Such was, if I am correct, the origin of the opprobrious epithet "Black Cockade Federalist," applied by their political opponents, in after years, to those who had been the advocates of law and national rights and the supporters of Washington.

It may be asked, why is this subject introduced in a volume on Richmond? The reply is that Richmond was one of the strongholds of Federalism, and black cockades were the prevailing fashion, and when the emblem disappeared, the principles remained unchanged through more than one generation.

CHAPTER VII.*

OLD RESIDENCES AND THEIR OCCUPANTS.

WHEN Shockoe hill began to change its aspect from fields and forests, to streets and squares, the

* Kind reader, if you have no local nor personal attachment to Richmond, pardon for the sake of those who have, a portion of this and the next chapter, which to you may seem mere twaddle, but to them, (and for them it is written,) and to their children it may be an interesting record.

I have, however, to relieve the extreme dryness of some of the pages, ventured to intersperse occasionally an anecdote, which though stale to my old readers, may be fresh to the younger ones.

larger portion of the latter were held by wealthy and by professional gentlemen. The bar of Richmond toward the close of the last century possessed a greater number of members of distinguished talent, than almost any other in the Union, and many of them resided on Shockoe hill.

To each residence, with few exceptions, was attached the ground of an entire square of two acres, or at least that of half a square. A strong contrast to what may now be seen, when the old domicile and its appurtenances are supplanted and occupied by twenty or more tenements. If the crowding system continues to contract our space, we may presently emulate the bee-hive system of some parts of Baltimore, where a man can scarcely stand with his arms a-kimbo on his front steps, without jostling his neighbor, should he happen to be in a similar position.

Among the oldest and most respectable of the occupants of Shockoe hill was the Ambler family, of which the Treasurer, Jaquelin Ambler was the head *—his own residence yet stands, between

* The name of Jaquelin, was derived from the celebrated Huguenot family of La Roche Jaquelin of La Vendée. Edward Jaquelin, came to Virginia in 1697, settled in Jamestown, and married a Miss Cary. Their eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married Richard Ambler, an emigrant from Yorkshire, who settled in Yorktown as a merchant. His son Jaquelin, the Treasurer, married Rebecca, daughter of Lewis Burwell, and their daughters were the ladies here mentioned. Their son, John Ambler, inherited the estate of Jamestown, a large farm.

Marshall and Clay streets, and is occupied by his last surviving son-in-law.

A letter written by one of the daughters of Treasurer Ambler, on the removal of the family to the new seat of Government at Richmond, gives a lively description of it in that day:

"It is indeed a very lovely situation, and may at some future period be a great city, but it will at present afford scarcely one comfort of life. With the exception of two or three families, the little town is made up of Scotch factors, who inhabit small tenements here and there, from the river to the hill, some of them looking, as Col. Marshall observes, as if the poor Caledonians had brought them over on their backs; the weaker of whom were glad to stop at the foot of the hill, others a little stronger, proceeded higher, while a few of the strongest and boldest reached the summit, which once accomplished affords a situation beautiful and picturesque. One of these hardy Scots has thought proper to vacate his little dwelling on the hill, and though our family can scarcely stand up together in it, my father has determined to rent it, as the only decent tenement on the hill."

The house here spoken of stands next to St. James' Church on Fifth street, in larger dimensions than it originally possessed, in perfect preservation and neat in appearance.

The writer is indebted to Bishop Meade's History of Old Churches in Virginia for this letter of the lady, who was afterwards Mrs. Carrington, and the gentleman she speaks of, was afterwards Chief Justice Marshall, her brother-in-law.

Mr. Ambler's daughters were married to gentle

men who built their dwellings not far from the paternal mansion, and a distinguished circle they formed. Chief Justice (then General) Marshall is entitled to priority. His residence yet stands on the street named in his honor, the only house on that street coeval with the present century, except one or two ruinous wooden ones, but the grounds have been reduced to a fraction of their original extent, and a number of fine dwellings have been erected in his former garden, between Eighth and Ninth streets. Of Judge Marshall I will not presume to say more than that his personal appearance and deportment as a citizen were of the most unpretending character-of true republican simplicity-but natural, not assumed— his dress was plain even to negligence, of which he seemed unconscious. He marketed for himself, and might be seen at an early hour returning home, with a pair of fowls, or a basket of eggs in his hand, not with ostentatious humility, but for mere convenience. His style of travelling to and from Raleigh, N. C., about 175 miles each way, to preside at the Federal Court held there, was for many years, in that primitive sort of vehicle, a stick gig (or chair as it was then called), with one horse and with no attendant. The modest and unassuming simplicity of his character is evinced to the last, in the inscription which he directed for his tombstone:

"John Marshall, son of Thomas and Mary Marshall, was born the 24th of September, 1755. Intermarried with Mary Willis Ambler, the 3d of January, 1783. Departed this life the 6th of July, 1835."

During many of the latter years of her life, Mrs. Marshall was unable to attend Church; and on every Sunday before he went there, Judge Marshall read the morning service to her. After her death, he continued to perform the same devotion, seated in the same chair, near to the one which she had occupied, as if her spirit accompanied his to the Heavenly Throne.

When his will was opened there was found within its folds an euloguim on his wife, from which I am permitted by one of her neices to make the following extract; it was written in his own hand December 25th, 1832:

"This day of joy and festivity to the whole Christian world is, to my sad heart, the anniversary of the keenest affliction which humanity can sustain. While all around is gladness, my mind dwells on the silent tomb, and cherishes the remembrance of the beloved object which it contains.

"On the 25th of December, 1831, it was the will of Heaven to take to itself the companion who had sweetened the choicest part of my life; had rendered toil a pleasure, had partaken of all my feelings, and was enthroned in the inmost recess of my heart. Never can I cease to feel the loss and to deplore it. Grief for her is too sacred ever to be profaned on this day, which shall be, during my existence, marked by a recollection of her virtues.