itution; and in the convention which ratified that instrument in
the name of Virginia, he voted for its adoption; and when Norfolk
commemorated the installation of the federal constitution by the firing
of guns, by the display of flags, by civic, mechanical, and military
processions, conspicuous on that great day was the general, who acted as
the Chief Priest of the august ceremonies which honored the birth of a
nation. He was always elected to any office to which the people could
call him. His address had the tinge of the soldier, but was most
fascinating. No familiarity could impair its effect. The bar regarded
him with affection and reverence. All the men about town loved him. The
women almost adored him. A smile from the General on a gala-day, when
mounted on his charger, which he managed well to the last, or the
lifting of his three-cornered hat on the sidewalk, was a trophy which
the prettiest woman, maid or matron, would treasure away among the
_spolia opima_ of her hoard. His social position was of the highest. He
was known far and wide, and played most becomingly the part of host to
distinguished persons from abroad. Some of our old citizens remember the
coaches and four which used to pass down King's lane to his modest
residence at the foot of tide. One of the acts of his life was
characteristic. He was on a visit to his brother at St. Kitts, when the
French fleet lay-to off the island, and levied a sum of money upon the
people, which they paid. The French then levied another sum, which the
people of the island were wholly unable to pay. In this dilemma the
people of St. Kitts had recourse to General Mathews, who, dressed in his
uniform as an American general officer, went on board the hostile fleet,
and induced the admiral to accept an order from him on the American
Consul in Paris, for the sum in question. The fleet then sailed away,
and the island was safe. In due time the order came back protested. Suit
was brought and judgment obtained against him, and the venerable patriot
spent his last days in prison bounds for a debt which the British
Government ought to have paid with gratitude as well as with money. In
1802 he was approaching his sixtieth year, but was vigorous and
attentive to business. He was a fine speaker. His voice was melodious,
and its compass exceeded belief. It could be heard along the line of a
whole brigade, and in the clatter of a skirmish. It is one of the
traditions of the bar, that he c