John Randolph of Roanoke. of his orphan children laid an additional burden upon Randolph's soul. He declared himself to be " under a curse." The sole romance of his life, when, for some cause known only to themselves, he was parted from one whom he " loved better than his own soul," occurred about this same time. To his friend Bryan, also the victim of disappointed love, he wrote : — "I too am wretched," and he never passed en tirely out of the shade which then fell upon his life. His own consciousness of the un happy effect of so much bereavement and disappointment he expressed in the words, "My character hath lately undergone an almost total revolution." This moodiness and depression did not, as we have seen, lessen his political labor and ability, nor interfere with his kindly intercourse with his friends and his family. His letters to his dear friends, the brothers Thompson, and to his beloved Bryan are full of wise and tender sympathy and advice. His correspondence with his young kinsman and protege, Theodore Dudley, and his ne phew Tudor, shows him to have been con siderate, watchful and affectionate as though these boys were his own sons. The spell ing and hand-writing of their letters to him, their progress in their studies, their sports, their clothing, their manners, their associates, are all of unflagging interest to this busy statesman. In these letters, which run through a series of years, we see, in his complaint of unfrequent and meagre replies, his earnest desire to be loved, and his sensi tive horror of apparent neglect on the part of those for whom he felt affection. Of delicate health in childhood, Randolph became even more feeble as he grew older. Hereditary gout and the consumption which at last ended his life, preyed upon him for many years. The resolute will with which he discharged his public duties as he strug gled against suffering and disease, has in it something heroic, and must excite the ad miration of those who consider the weari
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ness, weakness and discomfort which at tended his long journeys back and forth, and his arduous duties in Washington. His ill body may also account in no small degree for his extreme irritability and for the waywardness and occasional aberra tion of his mind. The habits of intoxication which became a reproach to him and a mortification to his friends, no doubt, grew out of the same poor health, which led him to use stimulants and opium to relieve pain and gain temporary strength for urgent work. Hypochondria added its misery to his real illness. He would reply to his friends inquiries as to his health, " Dying, sir, dying," and in a half hour appear at his place in Congress, ready and eager for a tilt with his adversaries. When Mr. Jefferson bought Louisiana, in 1803, Spain had not actually delivered the vast region to France. She was much opposed to its passing into the possession of the United States, and threw every possible obstacle in the way of its peaceable transfer to the purchasers. Mr. Jefferson's policy was vacillating, and resolved itself into an effort to buy Florida also, and thus rid the United States of the vicinity of Spain. In the secret sessions of Congress, Mr. Ran dolph strongly opposed giving the President the money he asked for, and advocated that an army should be raised, strong enough to ward off Spanish invasion and protect the frontier claimed by the United States. Following this discussion and excitement in Congress, rumors of Aaron Burr's trea sonable designs upon the southwest caused great disturbance throughout the country. Randolph was foreman of the grand jury which impeached Burr for high treason. The following letters — hitherto unpublished — arc interesting, especially in consideration of our present relations with Spain. Edward Dillon, Esq., Sandy Ford, near Farmville, Virginia. Georgetown, Jan. n, 1807. Dear Sir : — Your very esteemed favor reached me yesterday, when I was too much indisposed
