Strange as it may appear, though exacting so much from his eminent contemporaries, yet, partly from old affection, partly from a love of their literature and from a conviction of their political effect, and partly from the unworthiness of poor human nature, he listened to the speeches of John Randolph with the relish of a school-boy, rubbing his hands and laughing heartily as the orator went along.  Aside from the ardent and unquenchable love that existed between them, the explanation may be found to a certain extent in Tazewell’s love of humor.  When Watkins Leigh’s amusing letter of Christopher Quandary appeared in the Enquirer,—­a paper, by the way, which, after the feud in the Jefferson administration, he never took in, thus showing that, if the democrats remembered his shortcomings, he did not forget what he deemed theirs—­I took the number around to him, and he laughed heartily at its hits.  The last extended work which I know that he read was Randall’s Life of Jefferson, which evidently made an impression upon him.  He spoke of the author as a clever fellow; and he expatiated on the character of Jefferson, which, as he declined in life, I think he valued more than ever, pronouncing him the greatest Secretary of State any country ever had.  I may say here, that Mr. Tazewell had no respect for law schools as an instrumentality of rearing great lawyers.  He said if the student would have lectures, let him read Blackstone; and he ever maintained the opinion that the popularity of those charming commentaries had tended to depreciate the standard of legal intellect since their appearance—­an opinion which he shared with Mr. Jefferson.  That he had read them attentively and admired their beauty, though much in the spirit in which he would admire a poem or a play, I know from this fact, that once, when he was in a playful mood, he said he believed he could repeat the heads of all the chapters of the four volumes which he straightway did.  He occasionally read novels, but was quite indifferent whether he began with the second or the first volume; and I heard him commend highly the preface of the late novel attributed to Sir Walter Scott, called Moredun, as a fine piece of special pleading, declaring that its author would make a good special pleader.  I have spoken already of the hearty praise which he bestowed upon Mr. Adams’ report on weights and measures.

In respect both of argumentation and style it has often occurred to me that Mr. Tazewell occupied an intermediate position between Judge Marshall and Mr. Wickham.  He has the strength of Marshall with something more of refinement in style and imagery, and more vivacity in the play of his reasoning; while he has a stricter line of demonstration than Wickham without his very decided elegance.  In some physical as well as intellectual aspects he resembled Chief Justice Parsons of Massachusetts.  Not, indeed, in dress; for Parsons was a sloven, and Tazewell was neat in his dress, which was in winter, during the