CHAPTER XVIIL

JOURNEY HOME.

SOON after the scene just described, Judge White set out for home. At almost every step, he was greeted with spontaneous and hearty applause. At Lexington, Va., a public dinner was tendered him, the acceptance of which, however, in consequence of the uncertain state of his health and the long journey before him, he was compelled to decline.

As he drew near his own State, he met a deputation of citizens from Sullivan County, inviting him to attend a public dinner, at Kingsport. Similar manifestations of respect were shown him at every town from the Tennessee line to Knoxville. He invariably declined these invitations; but, when he reached these several places, he was forced to accept their hospitalities, everything being in readi ness for his entertainment. These manifestations bore a superabounding testimony to the high appreciation that the people placed upon his eminent public virtues and private worth. This was peculiarly grateful to the heart of him against whom the storms of political injustice had beaten with such violence, because it was an affectionate emanation from the hearts of the dwellers around his own fireside; of those who knew him best, and best understood the motives that governed all his actions. These testimonials were especially grateful from their entire disinterestedness and sincerity. For the people of his own State well knew, that the days of his political power had passed away, and that he would never again have public favors to bestow.

The malevolence of his enemies, however, kept pace with the affections of his friends, and this spirit determined them not to permit him to pass on his way without insult. At Rogersville, a number of the leaders of the party hung over the principal street by which the town was entered, a cloth upon which was written in large letters, "Van Buren and Polk,"declaring, that Judge White should, by passing under this, acknowledge himself the victim of the President of

the United States, and of the Governor of Tennessee. Several of the most respectable citizens of Rogersville requested, as a special favor, that this inscription should be removed.. Instead of granting this request, a band of ruffians rallied around it, to defend it and prevent its removal by force when Judge White should reach the place. Upon being informed of the affair, with his usual disinterested consideration for his friends he requested to be conducted on his way by a more unfrequented route, declaring that "no one, capable of such disgraceful conduct, had the power to insult him." His enemies were thus denied the gratification of accomplishing their malignant purpose. Escorts of citizens accompanied him along the whole route from the Virginia line; and even in the country, and by the road-side, as he pursued his way, his fellow-citizens greeted him with smiles of affection, approbation and hearty acclamations of applause. A gentleman of Rogersville, Mr. Wales, voluntarily preceded Judge White, having under his charge a piece of artillery, whose frequent discharges sent the reverberating echo through hill and valley, announcing the coming of " the man who esteemed honor dearer than office." The banner that floated above the gun, was surmounted by a wreath of evergreen presented by the ladies of Rogersville, and bore this inscription:

He now entered Knoxville, the place where he had been reared from his boyhood, where he was greeted by the firing of cannon, the ringing of bells, and the earnest gaze of old and young, who thronged the streets to look upon him. Accompanied by a large procession of persons on horseback, with his aged head nncovered, he passed on to his own residence, through a multitude, who testified in various ways the high estimation in which they held him. The following extract from the “Richmond Whig," written by a distinguished Virginian, is evidence of the high reputation he sustained abroad, as well as at home :

The name of this gentleman demands a passing note. If there be truth in the adage, “nemo felix ante mortem," then is he mòre to be

envied than any man on earth.

His political life was more than half his existence, and he has rendered it up and rendered up an account of his deeds, and received while he yet lives, that judgment in which even his enemies concur, and which, therefore, posterity must ratify. He lives to read his own epitaph, and its language is that of praise. He lives to hear the voice of lamentation at his untimely fall, arising from all the land. He hears himself mourned as a father by his children. He walks among us as though his disembodied spirit had returned to earth, and we turn aside with awe, and look upon him as a thing not of this world. Men gaze upon him, as he passes, and the question "Which is he?" is asked, not because he is a distributor of honors and emoluments, but because he has secured to himself an honor which the world gave not, and cannot take away-an honor greater than any the world can give. We have God's word for it, that his gray hairs, worn, as they have been, in the "paths of righteousness," are indeed." a crown of glory." May God's peace rest and abide with him.

An appropriate requiem is found in the following lines addressed by an English poet to an old oak, uprooted by a tempest:

"Thou who unmoved hast heard the tempest chide,

Full many a winter round thy craggy bed;
And, like an earth-born giant hast out-spread
Thy hundred arms, and heaven's own bolt defied;
Now liest along thy native mountain's side
Uptorn; yet deem not that I come to shed
The idle drops of pity o'er thy head,
Or basely to insult thy blasted pride.
No! still 'tis thine, tho' fallen, imperial oak,
To teach this lesson to the wise and brave:
That 'tis far better, overthrown and broke,

In freedom's cause to sink into the grave,
Than, in submission to a tyrant's yoke,

Like the vile reed, to bow and be a slave."

He came back among his old friends worn down by severe illness; having performed a trying journey of thirty-three days, in a state of such extreme debility, that his friends watched each day, with trembling, lest it should be his last. Yet, throughout all this suffering, the public welfare continued to excite his deepest interest. The subjoined letter, one of the last which he ever wrote, shows that his country, her institutions, and her prosperity, inspired him with the profoundest solicitude.

MY FRIEND :-If towards any man I ought to use that term, I know of no one to whom I can apply it with a deeper conviction it is merited. You have stuck to me through good and evil report, without ever faltering or making a false or foolish move. The object of this letter is to

give you all now in an old man's power, and one who feels on the verge of the grave-my most heartfelt thanks for your kind, able, and efficient care of me and my reputation. I am now through. On the 18th Jan. my political life was terminated by my enemies. I have no faith in the political resurrection of old men; but think not I am either mortified or depressed. Although I may be placed hors de combat, I hope that some seeds have dropped even from the last limbs of my decayed trunk, which, if watered and cherished, may yet bring forth fruit for the good of the country.

Late letters from some of my colleagues in Washington, assure me that from every quarter the news in relation to General Harrison's prospects are most encouraging.

I like your electoral ticket with the exception of my name. That I think unfortunate, considering the state of my health; but time will show what ought to be done, and my rule is never to act in haste.

Would to God I could be with you a day or two. I write now to show that there is yet something of me left, although you will see there is very little of either mental or physical strength.

A. A. HALL, Esq.

Sincerely

HUGH L. WHILE.

His last prayer was answered. His country was redeemed from the reproach which had been thrown upon it. Although the grave closed over him, before he was permitted to witness that redemption, yet the foul stain, which had been cast upon his own fair fame, was wiped out by an overwhelming majority in the Presidential contest of 1840, a result to which the influence of his speeches and actions largely contributed.

CHAPTER XIX.

HIS FAMILY-HIS AFFLICTIONS.

JUDGE WHITE'S social and domestic affections were remarkably strong; and so far as his political career withdrew him from the sphere of their attractions, it was far from delightful to him. He loved home as such, and seldom left it except when business rendered it necessary.

In 1798 he married Miss Elizabeth Moore, daughter of his early friend and instructor, the Rev. Samuel Carrick. She was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, and possessed all the warmth, frankness, and generosity characteristic of the people of her native State. Her father was one of the early settlers of Tennessee. He was the first Presbyterian minister who ever had charge of a congregation in Knoxville, and was afterwards the founder and first President of Blount College

His daughter was but just verging upon her fifteenth year at the period of her marriage; and although her personal beauty was the first cause of attraction, yet, even at that early age, her capacity for fulfilling the important responsibilities of the position then assumed soon developed itself and proved to be of no ordinary grade. She was early distinguished for her many domestic virtues. As a wife she was preeminently faithful to all the interests of her husband, kindly caring for his personal comfort, and in his absence zealously watching over his pecuniary interests. Nor was her usefulness confined within the limits of her household.

She seldom lost an opportunity of alleviating the distresses of the miserable and destitute.

It was the will of Providence to continue this conjugal relation, which was productive of so much domestic happiness, for thirty-three years. They soon found themselves surrounded by a large family of children. Four sons and eight daughters cemented this union