Some Virginia Lawyers of the Past and Present. failing, as a last effort he determined to try the law. William Wirt's description of Mr. Henry in youth is certainly not flattering or attrac tive. He says : " His person was coarse, his manner awkward, his dress slovenly, his conversation very plain, and his aversion to study invincible, his faculties almost entirely
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lucubrations of twenty years he devoted not more than six weeks." For his sole preparation he selected Coke upon Littleton and the Virginia law. He then offered himself for examination for a license to practice. His license was signed by Peyton and John Randolph; the learned Chancellor Wythe, who afterward became
COURT HOUSE AT WILLIAMSBURG.
benumbed by indolence. No one expected him to succeed in any eminent degree. His unfortunate habits were by no means suited to so laborious a profession, and, even if it were not too late in life for him to hope to master its learning, the situation of his affairs forbade an extensive course of reading. Mr. Henry, himself, seems to have hoped for nothing more from the profession than a scanty subsistence for himself and his family, and his preparation was suited to these humble expectations; for to the study of a profession which is said to require the
devoted to him, was so prejudiced by his appearance that he positively refused to sign it. When he applied to Mr. John Randolph, who was himself a man of courtly manners and elegant person, he was so shocked by the way Mr. Henry looked, that he very re luctantly examined him, but he soon saw that he had natural talents of a high order. At the end of the examination he said to him, " Mr. Henry, if your industry be only half equal to your genius, I augur that you will do well, and become an ornament and an honor to your profession." He was now
