ear and upon the heart, in
a manner which language cannot tell. Add to all these, his
wonder-working fancy, and the peculiar phraseology in which
he clothed its images: for he painted to the heart with a
force that almost petrified it. In the language of those who
heard him on this occasion, 'he made their blood run cold,
and their hair to rise on end.'

"It will not be difficult for any one who ever heard this
most extraordinary man, to believe the whole account of this
transaction which is given by his surviving hearers; and
from their account, the court house of Hanover County must
have exhibited, on this occasion, a scene as picturesque as
has been ever witnessed in real life. They say that the
people, whose countenance had fallen as he arose, had heard
but a very few sentences before they began to look up; then
to look at each other with surprise, as if doubting the
evidence of their own senses; then, attracted by some strong
gesture, struck by some majestic attitude, fascinated by the
spell of his eye, the charm of his emphasis, and the varied
and commanding expression of his countenance, they could
look away no more. In less than twenty minutes, they might
be seen in every part of the house, on every bench, in every
window, stooping forward from their stands, in death-like
silence; their features fixed in amazement and awe; all
their senses listening and riveted upon the speaker, as if
to catch the least strain of some heavenly visitant. The
mockery of the clergy was soon turned into alarm; their
triumph into confusion and despair; and at one burst of his
rapid and overwhelming invective, they fled from the house
in precipitation and terror. As for the father, such was his
surprise, such his amazement, such his rapture, that,
forgetting where he was, and the character which he was
filling, tears of ecstasy streamed down his cheeks, without
the power or inclination to repress them.

"The jury seem to have been so completely bewildered, that
they lost sight not only of the Act of 1748, but that of
1758 also; for, thoughtless even of the admitted right of
the plaintiff, they had scarcely left the bar, when they
returned with a verdict of one penny damages. A motion was
made for a new trial; but the court, too, had now lo