The last time I saw him
riding, some ten or twelve years ago, he was on horseback, accompanied
by his son. I well remember when to take a drive in a carriage, or to
use an umbrella, was deemed effeminate by some of the wealthiest
planters in Virginia.
It was on the 14th day of May, 1796, that he received his license to
practice law. The license, written in a bold hand on paper, was signed
by judges Peter Lyons, Edmund Winston, and Joseph Jones, and is
preserved by his children as a family relic. His first fee was derived
from a warrant trying, in which a Mr. Taliaferro, who was his landlord,
was a party, and was fifteen shillings, which helped to pay the rent of
his office. His first important criminal case was the defence of a man
on a charge of murder. Whether his client was innocent or guilty, I know
not; but Tazewell got him clear of the law; and the man was so thankful
for his services, that half a century afterwards he confessed his
gratitude to a daughter of Mr. Tazewell, whom he chanced to see in the
streets of a neighboring town.
The keen eye of John Marshall saw at once the caste of Tazewell's mind,
and pronounced him an extraordinary young man.
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