Page:Sketches of the life and character of Patrick Henry.djvu/32

 8 SKETCHES OF THE

his two sons, William and Patrick, and, according to the language of the country, " set them up in trade/' William's habits of idleness were, if possible, still more unfortunate than Patrick's. The chief management of their concerns devolved, therefore, on the younger bro- ther, and that management seems to have been most wretched.

Left to himself, all the indolence of his character re- turned. Those unfortunate habits which he had form- ed, and whose spell was already, too strong to be bro- ken, comported very poorly with that close attention, that accuracy and persevering vigour, which are essen- tial to the merchant. The drudgery of retailing and of book-keeping soon became intolerable; yet he was obliged to preserve appearances by remaining, conti- nually, at his stand. Besides these unpropitious habits, there was still another obstacle to his success, in the na- tural kindness of his temper. "He could not find it in his heart" to disappoint any one who came to him for credit; and he was very easily satisfied by apologies for non-payment. He condemned, in himself, this facility of temper, and foresaw the embarrassments with which it threatened him; but he was unable to overcome it. Even with the best prospects, the confinement of such a business would have been scarcely supportable; but with those which now threatened him, his store be- came a prison. To make the matter still worse, the joys of the chase, joys now to him forbidden, echoed around him every morning, and by their contrast, and the longings which they excited, contributed to deepen the disgust which he had taken to his employments.

From these painful reflections, and the gloomy fore- bodings which darkened the future, he sought, at first, a refuge in music, for which it seems he had a natural