Chapter D: S. Young's Impressions of John Howe Peyton (2)

"To Col. John Lewis Peyton, whom I see before me, and who by right of primogeniture, now stands at the head of the descendants of John Howe Peyton, and through him to all the descendants of this eminent man, I would say that the people of the county of Augusta represented by the judge of their county court and board of supervisors have requested me to signify the acceptance by the county of the admirable portrait of Mr. Peyton, which has been tendered it by Capt. Bumgardner in such appropriate and beautiful terms. Col. Peyton, in presenting to his native county this portrait of his distinguished father has done well, in that he has at once performed an act of filial piety and conferred a public benefit; for whilst Col. Peyton has by this act given apt expression to the tender and loving relations which should exist between a dutiful son and honored parent, it must also be remembered that the father whom he loved so well was amongst the most distinguished of Augusta's adopted sons, and she is now given an opportunity of manifesting towards him those sentiments of affection and pride which a mother cherishes for her honored children. Individuals and families honor themselves in honoring their worthy ancestors, and communities and States offer the highest incentive to industry, virtue and patriotism by honoring the memory of those who have filled public stations with fidelity and with zeal for the public good."

Then Major Elder spoke of the great abilities and noble virtues of John Howe Peyton. It was the happy combination of both that made him the great and good man that he was. The good influence of such a character was ably presented, and the beneficial effect of the presence of the portrait of such a man in the court-room would have on the bar.

We regret that we have room only for a few brief extracts which we give as follows:--

"But we have been told by Capt. Bumgardner that Daniel Sheffey, a competent judge surely, in speaking of Mr. Peyton said: 'He possessed gigantic power without effort.' No greater compliment could be paid to the intellect of any man. Mr. Peyton had time enough to become great in his profession and to spare for other things. With him his daily work was a pleasure rather than a burden. Fortunate indeed is the man who is so gifted. The consciousness of the possession of such powers and the use of them in right directions must be a delight to their possessor."

* * * * *

"But it is the crowning excellence of him whose memory we honor to-day, that he was as pure, as noble in heart as he was great in mind. In him there was that fine and harmonious combination of high moral qualities and great intellectual powers which makes the model man. This combination of moral and intellectual qualities is what so greatly commended this man to the regard and esteem of his contemporaries, and in what still keeps his memory fresh."

* * * * *

"Well it is for the lawyers of the present day, and well it will be for those who are to follow them, that the portrait of such a lawyer should be ever looking down upon them from the walls of this hall of justice.

"Its presence here will be at once an inspiration and a restraint.

"With the form and features of John Marshall, the great expounder of the Federal Constitution and the founder of our Federal jurisprudence, and with the forms and features of such of his disciples as John H. Peyton, Thos. J. Michie and John B. Baldwin, ever before them, the lawyers who come here to practice their profession should not go wrong."

At the conclusion of Major Elder's speech, calls were made on Col. John L. Peyton, who arose and responded in a few brief remarks which can be found on another page of this book.

[From Yost's Weekly.]

PRESENTATION OF A PORTRAIT.

A goodly company, including a number of ladies, assembled in the Court-house at noon on Friday last to witness the presentation to Augusta County of the portrait of Hon. John Howe Peyton, than whom the old county never had a more distinguished son, for although born outside of her confines, the major part of his long and useful life was spent in her service, and the lustre of his fame forms one of her richest heritages and indissolubly interwoven with her history and progress.

The meeting was called to order by Capt. T. D. Ranson, and, upon his motion, George M. Cochran, Esq., was designated to preside. Mr. Cochran briefly stated the object of the meeting was the presentation to the Board of Supervisors of Augusta County of a portrait of the late Hon. John Howe Peyton and its acceptance by the authorities.

On behalf of Col. John Lewis Peyton and other descendants of the great lawyer, Capt. James Bumgardner made the presentation address. It was a theme worthy of the best effort and the address was worthy of the theme, and worthy too of the head and heart of the learned and gallant gentleman chosen for the task. He sketched the distinguished career of John Howe Peyton from his birth in Stafford county in the year 1778. Endowed with talents of a high order, Mr. Peyton entered Princeton at an early age, graduating from that institution as Master of Arts in 1797. He studied law under Judge Bushrod Washington of the Supreme Court of the United States, and commenced the practice of his profession on the Fredericksburg circuit. In 1806 he was elected as a member of the House of Delegates from Stafford County, and re-elected the following year and served until 1810 and 1811. In 1808 he removed to Staunton, and was immediately appointed Attorney for the Commonwealth for the circuit surrounding Staunton, and subsequently also Commonwealth's Attorney for Augusta County. This latter position was resigned by Chapman Johnson, himself a great lawyer, for the reason, as he declared, that Mr. Peyton's qualifications for the office were so superior that justice to the county demanded his services. During the war of 1812 Mr. Peyton acted as chief of staff to General Porterfield, and in the field as well as the forum rendered distinguished service. From 1816, when he was appointed Deputy U. S. District Attorney to aid William Wirt, until his health became impaired in 1844, Mr. Peyton continued to fill the office of State's Attorney, serving also terms as Mayor of the city and for eight years as a member of the State Senate.

His busy, useful life closed in 1847, but the fragrance of his memory lingers to this day, and his fame is one of the memories of the county. Captain Bumgardner quoted the opinions of a long list of eminent men who were contemporaries of Mr. Peyton and recognized his great power as a lawyer. Among them was Daniel Webster, who in speaking of the celebrated report written by Mr. Peyton in opposition to the amendment of the Constitution of the United States, said that the "reasoning and conclusion were unanswerable."

In closing, Captain Bumgardner earnestly and eloquently summed up the salient points in the career of Mr. Peyton, declaring him to have been a man of commanding ability, of the highest culture, of profound legal learning, of the sternest integrity and strictest honor; worthy to be commemorated by placing his portrait in the group of great lawyers which now adorns the Court House.

Major Thomas C. Elder was selected by the court to receive the portrait on behalf of the Board of Supervisors. The selection was a happy one. Never have we heard in that Court House an address so chaste, so scholarly, so rich in beautiful worded thought, so thoroughly impressive and appropriate. It was a literary gem. To sketch it would be to mar it, and we regret that our limited space does not permit its publication in full, together with the address to which it was a response.

Col. John L. Peyton, son of Hon. John Howe Peyton, was present in the house, and calls were made for him to come to the stand. In recognition of this manifestation, the Colonel said he was taken by surprise in the call that was made, and could only say that he felt gratified with the enthusiastic manner the gift to the county had been received, and the elegant and affecting remarks which had accompanied the presentation of the portrait and its reception. That he was pleased to see his father's likeness on the walls of the hall where his eloquent voice had so often resounded, and suspended in the midst of a people he had loved so much and served so faithfully, for with him it always was "his country first, his country last, his country all the time."

LETTERS.

FROM THE REV. J. HENRY SMITH, D. D., PASTOR OF THE FIRST
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, GREENSBORO, N. C., ONE OF
THE FEW SURVIVORS OF MR. PEYTON'S
OLD FRIENDS.

Greensboro, N. C., July 24th, 1894.

_Col. John L. Peyton_:

_My Dear Sir_--I have just received from your hand a copy of the "Staunton Daily News" of the 21st inst., and I have read with very great pleasure, the beautiful and eloquent and richly deserved tributes to your honored father at the public meeting in your town called for the acceptance of your father's portrait. It well deserves to be placed among the purest and ablest and noblest of his talented and honored associates and contemporaries. I congratulate _you_ on so interesting an occasion, and I sympathise with you in the filial joy and pride and gratitude to God that your heart, I know, felt, as those tributes were paid to your noble father's character and influence. Next to the fear of God, is the feeling we cherish for a father, who has taught us in the right way of virtue and honor, who has exemplified such a life and led us onward and upward. I think the _5th Commandment_ stands in the decalogue where it does, because the love and reverence to parents is next to the love and fear of God, in the estimation of God himself.

Greek and Latin writers often classified and summed up human duty in the following three-fold way,--"to fear the gods--to honor one's parents and to obey the laws of the land." This was I think in the mind of _Cicero_ when he said "_in aris et focis est Republica_." _Plato_ says "let us believe then that we can have no religious image more precious in the sight of heaven than a father, or a grandfather or a mother worn out with age, and that in proportion as we honor or delight in them with a religious joy, in the same proportion does God himself rejoice." Such sentiments, I believe, are fragments of the true and primitive religion carried abroad--but also, soon afterward, in so many respects corrupted, we recognize such sentiments as a part of the original Divine law not wholly obliterated, thanks to God, by the fall.

For the sake of dear old Virginia, I thank you that your father's form and face is where it is--to be an incentive to virtue and patriotism, as it looks down from year to year upon all who enter your court of justice.

For your considerate kindness in sending me the paper, and awakening thoughts of the long past, and with apologies for this longer letter than I had thought to write, I am,

Gratefully yours,
J. HENRY SMITH.

FROM GEN. ECHOLS.

Louisville, Ky., July 28, 1894.

_Major Thos. C. Elder, Staunton, Va._:

_My Dear Major_--After an absence of several days, I returned to this city yesterday, and find your postal of the 23rd inst., and also the newspaper containing an account of the ceremony of the delivery to, and acceptance by, the county authorities of Augusta county, of the portrait of the late distinguished John Howe Peyton. I am very much obliged to you for thinking of me, and giving me an opportunity of reading the addresses made by yourself and Captain Bumgardner on the occasion referred to. I have read the speeches with a great deal of interest, and I have been very much impressed and pleased with your chaste, striking, and eloquent address, as the representative of the Supervisors of the county, in accepting the portrait. You have, with a master's hand, delineated the character of Mr. Peyton, and I hope that your address will be preserved as a fitting accompaniment of the skillful personation of the striking countenance that the artist has presented. I recollect Mr. Peyton very well. When I was a boy I saw him, and heard him frequently at the bar, generally in Lexington. I have also a very pleasant recollection of having enjoyed his elegant and generous hospitality at his home.

When I can first remember Staunton, the Staunton bar was made up of men who will long live in the memory of those who had the good fortune to know them.

Judge Thompson was on the bench, and around him Thos. J. Michie, A. H. H. Stuart, John B. Baldwin, David Fultz, H. W. Sheffey and a number of other gentlemen, all of whom together formed a notable group that would have made any forum illustrious.

It is certainly a most fitting thing that the noble county of Augusta should have her Pantheon, in which shall be gathered the statues and likenesses of her great sons, in order that those who come after shall see the men who have given to her her proud pre-eminence among the counties of the "Old Dominion."

Again thanking you for your kindness, and hoping to see you in a few days, I am, very truly yours, JOHN ECHOLS.

Many other interesting letters have been received from distinguished gentlemen in different parts of the State, but neither time nor the limits of this pamphlet admit of their insertion.

LETTERS FROM CONTEMPORARIES AT THE BAR.

From a number of letters received from persons to whom Col. Preston's sketch was posted, nearly fifteen years ago, the following extracts are selected, because written by Mr. Peyton's colleagues at the bar.

FROM JUDGE ALEXANDER RIVES.
(FEDERAL JUDGE.)

In a letter addressed to Hon. John L. Peyton, and dated Eastbourne, Charlottesville, Jan. 29th, 1881, Judge R. says:

"There was no one at the bar, with whom I was associated, for whom I cherished the same admiration, respect and esteem, as for him.

"So much of our State's worth and greatness was in the ranks of the bar and the bench, that I have felt it to be a shame to the State that it has never been chronicled, as it should have been, for after ages. Such men as Wickham, Leigh, and Johnson survive only in brief obituaries. I am glad your filial piety has, in some measure, rescued your father's name from that neglect."

FROM JOHN B. MINOR, LL. D.,

PROFESSOR OF LAW, &C.

University of Virginia, February 3d, 1881.

_My Dear Sir_:

I pray you to accept my thanks for the brief memoirs of your distinguished father, which you were so kind as to send me.

It is very pleasing to have before my eyes the well remembered features, expression and attitude of a man for whom, through my whole professional life, I have cherished the most unreserved respect and admiration.

For many years I have been accustomed to regard the county of Augusta as occupying the first position in the Commonwealth, in respect to the _morale_ and intelligence of its people, and the soundness of its public sentiment, and have ascribed the pre-eminence, in a marked degree, to the lofty character of its bar--a pre-eminence in uprightness, as well as in abilities and learning, which has now subsisted continuously for near a hundred years. There is no community in the State, I believe, which has been blessed, for a blessing indeed it has proved, for so long a period of time, with such a wonderful and uninterrupted succession of great and virtuous lawyers.

In that remarkable series, your father is a most conspicuous figure, and by his example and influence contributed as much as any one to the noble result, as I apprehend it to exist, in the elevated tone of the people of Augusta.

Doubtless the highest influences of religion co-operated powerfully to accomplish what has been achieved, but I do not doubt that one of the chief auxiliaries was the stainless purity existing for so many years among the practitioners of the law, rendered more conspicuous and patent by the extraordinary capacity which accompanied it.

I look with trembling anxiety to the young men who now compose the bulk of the Augusta bar, many of whom are my pupils, to sustain and transmit unimpaired the illustrious reputation for lofty integrity and eminent ability and learning, which has come down to them through so many successions of their predecessors, so that for the next hundred years, as for the last, old Augusta may continue to enjoy the distinction she has won.

Thanking you again for kindly remembering me in the distribution of the sketch, I am, with great respect and esteem,

Yours truly,
JOHN B. MINOR.

James D. Davidson, in a letter dated Lexington, Va., January 25th, 1879, and addressed to Col. John L. Peyton, says:

"When I knew Mr. Peyton in practice in Rockbridge county, I was comparatively a young member of the bar, and I looked up to him, as a man of imperial, far seeing, commanding intellect, and in every respect as a superior being, not only as a lawyer, but as a man."

Letters and excerpts from letters to whom the little pamphlet giving an account of the presentation of Mr. Peyton's likeness to the county were sent:

_Judge S. Bassett French_, of Mynchester, says:

"Mr. Peyton was a wonderful man in his day, and had few peers in any age."

_Col. Wm. A. Anderson_, in a letter to Col. Peyton, dated Lexington, August 8th, 1894, says:

"Accept my thanks for the memorial pamphlet of your honored father. Some knowledge of his splendid gifts, his eloquence, learning and lofty traits of character had come down to me among the traditions of the Lexington bar, at which he was for many years a distinguished practitioner, and I am very glad to have in more enduring form the sketches of his life, character and services."

PROF. JOHN B. MINOR, LL. D.
University of Virginia, Law Department,
August 9th, 1894.

_My Dear Sir:_

I received yesterday, the pamphlet containing the account of the "Ceremonies attending the presentation of the portrait of John Howe Peyton," your honored father, to the county of Augusta, and beg you to accept my cordial thanks therefore.

I apprehend that no county in the State, nor in the United States, can exhibit such an aggregation of judicial worthies as Augusta, not merely lawyers of distinguished learning and power, but men no less distinguished for incompatible integrity. The county authorities do themselves great credit in thus commemorating the virtues and abilities which have so illustrated their community.

Among these great and good men your father was conspicuous, and well deserves to be enshrined in the esteem and admiration, not of Augusta only, but of Virginia, and the whole country. With renewed thanks for the pamphlet,

I am, yours very truly,
JOHN B. MINOR.
Col. John L. Peyton, Staunton, Va.

_Hon. John W. Rieley_, judge-elect to the Supreme Court of Appeals, of Virginia, says:

"I have read with deep and intense interest the addresses and all that was said of Mr. Peyton by his contemporaries, and as a Virginian I am proud of such an illustrious citizen, and congratulate old Augusta that her people have for contemplation, and emulation for all time the life and character of one of such worth and commanding ability."

_Col. Jos. H. Sherrard_, under date of Lexington, August 12th, 1894, writes:

"I have read the pamphlet with a great deal of pleasure, and am glad to see this departure from the rule too long prevalent of doing honor only to statesmen and military men, and the system inaugurated of 'rendering unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's.' Truly among professional men there is oft-times as much virtue, genius and patriotism as in the former classes, and this was the case as to your great and good father, and is so as to many modest citizens, who are as worthy to be commemorated. Many a youth will be taught that honor and glory are not alone to be achieved at the cannon's mouth, or in the halls of Congress, and to emulate such examples of virtue in private life. Would that this precedent of your good people could be repeated by those of every county in the State, until all of our court-houses are ornamented by their illustrious citizens. Surely we might then say: 'Lives of great men all remind us we may make our lives sublime and departing leave footprints in the sands of time.'"

_John F. Lewis, Esq._, writes from Charleston, W. Va., under date of October 12th, 1894:

"While it was not my good fortune to have known personally the subject of these eloquent tributes to worth, I know full well how richly deserved they are. From the days of my youth I have heard from the lips of those who knew John Howe Peyton well and honored him, the most beautiful and feeling tributes to his high toned honor, his brilliant intellect, his fervid patriotism and his spotless life. It is eminently fitting that this speaking likeness of him should adorn the walls of the Temple of Justice of old Augusta, those same walls which erstwhile echoed back his eloquent words in defence of the right."

_Rev. Wm. H. Ruffner, D. D._, writes from Lexington, under date of August 10th, 1894:

"I have read all [the pamphlet containing ceremonies attending the presentation of Mr. Peyton's portrait to the county] with interest and sympathy. Your father was one of the heroes of my early days. I saw and heard him often, and the impression I received of his character and abilities was correct."

_Dr. R. A. Brock_ writes from Richmond, October 10th, 1894:

"I am thankful in the inspiration that the contemplation of so benign a presence, and the consequent retrospect of so admirable a life, will command in posterity."

_Rev. Geo. Gordon Smeade_, Rector of Magill Memorial Church, Pulaski City, writes:

"For the sake of the rising generation who may frequent your Court of Justice, it was most timely in placing upon her walls the portrait of so distinguished a personage as your father. He who has left so deep an impress upon the community in which he lived, and I may say also upon his age, cannot help being an incentive to the very _highest type of virtue_ and patriotism."

_C. B. Thomas, Esq._, writes from Wytheville, August 11th, 1894:

"I have read the pamphlet with much interest. I will have my boys to read it, hoping that they may be stimulated to strive to emulate some of the virtues which characterized your distinguished father in such an eminent degree."

_Miss M. J. Baldwin_, the gifted and accomplished Principal of the Augusta Female Seminary, under date of August 15th, 1894, writes:

"No one takes more pleasure in seeing your father's memory honored than I do. May his descendants ever prove worthy of so distinguished an ancestor."

FROM MRS. LOUISA DUPUY.

The talented and accomplished Mrs. Louisa Dupuy, who was intimately acquainted with Mr. Peyton and his family, and who spent much time at Montgomery Hall in early days, thus writes:

Staunton, Thursday Afternoon.

_Dear Col. Peyton_:

I am very much obliged for the pamphlet containing an account of the presentation and acceptance of your honored father's portrait. "Honor to whom honor is due," and I am always glad to see any indication that virtue and integrity and intellectual ability are held in high esteem, and brought prominently before the public. It is cause of deep regret, that in these days, so much of the reverse is prominent. If I had known it in time, and that ladies were to be present on the interesting occasion, I should have gone down to the Court House, but I do not take a daily paper and did not know of it.

I remember your father as an elegant and courtly gentleman, genial and kind to all, both old and young; and that he belonged to a noble set of such men belonging to Staunton in those days.

I have read the pamphlet through (I had read the account in the papers), and have mailed it to Sam and the boys.

Your old friend,
LOUISA DUPUY.

Many other interesting letters have been received from distinguished persons in all parts of the State, from the South and West, but space does not admit of their introduction. We feel the less difficulty in omitting them, though coming from such men as Gen. G. W. C. Lee, from judges of the Court of Appeals of Maryland, North Carolina and Ohio, Hon. R. Taylor Scott, Col. Jesse E. Peyton, of New Jersey, R. L. Parrish and other eminent men and lawyers, because they knew Mr. Peyton only by reputation, not personally.

MRS. JOHN H. PEYTON.

We have mentioned Mr. Peyton's second marriage, in 1821, to Anne Montgomery Lewis. The happiness derived from this auspicious union was such that it may be classed among the matches "made in heaven."

As a becoming conclusion to this compilation the following sketch of Mrs. Peyton is appended:

Among the noteworthy women of Virginia during the early part of the present century--our comparatively unknown and entirely unsung Southern heroines--was the subject of this sketch. Remarkable for her practical ability and efficiency, her graceful and accomplished taste, the extent and variety of her literary attainments, the unselfish generosity of her heart, and her unostentatious charities, no one was more highly esteemed while living, or was more mourned when, in her bright and useful career, struck down by the hand of death. Nor is there one of those departed Matrons--the peerless women of Virginia,--whose memory is more cherished by those among whom she lived; for, it was her peculiar good fortune to be at once the life and joy of her family, the "bright particular star" of the society in which she moved, and the pride and ornament of the community.

Anne Montgomery Peyton was born at the Sweet Springs Monroe County, Virginia, in the year 1802. Her father Major John Lewis, was a man of large fortune, having inherited this extensive and valuable estate from his father, Col. William Lewis, commonly called the "Civilizer of the border." Major Lewis was a distinguished officer of that branch of the military forces of the "Thirteen United Colonies," styled the "Continental line," and served under Washington until the close of the revolutionary war. A little more than two years after the surrender of the British Army at Yorktown, by Lord Cornwallis, October 17th--19th, 1781, namely, in the winter of 1783 when Washington relinquished the command of the army, Major Lewis returned to the Sweet Springs where he spent the rest of his life, improving his property and enjoying the society of his friends. He married, in 1795, Mary Preston, the fourth daughter of Col. William Preston of Smithfield, County of Montgomery. Mary Preston Lewis is reported to have been a woman of great personal charms and of uncommon vivacity of intellect, and of varied accomplishments. As spirited as beautiful, she was one of the true type of that Virginia character which has made itself known and felt throughout the world.[28]

[28] When little Anne Lewis left the Sweet Springs for Mr. C's school,
she bore the following letter from her mother to him.

Sweet Springs, July 23rd, 1811.

_Mr. Crutchfield_:

_Dear Sir_--With the sincerest pleasure I send my dear little Anne to
you again. I hope nothing will happen, not even an indulgence of my
affection for her, to cause her coming home again shortly, for to you, I
confide with confidence her entire education, and I hope your labors
will be crowned with success by Him above, who is able to give
abundantly.

It has been with much persuasion and many difficulties I have succeeded
in getting Mr. L's consent to Anne and Margaret Lynn being sent to you.
I need not say anything as to Anne's temper and disposition. I know your
penetration is sufficient, and in your judgment and tenderness [to
improve both] I have entire confidence. You can do more to improve her
than I can and I know you will. I have many happy proofs of the great
good, both in mind and manners, that have accompanied your exertions
towards my family.

Heaven bless and prosper you, is the wish of your friend,
MARY P. LEWIS.

P. S. My respects to Mrs. Crutchfield. I have sent a cot and bedding for
Anne and Lynn.

Mary Preston Lewis died at an early age, leaving a large family of young children, and it devolved upon the subject of this sketch, as being one of the oldest, to act the part of mother and sister towards them--a duty which she nobly performed, ever extending to them Christian care and true sympathy. The portals of Montgomery Hall were always open to receive them and her younger brothers. In fact it became the home of her sisters, three of whom were subsequently, at different periods, married from it: namely, Margaret Lynn, to John Cochran, of Charlottesville, Va., Sarah, to her cousin, Col. John Lewis, of Kanawha, and Polydora, to John Gosse, of Albemarle. Her two younger brothers, John Benjamin and Thomas Preston, also resided with her several years while attending school in Staunton.

Anne Lewis, the third child of Major John Lewis and Mary Preston, and according to contemporaneous accounts, the most favored of them all; was entered in her ninth year at the school--a school in great repute at that day--of Mr. Crutchfield, situated in the Falling Spring Valley near the Peytona Cascades, Alleghany County.[29]

[29] The following letter from John Preston, Treasurer of the State of
Virginia, gives a brief account of the death of his sister, Mary Preston
Lewis.

Greenfield, Botetourt County, Va.,
February 8th, 1824.

_Dear Sister_:

The painful duty of informing you of the death of our beloved Sister
Lewis devolves on me. She expired on Wednesday the 4th, (Feb. 4th, 1824)
at her home at the Sweet Springs. She had lingered for some time but no
dangerous symptoms appeared in her complaint, nor was any alarm excited.
She, however, became suddenly worse, and sent for Mary Woodville, who
set out instantly and took with her Doctor Patterson, of Fincastle, but
before they arrived she was struggling with death. She died with all the
firmness of a Christian hero, firmly relying on the merits and mediation
of an all-sufficient Saviour, and declared that her hope and confidence
were so great that death presented not one solitary terror to her, but
rather that he appeared to her as a friend who was to conduct her out of
this into a far better world that she had long looked forward to with
ardor--and called on her relations and friends around her to witness
with what composure a real Christian could die, and actually closed her
eyes with her own hands.

The family are now dispersed, and the house locked up and the plantation
forsaken for awhile.

Sarah, Lynn and Thomas are at Mr. Woodville's, Ben and Polly down at Mr.
Massie's. What future disposition will be made of them or the property
is not yet decided on. She did not make a will.

My wife is very sick and confined to her bed with something like the
nettle-rash. Sarah is well and I am in my general health.

Your affectionate brother,
JOHN PRESTON.

To Mrs. Elizabeth Madison, Montgomery Co.

The reader will probably excuse a brief reference to this valley which is so remarkable for its scenic charms, the cascade being the most striking point, that one cannot pass through it without feeling the truth of Cowper's beautiful line--"God made the Country and man made the Town." The variety, the perfection, and indeed everything about a lively country scene so eclipse the noise and bustle and turmoil of a large town that I have sometimes been so uncharitable as to think that those who did not love the country, could scarcely love their Maker; but to indulge such a thought would be illiberal, decidedly wrong. And yet the country has many, many charms, peculiar to itself and of a peculiar character; and although it is certain that a vicious mind will think of God nowhere, while a pious one will behold him in everything, it nevertheless cannot be doubted that there are natural tendencies in the bustle, parade, and business of large commercial towns, to turn away the soul from God; while innumerable objects are presented in the country which lead the mind of the reflective "through Nature up to Nature's God."

The general truth of these remarks has always been impressed on our mind when in the country, and more especially when rambling during the summer through the enchanting regions of western Virginia.

In one of the loveliest spots in this picturesque land, Mr. Crutchfield had wisely established his school--no doubt influenced in his choice by its central position in the State, its retired situation and the extreme healthfulness of the climate. Amidst these rural scenes in the "sweet sequestered vale," Anne Lewis spent her early youth, making much progress in learning and acquiring a fund of valuable information. Studying with unexampled industry, she carried off the highest prizes. But even in this, the school of highest grade at that period in Western Virginia, she was in a measure deprived of that thorough and liberal education which her ambition craved. When she completed the course and returned home it was with a painful consciousness on her part of how little she knew and how much she had yet to learn.

She often spoke in after years in a lively and amusing way of her life at this remote seminary, and of how the scholars had to rough it; of what would now be styled their hardships, but which did not seriously effect these light-hearted girls. She alluded to her own life at this season of her early joys, as smooth and pleasant, and to the valley of the Falling Spring as a kind of earthly paradise. Her opening years here and at her home at Sweet Springs, were eminently happy and this sunny morning betokened the short, but cloudless day that was coming.

Concerning their life at Mr. Crutchfield's generally she said it was not uncomfortable or unpleasant. His table was liberally supplied with whatever the country produced, such as beef, mutton, poultry, and now and again with game and fish furnished by the forests, and the mountain streams. Of foreign luxuries they saw little or nothing. Their coffee was generally roasted rye, or a mixture of rye and "Rio," and their evening drink was milk or Sassafras tea. When they visited distant friends they rode on horseback, or were crowded into Mr. Crutchfield's cariole--a kind of covered spring cart.

In their intervals of toilsome labors, and Mr. C. was far from allowing his pupils to neglect their studies, they passed much of their time gathering wild flowers in the green fields or on the mountain sides, visiting from time to time the cottages of the hearty mountaineers, whose good wives always welcomed them with a glass of sweet milk, some new laid eggs, or delicious fruit.

It must be remembered that these hours of leisure were not given to enjoyment only,--hours so favorable to improvement were better employed. When they returned from the fields, their hands tinted with the rich purple and crimson of the flowers they had gathered, it was not the blood stain of murdered time. On the contrary they were only signs of the eagerness with which they pursued knowledge as well as pleasure, in some department of natural history, for they were always accompanied in their outdoor excursions by a teacher. Trees were waving, flowers blooming, birds singing, and insects revelling around them--the very pebbles in their pathway contained a history of the past within them; the stream flowing by them had its finny tribes, most wonderfully adapted to their element, and these lighter hours were given to an examination, almost a study, of these objects--animate and inanimate, as they came from the hands of our Creator. And it may be safely asserted that few professional botanists were deeper versed at a little later period in the virtues of various herbs and plants, and how they might be made subservient to our uses, domestic and medicinal, than was Anne Lewis.

It was during her sojourn at this school, while spending a holiday with her sister, Mrs. Massie, at the Valley Farm, that she first met John Howe Peyton, then in the zenith of his professional success and one of the handsomest and most accomplished men in Virginia. He had recently returned from active service with the army of 1812-15, of which he was a daring and enterprising officer. She was at this time in the flush of opening womanhood, at the romantic age, and listened with wrapt attention and delight to his eloquent conversation, his graphic and animated accounts of the camp and field. She was herself rich in what has been styled with poetic license the fatal dower of beauty and was as clever as pretty. The result may be as easily imagined as told--they were speedily betrothed and shortly after her return to the paternal roof, though her beauty drew suitors for her hand from far and near, were married (1821.)

It was a fortunate marriage and brought her all the happiness promised by a union with the chosen of her heart. Her home was thereafter in Staunton for a few years and subsequently till her death at Montgomery Hall. She thus returned to the original location of her great grandfather the "lord of the hills," to pass her life amidst the scenes rendered historic by his and his brave companions' long struggle with their savage enemies and almost within sight of the ruins of that Fort Lewis, under whose stout walls the colony grew, in time, strong enough to defy every foe.

Civil life, as we know it, hardly existed in those days in Virginia; all that was powerful, all that was honored, was connected with war; the ideas of the time more or less insensibly took a military color; men's callings and necessity were in one way or the other to fight; and to fight with effect needed combination, endurance, and practice, and the rude forts of the frontier were camps or barracks where there was continual drill and exercise, fixed times, appointed task, hard fare, incessant watchfulness, an absolute obedience to officers. Armed men, with sentinels posted to give warning of an enemy's approach, tilled the fields. Cattle were herded at night around the strong places; patrols scoured the country day and night, and, in fact, all the precautions were taken which are necessary to intruders in an enemy's country. Many a dark tale of massacre has been connected with the settlement of West Augusta; and the story of the Lewises and other pioneers, forms a romantic and memorable feature in the history of those turbulent times. Fort Lewis was the only place of security west of the Blue Ridge and south of Winchester. It was a fortress of little architectural extent or pretension, but in its associations one of the most popular and interesting of our historical places.

In her new home Anne Peyton soon developed more fully the noble qualities which so much endeared her to a numerous circle of friends and the intellectual parts by which she was afterwards so widely known. There was no object of a humane and laudable kind to which she did not devote her time and attention, but particularly was her active philanthropy displayed in connexion with the large slave population on her husband's estates. She made herself intimately acquainted with the real condition of the negroes on these plantations and set on foot remedies for the evils necessarily incident to their condition. Her labors were attended with success, and not only the physical but the intellectual and moral condition of these unfortunate beings was improved and advanced.

Happily the prosperity of Virginia was in her day so exuberant, that there was little poverty of any kind. There are, however, always cases of want to be found in every community, and these she sought out and relieved when and where the world was not cognizant. In a word she offered bread to the famishing and hope to the desperate. Her tender sympathy extended even to the brute creation. She could not patiently endure to see dumb creatures suffering from cruelty or want of proper care, and the very animals instinctively regarded her as their thoughtful friend.

Anne Montgomery Peyton became the mother of ten children, all of whom reached years of maturity, and with two exceptions married and have families of their own, and all now survive but her second daughter, Anne Montgomery, who died unmarried in 1870, and her son Yelverton. She was, as we shall see, a most careful mother and affectionate wife, looking up to her husband as a superior being, and took upon herself the heavy burden of care in connection with the rearing and education of this numerous family, to which her husband could give little attention from the absorbing pursuit of his profession and the overwhelming character of his engagements.

It was truly in the domestic sphere that she most shone, and her children owe so much to her teachings and example, to her maternal tenderness and training, that the recollection of their days at the Hall is the most precious remembrance they carry with them through life.

Her mind was always active in devising means for the benefit of her children. Nor would she allow any personal inconvenience of discomfort to interfere with her plans for carrying them out. She often entered into their juvenile games and amusements with all the vivacity of her nature. Nor did it lessen the deference and respect they felt for her. She knew when to be little and when to be great. When to exercise her authority, how to enhance her influence, and the value of example in enforcing both. Thus obedience became so easy that her children soon combined the pleasure of anticipating her wishes with the duty of compliance. Of course in every family there are to be found wrong tempers, feverish ailments, and perverseness of disposition, and willing obedience cannot be, at all times and on all occasions, obtained however consistently authority may be maintained. But as far a child however helpless, ignorant, and inexperienced could be brought into habits of obedience by a judicious exercise of parental authority, without an approach to undue severity, it was accomplished by her tact and discretion.

Some one has called the boy the "father of the man," but the mother is more especially the parent of the child, forming, directing and educating its mind and heart. The very pulses of its life throb responsively with hers, from heart it springs into being and her heart should be its natural shelter and resting place while life lasts. A Christian mother she was who made the well-being for her children, spiritual and physical next to her duty to God and her husband, the object of her most watchful attention, and whether in the nursery, the play grounds or school rooms, or the household bestowed upon them the utmost care, instructing them at one time and romping with them at another.

In their sports it was, indeed, her habit frequently to join. She considered play not merely essential to a child's happiness, but to its physical, moral and spiritual well being. She therefore interested herself in the amusements of her children with as much zeal and enjoyment apparently as they themselves--thus at very little expense and trouble to herself adding greatly to their pleasures. She would now and again pull the children's wagons around the nursery, make a flag for a little boat, or dress a doll in the style of our Revolutionary matrons from a few scraps of silk and calico. She studied the characters of her different children as they were developed in play and thus gained an insight into their inner life which guided her as to their future. Some children are naturally of a robust constitution and their play is characterized by noise and action; others not so strong are of a more gentle and studious disposition, pursue the amusements in comparative quiet. She observed this and regulated her coarse accordingly for she considered it a sign of ill health, if one of the brood sat silently and mopingly apart from the group; and at once sought the cause of such an unnatural state of things and to remove it. In the merest trifles she exercised a wise judgment and considered nothing trivial which concerned the happiness of her children. For example, so minute and particular was she that she never allowed the children to play with one particular set of toys until they had lost all their interest and were cast aside. This, she asserted, taught them two bad habits--to wear out a pleasure threadbare, and reckless destruction. She did not interfere violently to deprive the children of them, but joining in their play for a moment would suggest a change. With flushed cheeks and laughing eyes would draw them into lively romp or game of "puss in the corner;" in order to get them away from a spot where they had been too long over kites, puzzles, or dolls dresses.

Few families of children indeed had more care bestowed upon them, and no one can fail to admire the good sense and tact of a mother who with such rare skill contributed to the happiness of her little brood. Often did she with a box of paints, a pencil and some paper employ the children during a wet afternoon, or in fine weather having a game of hoop or _les graces_ in the grounds. Considering play one of the first necessities of a child's existence, she encouraged hers to play with all their hearts--but never to the neglect of graver studies. These were attended to in proper season. But when play time came they were free to enjoy themselves thoroughly, so that their fun did not run into mischief. Thus her children associated their mother with their pleasant memories of enjoyment and she never went amongst them that her presence was not hailed with joy.

With their education strictly so speaking, she was equally particular, though her duties prevented her from conducting it herself. She saw however, that the person, Miss Lucy Stone, a native of Massachusetts and educated in Boston, to whose care they were for some years confided, and afterwards Miss Forneret, the daughter of a retired officer of the British army and educated in Paris, was worthy of the charge.

With their school tasks she was herself familiar and saw that their minds were not overtasked, and now and again cautioned Miss Stone to suit the lessons to their ages and capacities, saying "strengthen and instruct, do not tire the mind."

Sometimes she questioned them herself to ascertain whether they understood their own lessons rather than learnt them by _rote_ without taking in the meaning of them. Often during hours of recreation, she spoke of the means of acquiring information and said there were five eminent methods whereby the mind is improved in the knowledge of things, namely by observation, reading, instruction by lectures, conversation and thought or study. What was meant by these terms she fully explained, and lest she might fatigue and create a distaste for learning by such serious discourse, would on occasions with much tact glide into lighter themes, and tell stories teaching valuable lessons, through this medium, every story having a moral which the young people were left to draw from the incidents of the narrative. Information was thus conveyed to their minds without fatiguing them, so that to learn from her was a positive pleasure. She taught them also to write little stories by making pleasant suggestions to them. Never shall the writer forget his admiration for her talents, readiness and efficiency when she would at their request sometimes condescend to write one herself. It was sure to be effective and set us thinking. Nor his gratitude for aid, when he was confronted with the task of answering his first letter. A few days after its receipt sitting down in the presence of his mother he commenced a reply. His ideas would not flow in orthodox channels, he could think of nothing to say that did not have reference to the farm and stable, and begged his mother to give him some assistance. "No," she answered, "do your best, I will then examine and correct it, or write something for you."

After completing his note which was redolent as may be imagined of the farm and barn yard with its pigs and fowls, he gave it to her. She laughed heartily at his first effort, but sweetened what he thought her irony by a little praise. It was not, however, she said, the kind of letter his aunt would expect or care to read. She then in a few moments, without taking her pen from the paper, dashed off a letter of sparkling diction and fascinating humor. Surprised, amazed indeed, at her readiness and power of description, delighted at what appeared to him her wonderful success, proud of her as his mother and withal grateful for her assistance, he threw his arms round about her neck, covering her with kisses and exclaiming, "Why Mamma, you are indeed a genius--a giant of the pen. I never will be able to write like that."

His first guide and his earliest critic, he soon learned from her that affection for literature which has afforded him so much solace in his chequered life. Availing herself of this occasion the mother impressed upon the son the advantages of aiming at perfection in everything he undertook.

The tenor of her remarks may be thus summarized: unless aimed at we certainly would never attain perfection while frequent attempts would make it easy. She animadverted upon idleness and indifference, remarking that in the comparatively unimportant matter of writing a letter as it was considered, we should give it our greatest care, that it might be as perfect in all its parts as we could make it. The subject should be expressed plainly and intelligibly, and in as elegant style as we were capable of. Before writing a sentence we should examine it, that it might contain nothing vulgar or inelegant in thought or word; that we should guard ourselves against attempts at wit, which might wound, or too much levity and familiarity which was foolish and impertinent. And seek to express ourselves with manly simplicity, free of affectation. This was the usual style of Cicero's epistles and rendered them deeply interesting and improving. No one could reach such excellence, without purity in the choice of words, justness of construction, joined with perspicuity of style. That in our letters we should not attempt what is called fine writing, but have them, like our conversation, unstudied and easy, natural and simple.

In fact, she said Cicero's were the most valuable collection of letters extant in any language, written to the greatest men of the age, composed with purity and elegance, and without the least affectation and without any view to their publication, which adds greatly to their merit.

She particularly disliked extravagant, what she called "random talking," and early warned her children against exaggeration, quoting in this connection from her favorite work:--

"He that hath knowledge spareth his word, and even a fool when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding."

Her children were also earnestly admonished against evil speaking, as indicating a want of regard to the high and loving authority of God who has positively forbidden it,--"If any man offend _not_ in word, the same is a perfect man, and able to bridle the whole body"--such evil speaking denoted a want of brotherly love and charity, of humility in our hearts, which would teach us that we are too vile ourselves to complain of others.