American Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1855-1860, 1855-06-28
- = iFfona Sfrs Novatt.s Autobiography.l
1NEEx EsTING nEMINIsCENcE OF
~ 81 s..s ~. y.lAEA RX CLAY


- = lFfcaa Sfrs. Nowstt.s Autobiogrephy.l
INTExEsTHNG REmINIsCENCE OF
isIsrs..s ~ yHEsRX cLAHs
s9. Anon ssr sss he most agreeable Tem'nis-
eensesof this year are ihe visits ot 1enty
seivsss We-Were fulfilling an engagement
81, NON iOfleals, when he hrstealled upon
sns..ssIr CHANGED that my history was well
inaown. 10 him. He look deep intereet
N NV professional exertions, and his en-
,eaRraaement was no: sparingly bestowed,
One day he gave me glowing description
ofMiss % Neil Juliet. especially OF the
kaisels and. fervor Of her balcony scene
But'when he attempted to quote the pas
,sages which had impressed him, j could
not help laughing Involuntary at his odd
deviations from the text.
81 dare say l am u,isQaoting," he re.
marked, apologetiely. 81 never could
,remember i line ofpoetry"
aaI had to admit that this version of Ju-
liet differed considerably from the one
which popular prejudice had adop' nor
could ] fiatter him by saying thaIhe impro-
yednpon Shakespeare.
= Hethen told me tha. it was a singular
fact, and one which had been subject Of
regret. through his whole life, that he
could not by any effort retain.verse iu his
memory. Even If he studied a poem by
.rote, ,Siu few days the lines would be
wholly eGaeed from the mental tablet on
which they had been laboriously written.
He related to me an anecdote in painful
illustration Of this peculiarity. He was
making some public address, think it
was aFourth Of July oration- during the
course of which he purposed quoting the
wellkhown lines
ags "Liyes there afnan with soul 50 dead
Is Who never to himself hath said, II s.f
ears This "a my own, my native lapdIn
Declaiming warmly, he gave enthusiastic
iutierance u the line
.'Iiyes thSrc man with soul so dead''--
But the poetic page suddenly became Z
blank-he could not remember another
word He pqused--then repeated the
line with more patriotic arJor than before
Hethonght the second line would "comc
TO him" by means Of the repetition
bnt It came not. He put his hand TO hi
forehead, trying to think uhdt the MAJ
did, "wfiose soul was dead" but the ev
idence of that individuals torpid esscenc'
would not develop itself in metre. Fol
fhethird time he asked the question EN-
phatically, not to say despairingly-
''IiycE there a with soul so deld''-
and must have paused midway in hi
query, had not voice from the Grove
continued, in q stage whisper
itlHho never to hmselfha said"
Thsobliyious statesman caught the words
and thankfully finished his quotation. ii,
determined. in future to ornamenthis ora
tious with few of these slippery gems o
the poet. -t-
OuFnext engagement took usto Vcks
burg, but at It's close we rejoined Henry
Clay on board of the Alexander Scott
We pissed five days in the floating palace
Ousour way to Louisville. Henry Clay
was cheered wherever we stopped, ant
answering cheers were sent back from th'
boat. In these the ladies now and the
joined.
I Twas standing beside him when we ar
rived at Memphis. He turned to me, an
said "Iave you ever appeared here?"
Ireplied in the,negatye.
He remarked, "This western Memphi
makes more gigantic progress than an
town know. She will be the quee
city Of the west by and by. Never pas
here again without appearing.
answered that would not II wa
six years before l saw Memphis onc
more; but kept my word. My appea
ance was rendered brief one throug
sudden iudisposition. l remember wit
regret the improbability that | shall ev,
stand before genial Memphis audien'
again.
Henry Clay passed large portion Of h
time in the ladies' saloon. The bearing
our lofty minded statesman, though alwa,
dignifed, was characterized by extreme
courtesy--courtesy to the lowest ms w
as the highest. Ho conversed freely upc
all subjects, and with the fluency for viii,
he was distinguished.
',Aeed ears played trnant with Istales.
And younger hearlngs were quite raylshcd
Wllhhis discourse"
We were one day discussing Lafayette
visit to this country. Some jocular es
male was made of the number Of ladi
whom he had atfectionately saluted Cli
remarked that "kissing was like Il
Presidency; it was not to be sought, al
MOTTO be defined" The natural inGe
ence from this remark was, that he wou
not oppose the wishes ofhis party il tn,
again offered his name as PRESIDENT
candidate. The conclusion did not pro
erroneous.
He recounted 10 me q number Of ane
dotes illustrative fthe manner in whi,
his friends demonstrated their grief al d
great whig defeat. Some of the most p
thetic OF these stories had still touch
the ludicrous; but he seemed TO feel me
deeply the manifestations of attachment
which he was the object.
Many Of the passengers exerted ther
selves to entertain fellow traveller who
every one seemed to treat as his own pa
ticular and honored guest; but none co
tributed so largely to his amusement
Mr.. Davenport. He sang comic, patriC
ic, and sentimental songs, and recited h
morous sketches, in which five or six d
ferent characters were personatcd o.
evening he entered the saloon disguised
',doWn-east' Yankee. Imnst say,
way Of pareDthesis, that his Yankee wa,
stage representing of Yankee land-a bro
but telling carcature Of the reality.
wore red wig, striped pantaloons Il