The yoke of Britain had just been cast off, liberty was the popular theme of the day, and vast intellects were engaged in disseminating the principles of both parties. The fearful struggle and divided feelings between North and South, were but in embryo, and he, in his latter days, saw them spring up into full life. The eloquence of Henry, nature's great orator, still resounded in the senate chamber, and the hoary brows of the aged revolutionary sires mingled with the younger scions in the legislative debate.

The writings of Edmund Burke--his letters on the French revolution-exerted an unbounded mastery over the mind of the future statesman, "and he appropriated to himself those rich treasures of wisdom to be found in its pages-the massive ingots of gold that constitute the greater part of that magnificent monument of human intellect." The works of Edmund Burke are the key to the political opinions of John Randolph. After a short sojourn in Philadelphia, he travelled to Georgia and SouthCarolina, to visit Mr. Rutledge. The venerable Thomas thus describes his appearance:

"An old gentleman one morning entered my store, and with hin was a tall, gawky, flaxen-haired stripling, from sixteen to eighteen, with a complexion of a good parchment color, beardless chin, and as much assumed self-confidence as any two-footed animal I ever saw. This was John Randolph. I handed from the shelf volume after volume, which he tumbled carelessly over, and handed back again. At length he hit upon something which struck his fancy. My eye happened to be fixed upon his face at the moment, and never did I witness so perfect, so sudden a change of the human face. That which was before dull and heavy, became, in a moment, animated and flushed with the brightest beams of intellect. He stepped up to the old gray-headed gentleman, and giving him a thundering slap on the shoulder, said, Jack, look at this!" I was young then, but I never can forget the thought that rushed upon my mind at the moment, which was, that he was the most impudent youth that I ever saw.”— Vol. 1, page 65.

About this time, his brother died. From that stroke he never recovered; and fifty years after, writing to his brother, Henry St. George Tucker, he says:

"DEAR HENRY :-Our poor brother, Richard, was born 1770. He would have been fifty-six years old on the ninth of this month. I can no more.

J. R., of R."

He finally settled down at home, and to escape from solitude, often visited Williamsburg, but, with the exception of light reading, paid little or no attention to literary pursuits. But an important era was approaching in the life of Randolph. In 1799, at the age of twenty-six, he was a candidate for Congress.

In the war of independence, the continental congress, and all measures in which the common good was concerned, party feeling was banished, and sectional rivalry discarded; the pupil of the Jesuits, the graduate of St. Omar, the Yankee shoemaker, the gay cavalier, the luxurious Boston merchant, the investigator of Nature's laws, the experienced financier, and the hardy mariner, acted in concert to cast off a yoke, which was hateful to their souls, because their liberties were invaded; but in the federal revolution the elements of discord first arose. Alexander Hamil

ton, Secretary of the Treasury, a lawyer of distinction, a fascinating and brilliant orator, a man, to use the expression of his great and equally gifted antagonist, Aaron Burr, of fertile imagination, decisive intellect, vigor and rapidity of thought; in his official capacity developed certain financial schemes, which excited in some admiration, in others fear and disgust. The republican party were charged with being disorganized levellers, the enemies of all government, with promoting discord and insurrection; the legislative measures enacted from time to time to carry them into effect, brought on a crisis in the whiskey insurrection, as it was called; when the people of western Pennsylvania flew to arms to resist the execution of the excise law, the other party, headed by Patrick Henry and George Mason, were the strenuous advocates of States rights.

In consequence of the French revolution, Europe was plunged in all the horrors of war, and there was scarcely an inch of her territory that was not bathed in blood. Neutrality was the only cause left for the United States to adopt, and by the unanimous vote of the cabinet, Thomas Jefferson (then Secretary of State) issued a proclamation, signed by the President, setting forth "that the duty and interest of the United States require, that they should with sincerity and good faith, adopt and pursue a course of conduct, friendly and impartial to the belligerent nations, and that the citizens of the States should avoid all proceedings whatsoever which might in any manner tend to contravene such a disposition;" but England molested the frontiers, practised every hostile aggression, and mistrusted the declaration of neutrality.

France, seeing the impunity and boldness of England, acted in the same manner, and a war with those powers seemed almost inevitable; but the administration were unwilling, in the existing finances of the country, to enter into a war with two powerful nations, and John Jay and James Monroe were despatched to France and England as ambassadors extraordinary, "to demand redress for our grievances, and to conclude a treaty of amity and commerce, should the occasion seem favorable;" and on the 24th of June, 1794, the treaty was ratified and signed, the consent of the Senate having been previously obtained.

Early in the session of 1798-99, the assembly of Virginia denounced. the Alien and Sedition Laws as unconstitutional, and strong efforts were made to prevent the popular current from turning against the administra tion. Virginia was the battle-field, and on her all eyes were anxiously turned;-Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Giles and Taylor, were the chiefs of the party.

It was at this juncture that Randolph was a candidate for Congress, opposed by Powhatan Bowling; in extreme old age, Patrick Henry again girded on his armor, and lifted his voice.

Randolph's appearance at that time is thus described: "A tall slender youth was he, light hair combed back into a cue, pale countenance, a beardless chin, bright quick hazel eyes, blue frock, buff small clothes, and fair-top boots." His opponent, Powhatan Bowling, is sketched in colors equally graphic: "There also was Powhatan Bowling, the other candidate for Congress, dressed in his scarlet coat, tall, proud in his bearing, and a fair representative of the old aristocracy, fast melting away under the law that had abolished the system of primogeniture." (Page 129, vol. 1.)

The great orator, Henry, addressed the people for the last time; age had not dimmed the lustre of his eyes, nor cracked the silvery tones of his sonorous voice. He dwelt earnestly upon the preservation of the Union. This scene is well drawn:

"When he concluded, his audience were deeply affected; it is said that they wept like children, so powerfully were they moved by the emphasis of his language, the commanding expression of his eye, the earnestness with which he declared it to be his design to exert himself to allay the jealousies which had been fomented in the State Legislature, and the fervent manner in which he prayed, that, if he were deemed unworthy to effect it, that it might be restored to some other and abler hand to extend this blessing over the community. As he concluded, he literally sank into the arms of the tumultuous throng; at that moment John H. Rice exclaimed the sun has set in all his glory!' " (Vol. 1, page 133.)

Tradition, after the lapse of fifty years, has preserved some fragments of the speech of Randolph on this occasion; he dwelt strongly and forcibly on the Alien and Sedition Laws, on the right of petition, and the powers of the constitution, commenting on popular rights in an argumentative and eloquent strain. The effect on the people is thus described:

"He spoke for three hours; all that time the people, standing on their feet, hung with breathless silence on his lips. His youthful appearance, boyish tones, clear, distinct, thrilling utterance, his graceful action, bold expression, fiery energy, and manly thoughts, struck them with astonishment; a bold genius, and an orator of the first order, suddenly burst upon them and dazzled them with his power and brilliancy. A prophet was among them, and they knew it not. When he concluded, an old planter, turning to his neighbor, exclaimed, He is no bugeater now, I can tell you!'

Dr. Hogue turned from the stand and went away, repeating to himself these lines from the Deserted Village:

:

"Amazed, the gazing rustics ranged around: And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew, That one small head could carry all he knew."

"Mr. Henry, turning to some bystanders, said, I have not seen the little dog before since he was at school; he was a great atheist then. He made no reply to the speech, but approaching Randolph, he took him by the hand and said, Young man, you call me father: then, my son, I have somewhat to say to thee, (holding both his hands,) keep justice, keep truth, and you will live to think otherwise. They dined together, and Randolph ever after venerated the memory of his friend, who died a few weeks from that day; they were both elected, one to Congress, and the other to the State Legislature." (Vol. 1, p. 141.)

In December, 1799, he first took his seat in the House of Representatives, and on the 10th of July, 1800, first participated in the debate to augment the army of the United States, and shortly after he addressed the celebrated letter to the President, concerning the privilege of the members, not to be questioned elsewhere, for any speech or debate made in the house. The measure was, however, ruled out of order by the speaker, and entirely postponed.

It was about this period, that, judging from the letters he wrote to his friend Thompson, that he received the heart-wound that tormented him to the day of his death. He expresses himself energetically on this head :

"One that I loved better than my own soul, or him that created it. My apathy is not natural, but superinduced. There was a volcano under my ice, but

it is burnt out, and a face of desolation has come on not to be rectified in ages, could my life be prolonged to a patriarchal longevity. The necessity of loving and being beloved, was never felt by the imaginary beings of Rousseau and Byron's creation more imperiously than myself. My heart was offered up with a devotion that knew no reserve. Long an object of proscription and treachery, I have at least, more mortifying to the pride of man, 'become an object of utter indifference."

The presidential canvass a third time agitated the Union: Jefferson, Burr, Adams, Pinckney and Jay were the candidates, (if the latter may be so considered, as he only received one vote.) The civil wars and fiery revolutions of Europe had reached across the Atlantic; Anglo-mania, and the attachment for the French party, produced such a ferment, that the country was almost plunged into civil war. Burr and Jefferson had an equal number of votes, and the question was referred to the house of representatives; Randolph, in his seat, was a silent, keen observer of the parties, and daily despatched a bulletin to Judge Tucker of the proceedings.

"Mr. Randolph attributed the result of the election to Alexander Hamilton. That gentleman was the influential and popular leader of the federal party, and when he saw the extremity to which things were likely to be driven by a longer persistence in their course, he advised his friends, rather than produce a revolution in the government, or excite popular emotion, to give way and suffer Mr. Jefferson to be elected. Mr. Randolph often expressed the opinion in after life, that we owed the safety of the republic to Hamilton, and that his course on that had elevated him very much in his estimation." Vol. i. page 188.

The judiciary bill was another measure passed at this session, which excited much discussion both in and out of the house, and upon which he made his first speech in reply to Mr. Bayard. (The speech was published in a collection of speeches styled Specimens of American Eloquence.) He was strongly opposed to the tenure of judges in office during good behaviour; thirty years after, alluding to the subject in the Virginia Convention, he thus speaks:

"At the very commencement of my public life, or nearly so, I was called to give a decision on the construction of that clause in the federal constitution, which relates to the tenure of the judicial office; and I am happy to find, that after the lapse of thirty years, I remain precisely of the same opinion that I then held." Vol. ii. page 189.

Congress opened under the new administration, December, 1801, and Mr. Randolph was Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means. He introduced a resolution to appoint a public printer, and to that wise measure may be attributed the economical reform of the house in that particular. But the public debt was the main object, and a sinking fund was created with commissioners to superintend the disbursements, whose conduct was subjected to the most vigorous investigation. The acquisition of Louisiana was another prominent feature of that administration.

Mr. Livingston, the minister to France, had received full powers to treat for the purchase of that rich and extensive province, and with him was associated Mr. Monroe, as envoy extraordinary, but the ability and despatch of Mr. Livingston had completed the negotiation; and on the

payment of eleven million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, it was ceded to the United States.

To the encroachments of Georgia, in the Yazoo claim, and the barefaced imposture and swindling to which it gave rise, he was a determined opponent ab initio; and in this session rose to a high degree of eminence and usefulness. His career was brilliant and successful.

The stormy session was passed, and in his retirement at Bizarre, the youthful statesman vainly looked for the repose he needed; but a cruel disease invaded his tranquillity, and he was prostrate on his bed for many weeks, racked with agony.

Aaron Burr, former vice president of the Union, like a troubled meteor, appears again on the public scene. Gifted by nature with an ardent, enterprising temperament, a restless, subtle and intriguing spirit, a bold and thundering eloquence, but at the same time cautious and calculating, with his ambitious views inflamed to madness, his hopes crushed and destroyed by the desertion of his native state, and his neglect in the public forum, strove to mend his broken fortunes. Vague rumors of a projected invasion of the Spanish territories, fleets of armed vessels covering the western waters, eminent names lending their sanction to the enterprise, were evidences of a deeply laid and widely extended conspiracy, which is yet veiled in mystery. Allusion was made to it, in the message of the President, and the matter was commented upon in the house, and followed by several resolutions proposed by Randolph ;-Burr was arrested in Alabama, and tried in Virginia in May, 1807; Randolph was foreman of the Grand Jury that found a true bill against him.

The affairs of Europe were still far from tranquil, and it was difficult for the United States to hold an even neutrality, in consequence of the Berlin decrees and the British Orders in Council. Though disavowed by the British government, the affair of the Chesapeake exceited the public mind to the highest degree. Commerce was almost prohibited, and not a vessel could sail to any port unmolested. To obviate all difficulties, in a secret message to Congress, December 19, 1807, the executive recommended an embargo on all vessels of the United States, and in a few days, a bill was passed, that no vessel could sail from port to port, or foreign ports, without a special li cense. The fatal effects of the act were soon felt: the merchant was deprived of his usual return of capital, the sailor and day-laborer were unemployed, crops were rotting in the warehouses, and "labor was driven. to every shift to keep from starvation." Sailors flocked to the English marine, and smuggling was universally practised.

The plan was at first advocated by Randolph, and he introduced the resolution; but on its final reading, containing many features which he could not approve, he opposed its passage, though regarding such a step as a

war-measure:

"An embargo of sixty or ninety days, collecting and protecting all our resources, followed by a declaration of war at the end of that time, against that one of the belligerents whose restrictive course manifested the strongest spirit of hostility, would have fulfilled Mr. Randolph's idea of such a measure.”—(Vol. i, p. 67.)

The opinion of Mr. Randolph was general throughout the country; and upon the representation of a learned statesman from Massachusetts, that