Hugh Blair Grigsby - Discourse of the Life and Character of the Hon. Littleton Waller Tazewell

H >> Hugh Blair Grigsby >> Discourse of the Life and Character of the Hon. Littleton Waller Tazewell

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And now, Patron of my youth, Guide and Counsellor of my maturer years,
and ever, ever, ever the Friend of my bosom, HAIL and FAREWELL!

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The various spellings are Tan'swell, Ta'rswell, Tassell, Taswell,
Tazewell. Tarswell is another abbreviation of Tankersville.

[2] Judge Benjamin Waller.

[3] Mr. Wickham married Mr. Tazewell's aunt, a half sister of Judge
Henry Tazewell.

[4] For a sketch of Mr. Tazewell and Gen. Taylor, as they appeared at
this early period of their career, see the graphic picture drawn by the
hand of Mr. Wirt, in the Old Bachelor, Appendix No. 3. Tazewell is the
Sidney, and Gen. Taylor the Herbert of the piece.

[5] See Appendix No. 3.

[6] The committee were Thomas Mathews, Thomas Newton, Jr., Luke Wheeler,
Theodoric Armistead, Richard E. Lee, Moses Myers, William Pennock,
William Newsum, Thomas Blanchard, Daniel Bedinger, Seth Foster, J.W.
Murdaugh, Richard Blow, and Francis S. Taylor.

[7] Tazewell Taylor, Esq.

[8] For his views of public duty see Appendix No. 4.

[9] This speech Mr. Tazewell was surprised to learn from the public
prints, was regarded as a great effort. In a letter dated the 3d of
February, 1825, a few days after the delivery of the speech, he writes
to a friend in Virginia as follows: "The newspapers and my Virginian
friends have done me irreparable mischief in the too lavish encomia they
have bestowed upon my speech, as you call it. Believe me, I was very
much in the situation of him who had been talking prose all his life
without knowing it. I had no conception that I had made a speech, and
really thought I had merely given a clear and distinct exposition of a
matter of public law as familiar to me as the doctrine of dower, and
concerning which I had no more doubt. And it was with infinite
astonishment I first saw the strong panegyric heaped upon my argument
here. So true is this, that on the evening after I had concluded it, I
wrote to my friend Wickham, telling him if his eye should see anything
of it through the newspapers, he would wonder how so much A B C
knowledge could be tolerated here, but that I saw it was necessary to
state it, and therefore he must not think me so much of a pedant as he
might otherwise be disposed to do. Had the thing been suffered to pass
unnoticed, I might have hoped at some time or other to gain some credit
for a speech when I saw an occasion offered to make one; and I have
vanity enough to believe that I could make a much better almost any day
of the week." He complains of the bad Latin the papers put in his mouth,
and of such expressions as "three twins," &c., &c. I grieve to think
that so few specimens of Mr. Tazewell's arguments are to be found in
print. I have heard from him year after year, in conversation, arguments
on current or general topics, which, if emblazoned through the press,
would make a fair reputation for a speaker, and he all unconscious at
the time that he was making any considerable effort.

[10] Ex-President Tyler, who was the third, was unexpectedly prevented
from being present: the Hon. George Loyall and the speaker were the
other two.

[11] In a note to a friend, written Christmas day, 1850, he speaks of
the Bible as "the good book," and says, "it has ever been regarded as
most precious."

[12] From letters in my possession, I could quote a dozen instances in
which he expresses his readiness to accept any office which the State
might confer upon him; but he did not desire any appointment State or
Federal; that he would seek none, but that he could not refuse his
services to Virginia when she required them. See extracts in Appendix,
No. 4.

[13] One case occurs to me. The captain of a French ship with a valuable
cargo, having been deceived by some intelligence about the raising of
the embargo, sailed into the port of Norfolk, and subjected his ship and
cargo to forfeiture. Tazewell got the ship clear; and when he was
informed by the consignee of the ship that the captain had left him a
fee of a thousand dollars, and required his receipt for that sum,
Tazewell would only accept of three hundred dollars. I may also state
that when he retired from the bar, he had several thousand dollars on
his books which could have been collected on application to the parties,
but, whether from inadvertence or procrastination, or mere
indisposition, he let them pass.

[14] Luke et al. _vs._ Lyde, 2 Burrow, 887.

APPENDIX.

No. I.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BAR OF NORFOLK ON THE DEATH OF MR. TAZEWELL.

No. II.
CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THE PUBLICATION OF MR. GRIGSBY'S DISCOURSE.

No. III.
CHARACTERS OF MR. TAZEWELL, BY THE HON. GEORGE LOYALL; BY THE LATE
WILLIAM WIRT, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES; BY THE LATE
FRANCIS WALKER GILMER, ESQ., PROFESSOR OF LAW IN THE UNIVERSITY
OF VIRGINIA; AND BY WILLIAM W. SHARP, ESQ.

No. IV.
EXTRACTS FROM THE LETTERS OF MR. TAZEWELL CONCERNING PUBLIC OFFICE.

No. V.
THE FUNERAL OF MR. TAZEWELL.

No. VI.
PORTRAITS OF MR. TAZEWELL.

No. I.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE BAR OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, ON THE DEATH OF MR.
TAZEWELL.

MEETING OF THE NORFOLK BAR.

At a meeting of the members of the Norfolk Bar, held in the Court-room,
May 7, 1860, on the motion of Tazewell Taylor, James R. Hubard was
called to the Chair, and Chas. Sharp and John T. Francis appointed
Secretaries.

William W. Sharp offered the following preamble and resolutions, which
were unanimously adopted:

The members of the Bar of Norfolk, having learned that LITTLETON WALLER
TAZEWELL, Esq., died at his residence, in this city, yesterday morning,
in the 86th year of his age, have assembled to express their feelings on
the occasion of the demise of such an illustrious member of their body.
More than the third of a century has elapsed since, crowned with its
highest honors, he retired from the profession; and the reflection is as
apposite as it is solemn, that not a member of the present bar was his
contemporary; but, though he was nominally withdrawn from active life,
his presence in our city, his great accessibility to all who chose to
consult him, the exuberance of his vast stores of knowledge, which came
forth freely at the call of his friends, his splendid parliamentary
career, his overshadowing reputation which, as it was felt and
universally acknowledged by his associates at the Bar of Virginia,
loomed yet larger through the haze of years--these and his fine social
qualities ever kept him fresh in the eyes and in the hearts of his
professional successors. Thus it was, that though so long withdrawn from
the field of his meridian fame, he seemed to be connected with us by a
sensible and living tie; and thus it is that we feel more acutely the
loss which our body, which our city, and which our common country, have
experienced in his death.

It was a severe but touching sentiment of an ancient poet, that no man
ought to be deemed happy before his death; and such is the instability
of human affairs, so sudden and unexpected are human events and
opinions, there is too much room for belief in the mournful reflection;
but, if the case of any individual may be singled out as an exception,
it was that of Mr. Tazewell. He had reached the highest fame that has
been attained at the Bar of Virginia and of the Union; and with the
laurels gathered in forensic contests, he had interwoven those which he
won on the floor of the Senate of the United States. His wise economy,
his financial skill, and his sound practical judgment, had amassed a
fortune which increased with every year: and, as if nothing should be
wanting to his felicity, he was blessed with a large and lovely family,
the bride of his youth, until within a year past, still diffusing around
her the light of her early love, and children and grandchildren awaiting
his blessing. The very seclusion in which he lived was an element of
peace and serenity in his latter days. He interfered with no man's
schemes; he thwarted the ambition of no aspirant; in the vigor of
manhood, and in the prime of his extraordinary powers, he had put the
cup of rivalry and ambition by; and no persuasion or inducement would
have led him to press its lips as his sands were running low. Hence,
unbiassed by the prejudices of the hour, unswayed by the flattering
schemes of personal interests, he brought his great powers to bear upon
current questions with a force that it was hard to resist or elude, and
with a sagacity almost prophetic. But that force will be felt now no
more: that sagacity will cease to sway the judgments of men; and Death
has placed its seal upon his destiny; and it has become our sad office
to lament his loss:--Therefore, be it

_Resolved_, That, while we feel painfully the death of so illustrious a
member of our profession, we are grateful to the Disposer of Events
that, with all his noble faculties unimpaired, and in the midst of
untold temporal blessings, our deceased brother attained to such an
advanced age, and reflected for so many years upon the Bar, upon his
native and beloved Commonwealth, and upon the Union at large, the lustre
of his splendid talents, the pure and unsullied glory of his name and
fame, and his eminent moral and social virtues.

_Resolved_, That the members of the Bar will this day attend his funeral
in a body; and wear crape on the left arm for thirty days.

_Resolved_, That Hugh Blair Grigsby be requested to prepare a discourse
on the life and character of Mr. Tazewell, to be delivered before the
Bar at such time as may suit his convenience.

_Resolved_, That we extend to the family of our deceased brother our
warmest and most heartfelt condolence on the death of its illustrious
head.

_Resolved_, That a copy of these proceedings be presented to the family
of Mr. Tazewell.

_Resolved_, That these resolutions be published in the newspapers of
Norfolk and Richmond.

After the reading of the above resolutions, Messrs. Tazewell Taylor,
Hugh Blair Grigsby, William W. Sharp, and L.H. Chandler, delivered
touching and appropriate addresses.

On motion of William W. Sharp, the blank in the third resolution was
filled with the name of Hugh Blair Grigsby, who, being present, accepted
the appointment.

The meeting then adjourned to enable the members of the Bar to attend
the funeral.

JAMES E. HUBARD, _Chairman_.

CHARLES SHARP, } _Secretaries_.
JOHN T. FRANCIS, }

No. II.

CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THE PUBLICATION OF MR. GRIGSBY'S DISCOURSE.

NORFOLK, JUNE 29, 1860.
HUGH B. GRIGSBY, ESQ.:

SIR:--On behalf of the Norfolk bar, the undersigned committee desire to
express to you their thanks for the able and interesting discourse on
the life and character of the late Littleton Waller Tazewell, Esq.,
delivered before the bar this morning, and request a copy thereof for
publication.

Expressing the hope that you will find it convenient and agreeable to
comply with the request,

We are, sir, with great respect, your ob't serv'ts,

W.W. SHARP, }
JNO. S. MILLSON, }
TAZEWELL TAYLOR, } Committee.
HN. ROBERTSON, }
JNO. T. FRANCIS, }

NORFOLK, JUNE 29, 1860.

GENTLEMEN:--In complying with your request for a copy of my discourse,
delivered this morning, it is proper that I should state the
circumstances under which it was prepared. When I accepted from the bar
the office of delivering a discourse on the life and character of Mr.
Tazewell, I said to the meeting that, from the state of my eyes, I could
not probably prepare it before the fall; but, having been unexpectedly
detained in Norfolk beyond my usual time of leaving it for the country,
and fearing from the state of my own health and from the uncertainty of
human affairs, that, if I postponed the discourse till the fall, I might
be prevented from preparing it then, I determined to do the work, as
well as I could, at once, and the result is the discourse of which I
read a portion to you this morning.

It is hastily written, and written almost wholly from my own mind, and,
I may add, for the meridian of Virginia; but I have ventured to send it
to you, such as it is, and I indulge the hope that, humble as it is, it
may serve to recall, in some slight measure at least, and until some
better memorial be prepared, the recollections of a statesman who was
long the pride of his native commonwealth, and who stood to most of you
in the intimate and endearing relation of a personal friend.

I am, gentlemen, with the highest respect, very truly yours,

HUGH BLAIR GRIGSBY.

TO W.W. SHARP, }
JOHN S. MILLSON, } Esquires,
TAZEWELL TAYLOR, } Committee of the
HARRISON ROBERTSON, } Norfolk Bar.
JOHN T. FRANCIS, }

No. III.

CHARACTERS OF MR. TAZEWELL, BY THE HON. GEORGE LOYALL; BY WILLIAM
W. SHARP, ESQ., A PUPIL OF MR. TAZEWELL; BY THE LATE WILLIAM WIRT,
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES; AND BY THE LATE FRANCIS
WALKER GILMER, ESQ., PROFESSOR OF LAW IN THE UNIVERSITY OF
VIRGINIA.

The sketch of Mr. Tazewell by Mr. Loyall appeared under the editorial
head of the _Norfolk Argus_, on the 8th of May. It was written in haste,
but it shows the impression which Mr. Tazewell made on that able and
accomplished gentleman. None had a longer or a fairer view of Mr.
Tazewell for forty-five years past than Mr. Loyall, and it was mainly
owing to him that Mr. Tazewell was brought forward as a candidate for a
seat in the Senate of the United States.

[From the _Norfolk Argus_ of May 8, 1860. By the Hon. George Loyall.]

DEATH OF EX-GOV. TAZEWELL.

On Sunday, 11 o'clock A.M., LITTLETON WALLER TAZEWELL breathed his last.
It was in the Providence of God to prolong the life of this venerable
and distinguished man beyond the term of four-score years, during which
the beams of his genius irradiated the land of his birth. Among the
last, if not the very last, of a noble and vigorous stock, to whom
Virginia owes so much of her well-deserved fame, the main features of
his character, as was said of an illustrious statesman of the last
century, had the hardihood of antiquity.

It was impossible to behold Mr. Tazewell--his majestic form and massive
brow--without a vivid impression of the superiority of his intellectual
powers; and this impression was invariably deepened whenever a suitable
occasion called for their exercise. It may be truly said that he was
coeval with the outburst of our Revolutionary struggle, the period of
his birth having preceded but a year or two the Declaration of
Independence. After a thorough preparatory discipline, we find his name
inscribed on the catalogue of William and Mary College, contemporary
with those of John Thompson (Curtius) of Petersburg, John Randolph of
Roanoke, Robert B. Taylor of this place, and other kindred spirits. He
entered upon his professional career at a period when the bar of our
State was thronged with men of extensive learning and the highest order
of abilities. His success was not long a matter of doubt or speculation.
Unambitious of distinction, in the commonly received sense, and
unwilling to leave, even for a time, the comparatively humble field of
his habitual labors, yet when summoned away to some new or larger
theatre, (in the meridian of his fame it not unfrequently happened,) his
efforts were marked by extraordinary brilliancy and power. It was
universally conceded that, when roused upon such occasions to put forth
his whole strength, the more strenuous and stern the combat, the more
signal his triumph.

As was remarked of Lord Mansfield, so with Mr. Tazewell, the shackles of
a law education and profession, perhaps, formalized, and, in some
degree, repressed the splendor of his genius; still, whether in the
senate chamber, the hall of legislation, or the court-room, his
"speaking was the full expression of the mighty thought, the strong
triumphant argument, the rush of native eloquence." His calm dignity and
colossal strength, his luminous masculine and searching logic, the vast
extent and variety of his research, the large stores of his affluent
knowledge, marshalled and arranged with consummate skill and judgment,
together with the fascination of his purely unaffected, earnest manner,
the magic power of his unstudied action, and the thrilling intonations
of his deep rich voice, rendered him, in his best days, "before public
assemblies, almost irresistible." He managed his strength to such
advantage, that few men dared to grapple with him "in a pitched field of
long and serious debate." His general tone and style in debate were
marked by an intense earnestness, whilst his narrative, possessing, from
its striking naturalness and simplicity, a high degree of dramatic
interest, was occasionally relieved with splendid passages of
impassioned and stirring eloquence. Intrepid self-reliance, unwearied
activity, far-reaching sagacity, clearness, and fulness, were the
prominent characteristics of Mr. Tazewell's mind. Comprehending with
intuitive glance the whole field of argument, he "launched into his
subject like an eagle dallying with the wind." One of our leading
statesmen declared, upon a memorable occasion, that "Tazewell was second
to no man that breathed." Certainly, it is no exaggeration to say that,
for robust discipline, vigorous reasoning, grasp and amplitude of
thought, he was almost without a rival.

Virginia had conferred upon him her highest official trusts. Her
generous confidence he requited with a deep and fervent devotion, laying
upon the altar of her stern and simple political faith the offerings of
matured wisdom, and upholding, in all seasons, with a lofty patriotism
and the utmost energies of his powerful intellect, her right and honor.
Standing upon the great principles that lie at the foundation of our
institutions, the powers of the Federal Government, as limited and
defined by the Compact, and the rights of the States in all their
integrity, he regarded as vital to the preservation of the Confederacy
and the stability of our republican system. Whether in repelling open
assaults upon the Constitution, or meeting at the threshold covert
abuses of delegated power, no man within our border saw more clearly, or
more directly and firmly trod the path of duty before him. Personal
asperities engendered by political strife, and which too often follow in
the train of collisions of opinion and partisan warfare, were "alien to
his nature." In his retirement from the public arena, during the last
twenty years or more, he sympathized but little with the busy world.

Of most happy temperament, and without a particle of ostentation or
parade, "his spirit was finely touched with the gentler virtues," and
those who enjoyed the privilege of his social intimacy will remember
with delight the unaffected frankness and simplicity of his manners, the
varied range, the breadth and depth and vivacity of his "marvellously
rich and beautiful conversation," whilst they must deeply deplore the
loss of one as remarkable for mildness and the kindliest affections in
his domestic relations, and all the intercourse of private life, as for
profound thought and rare attainments.

It is not the purpose, nor is it within the scope of this brief
memorial, to delineate the character of this eminent citizen. _Clarum et
venerabile nomen_--"a fairer tribute shall one day grace his honorable
tomb." He belongs now to history.

SKETCH OF MR. TAZEWELL BY MR. SHARP.

This sketch appeared in one of the morning papers of Norfolk on the 8th
of May; and though hastily written, deserves to be republished here. Mr.
Sharp is the only member of the bar now living who was a student in the
office of Mr. Tazewell, and who saw him closely while engaged in the two
or three last years of his practice at the bar.

The mortal career of our celebrated townsman, LITTLETON WALLER TAZEWELL,
closed on Sunday morning, at 11 o'clock. He was emphatically one of the
great men of his age, and a just memorial of his life will, no doubt, be
specially prepared in due season. Meantime, we will note, that he was
born in the city of Williamsburg, where his father, Judge Tazewell, of
the Court of Appeals, subsequently resided, on the 17th of December,
1774. After finishing his education at William and Mary College, he
commenced his study of the law, partly under the care of his
grandfather, Mr. Waller, and the late Mr. Wickham, of Richmond. He was
distinguished at once at the bar as scientifically acquainted with his
profession, the principles of which he drew, not from the labor-saving
indexes of the present day, but from the pure and almost sacred writings
of Coke and Mansfield. Such wells of truth were not sounded except by
great intellectual efforts, and it is chiefly owing to the necessity
which then existed of making such efforts, that we boast of the great
lawyers of past times.

In a short time after his appearance in the courts he was elected to the
Legislature, and was one of its members in the great session of '98,
when the resolutions prepared by Mr. Madison were introduced. The next
year he represented the Williamsburg District in Congress, being
successor to Judge Marshall in that body, and was present during the
stormy period of Mr. Jefferson's election to the Presidency over Burr.
Few statesmen have more truly appreciated the grandeur of Mr.
Jefferson's teachings than did the subject of this notice.

He declined a reelection to Congress, and came to Norfolk in 1802, then
a place of extensive foreign commerce, and soon entered upon a large and
important practice. During the same year he married a daughter of the
late Col. Nivison, and from that time to the present continued to reside
among us. With the exception of the interrupting years of the war of
1813-14, and of a short period, during which he represented this city in
the Legislature on a special occasion, he practised his profession with
the honor and success that were to have been expected from one who was,
while yet a young man, pronounced by Judge Marshall and Judge Roane to
be unsurpassed, if equalled, by any competitor of his day. It was indeed
hard to speak in measured terms of a lawyer who, though a resident of a
provincial town, was consulted, at the same time, (1819,) by London
merchants on the "custom of London," and by the priests of Rome on the
canon law.

At the earnest solicitation of Mr. Monroe, he reluctantly accepted the
appointment of one of the commissioners under the Florida treaty,--being
united in that duty with Mr. King and the late Hugh Lawson White; and
after that work was done, he withdrew from the practice of law to the
privacy which he so much, perhaps too much, loved.

In 1825 he was elected by the General Assembly a Senator of the United
States over some distinguished competitors, and soon after taking his
seat was called upon to discuss the celebrated Piracy bill of Mr.
Monroe's administration; and in a speech on that measure, which he
defeated, displayed such extraordinary resources of argument and
learning as threw all his associates of that epoch in the shade, and
established his own reputation as the greatest debater of his age.

He was a prominent member of the Convention of Virginia in 1829-30,
where his compeers were Chief Justice Marshall, John Randolph, Watkins
Leigh, Taylor, Upshur, and others of that brilliant assembly. He was at
the same time a Senator from Virginia in Congress; and was in nothing
behind the great personages of the Senate, where sat Calhoun, Clay, and
Webster, save only in his invincible desire and love of retirement.

In 1833-4 he resigned his seat in the Senate of the United States, and
soon after, and almost without his knowledge, he was elected Governor of
Virginia, the duties of which office he actively and faithfully
performed until his resignation, which took place before the expiration
of his term.

From that time he has continued in private life--but not uselessly, for
he has been consulted from all parts of the Union on almost all
subjects; and by his intimate acquaintances, his opinions have been
regarded as oracular inspirations. He has also attended with care to his
private duties, and these, with his correspondence, have chiefly
occupied his later years.

It has been the subject of deep regret that one possessing such colossal
powers should have been so unwilling to exert them. There is but one
instance in history of a really great man seeking an obscurity which he
could not win,--the case of Chief Justice Wilmot, of England. But Mr.
Tazewell had the right to judge and decide for himself, and that he
preferred private to public life is rather to be lamented than
complained of. Nor must it be supposed that this preference was the
effect of indolence. On the contrary, he was, in his way, a laborious
man, and it may be that the leisure of his latter years may have been
productive of important fruits in literature and science to those who
have survived him.

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