ge of William and Mary,
then under the presidency of Bishop Madison, and was, as may be presumed
from his own statement, and as we learn from other sources, a diligent
and accurate scholar. He was probably stimulated to exertion by the
presence of several young men who were members of the institution at
various times during his college course. Among these were James Barbour,
of Orange, afterwards the colleague of Tazewell in the House of
Delegates and in the Senate of the United States, Governor of Virginia,
Secretary of War, and Minister to England, and renowned for his splendid
eloquence and glowing patriotism; William Henry Cabell, also the
colleague of Tazewell in the House of Delegates, Governor, and President
of the Court of Appeals; George Keith Taylor, another colleague in the
House of Delegates, a lawyer almost unrivalled at the bar, a patriot
without fear and without reproach, who went down to an early grave;
Robert Barraud Taylor, then in the flush of his brilliant youth, whom
Tazewell was to meet at a memorable session on the floor of the House of
Delegates, and who was to be his able and accomplished rival at the bar
throughout his whole forensic career; John Randolph, and John Thompson.

Of John Thompson I have heard him say, in his latter years, that he was
an extraordinary young man--the most wonderful he had ever seen.
Thompson died young, at an age not exceeding twenty-three, and now lives
only in the letters of Curtius. Mr. Tazewell always recounted in a
tender tone his last interview with Thompson, who lived in Petersburg,
but hearing that Tazewell was in Richmond, came over to see him, with a
determination to return in the stage which left Richmond at twelve at
night. He arrived at dusk, called on Tazewell, and told him that he had
only from that time till midnight to talk with him; and in a few moments
the friends were lost in pleasant converse. The night was dark and cold;
and when the stage was announced, Thompson, who was thinly clad, bade
his friend adieu. He took cold on his return, and died after a short
illness.

Tazewell took the degree of Bachelor of Arts on the 31st day of July,
1792, though it is probable that he attended some of the classes at a
later period. His diploma, written on a sheet of foolscap, and signed by
Bishop Madison, Judge St. George Tucker, and others, is still preserved
in his family. It speaks well for his attention and regularity, that of
all his classmates he alone