Discourse of the Life and Character of the Hon. Littleton Waller Tazewell | Page 9

British statutes at full length, and was writing
elaborate decisions every day, in which, to the amazement of county
court lawyers, Horace and Aulus Gellius were sometimes quoted as
authorities. And it is worthy of note, that Tazewell, affectionately
attached as he was to Wythe, did not adopt his prejudices or antipathies,
nor those peculiarities of punctuation and the disuse of capital letters at
the beginning of sentences, which even Mr. Jefferson copied from his

old master, but cherished a proper and becoming admiration for
Pendleton, as will presently appear, between whom and Wythe there
had been a life-long rivalry, and more recently some sharp judicial
passages at arms, which we could wish were blotted out forever, but
which, embodied in ever-during type, posterity must read and deplore.
And, although he was in every material respect the architect of his own
reputation, it has occurred to me that it was in memory of his
affectionate relations with Wythe and Wickham, and with a view of
paying the debt which he owed them, as well as from the natural
goodness of his heart, that Tazewell was fond of the society of young
men, and was ever ready to advise them in their studies, or to argue
with them a difficult head in the law, and freely to assist them in other
respects. An eminent counsel still living, though among the seniors of
the Virginia bar, told me that once, when he was young, Mr. Tazewell,
who had not opened a law book for years, explained to him the law
respecting fine and recovery, and springing uses, so fully and with such
ability as filled him with wonder; and that his discourse, could it have
been transferred to paper, would be an invaluable guide on that topic of
the law. And many other young men have the same story to tell of his
generous teachings on difficult questions. If all his personal attentions
to the students of law were forgotten, the four letters which he prepared
with infinite skill as a code of legal morals, and of the philosophical
study of the law, would attest his sympathy and affection for his
youthful friends.
While young Tazewell was gradually making his way at the bar,
practising in James City, and in all the neighboring courts, he was
called upon to take his stand in politics at one of the most tempestuous
epochs in our annals. His father was one of that illustrious band of
patriots, consisting of Patrick Henry, George Mason, William Grayson,
Richard Henry Lee, Benjamin Harrison, John Tyler, and others, who
believed that the General Federal Convention, which had been
summoned merely to amend the Articles of Confederation, had
exceeded their powers in framing an entirely new instrument, the
present federal constitution, and they warmly opposed its ratification by
Virginia. When the new system was adopted, they watched its
operations with a jealous eye, and opposed some of the leading

measures of the administration of Washington. When it was foreseen
that a new treaty would be negotiated with England, it was determined
by them that, unless that measure made those concessions and
amendments of the treaty of 1783, which Virginia had striven so hard
to obtain, it should be opposed at every hazard; and John Taylor of
Caroline, happening to resign his seat in the Senate just at that time
(1795), Henry Tazewell, then on the bench of the Court of Appeals,
was elected to fill his place; and the first movement he made on taking
his seat in the Senate was to offer a series of resolutions pointing out
the defects of the new treaty with England, which had been negotiated
by Mr. Jay. It was natural that young Tazewell should embrace the
doctrines of the party in which his father held almost the chief place;
and his inclination in this respect was probably strengthened by the
opinions of Judge Pendleton and Chancellor Wythe, both of whom had
voted for the ratification of the federal constitution by Virginia, but
who now sided with his father. On the other hand, his friends Marshall
and Wickham were ranged on the federal side; and though Wickham at
no time of his life took an active part in politics, Marshall, in the House
of Delegates, and by popular addresses, was most active in the cause,
and was reputed the leader of the federal party in the State.
In the spring of 1796, when he had attained his one-and-twentieth year,
he was returned to the House of Delegates from the county of James
City, and continued a member of the body until the close of the century.
In that interval were discussed in the Assembly the leading measures of
the administrations of Washington and the elder Adams; and a better
school for a young politician cannot well