Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/679

 HENRY 665 returned to the legislative body, where he jrved throughout the war, at the termination of which he was again elected governor, and served until the autumn of 1786, when he re- signed. In 1788 he was a member of the con- vention to ratify the federal constitution, an instrument whose adoption he opposed with all the strength and eloquence of his youth. Although this opposition afterward abated in a measure, he always remained fearful that the final result would be the destruction of the rights of the states. In 1794 he retired from the bar, and removed to his estate of Red Hill in Charlotte. In 1795 Washington appointed him secretary of state, in place of Edmund Randolph, who had resigned ; but Henry de- clined the appointment, as he did that of envoy to France afterward offered him by Mr. Adams, and that of governor offered him in 1796. In March, 1799, yielding to the request of Wash- ington and other distinguished persons, and de- sirous of doing his part to avert what he feared would be the disastrous results of the "resolutions of '98 " just passed by the Vir- ginia house, he ran for the state senate in his district. The great orator had only to in- dicate his wishes to fill any public position, and was easily elected ; but he never took his seat. The speech at Charlotte Court House was his last, and it is said to have been worthy of his fame. He died less than three months afterward. Patrick Henry was undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary men of an ex- traordinary epoch. In the house of burgess- es he bore away the palm from Edmund Pen- dleton, Richard Henry Lee, George Mason, and the most powerful men of the time. In the general congress, the men of the north ac- knowledged that Henry was the greatest ora- tor whom they had ever heard. Of this con- spicuous endowment there are countless proofs, anecdotes, and traditions ; and it is established beyond a rational doubt that Henry possessed a natural genius for moving men such as has rarely been bestowed upon humanity. Jeffer- son said that he seemed to him to speak "as Homer wrote." Undoubtedly a large part of his wonderful success was due to his moral courage. To that mysterious eloquence which swayed and took captive all minds, he uni- ted a nerve and resolution which when tho- roughly aroused were indomitable. There was a hard stubborn fibre in his moral organ- ization which resisted all attacks, and defied whatever attempted to move him. As a mere logician, apart from the advocate, Henry had no conspicuous talent. He was not a great lawyer, and his name remains connected with no large measures of policy under the new or- der of things, like that of Jefferson. He lives and will always live as the mouthpiece of the revolution, the voice which uttered most bold- ly and clearly the principles of human free- dom. He was a man of the revolution, the representative of a convulsed epoch and an indignant people ; the words which he uttered were those which trembled upon the lips of millions. In person Henry was rather striking than prepossessing. Nearly six feet, spare, rawboned, and slightly stooping in the shoul- ders, he gave no indication of the majesty and grace which characterized his appearance when his genius was aroused. His complexion was sallow ; his countenance grave, thoughtful, stern in repose, and marked with the lines of deep and painful reflection. His brows were habitually contracted, and communicated to his features an air of forbidding sternness and severity. The mouth, with closely compressed lips, and deep furrows at the corners, was set in an expression of unyielding resolution. When he spoke, however, a wonderful change passed over him. His person rose erect, his head, instead of stooping, was held proudly aloft, and the whole man seemed to undergo a transformation. The power which he pos- sessed of expressing feeling by a simple move- ment of feature was extraordinary. The stern face would relax and grow soft, pensive, and gentle; or a withering rage would burn in the fiery eyes ; or eyes, mouth, and voice would convey to the listener emotions of the tender- est pathos. In private life he was kindly, good-humored, and agreeable. He possessed a dry humor which was very attractive. He indulged in none of the vices of high living then prevalent ; temperate, frugal, rarely drink- ing anything but water, he presented a strong contrast to his contemporaries. His reading was not extensive, but serious and solid. Livy was his favorite historian ; but his reading was chiefly confined to the Bible. He was a devout Christian, and when governor printed and cir- culated at his own expense Soame Jenyn's "View of Christianity" and Butler's "Anal- ogy." Sherlock's sermons he read every Sun- day evening to his family, after which all joined in sacred music, while he accompanied them upon the violin. All the accounts of his per- sonal bearing represent it as simple, plain, and cordial. There was an honest good feeling in his manner which induced the commonest per- sons to approach him with confidence. By this class he was almost idolized ; and through- out his career he retained their unbounded ad- miration, attachment, and respect. The life of Patrick Henry has been written by William Wirt (8vo, 1817), and by A. H. Everett, in Sparks's " American Biography." HENRY, Philip, an English nonconformist di- vine, born in Whitehall, London, Aug. 24, 1631, died June 24, 1696. He was educated at Westminster school and at Christchurch, Oxford, was ordained to the ministry at Worth- enbury, Flintshire, in 1657, was one of the clergymen who left the church of England in 1662 in consequence of the act of uniformity, and lived in seclusion till in 1687 he was per- mitted again to preach by the declaration of King James in favor of liberty of conscience. From that time he held public religious ser- vices near his residence at Broad Oak, and also