CHAPTER XVI.

JOHN RANDOLPH,

THE IMPERSONATION OF SARCASM.

ONE of the most remarkable men that ever lived was John Randolph, of Roanoke. He was born on 2d of June, 1773, at Matoax, the seat of his father, three miles above Petersburg, Virginia. In his veins were blended the aristocratic blood of England and the blood royal of primitive America. His lordly bearing, aboriginal descent, eccentric career and extraordinary eloquence, early fastened the attention of his countrymen upon him, and through many years engrossed popular regard to a wonderful degree.

The progenitor of the Virginia Randolphs was Wi!liam of Yorkshire, England, who settled at Turkey Island, on the James River. William married Mary Isham, of Bermuda Hundred. Several of their sons were distinguished men: William was a member of the House of Burgesses, from Goochland, 1740, and Adjutant-General of the Colony. Richard was a member of the House of Burgesses, 1740, for Henrico, and succeeded his brother as treasurer. Sir John was Speaker of the House of Burgesses and Attorney-General. Peter,

son of the 2d William Randolph, was Clerk of the House of Burgesses and Attorney-General. Peyton, brother of John, was Speaker of the House of Burgesses and President of the first Congress held at Philadelphia. Thomas Mann Randolph, great grandson of William, of Turkey Island, was a member of the Virginia Convention, 1775, from Goochland. Beverly Randolph was Member of Assembly, from Cumberland, during the Revolution, and member of the Convention that formed the Federal Constitution, and of the Virginia Convention that ratified it, Governor of the State of Virginia and Secretary of State of the United States. Robert Randolph, son of Peter; Richard Randolph, grandson of Peter; and David Meade Randolph, son of the 2d Richard, were cavalry officers in the War of the Revolution.

John Randolph, of Roanoke, was grandson of the 1st Richard. Many distinguished families in Virginia, including Thomas Marshall, father of the Chief Justice, were descended from Randolph of Turkey Island.

Jane Bolling, great-grand-daughter of Pocahontas, married Richard Randolph, of Curles. John Randolph, Jr., of Roanoke, seventh child of that marriage, married Frances Bland, and our hero, John Randolph, of Roanoke, was one of the children of this union.

The Randolphs were proud of their patrician blood, and named their respective seats with sounding titles of distinction; such as Thomas, of Tuckahoe; Isham, of Dungeness; Richard, of Curles; and John, of Roanoke. Other branches of this famous family had their splendid mansions at Turkey Island, Bremo, Varina, Wilton, and

Chatswort, venerable localities eagerly contemplated by the curious traveller on James River. The crest of the arms of the Virginia Randolphs is an antelope's head.

John Randolph's early education, according to his own account, was very irregular. He was sent to a country school at an early age, where he acquired the rudiments of the Latin and Greek languages. His health failing, his mother sent him to Bermuda, where he remained more than a year, losing all his Greek, but reading with great avidity many of the best English authors. After his return to the United States, he was sent with his brother Theodorick, to Princeton College, where they commenced their studies in March, 1787. In the year 1788, after the death of his mother, he was sent to college in New York, but returned to Virginia, in 1790. In the same year he went to Philadelphia, to study law in the office of Edmund Randolph, then recently appointed Attorney-General of the United States. But his law studies scarcely extended beyond the first book of Blackstone. He became of age in June, 1794, up to which time he appears to have led an irregular, desultory life, with a residence as fluctuating as his object of pursuit was undecided.

In Greek literature, John Randolph never was a proficient; in Latin he was better read, and quoted its treasures with promptness and accuracy. But with the best English classics he was thoroughly and comprehensively acquainted. In his "Letters to Dudley," he speaks of his education as follows: "I think you have never read Chaucer. Indeed, I have sometimes blamed myself for not cultivating your imagination when you

were young. It is a dangerous quality, however, for the possessor. But if from my life were to be taken the pleasure derived from that faculty, very little would remain. Shakspeare and Milton, and Chaucer and Spencer, and Plutarch, and the Arabian Nights' Entertainments, and Don Quixote, and Gil Blas, and Tom Jones, and Gulliver, and Robinson Crusoe, and the tale of Troy divine,' have made up more than half my worldly enjoyment. To these ought to be added Ovid's Metamorphoses, Ariosto, Dryden, Beaumont and Fletcher, Southern, Otway, Pope's Rape and Eloisa, Addison, Young, Thompson, Gay, Goldsmith, Gray, Collins, Sheridan, Cowper, Byron, Esop, La Fontaine, Voltaire's Charles XII., Mahomet and Zaire, Rousseau's Julie, Schiller, Madame de Stael, but above all, Burke. One of the first books I ever read was Voltaire's Charles XII.; about the same time, 1780-1, I read the Specta tor, and used to steal away to the closet containing them. The letters from his correspondents were my favorites. I read Humphrey Clinker, also, that is, Win's and Tabby's letters, with great delight; for I could spell at that age pretty correctly. Reynard the Fox, came next, I think; then Tales of the Genii and Arabian Nights. This last, and Shakspeare, were my idols. I had read them, with Don Quixote, Gil Blas, Quintus Curtius, Plutarch, Pope's Homer, Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver, Tom Jones, Orlando Furioso, and Thompson's Seasons, before I was eleven years of age; also Goldsmith's Roman History, and an old history of Braddock's War. At about eleven, (1784-5,) Percy's Reliques and Chaucer became great favorites, and

Chatterton and Rowley. I then read Young and Gay, &c. Goldsmith I never saw till 1787."

Mr. Randolph made his first appearance in public life, in 1799, as a candidate for a seat in Congress, and was elected. He was indebted to his eloquence for success in this early contest, as he was without family influence in the district, and was a mere boy in appearance. His antagonist was the veteran statesman and orator, Patrick Henry. The exciting questions which arose out of Mr. Madison's famous resolutions of 1798, were the chief matter in debate. On the alien and sedition laws, and other exciting topics of that day, the contest ran high. An anecdote has been preserved strongly characteristic of both combatants. Mr. Randolph was addressing the populace in answer to Mr. Henry, when a comrade said to the latter, "Come, Henry, let us go-it is not worth while to listen to that boy." "Stay, my friend," replied the sagacious patriot, "there is an old man's head on that boy's shoulders."

When he entered Congress, his youthful aspect, among other striking traits, attracted universal surprise. As he presented himself at the clerk's table to qualify, the official demanded his age. "Ask my constituents," was the characteristic reply.

Mr. Randolph soon became a marked man in the national councils. His fearless thought, pungent language, withering sarcasm, and general power as a prompt and passionate debater, attracted the admiration as well as excited the dread of all parties within Congress and without. He was frequently chairman of important committees, participated in almost all the chief debates,