Page:Sketches of the life and character of Patrick Henry.djvu/401

 gratitude^ the confidence, and the love of his country. No man had ever passed through so long a life of pub- lic service, with a reputation more perfectly unspotted. Nor had Mr. Henry on any occasion, sought security from censure, by that kind of prudent silence and temporizing neutrality, which politicians so frequently observe. On the contrary, his course had been uni- formly active, bold, intrepid, and independent. On every great subject of public interest, the part which he had taken was open, decided, manly; his country saw his motives, heard his reasons, approved h^s con- duct, rested upon his virtue, and his vigour; and con- templated with amazement, the evolution and unremit- ted display of his transcendent talents. For more than thirty years, he had now stood before that country — open to the scrutiny and the censure of the invidious — ^yet he retired, not only without spot or blemish, but with all his laurels blooming full and fresh upon him — followed by the blessings of his almost adoring coun- trymen, and cheered by that most exquisite of all earthly possessions — the consciousness of having in deed and in truth, played well Ms part. He had now too, become disembarrassed of debt; his fortune was affluent; and he enjoyed in his retirement, that ease and dignity, which no man ever more richly deserved.

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