The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1852-07-01
HENRY CLAY.

10 be revived with increased intensity +" "'e
minds of the other. Henry Clay, the neao u
. great party, is no longer spoken OF. nu'
Henry Clay, the mighty orator. the 'af-see'ns
statesman. the unshaken patriot. is remembered
bv al and BY all acknowledged to be worthy
Of the lofty station which he will occupy IN
the temple of fame. There will be few, 10
coming ages, who viii not feel il an honor TO
have been his countrymen, as the Englishman
feels his blood Jingle in his veins, when he is
reminded that he FIRST drew breath upon the
soil which gave birth to Hampden and Russell.
Like the far greater portion of those Illus
trious men, who at various stages, and in differ
eat countries Of the world, have thrown halo
around the age and nation which have been so
fortunate as to claim them for their own, MIR.
Clay owed nothing to the accidents OF birth or
fortune. But in Withholding these incidental
advantages, nature more than compensated
him for their absence. She endowed him with
q high order Of genius-a lofty independence o.
soul-an intrepidty which no danger could
abate-a perseverance which no obstacle could
subdue-a buoyancy ofspirit which laughed dlf-
fculties to scorn-and an infiexibiity OF Will
which allowed him to stop short of nothing
but success. To mind thus constituted, the
world was little else than vast field, blush'ng
ripe with honors, which invited him but 10
reach forth his hand to pluck them and to wear.
Were we to enter into a biographical notice
of Mr.. Clay, we should almost feel that we
were offering an insult to the intelligence OF
our readers. From 1911, when he entered the
House of Representatives, to the day OF his
DEATH there have been few incidents connected
with the history of the country with which his
name has not been prominently associated
From the moment of his setting foot upon the
floor of the House, he assumed station which
he kept to the very last day of his political lite.
One anecdote, however, connected with his
early life, we have heard, and which as we have
seen it no where in print, we will here repeat,
promising that the authority upon which rests
its authenticity, is altogether beyond impeach-
ment. When, soon after his removal to Ken
lucky, he commenced the practice Of the law,
he was a tall, long. boyish looking parsonage.
giving, except in the occasional sparkle of
very lively eye, but little promise of the man
ner Of man he really was. 1t happened that
when he qualified at the Woodford bar, an un.
usually large number of young lawyers APP
piled, in company with him, for adlnittance. A
gentleman who, in process of time, became
one of his warinest friends and admirers, was
conversing with our informant upon the la
mentabIe mistake maze by many parents IN
educating their children for the bar, in prefer
ence to making them honest mechanics, or
bringing them up to the cultivation of the soil.
This conversation was called forth by the un-
usual spectacle that day presented, and when
young Clay came forward to qualify, the speak
er alluded to observed, "there now there is a
fine ploughman spoiled in that boy" Little
did he dream of what was in the person he
was so unceremoniously criticising, and the in
cident if, Of no further value, serves at least to
illustrate the folly of trusting to appearances.
Mr. Clay was never in any public body, in
which he did not exert commanding influence.
Tothis he was, in great measure indebted, be-
yond doubt, to the general correctness of his
views, and the great ability with which he en-.
forced them. But there was another, and
master element, in his composition, which
would have made him prominent man with
talents greatly inferior to those which he &C.
tually possessed-an element which, if it be
not mingled. in no small degree, in every
Character however great in other respects,
hnds no substitute-an element which has
gone largely into the formation of those who
have given law to the world. We allude to
that energy of character which distinguished
him throughout his life, and expired but with
the last feeble flicker of the lamp as it burn,
down into the socket. Not Julius Caesar,
surrounded by his legions, and already the fore.
most man of all the world, possessed more
daring spirit, or more unconquerable will
than old Harry ofthe West. Here, more even,
/. than in his sublime eloquence, and his tried
!, patriotism, is the true secret of the unbounded
influence which he exercised over so many men
of great intellectual powers to be sought for.
TO this quality, likewise, we may trace, in all
probability, the bitter hostility with which he
was regarded by his political foes. He was no
halfway man, and he despised all halfway
measures. Thoroughly self dependent, his
movements were as decided as the march Of
destiny, and when he had once taken his stand,
no matter wha, might be the strength Of the
opposition, be stood as immovable as the cliff
which has defied the fury Of the elements from
the foundation of the world. This extraordi-
nary irmness Of character was the subject Of
intense admiration to his friends, while his enc
mics regarded il as nearly allied to obstinacy.
Without denying that in SO decided character
great virtue may, at times, have run into the
neighborihg vice, we may still. be allowed to
admire the strength Of that resolution that sus-
tained him. unmoved, among trials, to which
few men have been subjected.
Il Is we'll known that Mr.. Madison, at one
tins, contemplated making Mr.. Clay his Lieu.
tenant General. We have always thought he
would have made distinguished military man.