couple, anxious that they should do well, gave them a small farm
and a few slaves. But it was the same old story. The young farmer
would not take the trouble to look after his affairs, and let things drift.
So before long the farm had to be sold to pay debts. Once more Patrick
turned to storekeeping, but after a few years he failed again.
He was now twenty-three years old, with no settled occupation, and
with a wife and family to support. No doubt he seemed to his friends a
ne'er-do-well.
About this time he decided to become a lawyer. He borrowed some
law-books, and after studying for six months, he applied for permission
to practise law. Although he passed but a poor examination, he at last
was started on the right road.
He succeeded well in his law practice, and in a few years had so much
business that people in his part of Virginia began to take notice of him.
In 1765, soon after the Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament,
he was elected a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, a body
not unlike our State Legislature.
PATRICK HENRY'S FIERY SPEECH AGAINST THE STAMP ACT
History gives us a vivid picture of the young lawyer at this time as he
rides on horseback along the country road toward Williamsburg, then
the capital of Virginia. He is wearing a faded coat, leather
knee-breeches, and yarn stockings, and carries his law papers in his
saddle-bag. Although but twenty-nine, his tall, thin figure stoops as if
bent with age. He does not look the important man he is soon to
become.
When he reaches the little town of Williamsburg, he finds great
excitement. Men gather in small groups on the street, talking in anxious
tones. Serious questions are being discussed: "What shall we do about
the Stamp Act?" they say. "Shall we submit and say nothing? Shall we
send a petition to King George asking him for justice? Shall we beg
Parliament to repeal the act, or shall we take a bold stand and declare
that we will not obey it?"
Not only on the street, but also in the House of Burgesses was great
excitement. Most of the members were wealthy planters who lived on
great estates. So much weight and dignity had they that the affairs of
the colony were largely under their control. Most of them were loyal to
the "mother country," as they liked to call England, and they wished to
obey the English laws as long as these were just.
[Illustration: Patrick Henry Delivering His Speech in the Virginia
House of Burgesses.]
So they counselled: "Let us move slowly. Let nothing be done in a
passion. Let us petition the King to modify the laws which appear to us
unjust, and then, if he will not listen, it will be time to refuse to obey.
We must not be rash."
Patrick Henry, the new member, listened earnestly. But he could not
see things as these older men of affairs saw them. To him delay seemed
dangerous. He was eager for prompt, decisive action. Tearing a blank
leaf from a law-book, he hastily wrote some resolutions, and, rising to
his feet, he read them to the assembly.
We can easily picture the scene. This plainly dressed rustic with his
bent shoulders is in striking contrast to the prosperous plantation
owners, with their powdered hair, ruffled shirts, knee-breeches, and
silver shoe-buckles. They give but a listless attention as Henry begins
in quiet tones to read his resolutions. "Who cares what this country
fellow thinks?" is their attitude. "Who is he anyway? We never heard
his voice before."
It is but natural that these men, whose judgment has been looked up to
for years, should regard as an upstart this young, unknown member,
who presumes to think his opinion worth listening to in a time of great
crisis like this.
But while they sit in scornful wrath, the young orator's eyes begin to
glow, his stooping figure becomes erect, and his voice rings out with
fiery eloquence. "The General Assembly of Virginia, and only the
General Assembly of Virginia," he exclaims, "has the right and the
power of laying taxes upon the people of this colony."
These are stirring words, and they fall amid a hushed silence. Then the
debate grows hot, as members rise to speak in opposition to his burning
eloquence.
[Illustration: William Pitt.]
But our hero is more than a match for all the distinguished men who
disagree with him. Like a torrent, his arguments pour forth and sweep
all before them. The bold resolutions he presents are passed by the
assembly.
It was a great triumph for the young orator. On that day Patrick Henry
made his name. "Stick to us, old
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