f a
provincial town, was consulted, at the same time, (1819,) by London
merchants on the "custom of London," and by the priests of Rome on the
canon law.

At the earnest solicitation of Mr. Monroe, he reluctantly accepted the
appointment of one of the commissioners under the Florida treaty,--being
united in that duty with Mr. King and the late Hugh Lawson White; and
after that work was done, he withdrew from the practice of law to the
privacy which he so much, perhaps too much, loved.

In 1825 he was elected by the General Assembly a Senator of the United
States over some distinguished competitors, and soon after taking his
seat was called upon to discuss the celebrated Piracy bill of Mr.
Monroe's administration; and in a speech on that measure, which he
defeated, displayed such extraordinary resources of argument and
learning as threw all his associates of that epoch in the shade, and
established his own reputation as the greatest debater of his age.

He was a prominent member of the Convention of Virginia in 1829-30,
where his compeers were Chief Justice Marshall, John Randolph, Watkins
Leigh, Taylor, Upshur, and others of that brilliant assembly. He was at
the same time a Senator from Virginia in Congress; and was in nothing
behind the great personages of the Senate, where sat Calhoun, Clay, and
Webster, save only in his invincible desire and love of retirement.

In 1833-4 he resigned his seat in the Senate of the United States, and
soon after, and almost without his knowledge, he was elected Governor of
Virginia, the duties of which office he actively and faithfully
performed until his resignation, which took place before the expiration
of his term.

From that time he has continued in private life--but not uselessly, for
he has been consulted from all parts of the Union on almost all
subjects; and by his intimate acquaintances, his opinions have been
regarded as oracular inspirations. He has also attended with care to his
private duties, and these, with his correspondence, have chiefly
occupied his later years.

It has been the subject of deep regret that one possessing such colossal
powers should have been so unwilling to exert them. There is but one
instance in history of a really great man seeking an obscurity which he
could not win,--the case of Chief Justice Wilmot, of England. But Mr.
Tazewell had the right to judge and decide for himself, and that he
preferred private to public life is rather to be lam