enlisted at the beginning until the
glorious end, for which he had so sanguinely waited, came.

Meanwhile he had studied some, and had attended a course of lectures
delivered by the renowned Mr Wythe at William and Mary College, and had
secured a license to practice. At the close of hostilities he commenced
business as an attorney; with marked success from the first.

That extraordinary comprehension and grasp of mind by which difficulties
were seized and overcome without parade, commended the attention of the
courts of justice; and his sweet temper and loving ways gained for him a
host of friends. Such a man, who possessed not only ability but a
perfect control of himself, MUST SUCCEED. He soon rose to distinction,
being elected to a seat in the council of the State. He was married in
1783 to the daughter of the State treasurer and moved to Richmond.

In spite of this removal his old neighbors re-elected him to represent
their county, and in 1787 he became a member from his adopted county,
Henrico. As is well-known, the Federal constitution was considered by
many an approach to monarchy. It was held by Jefferson and many of his
followers as tending toward that state of things of which they had so
much to fear. At the Virginia Convention, assembled to discuss the
constitution drawn up at Philadelphia, where great opposition was
developed, Mr. Marshall's speech had a crushing effect on its
assailants. He next became a member from Richmond, that city now being
entitled to a representative, where he remained for three years.

Virginia was the headquarters of the State rights party, headed by
Jefferson. Mr. Marshall supported the administration of Washington,
defining the Federal view so clearly that it carried conviction, yet so
calmly and with such moderation of tone, that when he retired from that
body in 1792 he left not an enemy behind. He now devoted himself to his
profession with unbounded success. While attending to a large legal
practice, he also frequently appeared at public meetings in support of
the administration of Washington.

In 1795 he was again a member of the House. In the violent debate over
Jay's treaty he became its champion, and by a most eloquent speech,
before a body that had condemned it, he secured an amendment to their
resolution, reversing their former decision, and the passage of one
favorable to the policy. Washington offered him a place in his Cabinet,
but he refused, as it would interfer