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James Louis PETiaRu.

J. L. PETIGRU.

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JAMES LOUIS PETIGKU.

21 l3iograpl)ical QktUl).

.WILLIAM J, GRAYSOlSr,

"Faithful found:
Among the faithleBS, faithful only he."
Paradise Lost, Book V.

NEW YORK: '
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
FEANKLIN SQUARE.
1866.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand
eight hundred and sixty-six, by
Harper & '^,It, others,
lu the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District
of New York.

The MS. from which the following Biographic
al Sketch is printed was found* among the papers
of the late William J. Grrayson, of Charleston, S. C.
The scraps of old paper upon which it is written
indicate that it was undertaken during the priva
tions and anxieties of the siege of Charleston, when
the materials for writing had become scarce. The
guarded tone of its political revelations no less im
pressively suggests that the censorship and partisan
bitterness of civil war repressed the free utterances
of the writer, who doubtless intended the memoir
for the latitude and the circumstances of the place
and time; and what renders this tribute of affec
tion the more interesting is the fact that, within a
few hours after its completion, the author died, from
the effects of a tedious illness, aggravated by patri
otic regrets and personal bereavements. What was

VI
thus written can scarcely be abridged or modified
without disrespect to the dead. The intelligent
reader will make due allowance for the restrained
expressions and the unrevised style, and accept the
whole as a spontaneous labor of love, achieved in
the face of many discouragements.
The author was the last survivor of a group of
respected and beloved men of talent and social at
tractiveness. Petigru, King, and Grayson were
honored names in Charleston society before the
war. Mr. Grayson was born in Beaufort District,
S. C, in November, 1788, and died at Newberry
on the 4th of October, 1863. His father was an of
ficer in the Continental Army of the Eevolution.
The son early manifested taste and talent for liter
ature and oificial life : he was graduated at Colum
bia College, S. C, in 1809 ; he became a member of
the Legislature of his native state in 1813 ; was a
commissioner in equity for a long period ; and was
elected to Congress in 1888 ; subsequently appoint
ed Collector of the port of Charleston by President
Tyler, continued in that ofi&ce by Polk and Fill
more, and removed by Pierce. Mr. Grayson was a
very temperate advocate of state rights, and a very

Vll

amiable defender of Southern institutions. He
sang the praises of rural life and agricultural pur
suits in an elaborate heroic poem, entitled "The
Country," and in graceful verse delineated the ad
vantages which the Southern bondman possessed
over the European laborer. This metrical essay,
called the " Hireling and Slave," was very popular
at the South : " it ought to h,6:pn every man's man
tle," said a leading Southern journal. His other
principal work was a collection of verses, published
under the name of " Chieora, and other Poems."
There is a pleasing vein of description in Grayson's
poems i the fishing and hunting on the coast, the
scenery and life of the region where he was born
and bred, are well depicted. One of the character
istic episodes of his longer poems is a picture of
the island home and life of General Pinckney, and
many of his occasional verses indicate true feeling
and expressive grace. Some lines addressed, to his
wife are a beautiful specimen of the domestic lyric.
Mr. Grayson was regarded as a gifted champion of
the South; he was a constant student, a faithful
public man, and a genial companion. During the
last years of his life he was engaged on an autobi-

Vlll
ographic and reminiscent work, and throughout his
career was a welcome contributor to the leading
journals of the South. In 1850, during the fierce
controversy in regard to secession, he published a
pamphlet deprecating the movement and advoca
ting the Union : it was written in the form of a let
ter addressed to Governor Seabrook. Mr. Grayson
was in his seventy-fifth year when he died. His
last task was to record what he knew of his life
long friend Petigru. Inadequate as the story may
be considered as a-biography, it gives many inter
esting facts of the early life ofthe patriotic lawyer,
traces his professional career with accuracy, and
affords a very distinct and just idea ofthe character
of a man who stood alone among his fellow-citizens
the open and consistent opponent of treason.
Such a memorial is not only attractive as the
portrait of a gifted and loyal citizen, but valuable
as a contribution toward the political and social
history of the Rebellion. We are confident that it
will be read with interest by the numerous friends
of the lamented subject in all parts of the country,
notwithstanding the dijBferences of opinion -inevita
bly associated with the subjects discussed in the

IX
memoir. It is not alone in his native state that
Mr. Petigru's name is cherished and his memory
honored. When the news of his death reached
New York and Boston the event called forth ap
propriate tributes of respect from the Historical
Societies of both states, a brief account of which
we subjoin.*
New York Historical Society, May S,1863.
A very large audience was assembled at the reg
ular monthly meeting of the New York Historical
Society to hear the addresses which it had been
announced would be made upon the life and char
acter of James Louis Petigru, President of the His
torical Society of South Carolina, who recently died
in Charleston. Frederick Depeyster, Esq., presided.
The preliminary business of the meeting having
been transacted, the resolutions in reference to the
death of Mr. Petigru, presented at the last meeting
of the society, were read by the librarian, and then
Hon. George Bancroft delivered a brief address, in
which he graphically sketched the prominent inci
dents of the deceased statesman's life, and the char-
* Historical Magazine, vol. viii., p. 159, 185.
A2

acteristics of his mind, and paid a glowing tribute
to his memory. Mr. Petigru, he said, was born in
Abbeville, S. C, in May, 1789, not long after Wash
ington, in New York, took the oath, as President of
the United States, to support their Constitution;
and two days after Madison, in the name of the
House of Eepresentatives, pledged "the American
people to cherish a conscientious responsibility for
the destiny of republican liberty." Educated at
Columbia College, S. C, he took his degree in 1809,
was admitted to the bar in 1812 ; in 1822 he suc
ceeded Eobert Y. Hayne as attorney general for the
state, and for many years was acknowledged to
stand at the head of his profession. In the admin
istration of Mr. Fillmore, when secession seemed re
solved upon, and the incumbent of the United
States district attorneyship threw up his office as
unfit to be held by a South Carolinian, Petigru con
sented for a time to perform its functions as the rep
resentative of the Union. He died at Charleston,
March 9, 1863.
Mr. Bancroft related interesting incidents of his
personal intercourse with Mr. Petigru, spoke of his
rare mental powers, his generosity, industry, disin-

XI
terestedness, his faithfulness to the laws and Con
stitution of the United States as the highest insti
tuted authorities, and his unwavering support of
the union of the states. Mr. Bancroft, in conclu
sion, said the whole might be summed up in these
words :
" Nothing is here for tears, nothing to wail,
Or knock the breasts ; no weakness, no contempt,
Dispraise, or blame ; nothing but well and fair,
And what may quiet us in a death so noble."
Dr. Francis Tjieber also spoke briefly, giving in
teresting illustrations from personal intercourse
with Mr. Petigru, while connected with the South
Carolina College, of his beautiful character, brilliant
mind, keen wit, sound judgment, and disinterested
generosity of disposition.
Eemarks were also made by Daniel Lord, Esq.,
and Hiram Ketchum, after which the resolutions
were unanimously adopted, and the meeting ad
journed. Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston,
April, 1863. The annual meeting of the Massa
chusetts Historical Society was held at their rooms,

Xll
Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, the president, in the
chair. The president, after remarks on the publication
of a volume of the society's collections, and also of
a -volume of the proceedings, which were laid on
the table, referred to the deaths of. Judge Petigru,
of South Carolina, an honorary member of the so-.
ciety, and Professor Francis, of Cambridge, a resi
dent member, substantially as follows : Mr. Petigru
was the president ofthe Historical Society of South
Carolina, before which he delivered an eloquent in
augural discourse a few years since. He was elect
ed an honorary member of our own society in Feb
ruary, 1861, and his formal acceptance was an
nounced by our Corresponding Secretary at the
following March meeting.
The pleasant personal relations with Mr. Petigru
which I had enjoyed many years previously, and
the interest which I took in his course at that crit
ical period of our public affairs, induced me to write
to him immediately after his election, and I have
brought his reply here to-day, in the assurance that
the society would be pleased to hear the following
brief extracts from it :

" Charleston, Feb. 25, 1861.
" My dear Sir, — Nothing could exceed the kind
ness of your note giving me notice of the honor
done me by the' Massachusetts Historical Society.
To be chosen for a colleague and an associate by
such a society is a distinction of which any body
might be proud, but it is rendered much more flat
tering by the way it is announced.
" I remember with the greatest distinctness the
hours which I passed so many years ago in the
house of your venerable father, as well as under
your own hospitable roof. * * * How willingly
I would make any sacrifice that might avert from
our common country the consequences of that mis
erable discord that now prevails between commu
nities that ought forever to be united. I say miser
able, for such we may certainly deem a controversy
odious to the. best men on either side. History will
adjust hereafter the degree of reprobation due to
each party, but I venture to say that whatever may
be thought of the motives of the actors, their folly
will be as much the subject of wonder as of cen
sure. We are here in' such a disturbed condition,
that the things that are going to happen in a week

XIV w
are as uncertain as if they belonged to a distant fu
ture. "With great anxiety for a peaceful solution of
difficulties, but with very little hope,
"I am, my dear sir,
" Yery truly and sincerely yours,
J. L. Petigru.
"The Hon. R. C. Winthrop."
This letter was written more than two months
after South Carolina had adopted her ordinance of
secession, and only six or seven weeks before the
bombardment of Fort Sumter. But Mr. Petigru
was not of a complexion to be moved from his firm
devotion to the cause of the Union either by any
thing which had been done, or by any thing which
it was proposed to do. He had stood fast for the
Union in the days of Nullification, thirty years be
fore, and had resisted alike every temptation and
every menace which could be employed to induce
him to swerve from his loyalty to the Constitution
of the United States. He might have said to the
abettors of this later conspiracy, " Contempsi Cati-
linsB gladios, non pertimescam tuos." He stood fast
for the Union again in these days of-secession and

XV
rebellion in defiance of all intimidations or bland
ishments ; and if the wisdom, and virtue, and elo
quence, and patriotism of any one man — for he
seemed to stand' almost alone in the community in
which he lived — could have availed any thing to
arrest the madness of those around him, and to
avert the dreadful catastrophe of civil war, the ex
ample, the influence, and the appeals of Mr. Petigru
would not have been lost.
It is not my purpose to go farther into his per
sonal history or public life on this occasion. A
great lawyer, an admirable orator, an accomplished,
virtuous, and brave man, rich in all the qualities
and resources which rendered him the most de
lightful of companions and the most valued of
friends, he has left a name and a fame which would
adorn the annals of any land or any age. But I
have desired to recall him here to-day only as one
who had twice signalized his devotion to the Amer
ican Union under circumstances and in a manner
which must secure him the grateful remembrance
-of all to whom that Union is dear. He died be
fore the worst results of this deplorable rebellion
had fallen upon the city of his residence in the

xvi

struggle which is probably at this moment in prog
ress, and his friends may well feel that he was
kindly and mercifully " taken away from the evil
to come."

The following tributary stanzas appeared in the
" Independent," October 19th, 1865 :
P E T I G E IT.
[These lines were written, not to revive the feeling of bitterness
which accompanied the civil war, now so happily terminated, but
to recall the memory of a great and good man, not less respected
now by the South than by the North, over whose remains it has
been suggested a monument should be erected in commemoration
of his private worth as well as his public virtues. It is hoped that
this suggestion, so generally mooted since Judge Petigru's death,
will be practically carried out.]
" No, I will not : take my answer ;
Call me ti-aitor, think me fool ;
Bnt, by all that makes my manhood,
Thou shalt not make me thy tool.
" Play the farce out, wreak thy vengeance.
Let me in the prison rot ;
But inscribe upon my tomb-stone,
'This man scorned us and our plot.' "
Yet they cast him not in prison :
Policy prescribed it best
To make strong by that exception
The concurrence of the rest.

X Vll
So, throughout the dark rebellion,
Stricken by his country's loss,
Through the grass-grown streets of Charleston,
Patiently he bore his cross.
One, alone of all the people,
Branded with the public blame ;
One, alone of all the people,
Free from secret cause for shame.
Yet unslandered by his fellows ;
For no heart, howe'er misled,
But bowed down its inner nature
To that clearer heart and head
Thus he lived ; a man whose country
Was not bounded by a state,
And whose uncorrupted honor
Turned the shafts of private hate.
Thus he died : unnerved, unshaken
By opinion's subtle art ;
Now the stricken city weepeth,
And the nation holds his heart.
'Tis for this we render honor —
That he ranked among the few
Who, amid a reign of Error,
Dared sublimely to be true.
C. K. T.

JAMES LOUIS PETIGEU.^

About tbe middle of tbe last century, a
young couple — James and Mary Petigru —
emigrated from Ireland to America. Tbey
bad been married not only without tbe con
sent, but against the active opposition of re
lations and friends. Of tliese friends one
side were Protestants, tbe otber side mem
bers of the Catholic Church, and religious
dissension exasperated the family quarrel.
The persecuted pair abandoned their home,
and sought peace and more prosperous for
tunes in the woods of Pennsylvania. ' From
Pennsylvania they moved to South Carolina,
and settled themselves at last in Abbeville
District, at that time the district of " Ninety-

six."

'" Formerly .spelt Pettigrew.

20 Memoir of
In due season the wanderers gave to the
state a large number of sons. Charles, the
eldest, was sent abroad for education, took
orders in the Church of England, and, after
his return to America, became titular bishop
ofthe North Carolina diocese. His descend
ants are still living there. Of these. General
Johnston Petigru, of the Confederate army,
is one. The other sons of James and Mary
bore arms in the country's service during
the Revolutionary war, some as officei's, oth
ers in the ranks. The youngest son,William
Petigru, then only sixteen, served as a dra
goon under Colonel Washington in various
actions. He was wounded', and received a
pension during the latter part of his life.
His father died before the war, his mother
shortly after its close. He was the only son
remaining with her at her death, and inher
ited a few negroes and the farm on which
she had lived. The farm is on Little River,
in the " Flat Woods" of Abbeville District,
and is now the property of Mr. Haskell.
The character of William Petigru was
not a common one. He had great wit and

James L. Petigru. 21
humor; was generous and impulsive, gay
and social ; caring little for business, but al
ways ready for sport ; without education, yet
greatly devoted to books; a lover of read
ing, where few ever^ read ; exhibiting taste
and judgment that seemed instinctive, and,
without any but his own training, selecting
the standard authors of the language for his
use and amusement, and introducing his chil
dren, in the midst of the woods, to the pol
ished poetry of Pope. He read to them, and
read well, enjoying without measure every
passage of wit or humor that appeared in the
author, and teaching his children to enjoy
them too. He made them read to each oth
er, and established a rule in the house that
one should always read aloud while the rest
were at work.
He had a fiiend. With his genial nature
it could hardly be otherwise. His friend,
Tom Finley, lived with him after his moth
er's death. The two intimates were not alike
in character. They agreed thoroughly in the
love only of books. Finley was cold and*
reserved ; fond of disputation, and excelling

22 Memoir of
in it ; with no vnt or humor, but admiring it
ia others ; not loving money, but not regard
less of it; skillful enough in the management
of affairs, but not too eager in their pursuit.
They lived together, not only whUe bache
lors, but after William Petigru's marriage,
and this led to a cementing of their friend
ship at last by their marrying sisters. The
result of the two weddings was not the same.
The careless, improvident, but genial temper
of one bridegroom made him the head of a
happy household, notwithstanding its troub
les ; the sombre, disputatious nature of the
other was less fortunate. One sister lived
l(fng enough, to see a house full of joyous
children; the other died in a year or two,
leaving an infant son to the elder's care.
The two sisters — ^wives of Finley and Pet
igru — were daughters of Jean Louis Gibert,
one of those Huguenot pastors who sought
safety for their flocks in the wilds of Amer
ica during the persecutions of the eighteenth
century. In connection with other names
familiar to South Carolina — the names, for
example, of Samuel and Elie Prioleau — the

James L. Petigru. 23
pastor Gibert is spoken of by the Rev. A.
Crottet, in his History of the Reformed
Churches in France, as a bold, faithful, and
indefatigable minister. Another of his name,
Etienne Gibert, perhaps a brother, was pas
tor of the French Church in England, called
" La Patente," in Spital Fields, near London.
Jean Louis led the last of the Huguenot col
onies to Carolina, He established his flock
in Abbeville, at New Bordeaux. They were
strangers in a new land, and endured many
hardships. But the Huguenots were indus
trious and frugal ; they seldom failed to suc
ceed. The leader and his flock received a grant
of land from the royal government, and the
people were making advances in the produc
tion of wine and silk. The pastor had ex
hibited approved specimens to the state au
thorities. Every thing seemed to promise
the colony success, when the death of their
chief and the revolution that followed de
stroyed their hopes. If the death of the pas
tor was a terrible event to his people, it was
even more disastrous to his family.

24 Memoir of
He had married one of his flock on arriv
ing at Charleston, and left three children.
The widow, unable to contend with her diffi
culties in the country, removed to Charleston.
In a year or two she married Pierre Enge-
vine, a merchant ofthe city. No children fol
lowed the marriage. The wife died in a few
years, and Mr. Engevine retired from busi
ness, and removed to Abbeville with the three
children of the Rev. Mr. Gibert. The pur
pose of Engevine was to improve the prop
erty of the orphans. But this was not easy.
Silk and wine had been abandoned, and cot
ton was yet unknown. There was no mar-
^ket crop, and farming was unprofitable. It
was difficult to find funds to defray the house
expenses, or to provide means of education
for the children — the son Joseph and the
two daughters — beyond the resources of the
household — the library of the deceased pas
tor and the stepfather's imperfect aid.
In this emergency, Mr. Engevine thought
it expedient to apprentice the boy Joseph to
a trade. But the lad was proud, sensitive,
and aspiring. His spirit revolted at what he

James L. Petigru. 25
thought a descent from his father's station in
life. By desperate exertions in the intervals
of his ordinary labors, he fitted himself for
the practice of medicine; but the exertion
overtasked his strength, and injured his con
stitution. He became moody, and died un
married, a victim to wounded pride and a
sensitive spirit.
The two girls, Louise Guy and Jeanne,
grew up in seclusion, with such assistance in
their instruction as Mr, Engevine's affection
and care could bestow, Louise, the elder, at
tended to the household affairs. Her nature
was well fitted for the task. She had a calm
constancy, a modesty combined with dignity,
a sweetness of temper and firmness of pur
pose which commanded both affection and re
spect. She was as charming in person as in
character — a brunette, with a smooth, deli
cate skin, soft hazel eyes, dark brown hair, a
figure of medium height, well rounded, with
exquisitely formed arms, hands, and feet. She
was beloved by her people. Some time aft
er her death one of her daughters asked an
old man, the patriarch ofthe surviving French
B

26 Memoir of
colonists, whether he remembered the inquir
er's mother, " What," he replied, with in
creased interest, " do you mean the pastor's
daughter? Oh yes, I remember her well ; she
was very beautiful, and as good as she was
beautiful." With this charming girl the lively and
impulsive William Petigru accidentally met.
He fell in love forthwith, sought her acquaint
ance, and recommended himself to her more
sedate character by the allurements of his
cheerfulness and wit. He was successful in
winning her heart, and they were married in
the summer of 1788,
On the 10th of May, 1789, at the farm on
Little River, their first son, James Louis Peti
gru, was born, the first of eleven children.
He was named from the two grandfathers,
the emigrant from Ireland and the French
pastor, and was a vigorous and promising boy
from his birth, the joy of the young parents,
of his aunt Jeanne, the father's friend Finley,
and the grandpapa Engevine. The expecta
tions of sanguine relatives were not unfound
ed. Time confirmed the morning's early

James L. Petigru. 27
promises. In force of character, depth, orig
inality, and vigor of mind, the grandson of
James Petigru and the French pastor had
few equals. He lived to become the stay of
his house, and to win high honor iu his state
and beyond it. I propose to attempt a sketch
of his life, to offer a tribute, however imper
fect, to his distinguished virtues and abili
ties. ,
The infant nephew of Jeanne Gibert drew
the young aunt into many visits at the Petti
grew farm. Finley was still an inmate. He
was attracted by the appearance of the visit
or, and they were married, after a short court
ship and partial acquaintance. The farm of
Finley was at no great distance, and the two
households were near and intimate neighbors.
But the happy intercourse was of short dura
tion, Mrs, Finley died the third year after
her marriage, leaving a son, to her sister's
care. The son was distinguished when a
youth at college for assiduity and talent. He
was in the class of 1813, and bid fair to ob
tain its highest honors. But a short illness,
in the junior year of the class, destroyed the

28 Memoir of
brilliant promise of his mind, and closed his
career. The course of the elder sister's son
was more fortimate, and a long life matured
and developed his strong characteristics of
heart and mind.
It was at the funeral of his aunt, Mrs, Fin
ley, that the sensibility and tenderness that
marked the nephew's nature were first strik
ingly manifested, -He wept at the scene so
long and violently as to attract the notice and
concern of all the attendants ; and when the
coffin was about to be let down into the
graye, he stretched out his arms to prevent
it with passionate protestations.
To his mother he was always devoted, and
loved her :from early life with deep affection.
From his boyhood he was her active assist
ant in the discharge of her household duties.
The cares of a large family often kept her up
to a late hour at night. At these times he
never went to bed until she was ready to go.
He mended the fire for her ; he talked with
her; he read to her; he lightened her toils
by sympathy, and by all the active aid he
could manage to give her. His affectionate

James L. Petigru. 29
nature was never weary in its manifestations
of devotion and love, and the gentle mother
fully appreciated their value.
Not only his friends thought him possessed
of great quickness of parts, and the old grand
papa Engevine continued to delight in pre
dicting his future distinction, but that there
was something uncommon about the boy was
the general opinion, though the conviction
was exhibited in various ways, some favor
able, others of evil augury. It was his habit
to throw himself on the grass, under a tree,
with a book, and to become absorbed in the
author's pages. An old neighbor said to his
mother one day, " I have just passed your son
James under the big apple-tree. He is so
much taken up with his book that he never
saw nor heard me, though I walked within a
few feet of him." These admiring dames of
the neighborhood would have rejoiced to coax
or drive their sons to similar application with
their books from the more attractive enjoy
ment of dog, horse, and gun< Others of the
good f)eople looked with less favor on the
student's pursuits. It was a custom with

30 Memoir op
the young lover of books to walk alone in
the woods, to mutter or talk to himself, and
to become irritable if interrupted in these
reveries. The practical old people who had
occasionally met him would point to their
foreheads, and intimate that every thing was
not right with him in that quarter. They
preferred the less equivocal promise of their
own sons, and thought the hunt of a racoon
or squirrel, a good shot, or successful quar
ter-race, much more indicative of sound fac
ulties and progress in life.
His first teacher was a wandering Virgin
ian of no great parts or acquirements, from
whom he learned nothing, and of whom he
remembered little more than the "barrings
out" to which the master was subjected by
his rebellious scholars.
In 1800 the whole household removed to
Bad well, the farm and residence of the Gi-
berts. It was the property of Joseph, the
son of the ..pastor, and he shared it with his
sister and lier children. It has been the
family homestead ever since. The f^m lies
among the hUls of Abbeville, on Buffalo

James L, Petigru, 31
Creek, a tributary of Little River, about
twenty miles from the former residence of
the Petigru family.
Here, when about eleven years old, he was
sent to the school of Charles Touloon, an
Irish schoolmaster. Touloon was believed
by his scholar to be a Catholic priest, who
had violated his vows by passing into matri
mony. He married the widow of Lieutenant
Henderson, who had been killed during the
Revolution in a skirmish with the Tories,
That the reverend father should have been
insnared into a breach of his vows by the
relict of the lieutenant is the less surprising,
as in subsequent years she was considered a
witch by all lier neighbors, Touloon knew
something of Latin and mathematics, and his
scholar always spoke of him with respect
and regard.
For two years immediately previous to the
spring of 1804, James Louis was employed
in looking after the farm. He devoted him
self to the task with assiduity and earnest
ness, 'His industry was invaluable to his
mother, on whose judgment and care the

32 Memoir of
well-being of the family for the most part
depended. He was indefatigable, and she
never ceased to express the belief that his
resolute spirit would work its way to distinc
tion and honor in the great world.
There was at this time a grammar-school
of great eminence in the neighborhood, the
academy of the Rev. Dr. Waddell at Wil
lington. How James Louis might be got to
it was the subject of anxious consultation
with the household. The question was often
discussed, and as often postponed. It in
volved many difficulties: how should the
expenses of board, lodging, and tuition be
defrayed ; how could his assistance on the
farm be dispensed witb ; how would the fam
ily be able to spare one who was tbe life of
the house as well as its promise ?
About the period of these deliberations,
early in 1804, Dr. Waddell attended a meet
ing of some kind near Badwell, the family
residence. Some one present attempted to
relate to the doctor an event that he had
read in a late Charleston paper. The narra
tor made bungling work ofthe storj, when

James L, Petigru. 33
James Louis, who was standing near, said to
the reverend gentleman, " Sir, the affair was
after this wise ;" and went on to tell the tale
in a clear, connected manner, and in well-
chosen language. The doctor was very well
pleased with the performance, patted the lad
on the head, and remarked to him, " If I had
you with me, my boy, I would make a man
of you," The event decided the long con
sultations of the family council, and placed
the young aspirant in the way to honorable
distinction. It was a decision of deep con
cern, not only to him, but to the younger
branches of the family, who shared the fruits
of his successful fortunes. He was sent to
Willington forthwith. The school was ten
miles from Badwell, and his return home, ev
ery Friday evening, was a jubilee to the
house anxiously looked for every week by
all parties, by the younger children espe
cially. It was a great happiness to the ambitious
boy when the way to Willington was opened
to his enterprise. His imagination magnified
its advantages. He was accustomed at the
B 2

34 Memoir of
time to keep a joumal of events and opin
ions. On one page of it he wrote, " This day
I am to go to Willington ;" and added,
"With joy and fear I view the vast design."
The line has something of the rhythm of
Pope's verse, and indicates an early acquaint
ance with an author more prized a hundred
years ago than now. Perhaps there were
other lines which the reporter has forgotten.
The journal has been lost. It is very much
to be regretted. There can be no doubt that
it abounded in pithy and original remarks.
The Willington school was a sort of Eton
or Rugby of American manufacture, and the
doctor at its head the Carolina Dr. Arnold.
He had great talents for organization and
govemment. His method appealed largely
to the honor and moral sense of his pupils.
They were not confined with their books un
necessarily in a narrow school-room. The
forest was their place of study. They re
sorted to the old oaks and hickories, and at
their feet or among their branches ^prepared
their various lessons. The horn called them

James L, Petigru, ' 35
at intervals to change of occupation. The
sound was repeated from point to point, and
the woods echoed with these sonorous sig
nals for recitation or retirement. When cold
or wet weather drove the students from their
sylvan resorts, log cabins in various quar
ters afforded the requisite accommodations.
At night, with the same sound of the horn,
they retired to their lodgings for sleep or
farther study. Their food was Spartan in
plainness — corn-bread and bacon ; and for
lights, torches of pine were more in fashion
than candles. Monitors regulated the classes
and subdivisions of classes, and preserved
the order and discipline of the institution
with the smallest possible reference to its
head. It was a kind of rural republic, with
a perpetual dictator. The scholars were en
thusiastically attached to their school. Aft
er they had become grandfathers they talked
of it in raptures.
Thomas Farr Capers — who is, indeed, full
on all subjects of genial and generous im
pulses — ^used to speak ofthe institution with
tears in hi's eyes, especially when he told of

36 Memoir of
a visit he made to it in company with George
McDuffie long after the days of their studies,
and when the school no longer existed. Mr.
-Capers had met vnth McDuffie at the Vir
ginia Springs. It was just after the death
of McDuffie's wife, and he was worn with
sorrow and disappointed hopes. They trav
eled together on their retum home until they
reached McDuffie's residence at Cherry Hill,
in the vicinity of Willington. The next
morning it was arranged that they should
visit the scenes of their school-day pleasures.
They rode to the spot. As they neared the
site of the school it was proposed by McDuf
fie that they should dismount. They ap
proached the dilapidated buildings on foot,
with uncovered heads. They walked over
'the familiar-. places, visited the old oaks and
hickories, still full of leafy honors; and as
- they proceeded, McDuffie, with a keen look
at his companion, as if he were searching his
friend's bosom and detecting its emotions,
asked from time to time if every thing was
the same — if the other remembered this or
that particular feature in the landscape or

Jambs L. Petigru. 37
the school-ground. Nothing was forgotten.
They went to the pure spring at the foot of
the steep hill, Mr. Capers made cups again
of the broad leaves of the hickory, and the
two drank once more in the old fashion at
the fountain where they had drank so copi
ously in former times. And as they did
these things, and talked of old companions
who had passed away like the school and
were no more, tears ran down their faces.
Would any one have thought that the stern
Roman profile of the Carolina orator sur
mounted so tender a heart, whatever may
have been expected from the warm and cor
dial nature of his fiiend ?
The great reputation of the Willington
school drew scholars from all parts of the
state — ^from the mountains, the parishes, the
city. The number reached two hundred and
fifty. Many were sons of wealthy parents.
The rustic appearance of the new scholar
was a subject of remark with the young pa
tricians, the wearers of broadcloth and fine
linen. They harassed the stranger in home
spun with the annoyances that school-boy

38 Memoir of
malice or mischief so promptly supplies until
it meets or fears retaliation. The new-comer
was driven from the open places of resort by
the devices of his companions. It was a
great trouble to his social and cordial nature,
and vdth a heavy heart he retreated to one
of the huts, where he applied himself to his
grammar with redoubled diligence. He tried
to forget his cares in his studies. Presently
he felt a smart as though something had
stung him. He sprang from his seat, and
saw that one of his tormentors had inserted,
through one ofthe openings ofthe log cabin,
a long stick burning at one end, and applied
it to the seat of his pantaloons. This was
too much for mortal endurance. The book
was thrown on the ground. The injured
party rushed on his-, assailant, and a desper
ate fight ensued, in which the insulted com
batant proved victorious.
The next day a court of sessions was held
in the school-room. The rules of the institu
tion prohibited fighting. All the whipping
in the establishment was the prerogative of
the venerable doctor. His rights had been

James L, Petigru, 39
violated, and the two boys were arraigned
before him to show cause why they should
not be punished for their infraction of law
and contempt for authority. The persecuted
party told his story fairly and manfully. He
had a talent for stating a case. He mention
ed his provocations, his forbearance, his ef
forts to avoid the wrongs to which he had
been subject, and the final injury which had
exasperated him beyond all self control. The
defeated culprit had nothing to say, and said
nothing. The reverend judge, having heard
the case, inflicted the same punishment on
both parties with the most scrupulous ex
actness. The wrong-doer and the wronged
fared alike.
I heard Mr. Petigru tell the story for the
first time about a year before his death.
Mention had been casually made of a . man
by the name of Ramsay, a resident, it is be
lieved, of Beaufort District, when Petigru re
marked, " Why, that is the very person with
whom I had a fight at Waddell's school," and
he then related the whole adventure. Even
at that distant period, nearly sixty years aft-

40 Memoir of
er the affair, he seemed to feel the gross in
justice with which he had been treated. The
pain ofthe punishment was nothing ; he was
as able to bear it and forget it as any man ;
it was the injustice that had sunk into his
heart, and that still lingered in his memory.
It was an offense not so much against him as
against tbe great cardinal virtue which he
reverenced all his life.
The effect of his manly conduct through
out the adventure had the effect, however, in
the school, of placing him thenceforward in
his proper position, and his assiduity and
ability assumed a place speedily in the high
est rank.
Many years after this, at the death of Dr.
Waddell, Mr. Petigru was called upcm and
attempted to make an address on the occa
sion. He was so much overcome by the ten
derness of his feelings as to be obliged to
abandon the undertaking.
There are numerous interesting and char
acteristic facts, without doubt, conneicted vrith
his school-life at Dr, Waddell's academy, but
his contemporaries have passed away, and

James L. Petigru. 41
the incidents are forgotten. Mr. Capers, the
nearest to him that I have met, but separated
from him by an interval of eight years, says
Petigru was remembered in the school as one
of its great lights, like McDuffie and a few
more. What his attainments were at Willington
I have no means of knowing. That they
were remarkable may be inferred from the
fact that the master of the school proposed
, to him at the end of three years to take the
place of assistant teacher. But the brill
iant and persevering pupil had other views.
From Willington he went to Columbia, and,
in December, 1806, entered the class that was
graduated in 1809, being the fourth class from
the first opening of the college. During the
period of his collegiate studies he was a teacb
er in the Columbia Academy, and was per
mitted to live outside of the college bounds,
He depended on his own exertions for sup'
port, and these exertions with difficulty sup'
plied him with books, board, and clothing.
On one occasion he refused an invitation to
dine with a gentleman of his acquaintance

42 Memoir of
because his insufficient dress was an insuper
able obstacle.
It was in college that I first knew him.
As members ofthe same class we were close
ly associated. We talked, walked, and read
together. A summer night we once spent
over the wUd wit of Rabelais. I served as
reader and he as audience. The reading was
in a loud, fantastic tone, adapted to the gro
tesque fancies of the old monk, in such pas
sages as when he tells us, for example, of the
exploits of Gargantua, or of the magnificent
speech of Janotus de Bragmardo, when he
supplicated the restoration ofthe church beUs
which the monarch had carried away from
the cathedral of Notre Dame, and had hung
for ornament to the mane and tail of his won
derful mare. Daylight found us engaged in
the coarse but irresistible merriment of the
modern master of broad humor and boister
ous wit. In a week or two after this he
handed me a favorite poet for admiration,
and, to banter him, I read a verse or two in
the tone and manner I had used in reading
Rabelais. I only exposed myself to a sar-

James L. Petigru. 43
casm. " A.h !" he said, " I thought your taste
had suggested the mode of reading Rabelais,
and that you adapted the manner to the au
thor, but I find you make no distinction be
tween pathos and farce."
His conversation in college, as every where,
was original and attractive. He was quick
and pointed in quotation and reply. Some
one remarked in the college-yard that genius
and insanity were near neighbors, and ad
duced, as evidence of the fact, the examples
of CoUins, Cowper, Swift, and others. A pas
sage was referred to in Hume as noticing and
explaining the affinity. Petigru replied that
Dryden had said the same thing before Hume,
and more clearly and tersely :
" Great wits are sure to madness near allied,
And thin partitions do their bounds divide."
He was addicted to poetry. His father's
library comprised the works of Dryden and
Pope, and the young lover of books had form
ed his taste from the writings of these great
masters of English verse. One of his fellow-
students, in a room adjoining, wrote a few
lines on the merits of Pope, and left them on

44 Memoir of
the table. The lines were somewhat dispar
aging, in the tone of a certain modern school
which exalted its own claims at the expense
of its predecessors. Petigru found the criti
cism where it was lying, and forthwith vprote
a comment on the critic's performance in cor
responding verse. I give it from memory,
after the lapse of more than half a century :
"Pity! that scribblers should aspire
To write of Pope without his fire ;
To criticise, in witless lines.
The wit in every page that shines ;
To chide, in verses dull and tame,
The poet's verse of endless fame ;
His taste assail in tasteless strains,
And earn a Dunciad for their pains."
The sarcasm applies to the whole school
of hypocriteSj and their efforts to decry the
brilliant poet of Queen Anne's time in at
tempting to exalt tiieir owu.
The leaning of Mr. Petigru was not to act
ive sports or exercises. He had no taste for
them,' or was unwiUing to waste his time in
the pursuit. He was never seen engaged at
baU, like Stephen D. MiUer, afterward gov
ernor of the state, who was an adept at the

James L. Petigru, 45
game, and never tired of playing it ; nor was
he ever employed Uke Gregg and Murphy,
the leaders of their class — one subsequently
a senator and successful lawyer in Colmnbia,
the other a govemor of Alabama and mem
ber of Congress, The singularity in Petigru
proceeded from no want of alertness or vig
or, for he was a strong, active man ; nor was
it from any want of genial sympathy, since
he was always ready for a walk, a chat, or an
adventure whenever one was suggested.
There was one art or accomplishment in
which he was ambitious to excel, but his suc
cess bore no proportion' to his efforts. He
was fond of dancing. A man by the name
of Sudor set up a dancing-school in Colum
bia, and, vdth other coUege lads, Mr. Petigru
became a pupil. But he was never able to
acquire any skill in executing pigeon- wings,
which were the pride ofthe teacher's heart,
nor in maneuvering through the stately steps
of the minuet, which stUl lingered on the
floor of the ball-room. His mode of dancing,
like his mode of talking and acting, was pe
culiar to himself, and was sometimes so much

46 Memoir of
more hearty and original than graceful that
it forced a smile from the ladies engaged
with him in the dance. On one of these oc
casions, long after he left college, seeing some
signs of risibility more obvious than polite,
he turned to a friend looking on, and said, in
a whisper loud enough to be heard, " The la
dies think I am dancing for their amusement,
whereas I am dancing altogether for my
own." He was graduated in 1809, and received
the first honors of his class. The second
were awarded to his old schoolmate, George
Bowie, of Abbeville, who moved to Alabama,
and acquired reputation and high office in
the state. The toU and privations of the
destitute scholar who labored for support
had been long and hard, but unflinching per
severance secured his triumph.
Soon after obtaining his degree Mr. Peti
gru visited his family. He was received, we
may readUy believe, with joyous acclama
tions. He had surpassed their expectations
or their hopes. But he found no cause for
rejoicing in the conditiqn ofthe family. The

James L, Petigru, 47
narrow fortunes of the household had be
come narrower still. Debts had been con
tracted. The old farm, his birthplace, had
been taken before to satisfy some of these ;
negroes had gone to pay others. He grieved
over the toUs of a mother whom he tenderly
loved, and the want of provision for the fu
ture advancement of a promising family of
her sons and daughters, for whom his heart
was deeply concerned. What could he do
for them — how could he aid them ?
It was the great problem of his life. He
went to see his uncle Finley, His uncle,
with worldly wisdom, commended him^ for
dUigence at coUege, and counseled him to
remove to some new country, or at least to
sever himself from the faUing fortunes of his
family. "I vnll never desert my mother,"
was the reply. " Then," the uncle answered,
" you vnll aU sink together. Ruin is inevi
table. The case is hopeless," He retumed
home with these hard sayings in his mind.
He threw his arms round his mother's neck,
wept for the unhappy fortunes of the house,
and expressed the wish that they could to-

48 Memoir of
gether be snatched away by some sudden
convulsion of Nature from the fate that
seemed to await them — that they might rest
together on the hiU-side by her exUed famer,
and that none of the helpless chUdren of her
love should be left to encounter unavaUingly
the world's coldness and contumely. But
the persevering, hopeful. Christian spirit of
the pastor's daughter cheered and encouraged
him. She advised that he should go where
Fortune invited. He could best assist his
home by leaving it. He would not be de
serting his mother, but aiding her and his
family by seeking the means of helping them
where they could most easUy be found.
The calm judgment of the mother reas
sured him. He resolved to try his fortunes
in Beaufort District. Influential friends se
cured a school for him in the lower part of
St. Luke's parish, on the Eutaws, near the
Baptist church, which made his school-room.
His purpose was to devote himself to the
study of law, and to teach in the mean time
for support. While engaged in this double
scheme for the present and the future, he

James L. Petigru. 49
boarded in the family of the Rev, Dr. Sweet,
the pastor of the church.
The doctor's church was somewhat roman
tic in its appearance, "bosomed high in tufted
trees," and pleased his young guest, but the
place of baptism was not inviting. It was a
large hole at the head of a salt-water creek,
and its waters, to the uninitiated eye of the
stranger, had nothing purifying about them.
The doctor himself, if not quite the equal of
Isaac Watts or Robert Hall, the two great
luminaries of his sect, was an exemplary and
devout man. There was nothing to complain
of. The host was kind, the neighborhood
wealthy and refined, and the young teacher
spent his time not unpleasantly in his new
home. The fiiendship of Judge Huger ren
dered his introduction into the best houses
more easy, and his wit and vivacity soon
made him a favorite with them all.
Not long after he had been fairly fixed in
his new quarters, his reverend friend found
occasion to visit the Baptist brethren of
Beaufort. He embraced the opportunity to
write. It was the beginning of a correspond-
C

50 Memoir of
ence that ran through fifty years. In his let
ter he speaks favorably of his " host." " My
host," he says, " is about to stretch forth to
the faithful of Beaufort the things that are
holy. I have determined to write, therefore,
desiring to make my letter profitable by send
ing it along with the merchandise of great
price, concluding (wisely you will allow) that
it may derive some advantage from the con
nection. It has been said of Shaftesbury
that he makes an objection to Christianity
because it contains no precepts by which
friendship is enforced. My host, if he had
been one of the twelve, would have obvia
ted the objection by many words in its fa
vor. Now the disciple merely of a disciple
in the one hundred and forty-fourth degree,
he can show his philanthropy by his deeds
only ; and after telling us that few can avoid
the gulf of perdition, he will descend from
the pulpit, and comprehend with his benev
olence the many whom his doctrine has not
comprehended." Some months after he hears that a college
friend is engaged to be married, and makes

James L. Petigru. 51
an inquiry respecting his matrimonial pros
pects. " Scarron," he says, " acknowledged
in his marriage-settlement the receipt of fom*
Louis d'ors, two large murdering black eyes,
the most elegant figure, two beautiful hands,
and a great deal of wit. What kind of a
Scarron will our friend Tom make, and where
wUl the parallel fail?" His fiiend Tom
might have acknowledged two eyes equally
large and dangerous, and a dowry about
equal to the four gold pieces, but the wit
was lacking, or perceptible only to a lover's
ear. Of another wedding lately celebrated
between a gay but elderly widow and a New
England adventurer much younger than her
self, he predicts that the unlucky youth will
soon sigh after his native home " in the north
countrie." The poor man lost his wits from
that or other causes.
In other letters written about the same
time he laments over his lost zeal for study.
He is almost inclined, he says, to wish that
" he was fairly within the vulgar pale, lord
ing it over a farm, talking of venison, drum-
fish, cotton-seed, ahd politics. This is the

52 Memoir of
state in which a man quietly vegetates, and,
like other vegetables, is governed by steady
principles, and is led to dissolution by regu
lar gradations, without the annoyance of
passion or eccentricity of mind." He had
evidently come to the conclusion that our
low country planters have a genius for the
school of Epicm'us — for the phUosopher's
mode of living, at least, if not for his stud
ies. During the vacations of the winters foUow
ing he relieved the monotony of his country
life by visits to Charleston. It was a time
of war in one of these, and he met many of
his old friends, some in service and others
seeking it. " I was amazed," he wrote, " at
the sight of our fiiend James T. Dent, who is
here expecting an appointment from Wash
ington. You may remember his steady at
tachment to the maxim of Creech's Hor
ace:
" ' Not to admire is all the art I know
To make men happy, and to keep them so.'
He has been wandering about carelessly, im
proving his knowledge to the detriment of

Jambs L, Petigru. 53
his purse ; but, while one's capital is not yet
gone and his hopes are young, there is noth
ing to prevent pleasure.
"I met Bull too, and was positively aston
ished. I am as much pleased at his good
fortune as I was surprised at his sudden ap
pearance. He is considered the governor's
private secretary, though it has not been for
mally announced. It is a snug post, and
opens the world to him in a very advanta
geous manner.
" There was no pique or misunderstanding
between him and General Alston, The boy
grew restive, and, as the method agreed on
between the parties precluded coercion. Bull
refused to receive the salary any longer, and
left the place contrary to the general's wish
es." W. H. Bull had gone from college to be
a private tutor in Alston's family, and the
boy alluded to, an only son, the grandson of
Aaron Burr, was too much petted to submit
to discipline.
" I am in comfortable quarters," he says, at
a subsequent period, " with Bob Taylor, at
Mrs. Bee's, who has more of the milk of hu-

54 Memoir op
man kindness than I used to think possible
for any housevnfe.^ I can not make a like re
tum to the heroi-comic story of your letter,
but I can tell you of a damned rascally thing
of recent occurrence. A privateer, the Re- .
venge. Captain Butler, put into this port two
weeks ago. The common sailors had divided
more than a thousand dollars apiece, and this
overflow came by robbing a Spanish ves
sel. They robbed her crew and passengers
not only of all their money, but of every rag
of clothing except what was on their backs.
The pirates strutted through Charleston pro
claiming this deed, displaying their gold
watches and fine clothes, and not a soul took
any notice of it,tiU at length the crew got to
fighting among themselves, and one inform
ed. Even then the marshal arrested none
but the captain, and, as it is said, retained no
evidence against him. Thus, to the dishonor
of our name, these pirates, in aU probabUity,
-will go off with impunity."
In another letter the writer speaks of hav
ing met with General Tait at the Planter's
Hotel, and remarks that he " never met him

James L. Petigru. 55
without being struck by his misfortunes and
the calmness with which he bore them."
Tait was a man of many adventures. He
had served in the American war vnth the
commission, I believe, of captain in Roberts's
ArtUlery. At the close of the war, or when
the excitement of revolution grew strong in
France, he hurried across the Atlantic to offer
his sword to the new republic; but the
French were always more ready to lend
swords than to borrow them, and had plenty
of aspiring spirits at home without seeking
them abroad. His fortunes were not pros
perous. He was in service, however, and
reached the title aiM rank of general. He
was one of the officers in command ofthe ex
pedition that landed on the coast of England,
and were made prisoners on landing by the
troops and local militia. It was said that
the French army on this occasion was a col
lection of rogues, and the saUing ofthe squad
ron a sort of general jaU delivery.
On the retum of Tait to France he was to
taUy neglecte^d, and was constrained at last'
to return to his own country. How he lived

56 Memoir of
in Charleston nobody could teU, probably on
the charity of his hostess, Mrs. Calder. He
was a stoic in temper, and bore the Uls of
fortune with equanimity. He had the spirit
of a projector too, which is more potent than
philosophy in enabling its possessor to brave
the calamities of life. It supplies him with
constant employment, and a fund of hope that
never fails. Tait was among the inventors
of perpetual motion; went to PhUadelphia
to perfect his machine, and was heard of
no more. He died, perhaps, in the poor-
house. He was a man of striking appearance, tall,
muscular, weU-formed, with a pleasing coun
tenance and agreeable address. His long
white hair flowed over his shoulders, and
gave dignity to his person. His conversation
was very pleasing. His varied and long ex
perience could not fail to give it many charms.
He was familiar with the incidents and char
acters of two revolutions, of periods imbued
vnth the deepest interest for all ages. Mr.
Petigru knew the relatives of the battered
adventurer somewhere in the upper districts

Jambs L. Petigru. 57
of South Carolina, and never failed, in visit
ing the city, to seek the poor old veteran, to
manifest a lively concern in his troubles, and
to admire the magnanimity with which he
endured the Uls of a long and luckless ca
reer. Some time after, in another visit, he says,
" Nobody has met nie with more cordiality
than Mrs. Calder at the Planter's Hotel. The
good lady took hold of my hands, caUed me
her son, and, what was more extraordinary,
remembering I had left her house on a for
mer visit at the time of her son's death, she
burst into tears, and declared she could never
be restored to tranquillity again. She look
ed, indeed, very much reduced. Neverthe
less, the hostess at length predominated, and
she joined with much glee in some of Frank
Hampton's broadest jokes. Frank is another
of the old fraternity that I find here. This
may be said of Frank, that I see no difference
in him now in his prosperity, a»gay and gal
lant officer, from what he was before. He is
the same, only greatly improved." Frank
Hampton was the younger son of General
C2

58 Memoir op
Hampton, and brother of the late Colonel
Wade Hampton, of Columbia.
These occasional visits to the city were pro
ductive of great enjoyment to one so social
in his nature as Mr. Petigru. They were in
structive too.
His keen, observing mind was always on
the alert, and caught the varieties of charac
ter that it encountered vnth marvelous facil
ity. It was active every where. He was a
frequent visitor in the country at Mrs. Hey-
ward's, of WhitehaU, and in grateful terms
spoke of the advantages he derived from ber
library, and still more from her conversation.
" In truth," he remarked, in one of his letters,
" she is a wonderful old lady, a rara avis vn
terria, and has, with the garrulity of a wom
an, the ideas and language of a man,"
To this wonderful old lady he wrote verses
It was her custom to intrust her pens to him
to be repaired, and quills to be converted
into pens, Qu one occasion she sent him a
great many to be made or mended at once,
and he retumed them with a copy of verses,
I regret to say that I have lost the verses, I

James L. Petigru. 59
remember two lines only at the beginning,
and two at the end. He addresses the pens
as " creatures of the element" — as
" Plastic beings, artists quaint,
Air to bind, and thought to paint."
He expatiates on their powers and privileges,
their happiness in serving a lady so worthy
of their ministering influences, and exhorts
them, at the close, to hasten to their service :
"Go, nor serve your queen amiss ;
Fate has made your service bliss."
The paper containing the verses were wrap
ped about the pens as a case to hold them,
and the writing was on the inner side. The
lady took out pen after pen as she needed
them, without unfolding the paper, and the
unhappy poet, not knowing this, suffered,
week a,fter week, the mortification, keener
than all others, of neglected verse. It was
only when the store of pens was exhausted,
and the paper disclosed its hidden freight of
wit, that the author received his reward in
the lady's thanks and praises.
In one of his visits to Mrs. Heyward he
witnessed what he was accustomed to relate

60 Memoir of
as a proof that, if society now is not so full
of graceful observances as formerly, neither
is it as free of touching the extremest verge
of a just decorum.
He dined at WhitehaU in a large company.
One of them was General P  , on his way
from his plantation to Charleston. The par
ty was numerous, and Petigru sat among the
juniors, " below the salt," as he described it,
at the foot of the table, with Tom Heyward,
the old lady's son. The general talked in
the fashion of the Revolution at the lady-
end of the table, using words more pregnant
with meaning than prudish in dress. The
younger parties caught a phrase only occa
sionally of what was intended for the la
dies' ears. There was at least no false deli
cacy or affectation in the language. When
the rest of her guests were gone, Mr. Hey
ward said to Mr. Petigru, " Did you hear the
conversation at my end of the table ?" " Yes,"
he replied, " I caught portions of it from time
to time." " And what did you think of it ?"
was the next question. "Why," said the
guest, with some hesitation, " I thought it

James L. Petigru. 61
rather salt." " You may well say so," Mrs.
Heyward answered; "it was very salt in
deed." Mr. Petigru thought highly of Tom Hey
ward, the son. The vigorous mind of the
mother oversha"dowed him, and he hardly re
ceived his just estimate from the friends of
the house or from the community. Petigru
was accustomed to quote one of his friend's
sayings as indicating capacity for acute think
ing and terseness of expression. Mr. Hey
ward said, " Whatever parties may exist in
a country, and under whatever names they
may go, there are always two aristocracies —
the aristocracy of weailth and the aristocracy
of talent ;" and, tuming to his companion, he
added, "You belong to one and I to the other."
Mr. Petigru was a frequent guest at Mr.
NeufvUle's, on Graham's Neck. Mr. Neuf-
ville was an accomplished man of the world,
and was noted for a celebrated duel in which
he had outmaneuvered Boone Mitchel, the
most expert duelist of the day. The host
loved wit and vivacity, and appreciated the
brUliant qualities of his young visitor.

62 Memoir of
Mrs. NeufviUe rejoiced in juvenUe com
pany, and the belles of the neighborhood
were often at her house. The results of
youthful assemblages and associations are
easily anticipated. Petigru got so far in
their common consequences- as to write verses
to the young ladies, the usual symptom of
being in love. The aloe was abundant about
the premises of " Rocky Point," the NeufviUe
residence. The~ large thick leaves were cut
and carved into names and verses. Miss
C  remarked that the plants were more
fruitful in wit and poetry than in flowers,
and the young gentleman improved the oc
casion by producing some of his own.
He sent me the verses in a letter. I insert
them with his comment. The comment is
not in the tone of a desponding or anxious
lover. It is neither pathetic nor plaintive,
but in a jocose mood, intended, no doubt, to
protect himself from his correspondent's raU-
lery.

James L. Petigru. 63
THE ALOE.
"Though bitter the aloe, 'tis pleasant to gaze
On a plant of such wonderful birth, ,
That blossoms but once in the limited days
Allotted the children of earth.
And such, lovely maid, is the passion I prove ;
Yet, ah ! it depends upon you,
Whether, doomed to endure like the aloe, my love
Must be like it in bitterness too."
" How do you like them ?" he asks. " Short
and sweet, ay ! Epigrammatic, forsooth !
Tell me your opinion. I suppose you think
Tom Moore has reason to complain of the
first stanza. Do you think it so near a theft
as to be actionable ?"
The stanzas met with favor from the lady.
They were not so unfortunate as a sonnet
which the writer had finished with great care
on a simUar occasion, and submitted to the
critical judgment of The Courier. It was
rejected by Mr. Willington as too imperfect
for publication. He used to say that it was
the greatest mortification of his life, for he
thought he "had been unusually successful in
his work. Whatever the fate of the verses
on the aloe, the suit with the lady was not

64 Memoir of
prosperous. She rejected the addresses, if
not the poetry.
It was not a desperate case. If the pas
sion went beyond a poetical fancy with the
lover, it was neither bitter nor durable ,like
its emblem. It was short-lived as the com
mon flowers of the spring season. A few
months stripped its object of the illusions
that an excited imagination had lent her, and
restored him to his freedom. His time was
not yet come for entering as a denizen the
paradise of young men and young maidens,
and partaking what Cowper caUs " the only
bliss of paradise that has survived the fall."
Two years of the interval between his
leaving coUege and being admitted to the
bar were spent in Beaufort. He was elected
by the board of trustees, in January, 1811, a
tutor in the Beaufort College. The president
of the college died of fever in the autumn of
the year, and the duties of the whole school
devolved on Mr. Petigru. They were dis
charged with zeal and ability. The teacher
became a favorite vnth all parties — with the
inhabitants at large, who appreciated his con-

James L. Petigru. 65
versation and companionable qualities ; vnth
the boys, who delighted in the genial humor
that lent itself readily in play-hours to their
amusements. Stern as a Turk in upholding
the laws of discipline, he sometimes resorted
to the most decisive modes of enforcing them.
At the Eutaw school he had put one of his
female scholars out at the window, and or
dered her home to get her lesson. In Beau
fort he detected a truant near the school,
and carried him on his back up stairs to the
school-room. But, joyous as one of them
selves when the hour of study was over, he
would sometimes spin tops or play marbles
with as much glee as any of their number.
At the end of the year there was an elec
tion for the presidency. Mr. Petigru was a
candidate for the place. He said, at a later
period, that, if he had succeeded, it would
have fixed him in the occupation of teaching,
and changed the whole course of his life.
He would have risen, in that case, with cer
tainty to the Presidency of the Carolina Col
lege. Who can calculate the loss experi
enced by the college and the state in missing

66 Memoir of
his services ? Any body can make a lawyer
or politician, but where could such a college
president be found within the limits of the
country ?_ In learning, endurance, and activ
ity — in vigor and originality of mind and
character — in moral elevation, in fidelity to
duty, in commanding authority — in all the
attributes by which a teacher would give
form to the student's character as a gentle
man and a man, where could his equal be
found ? But the great prize was not to be
ours. Diis aliter visum. The trustees thought
otherwise. They preferred the growth of
New England to the home production, elect
ed Mr. Hurlbut, and sent our disappointed
candidate back to St. Luke's and the law.
It was some time, however, before the trus
tees could find a suitable person to take the
assistant's place, and Mr. Petigm remained
in the college some months longer. WhUe
the change of dynasty was stUl new, and the
abdicated and lately-elected monarch were
strangers each tb the other's character, an in
cident endangered their amicable relations.
D.uring the time that Petigru had acted as

James L. Petigru. 67
president he had used an arm-chair of his
own providing in the principal room. When
he took his place in the lower department
the chair remained. He wanted it in a day
or two, and sent a boy to bring it. The mes
senger returned saying the president refused
to give it up. The president, Hurlbut, had
not yet learned his subordinate's nature, im
patient always of personal wrongs and prompt
to resist them. He would have given a doz
en chairs at a word of request, and have cav
iled over one of their legs if lawless author
ity demanded its delivery. The president
was speedily enlightened. The assistant
strode into the room, seized his property,
shouldered it, and marched off to his own
quarters in a manner too significant to be
mistaken. It was a revelation of the man that Mr.
Hurlbut never forgot,' The parties lived aft
erward on the most amicable terms, for the
president was really an estimable man, and
the assistant was frank, placable, and ready
to appreciate merit wherever he found it.
During the time he spent in Beaufort he en-

68 Memoir of
joyed the advantage of Mr. William Robert
son's office and friendly attentions.
Mr. Petigru was admitted to the bar at
Charleston in December, 1812, in company
with an old school-fellow, J. F. Trezevant, R.
Y. Hayne, and John M. Verdier, of Beaufort.
" I am about to be admitted," he says in a
letter from the city, " with my old class
mate (at Waddell's school) Trezevant, who
wiU make, or I am deceived, a very good at
torney." As soon as admitted he bqgan
practice in Beaufort District, attending the
courts also of Colleton and BarnweU, which
together constitute the southeastern circuit.
His head-quarters were at Coosawhatchie ;
the summer he spent at some summer resort
in the neighborhood,
Coosawhatchie, at that time the judicial
capital of Beaufort District, lies on the road
that leads from Charleston to Savannah, and
was always so weU situated for catching bil
ious fever as never to miss it. It was hardly
habitable during the summer. The evil in
creased as the woods were cut down, and
the moist, fertUe soil was exposed to the ac-

James L. Petigru. 69
tion of the sun. To live in the village two
consecutive summers became almost impossi
ble for white men. Few ever attempted it.
There was one exception — just enough to
prove the rule. The exception was Mr. Bas-
sUue, who kept a shop, and furnished board
and lodging for lawyers and clients in term-
time. He was able to live vnth country
fever in all its varieties, as conjurers in
Bengal handle venomous serpents without
harm or danger. He must have been anoint
ed in infancy with some patent drug of mys
terious efficacy. The aligator in the neigh
boring creek was not safer than he. To ev
ery white man but himself a summer in Coo
sawhatchie was death. It was unnecessary to
try a criminal there charged with a capital
offense. All that was required was to put
him in jail in May to wait his trial at the
November court. The state paid for a coffin,
and saved the expenses of trial and execu
tion. At night the jailer thought it unnec
essary to remain in the jail. He locked his
doors and went away to some healthier place
until morning, confident that his prisoners

70 Memoir of
had neither strength nor spirit to escape. At
last the lawyers became dissatisfied. They
loved fair play as well as fees, and desired to
see the rogues brought to justice in the reg
ular way, with a chance for their lives such
as the assistance of a lawyer always affords
them. The general jail delivery brought
about by fever prevented the thief from be
ing duly hanged and the counsel from receiv
ing his retainer. The culprit escaped the
halter through the climate, not through the
bar. The whole proceeding was informal. Pe
titions were got up to change the site of the
court-house and jail to a healthy place, and
Coosawhatchie has ceased to be the district
capital. It is now deserted. When Mr. Peti
gru began to practice law the viUage was in
its palmiest state. It had a dozen shops or
houses, with a hundred inhabitants in the
winter and Mr. Bassilue in the summer. Ex
cept Mr. Bassilue, the people retired in May
to summer resorts. They were necessaries
of life to the citizens of Coosawhatchie. Mr.
Petigru retreated to Erin or Rock Spring, in

James L. Petigru. 71
the pine forest, where he found a friend and
pleasant companion in Dr. North, who prac
ticed physic in the parish, and had to fly like
his patients from fever in the summer sea
son. The first partner of Mr. Petigru in the
practice of law, and the only one during his
residence at Coosawhatchie, was his classmate
Trezevant, with, whom he had been admitted
to the bar, and of whose capacity to make a
good attorney he had expressed at that time
a favorable opinion.
His chief and constant opponent at the
bar was WUliam D. Martin, who commenced
practice about the same time. They were
arrayed against each other in every case, like
men-at-arms supporting justice on either hand.
If the plaintiff had the aid of one, the de
fendant was always backed by the other.
They sustained their several clients with
equal zeal and vigor. One would suppose
that they were in danger every moment of
turning the bar's contention into personal
conflict ; yet they were the most amicable of
adversaries, and lived in the best possible un-

72 Memoir op
derstanding. They were men of frank, cor
dial, joyous natures, and appreciated in each
other the high qualities which they possessed
in common. Their friendship continued for
life. They were both beloved and esteemed ;
yet, whUe one rose to high honors, and seem
ed to change them at will, the other toiled
on patiently at the bar, unrewarded to the
end except by the distinctions which popu
lar favor can neither give nor take away.
Mr, Petigru began his career in the prac
tice of law at an inauspicious period — during
the war which began in June, 1812, There
was no money in the country. The planters
were unable to sell their produce. Their best
customer was now their enemy. Suits were
few. The business of the courts languished.
The lawyers were disposed to change the
mimic battles of the bar into bloodier con
flicts, and take commissions or muskets in
stead of briefs. When two English sloops
of war — the MoseUe and Colibri — in the
summer of 1813 were lying at anchor in Port
Royal, and the mUitia ofthe neighboring par
ishes were mustered for the defense of the

James L. Petigru. 73
islands, Mr. Petigru marched in a company,
under Captain Huguenin, to Hilton Head
with his musket on his shoulder : no better
soldier than he, ready for any duty, and pre
pared to drive a wagon or do battle in the
front rank for the country's honor, though no
one believed more thoroughly in the absurdi
ties of the war measure, and ofthe Democrat
ic party who made it. But the laws, we are
told, are silent amid arms, and courts and fees
for enforcing law in the war were not flourr
ishing. He laughed, and said, at a later pe
riod, that the first retainer at this time ever
offered him out of Coosawhatchie was at
Jacksonborough, in the shape of a silver quar
ter of a dollar, by a pine- woodsman who was
looking for a defender in a case of petty lar
ceny. At a subsequent period, when General
Scott was trying to keep the peace in Charles
ton, he was recounting one day at Mr. Peti
gru's house an event of the war in Carolina.
Turning to his host, he said, " You were too
young, Petigru, to have taken a part in the
war." " Too young !" Petigru replied, stretch-
D

74 Memoir of
ing out his legs as he sat, throwing himself
back in his chair, and crossing his hands on
his chest — " too young, general ! why, at that
very time I was burning with a passionate
desire to be a hero." And he told of his ex
ploits on Hilton Head, and his driving a wag
on under Huguenin's command.
During the difficulties in his progress, he
talked sometimes of going to New Orleans.
It was a point of attraction for aU the young
and enterprising — the new Mecca of fortune
toward which all her worshipers were turn
ing their faces. But he always loved his
friends more than money, and he continued
to struggle on among or near them for dis
tinction and support in spite of discourage
ment and delays.
The times changed in a year or two. The
war came to an end early in 1815. Busi
ness revived and became active. The young
lawyer began to make a fair income, and his
rising reputation spread far and vnde. He
was elected solicitor of the district in 181-.
The pay of a solicitor is not large, but the
office gives position and leads to practice.

James L, Petigru, 75 •
" I have been elected in Columbia," he vnites
to a friend, " while sitting down innocent of
solicitation in Coosawhatchie, But, if you
are disposed to wonder, you will wonder no
longer when you recollect the zeal of Huger
and the energy of Pringle." These gentle
men, Daniel E. Huger and James R. Pringle,
were members ofthe General Assembly from
Charleston or the adjoining parishes — friends
who had been won by his talents and char
acter, who adhered to him through life, and
whose children after them continued the
friendship vnth undiminished admiration and
regard. Office, a rising reputation, an increasing in
come, began to induce other tioughts, to form
visions of a home of his own framing, and a
partner that might assist him to enjoy it. It
is not always that the dreamers of these
dreams wait for the assent of prudence be
fore they indulge in them, or become van
quished by their allurements. The young
solicitor had not been insensible. One fancy,
already aUuded to, produced its harvest of po
etic blossoms, and died out. Another touch
ed his heart more seriously.

76 Memoir of
The object was Mary Bowman, a very love
ly girl of Beaufort, an adopted daughter of
her aunt, Mrs. Longworth, vnth whom she
lived in St. Luke's parish. Her figure was
taU and graceful. *Her dark eyes formed a
striking contrast with the purest possible
complexion, and a sweet and gentle expres
sion of countenance added to her charms.
She had every beauty of face and figure,
thqugh, to say the truth, she was not by any
means as well supplied as the bride of Scar
ron in one of the articles enumerated in his
marriage settlement.
But the lady was an expectant merely of
fortune, and her admirer unfurnished as yet
vnth any thing more than genius and force of
character — the potentiaUties only of wealth,
as Dr. Johnson would _call them. A rich
suitor, a widower, with one small child and
two or three large plantations, made court to
the fair one, and was forthwith accepted.
The relatives at least thought the match too
good to be refused. Her young friend, in
after Jife, never failed to speak of her with
gentle memories, and unabated admiration of
her beauty.

James L. Petigru. 77
A young lawyer, nevertheless, of rising rep
utation and growing practice, briUiant in con
versation, and a wiiter of poetry, has no long
lease of his freedom, whatever escapes may
have been vouchsafed to him. Unless he has
old aunts or elderly sisters at home, who put
him beyond all possibility of his ever being
able to endure the lightest yoke of matri
mony, so that he flies like a, scared colt at the
mere shaking of the bridle, his' fate is soon
sealed. It was so with the youthful aspirant
for distinction at the Coosawhatchie bar. He
had no sisters or aunts at hand to warn or
guard him, and his fortune was speedily de
cided. There was living at this time near Coosaw
hatchie a plain, frank, warm-hearted pla-nter,
Captain James Postell, son of Colond, Postell,
an officer in Marion's brigade of Revolution
ary memory. The captain was one of the
most hospitable men in the country, and kept
open house during court-time for judge, law
yers, and lookers-on. I found a place at his
table among other idlers. The table was a
long one, and near its head, at the mother's

78 Memoir op
right hand, sat a daughter, lately returned
from boarding-school, of the most alluring
beauty. Her complexion was brilliant; she
had the finest teeth and eyes, the richest au
burn hair, and a sparkling vivacity of man
ner that attracted and fascinated all who
came near her. I saw at a safe distance, and
for a short time, the flashing blue eyes and
curls of beautiful hair, the winning, impuls-
ivCj and somewhat willful or capricious mode
of address, which no one could approach and
resist. The young attorney at law came too
often within their influence to withstand their
power. The lady was high-spirited, and ad
mired genius and originality of character —
just the woman to dare the chances of matri
mony and defy the uncertainties of fortune
— and they were married accordingly.
They were married in August, 1816, by
Dr, Waddell, at the farm of Colonel Postell,
the bride's grandfather, not far from Bad-
well, the home of the bridegroom's wise and
gentle- mother, who would have blessed her
newly-acquired daughter beyond measure if
she could have tempered the young bride's

James L. Petigru. 79
gay, defiant nature, and taste for fashionable
life, and its triumphs and delusions, with
something of her own calm constancy of spir
it and quiet aelf-control. As it was, then or
subsequently, the bride charmed every one
as she pleased, her young sisters ofthe house-
liold especiaUy, with the attractions of her
lively and unaffected manners, and the grace
and loveliness of her face and person. At
the close of the summer the lately married
couple returned to their home at Coosaw
hatchie. The most friendly relations had for some
time existed between Mr. Petigru and Dr.
Edward North. The doctor had cured his
young friend of a fever, and taken the con
valescent patient to his own home for better
nursing. From a patient Mr. Petigru became
a welcome guest at all times in the doctor's
house. North occupied, during the winter
season, a plantation near Coosawhatchie, caU
ed Northampton, and the newly-arrived pair
from Abbeville spent the first winter after
their marriage at this place with Dr. and
Mrs. North.

80 Memoir op
During a transient abode in a hired house
at Coosawhatchie in the following winter,
their eldest son, Albert Porcher, was born.
Some time after the famUy removed to a new
house, built by Mr. Petigru himself, in the
outskirts of the viUage. It stood to the south
of the court-house, about a mile distant, on
the main road. It was the best dwelling of
the neighborhood, and the successful archi
tect of his own fortune took some pride in
this portion of his handiwork. He used to
say he had made his mark in the vUlage bor
ders. It was the first trophy of success. The
house passed from him to Dr. Francis Y. Por
cher, and has since gone through many hands,
witnessing very often, like most other habi
tations, the mutabilities of fortune and the
vanity of human expectations. The house it
self furnishes an example. Before the death
ofthe first owner it had disappeared, and not
a vestige now remains of it. Its site is a
camp and parade-ground for the troops of
the Confederacy. The old ' church, too, in
which he taught his school at the Eutaw,

James L. Petigru. 81
has been destroyed by fire, and the country
about it has become a desolation under the
hand of war. Those who knew it most inti
mately recognize it with difficulty now.
The partnership with Trezevant had been
of short duration. Mr. Trezevant died in a
few flionths, and the surviving partner stood
alone during his subsequent practice in the
country courts. In a few years it was evi
dent, nevertheless, that the field of exertion
was too narrow for his wants and capacity;
he had outgrown his shell ; it was expedient
to change it for one more in accordance
vnth his increased proportions ; many friends
urged a removal ; and in 1819 he resolved to
leave Coosawhatchie for Charleston.
«
It is not to be imagined that a man of Mr.
Petigru's originality and force of character
eould mix as generally and continually with
the people as one must do in the practice of
law in, a country court, without leaving vari
ous characteristic memories behind him in
the minds of the community. They are not
few in number. Two or three will be suffi
cient to serve as examples.
D2

82 Memoir of
It is not intended in this place to allude
to the peculiarities of his practice, to the gen
erosity of his nature in conducting it, the cus
tom he always had every vp^here of refusing
compensation for his services from those to
whom he was attached as a fiiend, or whose
condition was needy, or who had, as he would
phrase it, patronized him in his obscurity or
been kind to him when he was poor. But,
apart from his professional life, his mode of
acting and talking was so unlike that of oth
er men, that he was often a subject of inter
est and anecdote with the people.
It was one of the peculiarities of his char
acter to be at all times impatient of wrong
and brutality, and prompt in interposing to
prevent them. On one occasion there was a
fight going on in front of his office, under the
very shadow ofthe temple of justice. It was
one of the rustic amusements of the parish.
A crowd surrounded the combatants. The
affair was an enjoyment to the lookers-on,
and nobody interfered to stop it. Petigru's
indignation was at last aroused by the savage
sight and uproar. Though not a large man.

James L. Petigru. 83
he had long, powerful arms, and great mus-
cidar strength. He broke through the crowd,
seized one . of the parties to the fight by his
collar and the waistband of his trowsers, car
ried him off to the office, and seated him not
.very gently in the centre of the floor, with a
stern injunction to keep the peace. Country
men generally have a reverence for the law
and the " squire," and the command was obey
ed without opposition or remark. The indi
vidual seemed bewildered at what had hap
pened to him, and unable to recover his wits
after this sudden and unusual mode of get
ting out of a scrape.
At another time he was assailed in the
court-yard vnth the most violent abuse by a
turbulent fellow of the vUlage, who lavished
on him all the foul epithets and appellations
he could remember or invent, of which rogue
and scoundrel were among the most moder
ate. The assaulted party stood unmoved,
vnth a half smile of amusement on his face.
At last the noisy bully, having exhausted his
ordinaiy vocabulary of abuse, bethought him
self of a term of reproach which at that day

84 Memoir of
comprised every thing hateful— he called him
a " damned Federal." The word was no soon
er uttered than- a blow, altogether unexpect
ed by the brawler, laid him in the sand. He
became as quiet as a lamb, and moved away
without a comment. But an old gentleman
present, Mr. William Hutson, one of the re
mains of the defunct Federal party, .thought
the proceeding a sort of imputation on his
old creed. " How is this," he said to Peti
gru, "you seem to think it a greater offense
to be called a Federalist than to be caUed a
rogue or rascal ?" " Certainly," was the re
ply ; " I incur no injury from being abused
as a rogue, for nobody believes the charge ;
but I may be thought a Federalist readily
enough, and be proscribed accordingly, and
so I knocked the man down by way of pro
test against all current misconstructions." '
He incurred subsequently, in conducting a
case, the wrath of a tall, strapping fellow on
the other side. They met, a moming or two
after, at Corrie's Hotel. There was a long pi
azza, a little elevated from the ground, where
Petigru was walking up and down. The dis-

James L. Petigru. 85
contented person followed him to and fro,
persisting in the vilest denunciations. At
last Petigru turned round to him, and said
yery deliberately, " Really, Barns, if I had a
whip I should be tempted to horsewhip you."
"You would?" said Barns. "Stay a mo
ment ; I'll go to the shop over the way and
borrow, one for you." He went forthwith
and brought a whip, which he presented with
a flourish of incredulity, defiance, and mock-
ei-y. In a moment' he was in the clutches
of the enemy. A powerful hand seized him
by the collar, another brandished the whip.
The blows feU fast on the legs of the aston
ished sufferer. The lookers-on were amused
at his contortions to avoid the stripes, until
at last he was pushed down the steps of the
piazza with a parting kick in the rear, and
an admonition to return the whip to its own
er, with Mr. Petigru's thanks for the use of it.
These incidents established a character
which placed him above all similar annoy
ances. He soon became a favorite with the
people, who readily appreciate a strong arm
and resolute spirit, ^ith all the principles

86 Memoir of
of a thorough aristocrat, so far as subordina
tion in society and due obedience to estab
lished authority are concerned, he was as ac
cessible as the veriest Democrat to all classes.
His address was always pleasant. He met
every body with a cheerful humor and ready
joke, and was always prepared to help the
needy, and protect the vnonged or distressed.
If he had committed the common folly of
young lawyers, and desired to become the
hybrid made up of half attorney and half
politician, he might have made his way to
the Legislature without difficulty. He took
a vnser course, and adhered to his profession,
aware that it requires all the attention ofthe
highest faculties to obtain success. He car
ried this conviction with him when he re
moved from Coosawhatchie, and, during his
whole practice in Charleston, never deviated
into politics excespt in compliance with his
friends' wishes, or when he thought the coun
try in imminent danger.
The removal to Charleston was a great
step-in advance on the road to fortune. The
city had been formerly, and still was a dis-

James L. Petigru. 87
tinguished arena for legal talent and acquire
ments. In the period immediately follow
ing the Revolutionary War, while Charleston
carried on a larger importing trade than
most or any of the Northern cities, the com
mercial capital of South Carolina furnished
a broad field for the lawyer's skUl, and great
fortunes and reputations were acquired at the
bar. It was the time when Pinckney and
Rutledge, Pringle, Parker, Holmes, Ward, and
De Saussure, and subsequently Cheves, Dray
ton, and Simmons, gave purity and dignity
to the practice and profession of law. Dur
ing that period the Charleston bar was infe
rior to none in America. Although shorn
of a great part of its former splendor, and no
longer presenting the same opportunities for
fortune or reputation as in earlier times, the
old city of Carolina still continued to promise
high prizes in both.
-The change to the city was partly induced,
and was made easy by an offer from James
Hamilton pf a partnership in practice. Ham
ilton had been some time at the bar, and
had received, on the elevation of Colonel

88 Memoir of
Drayton to the recordership, by the favora
ble consideration of that gentleman, the trans
fer of a large portion of business at the bar.
Hamilton had vigor and decision of charac
ter, address, and promptitude of action, was
fluent in speech, and a keen manager of po
litical party. But necessity had never forced
him, or perhaps he lacked the -peculiar tali
ent for going, to any extent, into the dry
pages of law in pursuit of precedents or prin
ciples, and he found that the qualities which
are efficient before the Democracy are not of
much weight with the bench of judges in the
courts of justice. A partnership vnth a ris
ing lawyer, who had sounded the depths of
the law's perplexing studies, would be a ben
efit to both. It would furnish one with the
help he required, and give the other a posi
tion in the city prepared to his hand. The
partnership was formed accordingly.
A year or two afterward, in the summer
of 1822, Hamilton rendered himself exceed
ingly popular in the state by his firmness
and energy during the alarm in Charleston
of a negro insurrection. He had already be-

James L. Petigru. 89
come a prominent leader in the state Legis
lature, and an active manager of its parties.
He was the chief mover of the nomination
made in it of Mr. Lowndes for the Presidency
in December, '21. In less than a year after,
in October, 1822, when that great .statesman
was compelled to resign his seat in Congress
by increasing illness, HamUton succeeded to
the place. He abandoned the bar, for which
he was not fitted by nature or study, and be
took himself to the more congenial field of
Congressional life. The partner, left alone,
went steadily on to widen and deepen his
knowledge of the science to which he had
devoted his life, became the ornament in a
few years of the bar, and at no distant period
its imdisputed head.
It was not without a contest, not always
pleasant, that this supremacy was reached.
He had many opponents, most of them fully
disposed to observe in the conflict those cour
tesies of practice that had always prevailed
at the city bar. But there was one excep
tion. He was an able speaker and good law
yer ; bold, ready, regardless of respect to op-

90 Memoir of
posing counsel, witnesses, or clients, and un
scrupulous as to the language in which he
expressed his contempt; skUled in cajoling
the jury and bullying the judge ; little sen
sitive as to his own feelings, and utterly with
out regard to the feelings of others. One pur
pose only seemed to govern him — ^the pur
pose to gain his case at all hazards. He was
a formidable adversary, and the lawyers of
the old school were reluctant to encounter
his rude assault.
But in the new-comer from the country
court he found in no reluctant adversary a
deeper intellect than his own, a stronger mor
al nature, a resolute persistency of spirit that
nothing could daunt, weary, or deceive. No
craft evaded his vigilance, no show of vio
lence stopped his resolute exposure of irreg
ularity in his opponent's practice. The con
test went on month after month. It assumed
the most threatening forms. The quarrel
seemed sometimes ready to resolve itself into
a fight with the weapons that Nature fur
nishes, sometimes to seek the more deliberate
solution of the pistol at ten paces. A chal-

James L. Petigru. 91
lenge passed at one time, and they were
bound over to keep the peace by Judge Lee
in the District Court. Judge Prioleau had
declined to interfere; he thought the case
desperate. The feud had a sudden and un
expected ending. A sad event, the death of
a child by accident in Mr. Petigru's family,
arrested the warfare. His adversary, with a
consideration that did him honor, addressed
a note of sympathy to the afflicted parent,
and requested that the contest should cease.
It ceased from that time forward.
Mr. Petigru's progress was at once secured
and promoted by the retirement of General
Hayne. In 1822 Hayne was elected to the
Senate of the United States, and left vacant
the state office of attorney general. Mr. Peti
gru succeeded to the vacancy. It is an office
of profit, dignity, and influence. The occu
pant receives a salary, and fees which, for the
most part, he never fails to exact ; he is the
law adviser of the state authorities, and con
trols, in some measure, the political move
ments of the people. His official presence
in Columbia during the session of the Legis-

92 Memoir of
lature brings him into intimate association
with the leading men of the state, and se
cures to him opportunities for exercising a de
cided influence in public affairs. Whether
he desires it or not, he can hardly avoid dis
charging these semi-official duties of his place
as far as friends or adherents may request or
desire. He can rarely escape from being a
political manager, or something more.
, There was not much of this sort of work
to be done in the various departments of pub
lic affairs when Mr. Petigru came to Charles
ton, or first occupied the attorney general's
place. There was a pause in politics. Fed-
-eral parties, and their distinctions and dis
putes, were in abeyance. The great achieve
ment of Mr, Monroe's administration was to
keep every thing quiet, to please every body,
and secure a second term of office. We
were all Federalists then, and all Republi
cans. The Missouri Question excited some
commotion, but it subsided into compromise.
The vexed question seemed to be settled,
and every body was again in good humor
It was the reign of peace and dullness, of

James L. Petigru. 93
which Mr. Monroe was the happy representa
tive. In the state it was hard to say what prin
ciples prevailed, or vrhether any intelligible
party distinction existed. We adopted Prio-
leau's resolutions one year, and Smith's the
next. The two series were antipodes in pol
itics. It was a mere game for power between
Calhoun's friends and Smith's — Smith being
right in principle, according to Southern
views, yet losing the battle ; Calhoun wrong,
but winning it. At clubs and barbacues,
nevertheless, it was said and thought that
the fate of the republic depended on the re
sult of the contest. Its only true purpose
was to secure power and place to one or the
other party. There was nothing else at
issue. The condition of city politics was the same.
No vital interest was at stake. The town
was divided into two factions. The only
matter in dispute was whether- one or the
other should control the power and emolu
ments of the city government. The prom
inent leaders were Geddes and Hamilton.

94 Memoir of
Their friends resorted to the weapons that
patriots always use on such occasions. They
held meetings, heard speeches, ate dinners,
made toasts, and abused each other as hold
ing dangerous principles, and pursuing meas
ures injurious to the common welfare. They
formed processions with bands of music, as
sembled at the houses of their chiefs, and
drank all the liquor their luckless favorites
were able to furnish. Sometimes the bands
of dissenting patriots would encounter each
other in the streets, and exchange hard words
and brickbats. The peace of the city was in
peril. One party was abused as aristocrats,
the other as a rabble or mob. But there
was little difference between them ; they dif
fered on no important principles or purposes ;
they both bought votes at about equal prices^
and sought personal objects by simUar means.
The difficulties that awaited his legal ca
reer were not all that Mr. Petigru encounter
ed in his migration to the city. The family
had the usual troubles of a domestic nature,
not formidable, but not easy to endure. It
is hard to find a commodious house at a mod-

James L. Petigru. 95
erate rent, especially in Charleston, and this
was the first difficult problem they were call
ed upon to solve. For some months fhey
again found a temporary home with their
steadf^jpt friends, the Norths, who had pre
ceded them in removing their household gods
to the city.
It was during the time of their sojourn
with the doctor in Queen Street that their
second child was born, called Jane Caroline,
after Mrs. North. In two months from that
time they took possession of a house in King
Street, near Smith's Lane. The situation was
not desirable, and their next flight was to a
tenement on South Bay. The house has been
pulled down, to make room for the brick
mansion lately built by Russel Middleton,
president of the Charleston coUege. They
removed in no long time to another, residence
on South Bay, belonging to Mr. Peronneau,
next door tp Mrs. Grimke's, then Peter
Smith's. In this place their second son, Dan
iel, was born, taking the name of his god
father, Daniel E. Huger. Here the migra
tory family rested a longer time than on any

96 Memoir of
previous perch, but again sought another
home in Orange Street, nearly opposite to
James R. Pringle's. It was in this abode
that their youngest girl was added to their
household, now including two sons ajid two
daughters. Again they underwent a move. In the
year 1826 the family occupied. the house
now in the possession of Dr. Frost, in Broad
Street. The next year Mr. Petigru bought
the summer residence of Mr. John Middle-
ton, at the east end of SuUivan's Island, and
in 1828 the house at the comer of Broad and
Friend Streets, in the city. Here the family
migrations ceased. They had gone through
six moves, and three, they say, are equal to a
fire. From this time forward, with the reg
ularity of a pendulum, they oscillated from
the city to the island, and from the island to
the city. The only subsequent change for
many years was from the east end of SuUi
van's to the more convenient west end, where
Mr. Petigru took' a house from James Ham
ilton in exchange for a debt. In the sum
mer, on the island, overlooking the Atlantic,

James L. Petigru. 97
they escaped the dust and heat of the town,
and in the winter their abode in Broad Street
was open with the most genial hospitality to
all friends and distinguished strangers. The
master ofthe household seasoned his .dinners
with unfailing supplies of humor and wit,
which no one pretended to equal, and which
aU remembered with delight.
A sad event broke the ordinary flow of
Mr. Petigru's life during his city migrations,
and filled his heart with a sorrow from which
he never altogether recovered. He lost hirf
eldest chUd when eight years old by an ac
cident. The boy was of great promise — one
of those bright, intelligenf , affectionate spir
its that wrap themselves closely round a par
ent's heart, and fill his fancy with pictures
of the future, drawn in the freshest colors,
and adorned with all the promised flowers
that genius and virtue can bestow. These
anticipated scenes of affection and fancy were
crushed in a moment. The father and moth
er were absent for an hour; when they re
turned home it was to find their son a corpse.
He had fallen from the stairs in the third
E

98 Memoir of
story of the house occupied in Broad Street
.in the year 1826, and was taken up dead on
the lower floor. It was a terrible blow to
the father. For the rest of his life, on the
anniversary of the accident, during thirty-six
years, he withdrew from all society, and, in
the seclusion of his chamber, communed with
his ovni heart and was still. How the day
was passed no one knew except the Being
only to whom alone he could address his
thoughts on such an occasion. The grief
may be comprehended by those who have
cherished similar hopes, and seen them swept
away by the same cause, or in other modes
still more productive of unavailing sorrow.
It is said that calamities never come singly.
Two days only separated the death of Mr.
Petigru's son from that of his mother. He
had loved her all his life mth great tender
ness — with a tenderness that even Cowper's
similar devotion could not have surpassed.
She had lived a life of patient care and love,
had trained a large family in the paths of
moral duty, and had gone now to her re
ward. Her children reverenced her with

James L. Petigru. 99
deep affection, her eldest son most of all. He
was accustomed to say that he got from her
his constancy and perseverance, his sense of
duty, and respect for justice and truth. Her
lessons of virtue, daily taught and iUustrated
by persevering example, could not fail to
produce its fruits. She died at the age of
fifty-nine. Her eldest son, with his vnfe,
hastened to BadweU to give sympathy and
aid to the household. One brother had been
already helped to seek his fortunes in the
West; another was placed in the navy in
1812 ; a third, perhaps the most beloved by
his friends, was taken to Charleston, placed
at school, and afterward sent to West Point.
His sisters were all objects of his love and
attention. The three youngest were taken
home with him. He attended to their edu
cation, and watched over their future happi
ness with parental affection and judicious
solicitude, which continued even after they
were established in life. He was their guide,
philosopher, and friend. He bestowed on
mind and character the most gentle and del
icate culture. They were his companions.

100 Memoir of
with whom he spent his evenings at home in
pleasant intercourse.
No one loved home more than he, or had
the art, in a higher degree, of making it de
lightful to its inmates. He drew them out
vnth patient adroitness to express their
thoughts, and tr.ained them with considerate
skill to follow his lead, and to enjoy with
him the conversation of the most cultivated
minds. They felt and appreciated his nice
judgment and unwearied kindness. The
mind that was occupied all day with per
plexed questions of law, would g^ve itself up
in the evening to these lessons of joyous hu
mor and light pleasantry with his sisters at
home. They ministered to his little wants
during the day, and in the evenings they pre-
~sided, one or the other, over his tea. It is
not wonderful that the affection of the sis
ters should assume, as it did, a form of al
most idolatrous devotion, for never was
brother more faithful and constant in his
care. They are all mothers now, each with
the cares of a famUy on her heart, but they
still cherish a love for the departed brother

James L. Petigru. 101
which neither time nor circumstance seem
able to diminish.
One of these sisters has drawn, with a
ready pen and faithful memory, a picture of
the pleasant life she witnessed and shared
for some time in her brother's house. She
describes the common domestic day. Though
not a very early riser, her brother was early
enough to go to market before breakfast.
She accompanied him. He was induced at
first to adopt the practice for the purpose of
providin^feome select article for an invalid
wife, to whose comfort and enjoyment he
was always devoted with unfaUing tender
ness, even when her calls on his care, like the
caUs of other invalids, seemed neither mod
erate always nor reasonable. All enjoyments
gave way to her wishes. Except truth and
right, the strong wiU ofthe master was ready
to yield every thing to the suffering and
complaining mistress ofthe household. Her
desires controlled its pleasures.
The walk to market was followed by a
breakfast not luxurious in its arrangements.
A large cup of strong coffee, without sugar

102 Memoir of
or milk, was its chief enjoyment. The morn
ing was given to the office. At three he
brought home a friend to dinner whom he
had casually met — Hugh S. Legare, perhaps,
or William Harper, or William D. Martin.
The narrator tells with a delight stiU remem
bered and cherished of the wit and humor,
the abundant knowledge, wide range of
thought, and variety of subject that formed
the staple of their conversation, that of the
host exciting and directing all — of Martin,
always cheerful, and abounding itf' humorous
anecdote ; of Harper, with his rare combina
tion of subtle analysis ahd brilliant imagina
tion; of Legare, overflowing with classical
allusion, pungent criticism, and sparkling il
lustration, except when, in a sulky fit of surly
discontent with Nature or society, he would
sit brooding over the shortcomings of both in
reference to his particular claims and merits.
Then, after dinner, the host would go to the
law again tUl far in the night — eleven or
later ; but, late or early, his retum home was
without the appearance of weariness.
He was always prepared for chat and

James L. Petigru. 103
pleasantry. With his two cups of strong tea
and copious slices of sponge-cake that always
awaited him, he wo^ld talk, or listen to the
occurrences of the day that his companions
might have to relate. If he talked of books,
it was with such keen discrimination and
deUcate taste that he always seemed to catch
and unfold the spirit and beauty of the au
thor with unfaUing exactness. And so the
hours wore on, tUl some stroke of wit would
excite a burst of merriment, and provoke a
mandate from the chamber of the invaUd
mistress of the mansion to save candles and
go to bed. The partaker in these pleasant
companies and conversations wonders now
that she is unable to remember them more
niinutely. But pleasant conversations are al
ways evanescent to memory, like other beauti
ful things — the bright day ofthe past spring,
or the flowers of the summer that is gone.
This was the regular winter life ; the sum
mer on the island, as she describes it, was
stUl less marked with changes. A fiiend on
Sunday would share or relieve the monotony
and quiet of the day, or partake, on Satur-

104 Memoir of
day, of the fishing-party, when Mr. Petigru
gave the zest of his wit to the dinner, for
which the rest of the company furnished the
whiting or cavalli; for it must be admitted
that he was not a dUigent fisherman, nor
cared to cultivate, like his fiiend Elliott, the
art of harpoon, hook, or line, in deep or shaL
low water. *
He was an active and useful citizen on the
island, and always occupied in the weU-being
of its vUlage. He was especially devoted to
the Episcopal Church, which he took under
his charge, keeping in orderly condition its'
edifice and inclosure, and carefully extirpa
ting, often with his own hands, the intruding
weeds and grasses. In the services, in de
fault of a regular clerk to preside over the
music, he would persuade Mrs. Petigru some
times to give her aid and set the psalm or
hymn, which she did vnth no deficiency of
training. Mr. Petigru was not especially
adroit in matters of music any more than in
dancing, but never faUed to offer his com
mendations to the lady performer on aU such
occasions.

James L. Petigru. 105
I remember once to have heard these com
mendations made at his dinner-table, after
the service, to the great amusement of his
guests, and even of the lady herself, though
half disposed to scold at the quizzical tone
of the praises that were bestowed upon her
skill. He remarked on the short silence aft
er the hymn was announced, and the anxious
looking about of the congregation for a lead
er; then, he added, "arose Deborah — then
arose Deborah, a mother in Israel, and she
said, I, even I, will sing a song unto the Lord
in the congregation of Israel." Any one who
knew the usual appearance and manner of
Mrs. Petigru would find it difficult to repress
a smUe at the comparison between the solemn
prophetess in the host of the Hebrews and
the impulsive singer in the island church.
The affection which developed and guided,
as I have said, the character and mind of his
mother's children, was devoted with especial
tenderness to his own. His letters to them
while at school in New York and Philadel
phia are charming specimens of what such
letters should be. They are full of advice
E 2

106 Memoir of
that never degenerates into sour admonition ;
they abound in easy pleasantry that always
delights, playful criticism that never wounds,
praise kept within judicious limits, author
ity that exacts its dues with gentle firmness,
and suggestions for diligence drawn always
from high and generous motives. His requi
sitions of improvement are not small. He
inculcates carefully on one of his daughters
the necessity of cultivating the languages of
civUized Europe. One of these — the French
tongue — he says, is indispensable. Not to
know French implies an imputation in po
lite society. A liberal mind will not stop
short of others. German he consents to pass
over, notwithstanding its merits. But he ex
patiates on the language of Dante and Ari-
osto, and recommends Spanish, by all means.
as the stateliest daughter ofthe common par
ent of them all. As an incentive to the ao
quirement of this noble language, which he
presses on his youngest daughter with un
wearied assiduity, he promises to himself the
benefit of becoming her pupil as soon as she
gets home, where they will read Cervantes

James L. Petigru. 107
together, and enjoy what is held by liberal
scholars to be a sufficient reward for the stu
dent who acquires the Spanish tongue. It is
of this daughter that he writes to one of his
sisters at a subsequent period, saying, " I am
afraid that Sue will tum out to be a wit, not
withstanding my efforts to prevent it." If
he was very much in earnest in these efforts,
we need not nevertheless wonder at their
failure, since his example in his letters was
very greatly at variance with his precepts.
The scenes I have described of domestic
and professional life, though not without
their usual troubles, passed quietly enough
for ten years, so far as the strife of public af
fairs is concerned. But at the close of the
first decade a change began. Other actors
came on the scene. Monroe had been gath
ered to his political fathers. His era of peace
was at an end. New parties divided the
state, or old parties took new names. Mr.
Calhoun seized on the place of Judge Smith,
and assumed absolute sway in the State-right
school. The teachings of the old professor
had been vehement enough, but they, were

108 Memoir of
tame when compared with the fiery zeal pf
the young proselyte.
A new chapter was introduced into the
old creed, which the neophytes swore by, but
the ancient disciples and masters repudiated
as spurious, and denounced as full of danger
to the people's peace. Violent counsels be
gan to prevaU. The selfish spirit of the
North was not slow to furnish abundant ma
terials to increase the excited passions of
their neighbors. The tariff of 1828— the biU
of abominations — engendered, in due time,
the terrible chimera of nullification. It was
like Milton's Sin conceiving and bringing
forth Death. The political prodigy had few
admirers. The people started back in amazement at
the sight. It received little favor out of
South Carolina. Its advocates professed to
derive it from Virginia, but Virginia rejected
the strange birth as illegitimate. Georgia
abhorred it; Tennessee was ready to crush
it ; North Carolina abstained from all claims
of relationship or good-wiU. In South Caro
lina it separated friends ; it divided families ;

James L. Petigru. 109
it made neighbors foes. Serious enough in
its consequences throughout the state, it was
charged with double hate, and rage in her
commercial capital. Frequently the adverse
parties were arrayed against each other, and
on the eve of coming to blows. It wanted
but a single serious move to involve the
whole state in civU war. It is the first step
only, they say, that ever costs any thing;
but, luckUy for the peace of the country, the
first step was never taken.
The doctrine of nullification, from the
State-right school under the skiUful teaching
of Mr. Calhoun, professed to give a new rem
edy for aU the evUs of Federal misrule. To
the received safeguards against the abuses
of government — the ballot-box, the Supreme
Court, the power to amend the Constitu
tion by established modes — Mr. Calhoun in
troduced another, more efficacious than all
the rest. He taught that every state which
judged a law of the Federal govemment to
be unconstitutional was entitled, under the
Constitution, to call a convention of its own
people, pronounce the offending law to be

110 Memoir of
nulLand void, and prevent its execution with
in its own limits. The scheme was repre
sented as an admirable remedy, safe, speedy,
and effectual ; a peaceful one, having no sym
pathy with revolution or civil war; a pre
server, not a destroyer of the Union. It was
within the Constitution, not opposed to it.
The plan was so clearly just and useful
that the sister states could not faU to see in
it, after a time, the only safety-valve that was
able to preserve the govemment machinery
from the danger of probable explosion. It
was like offering a ship-master a smaU box,
to be carried in his cabin, which, on turning
a screw, would stop the winds, smooth the
waves, and rescue his ship frPm aU apparent
dangers. But, strange to say, the subtle rea
soning and sanguine promises of the chief of
nullification had no success with the people
outside' of his own school. Many even of his
old friends could not be brought to under
stand how a state might refuse to obey the
laws of the Union, and yet continue a mem
ber of it. They insisted that nullification
was revolution, and to call it any thing else

James L. Petigru. itl
was to cheat the people by fraudulent de
vices. It continued to receive no favor out
of the State of South Carolina, and to divide
her people.
It was some time before the line of demar
cation was finally drawn between friends
who, up to a certain point, had been acting
together as enemies of the tariff system, and
who were friends still reluctant to part. The
separation was retarded not only by old as
sociations not easily severed, but because
many, who took ground at last in the Union
ranks, had expressed strong views on the ne
cessity of vindicating the rights ofthe South.
They were averse to be driven into a seem
ing inconsistency on the one hand, or to an
extreme course on the other, which they could
not approve. They hesitated.
Colonel Drayton was one of these. It was
at the great dinner given in Hibernian Hall,
comprising men of aU views, that he was
called on to declare his opinions definitely.
The proceedings were so arranged that
McDuffie was made the prominent speaker
of the day. His speech was fiercely vehe-

112 Memoir, of
ment. He appealed pointedly to Colonel
Drayton as one of those who had drawn the
state into her then altemative of resistance
to the tariff laws, or tame submission to law
less authority. He quoted the speeches of
Colonel Drayton deUvered in Congress, full
of invective and menace, committing the state
to use force, if force were necessary, to main
tain her rights. The eloquent member from
Charleston had pledged the state to act ; did
he intend, it was asked, to redeem the pledge?
The speech was received with immense ap
plause. Hugh S. Legare fell into an ecstasy
of admiration, declaring that Kean himself
could not have equaled the action of the ora
tor in the finer passages of his speech. The
design was to draw or force Colonel Drayton
into the ranks of nullification; but the project
failed. Drayton was a proud, sensitive man.
He would not be schooled. It was in vain
that HamUtpn, his old friend, strove, at a sub
sequent meeting, to concUiate by expatiating
on the patriotism qfthe mortified and offend
ed chief The chief repudiated nuUiflcation,
thought he had been hardly dealt with, and

James L. Petigru. 113
betook himself flnally to the camp of the
Union party. This decision was considered,
or represented by his former friends, as a de
sertion of principle ; by his Union colleagues
as honest and honorable. It made the occa
sion for taking sides with the doubters, and
the two parties were formally opposed.
The offended self-esteem of Colonel Dray
ton led to unusual consequences. It rarely
happens in our country that a man is induced
to forswear his native land in consequence
of mere party disputes. It was reported to
be so, nevertheless, with him. He was so in
dignant at what he considered the Ul usage
and ingratitude of the democracy, that he
shook off the dust of his feet against them,
and departed from Charleston to a city of
higher pretensions in brotherly love.
It is certainly not pleasant to be refused
the votes we have been accustomed to re
ceive, and to encounter abuse where we ex
pected admiration ; but these things are the
common lot of public men, from which none
are exempt. Even Washington once swore
— for he swore sometimes — that, by  , he

114 Memoir of
would rather be in his grave than be sub
ject, as he was, to the virulent slanders of
the public papers. But he abandoned nei
ther duty, station, nor home for that reason.
The largest self-esteem may be content to fol
low the example. Colonel Drayton, it was
believed or said, thought otherwise.
There could be no doubt as to the position
that Mr, Petigru would occupy in reference
to these contending politicians. He took his-
place decidedly with the Union party. His
opinions were fully and definitely formed.
He understood thoroughly the evils of bro
ken government and disregarded laws. There
could be no hesitation on his part. Loving
his state, district, home ; appreciating them
at a value which none went beyond, and in
capable of abandoning them, he would nev
ertheless desire to see them as component
parts always of the great republic. The dis
ruption of the Federal Union was to him an
evil without remedy and without measure.
It was the source of incalculable dispute and
dissension, for which there could be no ar
biter but the sword. NuUification was rev-

James L. Petigru. 115
olution, and he saw nothing in the tariff or
in the condition of the country to justify or
excuse revolution. The protective principle
of the tariff had been supported and urged
in the first Congress of the United States —
the Congress of 1789 — by Southern delega
tions : by Burke of South Carolina, Jackson
of Georgia, Macon of the old North State,
and Madison of Virginia — by the men who
had been busiest in forming the Federal Con
stitution and urging its adoption. The pro
tective principle had been maintained and
saved from the attacks of the Northern com
mercial interest by Mr. Calhoun in 1816. To
call the tariff unconstitutional was therefore
absurd. And what just objection could be made to
the Federal government at all on the score
of expediency ? The whole effect of the gov
ernment, tariff not excepted, had been bene
ficial every where, .not to the North only, but
also to the Southern States. These states
have grown from a little more than a miUion
of people to eight mUlions, from four states
to fourteen. They have increased in wealth,

116 Memoir of
if not as rapidly as the North, yet with a
speed unexampled in any other country.
That the particular benefits derived from
manufacturing should not immediately reach
them was not surprising. They were agricul
tural states. But time would bring change,
manufactures would soon find their way to
the South, and ^^e should share amply in
whatever good they are able to bestow.
There was no cause, Mr. Petigru thought,
for revolution. The asseverations of barba
cues and stump orators that the Southem
people were slaves, that the Federal govem
ment was a tyrant, were nothing more than
the clamors of a disordered imagination, or
the fumes of a dinner's excitement. In the
contentions prevaUing in Congress he saw
nothing but conflicts for political power be
tween North and South. The Northern peo
ple had outstripped the Southern in popula
tion, and desired to see the offices of the gov
emment in Northern hands. This inevitable
result Mr. Lowndes saw clearly forty years
ago, and thought it wise for the South to
yield the hold she had so long possessed on

James L. Petigru. 117
political power when she was no longer able
to retain it. The time had come, but South
ern politicians refused to see its exigencies.
There was nothing then in the condition
of the country to caU for revolution, or ex
cuse a resort to it ; and, short of revolution,
the only remedy for bad laws is an appeal to
the votes of the people if the laws are op
pressive, or to the Supreme Court if they
are unconstitutional. Nullification was only
revolution in disguise. To say it was intend
ed or fitted to Dreserve the Union was to de
lude the people. The refusal to obey a law
would necessarUy bring into conflict those
who refuse to obey and those whose duty it
is to enforce the laws. To say that a state
might at pleasure repeal a law of the whole
Union, not only with safety, but with ad
vantage to it, is simply an absurdity. It was
a speculation of the closet, not a measure of
practical government. It would involve end
less disorder, and end inevitably in war. To
pass it off on the people as any thing else is
to cheat them into a snare.
Holding such opinions as these, and con-

118 Memoir of
vinced that the welfare and safety ofthe peo
ple were endangered by the madness of their
leaders, Mr, Petigru could not faU to be ut
terly opposed to nullification, secession, rev
olution, in all their phases. He had no con
fidence in men who assured the people that
civil war no longer implied bloodshed, that
revolutions are made in our ei3ightened age
with nothing but rose-water, and that, if old
adages exist that teach the contrary, these
adages are no longer true.
His correspondence is fuU of striking ex
pressions on the subject. In a letter of 1830,
he says to an old friend of the opposite par
ty, " You and I vnll never dispute much on
politics, and not at all on any thing else.
There is less difference between us than be
tween some who are on the same side. Nev
ertheless, we differ more than I ever supposed
we would about any thing. I am devUishly
puzzled to know whether my fiiends are
mad, or I beside myself Let us hope we
shaU-make some discovery before long which
will throw some light on the subject, and
give the people the satisfaction of knowing

James L. Petigru. 119
whether they are in their right minds. When
poor Judge W  used to fancy himself a
teapot, people thought he was hypochondriac;
but there are in the present day very good
heads fiUed with notions that seem to me not
less strange. That we are treated like slaves,
that we are slaves in fact, that we are worse
than slaves and made to go on all fours, are
stories that seem to me very odd, and make
me doubt whether I am not under some men
tal ecUpse, since I can't see what is so plain
to others. But I am not surprised that the
people have been persuaded they are Ul used
by the government. Old Hooker says, ' If
any man wiU go about to persuade the peo
ple that they are badly governed, he wUl not
fail to have plenty of followers.' And I am
inclined to think that the better the polity
under which men live, the easier it is to per
suade them they are crueUy oppressed."
Again, in another letter, he says, " You re
mark that in Beaufort you are all trying to
become more religious and more state-rights.
The connection between the two pursuits is
not so obvious at fir^t sight as it becomes on

120 Memoir op
a closer inspection ; for as it is the business
of religion to wean us from the world, the
object may be weU promoted by making the
world less fit to live in. And, although I do
not myself subscribe to the plan, I am fain
to confess many exceUent men have thought
that the making a heU upon earth is a good
way of being sure of a place in heaven. But
I am tired of harassing myself with public
affairs, and wish I could attend more closely
to my own, and had more of the taste for
gain — ^the sacra fames auri. But I am afraid
the bump of acquisitiveness is omitted with
me unaccountably, and that I might as weU
try for music or dancing as for state-rights
and faith in Jefferson, vvhich seem admirably
calculated to serve one in this world, what
ever it may do in the next."
Anxious as he was, notvrithstanding his
opinions, to devote himself to his profession
and his domestic affairs, he was not able to
resist the importunity of his personal and po
litical friends. There had been a severe con
test for the city government. Another was
pending for the House. ^^' We are about," he

James L. Petigru. 121
says, " to begin another canvass, which will
be more exasperated than the election of the
last intendant. I am in for it, according to
my usual luck. They have impressed me for
a senator — nothing less than impressment.
I resisted stoutly, and bawled lustily for help,
but none would help me, so nothing was to
be done but to take my place in the team.
* * * K I am elected, I shaU see much of
you in Columbia; for I suppose your election
is certain, since Beaufort, it is said, is .willing
to go the whole length of Govemor Miller's
course — •ballot-box, jury-box, cartouch-box.
I wish Elliott were here, where his sound
ness would be more appreciated than it is
among your insurging people. Strange,.too,
that Beaufort, the most exposed place in the
state, should be most eager to rush into dan
ger. But many ingenious gentlemen of my
acquaintance are seriously of opinion that
the same Yankees whom we now accuse as
shameless robbers, wpuld desist from hurting
us as soon as the Union is dissolved ; that
we should only have to do like an indignant
gentleman who turns his back on a man he
F

122 Memoir of
dislikes, and lives beside him for the rest of
his life avithout speaking and without fight
ing." To fit himself for the place in the team
which his friends had forced him into, not
withstanding his cries for help, Mr. Petigru
resigned the office of attorney general. It
proved to be an abandonment of the sub
stance for the shadow. He lost his election
for the Senate. The Nullifiers were too
strohg for him. His wish, however, in refer
ence to 'the office he had resigned was fully
gratified. He desired Hugh S. Legare to suc
ceed, and Legare was made attorney general.
The shrewd remark on the "insurging"
people of Beaufort, and their disregard to
danger, has found a striking commentary
among them in late events ; but the convic
tions of our Port Royal friends, unhappily,
led to no adequate measures of precaution
or defense, and the ruin of their pleasant
homes has been the consequence. They ei
ther lacked faith in their own creed, or their
practice and professed beUef have been sadly
at variance.

James L. Petigru. 123
It is not my purpose to write a history of
nullification, but to vindicate only the part
which Mr. Petigru took in relation to it. He
was not a man to mock his friends, or to sus
tain a cause with a show only of assistance.
He gave the whole force of his mind and
character to the Union party. He aided them
with his pen and with numerous popular
speeches, sustained them by his professional
learning and ability,, and was the soul of
their councUs.
His party was supported by two papers —
the City Gazette and the Courier. The first
was under youthful and able auspices; the
last, always too wise under Willington's sole
control to lose moderation in party excite
ments, was now giving warm and vigorous
utterances under a junior editor. To both
organs Mr. Petigru imparted his active and
efficient aid.
His addresses to the people were master
pieces of vnt and humor. Richard Yeadon,
his friend and fellow-laborer, spoke of them
as models of popular eloquence. They were
poured out in an unbroken torrent of pithy

124 Memoir of
reasoning and pointed illustration. He never
wanted logic or wit, sarcasm, apt allusion,
apothegm, or story. In one of these speeches,
at a meeting of the people in a neighboring
parish, he inculcated strongly the danger that
the states would incur from powerful foes if
the Union were dissolved, which alone con
stituted their strength and safety. " I see,"
he said, " some broad-shouldered and deep-
chested men among you, but who of this as
sembly would undertake, with, all his mus
cular power, to strip off at a single pull, vnth
both hands, all the hair from the taU of one
of your horses that stand hitched behind you
among the trees. It would be impossible for
the strongest. But the weakest among you,
if he takes the hairs one by one, might pull
them all out easily, and leave the stump at
last as bare as his hand. It is thus that dis-
union would expose you to be stripped by
enemies that you now despise." After the
speech, Yeadon said to the speaker, " Where
did you get your horse's tail ? Was it an in
vention ofthe moment, produced by the sight
of the countrymen's horses ?" " Not at all.

James L. Petigru. 125
Dick," was the answer; "I got the horse
tail from Plutarch. The tail is classical, my
friend." Mr. Petigru was an active participant and
director in the party's councils, and never
faUed, whUe he sustained its cause, to "lend
his influence in preserving the endangered
peace ofthe country. The peace was in peril
always from the public meetings of the two
parties. These meetings were held by the
Union men at Seyle's Long Room,'between
Meeting Street and King; by the NuUifiers
at the Circus. At these places they were
addressed by their several leaders. The most
inflammatory speeches were made night after
night. The rank and file denounced, ridi
culed, reviled each other. On. one side the
popular tribunes were HamUton, Hayne,
Turnbull, Deas, Pinckney, and many more ;
on the other, Petigru, Poinsett, Drayton, Hu
ger, Yeadon, and their assistants. To one
side the epithets submissionist, slave, sneak,
coward, renegade, were freely applied; on
the other, with equal civility, the terms Jaco
bin, madman, fool, conspirator, were as liber-

126 Memoir op
ally bestowed. And so they went on, utter
ing phrases of contemptuous scorn with rival
zeal and earnestness, and equally destitute
bf sense or meaning.
This reciprocation of complimentary lan
guage could not fail to produce its natural
effect. Where lighted torches are thrown
about at random by many reckless hands, it
is not easy to escape conflagration. One
night especially brought the parties to the
verge of initiating a civU war that would
have spread through the state with infinite
disaster. They had met as usual. Some
were armed ; others excited with liquor, aU
with passion. The customary harangiies
were made, and a large amount of fuel sup
plied to their patriotic fires.
The leaders began to be apprehensive of
the consequences of their own work. The
Circus sent a note to the Long Room advis
ing, as a prudential measure, that the Union
men should retire from their meeting by the
way, not of King Street, but of Meeting
Street. King Street was the outlet of the
Circus assembly. The purpose of the mis-

James L. Petigru. 127
sive was a friendly one, to avoid a coUision
between the two bands. The object met the
approbation of the Union chiefs. The note
was read to the meeting, with the hope that
its suggestion would be followed. Nothing
of the sort. " What !" it was said, " shall
they dictate to us by what route we shaU
retire to our homes ? Would they make us
the slaves they already caU us? Who wUl
submit ? Not one,"
The way by Meeting Street was wide and
easy; that by King Street narrow. They
tore down fences to go out by the King Street
outlet ; tied slips of white homespun to their
arms for recognition, and marched dow:fi
King Street, breathing defiance to their ene
mies. They met, the Union men going down,
the Nullifiers going up the street. They
stood in battle array, ardent for flght, and,
like Homer's heroes, began the onset by
abusing each other.
But, fortunately, common sense and right
feeling had not quite deserted the leaders.
They made attempts to keep the peace, and
finally agreed among themselves to a sort of

128 Memoir op
compromise. The hostUe meeting occuiTed
just at the point where Hazel comes into
King Street. It was agreed that the Union
party should turn into Hazel Street, provided
that the Nullifiers did not foUow them. But
the compact was not kept. The insurgent
party pursued their foes. Brickbats were
thrown. Petigru, Poinsett, Drayton, were
struck, but were prudent enough to keep the
fact from the knowledge of their followers.
At length the city guard was manceuvred
into a position between the belligerent par
ties, and they retired to their homes or the
taverns to recount the exploits of the even
ing, and prepare new broUs for the future.
The public-spirited gentlemen who com
posed the mass of the two parties kept up
their agreeable interchange of courtesies for
many months. At their furiously-contested
election for the intendency ofthe city, as the
mayor's office was then called, the candidates
were James R. Pringle and Henry L. Pinck
ney. Pringle, the Union candidate, was vic
torious. Forthwith Hamilton convened what he

James L. Petigru. 129
called a rally, ahd prepared his defeated
forces for the next contest. The next con
test was in the choice of members to the
Legislature. Mr. Petigru was " impressed,"
as he termed it, for the Senate, and was
obliged to take " his place in the team." His
opponent was Colonel Richard Cunningham.
The parties supporting them resorted to ev
ery device, fair or foul. They bribed with
money, with promises of office, with liquor
and riotous living. They had their lock-up
houses, where voters were imprisoned for
days before the election, and kept continual
ly drunk to secure their votes. Each prison
had its keeper, responsible for the safe cus
tody .of his captives. Thousands of dollars
were contributed by patriotic gentlemen and
ladies to defray the expenses of these salu
tary provisions for the freedom of elections
and the welfare of the people. The city was
,a model republic for the time being, with no
shadow of difference between the two par
ties in the purity of their proceedings. The
result was the success of Colonel Cunning
ham and the NuUifiers. F2

130 Memoir op
HamUton's rally had been the grand ma
noeuvre ofthe war, and the Union party was
finaUy defeated in South Carolina. It was
a sad sight then to look upon the long faces
of certain gentlemen — gentlemen who hun
gered and thirsted after office, whose only
thought was how to secure the spoUs, and
who, in joining the losing party, had unluck
ily miscalculated the chances, and missed the
side they intended to take — the side of suc
cess. They vowed to make no more mis
takes, and made none. As it was, they were
careful to play a safe game in the Union
cause ; they ran no personal risks, and gave
no money.
During this desperate contest, men on ei
ther side were not wanting whose voices
were " still for war," and who scorned to lose
their time "in duU debate" — ^brave spirits
who caUed for blood, and who refused to be
comforted, not because their former friends
in the opposite ranks had abandoned them,
but because they could not put the erring
culprits to the sword. But, fortunately for
the state, these good-tempered gentlemen

James L. Petigru. 131
were not in the ascendant with either party.
Gentler counsels prevaUed, and their success
was principally due to the cordial relations
existing between Petigru on the one side,
and HamUton on the other. They were the
chief preservers of the peace of South Caro
lina. Others were ready to aid them — men
as willing as they to labor for the welfare
and safety of the people, but not enjoying,
like them, a commanding influence over the
hearts and minds of their parties. It is not
too much to say that if the counsels of other
leading men on either side had prevailed at
a certain period in the controversy, a wretch
ed civU war of carnage and tears would have
desolated the state. The two leaders that I
have named, and their supporters, deserved
a civic crown for saving the life, not of a cit
izen, but of a people.
The co-operation of HamUton and Petigru
in the state, and the compropiise at Washing
ton urged by Clay and accepted by Calhoun,
restored peace to South Carolina. The frenzy
ceased, Plantefrs again took interest in their
cotton-fields and lawyers in their briefs. The

132 Memoir of
feuds subsided after a few years. Nullifiers
and Union men were found on the same tick
ets for the Legislature, aiid the danger of rev
olution for the time being passed away from
the people.
Mr. Petigru rejoiced to escape from the
tribune to the pursuits of his profession, to
his books, and the enjoyments of social life.
He detested the dissension and division
among friends which the controversy had
enforced. He felt it deeply. In a letter to
one of his sisters, in June, 1832, he says,
" Poor Judge Prioleau is despaired of He
has had a second stroke of palsy. He was
taken on Monday afternoon, and is speech
less, but sensible. It is really very distress
ing — one of the best men in the relations of
domestic life that I ever knew, one whom I
so much esteemed and have been so intimate
with, and now he is going to die, and these
cursed politics have made me almost a stran
ger to him." He could not but abhor the
disputes producing such evils, and springing,
as he believed, from no substantial causes,
but from the ambition of politicians North

James L. Petigru. 133
and South, and the reckless lust of power
and office. He valued office fi'eely given by
the people, but he hated the office that vio
lence bestowed.
In the quiet produced by the compromise,
the old discussions, once so vehement, died
away, or reappeared in a form that excited
amusement rather than anger. The amuse
ment came often from the court-house. It
was a part of Mr. Petigru's character never
to desert a friend — to be always ready to
defend and assist one who had done his duty
faithfully under a common flag. If an old
Union man got into a scrape, his former
leader was never backward to extend to him
a hand of encouragement or assistance.
It was in this way that he gave his pro
fessional aid some time afterward to an old
Union man, in the case of the State versus
James Clark. It was imputed to Clark that
he was of negro blood. Mr. Petigru defend
ed his claims to citizenship and political
rights. After one or two witnesses had been
heard on the part of the state, Captain Rear-
den, a portly man, with a broad, good-hu-

134 Memoir op
mored face, was placed on the stand. The
attorney general, Baily, inquired whether the
witness knew James Clark. " Certainly,"
he replied ; " know him well." " Is he a
white man ?" " No." " Do you know his
mother ?" " Yes." " What is she, white or
negro ?" " Nigger." And the examination
ended on the part of the state. Mr. Petigru
then commenced the cross-examination in his
usual deliberate fashion. " Captain Rear-
den, I am told that you have the honor to
fill a number of important offices in the serv
ice of the state." " Don't know what you
mean, Mr. Petigru." " Well, then, to be more
definite, you hold the commission of captain
of a company in the militia of South Caro
lina ?" " Yes, sir ; held it ever since I was
twenty-one." " Has Jim Clark ever tumed
out in the ranks under your command?"
" Always, sir ; never missed ; regular as any
body." "Very well. You are one of the
managers of election also, I believe. Captain
Rearden ?" " Just so ; always am ; they wUl
appoint me at Columbia all I can do."
" Have you ever, while serving as manager.

James L. Petigru. 135
received Jim Clark's vote at the polls?"
'i Certainly, sir; he always votes punctual,
just like he musters ; never fails." " That wUl
do," said Petigru ; " I have nothing more to
ask." " But, sir," the captain replied, hur
riedly, suspecting something amiss — "stop,
sir ; maybe you don't understand ; let me ex
plain, sir. In our parish every body musters
and every body votes except the field-hands.
That is the reason, sir, the Union party, you
know, always beat us at elections." The ex
planation was made with perfect simplicity.
The captain merely assigned the mode in
which his party was defeated, without sus
pecting apparently that there was any thing
amiss in it. It was the approved custom of
his parish, against which he had no notion of
protesting, but was anxious only that Mr.
Petigru should understand the nature and
extent of their privileges.
The restless spirit which had threatened
to overthrow the republic took a new direc
tion, and displayed itself in another form,
A rage for speculating in land sprung
up and extended over the whole country.

136 Memoir of
Men, women, and children, clergy and laity,
plunged into the current flowing with prom
ises of universal wealth. The mania raged
for a year or two, untU the recurrence of a
commercial crisis, vnth its customary thun
ders and lightnings, purified the atmosphere,
and left all parties astonished, dismayed, and
ruined. Mr. Petigru did not escape the general
calamity. He had taken no active part in
the delusion, but he had lent himself to the
partnership of sanguine friends who thought
they held the purse-strings of fortune — men
who prefer to drink, as Horace tells us, from
a great river rather than a humble spring,
and who are snatched away in consequence,
and buried in the headlong stream.
Some years previous to this period Mr.
Petigru had engaged in the ordinary and
legitimate proceeding of investing his pro
fessional profits in a plantation and negroes.
It was the approved Carolina custom in clos
ing every kind of career. No matter how
one might begin, as lawyer, physician, clergy
man, mechanic, or merchant, he ended, if pros-

James L. Petigru. 137
-perous, as proprietor of a rice or cotton plan
tation. It was the condition that came near
est to the shadow of the colonial aristocracy
which yet remained.
Mr. Petigru prepared to do what all the
world was doing. His friends favored and
urged the undertaking for another reason.
They wished to get him in debt for part of
the purchase-money. His generosity wa§ so
profuse as to call for restraint, and it was
hoped in this way to circumscribe its limits.
Nothing else could. The goddess Prudence
' exercised no control over his mode of man
aging his affairs. The sterner divinity. Ne
cessity, might be more imperious and success
ful. He could never be got to cease giving
without measure except to provide for a just
debt, and his friends wished to see him in
debt. But the old spirit took another form
only, and merely added a fresh class to its
list of beneficiaries.
The negroes on the plantation became
objects of his liberality. They had new
houses with brick chimneys provided for
them. They were abundantly fumished vnth

138 Memoir op
clothes, shoes, food, and physic. Pigs were
permitted to run about where they never
ran before, and, like the French under Henry
the Fourth, the slaves of the new proprietor
could have had, in each family, a fowl in the
pot every Sunday of the year, if they had
not chosen to sell their poultry in the neigh
boring city for articles of more questionable
valtie, but which they greatly preferred. The
slaves became sleek, fat, and proprietors in
their way, and the master took pleasure in
seeing the result of his rule.
But, after all their emoluments, with the*
necessary plantation expenses, had been fair
ly deducted from the harvest returns, the
balance was not encom'aging, even when the
crops were good. After a few years of grow
ing interest in this mode of life, the catas
trophe that afflicted the country swept away
the estate. When it began to assume the
aspect of a pleasant winter residence to his
family, it was sold to meet the losses that
had been brought about by the magnificent
speculations of his friends in southwestern
lands. The plantation was agreeably situ-

James L. Petigru. 139
ated on the south bank of the river, below
Savannah, where the land, of considerable
height, takes a semicircular sweep from the
city eastward, leaving the broad and level
rice-fields subject to overflow between the
high land and the stream. The property
passed from the luckless proprietors into the
possession of Mr. Higham, of Charleston, and
ceased to excite the cares or benevolence of
its former owner.
But this was not all the evil that flowed
from the overthrow of sanguine or imprudent
speculations. The sacriflce of the estate on
Savannah River was not enough to meet the
owner's losses. A large debt remained. It
was a terrible calamity to one no longer
young, with many claimants on his love and
help. Yet it was encountered with manly
energy, and, after years of unwearied exer
tion, the debt was paid. It required toU
which few could have borne, and which none
but men of high honor would have under
taken to perform. His labors were various
and widely diffused, sometimes in Columbia,
sometimes in Milledgeville, in Washington,

140 • Memoir op
in Cincinnati, wherever professional engage
ments called him. Through severe cold in
winter and heat in summer, he toUed on, with
unflinching will and iron constitution, until
he touched the goal that he had resolved to
reach or perish in the attempt — he paid ev
ery thing. He was more happy in this than
Sir Walter Scott, who devoted his life to the
same object with a similar spirit, but devoted
it in vain.
In this hard pinch of his fortunes steadfast
friends were ready to stand by him — to
pledge themselves and risk their fortunes in
his aid. It is only a noble nature that is
able to excite deep sympathy and devoted
attachment among friends and associates.
One of these, an old neighbor in the city,
prompt at a moment's notice in venturing
his whole property to stay the impending
ruin, thought it a duty first to consult vnth
another person — the partner of his household
and life, and deeply interested, Uke himself,
in the risk and the result. Her reply was,
without an instant's hesitation, " Go on ; sus
tain -the man whom you had taken to your

James L, Petigru, 141
bosom as a friend, and who is worthy to be
so ; encounter any risk ; I am ready to join
you in meeting the consequences, whatever
they may be." These are the acts and na
tures that disarm the sarcasm of the French
philosopher's sneering maxims, and redeem
our race from his sarcastic scorn.
It may enable us to form some conception
of the laborious and harassing occupations
that engaged Mr. Petigru's attention in the
struggle to restore his fortunes if we advert
to one case alone, the claim of Trezevant on
the State of Georgia, which he urged on the
Legislature at Milledgeville, session after ses
sion, for many years. Legislatures are sus-
xpicious always of demands on the public
purse ; they are prone to procrastinate ; they
are uncertain in coming to a conclusion, and
are liable to change. They are not remark
able for wisdom, notwithstanding the convic
tions they cherish on that interesting subject
in their own behalf It was required of him
that he should persevere under delay and re
jection; exercise patience when pressed by
unreasonable opposition; be courteous and

142 Memoir of
conciliating in return for rudeness, and wear
a cheerful and confident air, notwithstanding
discouragements of every kind.
This he did, year after year, for many
years, and at last obtained, by persistent so
licitation, as a favor, what he might justly
have demanded as a right. It was a hard
task for a temper impatient of wrong, of the
dullness of dunces, and the devices of dema
gogues ; but the importance of the end in
view enabled him to exercise the forbearance
that secured success.
It might have changed the current of his
fortunes, and removed him from the influ
ences which led to their embarrassment and
the consequences if he had been raised to
the bench of the Supreme Court of the Unit
ed States on the death of Justice Johnson,
of South Carolina. Mr. Petigru was, beyond
all doubt, the fittest man in all respects to
fiU the vacant place. But when does the
political ruler appoint the fittest man, or con
sult the common weal rather than tha inter
ests of party ? The State of South Carolina
would give nothing tp Jackson's dynasty;

James L. Petigru. 143
Georgia was loyal and zealous to do his will,
and a Georgia member of Congress, with
strong claims of a political nature only, was
placed on the vacant seat by the side of
Marshall and Story. The appointment of
Petigru would have added fresh laurels to a
court already illustrious for great abUity,
learning, and virtue.
It was fortunate for Mr. Petigru's purpose
of restoring his fortunes, so seriously injured
in the convulsions produced by inordinate
speculation in 1837, that the repose of the
country continued unbroken for many years.
The restless spirit of South Carolina was
again aroused, it is true, in 1850, under the
counsels of Governor Seabrook, but nothing
serious ensued. The cry for change raised
by the politicians was not sustained by the
people. They rejected the project that a
single state should abandon the Confederacy.
They were not quite prepared for this ex
tremest remedy of the Constitution, and the
peace of the country was preserved for ten
years more.
But it is impossible for states with inde-

144 Memoir op
pendent governments to remain at peace per
manently un^er any circumstances, however
fortunate. No identity of race, of language,
of interest, is sufficient to preserve their unity
or co-operation. The several peoples of an
cient Greece, in a territory hardly greater
than South Carolina, divided into states no
larger than an ordinary American county,
speaking the same tongue, of the same lin
eage, bound together by common games, ora
cles, and councUs, were nevertheless perpet
ually at war with each other. It is usual to
ascribe these endless dissensions among coun
tries or communities to reasons of state, or
natural developments of growing power. The
true and only causes are ambition, pride, van
ity, hatred, rhalice, and all uncbaritableness.
These passions creep into the hearts of coin-
munities, and curse their councils. They nev
er fail to find any where ingenious or plausi
ble reasons for revolution. The first revolt-
er discovered ample causes in heaven itself
He is the prototype of his tribe. If the nar
rative of his deeds be divinely inspired, it is
a lesson and warning from heaven ; if it be

James L. Petigru. 145
a myth, as some are disposed to think it, it is
the embodied common sense of mankind, and
sufficiently authoritative.
Yet, clear and conclusive as the lesson
seems, it has no effect, Christianity exer
cises no restraining influence. It may be
doubted whether any war or revolution was
ever arrested or delayed by religious consid
erations. The positive precept, "Let every
soul be subject to the powers that be, for the
powers that be are ordained of God," seems
conclusive enough, but it is an unmeaning
phrase. The clergy are foremost always with
an easy explanation, showing that any thing
else but submission to authority and law is
intended by the apostle. The most solemn
compact between states is assailed by ambi
tion and pride, and perishes "as flax that
falls asunder by the touch of fire," and no
pulpit censures, or protests, or dissuades.
The case is curious and amusing, as well as
deplorable, in Christian churches.
And so' it has been with us, and so it will
continue to be. We flatter ourselves that
our Southern Confederacy will present an
G

146 Memoir of
example of truer amity, and closer and more
lasting union. There is no just cause for the
expectation ; no warrant in history, reason, or
our own experience. We think slavery wUl
be a bond of union. Were not Sparta,
Athens, Thebes, slaveholders, and constant
and deadly enemies nevertheless? WiU
there be any lack among us of rapacious, un
principled d.emagogues? Have we known
the time when there have been no eager traf
fickers among us for power and office ? In a
word, is there no pride, vanity, or ambition
in the Southern States ? If there is not, they
will be safe from dissension, but not other
wise. To induce the simple people to plunge into
the volcanic fires of revolution and war, they
were told that the act of dissolution would
produce no opposition of a serious nature ;
that not a drop of blood would be spiUed ;
that no man's flocks, or herds, or negroes, or
houses, or lands would be plundered or de
stroyed; that unbroken prosperity would
follow the ordinance of secession ; that cot
ton would control all Europe, and secure

James L. Petigru, 147
open ports and^oundless commerce with the
whole world for the Southem States.
To such views Mr. Petigru was- unaltera
bly opposed. He thought these schemes and
opinions delusive. He was convinced that
war, anarchy, military despotism, would in
evitably follow a dissolution of the Union ;
that secession would impart to the Abolition
party a power over slavery that nothing else
could give them — a power to make war on
Southern institutions, to proclaim freedom to
the negro, to invoke and command the sym
pathy and aid of the whole world in carry
ing on a crusade on the Southem States.
This was the long-sought purpose of the
Abolitionists, which nothing but a broken
confederation could enable them to reach.
Secession threw into the abolition service
the whole mUitary power of the North, It
forced into their ranks all parties of every
description. Democrat as well as Republican,
It secured to Seward's agents in Europe the
ear of all its governments, who were prepared
to regard Lincoln's proclamation of liberty to
the negro as a sublime act of benevolence
and wisdom.

148 Memoir of
Mr, Petigru saw that bankruptcy would
follow war; that public fraud would find
advocates in Richmond as well as in Wash
ington. He opposed these schemes of *dis-
order which have desolated the South, Their
projectors professed to protect her from pos
sible evUs, and involved her in present and
terrible disasters. The people were discon
tented at seeing rats infesting the granaries
of Southern industry, and were urged to set
fire to the four corners of every Southern
barn to get rid of the vermin. They were
alarmed at attacks on slavery by such men
as John Brown and his banditti, and pro
posed, as a remedy, to rush into war with the
armed hordes of the whole world. For a
bare future contingency they proposed to en
counter an enormous immediate evil.
Mr. Petigru looked with horror on a delib
erate plunge into civU war and its crimes, for
which he could see no sufficient cause. How
could there be a sufficient cause? There
was none, he thought, in the election of Lin
coln. It was the result of many influences
and accidents — the feebleness of Buchanan's

James L. Petigru. 149
administration, the divisions of the Demo
cratic party, the insubordination of one or
two ambitious leaders in the North, the eager
aspirations of others in the South — these
causes produced the defeat ofthe Democratic
party. It was well known that the Repub
lican nominee had been elected by a minor
ity; his position was unstable. The next
general election would overturn his party.
In the mean time, their conscious weakness
would compel them to conciliate. Any at
tempt on their part to assail the chartered
rights of states was as improbable as an at
tack on the government of France or En
gland. Nothing was needed but a little pa
tience, without which no human institutions
can go on. Opvnionum commenta deht dies
— ^time destroys the falsehoods of opinion,
and the wise statesman waits for the salutary
influences of time.
To assume that the South had reached a
position when it became necessary, for a pos
sible distant evil, to encounter the chances
of a war, with all the world against her, was
to insist that she should stake her existence

150 Memoir op
on a remote contingency merely. He saw in
'all this, not wisdom, but the mere madness
of ambition and wounded vanity, the repeti
tion of what had deluded mankind since their
creation, and destroyed states and empires
without end. It was only another example
of aspiring spirits devising plausible reasons
for disorder that they might rule the tem
pest of their own contriving.
The people understood and appreciated
Mr. Petigra. They elected him, during the-
tumult and dissension of secession, to the
most important trust and the largest salary
in their gift. He was chosen in the Legis
lature to codify the state laws — to reduce
them to exactness, precision, and perspicuity.
Notwithstanding his irony and satire, some
times playful, sometimes cutting enough, they
continued to elect him till the work was
complete. His freedom of speech never shook
the confidence of the people for a moment,
nor was their favor able to stop or restrain
the freedom he was accustomed to exercise.
He sold his time, but not his liberty to form
opinions on public affairs and express them

James L. Petigru. 151
freely. He never shifted his saUs to catch
the popular breath. I am not sure that an
other example can be found in the country
of a man absolutely opposed to the creed of
the people, and elected by them nevertheless
to important and lucrative positions. It says
much for the man's abUity and character,
and something, too, for the magnanimity and
judgment of the people. Very rarely has a
state pursued so enlightened and generous a
course. The important work intrusted by the Leg
islature to Mr. Petigru was completed dur
ing the session of 1862. To expedite the
completion ofthe code, Mr. Petigru had made
his residence in Summerville, about twenty
miles from the city. He was at this time
vnthout a home. His house in Broad Street
had been burned in the great fire of Decem
ber, 1861, which swept over Charleston, from
river to river, vnth immense destruction. His
house on Sullivan's Island was puUed down
to make room for one of the island forts.
The air of Summerville is pleasant, and had
been beneficial to Mrs. Petigru. Ii lies on

152 Memoir op
the railroad, and is of easy access, while re
moved from the distractions of the town.
He fixed his abode in Summerville, and de
termined to buUd a house, and make it his
permanent residence, if circumstances would
permit. The aid of two or three assistants,
authorized by law, and the help of a young
friend, wto offered her services to him in his
writing at the close of his work, enabled him
to finish, in this quiet retreat from city in
terruptions, the contribution required by the
state, and due, it has been said, by eveiy man,
to his profession in some form or other. His
code is not only a compilation of the laws,
but embraces such changes in their language
as may be necessary to impart sufficient
clearness and precision. The work, when
completed, he wished to present, with an ad
dress, to the Legislature, and afterward to
commissioners appointed to receive it at a
private house. But failing health prevented
both attempts, and his life was prolonged
but a little way beyond this last important
effort of his ability and perseverance.
It would prove, from this toilsome work

James L. Petigru. 153
alone, to be a very imperfect account of a
lawyer in large practice that should not say
something more of his professional character.
The originality and breadth of his liberal
mode of dealing with his clients of certain
classes I have already adverted to. His gen
erosity was not confined to his personal
friends, nor to those who needed his serv
ices and could illy afford to pay for them,
nor to others who had once met his early ef
forts to advance in life with encouragement
and kindness. The extent of his gratuitous
services was greater than this. Not only in
dividuals, but corporations received aid from
him without being permitted to pay for them.
These corporate bodies are said to have no
soiUs, and were treated as liberally by him
as though they had. One, of them, the Blue
Ridge RaUroad, was involved in many troub
les. It had been fleeced by sharpers who
regarded public societies as natural objects
of common plunder. The company had lit
erally fallen among thieves. It was pursued,
in various courts of different states, for large
sums never earned by the claimants,
G2

154 Memoir of
Mr. Petigru defended the injured party
with' indefatigable zeal and great success.
The president of the company presented a
check for a large amount, with a regret that
the sum offered was not larger. The check
was returned. It was pressed, but in vain.
The defendants had been vnonged, and that
was enough to command the sympathy and
services of their counsel. He was immova
ble in refusing a fee. He had subscribed to
shares in the raUroad, Installments were
uncalled for and unpaid. It was proposed
by the company to give him credit for the
whole amount. The new proposition was
rejected like the former, and a check was pre
sented by the counsel to the company for the
unpaid installments. And this came from
one not overflowing with money, and having
many purposes for all he could command.
He was invincible, on all such occasions, at
every attempt that would induce him to
change his opinions or practice. He was as
resolute to reject provoking gold, in certain
cases, as other men are ready and eager to
receive it. To refuse a fee of a thousand

James L. Petigru. 155
dollars as too little for important services we
can easUy understand, but to insist on re
ceiving nothing, to render service with no
pay at all, is a mode of doing business some
what at variance- with ordinary bar experi
ence. Its members will not imitate it uni
versally, and corporate bodies need not fear
to see their fees returned upon, their hands* as
often as they desire to pay them. - ,_
In every case where the unprotected had
fallen victims to the power and influence of
society, and had been dealt with by Judge
Lynch after his usual fashion, the sufferers
never failed to receive the ready and resolute
protection of Mr. Petigru's legal abilities. A
stranger, by the name of Smalley, was one of
these. He was a Northern man, and was
engaged in cutting timber near Ashepoo.
Strong suspicions got abroad that he had
large abolition proclivities. He was accused
of improper acts and words, and certain geu'
tlemen of wealth and station in the neigh
borhood seized the man, tied and whipped
him, vnth little regard to any judge but
Judge Lynch. It was an outrage that roused

156 Memoir of
at once the sympathy of Mr. Petigru and his
strong sense of justice. He carried the case
through the courts, with such appeals to
truth and right as to overcome the preju
dices which prevaUed in the state, and had
made possible such acts of disgraceful vio
lence. The eloquence of the advocate vindi
cated the righis ofthe victim, and maintained
the dignity of order and law.
It was not the custom of Mr. Petigru to
oppress and browbeat those called on to give
evidence in court. The common and dis
graceful custom of the bar is to bully the
witnesi, and to insinuate falsehood in an op
posing party. If Mr. Petigru was severe in
sifting testimony, it was only when he sus
pected unfairness in the evidence. His skill
was remarkable in cross-examinations. He
was dexterous especially in eliciting truth
where truth indeed was intended, but the
witness was nevertheless unconsciously draw
ing his inferences from hearsay only, and not
from direct information.
An example of this kind was exhibited in
an interesting case where a respectable wom-

James L. Petigru. 157
an was represented in court as carrying about
her that unpardonable sin — a drop of black
blood in her veins. She was of French de
scent, and a countryman was called upon to
give evidence in the case and conflrm the
charge. His belief was fixed, but it was
founded on rumors, not on personal knowl
edge. The witness- was none the less posi
tive on that account. He had no doubt on
the subject. Even in a church, he said,
frequented by the lady asserted to be of
doubtful blood, she was not permitted to
-sit in pews occupied by whites, but restrict
ed to the space set apart for other classes.
How could the jury doubt after that ? But,
before the inference is accepted, the fact, as
asserted by the witness, must be admitted to
be true. Was he stating what he knew?
Had he repeated a report, not described a
scene he had witnessed? It was soon de
termined by the counsel when cross-examin
ation began. Mr. Petigru stood for a mo
ment with a serious air, and his left hand
stroking his chin, when suddenly he said to
the witness, " Mr. C  , have you ever been

158 Memoir of
at church?" The vntness was astonished
and uneasy, " Sir," he repUed, " that is not
a proper question, I wUl not answer that
question." But it was urged that he should
answer, and an appeal was made to the Bench,
The judge very blandly but decidedly de
termined that the question was a proper one,
and must be answered, Th.e witness resist
ed stUl, He threw himself on the judge's
favorable consideration. He said he was in
a serious dilemma ; for if he replied to the
question that he was never at church, he
would become odious in the eyes of his coun
trymen as an atheist and despiser of relig
ious rites ; if, he added, I answer that I have
been at church, then, on the other hand, I
shaU say what is not true. His examiner
assured him that no farther reply was neces
sary. It is the lot of aU lawyers in these
forensic attacks to meet with embarrassing
retorts. It was not otherwise vnth Mr, Peti
gru, and an apt or shrewd question some
times formed the witness's reply to the as
saults on his testimony, delighting the bar
and the idlers who frequent a court as they
would a cock-pit or bear-garden.

James L. Petigru. 159
The depth and extent of Mr. Petigru's at
tainments in every department of legal sci
ence were especially manifested by that class
of causes which involve the first principles
of jurisprudence, and perplex unlearned coun
sel and judges. The subtlety and compre
hensiveness of his mind suffered nothing to
escape him. His reading was great among
authorities where ordinary lawyers are least
accustomed to look, and the foundations of
their science are most certainly found. In
discussing one of these searching questions
on the limits and principles of law, he has
been described by a colleague at the bar-
meeting that followed his death as having
carried to the court a cart-load of law author
ities. The fact is the more significant, as the
advocate producing them was never ostenta
tious of his books or reading.
In other cases of a different nature, his as
sociates were struck with the astuteness and
judgment by which '^e selected the true
ground of safety and success, when there was
required, not so much a familiar acquaint
ance with law principles, as a ready insight

160 Memoir of
into the motives of excited minds, and a nice
acquaintance vnth the comparative weight
and value of facts and their several bear
ings. Where questions involved morals with
law, he separated truth and right with un-
deviating promptitude. Good and vrise men,
who had fallen into errors without being
able to detect them, have wondered to see
how surely the unfailing finger pointed them
out. The- parties were surprised at not per
ceiving the difficulty before. He was the
friend as well as lawyer of his client, and
never hesitated to present the obligations of
honor to one who might be too angry to rec
ognize their claim. He was a chancellor of
morals, a keeper of conscience for those who
came within his influence, and they never
found him unfaithful in his trust.
It was my purpose to give the reader at
some length a few of the most important
cases that illustrate the various powers of
Mr. Petigru's mind. But to the lawyer these
cases are accessible in the Reports of Law
and Equity, and to the general reader they

James L. Petigru. 161
would not be acceptable. I have been con
tent, therefore, with adverting to the classes
of cases which require in conducting them
the lawyer's highest attainments, and with
alluding to the moral power of the great
jurist who never faUed to preserve his client
in the path of truth and right.
Mr. Petigru was remarkable for liberality
to tbe young members of the bar. He was
always ready to assist and advise, and some
times supported his advice by an*appeal to
his experience. On a young friend, to whom
he was recommending certain virtues to pro
mote his practice, he ' enforced the virtue of
caution in giving opinions by referring once
to an adventure of his own. He was applied
to by a client in Coosawhatchie for advice in
a case. " Can I recover a claim ?" was asked.
The nature of it was explained, and the coun
sel replied immediately that the claim was
certain. The case was carried into court. It
was a summary process, and the judge forth
with decided against the claim. To the anx
ious inquiries of the client, Mr. Petigru re
plied that he would appeal ; that the judge

162 Memoir of
knew nothing of the matter. The appeal
was argued in Charleston, and the decision
confirmed, Mr, Petigru, in telling the story
to his young friend, went on to say he was
so much mortified at the event that, without
explaining the result to his luckless client, he
paid to him the sum in dispute out of his
own pockets, though his pockets were nearly
empty. The grateful receiver promised to
bring similar claims of himself or a neigh
bor. Mr. Petigru's active aid was readily im
parted to any young or less fortunate ad
venturer at the bar. He was always encour
aging to the newly-admitted attorney, and
when Harper retumed from Missouri to re-
assume his long discontinued practice in
Carolina, and when Hugh S. Legare, in his
somewhat desultory course, was looking for
progress in Charleston, Mr. Petigru's- zeal
never relaxed in opening the way, as far as
he was able, to the advancement of both. It
added to his toils. They were not for him-
seif only. He was indefatigable, and noth
ing but a constitution as vigorous as his

James L. Petigru. 163
mind cquld have enabled him to sustain so
many and varied labors.
To lighten the pressm'e of these pursuits,
Mr. Petigru was accustomed to spend a month
or two annually at Badwell, the family resi
dence. It was not for relaxation only, but
affection. The place was, of late years, the
home of Mrs. North, and was visited, from
time to time, by various branches ofthe fam
ily. The farm was healthy and pleasant,
and possessed of many natural beauties. To
increase them was the favorite purpose of
Mr. Petigru. He strove to enlarge its limits
by the purchase of other tracts of adjoining
land. He was a liberal bidder, with a high
idea ofthe value of Abbeville soil. He was
writing, on one occasion, to offer ten thousand
dollars for what, by the interference of a
friend, he easily obtained for three. He de
voted not only money, but many hours often
of personal hard labor, for the improvement
of the premises, in sinking wells, in planting
trees, in adorning the family burial-place, in
smpothing roads, in completing an avenue.
He was indefatigable so long as his visit con-

164 Memoir of
tinued. He was never content with seeing
others work, but took an active part him-
self He was a lover of trees and shrubbery.
In Charleston he purchased a lot in front of
his office, in St. Michael's AUey, and convert
ed the ground into a garden. It was orna
mented with many plants of variety and
beauty. At Badwell his trees were a pas
sion. He regarded the injury of them as an
outrage not easily pardoned. The last letter
I received from him was in July, 1860, in
which, writing from BadweU, he complains
of some atrocious mutilations inflicted on
certain overcup oaks, the delight of his eyes,
by some vile African, who had dismembered
the oaks to promote the growth of a negro
patch of corn and pumpkins. He declares,
in the language of some Latin author, that
something monstrous is always produced by
unhappy Africa. What rendered the out
rage more intolerable was that he attached
the names of his friends to his trees, and was
forming of them a .sort of arboraceous gallery
of portraits. This tree was AUston, that one

James L. Petigru. 165
Huger ; and the black miscreant, with an axe
as an instrument, had been operating on the
limbs of his friends, and amputating their
arms almost before his eyes. It was at this
time that he sent his servant Hamlet from
Abbeville to the city, to obtain, among other
necessaries, a cork oak, propagated from Span
ish acorns, which I had promised to give
him. It was. a hot, dry week in July, that
scorched every thing growing, but he tram
pled on impossibUities in pursuing an addi
tion to his avenue. In a long correspond
ence, one of many years, with his sister, Mrs.
North, hardly a letter omits an earnest in
quiry in relation to his trees, or the growth
and extension of the avenue.
He was particular in his attention to the
family buiying-ground. It was a part of his
nature to reverence the memory of departed
friends. He never omitted to attend a fu
neral. The last one at which I saw him was
the funeral at Grace Church, in Wentworth
Street, of Mr. WiUiam EUiott, who died in
Charleston. It was a few weeks only be
fore his own death, when his health had been

166 Memoir op
for some time faUing, and he tottered in his
walk. In AbbevUle he ornamented the Bad^
well burying-place. To his grandfather, the
French pastor, he erected a monument, in
scribing the four sides with an epitaph in
Latin, for which he had consulted the critical
taste of Hugh S. Legare. The offerings in
dignity were proportioned to that of the de
ceased. Those to others were more simple.
None were neglected. The humble slave
who had been attentive to his duties was
remembered. To one the master had*been
accustomed to give an annuity in silver,
which the receiver especially valued, and
when the old man died his grave was marked
by a stone to preserve his name, Mr, Peti
gru was desirous to consecrate the family
ground by a chapel erected near the spot,
and a school-house built for the benefit of
the poor. His family co-operated with him
in seeking these objects, but he did not Uve,
I believe, to complete them.
His solicitudes for the preservation of the
family home in some one of the family are
strikingly indicated by his last will. He

Jambs L, Petigru, 167
appeals solemnly to God for his own con
scientious desire to do right, fixes the prop
erty in the possession of Mrs, North for her
life, desii-es that some one of his relatives
should subsequently purchase it, and ex
presses the anxious wish that his plan should
not be defeated by disregard to his last wish.
His final visit to BadweU was in Septem
ber, 1^62, when his health seemed good, his
memory sound, and his inteUect vigorous
as before. Time had not yet touched his
bead, and his long, abundant black hair be
trayed no gray traces of age. I met him on
tbe GreenviUe cars ; and when he tumed off
at Cokesbury, he proposed that I should go
with him, and promised to show me all Ab
bevUle — a sight which he judged a sufficient
reward for any trouble of the traveler. It
was not his lot to die in the home of his
boyhood. We may readily suppose that it
would have been the chosen place for the
last scene; the final retreat from the cares and
troubles of the world,
"And as the hare, whom hounds and horns pursue.
Turns to the spot from which at first he flew,"

168 Memoir op
so the worn member of the bar, over three
score years and ten, might be expected to re
treat from the contentions of the court with
the young and aspiring, and seek gladly the
quiet resting-place of his early home. But it
was his fortune to die in harness. IUness
was hardly able to divorce him from his
books. A stern necessity or imperative duty
kept them in his' hands. I saw hiip busy
vnth them at his office the last day but one
on which he was seen there, and he said to
me, but not cheerfully, " You see I can still
earn a living at my trade." His legs were
then swelled and his days numbered. "After
the next day he repaired no more to St.
Michael's Alley, the scene for forty years of
labors that often consumed continuously his
days and nights.
He died in Charleston, at the house of his
old friend, Judge King, who preceded him to
the grave a few months only. The eldest
son of the deceased judge, MacMilian King,
watched over the last moments of his father's
friend with affectionate solicitude. The sick
was surrounded with many anxious relatives.

James L. Petigru. 169
He bore severe suffering with fortitude, ex
pressed the hopes and aspirations of a Chris
tian, and passed away, on the 9th of March,
1863, from a Ufe of much success, great dis
tinction, and many anxieties and cares. He
was buried in St, Michael's Yard, near his
son Daniel, who died a few months before
him. The funeral of Mr, Petigru moved the
whole city. Rich and poor, white and black,
attended, with faces expressing the convic
tion that a great man had departed from the
field of his usefulness. Those who most need
ed one seemed to feel they had lost a ready
friend of influence and power. At a meet
ing of the bar in honor of the dead, eloquent
addresses were deUvered of unusual excel
lence. They were inspired by the object,
and carefully prepared by the speakers.
The chief justice, notwithstanding his feeble
state of he^th, added another affectionate
tribute to his old friend, and the press was
not regardless of the attentions due to the
illustrious dead. Among the many offerings
produced by the event, a letter was drazvn
H

170 Memoir op
from a neighbor, of more than forty years'
standing, who appreciates virtue and talent
every where, and knew thoroughly the heart
and mind ofthe friend over whose de^th-bed
he had lingered a few days before. The let
ter is an expressive and vigorous portrait of
one for whom time, from day to day for many
years, had increased his love and esteem. It
is addressed to a near relative :
"Longwood, March 15th, 1863.
" My dear Ben, — Mr. William Harleston
very kindly promised to bring my letters
and papers with him to your house to-day;
and if he has done so, I would thank you to
send them by the bearer.
"I reached the only home I have left on
Saturday evening, exhausted in body and de
pressed in spirits. Petigru's Ulness and un
measured sufferings put what strength I had
in severe requisition, and his death admon
ishes me of a heavy berea^ment. The
blows come in such quick succession that
there is hardly ' twilight enough to separate
the darkness of one from the glare of anoth
er,' and nothing save the equal pressure of

James L. Petigru. 171
sorrow on every side prevents me from fall
ing. I had implicit confldence in Petigru,
and never knew any single man who was as
near being an institution by himself. Orig
inal in all things — if his character was a mo
saic, he furnished the particles from his
own resources, wearing such colors as Na
ture gave him, and borrowing none from his
fellows either for ornament or for use. Con
scientious and just in matters of truth, he
would cavil about a hair. Generous and
brave, he would give without measure, and
asked nothing in return. His probity never '
was shaken by adversity, and his gentleness
and mercy were increased by his prosperity.
Elevated in every sentiment, he dealt lightly
with those who needed his forgiveness ; un-
compromisijig where his own rights were as
sailed, he was sure to put those who denied
them at utter deflance ; his thoughts emana
ted from his own mind, his opinions became
his convictions, and his convictions a part of
his belief in God. When he acted with oth
ers, it was because they agreed with him.
When^ he was the leader of a party, he guid-

172 Memoir op -
ed without ostentation, and controlled with
out exaction. When he was overpowered
by* numbers, he submitted to the law, but
never to the victor. He could stand alone
without dismay, preferring always the grati
tude of the weak and helpless to the patron
age of the powerful and the strong. In ev
ery conflict Petigru was himself; when his
equals were needed, few answered to their
names ; and when his superiors were called
for, none were forthcoming. He knew how
to strike the hardest blows, and he knew
how to receive them ; for he never hesitated
to strike when the provocation was sufficient,
and he never winced or quailed, no matter
how deadly was the returning arrow. K
there is any man now living in South Caro
lina capable of writing the History of his
own Times, Petigru, for the highest aspira
tions as to duty or honor — for the boldness
of his thinkings— for the brightness of his
genius — for the grasp of his intellect — for the
purity of his friendship — for the unselflsh-
ness of his nature, will be ranked with those
of whom the state has most reason to be

James L. Petigru. 173
proud. Preaching the doctrines of an ex
alted benevolence, his charities kept pace
vnth his teachings ; and, limited in means,
when denial was necessary, he began always
with himself. He loved to help others, and
to be in partnership, with misfortune ; and,
doing good without restraint, he was the liv
ing, moving, acting principle of those quali
ties which carried to his grave the profound
est reverence ofthe rich, andthe heart-strick
en lamentations of the poor.
" If this outpouring is tiresome or tedious,
I ask for the forgiveness which was the prom
inent attribute of the subject. None loved
tne more, and none was more beloved.
" Yours ever, Alfred Huger."
Among these expressions of esteem and
affection^^from so many quarters we find no
intimations of infirmity on their subject such
as besets our common nature, yet he could
not be exempt from them. His temper was
sometimes impatient and irritable, and the
great though homely divinity. Prudence, was
absent from the office of always presiding

174 Memoir of
over the impulses of his nature. But his de
fects, whatever they may have been, were
lost in the broad Ught of his numerous vir
tues. In that most Christian gift of charity few
Christians were his equal. With the keen
est insight into character and ita weaknesses,
he never ceased to see its moral deformities
with the most tender indulgence. Over ev
ery stumbling traveler in life's pathway he
was always ready, like Barrow, to say alas !
and to be sorrowful. He not only made am
ple allowances for the unfortunate, but he in
duced others to form gentler judgments and
bestow habitual aid.
His almsgiving was vnthout voluntary
limits. He looked at the wants, not the
merits of his neighbors. His benevolence
was restricted to no classes, The^ decayed
gentleman who had been useless aU his life,
the politician whom the people's breath had
made and unmade, the brother at the bar,
whose claim was that of brotherhood only,
when deserted by others, found in him a
sure and efficient friend. No one ever asked

Jambs L. Petigru. 175
for help and was refused, and he rarely wait
ed to be asked.
In his soUcitudes for his. relatives and
chUdren he was indefatigable in his efforts.
The most delicate, judicious, unwearied ad
vice was always striving to develop all that
was promising about them in mind and char
acter. There was no austerity in his anx
ious cares. The objects of his love who re
ceived its benefits, imparted with playful ten
derness, would understand and appreciate
them in after times only when they were
able to compare and comprehend them at a
riper period.
His friendships were strong, steadfast, and
enduring. The oldest friends of his life,
those of half a century, who saw him most
frequently, lived with him most intimately,
and knew him better than aU others knew
him, loved him with greater devotion as time
advanced. In all the contentions of his time
— and many were of great acrimony — he for
feited no confidence and lost no friend. His
generous nature stood above the scene of
angry dispute, and his opponents even es
teemed him.

176 Memoir op
The hospitality of his nature was without
bounds. His house and table were always
accessible to his acquaintances, and to those
who came to him from other lands. On
him and his old friend Judge King, and a
few others, the reputation of the city mainly
rested for the cordial and pleasant entertain
ing of strangers. He seasoned his feast with
his wit.
In love of right and respect for law, order,
and due subordinatipn, there was no man
living so fixed and determined. He knew
that on these principles alone rested the
peace of the state, and he was the stanch ad
vocate for peace, though no one in the whole
country was ever actuated by a bolder and
higher spirit in maintaining truth and right.
For the security of the state he relied on
law and its sanctions, not on appeals to vio-.
lence and blood.
Although at the head of the bar, the pro
foundest lawyer of his time, not confined in
the range of his legal studies, but extending
his flight to the heights and depths of the
whole science and its masters, he was well

Jambs L. Petigru. 177
fitted for what may have been of broader
usefulness in the state. He was formed to
excel in literature. His habitual conversa
tion was with the great authors of ancient
and modern times. He seized at once on
the merits of a writer, and mastered the
strong points of an argument. As instructor,
lecturer, professor,, president, in the highest
places of education, he would have exer
cised a ,controUing power over the leading
young men of the state. His influence over
the scholar was remarkable. His force of
character would have been irresistible, and
would have impressed the general mind of
the state. In this great department of life,
as in others, he would not have been like
other men.
He was, indeed, an extraordinary man,
original in character, of noble virtues, en
dowed with an exalted intellect, with all
the accompaniments and ornaments of wit
and humor, and his excellencies made a deep
and general impression on the hearts and
minds of his countrymen. I have striven
to do something for preserving the memory
H2

178 Memoir op Jas. L. Petigru.
of a great and good man for a longer time
and a more extended circle than the present
limited scene.

the end.

J ''.' .ft *'¦•

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