"It was Pendleton, who, when he found the old law could not prevail, suggested that the Hebrew principle be adopted, by which the eldest son should inherit double the amount of real estate which would descend to the heirs of the ancestor. The reply of Jefferson was characteristic and terse--'I observed,' he says, 'that if the eldest son could eat twice as much and do double work, it might be a natural evidence of his right to a double portion; but being on a par, in his powers and wants, with his brothers and sisters, he should be on a par also in the partition of the patrimony.' [Illustration: The Old Planters' Hotel. The stone in front was used as a "stand" for slaves when hired or sold at public "outcry." (See page 165)] [Illustration: The Opera House. It occupies the ground of the bank and other buildings burnt at the bombardment, December 11, 1862. (See page 269)] "The statute of descents in Virginia was drawn by him--a statute which has justice and 'natural right' in every line, and so clear and perspicuous is it, that in all these years only one serious question has been raised regarding it, calling for a decision of the Supreme Court of Appeals. "Jefferson gave an impetus to public education which is felt at this time. He proposed to the General Assembly of Virginia three bills: the first, establishing elementary free schools for all children; the second, for colleges; and the third, for the highest grade of sciences. Only the first of these was passed by the Assembly, and before this was done it was so amended that it could not be operative unless the county courts so decided. Now, as the justices who presided over these courts, while among the most honorable and talented men in Virginia, were generally of a class who did not care to bear the taxes necessarily entailed upon them by the adoption of the system, no free schools were established in any county within the Commonwealth under this act, with possibly the exception of one county. "It was a fact that our ancestors, especially when under the English system of government, did not favor education at public expense, and the royal Governors, as a rule, threw the weight of their influence against it. But after the Revolutionary war had closed, and the government of the States was made a government by the people, Virginians, like Jefferson, proceeded on the theory that to have a good government, the people--the sovereigns--must be educated, so that they would take, not only a deeper interest in the affairs of State, but would do so with intelligence--the more knowledge disseminated the better would be the government, and the less danger there would be of its falling into the hands of a favored and exclusive class.