his innate republicanism did not become tinctured with the farina of European courts, or the etiquette of aristocracy. In classic history he found the true dignity of man portrayed, and his inalienable rights delineated. In the philosophy of Locke he saw the rays of light reflected upon human nature, and the avenues of the immortal mind opened to his enraptured view. In the elements of Euclid the laws of demonstration were exhibited to his understanding, and aided in maturing his logical powers. He was prepared to enter upon the great theatre of public action, and to adorn the circle of private life. Endowed with these qualifications, his services were naturally required by his country. His first public act was to raise a body of troops and tender his services to General Braddock. That proud Briton considered the provincials puerile, and declined the proffered aid. His fate is a matter of history. In 1757, Mr. Lee was appointed a justice of the peace and president of the court. Shortly after, he was elected to the house of burgesses, where he made himself thoroughly acquainted with the laws of legislation, the ramifications of the government, the various interests and policy of the colony, and with the rules of parliamentary proceedings.

Retarded by an almost unconquerable diffidence, he took very little part in debate at first, and it was not until he became excited by a subject in which he felt a deep interest, that his Ciceronean powers became developed. A bill was before the house imposing a duty upon the importation of slaves into Virginia, so heavy as to virtually amount to a prohibition. It met with strong opposition, and then it was that Richard Henry Lee became roused, and poured upon his astonished audience a flood of eloquence against the importing traffic of human beings, that raised him at once to the pinnacle of fame as an eloquent orator. He was proclaimed the Cicero of America. He painted, in vivid colours, the cruelties of Cortes in South America, of the Saracens in Spain, and then pointed his colleagues to the darker and more barbarous practices that marked and branded with lasting infamy the unhallowed slave trade. He also pointed them to the bloody scenes of other times, when the physical force of those held in bondage had enabled them to rise in their might and crush their masters at one bold effort. By stopping the traffic the evil already entailed upon them might be provided for, and the certain and dreadful consequences of a constant influx from Africa be warded off. His eloquence was applauded, but his doctrines of philanthropy were voted down. The trade was then sanctioned by the government of Great Britain, now so loud in complaints against us, for not providing for an evil entailed upon America by the mother country.

The exposure of base corruptions practised by Mr. Robinson, then treasurer of the colony, was the next important service rendered by Mr. Lee. As this was participated in by the aristocracy of the house it required much boldness, energy, and persevering sagacity to introduce the probe successfully. This he effected in a masterly manner, and proved clearly that the treasurer had repeatedly re-issued reclaimed treasury bills to his favourite friends to support them in their extravagance, by which means the colony, in paying them a second time, was robbed of the amount. This act placed Mr. Lee on a high eminence in view of every honest man.

When Charles Townshend laid before the British parliament the odious and more extensive plan of taxing the American colonies, which was seized upon as a _philosopher’s stone_ by Mr. Grenville, Mr. Lee was among the first to sound the alarm to his countrymen. Within one month after the passage of the preliminary act in parliament followed by a revolting catalogue of unconstitutional and oppressive laws, Mr. Lee furnished a list of arguments against it to his London friends, that were sufficient to convince every man of the injustice and ruinous policy of the measure proposed, who was not blind to the dictates of reason and madly bent on enslaving his fellow men. When Patrick Henry proposed his resolutions in 1765, against the stamp act, which brought out the full force of his gigantic mind for the first time, Mr. Lee gave them the powerful aid of his eloquent and unanswerable logic.[C] Associations began now to be organized to resist the oppressions of the crown of which he was a prominent and efficient member. The collector of stamps was compelled to relinquish his office and deliver up his commission and the odious paper, and the people were advised not to use it on any occasion.

[C] See them at large in the life of Henry.

The _pen_ of Mr. Lee was also ably used and produced many keen, withering, logical, patriotic and sarcastic essays, that contributed largely in producing a proper tone of enthusiastic patriotism in the public mind. He also corresponded with the patriots of New York and New England, and was the first one according to the testimony of Colonel Gadsden, of South Carolina, and the public documents of that eventful era, who proposed the independence of the colonies, which tends to strengthen the allusion to his ancestors, who had for a century before predicted this event. The idea had probably been handed down from sire to son. In a letter from Richard Henry Lee to Mr. Dickinson, dated July 25th, 1768, connected with the statement of Colonel Gadsden, he proposes upon all seasonable occasions to impress upon the minds of the people the necessity of a struggle with Great Britain “_for the ultimate establishment of independence_,” and “that a private correspondence should be conducted by the lovers of liberty in every province.” His early proposition in Congress to sever the maternal ties, was considered by most of the friends of liberty premature and rash; but he had long nursed this favourite project in his own bosom and was anxious to transplant its vigorous scions to the congenial hearts of his fellow patriots.

Soon after the house of burgesses convened in 1769, Mr. Lee, as chairman of the judiciary committee, introduced resolutions so highly charged with liberal principles, sapping the foundation of the Grenville superstructure, that they caused a dissolution of the house, and concentrated the wrath of the British ministry and its servile creatures against him. The fruits of their persecution were the formation of non-importation associations, committees of correspondence, committees of safety, and the disaffection of the English merchants towards the ministers, in consequence of their impolitic measures, which were calculated to prostrate the exporting trade to America.

Lord North now assumed the management of the grand drama of oppression, and laid more deeply the revenue plan. By causing a repeal of the most offensive acts, he hoped to lull the storm of opposition that was gathering, disarm the colonists of the spirit of resistance, and, in the meantime, prepare for more efficient action. Had the Boston port bill been omitted, his dark designing treachery might have had a more triumphant reign. This roused the indignation of the people and fanned the burning flame of patriotic resentment to a _white_ heat.

The Philadelphia Congress of 1774 was now planned, in which Mr. Lee took his seat. At that memorable meeting he acted a conspicuous part. After Patrick Henry had broken the great seal that appeared to rest on the lips of the members as they sat in deep and solemn silence, he was followed by Richard Henry Lee in a strain of belles lettres eloquence and persuasive reasoning that took the minds of his audience captive, and restored to a calm the boiling agitation that shook their manly frames as the mountain torrent of the Demosthenean Henry rushed upon them.

He was a member of the committee appointed to prepare an address to the king, the people of Great Britain, and to the colonies. That document was written by him and adopted with a few amendments. He was also upon the committee that prepared the address to the people of Quebec, and upon the committee of rights and grievances, and of non-intercourse with the mother country. In the warmth of his ardour, he proposed several resolutions that were considered premature at that time, and were rejected; not because his purity of purpose was doubted, but because many of the members still hoped that peace might be restored by a timely redress of the grievances they had strongly and clearly set forth in their petition and address to the king and his advisers, and were not willing then to take any action to widen the breach between the two countries. The proceedings of this Congress were highly applauded by Lord Chatham, as being without a parallel for solidity of reasoning, force of sagacity and wisdom of conclusion.

In 1775, Mr. Lee was unanimously elected to the Virginia legislature and continued to act with undiminished zeal. He received a vote of thanks from that body “for his cheerful undertaking and faithful discharge of the trust reposed in him during the last Congress,” and was immediately appointed a delegate to the next. A more congenial field was now opened for the ardent spirit of this devoted patriot. Temporizing was no longer the order of the day. Vigorous action had become necessary, and the zeal and industry of Mr. Lee had ample scope. With all his might he entered upon the good work. Upon committees, in the house, every where, he was all activity. In 1776, he was again a member of the national legislature, and in obedience to the instructions of the Virginia legislature and of his own conscience, on the 7th of June of that year, he offered the resolution for the adoption of a Declaration of Independence, and enforced it by one of the most brilliant and powerful displays of refined and forcible eloquence ever exhibited by man. On the 10th of the same month he was called home by the illness of his family, which prevented him from taking his place as chairman of the committee upon his resolution agreeably to parliamentary rules. Mr. Jefferson was selected in his stead. The wrath of British power was now roused against him. During his short stay at home, an armed force broke into his house in the night, and by threats and bribes endeavoured to induce his servants to inform them where their master could be found. They persisted in affirming that he had started for Philadelphia. He was not in his house at the time, but a few miles from it with a friend.

In August he returned to Congress and most cheerfully affixed his name to that instrument which his imagination had dwelt upon for years. He served until June, 1777, when he returned to Virginia in order to confute a base slander, charging him with unfaithfulness to the American cause, in consequence of his having received rents in kind instead of continental money. He was honourably acquitted by the assembly and a vote of thanks for his valuable services was passed by that body. During the two ensuing years his health did not permit him to sit in Congress but a part of the time, but in all the vast concerns that occupied the attention of that body he took a deep interest and aided by his counsel.