[477] This prevalent idea is well stated in one of Mrs. Carrington's unpublished letters. "What sacrifice would not an American, or Virginian (even) at the earliest age have made for so desireable an end—young as I was [twelve years old when the war began] the Word Liberty so continually sounding in my ears seemed to convey an idea of everything that was desirable on earth—true that in attaining it, I was to see every present comfort abandoned; a charming home where peace and prosperous fortune afforded all the elegancies of life, where nature and art united to render our residence delightful, where my ancestors had acquired wealth, and where my parents looked forward to days of ease and comfort, all this was to be given up; but in infancy the love of change is so predominant that we lose sight of consequences and are willing to relinquish present good for the sake of novelty, this was particularly the case with me." (Mrs. Carrington to her sister Nancy, March, 1809; MS.; and see infra, chap. VIII.)
[478] Marshall, i, 355-65.
[479] Ib., 422-24.
[480] Ib., 425.
[481] Marshall, i, 425.
CHAPTER V
MARRIAGE AND LAW BEGINNINGS
He was always and under all circumstances an enthusiast in love. (Mrs. Carrington, of Marshall's devotion to his wife.)