The people were plain and even rough in their
habits, and the mode of life which prevailed in his native county
doubtless did much to lay the foundation of those habits of simplicity
for which he was noted in after life. Schools were almost unknown in
this region, and such as were in operation were so rude in character
that Colonel Marshall, who was a man of education and culture, decided
not to attempt to train his children in them. Being unable to raise the
means of sending them to better schools in other parts of the Colony, he
determined to become their teacher himself, and applied himself to his
task with a devotion which was signally rewarded by the brilliant career
of his eldest son. He laid especial weight upon their acquiring a
thorough knowledge of the English language and of history, and sought to
cultivate in them a love for the poetry of their native tongue.
Referring in after life to his father's devoted labors, Judge Marshall
once said, with great feeling, "To him I owe the solid foundation of all
my success in life." John Marshall did ample justice to his father's
labors, and when only fourteen years old was thoroughly familiar with
the writings of Shakespeare, Dryden, Milton, and Pope, and could repeat
by heart nearly the whole of the "Essay on Man." These poets were always
his favorites, and in mature life he would quote them with readiness and
the keenest relish.

He showed such marked talent that his father determined to make an
effort to secure him a better education than his private labors could
impart to him, and accordingly sent him for a year to the school of the
Rev. Mr. Campbell, in Westmoreland County, where he received a good
drilling in English and Latin. At this school began his acquaintance
with James Monroe, who was then one of Mr. Campbell's pupils. Returning
home at the end of the year, he continued his studies under the Rev. Mr.
Thompson.

He studied hard and was an industrious reader. Poetry and romance were
his favorites, but he read history with the deepest interest. He was
quiet and thoughtful in manner, and full of a dreamy, poetic enthusiasm.
He loved to wander in the thick woods, and would pass many of his
leisure hours in gazing at the beauties of nature. His constitution was
a sound and vigorous one, and he was not only fond of manly and athletic
sports, but excelled in them. He had no inclination toward dissipation,
and the simple, healthful life of his home was calculated