No.  V.

THE FUNERAL OF MR. TAZEWELL.

[From the Norfolk Argus, of May 8, 1860.]

The funeral obsequies of Mr. Tazewell, yesterday, were solemn and impressive.  An appropriate address was delivered by Rev. Mr. Rodman, of Christ church, and a large concourse of persons followed the remains from the family mansion on Granby street to the wharf, whence they were taken to the Eastern Shore for interment.

Thus a very great man has passed away from our midst—­a man who was long and justly honored for his profound learning; surpassed by few, if any, in any country.  His mind was an immense and well-stored intellectual repository, whence intelligence, varied, rich, and valuable, was drawn at pleasure or as occasion required.  Powerful as an orator, brilliant as a writer, scarcely equalled in his knowledge of the great principles of law, his irresistible grasp of intellect astonished thousands in former days—­bright and clear as “the cloudless azure of the upper sky.”

The proceedings of the meeting of the members of the bar were very appropriate.  All the addresses were eloquent and impressive.  The speakers aptly mentioned his splendid and successful career as a lawyer, his wonderful legal acquirements, and irresistible eloquence.  One of the gentlemen alluded to the fact that the merchant princes of London and the priests of Rome were among those who sought his opinion upon great and important questions, that had puzzled the astute statesmen of other countries.

The last survivor of a noble intellectual triumvirate, of which Norfolk could boast for a time, surpassing the models of antiquity in power and splendor of forensic triumph, has passed away.  That triumvirate is now demolished.  Taylor, Wirt, and Tazewell have all passed away; this last and most polished shaft now dimmed—­Tazewell—­just now gone to the grave, “venerable with the ivy of age, and eloquent of greater than classic memories.”

To state more particularly the details of the funeral, for future reference—­the religious services were held at the family residence on Granby street, and a large number of our most respectable citizens were present on the occasion.  Among them were three of our adopted fellow-citizens, who had been on terms of friendly intercourse with the deceased for nearly sixty years, and who walked from their respective abodes in the city to pay the last act of respect to his memory.  The eldest of these venerable men, GEORGE MCINTOSH, Esq., was in his ninety-second year, and the others, WILLIAM H. THOMSON, Esq., and JOHN SOUTHGATE, Esq., were over eighty years.  When the religious services were ended, a procession was formed, and the hearse was escorted to the steamer Northampton, Captain McCarrick, and the coffin was placed on board.  The steamer then left for the county of Northampton, across the bay of Chesapeake, having on board the Rev. Mr. Rodman and the Rev. Dr. Okeson, of the Episcopal church, JOHN N. TAZEWELL,