ills,
rich in verdure, enclose the whole, and impart to it an air of
seclusion and repose. From the brow of the hill, west of the house, is
a scene of an entirely different character: the Blue Ridge, with the
lofty peaks of Otter, appears in the horizon at a distance of nearly
sixty miles." Under the trees which shaded his lawn, and "in full view
of the beautiful valley beneath, the orator was accustomed, in
pleasant weather, to sit mornings and evenings, with his chair leaning
against one of their trunks, and a can of cool spring-water by his
side, from which he took frequent draughts. Occasionally, he walked to
and fro in the yard from one clump of trees to the other, buried in
revery, at which times he was never interrupted."[436] "His great
delight," says one of his sons-in-law, "was in conversation, in the
society of his friends and family, and in the resources of his own
mind."[437] Thus beneath his own roof, or under the shadow of his own
trees, he loved to sit, like a patriarch, with his family and his
guests gathered affectionately around him, and there, free from
ceremony as from care, to give himself up to the interchange of
congenial thought whether grave or playful, and even to the sports of
the children. "His visitors," writes one of them, "have not
unfrequently caught him lying on the floor, with a group of these
little ones climbing over him in every direction, or dancing around
him with obstreperous mirth, to the tune of his violin, while the only
contest seemed to be who should make the most noise."[438]

The evidence of contemporaries respecting the sweetness of his spirit
and his great lovableness in private life is most abundant. One who
knew him well in his family, and who was also quite willing to be
critical upon occasion, has said:--

"With respect to the domestic character of Mr. Henry,
nothing could be more amiable. In every relation, as a
husband, father, master, and neighbor, he was entirely
exemplary. As to the disposition of Mr. Henry, it was the
best imaginable. I am positive that I never saw him in a
passion, nor apparently even out of temper. Circumstances
which would have highly irritated other men had no such
visible effect on him. He was always calm and collected; and
the rude attacks of his adversaries in debate only whetted
the poignancy of his satire.... Shortly after the
Constitution was adopted, a series of the most abusi