. The Century book of famous Americans : the story of a young people's pilgrimage to historic homes . proposition in Euclid ; but as betweenthe two for a real mind developer andintellectual spur, I dont think so prac-tical and wide-awake a fellow as youwould hesitate in choice. Greatnesscomes because of persistence quite asmuch as because of genius, and it waspersistence even more than genius thatmade our dozen or more famous Ameri-cans great and immortal. But about Patrick Henry, prompted Bert, who always liked to stickto the subject. Did nt he have genius? asked Jack. I should not call it ge
. The Century book of famous Americans : the story of a young people's pilgrimage to historic homes . proposition in Euclid ; but as betweenthe two for a real mind developer andintellectual spur, I dont think so prac-tical and wide-awake a fellow as youwould hesitate in choice. Greatnesscomes because of persistence quite asmuch as because of genius, and it waspersistence even more than genius thatmade our dozen or more famous Ameri-cans great and immortal. But about Patrick Henry, prompted Bert, who always liked to stickto the subject. Did nt he have genius? asked Jack. I should not call it genius, said Uncle Tom. With him it was morethe inspiration of the moment or the spur of necessity that turned his tongueto fire. He was what we might call an instigator to liberty, as was Otis inBoston, and the boy Hamilton in New York. How soon was it before he became an orator? Marian inquired. Not until he was twenty-seven years old, was Uncle Toms reply. His youth, as I have told you, was a careless, happy-go-lucky existence;he never succeeded at anything and stuck to nothing long. But when at. PATRICK HENRY. 96 THE CENTURY BOOK OF FAMOUS AMERICANS #last he blundered into eloquence, under a terrible pressure,— in what isknown in history as the Parsons cause, a matter of church taxes whichthe people resisted,— he sprang at once into popularity as the peopleschampion. That, I suppose, set him up in business, suggested Jack. It certainly did, said Uncle Tom. From that day he became aprominent figure in Virginia history. It brought him practice as a lawyer,advancement as a public man, power as a politician. He became a memberof the House of Burgesses,— what we call the legislature, you know,— apolitical leader in Virginia, a delegate to the first and second ContinentalCongresses, first commander of Virginias Revolutionary army, first governorof the State of Virginia, being twice reelected. After that, he declined toserve as member of the Constitutional Convention, as Uni
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