Washington telegraph., 1854-04-12
Henry Clay---COE. Bowie.

The celebrated Mr.. Clay was man of
great resolution and considerable daring
he once told the following anecdote to n
friend of ours. Travelling in early man
hood in public conveyance in 4 southeast
ern State, he found himself in the compa-
ny of three other persons, consisting of u
young lady and gentleman, her husband,
and vf an individual muhied NJ in cloak.
whose countenancc was concealed and who
! appeared to bc indulging in tcte-a-tc
with Morpheus Suddenly big. brawny
kentuckian got into the coach smoking a
cigar, and frowned fiercely around, as if to
say, I'm half horse, and half alligator; the
yailer flower of the forest. all birthstone but
the head and ears and that's aquafortis'
In fact he looked rs savage as meat axe,
and pnffcd forth huge volumes Of smoke,
without reference to the company within, e.
pccialy Of the lady, who manifested certain
tiinid symptoms Of annoyance. Presently.
after some whispering, the gentleman with
her. in the poli;est accents. requested the
stranger not to smoke, as it annoyed his
companion. The fellow answered. 'Ireck-
on I've paid for my place. Ill smoke as
much as | darn please. and all the world
shan't stop me-" With that he looked dan
gerous, and rolled his eyes round as fiercey
as rattlesnake. 1t was evident he had no
objection to a quarrel, and that if it occur
red it ives likely to lead to deadly strug-
gle. The young man who had spoken to
him shrunk back and was silent Clay felt
his gallantry aroused He considered for n
moment whether to interfere but expert
enced natural reluctance to draw upon
himself the brutal violence Of his gigantic
adversary. In that lawless country he knew
his life might be sacrificed unavenged. He
knew himself physically unequal to the con-
test, and he thought after all. it was not mis-
business quixoticaly to take up another
mans quarrel. Feeling pity for the insult
cd and disgust towards the insulter he deter
mined to take no notice Of him when, very
quickly indeed, the cloaked figure in the cor
ner assumed an uprigh, position and the man.
tie was suffered TO fall from it without effort
or excitement. The small but sinewy frame
of man, plainly dressed in tightly but
tones frock coat, with nothing remarkable
about his appearance. was seen. and pair
of bright grey eyes sought the fierce optics
of the ferocious Kentuckian. Without a
word this 'lay figure passed his hand un-
der his collar at the back of his neck, end
slowly and deliberately pulled forth long
extremely long-and glitterins knife from
its sheath in that singular place. "Stran-
ger" he said, my name is Colonel James
Bowie, well known in Arkansas and Louisi-
lana, and If you don't put that cigar out Of
the window in a quarter Of minute. I'll
put this knife through your bowels, as sure
as death" Clay said he never forgot in after
life the expression of the Colonel's eyes at
that moment The predominant impression
made upon him was the certainty of the
threat being fulfilled, and apparently the
same conviction impressed itself ere long
upon the offender. During two or three sec
onds his eyes met those Of Bowie. He was
the weaker, and be quailed With a curse
he tore the cigar from between his teeth, and
flung it scowling. but downcast cut of the
coach window. Upon this. Col. Bowie as
deliberately replaced his long knife in its
eccentric hiding place, and. without saying a
word to any one else. or even vouchsafng
glance at any one, refoldcd his cloak around
him. and did not utter another syllable to the
end of the journey.
Nc,o Quarterly Revie,c.