Page:Sketches of the life and character of Patrick Henry.djvu/441

 then, the upper circle of society did not take its im- pulse from the people, the only remaining inquiry is, who gave the revolutionaiy impulse to that circle itself? It was unquestionably, Patrick Henry. This is affirm- ed by Mr. Jefferson; it is demonstrated by the resist- ance given to Mr. Henry^s measures, by those who were afterwards the staunchest friends of the revolu- tion; it is farther proved, by the sentiment before no- ticed, with which doctor Franklin (who was then con- sidered as the first American statesman) dismissed Mr. IngersoU, on his departure from London; a sentiment, which evinces beyond doubt, that doctor Franklin con- sidered resistance to the British power to be, at that time, premature; and finally, this honour is assigned to Mr. Henry, I perceive, by a late interesting historian of Massachusetts, the only state which has ever pretended to dispute the palm with Virginia.* On this great occa- sion then, it is manifest, that he did not wait for the popular current; but on the contrary that it was he alone, who by his single power, moved the mighty mass of stagnant waters, and changed the silent lake into a

��* The historian to whom I allude, is Mrs. Mercy Warren, who is said to be the widow of the celebrated general WaiTen, the hero of Bunker's hill. These are her words: — " The house of burgesses of Virginia, was the fii-st who formerly resolved against the encroachments of power, and the uuiwar- rantable designs of the British parliament. The novelty of their procedure, and the boldness of spirit that marked the resolutions of that assembly, at once astonished and disconcerted the officers of the crown, and the suppoit- ci-s of the measiu*es of administration. These resolutions were ushered into the house, on the thirtieth of May, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-five, by Patrick Henry, esq. a young gentleman of the law, till then unknown in political life. He was a man possessed of strong powers, much professional knowledge, and of such abihties as qualified him for the exigencies of the day. Fearless of the cry of treason, echoed against him from several quartei*s, he justified the measure, and supported the resolves, in a speech that did honour both to his undei-standing and his patriotism, &c." — Mrs. Wahrex^s Hist, of the American Revolution, vol. i. p. 28,

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